Twilight lives her life as The Princess Of Friendship, and whole heartily submits to her duties. Though she is grateful for all that she has, she still feels that something is missing. While Cadence plays match-maker for Twilight, Princess Celestia gives the young alicorn a special friendship task of her own. Twilight must find her passions and pursuit her dreams once more, and with the help of two strangers, what could possibly go wrong?

::Sex Tag For Suggested Content::

Edited Chapter(s) 1--5 by JadeCrossroads
Proofread Chapter(s) 6 Gapeagle

...have a tendency to go awry in the most unexpected of ways.

When the Crystal Heart's power destroyed King Sombra, all of the Empire rejoiced. Little did they know, they had played right into the ancient tyrant's hooves.

Having over a millennium to plan, Sombra knew that if a pony managed to get past his traps before he could reconquer the Empire, their was little chance of him surviving. So, he let himself be 'killed', in order to get closer to his true goal undetected; the Umbrum trapped beneath the Empire.

Hiding as just his horn, Sombra laid low in the very heart of the Crystal Palace, biding his time, until the entrance to the underground section was opened by the new Crystal Princess and another princess with a purple coat and familiar magic. Recognizing that magic as that of the pony that foiled his most recent efforts, and knowing of only one princess-to-be with a coat that color, Sombra swears to make Radiant Hope pay for moving against him once again.

Using his magic to reach the deepest depths beneath the Empire, Sombra reached the sealed Umbrum undetected, and reformed his body. Having devised a way to free them during his own imprisonment, Sombra began so, fulfilling his goal even without controlling the Empire. Bursting free in a wave of shadow that left no doubt of their return, Sombra gives Cadence a message for Celestia before following his own subjects into the night:

“Give this message to the Two Sisters. Deliver unto me the princess that yet again hindered my efforts to free my people to me within a week, that I might exact my revenge against that traitorous Radiant Hope, or I shall show all of Equestria why the Umbrum were so feared!”

However, when a week passed, and Sombra found out that the princess in question was not Hope, but rather a new princess named Twilight Sparkle, he finds his plans for revenge derailed. Bound by his word, when she offers to go with him to prevent a war, he finds himself with a 'prisoner' against whom he holds little ire.

And as time passes, Sombra begins to see that he and his 'guest' have more in common than he initially thought.

AU as of Chapter 34 of the 'Friendship is Magic' comics.

I deserve no forgiveness. If I could take it back, well... I would never have met her. Somepony who could forgive me. I think. Look, it confuses me so stop asking!

I hate him and what he did to the Crystal Ponies is something I will never forgive. So why is it that I care when ponies scorn him? When they hurt him, why does it make me cry? When I see him, why does my heart skip?

Is it just me or has Twilight gone crazy? Dude's a jerk.

Can we please change the subject?

Author's Note: Other is flagged due to the character flag limit. Expect Cadance, Shining Armor, Luna, and Discord at least!

King Sombra, the former tyrant and conqueror of Crystal Kingdom, the wielder of dark magic, servants and slaves that he had at his mere call. One thousand years ago; he lost himself after the banishment by Celestia and Luna, set out to reclaim it but was stopped by Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight along with other Element of Harmony.

Now what the evil king to do when he lost everything?

Featured on Canterlot's Finest on October 17, 2013.

"Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

Mere months after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding," the memories of cold shoulders and dismissals remain fresh in Twilight Sparkle's mind, which causes her to question her ability to face the next task that Princess Celestia bestows upon her.

Alone, she must find a way to protect an entire empire. She's afraid and unprepared, but when a mysterious stallion lends a hoof to her success, she soon discovers a friendship that threatens to blossom into something much greater.

(6/9/2016): Made it to the "Featured" page again! You're so awesome, guys!

(( "Of Magic and Masquerades" is the first story in the Crucibles of Harmony series. It is an alternate take on "The Crystal Empire," with some alternate events from Season 3 and minor Twilight/Sombra shipping. ))

King Sombra, the tyrant of Crystal Empire is back, only to be imprisoned by princesses and put through reformation with Twilight Sparkle as his teacher. Can somepony with heart as black as night be reformed? Twilight believes so. Sombra in other hoof isn't so sure but something in that mare makes him try.

This is going to be one of my longest stories this far. Marked Teen for sexual innuendo and slightly gory-ish scenes. Nothing too bad though. Also this will not be a story that deserves a dark marking.

For now I'd like to thank Alun Aleriksson, pony of change, Microshazm and Sidetrack for helping with the grammar and overall writing in general. Thank you so much.

Cover art by lorekhearts.

Long before the reign of Celestia and Luna, a beautiful young mare, by the name of "Fluttershy," was on her way to her new job as a teacher at a veterinarian school in Trotsylvania. She soon finds herself in the care of the Countess de Shimmer and persued by the brother of the Countess, who has been locked away in his own home.

Not long after, a gentlecolt, Dr. Van Helstallion, comes into town, hearing of strange deaths. It is then that Van Helstallion meets Fluttershy, immediately befriending her. Now, Dr. Van Helstallion must do whatever it takes to protect the young maiden, as well as the rest of Trotsylvania, from a demon that has been causing all the recent deaths... especially due to the fact that all the victims have been young mares...

Based off of the 1960 horror film "The Brides of Dracula"

Cover art made by Evehly

It wasn't long after Sombra's defeat that he was found in the outskirts of the frozen north, regenerated from his dismembered horn, but too weak to do anything more than stay in hiding and hope to make a full recovery. Princess Celestia was swiftly alerted of his re-appearance, and the dethroned king was dragged away from the north to be kept prisoner in the Canterlot Castle.

After weeks of planning, the princess called Fluttershy to Canterlot and bestowed upon her the task of reforming yet another foe. If there was anypony who could have some influence on such a vile overlord, it was her.

Fluttershy, however, wasn't nearly as certain of herself. Discord was so much different; he was so much easier. Back then, she had the elements of harmony at her disposal. but now, living in the Canterlot Castle with not a fellow element for miles, King Sombra was an entirely different story.

This fic is a redo of the first fanfic I've ever posted on Fimfiction.
Editor: m1ntf4n. Shower him with much love and admiration.

His world collapsed. Everything he knew, believed and loved, everything he was, disappeared, swallowed by darkness of his own doing. This agony continued until a light dispersed the shadows, along with what was left of him. Knowing that leaving this world would be a fitting punishment for his crimes, he was ready to accept whatever was to come. However, by a cruel joke of the Universe, a twist of fate, or just a pure coincidence, he was given another chance, to redeem himself, to fix what was destroyed... Maybe even find a true love?

Her world was simple, filled with love for her friends and various creatures that always longed to be with her. While content with how peaceful her life was, one incident and a meeting changed the outlook she had. This one stallion helped her when she was in dire need, and now she wanted to repay his kindness, despite her initial fear of him, and unaware of him slowly becoming a constant to both her thoughts and her heart.

This is my very first story for "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" fandom. English isn't my native anguage, I'm not a shipper of any kind (I accept practically all pairings if they make sense to me), therefore my only request to readers is that you give this story a chance. I'm open-minded for constructive critique and will gladly answer any technical questions, should those arise.

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM or any character presentented in this story and I don't have any financial or material benefits from writing it.

The concept of Sombra's past and the crystal cutie mark on the cover belongs to StasySolitude. Vector of Fluttershy's cutie mark was made by Hawk9mm, and the background was made by Tollaner.

The story was inspired by this video: A tale of one shadow

The cover was put together by me!