There are many things that the Pillars of Old Equestria, newly returned to the world, have never encountered before.New cities, new technologies, new magic... and a little blue flower that grows in the Everfree Forest.

A submission for the Springtime Sequel-Slash-Sandbox Switcheroo, drawing on Spacial Displacement by River Road.

After the return of the Pillars of Equestria, A. K. Yearling gets a letter from Twilight: former villain Stygian is interested in writing. Not one to turn down a request from a princess and interested in learning from somepony who lived a millennium ago, Yearling sets up a meeting with him at a Canterlot donut shop. And so the two commence on Stygian's education of modern fiction.

Takes place not long after "Shadow Play". Written for the May 2020 Pairing Contest.

Glenda is Stygian's biggest fan in Griffonstone. (Not that there was much competition.)

Set a year or two after Twilight's Coronation and many years before the finale episode. Contains no S9 spoilers.

Note: M-rated sequel, "Beaks and Talons," available here.

Glenda is from the wonderful comic "The Convocation of the Creatures."

Winner of "Most well-written story" in the May Pairings Contest 2021.

Every single sentence this author wrote made the story come to life in a BIG way! I didn't once feel like I was reading a story. I felt like I was experiencing it, like I was right there, in the characters' shoes, feeling what they were feeling, seeing what they were seeing. It also helped me to get a better understanding of each character and love them on a deeper level. For example, let's take one paragraph from the story:
...
This kind of vivid imagery is found throughout the entire story, and the characters' voices help bring out their personality in meaningful ways that help you bond with them, to learn to love them beyond what the comics or cartoon give you. This was a no-brainer as the most well-written story in the contest.

Big thanks to Aragón for help with story structure, Wolfjack for trout en papillote, and  Steel Quill, Krack-Fic Kai, Sledge115, and Nitro Indigo for prereading.

Cover art via commission with Harwick. I love it and it is far better than I ever envisioned or deserved. 

Hating one pony, truly hating one pony, he learned, required hating everypony else.

Stygian tried to early on and failed miserably.

Newspapers across the nation printed the headline: "A Star Has Fallen." Academies everywhere had a day of mourning. The princesses themselves gathered to bid the Bearded One farewell.

And Stygian found himself thinking about something he'd spent more than ten years trying to ignore.

Honorable Mention in the 2019 Everfree Northwest Iron Author competiton. Rated Teen just to be safe; all deaths take place before the start of the story.

It was a dark and stormy day when I began the next chapter of my latest book, which was concerning, given that it had been sunny just moments before.

Featured 1/13/2022 - 1/17/2022!

* Post-S7 finale.
* Edited by Double R Forrest.
* Cover art by the awesome KamDrawings.
* Live reading by Skijarama.

Apple Bloom wonders why every creature speaks the same language.

The Crusaders will not rest until they have answers.

Set between Season 7 and Season 8. Somewhat of a companion piece to The Pranking Manual. Reading that story is not necessary to read this one, as it is only mentioned briefly.

This story is a sequel to Chiaroscuro

Cozy Glow can't remember the last time she'd felt the need—or had the ability—to blink. But with Stygian, a pony she vaguely recalls, standing in front of her and saying that she's Equestria's only hope? That definitely deserves a blink or two...

An entry in the 2023 May Pairings Contest, this story received one of the five "Judge's Prizes" in the final results.

Stygian hasn't been feeling himself lately. Perhaps it's the thousand-year leap in time. Perhaps it's the forceful reformation courtesy of the elements of harmony. Perhaps it's the strange dreams keeping him up at night.

When he finds an unlikely reminder of his old life in Twilight's pet owl, he hopes perhaps all the strangeness will come to an end. But when tragedy strikes at the heart of the Ponyville pet scene and the creatures in his dreams take familiar forms, Stygian will be forced to answer a dangerous question.

How far would you go to help a friend?

The shadows. They speak to you, promising all you desire. You need only listen...

Reading by CreepyPastaSalad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYlr87eDZRI

Cover Art By InuHoshi-to-DarkPen: https://inuhoshi-to-darkpen.deviantart.com/art/Pony-of-Shadows-713963070