"It's 4 PM and the moon is still in the sky."

That's how it all begins. With a single line spoken into a tape recorder by a very confused and scared dragon. But that's not even half of it.

Ponies start disappearing. Spike hears strange noises all through the day. He tries to contact the princesses, but the rest of Equestria seems to have gone dark.

All Spike has is an old tape recorder and a box of blank tapes he found in the basement. At least he feels safe within the walls of the library. But just how long will that last?

Equestria can be a scary place. Just ask the ponies who find themselves center stage in these unusual tales of horror.

Special thanks to everypony who offered an idea and/or writing prompt for this anthology

Happy Halloween/Nightmare Night to you all!

Pronoia: believing the world is conspiring in your favor
Paranoia: believing the world is conspiring against you

As a former member of Canterlot's elite law enforcement team, Twilight Sparkle is used to a certain level of responsibility. However, her years of experience are rendered useless by her sudden and unwanted transfer to the sleepy little town of Ponyville. With no other option, she chooses to give into the monotony.

But this all changes when a grisly murder shocks the entire town. As the only member of Ponyville's police force equipped to deal with this sort of thing, Twilight welcomes her first real case in over two years. But she quickly realizes that there is more to this murder than meets the eye. It seems Twilight's past has followed her to Ponyville.

With the help of her loyal assistant Spike, a series of strange clues, and some cryptic notes, Twilight tries to figure out the identity of the pony or ponies who have wrapped her up in their bizarre game.

Ever since she was a young foal, Starlight has wanted to become the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. After years of study, she's finally ready to prove herself by making contact with the one pony she believes can help her achieve this goal: King Sombra.
But King Sombra isn't the only thing waiting on the other side of that door.

Based on a story idea someone suggested

Queen Novo banishes Twilight and her friends to the deepest reaches of the ocean. In this dark and desolate place of water and silence, giving in to one's animal instincts seems like the obvious course of action.

Thus Spike awakens, trapped and alone in an unfamiliar place. But as he quickly learns, it's a lot worse than that.

Twilight is ready for another normal day at Canterlot Academy. Unfortunately, a certain pink-haired girl has other plans. Those plans involve appearing in Twilight's room claiming to be her "fairy godmother". Her mission? To make sure that Twilight hooks up with her one true love and lives happily ever after.

However, Twilight isn't too interested in living "happily ever after". She just wants to get on with her day. But that's alright. All she really needs is a little fairy magic.

Twilight finds herself bothered by a very strange and persistent itch. The more she scratches, the worse it gets. But no matter what she does, it simply won't go away. It's driving her out of her mind, yet relief seems impossible. However, the itch is only the beginning.

Trigger Warning: Arachnophobia

Happy (almost) Nightmare Night, ghouls and boys.

"The town of Ponyville doesn't exist."
That's how this all started. That single matter-of-fact sentence is how this entire thing began. Because despite what the books say, despite what the maps say, despite what the princesses say, Ponyville does exist.
Lyra remembers. Her memories of Ponyville run perpendicular to her memories of growing up in Canterlot. But of course nopony believes the crazy conspiracy mare.
That's fine. Lyra doesn't need anypony to believe her. She just needs to find her way home.

Written for Celestia Day

Princess Luna sends her beloved student Moondancer to face the imminent return of a wicked mare of fire known as "Daybreaker". Finding herself alone and facing a pony far more powerful than her, Moondancer wonders if she really is the hero Equestria deserves.

Written for Vinyl and Octavia Day

As the sun sinks below the trees and the crickets begin to sing, Equestria finds itself vulnerable to a specific type of evil. Ponies fall peacefully to sleep, blissfully unaware of what lurks in the sinister darkness.

However, some ponies are all too familiar with beings that live in the shadows. Two of these ponies find themselves racing through Canterlot in the dead of night with nightmarish creatures not far behind. Alas, this is only the beginning of their nightmare.