This story is a sequel to Days of the Dead
Luster Dawn, Twilight's most faithful student, is a studious young mare who knows far too much about the afterlife & keeping secrets. Recently, she's uncovered a new secret, a rather dark one that she can't talk about, as speaking of such a secret puts her own life at risk.
Sombra, former tyrannical king of the Crystal Empire, is the King of the Dead, dedicated to saving his subjects from the curse of the afterlife. Under his rule, they are not allowed to reveal themselves to the living, though he has made an exception for Luster. Unfortunately, this has put both her and others in danger.
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, is unaware of these secrets, the dead within her castle, or her student's meddling in their afterlives. Surely, these secrets can't last forever? Especially when it begins to threaten the ones she cares about?
I didn't leave room for text on the cover art, oops
Great chapter! Loved Sombra snapping at that spirit. Still has some fire left in him XD.
ooooo im excited!!!
... Oh Damn it... Now I've got ANOTHER story I'm eager to see more of! Reeeee!!! On a serious note, lovely piece, I think I can already see where it's going, and what's about to be broken. (And who's about to be saaaaaved! >:3)
10439863
Well, I've got no idea what you may be thinking, but whatever it is, I'm hoping I'm not that predictable. (I mean unless it's really good, in which case I hope that's what I end up doing.)
Happy to see that I'm off to a good start though!
10440448
Dooon't worry it's not you. I'm what's called a Story Architect. I understand the building blocks and narrative threads of most stories. It just comes with the territory... Aaand it doesn't hurt I know ya a LITTLE bit.
10440514
If you truly knew me, you'd know I have no idea what I'm doing.I suppose that makes some sort of sense? Let's see if you're assumptions are correct with the next chapter, if that tells anything. Should hopefully be up within the day.10440522
Hah! Knowing what you're doing... I don't even know what I'm doing most of the time! Makes life more interesting dontcha think?!
And oooo! I'll keep my eyes open!
Yay new chapter! Love goofy Flurry Heart!
Oooh... Mystery tiiiiime. I can't wait to read the next chapter already! Ah well, I'll be patient! I promise! ..... Mostly....
Woah, I literally just finished re-reading Days of the Dead last week out of curiosity and then I see that this had popped up only a day or two after...2spooky.
Very good so far, those four dislikes be blasphemy! 
10450252
The ghosts knew... As for the dislikes? Eh, I blame the OCs, I know it's pretty hit or miss with them but I couldn't really make this story without 'em.
I don’t know how I feel about Deadbolt... but I love Flurry, she’s so cute
10450362
As it should be.
10450367
Yep
Luster got nicknamed "Lust"? Priceless!
Mmm, the delicious first-person once more. Poor Sombra. The gloomy guy really needs to catch a break here.
So many wonderful ghosts to meet! This is going to be awesome! Also, the Festival of the Two Sisters sounds cool. I'm looking forwards to seeing some Luna and Tia.
Also definitely and 100% more Sombra.
10561213
First person is actually really fun to write I think? I never tried it before Days of the Dead and now I actually kinda wish I had tried using it sooner.
I'd say poor Sombra refuses to give himself a break, but that's not entirely true, and after a bit of rest he'll calm down a bit. But also he won't.
10561216
I look forward to introducing these ghosts better. Also Sombra, always good to write more Sombra.
10561534
10561535
Ghost vacation for the gloomy boy when?
Will this be continued?
10821635
It will, I'm slowly working on the 3rd chapter and slightly revising a few things, but it will be updated again. I've just been in a bit of a rut and have a horrible track of time and didn't even realize it's been as long as it has since it last updated...
10821654
I wish best of luck for you💖
It’s back from the dead!
(pun intended) so glad to see this update!! Thank you!!
Luna sees ghosts? Yeah that checks out.
XD
10983424
Now let's hope it stays undead... No more year long hiatuses, hopefully.
10983443
I may have had a bit of inspiration for that one, but it certainly adds onto the story!
Forgot how amazing this was. Great to see it back
A year later, and this is still awesome. Sombra freak that I am, I actually feel more sorry for Katydid than him. She went before her grandma as a kid and didn't get COOKIES!
The quarrel scene was interesting and unintentionally hilarious with how the guy's name became "Murderer". 
The pinnacle of this chapter though is the dining room scene where Sombra pranks Twilight and Luna catches him. Even if I was no Lunbra boy, I still love theories on how Luna and Sombra were friends and the fact that Luna can see ghosts...it's all just so cool! 
Loving the bits of lore too that show how this story could easily go on for a long time, we'll be with you all the way! 
10986004
The prank scene was the one that I got stuck on for way too long, I just couldn't write it in a way that made me happy, and I'm still not too proud of it, but it accomplishes what it needs to.
I'm glad to see you're loving it though! Depending on how I choose to write, it could get decently long too... But we'll see. There's quite a bit to possibly cover, what with all the spirits around!
This was a delight to see coming out of hiatus. Your Sombra stories are some of my favorite currently running. Getting to explore more of the background ponies and dive straight back into Sombra's POV was a treat. I really hope that more comes soon and that Sombra and Luster reunite again. There are not many currently running stories that focus on something other than an easily digestible plot (the comedies, the slice of life, the HiEs) or none whatsoever (the lewds) that I've seen updating for some time. For an intriguing mystery to come out of its rest was the highlight of my feed; I'm glad I got to this so soon.
11002437
This is probably one of best comments ever I think, I'm really glad my stories stick out in a good way! It's not a super in depth one, which is fine of course, but it's still one that make me want to write more, and that's always a good motivator.
And yeah, there's still a lot of stories going up on Fimfic daily, but I'll admit very few catch my interest too. No offense to the writers of course, but a lot of the genres are ones I've never been too interested in.
I will write all the Sombra stories.
11002515
More Sombra would be extremely based.
I like this take on Sombra. It doesn't retcon his cannon self and makes him more than an edgy villain / tyrant stereotype. I just hope the next chapter comes out soon cuz I'm dying to see what happens next.
11019939
As disappointed as I was in him getting killed, I'm glad I found a work around for it, and even happier to know people like this take on him!
No promises, but I'm hoping to get the next chapter out before the month ends, but things may get in the way.
What text are you talking about?
11103367
What text are you talking about? Neither this chapter or my author's note mention anything about text or books or anything else to do with the word.
It's like a New Years surprise and late Christmas present in one seeing you update this amazing story again! The murder mystery, despite being "cliche but not quite a murder mystery", still helped me feel tense and immersed, like I was Luster Dawn. A supernatural slice-of-life story evolving into a story about a conflict against a killer? Perfect! It's just like Part IV of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, one of my favorite things ever.
Of course, there's no fight scenes in this, but still. I also like how Sombra saved Luster, passing up the opportunity to get the perfect ghost buddy just because he truly cares about her living a good, fulfilling life. 
11103435
I believe he mistakenly wrote "text" instead of "illustration", just my theory. Whatever he meant, I do look forward to that drawing.
11103523
I wanted to get something out before the yearly reset! Now let's hope I can do more than a few updates per story this year... Won't be long until it's SoaD's turn.
Glad you felt something from it! Poor Luster's gonna be having a time for the next couple of chapters. At least she's got a ghostly buddy to help keep her safe! He knows what it's like to be dead and he can not recommend it.
That would make more sense! I can't promise it soon, but it will happen!
I’m so glad to return to this world of headstrong Luster Dawn and her ghost friends. This story is one of my favorite currently incomplete works on the site.
11619076
Someday... Someday I will return. I miss this duo.
11620527
I do too!