Pincer is a changeling, a proud soldier of Queen Chrysalis. After the failed invasion of Canterlot, he finds himself trapped and at the mercy of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard. Believing that Celestia sees his species as nothing but soulless monsters, he prepares himself for the worst. The weeks crawl by, marked by an endless series of questions he will not answer for fear of endangering his friends and family at The Hive. As his nerves wear down and his interrogators learn just how ruthless he thinks they are, they have nothing to report but his belief that they will kill and destroy his kind without mercy.

Celestia steps in to prove him wrong, and what Pincer learns leaves him questioning everything he has ever known — but also gives him hope for what he'd never thought possible.

Cover art commissioned from http://www.demonkings.com.

Now with a TVTropes page.

Apparently, this was briefly featured on July 1st, 2015. Thanks for reading everyone!

Spike has been away on royal business for about a month. Pinkie, Twilight and the rest of the gang are planning a big party for him when he returns. Things seem to be going smoothly until certain happenings lead Spike to question the way other ponies see him, specifically one purple-maned unicorn, and a turn of events results in them seeing a part of Spike none of them-including him-knew existed. It seems they didn't know as much about Spike as they think they did...

Chapter 15 is up!

King Sombra came from an old age, a time where darkness and evil were prevalent across the land. The Princesse's power and influence were weaker in those days, for the land of Equestria was divided amongst many kingdoms of lesser Princesses and Princes. But out of all their ruling neighbors, The Four Shepherds held the most power of all, even threatening Celestia and Luna's kingdom. However, all of that changed when they vanished for a thousand years, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity. Until that is, when the Crystal Kingdom reappeared, along with one of the Shepherds. King Sombra, however, was thankfully vanquished swiftly, but the following peace of his defeat would not last as long as anypony might think. A new force sets its eyes on the recently coronated Princess Twilight Sparkle, one that seeks to restore a lost heritage and remind the land of who is the true owner of the night. For when one evil is smitten, another appears in its place. And King Sombra was only the first in line.

Set before Season 4

Note: Dark tag is meant for Light Dark

Special thanks to my editor Ladrian for his diligent and superb work. I wish I had him when I first started this story because maybe then the early chapters would have been much better.

Special thanks to Stanku for revisions and prereading this story. It would be at a much worse state had it not been for his detailed opinions to each and every chapter, and letting me know where I can improve.

10/2/2014 : Woah... it's on the featured list... *cue squealing and fist pumping* THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Long ago, before the banishing of Luna, Equestria was home to six races, not just three. In addition to the stewards of the weather, the earth, and of arcane magics, there were also the Changelings and their Queens, the harvesters, but not thieves of love, who spread it across the land, the Fel Ponies, those who guided the souls of the dead, and finally, the Noctus Ponies, or bat-ponies, who helped guard the night.

For a time, harmony between the six was maintained in full, but over time this once proud family grew distant. The Changelings became corrupt and greedy, and the Fel Ponies began feeding upon dark magic. The former left the lands and the latter were banished to Tartarus.

At that, only the Noctus Ponies remained... the strangest and most misunderstood of the three, due to their need for blood. A steady fear of them had always remained among of the populace, but with the help of Princess Luna, their reputation remained noble. However, when she became tainted by the Nightmare, they became tainted as well - at least in the eyes of the populace.

They were forced to flee. To hibernate for many years.

Now, two years after Luna's return, her, along with Princess Celestia and Twilight, have begun turning the wheels of change: their goal to unite the six races once more - starting with those who helped watch the night.

The minions of the night will return in full force.

What would happen if Spike was born earlier than in the show and was raised by dragons instead of ponies? What if his teacher told him to come with him to meet with Celestia and the recently returned Luna. How will the princesses and Elements of Harmony handle a blunt, sarcastic, and strong young dragon. And how would this affect a certain shy Pegasus who is afraid of dragons.

A.U./Anthro/ Slow FlutterSpike

Edited by Starblade

For perhaps the first time, Spitfire finds herself sober at a party! But when she decides that Soarin has had far too many and needs taking back to the hotel, will he let something slip?
Rated teen for a couple sexual references in early chapters, and some suggestive behavior later on. I might have to bump it up if things get much worse, though. (Not explicitly NSFW)

Main Course is a successful chef and restaurant owner. Or he was, anyway, until a fire tore up his life's work and left him adrift. When he visits his sister in the rural backwater town of Ponyville, he discovers an abandoned building that's perfect for a quick fix-up so he can flip it for a profit. But the building comes with an unforeseen tenant, and when he lets her stick around he discovers that maybe, just maybe, there's something out there more important than wealth and fame.

Twilight Sparkle never was a Unicorn and she didn't even know it.
What happens when her true heritage comes to light? Will she willingly embrace it? Or will she be forced to?

Beware of spoilers in the comments!

Edited by uTTerAbsurdity, Zervziel, Stormwatch and Gwenio

Cover art by the talented Cartoonlion and colored by the equally talented Stormwatch, original can be found here

Click here for the Tvtropes page

It has been five years since he first arrived in Ponyville, and Spike has grown both physically and emotionally. Yet even though he's remained infatuated with Rarity for so long, he's bottled up his feelings, until reality hits him, and his depression forces him to make certain decisions he may later come to regret. Now he must face reality, and all that it entails, including his own reflection, whether he likes it or not.

Spike's choices, however, affect not only him, but those closest to him as well. The six ponies he holds closest to his heart will bear witness to his suffering, and they themselves shall know love at its best...

And at its worst...

Rated Teen, because, just in case. Sometimes it's better to be safe rather than sorry. No sex or gore, just in case you were wondering.

Planned out and written previous to the airing of My Little Pony : Friendship is Magic Season 2 Episode 17. Special thanks to SocraticBrony for all the help and inspiration!

All characters belong to Hasbro and Lauren Faust and blah blah blah, whatever, but the story is MINE. If you'd like to share it, or whatever, I'd ask you to please ask for my permission first.

This story is a sequel to An Affliction of the Heart Volume Three: Hybrid

Warden, the broken pegasus, his wife, Kuno the changeling, and their hybrid daughter, Swarm, continue their adventures in a wild, wacky world!