Many decades ago—perhaps even centuries now—a realization hit me. To this day it haunts my thoughts. Time has us all in its thrall. Though my body may resist its ever-present pestilence, that does not make me immune to the inevitable decay.

I keep these troubling thoughts locked away, hidden where no eye may cast its gaze on them. But that does not mean that they do not exist, or that they do not weigh heavily on my mind. Every so often they come back to plague me, to remind me that even I cannot escape time. All I can do is mitigate the erosion; it's all anypony can do.

Thanks to my pre-readers WickedLSDragon and Regina Wright. A big thank you goes out to Cerulean Voice for editing.

On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid in her escape... It was not a prophecy. It was a promise.

Nightmare Moon's release has been a thousand years in the making. Celestia has prepared for it as best she could, but, as time runs out, she is forced to rely on her unprepared student. From her point of view, this is Celestia's Gambit.

Cover art by Thiefofcookies.

A devastating blaze sweeps through Ponyville, leaving desolation in its wake. Now the citizens of Ponyville are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and find a way to move forward.

A special thanks to my proofreader, RaylanKrios.

Twilight finds herself desperately seeking Uranus.

Because we all need to let our inner twelve year-old loose every once in a while. Posted in response to a challenge by MythrilMoth and all blame goes to him.

Queen Chrysalis sees an opportunity to break up the Elements of Harmony before they spoil another one of her brilliant plans to rule all of Equestria. Since all of them are unmarried mares, all she needs to do is get them fighting over a stallion. And if one stallion isn't enough, she sends one male changeling for each of them, plus a spare.

Too bad she didn't think this one through first.

Editors: Tek, Peter

Vector credits: Wiki, Bocchinocullen (sign), Ackdari (changeling)

[ Inspired off Season 5 Finale - Nightmare Moon Verse ]
Social reject, blank flank, and failed candidate for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, Twilight Sparkle's life couldn't get anymore depressing even if she tried. Yet still she looks to the other things in her life to get by, such as her job selling donuts at Joe's Bakery, her best friend Smarty Pants, as well as her inspiration to someday be as great as The Great and Powerful Trixie herself! Life isn't as bad as it may seem, and she enjoys the simplicity of her daily routine, the peace of her recluse world. That is until suddenly she is targeted by the current ruling body of Equestria, Nightmare Moon herself!? Perhaps she spoke too soon. Better run Twilight, destiny is calling!

In the aftermath of her battle against Tirek, Twilight Sparkle is unwell. She wants more. She needs more. And she is afraid of what others might think of her.

But even in the midst of her growing despair that she has betrayed everything she stood for, she learns something about friendship and what it means to be an alicorn.

A few hours after saving the Friendship Games, Sunset Shimmer and her good friend Twilight Sparkle are relaxing on the CHS lawn. The two are so close that Sunset finally feels like she can ask a question that's been on her mind for a while.

"Can I go home?"

Something's going on. First, Applejack comes in Thursday and says we should go to Manehattan this weekend, then the second she steps hoof off the train, she starts dressing up, drops the accent, and says we should take in a show. I'm not sure what's going on, I think it's got something to do with her snooty aunt and uncle, but whatever it is, I'm going to get to the bottom of it, or my name isn't Rainbow Dash.

Disclaimer: To readers not familiar with the Orchestra-verse, Sweetie and Scootaloo are the leads in their own story, and they've come a long way from their show counterparts. This story is perfectly accessible without reading those works, just know they'll be behaving differently than they would in the show (and are substantially older, though that's a bit more obvious in the story).

Contest Categories:
Deepest Darkest Secrets
A Place Outside Ponyville

As always, special thanks go out to Seether00 and EquesTRON for wading into the weeds of my drafts and hacking away at all the typos, grammar editors, and just plain bad decisions. My stories would be all the poorer without them.

It is in the moment of our greatest need that we become the most susceptible to change. But sometimes, what you have to offer, might not be enough, even if you are a princess who has seen more suffering than any other pony in this world.

When a young life is in danger, it is up to Luna and Rainbow to help overcome what is the result of their own shortcomings.

Proofreaders: Kevinltk, twilight-the-pony. Thank you so much!

Image by Famosity