They say that reading it will send a pony to insanity. Twilight knows that's nonsense.
She knows a simple story can't make her go mad. It's perfectly safe.
Now if only she felt safe around Spike...

Winner of the Ponyfest 3.0 Iron Author Competition. This was originally written in 2 hours with the prompt: Include: Hippogriffian Culture, A Rare Fruit & An Artistic Pursuit. This version has received some editing.
Many thanks to wishcometrue for her editing and Syke for helping with the descriptions!

Autumn Blaze is thrilled when she receives a parcel from her best (and only) friend, Applejack. But when she sees the cutie marks of Applejack's parents emblazoned on the bottles within, a memory is triggered. A memory Autumn wishes that she could forget...

Winner of the the Quills and Sofas duos speedwriting contest. Written in 90 minutes in partnership with Red Parade.

This story is a sequel to Pray, Hope and Wander

Case Report: Update - May 2nd
Submitted by: Verdant Vines
Location: Ponyville
Date: May 2nd
Case: Ponyville Mass Disappearance (#3467)
Classification: Top Secret

White Clover,

Given the new writings included in the addendum to the provided journal transcription, I’ve elected to continue our investigation through conversing with whoever, or whatever, is on the other side of it. They claim to be Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student. I’d like to request that Princess Celestia is not informed of this possibility until we can verify their identity.

As such, from this day forward I will be sending daily reports before sundown with transcription of our conversations, along with any thoughts I have. Included with these documents is a formal request of personnel transfer for Doctor Blue Sky to my team in order to assist with any psychological evaluations related to the writer of the journal. His team will continue to support evaluations of personnel working the case.

Special thanks to FloydienSlip, Petrichord, and KorenCZ11 for their help with feedback.

A print version of all the stories in this series can be found here. (There is currently a printing error I am working to correct. This will be available again soon.)

After four harrowing years of civil war brought about by Nightmare Moon's return, Canterlot has finally fallen. Princess Celestia has been banished to the moon, and now a new alicorn rules over Equestria. For the supporters of Nightmare Moon, the new eternal night is a time for celebration. For the ponies who fought for Celestia, it means something else entirely. For when the war is lost and the victor demands fealty, the vanquished are given only two choices: bow low and kiss the ground beneath her hooves, or die.

Not everpony who bows does so out of love for the conqueror, of course. Some do it to bide their time. Some do it out of a sense of opportunity. Most bow merely to survive. All of them are liars. But how long can a pony tell the same lie before it becomes the truth?

And what happens to that pony when their lies are lies no more?

Edited by SolidFire. Inspired by the Nightmare Moon timeline in the season 5 finale, a particular scene from a particular show, and an entertaining game of Equestria at War.

Twilight's first Winter Wrap Up in Ponyville had a rocky start. Things took a turn for the better when she assumed control over the planning and organization, but after a stressful morning and with an all-nighter in front of her, she was afraid it might all be for naught. Luckily Applejack was there and knew Twilight needed a chance to take a break and recharge.

She needed a visit to the Thinkin' Spot.

Editing by Formerly Committed and JetstreamGW.

When Fluttershy went to bed, she was a normal mare. When she woke up, she could see numbers floating over everypony's heads. They were timers, each one counting down to some unknown event. Most ponies had timers that wouldn't end for years, some for many decades. But everypony had different numbers.

So why does Rainbow Dash's timer end in three hours?

Editing provided by TheMaskedFerret and SolidFire.
Cover art by HopefulSparks!
Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI!

This story is a sequel to Order from Chaos

Worker has found happiness, health, and most importantly, home. Now he struggles to defend those who made his new life possible while he wrestles with his own demons.
A belated sequel to Order from Chaos.
Concluded in Hope.

This story is a sequel to Justice

Worker's dreams have taken a turn for the worse. Feeling trapped, unable to talk about his experiences and unable to stop the near-nightly terrors, he wonders if he should reach out to the Princesses. It never occurs to him that these nightmares might be something more.
This is the final story of a trilogy. The first part is Order from Chaos, and the second is called Justice.

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

Discord says goodbye.

Spanish: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Un-ultimo-chasquido-862607171 (Thanks Kiwi)