When Discord returned to Equestria, after a thousand years of restless imprisonment, he was the embodiment of insanity. When the good Ponies of the empire heard of his intentional release, they were flabbergasted. Why let this maniac roam free and wreak his "Chaos" everywhere? However, soon after his release Discord began to calm down. He was seen to possess a strong ethic and, an admittedly sporadic, reserve.

After a while Princess Celestia saw fit to put Discord to work, "for the good of Equestria." His most recent charge was to write a book on Chaos. Discord however, has other plans. He has been conflicted about the nature of his release and subsequent freedom. Ultimately he becomes obsessed with finding out the "real" reason he was freed.

Credit for the amazing cover art for this fic goes to the generous alexmakovsky on deviantart, and the image itself can be found here.

This takes place in a Season Four cannon that exists without Rainbow Power and ends before the Finale, hence the AU tag. I might try to figure out how to canonize it fully at some point, but I'm not holding my breath.

Luna has a secret.

A secret that she's kept close to her heart ever since her return from the moon, a secret she's hidden for so long that she's no longer even sure if it's real. At least until it returns to haunt her, and she has no choice but to confide in Celestia and hope her sister trusts that she hasn't gone mad.

It's time to tell Celestia about the circles.

We must have shared a womb.

Sometimes twins eat each other in the womb.

Gold medalist in the 1000 words contest (group / info). Category: grim

Warning: the following fic contains cannibalism. It is technically a spoiler, so proceed through all with caution.

When you have an accident-prone filly, you make her wear a helmet.
When you have an accident-prone filly who is incapable of feeling pain, you keep the hospital on speed dial.
When you have an accident-prone filly who is incapable of feeling pain and you have no insurance because you’re self-employed, you learn to take care of things yourself.

Because that’s what sisters do.

An entry for Bicyclette's 1000 words contest (group / info) in the "Grim" category.

In her dreams, it was always the same. A world of mirrors.

A gift for Snow Quill
CW: Some violence, themes of mental illness, blood

The star system Omega Centauri was just another oddity on a map to scientists in the not too distant future. However when they found the star was orbiting an earth-sized, earth-like planet instead of a black hole as its motion had suggested, a mission was scrambled to investigate this most unusual of celestial behaviors.

Hamstrung by politics, and nearly crippled before it began, the 'Lone Ranger' mission was reduced to just one crew member and left to his own devices.

These are the logs of Arrow 18 and its lone commander. This information is classified TOP SECRET by the Global Space Agency.

Do NOT tell the princess.

A strange mare arrives in Twilight’s library, claiming to be her future self—here to stop a terrible plague. But Twilight worries that this stranger’s bold claims may hide something more sinister.

Cover art by Cold in Gardez.

What if pony princesses were actually highly social carnivores?

What if a National Geographic team began following them around to film a documentary?

What if nopony saw anything unusual about this?

A metaphor about growing up. Or possibly a metaphor about living in a surveillance society. Or maybe just a very, very weird idea that needed to become a story.

Lazy Pines is a small town in the high country of Colorado, easily overshadowed by the bigger sights to see along Colorado State 9. When influenza strikes the town hard, it is little more than a statistical blip in a typical flu season. No one thinks any more of it as the initial wave of infection passes ... until the other symptoms begin to manifest.

Meanwhile, during what should have been a routine trip to Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle stumbles upon a strange anomaly which turns into an all-consuming mystery. As she discovers the complex web of magic stubbornly maintaining this mystery's secrets, she grows worried what it could mean for herself and her family.

And as the residents of Lazy Pines struggle to understand -- or even believe -- what is happening to them, two worlds have irrevocably been set on a direct collision course.

Updates every other weekend.

Cover art by Mix-up. Please check out more artwork by this talented artist.

Now has its own TV Tropes page thanks to redandready45.

Diamond Tiara always knew that someday she'd be invited to dine with the Princess at the Royal Palace. She didn't think it would happen like this.

But she's going to sit there and be polite and smile and not be bothered by all the ways this is all wrong. Because that's what good fillies do, and Diamond Tiara is a good filly now.

Right?

Cover art by iisaw.
Preread by SIGAWESOME.

Featured on Equestria Daily.
Featured on the Royal Canterlot Library.

Fanart!