Luna attempts to distract herself from the same frustrations that she once let ruin her life.

Diplomacy has failed. Six years have passed Equestria's crowning of the princess of friendship, ushering in a supposed unprecedented age of peace and harmony. The concept of warfare is, to most ponies, nothing more than an unfathomable legend. They have let their guard down.

An unknown enemy has seized the opportunity to attack Equestria with terrifying new weapons of war, bent on taking the fertile land and restoring an ancient order. The valiant efforts of the Royal Guard have given Princess Twilight and her arcane scientists time to research and develop a response to their attackers, and the time has come for that response to be implemented. Utilizing weapons and tactics borrowed from another world, five squads under the command of Princess Luna will infiltrate the forests of the Equestrian Northwest to destroy a revolutionary magical matrix that Twilight refers to as the "radio" - a tool that allows enemy ponies to communicate across vast distances instantly.

Nightmare Two is comprised of three foalhood friends who, rather than be separated from each other in the draft, volunteer to become one of the five Nightmare squads. With their bodies forever altered to suit the needs of their mission, the three young mares join legions of ponies armed with powerful weapons to partake in a horrifying new breed of warfare - Equestria's first in over one thousand years.

--

Heads up, folks. If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment alongside the thumbs-down, I'd appreciate it. This is my first foray into fan fiction and although it's a hobby I nonetheless wish to get better. :)

Got some FAQ's for you guys as well!

- Alternate universe in which the events of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did not occur. (As much as I loved it! :D)

- Numerical age tends to vary with headcanon, but the CMC here were just getting started with their adult lives when the draft went into effect.

- The war is pony v. pony, utilizing firearms and the Equestrian equivalent of a tank. The underlying headcanon is that ponies used firearms similar to muskets and tracked armored vehicles akin to our tanks in times of old, and what the enemy currently employs is essentially the natural progression of these technologies.

- There are no real-world weapons or equipment i.e. "Panzer IV," or "M16 assault rifle." Particularly acute details such as the caliber of weapons are also absent.

- Technology is based on that of WWI with some WWII elements. Firearms are primarily bolt-action.

- The "radio" spell matrix functions as what we know to be a radio, but is not identical.

- All four of a Night Mare's legs are permanently replaced by the augments.

- Night Mares are female. Stallions proved unable to properly animate the limbs.

--

Hold up, now - fanart? You guys rock. Like, for real. Thanks a lot!

1. A great YouTube video coming from The_Pegasus_Box. Thanks, bud!
Check it out!

2. Click here for the collection on DArt.

3. https://derpibooru.org/740375?scope=scpeac921b191f688d04521575f31608785cbc3bbaa1
[img]https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/10/740375__safe_anthro_apple+bloom_gun_artist-colon-pusspuss_night+mares.png[/img]

Celestia awakes for the first time, in a place she explores with fresh eyes. Why is she there? What is she meant to do?

It will come to her, she is sure of it.

This story is a sequel to Stardust

Everyone knows the story of Hearths Warming Eve. They know the tales of the three pony tribes and how their strife brought the Windigoes upon them, and how the Fires of Friendship saved them from their frozen fates. For countless generations the tale has been told, but how has it changed over those years?

Or is any of it true in the first place?

Only one pony knows, and Celestia would prefer that the past stay forgotten.

(Based on a 'What If' line of thought that was born from the Stardust storyline. While some familiarity with Stardust and Mente Materia doesn't hurt, this story can be enjoyed on its own)
(Coverart available soon from the amazing FoxInShadow!)
(Many thanks to Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Vandenbz, and Setokaiva for prereading!)
(Complete with it's own TVTropes page as part of the Stardust continuity)
(Character tags will be added as chapters are added!)
(Possible spoilers in the comments! BEWARE!)

Princess Twilight Sparkle has been losing her mind. She lives plagued by nightmares and hallucinations.

Discovering she's not alone, Twilight realizes Equestria may be in great danger. She seeks counsel with Princess Luna to discover the truth about her nightmares. However, Luna warns Twilight the knowledge she seeks will come at great personal cost.

Twilight Sparkle would give up anything to save Equestria, but how much will she sacrifice just to learn the truth?

Special thanks to Bradel for his editing advice.

When Rainbow and Rarity visit Canterlot, the last thing they expected to see was Fluttershy heading to a secret meeting. With a colt, no less. What else are a pair of curious girls to do but relentlessly stalk their shy friend for the rest of the day in the hope of seeing something a little less innocent than a mere date?

Nothing. They will do nothing else.

Cover art by the great dbkit on deviantart.

Twilight Sparkle is a happy pony. With the help of her friends she defeated Tirek. She has a shiny new castle, the kingdom is safe, and she knows the reason behind her ascension. What more could a young princess want?

She is happy, she tells herself as she digs through the ruins of her home. She is so happy she can barely smell the ashes any more.

But in those ashes she finds something unexpected: a small porcelain vase, and with it a decade's worth of unspoken questions. A mystery hiding beneath her hooves, waiting to be put to rest.

Winner of the November Writeoff event.

A snapshot of the millennial lives of a young Celestia and Luna, as they prepare to do battle with Discord and fight to keep the Harmony they have only so recently mastered, and learn lessons they will struggle with all their days. In a journey that has no end, what matters most is who walks beside you.

Unicorns are historically superior to other races.

Twilight finds out why.

Edited by Aragon and R5h, uniquely inspired by KitsuneRisu.

There are stories which define us. Stories that inspire us. And there are stories that damn us.

These are the Old Stories, tales from before the dawn of Equestria.

Spanish translation

The original EqD link is here: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/08/story-old-stories.html