Twilight has given you a new book to read. Well, she didn't exactly give it to you, you actually just found it in the back of the library. Behind a shelf. On the ground. It looks very old, downright ancient, and it smells like moss and rot. The binding is a little cracked, and there's no title on it. You can't help but wonder what might be inside, and the only way to find out is to keep reading.

Just turn the page.

You can do that much, can't you?

Please?

WARNING: This story contains brief depictions of blood, mild violence, and death, and has ARG aspects to it. It plays with formatting, and includes images. Some "pages" are long, some are only a few words. It is written in first person, to you, the reader, and is a slow mellow horror. You've been warned.

This story relies on unusual formatting for some parts, and thus may not be as enjoyable on a tablet or phone, or if you have specialized custom Fimfic settings.

If you post spoilers, hints, or answers in the comments, please be sure to spoiler them out or warn others. You don't want to ruin the fun, right?

Audio reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28TqbHFchLg

Night One

"Why is she standing out there? What does she want?"

Night Two

"There's something off about her...."

Night Three

"That's not Fluttershy..."

"Applejack?"
"Yes Twi?"
"I found this book outside the Everfree Forest... It seems to be Apple Bloom's diary."
"Mah sis kept a Diary? Does it say what happened to her?"
"...Yes..."

TheLostNarrator did a fantastic reading of this story some time ago; find it here.
Now with a reading in Finnish, courtesy of DubbiKnight.
And a reading by Lotus Moon.

Cheerilee and her new acquaintance, Starlight Glimmer, decide to talk about themselves in the café when they run into each other on a nice day.

Written for the May Pairings Contest 2023

She wanted peace. She wanted diplomacy. She wanted harmony and friendship.

She got war.

With the armies of the Changeling Lands marching through Equestria, overwhelming any and all resistance they encounter, Princess Celestia has had to resort to increasingly drastic measures to save her country and the ponies that live in it. But while her sister leads the armies from the front and her ponies fight and die in the name of princesses and country, Celestia feels useless and inadequate in Canterlot. After all, she was supposed to protect her precious little ponies. How had she failed them so badly?

Those doubts and worries gradually gnaw away at her, day after day and month after month. Until one day, she reaches a tipping point, the point of no return:

She will save Equestria, no matter what it takes.

[An Equestria at War story]

Edited by LoyalLiar and SolidFire
Art by TwoTail813

River Swirl is many things. A born riverlander, a capable and accomplished student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, a teacher, and finally, the Chancellor of the River Republic.

Or, she was, at least.

Life always puts hurdles in your way to overcome, and yet, when River Swirl is voted out of office, a dream comes crashing down for her. A project she had dreamed of for so long flushed down the drain along with her career.

But she knows there has to be more to herself. More than a politician, no matter her good intentions. She always wanted to bring her ponies forward, to a brighter future. Perhaps now she can go back and look at the past, and find out just where she went wrong. A past that was as troubled as it was great.

And perhaps even the most vague of bonds of years gone by can yet grow into something far greater.

River Swirl and the locations described in this story belong to the Equestria at War alternate universe. Knowing it is not required for this oneshot, but this is where you should go if you're wondering about location names and such.

After finishing her portion of the day's harvest in record time, Applejack heads home early to check on how Apple Bloom's doing alone in their house. What she discovers once she gets there shocks her right to her core, and what happens afterwards changes the way she sees her little sister forever.

First runner-up in Obselescence's The Most Dangerous Game contest, using the prompt "An OC and a major canon character (in this case, Apple Bloom) fall in love with each other."

Daybreaker: the monster in Celestia's heart, and the age-long mystery of her life. Her friend and tormentor, her companion and foe. Fanatically devoted to their future, yet desiring one horrific to Celestia.

It is growing stronger.