Fiddlesticks walks the dead earth of the Badlands, and plays her song to the listening shadows.

(Audio version by Illya Leonov AKA Morgan Freepony.)

Princess.

Some hear the word and think of power. Others take it further. To move Sun, to create the cycle of day and night... surely that indicates something more. Something which can be called on. Pleaded with.

Celestia knows what ponies believe about her. She also knows there's no way to make them stop. Because there are times when the most powerful weapon against despair is faith...

...and the blade is always double-edged.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

"Do you understand the price of disobedience? Find the pieces. Retrieve the pieces. You have two hours. Do not disobey."

Nightmare Moon won. She defeated Celestia, broke the Elements, banished the sun. This all happened a very long time ago. So long ago, that she has had plenty of time to change her mind.

Of course, fixing our mistakes is never so simple, and never without consequences. Even with particularly potent help.

"If you came to conquer, you'll be king for a day. / But you too will deteriorate and quickly fade away."
— "No Control" by Bad Religion

A big thanks to Craine, Sorren, and Idylia for prereading and editing. If you enjoyed the story, don't forget to check out their pages.

Equestria Daily
Royal Canterlot Library (FIMfic version)
Russian translation by Doof
Chinese translation by Dreams Set Free

Kitsune Heart has done a dramatic reading of this story! Find it over here.
ObabScribbler has done a dramatic reading of this story! It includes a full cast of voice actors. Find it over here.

Comments contain spoilers.

Tirek's free subscription to Better Lairs and Landscaping magazine nearly led to the end of Equestria as we know it.

Berry Punch made a mistake, and now she has a problem. A little problem that could grow into a big problem. Question is, her artist friend Happy says, is it the kind of mistake that needs fixing? Or the kind where fixing it would be another mistake?

Poets Corner, the proprietor of the popular hangout Corner Books and unofficial poet laureate of Ponyville, has died of natural causes. His wife disappears, unwilling to bear the burden of his death and what it means. With the town in disarray over the recent flooding, very few ponies even bother to attend. Twilight and Rarity, however, are there, and Rarity soon finds that she cannot shake her friend's last admonition.

Celestia is thousands of years old, and has experienced almost everything the world has to offer. But there's one ordinary thing she's never experienced, and she's determined to ask Twilight about it.

Spanish translation by F3n1x here.

A group of ponies experience a breakdown on their morning commute.

The Tunnel of Love is a magical and romantic place in the Everfree Forest, and Twilight intends to find out about it first hoof. With Applejack by her side, it seems like the perfect time to talk to her friend about the feelings she's been having.

But when it turns out that Applejack has been through the tunnel before, and has no interest in going through again, Twilight's hopes and dreams are tested by a deeper understanding of the tunnel and what it shows.