Nightmare Moon wishes to rule. But be careful what you wish for...

=====Originally Written Summer 2011=====EQD Post=====
Cereal Velocity should really be careful what he posts up on Equestria Daily. A one-shot of an Octavia story Cereal wanted to see written.

Octavia may be a gifted musician, but that doesn't mean she always liked her instrument. After all, what filly grows up wanting to play a huge contrabass?

Twilight and her five friends are transported during a botched spell, across dimensions to... Ponyville, Equestria? But not the same one that they knew. Sitting on a bench is Harpsy and Babar. The Doctoress avoids apples from an aspiring Applebuck. And in a library across town, six stallions join their forces as they try to decipher the appearance of filly look-alikes of themselves around Ponyville!

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

==Originally written Fall 2011== Equestria Daily Post==
After a long day of ruling Equestria, the Royal Sisters need a chance to unwind. Luna's solution is a few glasses of her once famous Moonshine, a drink distilled from moonlight. Celestia has been sober for a thousand years, but the temptation to have "just one" glass proves too great. Yet, when that one glass turns into several, it's Twilight who will have to deal with the princesses when they’re drunk off their flanks.

==Originally written spring 2011== Equestria Daily Post==
GLaDOS is free of Chell, free to continue testing, when she discovers a portal gun Wheatley tried to repair with duct tape. When the portal gun catastrophically fails, the enrichment center, GLaDOS, and Chell are literally dropped in the middle of Equestria. The mute test subject soon finds the world of ponies far more welcoming than the human world. But GLaDOS sees possibilities. Let the testing begin... for science.

My name is Canvas. I remember because I wrote it in the corner of the white box. It takes twelve steps to get from the cot to the wall. And the lights hurt my eyes.

(Note: The story isn't in color because I decided to try this without the gimmick! But I still recommend reading the GDocs version.)

Twilight Sparkle may believe in Pinkie Pie's myriad abilities, but when an opportunity to study them from a perspective she never thought possible arises, how can she resist the chance at the understanding she's always truly wanted? More importantly, can Ponyville survive the trade-off necessary for this opportunity?

When your life is as dull a gray as the world that surrounds you, the mundanities can make it all seem meaningless. Sometimes all we need is a little color -- or six -- to reintroduce us to what truly makes life worth living.

*6-16-2017 Edit, added Rainbow Dash tag because it triggered knighty.*

How long can it take to learn a simple lesson? A day, a week, a year? What if you are an immortal goddess, charged with the well-being of an entire realm? How difficult can a simple lesson be? Well, how many grains of sand are there in all the beaches in all the world, or how many stars?

Some simple lessons take an age to learn.