Fluttershy's sent a letter to Rarity: ‘Please come and visit me tomorrow. I don’t know what to do.’

She's found something on the borders of the Everfree. A changeling. But what is she supposed to do with it, now she's brought it into her home?

This is horror, folks. If that is not your bag then I am pretty sorry! This is emphatically not in the same universe as my other fics.

Image by CruiserPL.

As the details surrounding the Canterlot Invasion don't add up, Twilight investigates the suspicious disappearance of a guard during the attack.

"Celestia may deny it, but Nightmare Moon is Luna. She must accept the hard truth, warts and all."

Celestia does not want her sister to harbor a monster deep inside but her desires do not make it so. We all have our demons, our issues, our closets crawling with skeletons. We all have our warts, our scars, our problems and yet, there are those that love us anyway...

Or rather, they should.

I, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, was a paragon of my kind. I was the greatest military ruler my people have ever known. I was mere months from conquering the most prosperous nation in the world.

Then a strange dragon rose from the stone, and everything changed.

I do not think of conquest any more. Now, I think of persimmons.

[AU fic where Discord decided to wreak bloody vengeance when he was first released. Heavily based on (BUT NOT CANON TO) the wonderful alarajroger's Elements of Opposition continuity. Go check that out, because it's fantastic and better than this story.]

The graffiti did not bother her. The art of vandalism was, in some form or another, as old as civilization itself. The content, on the other hoof, was an entirely different issue. “Princest Is Wincest,” it said. Bad grammar and spelling were one thing, but this was an attack on the Equestrian language.

Luna frowned. She would have to ask Celestia about this at the first opportunity. Perhaps there were spare funds for a literacy program. If nothing else, Tia might be able to explain what exactly the phrase meant.

Thanks to Wade and Sereg for prereading. Thanks to Burraku_Pansa and especially Midnight Rambler for editing.

Dramatic reading, courtesy of CaptainBron3y.

What does it mean to be immortal? Celestia has lived for too long. Her memories are old. She has seen many ponies, and many places, and many times, and many stars, and many dreams. She wakes one night to find she does not know the ponies and the stars of today from the ponies and the stars of any other day she has lived. She no longer knows what was real and what was only dreamed.

She desperately searches for the one pony she knows could not have been a dream.

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.

After receiving an urgent letter from Princess Celestia concerning a grave danger to Equestria, Twilight Sparkle undergoes a crisis of faith. Can she perform a grim task for her beloved mentor, even if it means sacrificing all that she cares about?

Based on a story prompt by TraleRayne. Extra special thanks to Dream of Ponies and Noble Jury.

Daring Do has never turned away from a challenge. But when she finds herself trapped beneath an ancient temple with a haunted artifact, she may end up wishing she'd stayed home instead.

First place story in the Equestria Daily 2013 Nightmare Night Contest!

An alarm sounds. There's a planet nearby. I wonder if anyone can hear me.