After a long time--she would be more precise but Twilight has lost track of time--she emerges from the dark of the library. Her candles are burnt down to nubs. There is no food left in her pantry and furthermore, no coffee. So she goes to seek both.

And finds the town changed. Or is it Twilight who has changed?

I've been wearing a mask. For how long i'm not certain. Someday that mask will come off. Either i'll remove it willingly or it'll fall off at the worst moment. Until then i'll just write the letters which i'll never send.

Warning: Suicidal and depressive thoughts

Now with audio reading Dear Princess Celestia

Lovingly edited by one of my best friends Jumbled

As the apocalypse descends, Celestia flies upwards to give it battle.

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]

When Twilight visits Celestia's private hall of stained-glass windows, each bearing the image of a long-gone friend, one in particular catches her eye.

Who was this pony?

Why was she so important to Celestia?

And why does she look so familiar?

There is now a Spanish translation of this story, courtesy of Spaniard Kiwi

Mayor Mare had a life before politics, but she sacrificed it for the greater good. She can't have it both ways, of course… except that Twilight says the exact opposite.

Expanded version of a minific that tied for 16th of 101 in the /fic/ write-off "The Best Medicine."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Redemption is rarely the end of the story. Princess Luna was given another chance, saved from an eternity of darkness by a lone unicorn. Without Twilight Sparkle, the world will tremble before the mare who rocked the world with her betrayal in days long past.

Winner of the Second TwiLuna Contest

Featured on May 18, 2014

Featured on EquestriaDaily September 11, 2014

Finally, after years of begging, Celestia gives Twilight permission to access the Forbidden Wing of the Royal Library, a wing so secret even the other princesses can't access it. Twilight rushes to Canterlot, excited for the research potential.

Then she finds those books…

(There's an FAQ here. Please read that before commenting.)

When Bon-Bon has to leave Ponyville for a while to deal with a family crisis in Manehattan, Lyra writes her a letter every day. And every day, she gets a letter back. What could possibly be wrong with such loving devotion?

So why is everyone growing steadily more worried about her?

Written for the 2014 Friend-Off on EQD. Based on this picture.

Reviewed by Singularity Dream here.

A story about two alicorn sisters who love each other, and the worst decision they never made.

Now with FIMFic-exclusive bonus material!

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(Featured in the Everfree NW 2012 conbook • Featured on EqD • ★★★★ rating from One Man's Pony Ramblings)