One foggy morning in Ponyville, the residents wake up to find their deepest darkest secrets sloppily written in red paint on their homes. No one knows who the culprit was, the only thing that the town knows is that it will not come off, no matter how hard you scrub. The town is baffled, humiliated, and in shambles. But no more than Twilight and her friends.

In a time where everything you fought to keep hidden is out into the open, will you embrace your faults or sins, or will you let them consume just who you really are?

Time to fess up, Ponyville.

Thanks to ThePristineEye for the coverart!

Also thanks to Kleora for editing!

Oh, and Skeeter The Lurker for proofreading.

Princess Celestia has been keeping a dark secret from her subjects for a very long time.

It's not an easy truth to tell, but if anyone can accept her after learning it, it will surely be her most faithful student.

Third Place Finisher in Equestria Daily's 2013 Nightmare Night Contest!

After Celestia humiliates her at a dinner, Luna storms off and ends up snooping around in her sister's room. There, she stumbles upon the journal Celestia kept immediately after the banishment of Nightmare Moon.

Cover art by bunnish on dA.
This story now has a reading by Craft Arts. Go check it out!
Featured on Equestria Daily on August 22, 2013.

Twilight wakes in the middle of the night, haunted by a terrifying dream—one that's not so hard to see coming true. One that whispers of a grand destiny awaiting her as a reward for all her hard work, discipline, and noble sacrifice.

But what if she doesn't want a grand destiny?

Power. Notoriety. Money. Drugs. Mares. Fear. Weapons. Racing chariots. Blood. Respect.

...Pipsqueak?!

This is the tale of how one little colt inherits the largest criminal organization in the history of Equestria, and manages to turn the underworld on its head...

A collaborative effort between the Esteemed Scholar of Debauchery, Mister Moniker, and myself. If that wasn't motivation enough, you are sad and I no longer wish to speak with you.

After learning some shocking news about how long she's going to live now that she's an Alicorn (namely, forever), Twilight summons her friends to let them know that their time together is limited. However, their reactions to this information are not quite what she was expecting...

After Derpy is late home several nights in a row, Dinky makes a sad discovery about why her mother works so hard. Being the clumsiest pony in town can be a costly problem, but Dinky wants to help fix things for her Mommy.

While having tea together, Celestia asks Twilight an important question that could change the meaning of their relationship forever. And create a pretty awkward silence as well.

Thanks to my editors Selbi and Hobbes for all their help!

"All my life, I've wanted to fly
But I don't have the wings, and I wonder why
I can't break away..."
Most pegasi figure out flying easily enough. Heck, most of them figure out how to do it before they even get their cutie marks.

But not me. I couldn’t do it, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t even hover. Not for more than a few seconds, anyway. And not even Rainbow Dash, the greatest flier in Equestria, could seem to help me. We tried everything, and I failed every time. Day after day, I tried – and day after day, I failed, until finally I was ready to just give up. I’d never be able to do it. Nopony would ever be able to help me to fly...

...until one day, somepony did.

There are things you just don't say. Some lines you just don't cross, ever. The reason you don't cross them is because of empathy: you know how bad it feels to hear certain things, and you know you wouldn't like it if you heard it yourself. This is a view not shared by everypony.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon crossed the line. Rarity learns of it. Rarity is not amused.

Everypony draws their line in the sand somewhere.

Disclaimer: contains Rarity in a state of barely lucid rage as well as the use of harsh words. Also Cheerilee being as effective as she is in the show, on average. If you do not enjoy episodes like Ponyville Confidential or any other episode where ponies talk harshly to each other, chances are this'll ruffle some feathers.

If this resembles real life situations or anyone you know, this is not the author's intent nor the author's problem.

Added notice 10/12/13: No, not based on any Season 4 storyline or spoilers, it's an old idea. The spoiler just prompted the publishing.

Added 2021 notice: please check the author's notes before commenting, chances are you'll find some answers there.