With the defeat of Tirek and all of Equestria once again saved, life seems to return to normal. However, despite her best efforts, Princess Celestia has come under intense scrutiny for her decision to trust Discord into capturing Tirek before they go on a mad spree and deviatate the land. Now locked away in her room, she feels all the guilt of her failure as a ruler come back to haunt her. These doubts though are about to be corrected however by the same three alicorn princesses that she feels she had failed the most.

This story is a sequel to What Have You Done?

Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen, has taken her prize, unhindered by Equestria's precious heroes. Celestia is little more than another prisoner of war now. The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony are lost, and the Elements themselves have turned away from Equestria's plight. As the world they once knew begins to crumble, a single question is asked among the people as they look up at their fallen heroes.

There is no such thing as "miserably ever after," for someone will always be fighting for things to change. Hope doesn't die just because someone's turned off the lights. Truth doesn't vanish when deceit begins its reign, and Harmony can only shine brighter among chaos.
Even as this world falls, we'll work to build it up again.
Even as you lose yourself, you can find greater things within you.
Even as fear rises up like a tidal wave, we'll forge a sanctuary to stand against it.
Even as you break, someone will always be standing there next to you to carry you through it.

Cover art is by Odin-odin.
Story theme (Equestria in Grey) is by Omnipony.
Main Characters are Twilight, Velvet, Discord, Nightlight, Luna, and Chrysalis, in that order.
See you in the comments, my dear readers.

After the defeat of Tirek, Equestria is safe once more, but Luna can sense that her sister is troubled. When Celestia retreats to the starry realm of ascension in order to look upon the past, Luna joins her to discover what is bothering her.

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

‘Have you ever,’ she started, ‘broken a promise you made?’

Celestia and Luna live a carefree childhood at Canterlot Castle, but its end approaches far too quickly — no matter how much they struggle, they find themselves drifting apart. And without their noticing, a new evil rises that could drive a wedge between them for good...

"She is our Shield, the benevolent protector of all ponykind. This was not always so. She was once a ghost, unfortunate enough to be forged anew in the fires of fate, and cursed to bear a sharpened edge that our foes would do well to beware."

Spiritual companion to Pest Control.
Review by the magnanimous PaulAsaran!

"Beware Her wrath, fools who dare threaten our Kingdom. For if Celestia be our Shield, then Luna is the Sword."

Spiritual companion to Sweet Celestia.

"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.

A snapshot of the millennial lives of a young Celestia and Luna, as they prepare to do battle with Discord and fight to keep the Harmony they have only so recently mastered, and learn lessons they will struggle with all their days. In a journey that has no end, what matters most is who walks beside you.

The Wizard's Feast will be the first day Luna has seen her sister in weeks, and they have a lot to talk about.

Edit - I will revise this some time after the contest.

Luna has seen the dreams of ponies for centuries now. Happy dreams, sad dreams, dreaming of a secret crush, memories of a lost love, all that one can imagine. They all reflect the pony doing the dreaming, and sometimes she goes in to assist them in their problems.

But when she goes into the dream of Twilight Sparkle one night, the most beautiful sight is waiting for her inside.

Real author of story: Midnight Rose. Posted on here with permission.
Edited by myself, as well as Soothing Stone.

Cover image by 90Sigma.