Starlight Glimmer finds a spell that can bring ponies back from the dead for one day, from sunrise to sunset on the next day. As a surprise for the Apples, she decides to bring back Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh’s parents for a day.

This is the first installment in the Perfect Pear Chronicles.

The following story takes place in the Equestria at War universe. It contains major spoilers for the Dread League.

Rosa Maledicta. The name once struck fear into all who heard it, but now there was no one left to hear it.

Her Black Crusade against the living has just ended. She had done it. Everyone, everywhere, was dead. The world was empty. Now the self-proclaimed Queen of Bones stands atop her tower in Magehold, reflecting upon her experiences in life and unlife. It had taken a lot of work to get here, after all.

Yet...

Despite harboring an intense hatred for the living, she couldn't help but wonder...

Was it really worth it?

(Trigger warning: Death via falling from a great height as well as via blunt trauma)

Fluttershy's friends might call the gentle pegasus sensitive. But they don't know the half of it.

What is she always so afraid of, anyway?

And why is SHE the one pony who can go toe-to-toe with the Avatar of Chaos himself?

(Is this an AU? If it is, it's one that resembles canon a lot.)

All rulers eventually reach a point where they must take a life to save the realm. If a ruler is just, they will never know when it will happen, and will never do it lightly. Still, such actions are necessary. Princess Celestia knows this, and has given this lesson many times.

You can find a YouTube reading of this story here!

Princess Celestia is, compared to the average pony, unimaginably old. With this age comes an extreme amount of experience, wisdom, and a healthy tolerance to pain. That, coupled with a protective instincts of a mother for her nation means that when Chrysalis managed to burn her, a very hard and uncompromising side of Celestia was revealed.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Celestia is ruthless. She only goes as far as she needs to.

Violence Tag: Violence spoken of after the fact.
Dark Tag: Themes of war, attacks on civilians, and slavery.

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?

After dying in a train crash, Twilight finds herself offered a deal by the Reaper: a game of chess for her soul. Twilight accepts, but there's something off about the game. Something she can't put her hoof on.

But the answer to that question is just perfect for who she is.

Cover art is from the Poets of the Fall album Clearview.

No one alive today can say where she came from; simply that she has always been there.

And yet, few ponies have had a greater impact on Princess Celestia's life than Raven, her most faithful aide.

Inspired by and based off of a headcanon put forth by Heir-of-Rick, though perhaps a bit less insidious than what he had in mind. He very kindly provided an alternate version of his image for me to use as my cover image! Text added by me.

All comments and criticism very welcome!

Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library! Go there to read the interview for some behind-the-scenes info on this story!

Translations: Chinese, Spanish!

Rainbow Dash's morning was pretty much ruined.
She tripped getting out of bed and landed flat on her face, giving herself an aching muzzle.
She forgot to buy her favorite brand of hay flakes at the store yesterday and had to eat plain toast for breakfast.
She found out she had to pull double-duty today and tomorrow on the weather patrol.
Oh, and she found a nearly-dead foal, broken and bleeding at the edge of Ponyville.

The rest of her day became a whirlpool of stress and worry but the colt woke up, thank Celestia.
Something's not right, though. Nopony can find his parents, he's not in the registers, and there's an unsettling look in his eye...

-
YouTube reading by Fire Hearth

Chinese Translation by forgivenlove

Russian Translation by Likantrop

TV Tropes page, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

A myth of ancient Equestria. When the God of Breaking Rules loses his love, a mortal mare, he goes on a quest to break the most sacred rule of the gods, the law of life and death, and return her to the world of the living. Whatever it takes.

And it's going to take everything.

(Note: the gore tag doesn't apply to the whole thing, mostly just to chapter 3, and it's written like a myth, not with a lot of detail or realism, but I thought I'd best include the tag to be safe. There's also actually sex, but it's *so* non-explicit that I actually thought adding the tag would be misleading. If folks think it belongs, I can add it on.)

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