Reeling from the loss of her brother, Twilight has slipped into depression so deep that even reading the most cheerful romance novel can't make her smile in the least bit. Her marefriend of four years, Fluttershy, has gotten more and more worried as the days passed. Perhaps she has a sweet surprise for our depressed unicorn.

This is my entry for the TwiShy Group August Dual Contest. This follows both possible prompts.

My ponies are starving. Everywhere I look, I see hungry foals with mothers unable to feed them. And without enough moonlight for our food to grow, it has forced my hoof. I must declare war on Equestria.

When I lost my sight, I became a recluse. I hid away, staying in my own world instead of out in the one meant for those with sight. But when Princess Celestia had me move to Ponyville, I had to adjust to a new walk of life, again intended for those with sight. I guess I'm doing okay, thanks to a certain pegasus mare whose kindness and gentle voice got through to me where everyone else has failed.
Rating may be subject to change at later points in the story.
((Cover art done by VGmaster78. Go give him some love.))

Immortality comes with a hefty price. Stuck in this miserable, lifeless body I'm forced to endure many years in silence and isolation. The only thing I have to look forward to is a pony who insists on talking to me, even if I cannot hear her. I am a dragon, an immortal, the one who died for the one I loved. Who is this mare?

Perhaps her words will reach me someday.

My name is Sunburst, and I live my life alone, because I prefer it that way.

Not everypony does.

For some ponies, in fact, that's more like a long slow death sentence.

I've received orders to a posting as a royal guard. My duty as a member of the guard is to protect the princess. Traditionally, that's taken to mean against physical threats. Less traditionally, I'm coming to a realization that it may mean assisting in other ways - maybe even in ways she's not aware that she needs. Normally I would say it's not our place to intervene in personal matters. But when you see as plain as the hoof in front of your face that something is wrong, sometimes it finally brings you to the point at which standing by and doing nothing is simply no longer an option.

Day by day, I'm getting closer to that point.

I may have to make a hard decision. I don't know if this is right or wrong. All I know is that watching my princess suffer is impossible to bear when I'm supposed to be protecting her.

Approved by Twilight's Library on July 26, 2014!
Featured on Equestria Daily on February 5, 2015!

It's the third day moonrise in Canterlot High.
Sunset Shimmer has all of the power, but still hasn't gotten a clue. She steps through the portal to Equestria, thinking she's got it all figured out, but quickly finds out that's not the case.

Canterlot is experiencing some of the coldest weather it's had for the past few winters. The Christmas break has just finished and the thoughts of the holiday are starting to fade.

After the first day back to school, Sunset Shimmer runs across one of the Dazzlings, homeless and starving. On such a dangerously cold night, she takes compassion on the Siren and brings her home. Can her experiences help bring Aria out of the gutter? Will the Siren accept her help or, perhaps, her friendship?

Partly influenced by the insanely cold weather that my area experienced earlier this month.

Thanks to AShadowOfCygnus for pre-reading.

Cover art is ~Aria Blaze ~ by lorrainiaful. Used with permission.

She had simply wanted recognition. Equality. Nothing more. She had never wished to be the cause of so much war and strife in a land once prosperous and peaceful.

Stricken by guilt and fearful of the judgment of her subjects, Luna, with the reluctant help of Nightmare Moon, sets out to remedy her mistakes and return the sunlight to Equestria, no matter what the consequences may be.

Meanwhile, as an ancient foe is awakened, and the changeling race is all but extinct, only their young and reluctantly crowned Queen Chrysalis stands against the total annihilation of her species.

Thanks to Darkflame75 for the coverart.

Centuries ago, Clover the Clever recorded in her personal diary the events surrounding the origins and early lives of Celestia and Luna. Now, thanks to the princesses' gracious consent and the scholarship of Twilight Sparkle, this account may now be read by modern Equestrians.

Octavia Melody's love of music has revolved around a single influential and prestigious work of art, the song May Our Sun Shine Forever. Since she was a filly, what has been the Equestrian national anthem for generations has continually inspired Octavia to perform, shaping her into the promising cellist she is today. Though the completed original was lost to the passage of time, the remnants of the final masterpiece composed by the Grand Maestro Glissando has been the cornerstone of not only Octavia's career, but modern music theory in Equestria.

When the tattered remains of an ancient songbook possibly containing the original song in its entirety is found, the Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts and Princess Luna begin planning a concert series to celebrate the work's eventual restoration. However, their meeting screeches to a halt once Princess Celestia vehemently forbids anypony from playing the original in the concert and demands its restoration to cease immediately. Octavia Melody finds herself at a loss, wondering why the princess of the sun would silence such a beautiful song meant to bring light to the world.

Proofread and Edited by TheAncientPolitzanian and various others over the years of trying to fix this thing.
Cover Art Depressing Melody by TertonDA
Updated 02/27/24