"Terror strikes Ponyville as an undead ruler roams the streets! Its shops and houses lay abandoned at her moaning hooves, and only one brave soul can save it! Will she have the heart though?"

"...Pinkie, shut up."

Written a couple weeks back, so none of my followers worry, please.

A rough comic rendition done by my patreon partner Knotted. Final will not be coming, as we have too much else to work on, so he provided the cover instead.

This story is a sequel to Seashell

I never thought I would see the Seawall again. Fate, though, seems to enjoy odd twists. Thirteen years ago, it was roses. Now it's feathers. Somehow they've both brought me back to this place, back to the edge of the world to where I really belong most of all.

My name is Sunburst, and as a guard of Princess Twilight, her student Azure Sky is both one of the ponies I protect and my friend. I watched her grow up. I, and everypony else, thought we knew exactly where she was headed in life. It seemed so obvious - how could the personal student of a princess have anything but the brightest of futures? We were all so sure.

What did we really know?

A happy life, a good life, can't be built on a lie. The heart of a unicorn and the heart of a pegasus are different things in some ways, but in the ones that really matter, they're the same. Nopony can endure the misery of an existence devoid of real meaning in their hearts, going through empty motions they feel nothing for, dead on the inside. I think all ponies, deep down inside where it counts, are the same in this way. That's what Azure and I needed to learn, here on the edge of the world, so that I could help her share the things she so desperately needed to find a way to give voice to.

Approved by Twilight's Library on December 11, 2014!

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!

Long ago, Commander Hurricane set an example that still resonates with all pegasi who fall in love with their ground bound kin. Every pegasus knows the story, the tradition is deeply engrained and held dear to their hearts.

Now, if only Twilight could curb her curiosity long enough to enjoy and appreciate just how important she is to Rainbow.

Pre-reading and editing assistance by Melon Hunter and Timaeus.

Art originally by ELZZombie

The Glorious Thousand were the ones who stayed. They were the ones who fought. They were the ones who died so that others may live. This was their final moment of respite, in the face of certain death. Here they waited, at the end of it all.

For years, Twilight Sparkle and Queen Chrysalis have been at each other's throats. Both have experienced victory over the other, and both have experienced defeat. Out of all the creatures in Equestria, none despise each other the way the pony Princess and changeling Queen do. They seemed destined to remain locked in battle forever, or at least until one is finally dead at the hooves of the other. The cruel insults, the vicious loathing, and the powerful spells that have passed back and forth between them at each meeting have become the stuff of legend.

Imagine Twilight's surprise when she finds out changelings consider this dating.

And now they're married.

***

Sequel: Pony Courtship Rituals

***

Some beautiful fanart of the end of chapter three was done by Dmann892; you can see it here.

More awesome fanart, this time from chapter one.

Now with a TvTropes page (obligatory TvTropes warning goes here).

If you want a Russian translation, you can find it here.

There is now a reading of the story on Youtube, which starts here.

The nightmare of that evening haunts my every waking moment.

A flash of light.

Her powerful form with wings spread wide before me…

She was not just my mentor.

She was also my best friend and for that I will always be grateful for knowing her not as a Princess of Equestria, but as Celestia… The only one who really understood me...

But now? Now I can never tell her how much I truly loved her and how much she meant to me.

They took her away from me.

So I will take everything away from them.

There is a sequel! D=S-M2 and side story! D=S-M: Emerald Mirror

((Somehow Featured on: 12/03/2014 and again on the 06/07/14... mad.

Much love and all credit to the artist: Ventious who owns that picture and is all kinds of awesome. While I have yet to get permission (working on that one at some point), I will remove the picture if the artist demands it so.

And much thanks to these guys for helping me edit/proof and generally bounce ideas about this monstrosity: Grammar Nazi Tach, Discorded Discord,Curify, Lord Inquisitor
TheAccidentalBrony))

[Featured on EqD and FiM Fiction] Chrysalis is brought to Canterlot to stand trial for her failed invasion. Thinking her fate is sealed, she is determined to be defiant to the very end. Loosely based on March to the Scaffold, the 4th movement of the musical piece Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz.
All links to the music pieces are in the Author Notes.
Dramatic reading of the entire story by Illya Leonov
Dramatic reading of Chapter 1 by xPsychoShyx
Picture is by Huussii

Sunset Shimmer decides it’s finally time to return to Equestria to confront Princess Celestia and ask some tough questions about the treatment of Her protégés. She isn’t ready for the answers she receives.

Winter is finally wrapped up and Twilight Sparkle is ready for a well-deserved rest, but Rainbow Dash has one last thing she’d like to share with Twilight.

Special Thanks to: tsitra360 for permission to use the art which inspired this story. And, my editor, whose endless support allows me to write when I can.