Summer is the perfect season for things that grow. However, growth needs fuel, warmth can burn, and romance can be the most volatile fire there is. After she leaves Ponyville and lands a job as a city guard, Gilda will have summer days that are filled with lessons of growth, of love, and of pain.

This is a continuation of Heart of Gold, Feathers of Steel. I recommend reading that story first.
This story is concluded in Evening Flames

Special thanks to WentoX for this awesome, custom cover.

Friendship lasts forever.

Right?

Three years ago, Gilda and Rainbow Dash became fast friends at Junior Speedsters' Flight Camp. Time took its toll, though, and the pair drifted apart.

When Gilda tries to reconnect with her not-so-long lost friend, she'll discover that things can change a pony after three years: a new home, new job, and new friends.

This story continues in Summer Days

Title Image Credits
Original: http://mallorysbeast.deviantart.com
Coloring: Bandit (no link available)

As the Cakes make a very special gingerbread house the act reminds them of their lives together; hinting at those they loved, challenges they faced, and the struggles that continue even after lovers say "I do"...

Inspired by the image "Artist Training Ground Day 22" by Egophiliac. Used with permission.

Ponky is a pegasus pianist who visits Sugarcube Corner every morning for a breakfast muffin on the way to work at the local theater. He is good friends with Pinkie Pie, but nothing else... right? It's hard to tell, when the object of your potential affection is Pinkie Pie!

Saxy Tone is a saxophone player from Ponyville who -- like any other musician -- wants his name to stand out in the world of entertainment as a famous musician. Even though he wants to reach stardom as quickly as possible, he certainly has to start from the bottom of the barrel and crawl up into the ranks of better musicians. How far will he go and what risks he will take to achieve his goal?

Author's Note: All copyrights belong to their respective owners. I do not own the MLP:FiM or the songs that are presented within the story.

Silence. The golden rule is silence. Silence, and obediance.

For years, you have trained as a royal guard. Now, thanks to the fortuitous return of Shining Armour, your old-time friend and Captain, you are promoted to guarding Celestia personally. What follows, though, is the discovery of a personal side to the Sun Princess that you could never have imagined, not even in your most vivid dreams.

A movement is a musical chapter, when one ends another begins.

After a busy day celebrating princess Mi Amore Cadenza's birthday, Shining Armor and his wife take time to wind down, relax, and talk. The topic of their conversation soon moves in an unexpected direction, and the couple finds that their marriage still has surprises in store for them both.

Cover image by naroclie. Used with permission.

[2nd Person Perspective]

Working as a waiter at Canterlot's various social gatherings is a nice job. Especially since you began chatting with the cello player of the usual quartet, Octavia. You've gotten to know a lot about her, but one night there seems to be something on her mind. You offer her a drink to ease her nerves and you bring your glasses together in cheers.

Next thing you know, you wake up in a strange hotel room in a town you've never been to next to a certain gray mare.

Art by John Joseco

Traumatized, distant, and lost in her own existence, Princess Luna teeters on the edge between herself and her demons. She evades the ones she loves to avoid her past. She can't possibly face the horrors her banishment brought upon her inner being. And so, resigned to her fate, that no one will consider her for her, she attempts to move on when she can only stand still.

Meanwhile, down below in Canterlot, Three Dee is a struggling pony who's luck has finally run out: when he is fired from his second job, and unable to make ends meet, he weasels his way into royal servitude to provide for himself. When he is personally recruited by Princess Luna for other duties, though, he identifies with her hidden plight, and there is only one thing he can do: listen, and perhaps provide some comfort in a world that is cruel.

Cover Pic by Butterscotch25 on Deviant Art, entitled "The Princess of the Night"
http://butterscotch25.deviantart.com/