One year after her coronation, Princess Twilight Sparkle is dead, killed by her own subjects out of fear and jealously. After the funeral, Princess Celestia isolated herself from the world, mourning the loss of her brightest student and daughter figure.

But she cannot weep forever. She must take control of her duties once more. Haunted by the memories of the assassination, and its aftermath, Celestia slowly makes her way to Twilight's resting place to find some closure.

Now With its own TV Tropes Page!

Sequel is up

This story is a sequel to Princess Twilight's Profoundly Peripheral Protector

Storm Kicker has faced many challenges as part of her duties as bodyguard to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and despite some initial difficulties, she has managed to adjust quite nicely to her new role.

That is, until she she faces the most terrifying enemy of her entire career in the Royal Guard: an unholy prankster alliance between Sparkler Doo, her own younger sister, and Ponyville's premier prankster Rainbow Dash. Can Storm and her princess face this threat and escape with their dignity intact, or will they become the laughingstock of Ponyville and all Equestria?

The way others perceive us can affect how we perceive ourselves, and the results are rarely pretty. When a couple of Canterlot ponies from her past come to Ponyville, Twilight has a difficult time revisiting a traumatic event from her foalhood.

*Now on Equestria Daily! Thanks are in order to the pre-reader(s) who put their time aside for this story. Final scene changed from "alternate ending" to "epilogue", and extended, because sometimes we only think of scenes after things see publish.

Reading by Obabscribbler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bitGUNZKNmU