We have all lost something or someone special in our lives. Some move on faster than others, and some never move on, as their life comes to a stand still. Could you smile at such loss, and continue smiling through your life, knowing that the special someone was gone forever?

First attempt at sad fic.

Inspired by cover pic.

Also inspired by the song 'The Crow and The Butterfly' by Shinedown.

I have something I want to tell you.

It's a very simple thing. A short little phrase.

I wonder if it still matters, though, in a world like this.

It matters to me, but I'd like to know if it'll matter to you.

Audio Reading by journcy!
Featured on EqD! - 10/09/2012
Inspired by the image "Twilight's Library" by SpyroConspirator. Cover used with the artist's permission.
Also featured on the Pony Fiction Vault! - 11/03/2012
Spotlit by The Royal Guard! - 02/04/2014

Some things in this world happen by chance. Others do not. Twilight Sparkle is about to learn a disturbing truth that will turn her world upside down.

- Originally written May 2011 for Deviant Art

Reading this story first is strongly recommended:
(Blood is Thicker) http://ciroton.deviantart.com/gallery/26378692#/d3e1ndq

Credits:
~Image by JohnJoseco~ ~Edited by BrotherPrickle on Deviant Art~

[Please read the author's notes after the expansion before reading. Thank you]

Welcome to the new Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. See your friends at each other's throats? You have to choose between them now, to stop the heartache of war with decisive victory. For the nation lies bleeding, its harmony shattered into a million pieces. Black and white and right and wrong have blurred together.

You must choose wisely, or all shall die.

~Image by JohnJoseco~ If anyone can find a fitting, unique image for this story, please do not hesitate to link in the comments.

[Author's Note]

The following stories should be read in order to get a good grasp on references to previous works.

- Sunset (Mandatory)*
- My Little Muffin (Optional)
- Clash of the Heavenly Titans (Optional)*
- Blood is Thicker / The Reluctant Reunion of the Redoubtable Rabble-Rouser (Strongly Recommended)

All can be found on my Deviant Art account: http://ciroton.deviantart.com/
Those with * can be found here on FIMFiction.

Applejack reached up with a fore hoof to touch the brim of her hat. It was habitual, almost unconscious. She could feel, nestled safely underneath the hat, her two most precious treasures--a single blue feather and a small snippet of purple mane.

They were precious, more precious than anything besides her family and her farm, because they were only pieces of them she'd ever have.

UPDATE: 8,000 unique views! Wow! I'm incredibly flattered!

TVTropes Page

Plowpony's Day- a day of peaceful rest and relaxation. Or it was, until Twilight Sparkle badly mangled a teleportation spell. It has left her with a bad case of Horn Rot, a disease that if untreated could prove fatal. What's more, the malady is advancing faster than the slow-brewing potion that cures it!

There is one swifter cure: the Beneviolet, a star-shaped flower that grows in the distant Archback Mountains, far beyond the western borders of Equestria. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity choose to undertake the long journey for the sake of their friend. Their path will wind through floes of ice, across gold-tinted plains, into distant forests glimmering with magic. They will learn much about the world beyond their homeland- and much about themselves, as well.

Yes, it's "Dangerous Business," here on FIMFiction. A huge debt is owed to all those who have supported me over the years. I've edited the story some to remove extraneous bolding and italics, but other than that, it remains unchanged. I hope new readers enjoy it as much as old ones did.

TVTropes Page

When your life is as dull a gray as the world that surrounds you, the mundanities can make it all seem meaningless. Sometimes all we need is a little color -- or six -- to reintroduce us to what truly makes life worth living.

*6-16-2017 Edit, added Rainbow Dash tag because it triggered knighty.*

There may be spoilers in the comments. You've been warned.

For their first home together, Twilight and Applejack wanted a house close to Applejack's farm and big enough for Twilight's books, with a little something special besides. They settled on the perfect place, one of the oldest barns on Sweet Apple Acres, and had it converted into a comfortable house for their little family. But when strange things start happening just after they move in, Twilight finds that she has a mystery to solve before she can really call her dream house "home."

My entry into the TwiJack Hearth's Warming Contest.

What threats to its citizens has Equestria weathered in the past, before the Elements of Harmony were given to mortal ponies?
Who did the Princesses turn to in their hours of need?
Why does Big Macintosh talk the way he does?

Never enter the woods alone, for there are monsters there. They can look like anything, even another pony. And if you waver in Gaea's love, you will become one.

Winner of Ponychan /fic/'s April 2012 Write-Off!