I think that I shall never see
A home as lovely as my tree.
In its trunk I made my nest
With all things that I love best.
Books to read all night and day,
Rooms to learn and space to play;
But no more growing, no more fun;
No more soaking up the sun;
Nevermore to drink sweet rain;
Or to greet the Spring again.
There is no power or decree;
No magic spell to save my tree.

Cover art by The-Paper-Pony. Used with permission.

The book was empty. Purely empty. Each page was as blank as the last. There were no words; there was no title. There was nothing but page after page of blank, white paper.

So Twilight reads it.

Apple Bloom has come a long way with her potions. Has she come far enough to fix things this time?

Contains spoilers for the season four finale.

When Celestia has a vision of her protegee's future, she has to give her a home in Ponyville where she can fulfill her destiny. Luckily, there is a spot in the very middle of Ponyville, only inhabited by a lone, great oak. But, trees aren't as mindless as you'd think. Transformed into a house and enchanted, the oak muses on it's life as a protector of it's inhabitants.

The Golden Oak Library is gone. Destroyed. Murdered.

Or is she?

With her final day upon her, the great Oak herself knew something was wrong. But that premonition may not have foretold an injustice as great as some feared...

In the wake of her battle with the evil Tirek, Twilight Sparkle takes a moment to honor the memory of her fallen friends.

Equestria is safe once again, and Twilight has found her destiny. Still, the beginning of this new chapter in her life comes at a high cost, and Twilight must come to terms with the bittersweet ending to her latest adventure.

Throughout the ages, the Moon has remained the charge of Luna, but what if it was more so than that

--
An entry for the Equestria Daily Shipfic Competition.

Peachy Pie doesn't have a very special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day. Sunny Daze helps her look. But what does Peachy Pie expect from a very special somepony? And which pony could be her match?

These two fillies are not OCs, but background ponies. Their biggest role was in The Show Stoppers, where they won the prize for best dramatic performance by reciting their favourite poem on roller skates. None of Peachy's potential suitors are OCs either. You can find them all in Friendship is Magic if you look hard enough.

Thanks to yellowstripedflutterbat, BlueYoshi, MrAskAPirate, and Pankrazius for pre-reading this story and offering their suggestions. The cover image is pieced together from Background - Apples by liamwhite1, Sunny Days by Kooner-cz, and Peachy Pie by Kooner-cz.

Reviewed by PresentPerfect, 1 Mar 2015 (Fic reviews, March 1st: Super Happy Hearts and Hooves Lovefest Edition!).
Added to the Goodfic Bin, 31 Mar 2015, and featured on its front page, 7 Apr 2015.
Accepted into Nonpareil Fiction, 27 May 2015.

Stress levels were already high, with Twilight directing her first royal Hearth's Warming pageant and unexpected snowstorms escaping the Everfree. Then the changeling army arrived.

Now, with Queen Chrysalis holding Ponyville hostage and the clock ticking on suspiciously pointless negotiations, it's up to Rarity to match wits with the invaders and save the holiday. However, as she digs ever deeper into the queen's tangled plot, what she learns could force her to choose between her friendships and her conscience.

Off-season note: This is a Hearth's Warming story like Die Hard is a Christmas movie (but with espionage instead of explosions). Don't skip it just because the holiday's over.

Critical praise:

"A high-tension thriller where nothing is what it seems." — Titanium Dragon (rating: "Highly Recommended")

"An entertaining ride from start to finish … watching all the pieces fall into place is fantastic." — Present Perfect (rating: "Highly Recommended")

"Props to horizon for an intricate web of deception. Most writers have difficulty with crafting mysteries … this one, however, had me completely fooled from beginning to end." — PaulAsaran (rating: "Why Haven't You Read This Yet?")

"It’s a rare mystery and thriller that can keep things tense and make the mystery actually tough to guess as you go along, while still feeling like a natural conclusion. ... The end result of layers unveiled and red herrings contradicted makes it sing." — Ghost Mike (rating: "Really Good")

Second-place winner in the "Behind Closed Doors" December writeoff, now expanded and revised! Featured on EqD! Rated "Recommended" by MLPmatthewl419!

Big thanks to Titanium Dragon for post-Writeoff editing assistance.

Comments contain spoilers!