Sunset Shimmer is having the worst day of her life. She used to be important. She was the personal student of Princess Celestia. She was a future leader of Equestria. She was the kind of mare that everypony envied.

Today, it's all crashing down around her.

Alternate Universe: What if Sunset Shimmer hadn't gone through the mirror?

Sunset has decided to return home... wherever that may be.

The orphanage where she was left?

The castle where the princess had emotionally abandoned her?

She walks the foreign but familiar world, hoping to find something to make her life worthwhile.

Will she find somewhere, or someone, to call home?

[Cover by Mirrored Sea]

It's hard to forgive yourself of past mistakes when you feel like the people you've wronged may still be harboring ill-will toward you. Sunset Shimmer desperately wants to move on with her life, to accept her new friends truly do love her for who she is, but she can't stop thinking about her past. So what do you do when you want to begin a road to healing? You go back to the beginning and find out where it all went wrong, then rebuild the bridges you've burned to bring you to a better future.

Ever since coming home to Equestria, Sunset's found herself unable to sleep. During yet another restless night, she stands on her balcony, searching the stars for something not even she can find. Yet tonight, the stars are looking back in the form of a concerned Princess Luna.

Maybe together, they can find the source of Sunset's troubles.

Synopsis written by the talented Novel Idea!

Cover art done commissioned from the amazing puff-pink on tumblr! Take a look at her awesome art!

Fic partially inspired by this comic by Little-Tweenframes

Story was featured on the front page of FiMFic on 160417, rising to 6th place.

When the girls discovered magic at Camp Everfree, Sunset Shimmer was the first to embrace it. But now, the little bit of magic she got is just reminding her of how much she's lost. And as people get more and more desperate, you can never tell when they're going to do something incredibly stupid.

After so many years, Sunset Shimmer is finally ready to return to Equestria. At long last, she will be able to reconnect with the land she was born in and feel the magic flow through her body once more. Most of all, she’s ready to face the mentor she betrayed, to apologize for everything and beg for her forgiveness.

Princess Celestia is eager to see her old prodigal student as well. Finally, she will have the chance to forgive her and reaffirm her love for her. What’s more, she will finally be able to give Sunset Shimmer what she has earned for herself and fulfill all the dreams she had since she was a filly.

At least, that’s how it was supposed to go.

Cover art by Bluse

Sunset Shimmer is devastated since her friends abandoned her because of Anon-A-Miss. While she tries to figure out what to do a new girl arrives in town, not knowing that she will be involved into an event she doesn't know about or has control over.

Overwhelmed by her new duties as a princess, a newly-crowned Twilight Sparkle seeks solace within the quiet confines of Canterlot Castle's royal archives, where she discovers a book she'd never seen before. Within its pages was a story about both Princess Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded, as well as a mare that Twilight had never heard of.

Details of their lives, their history, and their relationships puzzle, intrigue, and even worry Twilight. The more she read, the more curious she became and the more questions that arose. But there was only one question to which she truly sought the answer:

Who was Sunset Shimmer?

Sunset's had enough. All the hate aimed at her on a daily bases for a crime she never even committed finally pushed her to the breaking point. When she finally decides to end the pain, a former victim of her cruelty becomes her savior. Now the battle to gather what little remains of Sunset's heart has begun, and with her new friends at her sides, will she be victorious or will Anon-a-miss finally break what's left of her?

Three months can seem like an eternity, but in the timeless nature of hibernation, it passes in a blink. Spring is here, and Tank has awoken, ready to reunite with Rainbow Dash.

However, there's a small complication.