After the Friendship Games, Sunset feels it's time to return home.

Only when she gets there, Twilight's castle is nowhere to be found, Cadance just got her horn, and Princess Celestia is still calling the bacon-haired pony her prized student rather than a failed one. And just reliving her past isn't on the table thanks to a pair of wings Sunset seems to have sprouted upon her return to Equestria.

With Sunset being back before she's supposed to, will the world stay as harmonious and on track, or will everything go down in flames as Sunset has to deal with allegations that she's really a changeling in disguise, a nerdy stallion with blue hair that wants to be her coltfriend, a pretty pink princess in need of remedial magic lessons, and an annoying purple pre-teen pony that will absolutely not go to bed without first being read Starswirl's Complete Mystical Mysteries Compendium?

Only time will tell

She really, really is.

And Twilight has to deal with it.

After what Sunset had done she never expected anyone to forgive her, but there was always someone willing to give her a second chance and accept her for what she was. Even before Twilight's friends bothered with her, there was one girl who Sunset could always rely on to be there.

Trying to patrol the dreams of every pony in Equestria can be stressful. To ease her burden, Luna retools the Tantabus to turn nightmares into good dreams instead of vice versa. Aware of her mistakes from last time, she tests it out thoroughly, making sure there are no unexpected behaviors. And as far as she can tell, there are none.

Except that it's started calling her "Mom".

Faced with the prospect of possibly creating life, Luna seeks out Twilight's advice and assistance. With a little luck, they can get this all sorted out before the sun rises.

The wheel of time turns, as destiny and history clash together.

Fifty years into the future, Sunset Shimmer is Princess Twilight Sparkle's most faithful student. She is smart and eager, but doesn't always think things through. Her life had been perfect, right up to the End of the World.

With a ruined future, Sunset travels into the past to alter the course of history. With only her mentor's cryptic word to go on, Sunset and the Elements of Harmony must solve the riddle of the Dark Regalia and stop the mysterious Vesper Radiance from rising to power. But the further Sunset goes, the more she feels like she's been through it all before.

Is destiny set in stone, or can Sunset shape her own future? Only time will tell.

Featured on Equestria Daily 6/16/13
Gratefully edited by JustAnotherTimeLord, Icarus_Gizmo, Cerulean Voice and Bad_Seed_72

The Sunset of Tropes page!

While relaxing after a performance, the Rainbooms discover Sunset has scars that she definitely didn't have before the Fall Formal.

As of 9/14/2015, this story has a dramatic reading by Goombasa. Give it a listen!

7/7/2016: Now with cover art designed by the very generous Novel-Idea! Thank you so much!

7/23/2016: This story has a reading by Gabriel C Media. Give it a listen!

A thousand years after the Princesses disappeared from Equestria, Twilight Sparkle meets a lost Cloudsdale scout named Rainbow Dash. Together they look for a way to end the thousand-year night and dispel the darkness that has spread across Equestria.

Edited by Pascoite
Contains fairly mild grim-dark. Inspiration taken from the Dark Souls games, but it's not strictly a crossover.
Chapters titled "Arc #: Chapter Name" are part of the main story. Chapters titled "Character: Chapter Name" are one-shots about other characters, set in the same world, and aren't necessary in order to follow the main story.

The Changeling Hive is rigid, its ranks and rules unbending. There is one law that stands above all others; the Hive speaks with one voice.

But two changelings dare to speak with their own voices. They dare to defy the Hive in the most incredible way possible.

They crave freedom. Whatever comes next, live or die, they will do it as free changelings.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer, and there are two Twilight Sparkles who are both madly in love with me.

Please help."

Caught up in a massive teleportation spell array, I was dragged from a convention and cast into the frozen wilderness of Northern Equestria. Despite missing a couple years of development and the a talking ermine fairy as a companion; the new form, new skills and even the new world are beginning to seem to like the least of my issues.

I can't help but wonder if some greater game is afoot as destinies and fates seem to shift unto entirely new paths, some of them crossing the roads of others. Even worse, it seems as if I just might have to play a part in keeping everything from ending in a complete disaster.

With new skills and an ever expanding circle of new friends beside me, I can only hope it all works out. With any luck, it won't just be me getting thrown into one dangerous situation after another. Keep moving forward, not getting held back by the past but not forgetting it. It's a promise I made to myself. One made twice over, even. I don't intend to break it. All it takes is a little bit of Courage.
[sources: vector, background]
[A Negima/MLP Crossover][A Displaced Story][wikipage][Editor: Regreme (c.7+)]