Sunset Shimmer has lived in the human world for over ten years now. Some of the best and worst days of her life have happened there. When she finds herself no longer having a place in the world she's grown accustomed to she travels back to her homeland of Equestria to figure out who she is and where she belongs. What she finds is a land and people irreversibly changed by time.

Twilight Sparkle now rules over this new Equestria. It is a time of peace and prosperity for the entire world, so why does the Princess seem so sad?
Figuring out her own problems, an entirely different home than the one she grew up in, and her increasingly complicated relationship with Princess Twilight could be the most difficult thing Sunset Shimmer has ever done.
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Story takes place post FIM and EG

This story is a sequel to Sunset Shimmer is not an Alicorn

During the events of Between Dusk and Dawn Twilight delegated some monster-busting to the EUP. The EUP, not equipped for the job, delegated further. Now, Sunset Shimmer has been drafted into Equestria's forces to deal with the prophesied return of a dread monster. She's going to need to bring everything she's got to fight off the latest threat to Equestria, and the keys may lie in the ponies she hurt before she left.

A pony Sunset Shimmer wronged before leaving Equestria is back for revenge, and is insisting Sunset come to confront her alone. Can Sunset help the wayward mare? Can Sunset use the magic of friendship without any friends around? Is Sunset an alicorn? Well, do you see any wings?

Preread by FanOfMostEverything.

"Old Equestria's war is not our war..."

These words are law in Stable 61, last bastion of sanity in a world at war. At least according to the folks who live there. Ponies, zebras, griffons, you name it. They all live there in peace.

Peace is... not always easy, especially for people like Snowflake. The ones who don't quite fit in. Don't quite follow the plan.

What's a big sister to do when she's taken away from her brothers, and forced to face who she is without them? Snowflake must answer that question, and live in the process. Those aren't necessarily the same.

Now she's got a psychopathic mare, griffon merc, thieving technophile, and a killer sniper to deal with day-to-day. Quite the increased activity from monitor jockey. And then there's the little sphere tucked away in her gear…

She never had this kind of trouble with her brothers.

Attention! I am not the author of this story. I'm merely the custodian. The author left the fandom and this site a while ago, but they were kind enough to return and repost it so that everyone could enjoy it once again, including posting some previously unlinked content! So, enjoy, everyone. That's why it's here, after all.

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

This story is a sequel to The Witch of the Everfree

Saddle Arabia is a land of mysteries and ancient legends, and Sunset Shimmer sees it as a great place to escape from her mistakes for a while. What caused her to flee Equestria, and can she find a way to prove herself and win back the favor of the ponies she wronged?

More importantly, can she avoid starting a war?

I'd like to thank all my followers, fans, and patreon subscribers. Without all of you, I'd be worse off in every way.

Twilight Sparkle keeps using a specific phrase out in public to describe her 'special relationship' with her friends. Said friends are convinced it does not mean what Twilight thinks it means.

Part of the MAD verse.

Thanks to Steel Resolve and Nova Quill/Firimil for their edits and sugestions! Also thanks to DrakeyC for the story prompt and his edits and suggestions!

And finally, thanks to jhayarr23 for the hilarious cover art.

This story is a sequel to Sunset Shimmer is MAD about EVERYTHING

The mysterious Table of Harmony has called on Starlight Glimmer to solve a friendship problem at Canterlot Castle, but wait! A second cutie mark belonging to a magically inclined alicorn has appeared, and unfortunately for Twilight, it’s not hers.

Can Sunset Shimmer help Starlight Glimmer untangle this mysterious problem in Canterlot, or will her own personal past prove more a hindrance than anything?

Spoilers for 'A Royal Problem'

Sunset vector by Sunsetmajka626.
Starlight vector by Cloudyskie.

The Elements of Harmony didn't work. Nightmare Moon won. Her beautiful night has been unending for over two years now, and her reign over Equestria is total.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie never gave up, even after everyone else did.

An infinity of praise be to Harwick for the cover art.

Sunset Shimmer had everything. Personal protégé of the Sun Princess herself, top marks in the School for Gifted Unicorns, and the honor of being dubbed the greatest arcanist since Starswirl the Bearded.

Until she threw it all away.

In the last moments before leaving Equestria forever, her destiny is snatched away right before her eyes. Once upon a time the story of the lives of herself, Twilight Sparkle, and the path of Equestrian History went one way, a story that we all know well. But in every stand of woods there is a path untrotted, one with a different story and new experiences.

About the deleted comments.

Discussion of this and other works can be found on my Private Discord Server

New cover by DVixie. If someone knows how to contact them I'd be appreciative. It more accurately portrays the current evolution of the story.

Arc One, Filly Steps: Complete.
Arc Two, What Twilight Learned Today: In Progress.