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?

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.

This story is a sequel to Scars of Our Past

Sunset Shimmer has been through a lot but it seems that things have finally got back to some form of normalcy. However, the next chapter in her life is about to begin. Sunset unlocks a part of her past and questions everything she thought she knew about herself. Family, Friendship, magic and maybe a bit of romance is in store for Sunset and her friends and it all starts with the dreaded Friendship games.

A retelling of Sunset Shimmer's redemption, starting from the night of the Fall Formal and going through the events immediately following the Friendship Games.

Disclaimer: I own none of this source material. MLP: FIM and Equestria Girls belong to Hasbro, and I will not profit from this fanfic financially in any way.

Sex tag is only for brief discussions of sexuality and issues of modesty. There is no actual sexual content.

Author's notes: I've been working on this story for over a year. I'll admit it contains a lot of elements that appear commonly in other Sunset stories -- this is just my take on it. I'll try to give credit where credit is due -- although nearly every idea in this story occurred to me independently, others have actually published stories using many of them first.

The thrust of the story is to take material written for ages say 10-13 (i.e. the EQG movies/shorts/specials) and age it up to make it more dramatic and meaningful. Probably my favorite thing to write was the conversations that must have taken place, both in the human world and in Equestria, but that aren't depicted in any movie or book.

Full Disclosure: Sunset's friends play their usual crucial roles in her redemption and growth, but this is a Momlestia/Lunauntia story too. And there is no shipping. Romance isn't Sunset's priority as she crawls out of the darkness of her former life. Yet.

I had to add the AU tag after Forgotten Friendship came out. Up until then, this story was fairly canon-compatible. Now, it diverges a bit.

Good-natured warning: Feels. Lots of feels.

After the slumber party at Rarity's, the humane 5 are shocked to discover that the pictures that were taken during the slumber party have been posted on Anon-A-Miss's page for the whole school to see. pictures that were taken using Sunset's phone.

Naturally the girls assumed that Sunset was Anon-A-Miss and when she didn't show up at School it further proved her guilt. But when they visited her apartment using the spare key Sunset gave Rainbow Dash in case of an emergency, they discover a very ill Sunset resting on her bed.

Pushing their anger aside to aid their sick friend the girls soon discover that Sunset is not Anon-A-Miss as whoever it is made a post while they were watching Sunset.

Now as they figure out who Anon-A-Miss could be, Sunset's fever continues to get worse and when her body starts flashing red, they realize that whatever Sunset has is beyond their world's ability to treat.

"Sunset, you weren't the first unearthly threat to come to this world, and you won't be the last. If we seem calm in the face of strange events, it's not because we're oblivious or indifferent to them. It's because they're not strange to us. The Fall Formal may have been the most important night of your life, but to us... it was Thursday."

(Slice-of-life adventures of Canterlot High's unlikely band of monster hunters.)

Now with a Tropes page, courtesy of AnoneMouseJr.

Sunset Shimmer never really had a childhood or someone to teach her what she needs to know. So, after the fall formal, Sunset is faced with changes she is not yet ready for: friends and family who are willing to show her just what she's been missing. Will she accept accept this newfound solace or will her fears and insecurities get the better of her? Will she even have a choice?

Current cover done by MichaelNight

Losing her friends was the start of a self-destructive spiral for Sunset Shimmer. Convinced that she will never escape the echoes of her past, she tries to take her own life.

The attempt leaves her severely injured and she falls unconscious. In her dreams, she is visited by Princess Luna. They have much to discuss, whether Sunset likes it or not.

TV Tropes page
Drawing of Sunset used in cover art is by Xaztein

Alone and afraid, Sunset Shimmer has been living off of the streets in Canterlot ever since she ran away from home. She is barely holding on as it is and winter is coming soon, and Sunset doesn't know how she's going to survive this one. On a particularly cold night, she's out searching for something to eat when she bumps into the last pony she expects to see walking through the slums: Princess Celestia.

Edited by Alcatraz
Cover art drawn by Dilarus

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Sunset was very hurt and betrayed by her so-called friends after they callously dumped her during the Anon-A-Miss incident. However, she can't bring herself to leave; she can't go back to being the person she was - aloof, cold, and alone.

And so she buries it. Tries to forget it. Easier said than done.