Sunset Shimmer reunites with an old school friend, who offers her an unusual role in the Crystal Empire. But then Sunset learns something unsettling about the last pony who held the job...

As another unicorn in a blessed lineage of scribes and minor mages, Golden Swirl has established himself as a loved practitioner of the recent field of communication magic. Life is simple: go to work, jot down what ponies want him to send to loved ones or business partners, and send the letters off into the ether, where they'll appear a few hours later.

But now at the dawn of the second millennium, life in the city of Mareposa is rapidly changing, like much of urban Equestria. Where artisans provided excellent work and earth ponies harvested the crops with innate magic, factories have been erected and large industrial farms have taken root. But none of that matters, so long as his life is secure. There is no way that ponies could speak over long distances without magic, right?

Set in the world of the Heart's of Iron IV mod, Equestria at war.

Written as an entry in Equestria at War's Fifth Annual Writing Competition.

As always, a massive thanks to EverfreePony for all their editing work.

Cover art by saxopi.

Colonel Flashfire is an elite EUP soldier stationed on the griffonian border. Commander Gerald is the mastermind behind dozens of invasions that technically were attempted.

The two have a chat after the latest one.

Rated Teen for naughty language. Keep your children safe from bad words. Originally a speedwrite.

Twilight Sparkle is undeniably a prodigy and has the skill and knowledge of a unicorn five years her elder as well as the power of one as well. This knowledge and power has drawn Princess Celestia's attention, with the alicorn beginning to wonder if the young unicorn will be the one to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would save her sister. A prophecy that would have come to fruition, had the alicorn's own checkered past not come back to doom the filly to a life of fire and brimstone.

Go check out this story's sister story!
Updates twice a month!

Story So Far (Been awhile? Get up to speed by checking out this blog!)

Izzy Moonbow has always felt alone. Bridlewood was quiet, and its people quieter still.

Then one day, she comes across a moonlit garden, hidden deep amongst the trees. Its caretaker is a strange mare who speaks of the days of old when friends were plentiful and the nights were beautiful.

Her name is Luna.

Received an Honourable Mention / Judge's Pick for the 2022 May Pairings Contest.

Rated Excellent by Ghost Mike!

5/5 Stars from Loganberry's Louder Yay!

Now with an audio reading by StraightToThePointStudio. Stay tuned!

Now translated into Chinese!

Edited by VoxAdam, proofread by The Sleepless Beholder, SockPuppet, Bicyclette, and skysayl. Thanks, everyone

Cover by Plainoasis.

Featured on 25/05/22-31/05/22, reaching the #1 spot in the Featured Box on the first day.

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

YouTube Reading!

Sunset Shimmer’s life was not always leather jackets and high school misadventures. The fiery girl was once the most powerful young unicorn her age, and sat at the right hoof of the enigmatic ruler of all ponykind. But when the ambitious pony bites off more than she can chew, the princess is forced to put her hoof down. Now Sunset is off on an airship adventure across Equestria, with new responsibilities and a fancy new title to worry about. Follow along as Sunset discovers the answers to the biggest questions of her life. Why was she chosen over all others to be Celestia’s student? What sort of plans does the princess have for her future? And what could drive a pony like Sunset to abandon her home, her people, and the only real friend she ever had? The tale begins with a dream, or rather, a nightmare…

In her dreams, Moondancer is a unicorn.

In her dreams, in the magical land of Equestria, Moondancer has a girlfriend. Her name is Sunset Shimmer, and she's smart, talented, confident, and kind.

In her dreams, Moondancer knows what it's like to love, and to be loved.

The worst part about a good dream is waking up.

An entry in the May Pairings 2022 Contest. Loosely inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion, but has no relation to it. (By 'inspired by' I mean 'inspired by the vibes I got while binging it on my phone through the night'.)

(Minor CWs: A brief mention of non-sexual nudity and an allusion to suicidal thoughts. Neither of these elements are present enough to justify full warning tags, at least in my opinion, but they are there and I get anxious about not warning people, just in case.)

Cover art by the fantastic MemPrices! Please check them out, they do great work.

Thanks to Roxylalolcat and SigmasonicX for pre-reading and editing.

Edit: Featured for... some period of time? Like, two days or so I think? It may have been at the top or maybe it was kept off by a clopfic, I don't remember but apparently this is something people like to keep track of, I dunno.

EDIT 2: Now with a reading from Rainbow Infinity, which can be found here!

An earth pony healer is given responsibility over an injured unicorn. All eyes are on them. Maybe even those of Windigos.

Honorable Mention in the contest A Thousand Words.
Highly Recommended by PresentPerfect.
An audio reading by Pony&Wolf Productions.

“...the restraint demonstrated here is phenomenal, and a brilliant lesson...”
—Petrichord

This story is a sequel to Bards of the Badlands

  Sunset hates dealing with chaos surges, no matter how amusing Moon Dancer finds them. After a particularly annoying surge while tutoring Moon Dancer in her advanced telekinetic studies, Sunset takes refuge in the teacher’s lounge. Though she was only looking for a cup of scalding hot tea, Sunset finds a pony walking down the same path she once walked, giving her an opportunity she’s never had before…
  To help somepony not out of guilt, but just because it’s the right thing to do.

Featured on Equestria Daily on September 19, 2016!

Historian’s Note: Set in a timeline where the Sonic Rainboom never happened, Bell Curve occurs in Sunset’s second year as an aide for Professor Apple Polish at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and several years before the events in The Application of Unified Harmony Magics.

Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Cheerilee, Moon Dancer & Professor Crystal Clear with Philomena as herself.

Stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline in chronological order:

Origins Arc
The Alchemy of Chemistry
Bards of the Badlands
Grading on a Bell Curve
Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix
How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative

Applications Arc
The Application of Unified Harmony Magics
Princess Celestia: A Brief History
The Cloudsdale Report

Dreamers Arc
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
A Study in Chaos Theory
Teahouses of Saddle Arabia
As the Raven Flies

Cover Credits
Cover Design by Amber Spark using Pixelmator
Sunset Shimmer Vector by Midnight-St4r
Cheerilee Vector by J-Brony
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark by MillennialDan

Editor & Beta Reader Credits
Ebon Quill - Worldbuilding Writer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker - Sysadmin at Poniverse
Painted Heart

Special Thanks:
Orbiting Kettle - For some sorely-needed advice on getting something approaching a good synopsis for this tale!