What do you get for the mare who has everything? What do you get for the mare who has everything, and has been out of your life for over one-thousand years? What do you get for such a mare, your sister, when on top of all that, you've all the social grace and cultural awareness as a cuttlefish?

Luna figures it might pay to just ask Sunset for advice this year.

This was written for jqnexx as a part of Jinglemas 2020! For more information about Jinglemas, checkout our group!

Featured - December 24, 2020!

Sunset was expecting Princess Twilight Sparkle to be the one to come through the portal on a day when the holidays line up between the two worlds. Instead, her care package of Equestrian Hearth's Warming decorations is brought over by a student from the school of friendship, Gallus.

This unexpected encounter will lead to a holiday lesson that resonates with both of them.

Written for Jinglemas 2019 [Run by the Jinglemas Group]
Written for Wanderer D

  Stuck as an aide to a bunch of second-year students at Gifted Unicorns, Sunset Shimmer thought picking one to tutor might be entertaining… and maybe advance her plans for the mirror and her eventual ascension.
  This 'Moon Dancer' filly is just a means to an end, after all.
  So why can’t Sunset sleep after Moon Dancer storms out on her? Why are Princess Celestia and Professor Polish so concerned about her?
  But most importantly, why is Sunset starting to doubt herself?
  This was all part of the plan. Right?

Featured on FimFiction multiple times in November of 2016!
Featured on Equestria Daily!

Historian’s Note:
Set in the Wavelengths timeline where the Sonic Rainboom didn’t happen, the events of The Alchemy of Chemistry occur at the end of Sunset’s first term as the aide for Professor Apple Polish at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Moon Dancer & Princess Celestia with a cameo by Twilight Sparkle
Co-Starring: Professor Apple Polish, Cinnamon Tart & Dean Silver Slate with Professor Crystal Clear

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 Design by Amber Spark
Potion Bottles by DervonneBenaan
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark By Millennial Dan
Moon Dancer Cutie Mark by Allycatblu
Classroom Background By Roxy-Cream

Editor/Cohort in Scheming
Ebon Quill - Quest Designer on The Manehattan Project

Beta Reader Credits
Little Tinker - Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn - Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Painted Heart

Special Guest Beta Reader
Tchernobog - Rabid AppleDash Fanatic. His price was shipping AJ and Dash together in one of my stories. Steep price, but worth it. He was also instrumental in creating that awesome elevator pitch!

Word Count: 33,000 words
Version: 3.7

On a fateful night in a world far away from her, Princess Celestia mourns the idea that her two most beloved students are fighting. One battles for her friends and home while the other opposes, seeking her own selfish desires. When only one of them returns home, Celestia knows the worst has come to pass.

Still, hope lingers in the darkness. Sunset did return—but not as anyone remembers her.

Can Celestia, given a second chance to do things right, give Sunset the chance she never had?

Submission for the More Most Dangerous Game contest under the prompt of Past Sins.

Massive thanks to Cerulean Voice, vren55 and The Albinocorn for editing and prereading! Without them, this story may not have happened.

When Sunset Shimmer decides to visit Equestria with her girlfriend – the human world’s Twilight Sparkle – she expects there to be some confusion. She doesn't expect to come home with a royal title.

Meanwhile, Equestria's Twilight Sparkle worries she's not evil enough.

Some lessons stay with use since childhood and even if we grow up we still remember.
Sunset Shimmer was no other.
There's a lesson that staid with her forever.

Just one night with Princess Celestia's help, she learns that even in the darkest places, there's always light.

Cover art by me

After the Friendship Games, life at CHS has settled down. No more magical villains to face, or impending disasters. Sunset and the others can go back to living as normal teenage girls. Or as close to normal as a group of magically empowered girls and a former unicorn from another universe can anyway.

But when Sunset gets into trouble, someone she never expected comes to help her, and her life will never be the same ever again.

Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony Friendship is Magic or any of it's characters. I'm just a fan.

Cover art done by my very good friend PrettySoldierPetite. (EDIT 07/08/19: And now with new cover art!)

Proofread by Dragon of Shadows

Pre-read (post ch 12's publishing) by Setokaiva

FEATURE BOX 11/28/17!

EDIT: Added the MLP: FIM tag because of recent events, and I really should have put it in before this anyway.

EDIT 04/14/19: While the content of this story does not qualify for the "Dark" tag, I have been advised to give a warning that chapter 6 contains a scenario that may trigger some individuals. Tags: psychological abuse & gaslighting.

EDIT 10/16/19: Now with a TV Tropes page!

Side Story
Swimming Lessons

"Hey, it's Starlight. Meet me at your portal in an hour. I'm coming over."

Sunset Shimmer was enjoying a completely ordinary day when those words appeared in her journal.

Whether or not it will stay ordinary... well, they'll have to play that one by ear.

This story is a sequel to Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix

After going to Coloratura's concert, Sunset gets both good news and bad news.

Somepony stole her identity and is running around with her face.

That's the good news.

Historian’s Note:
Set in the Wavelengths timeline where the Sonic Rainboom didn’t happen, How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative occurs about five years after Grading on a Bell Curve and about two years before the events in The Application of Unified Harmony Magics.

Knowledge of the previous tales is suggested, but not required.

Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Cheerilee, Moon Dancer, Minuette, Coloratura & Coco Pommel
Co-Starring: Spotlight, Security Chief Gateway, Vinyl Scratch and special guest star Octavia Melody

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 Design by Amber Spark
Coco Pommel Vector: DashieSparkle
Coloratura Vector: DashieSparkle
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark: Millennial Dan

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Ebon Quill: Audio Director & Quest Designer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker: Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn: Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Tchernobog: AppleDash Fanatic - My debt is paid
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word

Word Count: 64,000
Version: 12.54

Once upon a time there was a very lazy dragon who did not want to find a town to pillage.

So he decided to make one of his own.

Editors: Mitch H, Dlafrferg
Jake the Army Guy has done an amazing reading of this on YouTube
Excellent cover picture credit: Harwick on Fimfiction or Harwicks-art on Deviantart.com
Also, the Audio Project has done a reading of this and other stories on YouTube