"Do not speak to us of flame or wrath! Lest we show thee what the words truly mean!"

Twilight, Starlight, and Trixie go back in time to answer two questions: why did Celestia become Daybreaker, and how did Equestria survive?

Note: This story assumes the events of Friendmaker, but can also be read on its own.

Sunset Shimmer is homeless and living in an old abandoned warehouse with no power and a leaky roof with almost nothing to her name, not even her favorite jacket after it was destroyed during the Fall Formal. With the school closed down for the holiday and her so called friends too caught up in their own holiday plans they don't realize Sunset not only doesn't have any...but she has no place to get food with the school closed.

Going to a close by community center Christmas Eve to get a hot meal they were giving the homeless and those down on their luck, Sunset runs into the family of the last person she expected to see there...

On the coldest night of winter, Trixie is wholeheartedly certain that her wagon would be able to keep her warm, but... she was wrong. Luckily for her, Starlight knows a very snuggly way to keep her warm.

It started off simply enough, Applejack's embarrassing childhood nickname. Everyone had one, Sunset's was Little Firestarter. The group ignored it, even when students take it a step forward and start teasing the farmer about it.

However the next day, after a sleepover at Rarity's involved all of them dressing up in silly costumes the fashionista had made, things got worse. Those pictures were posted online, and the poster, Anon-A-Miss, also left derogatory comments.

Those pictures came from Sunset's phone, but she doesn't remember posting them. What's going on?

In the EQG Holiday Special, Sunset figured out that Anon-a-Miss was actually Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.
But what if things happened differently?
What if Sunset never figured out who Anon-a-Miss really was?
What if her friends refused to listen after her little chat with Twilight?
For those who haven't seen it, the comic can be read here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-MMfsFt2NE

On her way home one evening, Sunset Shimmer is jumped. Beaten and broken, she must now try and reintegrate back to her normal life, all while living under the constant fear her attackers will return to finish the job. As her mental condition worsens, it soon becomes apparent this is one problem that a blast of rainbow magic won’t solve...

Wonderful artwork courtesy of kul. Proofread by ForBloodySummer.
(Teen tag due to indepth description of physical violence in opening chapters.)

Now has a review by Arcanum Phantasy, which can be watched here!

Sunset Shimmer's life was turned upside down in an instant, leaving her not only to battle her inner demons but to also try to make amends but it isn't easy to forgive or forget when someone has hurt you and it seems only a few at Canterlot High are willing to even try to see the good in her. Will the few friends she has be enough to stop her from doing something rash?

One week after the Fall Formal, Principal Celestia is surprised to learn that a near-catatonic Sunset Shimmer has been calling out for her in the girl's sleep. Sunset has been unresponsive even to professional medical authorities, so what could have prompted her to call out in her sleep for an educator who had only occasionally interacted with her?

Cover art by The Sleepless Beholder

No one has seen Sunset Shimmer in a week after the Fall Formal. Principal Celestia is getting worried. She doesn't really know much about Sunset Shimmer, but she is aware that she is alone in this world. When Celestia finds Sunset it is worse than she knew. Now, Celestia moves to heal the heart of the girl from another world. It is to be a difficult and hard fought battle against Sunset's own perception of self.

Can Sunset turn her life around from the downward spiral that it is in? Or is she right to believe that she is only a demon and deserves only the worst in life? Sunset's journey to forgiving herself starts with allowing her mentor's alternate into her life, but does she deserve to have the chance to disappoint two Celestias?

Now being edited by devas and The Albinocorn

Featured! August 18th 2014! For all of 10 minutes! Still counts!
Freatured again! September 15 2014! For a much longer time! Last time I update this bit though.

This story is a sequel to Scars

*Note, the suicide/self harm tag is only there just to be safe. I can't say any more without spoiling a huge part of the story.

*Note #2, This story is prewritten and will be uploaded bi-weekly.

After returning to Twilight's castle, Tempest is eager to find her place among ponykind. However, most ponies still only see her as the villainous commander of the Storm King. Despite Twilight's best efforts, Tempest just doesn't feel like she belongs with the rest of Equestria.

Takes place the day after Scars. If you haven't read that story, I implore you to please read it first. A lot of what happens in the first couple chapters of this story are going to reflect on that story, and you won't really understand what's going on too well or why Tempest's mindset is the way that it is throughout this story unless you read that story first.

Edited by my buddy AJ, as always.