Sunset Shimmer has just graduated from Canterlot High School, and while that would normally be cause for celebration, it fills her only with a nameless dread as her friends begin to scatter to the winds to pursue their futures. With the latent magic of the human world contained and categorized and the Rainboom's idyllic days of schoolwork over, she finds herself without aim and listless, as though something important is missing from her life.

Fortunately for her, Princess Twilight Sparkle might know what ails her.
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So. First time posting on the site after a VERY long period of lurking and reading and enjoying the tales this fandom can produce. To my surprise, I found a dearth of a certain subset of story that I wanted to read, and so I have done this, to put my thoughts to words. After all, it is said that one should write the story they want to read, yes? I've been inspired by a variety of stories like it that came before, and I hope to equal their quality.

I'll try to update roughly once every couple of weeks; please be patient with me and I hope you give this tale a once-over. Pre-emptively tagging with AU, that I might diverge freely from what may come if needed.

This story is a sequel to Substitute

A great evil is destroyed and its wards are so too. But now a fragment of that evil is on the loose and is unchecked.

Between an awakened seal threatening to soak up Equestria's magic, a long-dormant thorn now budding, and changes to once well-understood rules, the final pieces of a partially solved puzzle are in place and are ready to be filled in.

The greatest trials may produce the biggest revelations, transform the tightest bonds, and perhaps even lead to salvation. The cost, however, is first the breaking of everything.

The Crystal Ball Trilogy is a series of stories which deal with time travel, parallel universes, and other manipulations of time and space. Divergence is the last story; it is preceded by Feedback and Substitute.

Digital pdf version here
Print book version here

Featured on 2/6/19!

Edited by James Fire

Octavia had it all. Well, almost all; she had some money, some fans, some friends, her dream career, but it all lacked something, or someone to be exact. After one of her many concerts she finds herself waiting in line for, what's that? Another concert! Though she might not be the one playing in this one, this is one of the few places where she can relax.

And that is where it all began, on that one night, she found it. But it has a few secrets.

(This story, at the moment, is almost a mine field of spelling and grammar errors. Continue at your own expense as I try to fix some of them)

(Hey guys this is my first fic and comments are welcome for better or worse! Also I have a few things with my Vinyl and Octavia Fics:
~Vinyl's eyes...I have my opinion on their color...(I realize that the show revealed them to be magenta...I was bummed out by that...)
~Not a big fan of Vinyl OR Octavia dying...just not cool to me ( vinyl dies a lot in fics... )
~Don't like sad endings...(not saying there won't be any)
~Don't like unfinished stories...at all
That is all!

~Sapphic~

This story is a sequel to Fangs

Octavia finally managed to get what she wanted, someone to fill the gap of loneliness that lingered on the edges of her mind, but it seems like her conflicts are just beginning.

(I'd really recommend reading the first story. Or else the first chapter probably won't make a shred of sense.)

Credits to roker12 for editing.

Fearing the consequences of her actions in the bipedal world, Sunset Shimmer returns to Equestria and moves to Ponyville where Twilight Sparkle can keep an eye on her. Sunset Shimmer, bored and beaten, casts about for something to distract her, but soon the feelings growing inside her for Ponyville's princess can no longer be ignored. Nervously, with a little help and encouragement, Sunset begins to open her long-frozen heart to Twilight Sparkle, but when the shadows of Sunset's past threaten to destroy any chance of her happiness in the present, Sunset and Twilight may have to risk everything they have and defy cosmic forces older than Equestria in order to seize their fragile chance at happiness.

Cover art by Wadusher0

Many thanks to pre-reader The Albinocorn, but don't blame him for any errors you might find in the first chapter, because he only became pre-reader after I posted chapter 1

After the Canterlot Invasion. a changeling becomes lost in the Everfree Forest. When he’s finally discovered, it will take Twilight, her friends, and even Celestia and Luna to show him that there is life beyond the changeling hive. Follow Shade on his journey through light and darkness as he learns to embrace his inner strength and become more than he ever thought possible.

Enjoy the follow-up:

Faded Memory: The Rise and Fall of Sombra

Four years ago Vinyl and Octavia broke up. It was messy, painful and left scars on both of them. Four years on, now one of the most successful DJs in Equestria’s history, Vinyl receives news that Octavia has been in a terrible accident. The doctors say she may never recover from her coma, but Vinyl refuses to believe them. There are all sorts of stories about coma patients who are brought back by the voice of someone they care about, right? No matter what anypony else says, offers or threatens, and no matter what it costs her personally or professionally, she is determined to stay by Octavia’s side and do all she can to wake her.

But four years is a long time, and no matter how many fairytales end with the princess waking up, real life owes no-one a happy ending.

Featured on EQD - 3rd August 2013

Now with a fabulous dramatic reading by the even more fabulous Goombasa!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJutr2gUiE&list=UU4c-khcV1wmr1l_ZRfdp9uQ]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibcPvvXSn8c&list=UU4c-khcV1wmr1l_ZRfdp9uQ]

Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch are musicians and the best of friends; despite this, the two couldn't be more different. But when Octavia leaves Ponyville to find her fortune, she learns that her friend might have been all she ever really needed. Meanwhile, Vinyl finds herself trapped in the shadow of her father, struggling to make her own fame.

Follow them, and many other Equestrian musicians, as they further their musical careers, meet new friends, find love, and experience loss. Together, they encounter dangers, challenges and, ultimately, face the greatest realization of all - what it means to accept one's own destiny.

Using songs of the fandom for inspiration, this story was crafted to show the love of music in all it's forms, but also the love music brings to those around it. This story follows the timeline of the show, trying to match it as closely as possible. This does not mean it's not without bumps.
Speaking of editing; a huge shout-out for Aburi, my editor. He may not be the fastest editor - life being what life is - but his suggestions have made my story that much better for everyone reading. Thank you, Aburi!

Bonus Chapters are not required reading, but are just fun little additions. They do include some development for side character, or fun scenarios I wanted to toss in, but many of them are just that: bonuses.

Cover Art by Little Tigress

Plugs, Reviews, and Accolades

Equestria Daily Spotlight!

My Little Reviews & Feedback by Skyward Sword -- Final Score: 23/30

Spike has tried to become the perfect knight; unfortunately Rarity rejects him. His cries of anguish do not go unheard in the moonlit night. Luna comforts the ailing dragon however her hurting heart yearns too. Meanwhile Rarity realizes what she is missing and sets forth to undo her mistake. However, as Spike gets closer to the Night Princess intrigue is sure to follow.

Spike x Luna, one insane ship, no paddle!

Art by yours truly!

Executive Editors - SpilledInk
Editor - Ignis

This story is a sequel to Brother Bothers

Takes place during Season 5; Rated Teen for violence (aside from the expected slapstick, there is also minor blood/gore, though a little heavier during the August segment, and attempted murder at some points) and some elements involving non-consensual magic used on the characters, as well as some unfortunate side effects of both mind and body.

A polo shirt and a suit jacket. A comedian and a college student. A silly pony and a serious pony. A party pony and a business pony. An older brother and a younger brother.

Such is the relationship of Cheese and Tomato Sandwich.

After the events of the Fall Festival, the two have decided to end their feud and rebuild their relationship, hoping to regain the same bond they had when they were little. Though they had mostly corresponded through letters and had a nice Hearth's Warming holiday, Cheese feels it's not enough.

Come summer, and he's taking Tomato on a cross-country road trip to let his baby bro see for himself just what life on the road is like and to give him a break from Manehattan.

Of course, as fun as the trip sounds, there's no telling what kind of mishaps and dangers that these brothers would end up in. Between the parties and the goofy antics they get into, they also find themselves facing both inner demons and outer monsters, facing millenium-old legends, and taking inadvertent dips into darkness that could very well destroy them both.

This trip would either bring them to a greater understanding of each other, or rip them apart once more.

Yet another installment in the saga of the Brothers Sandwich. Hooray for buddy road-trip stories!