Celestia owes Twilight and her friends so much, that much can't be denied. From reuniting her with her sister, to saving Equestria time and time again, Celestia has more than once offered to reward them for everything they've done. Yet every time they have turned her down, intent on achieving their dreams on their own, which Celestia respected.

Until one day, when Fluttershy comes to her and asks for an... odd request.

Inspired by the image by firefanatic, which was used with permission from the artist.

This story is a sequel to The Moon Glows Gently

When you're the immortal ruler of an entire kingdom, the most important quality to possess is self-control. No princess can rule her nation if her emotions rule her. Celestia knows this better than anypony, and mastered them long ago.

So long ago, she may have forgotten that a little bit of passion can come in handy now and again.

This story is a sequel to Delinquent Debutante

There are many, many things Queen Chrysalis would rather be doing in what little spare time she has than making a trek to the frigid northlands - unfortunately, the intel she collected warrants the long, cold, unpleasant trip. Seriously, who in their right mind would capture a Princess ~ moreover, how could somepony capture a Princess?! With her day thoroughly ruined, she begrudgingly embarks on a small adventure...

Artwork by Corantus (Twitter @corantus)

If you want to help support me, I have a Tip-Jar/Patreon HERE

Princess Luna has returned to Equestria from her millennium of exile, but much has been lost to her: centuries of time, the respect and admiration of a nation, and perhaps worst of all, the beautiful stars in her mane.

Fortunately, she hasn't lost the love of her sister.

Entrant to the first Quills and Sofas Speedwriting competition for the prompt "The Stars are Gone".

Though it has been weeks since the Elements of Harmony have purged Nightmare Moon from her, Luna is wracked by guilt and depression. Though the Elements purged the nightmare, they cannot purge the feelings of guilt and self-loathing, nor can they heal the scars wrought by jealously, anger, rage and madness. Though everypony forgave her, Luna cannot forgive herself and seeks penance through suffering.
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My thought process on this follows, I tried to put myself in Luna's figurative shoes when coming up with this story and how would I cope.
The inspiration for this story come from the songs Hurt by Nine Inch Nails, Long Hard Road Out Of Hell by Marilyn Manson and my own personal struggles with mental illness and self harm.

This story contains thoughts and actions of self harm, depression, negative self talk and self loathing. Reader discretion is advised.

The stories of Sunset Shimmer and Nightmare Moon have a lot in common. Sunset and Luna, though, have never even heard of each other. Luna's past is behind her, but Sunset still has one last apology to make. Will she find the courage to face the one she wronged? Or will she just keep hitting on Luna?

My entry for the Sunset Shipping Contest
Cover by the inimitable Rawrienstein
Special thanks to Gara and Arkadarp for proofreading!

Sunset Shimmer has had a long day. Intending to relax and blow off some steam, she has an eventful encounter with a recent diary entry from somepony she didn't expect.

This story now has an audio reading!

Tirek does not get Discord's magic. Unexpectedly, neither does Discord. Instead, it heads off to a new host, one currently lacking her usual magic and in dire need of some. Why her? Who knows! Discord doesn't, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like what he sees.

Celestia is now Equestria's local reality warping creature of Chaos. And she's rather good at it. Thankfully, she's still the Celestia they all know and love. So, as long as her friends and family give her a little nudge whenever she gets a little too crazy, things should work out fine. Right?

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

With the memory stone crisis behind her, it's time for Sunset to deal with an even bigger challenge:

A caring Princess Celestia interested in seeing how Sunset lives on Earth.

* Takes place right after Forgotten Friendship, Teen for some tame Sun x Sci-Twi Romance Fluff
* Helps to have seen the two minute short Rarity's Display of Affection
* Cover From a Picture by akainu7
* Editing help by Clancrusher
* Featured on Equestria Daily's 2018 Sunset Day 50 Fic list!
* Translated into Chinese on Fimtale by Cyber Poison

Recommended - PresentPerfect