It's been a few weeks since the Friendship Games. This world's Twilight Sparkle is struggling to adjust to her new school and her new friends. Sunset sees this, and resolves to help ease Twilight into their group in any way she can.

A late night encounter, a pep talk, and a little bit of whipped cream – all things that seem insignificant on their own – cause Sunset to reflect on how she feels about her new friend and herself. Is she really just trying to be a good friend to Twilight because it's the right thing to do, or do her motives run deeper than even she realizes?

11/21/22 Update: New cover!

1/26/23 Update: Big thanks to EileenSaysHi who has edited and proofread this story!

Tagged as teen for tobacco/alcohol use and profanity. Nothing spicier than that.

Hope you enjoy!

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.

Twilight Sparkle has always respected the laws of science and magic. It's a respect that got her a scholarship to SGU, where she formed a small but comfortable group of friends and has received top grades in her two years there. It's a life that makes sense.

With her final year beginning and a special instruction from the Princess to bond with a fellow pupil, Twilight has enough to fill her life and her mind. It doesn't make sense that she should have recurring dreams about a mysterious mare, that this mare seems eerily familiar despite being a total stranger, or that she can recall the dreams with unusual clarity.

Twilight has questions about Equestria and about herself, and the answers could reshape her perception of both. She begins her research with a central question:

What lies beyond the edge of a dream?

Featured on Equestria Daily

It should have been so simple, just make some friends, find the elements and beat the villain that tries to make the night last forever, then find out she's Celestia's actual sister and absolve her as they hug… Well, perhaps not simple per say, but expected.

So then why when they defeated Nightmare Moon did Luna ignore her sister Celestia? And why did she instead hugged Twilight as if she was happier to see her then her sister? Why was it Celestia who soon after groveled and begged Luna for forgiveness, rather then the other way around? And what's with this godmother thing?

For that matter, what else changed?

The Hive has suffered generation after generation of cruel rulers. After a fateful wedding, a fateful bite, they finally have a star to guide therm through the night.

An apology story for those who have been waiting for my first book. School has been killing me, but I pinkie promise i WILL finish this one. I'll probably rewrite my first book.

Sunset Shimmer is devastated since her friends abandoned her because of Anon-A-Miss. While she tries to figure out what to do a new girl arrives in town, not knowing that she will be involved into an event she doesn't know about or has control over.

Twilight Sparkle has too much magic, and it will take her decades to learn to control it. Her spectacular loss of control during her entrance exam only proves that fact. She is a danger to herself and others.

After Sunset Shimmer’s disappearance, Princess Celestia needs a new student to bear The Element of Magic to defeat Nightmare Moon. With all of Equestria at stake, Twilight Sparkle…is not the pony she needs.

Princess Celestia seals Twilight Sparkle’s magic with the distant promise of one day teaching her.

But there are two diarchs of Equestria. Amidst a lucid dream, an offer is made.

“Hello, Twilight. Would you like to be my student?”

Cover art provided by Lafiir.

Friendship Games Spoilers ahead

In the wake of the magical fiasco that was the Friendship Games, Sunset Shimmer invites her new friend Twilight over to spend the night, and Twilight comes to find out that the two have more in common than she ever would have expected.

Preread by DragonShadow
Cover art changed due to viewer confusion.

In the many months since Twilight Sparkle transferred to Canterlot High, Sunset Shimmer's been to her house a good number of times, enough for it to feel reasonably familiar. So when she notices something she's never seen before -- a large, blue-tinted plush shark she calls her blåhaj -- on Twilight's bed, she can't help but ask about it. She's a little surprised to find Twilight looking a bit embarrassed about her stuffed animal -- but when Sunset realizes it might be emblematic of a sore spot in Twilight's life, she realizes it's up to her to restore the magic of the blåhaj.

Can be read as either platonic or shipping.

What's a blåhaj? Here's a summary. And remember the accent on "blahaj"!

Pre-read by Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder. Featured 30 January-2 February 2024.

When magic goes wrong, it can have disastrous results. For example, you might end up with two fillies when you only expected one.

An episodic tale about motherhood, two diverging lives, and reckless use of incredibly powerful magic by everypony involved.

Cover art by AmpDragoness

Teen rating for more blood in one or two later chapters than they'd allow on the show. Better safe than sorry.