It's Twilight Sparkle's first night as a princess, and she can't sleep. Her thoughts are haunted by a question that will not let her rest. A question that only Celestia can answer.
Twilight takes a walk in the woods near Canterlot to clear her mind, when a mischievous little phoenix starts dropping chestnut shells on her head. Quite a familiar mischievous little phoenix.
As an orca pony swims one night among the fiery monuments of a global conflict, she finds a sailor freezing to death in the arctic cold. She has only one question for him.
Rainbow Dash finds a maimed, unconscious young colt on the edge of Ponyville and rushes him to the hospital, but nopony knows who he is and something about him seems off...
New spells are fun, and Twilight loves practicing them. An ill-timed sneeze has made her latest spell go a bit out of control, though, and now she's stuck as a tiny kitten, trying to deal with a pony-sized world.
Sunset Shimmer has fallen into a self-destructive spiral since her friends left her, and she attempts to end her life. While unconscious, she is confronted by Princess Luna. They have much to discuss, whether Sunset likes it or not.
Even with Hearth's Warming Eve around the corner, Tempest Shadow is still haunted by the memories of her actions. Hoping to help, Twilight asks an old friend for assistance. One who'll force Tempest to face her demons, whether she wants to or not.
Discord knew this was coming. He knew. So did Princess Twilight. They knew. They saw it coming a mile away. Yet they let this happen anyway. Why couldn't they just let things stay the same? Who's the bigger fool?
It was a simple dynamic. Simple enough that it didn't require any questions, only the unspoken agreement to remain silent. It only required Twilight broken into pieces, so she could never put herself back together again.
For the first time in several hundred years, Twilight Sparkle–Alicorn of Magic, Princess of Friendship, and sole Ruler of Equestria–has a friendship problem to solve.
After what Sunset had done she never expected anyone to forgive her, but there was always someone willing to give her a second chance and accept her for what she was.