Sunset Shimmer is having the worst day of her life. She used to be important. She was the personal student of Princess Celestia. She was a future leader of Equestria. She was the kind of mare that everypony envied.

Today, it's all crashing down around her.

Alternate Universe: What if Sunset Shimmer hadn't gone through the mirror?

This story is a sequel to Sunsplit

"...okay, ow. My head hurts. I wonder how long I've been--oh, who are you?"

Twilight Sparkle has cast loose the magic of Equestria and has been corrupted into a being that craves knowledge, no matter the cost. So, it’s up to Sunset Shimmer to save the day, right?

Yeah, about that…

Thanks to Tired Old Man, Nova Quill/Firimil, and
Steel Resolvefor their edits and suggestions!

Wonderful cover art by shonuff44!

As the eternal regent of Equestria, Princess Celestia's knowledge of magic is without equal. Over her long life, only a few gifted ponies who had a great destiny before them have had the honor of learning at her side. Sunset Shimmer was one such pony: one of Celestia’s best and most promising students. As she learned at Celestia’s hooves, their bond strengthened until they became far more than student and teacher to one another.

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most.

[Note: This story does not directly tie into Equestria Girls]

Sunset's friends ask her for help with a lot of things. Pretending to be Rarity's boyfriend at her cousin's wedding is a new one. It can't be that hard, right? A sharp suit, some expertly applied makeup, and a good backstory and she'll be charming the pants off of the bridesmaids in no time.

But just what is Rarity hoping to get out of this subterfuge in the first place?

Russian translation

While lounging around Twilight's castle and airing some friendship-related grievances, Discord stumbles across a magic book containing letters from an inter-dimensional pen pal. As it just so happens, this pen pal also had sinister designs for Equestria, but was quashed by the Elements of Harmony. What's more, she's made amends since that day, and she's now Twilight's friendship student. Eager to bond with someone who can relate to him on a personal level and grow into a better draconequus, Discord packs his bags and heads off to the human world with Twilight's semi-blessing. His mission: Befriend Sunset Shimmer.

However, his plan has a bit of a snag. See, Sunset hasn't been keeping up with Equestrian events, and she never got the memo about Discord turning over a new leaf. As such, she believes that his sudden appearance doesn't bode well for Equestria, Canterlot High, or herself. Not only this, but the Sirens are privy to Discord's return as well, and they see this as a golden opportunity to bounce back from their own recent defeat. Well, Adagio does, anyway. Sonata doesn't want to live in a world that makes no sense, and Aria would rather maintain what little dignity she has left by not getting involved (or so she claims).

So while Discord is trying to earn Sunset's trust and show her what a good friend he is now, Adagio is trying to get in on an evil scheme that doesn't exist. And while that is going on, Sonata is appealing to the Rainbooms behind Adagio's back, hoping that they'll make Discord go away. With so much miscommunication thrown into the mix, you just know that hijinks are inevitable. Good thing Aria made popcorn.

Cover art provided by the amazingly talented Neighthirst.

"Sunset, you weren't the first unearthly threat to come to this world, and you won't be the last. If we seem calm in the face of strange events, it's not because we're oblivious or indifferent to them. It's because they're not strange to us. The Fall Formal may have been the most important night of your life, but to us... it was Thursday."

(Slice-of-life adventures of Canterlot High's unlikely band of monster hunters.)

Now with a Tropes page, courtesy of AnoneMouseJr.

When Twilight went back home, she left Sunset Shimmer to the care of her friends. Thirty moons later, she returns to Equestria, seeking judgment for her crimes from her former mentor, hoping that some form of punishment - a stint in the royal dungeons, perhaps - will help her come to terms with the past. If only it were that easy.

Can a rift like the one that has grown between Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia even be closed at all?

A story of past mistakes, resentment, the possibility of forgiveness, and hope.

A rather terrific dramatic reading of this story performed by Goombasa is available here!

This story is a sequel to Bards of the Badlands

  Sunset hates dealing with chaos surges, no matter how amusing Moon Dancer finds them. After a particularly annoying surge while tutoring Moon Dancer in her advanced telekinetic studies, Sunset takes refuge in the teacher’s lounge. Though she was only looking for a cup of scalding hot tea, Sunset finds a pony walking down the same path she once walked, giving her an opportunity she’s never had before…
  To help somepony not out of guilt, but just because it’s the right thing to do.

Featured on Equestria Daily on September 19, 2016!

Historian’s Note: Set in a timeline where the Sonic Rainboom never happened, Bell Curve occurs in Sunset’s second year as an aide for Professor Apple Polish at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and several years before the events in The Application of Unified Harmony Magics.

Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Cheerilee, Moon Dancer & Professor Crystal Clear with Philomena as herself.

Stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline in chronological order:

Origins Arc
The Alchemy of Chemistry
Bards of the Badlands
Grading on a Bell Curve
Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix
How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative

Applications Arc
The Application of Unified Harmony Magics
Princess Celestia: A Brief History
The Cloudsdale Report

Dreamers Arc
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
A Study in Chaos Theory
Teahouses of Saddle Arabia
As the Raven Flies

Cover Credits
Cover Design by Amber Spark using Pixelmator
Sunset Shimmer Vector by Midnight-St4r
Cheerilee Vector by J-Brony
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark by MillennialDan

Editor & Beta Reader Credits
Ebon Quill - Worldbuilding Writer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker - Sysadmin at Poniverse
Painted Heart

Special Thanks:
Orbiting Kettle - For some sorely-needed advice on getting something approaching a good synopsis for this tale!

This story is a sequel to Princess Celestia: A Brief History

  When Celestia first laid eyes on Twilight Sparkle, she knew she’d seen her somewhere before. Though she’d managed to hide this from both Sunset and Twilight, after they departed for the evening, Celestia needed to be sure.
  With her trusted aide Raven at her side and a dangerous threat on the horizon, Celestia heads to the offices of the Equestrian Secret Service to investigate her suspicions.
  Because if she’s right, the possibility of eternal night is the least of Equestria’s concerns.

In FimFiction's Feature Box from October 17 to October 21, 2016 with a Hot tag!

Featured on Equestria Daily on October 23, 2016!

Historian’s Note:
In a timeline where the Sonic Rainboom didn’t happen, The Cloudsdale Report occurs directly after the events chronicled in Princess Celestia: A Brief History, which occur the day after The Application of Unified Harmony Magics.

Cast: Princess Celestia, Raven, Philomena, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer

Stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline in chronological order:

Origins Arc
The Alchemy of Chemistry
Bards of the Badlands
Grading on a Bell Curve
Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix
How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative

Applications Arc
The Application of Unified Harmony Magics
Princess Celestia: A Brief History
The Cloudsdale Report

Dreamers Arc
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
A Study in Chaos Theory
Teahouses of Saddle Arabia
As the Raven Flies

Cover Design by Amber Spark in Pixelmator
Celestia’s Cutie Mark by BlackGryp0n (Yes, that BlackGryp0n)

Beta Reader Credits
Ebon Quill - Quest Designer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker - Master of Systems at Ponyville Live & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project