This story is a sequel to At the End of a Tough Day

Yesterday was tough on Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. Sunset attended a funeral to say goodbye to her uncle Silver Shine, while Twilight gave a very important presentation at a scientific conference; one that might just make her career. It was a trying day for them both, but their mutual love and support got them through, as it always does.

Today is different. Today the loving couple enjoy a nice breakfast, celebrate the things that got them this far, and look forward to the future. Twilight also has something she's been hiding from Sunset, a surprise something that will change everything. For better or for worse.

Today is a good day.

Sunset Shimmer has just returned home from a short trip to Equestria, where she was attending her uncle's funeral. Her girlfriend, Twilight Sparkle, was giving a nerve-wracking presentation at an important scientific conference. The two have a conversation, offering mutual love and support.

Tagged sad because Sunny is sad. There's nothing super heavy here, just a bit of SunLight.

Rarity was sure she'd failed Prim Hemline in creating a suitable window display for Carousel Boutique—only to find the most beautiful of artworks in those same windows the next morning. Even more surprising: Sunset had painted and arranged them.

A most wonderful turn of events, as far as Rarity was concerned—with just one problem.

How did Sunset manage to paint the window displays of a closed boutique overnight?

Part of the Montage Cinematic Universe.

When the girls discovered magic at Camp Everfree, Sunset Shimmer was the first to embrace it. But now, the little bit of magic she got is just reminding her of how much she's lost. And as people get more and more desperate, you can never tell when they're going to do something incredibly stupid.

Principal Celestia always has wings in her dreams.

They got her into trouble, once. She let herself believe that they meant she was an angel. Then she grew up, and learned some hard lessons about what being an angel really required.

Now six magical girls have just fought a demon in front of her school. And her phantom wings are itching.

Her life is turning upside down ... and she hasn't even heard about Equestria yet.

Rated Highly Recommended (Top 15 Stories Sitewide) by Present Perfect! "It's f**king flawless, you guys. … The first [6]00-word chapter by itself is a masterpiece."

"Literally the single best EqG story on the site." —Professor Plum
"[One] of the best stories on the site, period." —Pearple Prose
"One of my all-time favorite pieces of fanfiction." –brokenimage321
"My favorite EQG fic of absolute all." -Skywriter

Rated Why Haven't You Read This Yet? by PaulAsaran! "I might have been skeptical going in, but horizon knocked it out of the park."

Rated 5/5 by csquared08! "The opening chapter here was truly something else. ... Then I hit the end of chapter 3. holy crap."

Rated ★★★★ by Louder Yay! "A lesser writer might have made a horrible, cliché-ridden mess of this story, but fortunately horizon is not a lesser writer. For a start, it's by some distance the best portrayal of the human world's Celestia I've read."

Third place in the "Under the Sun" June 2017 Writeoff!  (That first draft has been revised and expanded for FIMFiction.) Praise for the Writeoff version:

"Holy cow ... That's how you write an EqG fanfic! You captured the heart and SOUL of this/your version of Principal Celestia, wrapped it up in bi-universal consistency, and sold me on an idea of redemption I didn't even know I needed." —Xepher

"This is gorgeous. A thorough, exhaustive, incredibly moving portrait of a character who I don't think I've ever seen get quite this much development or attention." —Posh

"This is actually, after all these years, an original take on a story on Luna's banishment. If that's not something to be celebrated I don't know what is." —Quill Scratch, Radio Writeoff

MORE REVIEWER PRAISE: Rated "Definitely Read" by Super Trampoline! Reviewed by City of Doors! Reviewed by Titanium Dragon! Featured on Equestria Daily!

Rated T for brief cursing and alcohol use. Cover art by Seniloko, used under Creative Commons license.

Translations:

中文 - 行政天使

This story is a sequel to Feedback

A terrible loss has been averted, but even that has a price.

Between the disappearance of several hundred ponies from around the world, strange portals leading to alternate versions of Equestria, an unknown alicorn frequenting Ponyville for secretive reasons, and the arrival of a new race of ponies bringing some ulterior motives, the pieces sowed by Twilight’s fight with the Nameless are set to crash back down.

What happens when friendship fails? Who will take Twilight’s place within the grave?

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

Digital pdf version here
Print book version here

Featured on 7/19/2016!
Goodreads entry~

Ask Me Anything 10/22/16
Ask Me Anything 1/18/17

Edited (with varying degress of contribution) by
sourichan, Kuairu, Thought Prism, Orion Caelum, Corejo, and AlicornPriest

While tearfully repairing the wall she destroyed, Sunset Shimmer can't help but reflect on what a horrible person she is. Convinced she'll never be forgiven by her peers, and unsure if she's even worthy of it, she's visited in the night by one of the last people she expected.

This story is a sequel to The First Step

It has been a few weeks since the fall formal. The school has been repaired, Sunset has been, begrudgingly at least, accepted back into the student body, and she even has a few friends.

They all have so much energy to them. They laugh, they tease, the fight and make up. Sunset can't do that. Not yet. It takes too much energy, energy she doesn't have. Being around them is great. They've been so kind to her. They stand by her. Sunset only wishes she had the energy to do the same for them.

-- Cover art by JanaDashie over on Deviant art.

It has been a few days since the Fall Formal. Sunset is the construction crew's gopher, she still eats lunch alone, and she's feeling worse than ever. At the very least, she can feel proud of not having been a total she-demon since the dance. In fact, other than being lonely, she's been a model student.

So why in the name of Celestia is she being called to the principal's office?

Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer. Two ponies who are all too familiar with regret. Though they have just met, both can see a little of themselves in the other. After helping her friends stop the misguided rampage of Juniper Montage, Starlight is faced with another problem. Completely by accident, she uncovers Sunset's unrequited wish. To reunite with Princess Celestia.

With Sunset too enveloped in regret to undertake the journey alone, Starlight agrees to help. Pitted against their own doubts, will they be able to pull through or will Sunset's greatest wish go unanswered?