Some bonds take longer to form than others. Some require quite a bit of pressure. Some happen whether you like it or not.

Some need only a spark.

Part of the Jinglemas 2022 collaboration.
Written for kalash93, who requested a story about Trixie and Sunburst, and maybe Starlight.
Preread by Alex_.
Edited by GaPJaxie.
Big thanks to Redruin for the cover art.

You stand at the water's edge. Feeling the waves sucking at your feet. You think of her. When do you not? With her wings and her spiral horn. Her crown and her kingdom. She is everything you aren’t.

Principal Celestia muses on what it must be like to be a princess.
TW for dark thoughts and a suicide attempt. Other than that it doesnt really need the T rating.

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!

Trixie loves Starlight. Twilight loves Starlight. Sunburst loves Starlight. Starlight loves to have her options.

It's always good to have options.

Right?

Written in August 2021 for Themoontonite. Special thanks to gara, wish, seer, silent, snow, rice, red, flash, shas, and mushroom. Love you all

Coverart edited without permission from legionsunite.

Once upon a time, Princess Celestia meant the world to her young protégée, Sunset Shimmer. In many ways, she was the world to the unicorn filly.

Now, the relationship between mentor and student has become deeply strained. Some weeks ago, the two suffered a major spat. As the rift between them grows and emotions churn inside Sunset, she begins to wonder exactly who she is in the eyes of the age-old alicorn who controls the sun.

And as Celestia prepares to leave for a diplomatic errand, she finds herself confronted by her volatile pupil -- and, put on the spot, must find a way to bridge the gap before it's too late.

Ignores the depiction of events in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer. While the story works as a standalone prequel to canon G4 animated media, it is also canon with my ongoing longform story Together from Canterlot to Canterlot, as well as, separately, my alternate universe setting established by What My Destiny is Telling Me. (Despite the name, it is not directly related to my story Late-Night Conversations.)

Cover art by daOtterGuy, who pre-read the story along with The Sleepless Beholder. Special thanks to TCC56 (First Hoof Account) and Sledge115 (Sogno di Volare) for inspiring me to dabble in this period of Sunset's life.

Featured on 11/8/22-11/10/22! Re-edited 1/14/23. Now featured on Equestria Daily!

Life's been hard for Sunset ever since the Fall Formal. She's chronically lonely, much of her free time is dedicated to work and studying, and her classmates still don't trust her. Regardless, she's committed to making things right and improving herself one day at a time.

Most of her new friends are trying to make her feel welcome, but everything feels so forced and awkward at first. This is made worse by Rainbow Dash who seems intent on making things difficult for Sunset. Are they just incompatible? Or is there a deeper reason they can't seem to get along?

Shoutouts to EileenSaysHi, NudistSquid, X_c4nd13d_p3pp3r_cut13_X, Gusto Starstorm and another one of my friends for a combination of workshopping, pre-reading, editing, and proofreading

Featured 10/13/22! Thank you!

This story begins a couple months after the events of the first Equestria Girls movie.

This also takes place before the events of "Can You See What I See?", but you don't have to read that to understand this or vice versa.

• Sunset vector used sourced from here. Unable to find the original source link. If you happen to know the source, please drop me a link!
• Rainbow Dash vector used can be found here.
• Rest of cover created/edited by me.

This is a compilation of one Cross Stitch's journal in relation to what is referred to as the "Rumours Incident" that occurred in Gulp Gulch.

Written for the Quills and Sofas Speedwrite "Power of Three".

Preread by The Sleepless Beholder, Dewdrops on the Grass, and LuckyChaosHooves

Inspired by Flashgen's story A Fleeting Light in the Darkness and the animated short Backwater Gospel (CW: Gore, Violence).

A series of letters sent by now missing student of Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle.

Featured on 06/04/22

Rarity doesn't see anything wrong with dreaming of things that will never happen. Especially not when they involve the friend she harbors secret feelings for.

Princess Luna knows better.

Featured from 11-15 to 11-17-21, peaking at #1. Thanks, everypony.

Teleportation. It is the best possible way to travel... As long as you don't think about it too much. As long as you don't ask where Twilight goes in that split second when she's neither here nor there.

The sound I listened to as I wrote it, available to you in order to give you the option of having the same atmosphere.

No relation to the other story with the same name, just a coincidence of both picking the same excellent title. I was unaware that the other one existed.
Dramatic Reading by Charles Spratt | Second Reading by TheDizzyDan | Third Reading by Crafty Arts | Fourth Reading by Stormy787
Russian Translation 1 (by Aloz) | Russian Translation 2 (by Doof Ex Machina)