This is the tale of a drake craving freedom.

Spike wakes up every day to a nagging roommate. His days are spent doing chores he neither likes nor dislikes. And, to make matters worse, Rarity's heart is still as distant as ever.

So he stops caring for a day.

Spike Stopped Caring cover done by the wonderful, 2135D. Please check him out; his art is better than my stories.

Edited by gaming goof, Diamond Brook, along with the ever so mysterious, Silent Watcher, the new and improved, Obsidian Shard, and tea drinker, Vexy.

FamousLastWords calls the story: "Swag."

Spike turns to writing to avoid lying, but insomnia meshes fiction with reality. A mysterious caller knows of his darkest secret.

King Sombra is dead....or that's what everypony thought at least. Spike managed to bring the crystal Heart to Princess Cadence and initially destroyed the shadow King. But something happened in-between Cadence intervening and Sombra being mere seconds from claiming his prize. A small part of the king's soul entered Spike's body when they met each other's gaze. Since Sombra's defeat, Spike continuously had visions of the foe and he couldn't understand them. During one such night, something ...different happened.

My name is Sunset Shimmer, and I wanted to speak to my newest friend, the human version of Princess Twilight Sparkle, about something which I've been keeping a closely guarded secret. Because of what happened at the climax of the Friendship Games, my heart is telling me to reveal what I've kept from everyone I know. Why choose her? Because she and I are really close... in more ways than one.

While I've used the magic journal to speak with Princess Twilight, there is the other journal... the non-magical one which I've been using since as far back as I can remember. You may think that what I wrote in this journal isn't anything serious, but when it contains secrets... personal secrets about my life from past to present...secret feelings about my friends... it becomes a completely different beast altogether.

I know Twilight will be there to help just like how I helped her, but will our friendship... all of my friendships be destroyed upon revealing these secrets to her?

Note: This story takes place after Friendship Games even though all three movies will be present in one form or another. Also, the Equestria Girls comics will be present as well with some having more scope than others. There is also some mild sexual moments between Sunset and Twilight. Edit: Added in the comics to the note.

Edit: Starting from Chapter 8 and onwards, this story now has an editor: icecreammac

Edit2: Replaced the 'human' category with the 'Equestria Girls' category.

Edit3: Second Place in the 2015 National Pony Novel Writing Month.

Rarity and Fluttershy have been friends for years, and every week they go to the spa. But after every trip, Rarity finds herself growing greener with envy over Fluttershy's beauty and grace, if not something more than just envy— and what might happen if she finds out Fluttershy feels the same way about her?
Rated Teen for moments of sensuality, foreplay, and sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.
Assistance by Karrakaz, Blue_Paladin42, TheGreatEater, Setokaiva, Squinty Mudmane, Aurora, Starfall, and Ariamaki.
Cover Image by Megasweet, used with permission.
Image colored by Explosivegent.
Additional graphical design by Novel-Idea.
TV Tropes page can be found here, credited to Winter Lily.

This story is a sequel to The Longest Night

As her twenty-first birthday dawns, Twilight Sparkle finds her simple life turned upside down. While her birthright forces itself into her life, Twilight also has to deal with the arrival of three Alicorns. No pony knows where they came from or what they want, and the Alicorns seem intent on keeping themselves and their purposes hidden. To uncover the truth, Twilight will set sail for distant, ancient lands with old and new friends.

Side-Stories: Velvet Sparkle and the Queen in Stone, Myths and Birthrights: Anthologiae, A Dream of Pride and Envy, The Castle Canterlot, by Honey Mead

TVTropes Page

Pre-readers/Editors: Honey Mead, WNA, Cerulean Voice
Cover art by Saint-Juniper

Comments Contain Spoilers

This story is a sequel to The Alchemy of Chemistry

  Somepony has raided the border of the desolate Badlands, abducting every musician, singer and bard in the realm. Now, four brave adventurers will journey to the depths of this forsaken land to seek the meaning behind these strange disappearances.
  ...assuming Sunset doesn't strangle Minuette, Lemon Hearts or Twinkleshine in the real world first.

Featured on FimFiction multiple times in January and February of 2017!
Featured as a sequel on EquestriaDaily!

Historian’s Note:
Set in the Wavelengths timeline where the Sonic Rainboom didn’t happen, Bards of the Badlands occur about two months after the events in The Alchemy of Chemistry during the summer after Sunset’s first term as an aide at Gifted Unicorns.

Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts & Twinkleshine.

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
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark By Millennial Dan
Dawn Break component of Garnet’s Cutie Mark by Sankam
Garnet Gem component of Garnet’s Cutie Mark by zutheskunk
Epic Hydra Artwork by Zilvart

Special Thanks
Roll For Initiative by Prak - A big part of the inspiration for this tale. Go read it. It's hysterical.

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Ebon Quill - Quest Designer & Worldbuilding Writer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker - Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn - Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Painted Heart

Word Count: 28,500
Version: 7.0

A different take on alicorn ascension. Sixteen years after arriving in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle is excited to have invented a brand-new kind of spell, but it will come with consequences she cannot possibly anticipate. Meanwhile, threats in shadows around the world conspire to overthrow the Solar Throne. With her world turned upside down, she will have to come to terms with the role that fate has dealt her while straining to keep Celestia in power.

Now with a TVTropes page! Please show it some love! Also check out the official side stories, Designing Intrigue, and Love and Barriers! (With even more in my stories page!)

(Please Note: This story was started before any season three information was available. All episodes in season three and later are non-canon for this story, which also means there's no Crystal Empire in this one. In addition, the promotional map released close to the beginning of season three was also not available and is not compatible with this story. While the OC tag is active because there are OCs in the story, they're really just supporting characters. The focus is on Twilight.)

Also be sure to check out the Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe Group! We're working to develop the resources needed for other authors to try their hand at writing stories set in the Rites Universe!

The Book Two cover art was created by the amazing Silfoe! The original cover art can still be found at Violet Squiggle's deviantArt page.

Author's Notes, including proofreader's credits, can be found here!

"This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library!"