Sunset Shimmer has always been a hot-headed, impetuous girl. She's always been prone to making snap decisions, and later finding herself regretting them. It was exactly this temperament that had brought her to the human world, penniless and alone. When the opportunity to get back on her feet presented itself in the form of a stranger's outstretched hand, she leaped at the chance.

This is the story of a woman who has made many bad choices, and the life those choices have made for her.

Tags, and even rating, may change as the story goes on.

Thanks as usual to Magello for the cover art!

The long trial was over, and Twilight - no, Dusk Shine's finally out from under that terrible shadow. Poor little Skyla and her auntie could move on with their life. Skyla's murderous grandfather was behind bars, and Dashville was simply beautiful in the fall!

And all Dusk Shine needed to do was stay out of the public eye, and never catch the eye of 'King' Sombra's secretive confederates. And make sure that she stayed in the local deputy marshals' good graces.

How much trouble could a slightly witchy woman and her orphaned niece get up to in a quiet Applelachian town like Dashville, anyways? Even if they were hiding in witness protection from their incarcerated drug-cult kingpin of a patriarch.

This story is a sequel to Chrysalis Works at Quills and Sofas

Luster Dawn finds out, much to her consternation, that Chrysalis works at Quills and Sofas.

Twilight walks into Quills and Sofas to find out, to her surprise, that Chrysalis works there.

Art made by Kamikakushi!

Now with a silky smooth Youtube reading by Wayart Narration!

Twilight Sparkle is immortal. She does not want to be, but it merely was included with her ascension. Now, years after the deaths of all her friends, Twilight feels desperately alone. In order to help herself overcome these feelings of depressions, she creates her own friend, a clone of herself.

This story is a sequel to The Witch of the Everfree

Saddle Arabia is a land of mysteries and ancient legends, and Sunset Shimmer sees it as a great place to escape from her mistakes for a while. What caused her to flee Equestria, and can she find a way to prove herself and win back the favor of the ponies she wronged?

More importantly, can she avoid starting a war?

I'd like to thank all my followers, fans, and patreon subscribers. Without all of you, I'd be worse off in every way.

Twilight Sparkle spent most of her life alone. Where others had pictures of friends or family, she hung academic certificates and awards. She wasn't unhappy. She had everything to look forward to and a path to what really mattered in life - tenure.

Sunset Shimmer knocked her life off the rails. She didn't expect to care about anyone else. She never put 'fall in love' on her checklists. It was a surprise, but a welcome one. Hand in hand, they started on a path without knowing where it would lead.

It led here, far off in the brush, the path she'd originally walked only occasionally visible ahead, taunting her with what could have been.

An entry for the third Sunset Shipping Contest.

Thank you to all my Patreons and commissioners for supporting me!

This story is a sequel to Good Trooper Gilda

Gilda has been a fugitive, a refugee, a prisoner of war, and a bat-hen to Equestria's fussiest unicorn. But it wasn't until she took 'the Princess's bit', that she began to know something about what it meant to be responsible for the welfare of others, even if the others in question happened to be the pack of imbeciles, blackguards, con-ponies, and bat-ponies who had been fool enough to answer her captain's call to the standard.

A crystalline standard which had not been seen in the living world for over a thousand years.

And although Captain Gleaming Shield and her motley band of raw recruits and shifty bat-ponies aimed to do nothing more exotic and dangerous than put a foreign princess on her proper throne, there are other things stirring in the shadows.

Like calls to like, and the revival of ancient battle-colors may lead to the revival of other, darker memories upon which the rays of Celestia's sun lay lightly and infrequently.

Featured on Equestria Daily!

What Readers Are Saying...

"You make the waterworks happen," -Stardust_Scratch

"It has been like watching a gruesome car crash. You cannot look away from it, and it tears you apart, you are sure you are gonna have nightmares about it, but you just keep reading." -llDenkerll

"Have any of you ever accidentally’ed your way into a horror story, that was way darker than you thought it was going to be? ...I’m going to go scrub my brain down with a few hours of mindless pony fluff... I am enjoying the story I swear," -fargo11

"The ending of the last chapter left me with hope, with expectations, while the end of this chapter leaves me with sorrow, with emptiness, with hopelessness. I need more," -Anshlun

"I lack any words to describe how fucked this whole situation is. It hurts so much. Good job," -Hermaeus xerxes

"This story has some painful feels to it... I need time to think now," -Destiny Chaser

"Every time I read the witches' dialogue I feel genuinely scared... I don't have a clue of what's going to happen," -TheFaceofMercy

Starlight Glimmer had always been a difficult pony.

She's getting better, though! Really! Three years of living with the Princess of Friendship, one of the most beloved ponies in Equestria, is bound to rub off on a mare. Though Starlight continues to grapple with her insecurities and past mistakes, she never would have presumed she'd be free of the guilt - as it should be.

Yet over the years, she's come into her own as a devoted, passionate, and empathetic friend (despite a few bumps here and there).

But one day, like any other, a strange illness befalls Princess Twilight Sparkle. Starlight is driven to a foal's storybook for answers. Armed with her magic and faith, the ex-student follows a crumb trail leading to one reclusive group dwelling in the heart of an otherworldly bog. If there was any salvation for the pony who'd saved Starlight, it lay solely with them. Except when the time comes for payment to be collected, what's left behind is picked up by Twilight and her friends.

And Starlight doesn't want them to. For how can something so broken be put back together? She'd much rather save them all the trouble...

^{Canon divergence one year after 'The Movie,' post-season seven}

Rated-T for some disturbing imagery and heavy themes concerning depression

Artwork of the Witches by Hermaeus Xerxes: https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2019/9/22/2150483.png

Starlight's Theme: Above and Beyond by Paul Dinletir
Twilight's Theme: Homecoming by Jeff Marsh
The Broken Bond Theme: The Birth of a Soul by Fran Soto

Pre-reader/Editor: JD McGregor
Cover Artist: Calenita

A bunch of short stories of random ideas that come to me. More to follow as more time and ideas flow.

Special thanks to Tired Old Man who edited this stuff.

Pic unrelated.