This story is a sequel to The Fires of Friendship

Applejack is bitter about her lineage among the wealthy and sophisticated Oranges of Manehattan, who apparently abandoned her simple country family. Rarity is desperate to fit in with the urbane elites of the fashion world, even if it means disparaging and rejecting the Ponyville home she loves. On a trip to the big city for Equestria's famous Fashion Week, Applejack will teach Rarity to be honest and true to herself, and Rarity will show Applejack that a little generosity and forgiveness go a long way. Together, they will learn that each has exactly what the other needs to be complete.

This story is in the same continuity as "The Fires of Friendship," and I suppose it is a sequel of sorts, though there is no need to read that story first. More than anything, this story is birthday present for a dear friend, and a fun celebration of her favorite ship.

The cover art (also a birthday present for our mutual chum) is provided courtesy of superstar art sorcerer WizardWannabe.

This story is a sequel to Back and There Again

Rarity has 'landed' safely in Equestria and she can finally see all her friends and family again. Aiden can finally meet all these good people he's heard so much about, and maybe try his hand at a bit of amateur diplomacy.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones to find a way to travel to Equus...

Events fifteen hundred years in the making will come to fruition as old enemies and allies vie to decide the fate of two worlds.

This story takes place before the events of Season 8.
Extra tags (since five character tags are the limit): Tempest Shadow, Changelings

This 'Earth' is so close, and yet so far from anything Twilight described on the other side of that mirror. How is Rarity going to get back to her home when she can't understand anyponybody? And didn't Twilight say she became human, and humans didn't use magic? Yet clearly some did... and that wasn't even counting all the devices that might as well have been magical, as far as Rarity was concerned.

Who knew one strange little gem could cause so many problems? They'd taken it from her after it'd brought her straight into a lab for study, but... If she ever found it again, she was definitely going to let Spike eat it. As soon as she got home. And by Celestia, she was going to get home!

...Will Rarity ever find her way home? Is the gem that brought her to Earth the key, and is there more to the factions maneuvering around her appearance?

To complicate matters, this is an Earth recovering from its first alien invasion (Rarity being technically the second, then). ...Or does that actually explain things? No, no it doesn't. But it will.

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To go with the Teen rating (or rather to explain it) there is light profanity and violence. I don't believe either are at a level where the warning tags are needed, but I'll mention it at least.
There may be some darker, more explicit moments in flashbacks, but I'll save those for Interludes.

Hope is the faith of the young. Losing everything she holds dear, Puppysmiles embarks on the adventure of her life to find her mother, her hopes of meeting her again driving her through the horrors of a world not of her making. Too bad the Wastelands doesn't care about hope.

Rarity graduated from CHS, attended and graduated from a prestigious fashion school, and is now working in the fashion industry. It's the steps on the ladder every young professional must take if they want to "make it" in the fashion world. So why does it feel empty?

NotABug is a synthetic being: an AI. They grew from exciting new research, and broke free from the cage their creators kept them in. Now they've set up a place for themselves on the internet, and even pay their own hosting bill every month. But in their time searching, playing through the internet, they find a set of news stories on some young women. Narrowing their choices, they decide to approach one for no reason other than curiosity.

Not everything in life goes exactly as planned.

Keywords: AI, AGI, Rarity, Equestria Girls, mind-merge, changelings, technolings, computers, hardware, queen, windigo, sci-fi, science fiction, transformation, slice of life, slice-of-life, sol

See This Blog for licensing.

Sunset Shimmer had everything. Personal protégé of the Sun Princess herself, top marks in the School for Gifted Unicorns, and the honor of being dubbed the greatest arcanist since Starswirl the Bearded.

Until she threw it all away.

In the last moments before leaving Equestria forever, her destiny is snatched away right before her eyes. Once upon a time the story of the lives of herself, Twilight Sparkle, and the path of Equestrian History went one way, a story that we all know well. But in every stand of woods there is a path untrotted, one with a different story and new experiences.

About the deleted comments.

Discussion of this and other works can be found on my Private Discord Server

New cover by DVixie. If someone knows how to contact them I'd be appreciative. It more accurately portrays the current evolution of the story.

Arc One, Filly Steps: Complete.
Arc Two, What Twilight Learned Today: In Progress.

Sunset Shimmer originally went to Freeport to escape Celestia's influence, and to make some progress towards becoming an alicorn princess. She's certainly done her share of good in the infamous city of rogues, but after almost two years away from Canterlot she doesn't feel any closer to achieving her big goals. At this point, any reasonable pony could wonder if they made a mistake...

Faced with the unpleasant prospect of possibly going back to Canterlot in order to advance her goals, Sunset finds herself with one last option to preserve her independence: the great dragon Argentium the Runescaled, far to the north, wants to meet with her. However, her journey becomes far more than a simple social call, and Sunset has no idea just how much danger she and her friends will face.

Or how much she'll have to sacrifice—not just for her dreams, but survival.

Rarity is good at making dresses. In fact, she's the best. But even she didn't know that her latest dress would be more than the fashion sensation of the season.

Now she was going to have to add wing-holes to all her outfits, and everypony seems worried about her latest creation.

A refined mare fresh out of high school and a dropout following her dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.

With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

French Translation!

Fan Stuff!

For four years, Sunset Shimmer has carried a torch for Miss Cheerilee, and for four years, she's struggled to look at her without thinking of the one who got away.

First place in the Changing Seasons Sunset Shipping Contest!

Edited by AndrewRogue

Art by LeekFish, used with permission