What's a SWAG? Scientific Wild Ass Guess.

And here's your place to do so for Book IV! Fire away!

Both Sunset's meet and Pony Sunset is forced to explain who she is

Things are coming to a head.

My 'SWAG' is that you just wanted to call this thread the "swag thread" and rolled with the first anagram you could find. :p
On a more serious note, I'm fairly sure it's clear that human Sunny and as a result pony Sunny are in deep shit. In 3NAF, Dagi mentions that Wintry Mix's death is important to their mission, indicating that she had involvement with Les Scar. That human Sunset is related to Wintry Mix, going to Canterlot for her funeral, says that she's now a target for SIREN. Human Sunset being in Canterlot, and being hunted by three of Pony Sunset's friends, means that Pony Sunset's secret would be revealed MUCH earlier than she would like.

4435130
No, actually, it's a common term in the military.

4435218 Oh, didn't know that. Learn something new every day.
I didn't say anything disrespectful, did I? o.O

4435238
No, not at all. If anything, it's a derogatory term for INTEL.

I think whatever will happen, will start at the camp site of the girls

4435512
Now why would you say that? Hmmm?

I predict that Book IV will be published in July. Also, Wherewolves.

Shinzakura set up a lot of Chekov's Guns; I wonder which shoot blanks and which shoot live. These are my big three.

1. The 'Crystal Empire' in the Blanks.
2. Celestia's Care Package
3.Everything about Human Sunset Shimmer

4436394
The "Crystal Empire" reference is really just that; a smart-ass comment by a student. Similar to how missile tubes on ballistic missile subs are called "Sherwood Forest".

4436316

Wherewolf?

There is so much possible in book 4... I'm wondering how deep the rabbit hole goes now. Book 3 gave more questions than answers. And I'm not even sure I got all the questions.

Magic making a major return to the human world is one of the things most concerning in the long run. In the shorter term, we have the events with Les Scars about to come to a head which very well may thrust Sunny and co into the middle of a literal warzone... I have a feeling Sunny's magic will play a huge role in what is to come... Both in regards to let scars, and the calvicanti situation.

We also have two confirmed portals to Equeatria. And the history regarding La musica and the possibility of pony lineage awakening due to further contact with equestria.

The possibilities are great in regards to what all can happen.

rainbow dies

One thing I suspect is mass conversion of people into the creature that Piano was changed into/hybrids of it by Divine Right.

4439754
But do you know what happened to Piano?

4436661 There Wolf, there castle...

How about the theory that Octavia's chimeric DNA strands may be of pony origin, and may give her a sensitivity to the dark magic floating around; giving her the psychotic (literally) moments. Her focus on Sunset may either be due to jealousy, or subconsciously sensing Sunny's taint of dark magic and considering her a rival/threat...

It might just be me, but in Chapter 6, it's mentioned that Golden Rule, head of CSIS herself, only wants Cantata Blast alive, for unstated reasons.

I honestly didn't think it warranted mentioning until I realized something else. The Siren who was executed in the same chapter believed that Golden Rule was male. That wouldn't be a big deal, but we've seen that Cantata Blast has been lying to her own troops about many things such as the fate of Piano Bliss, the fact that they themselves have been deliberately leaking information to SCARS, and the fact that the Everfree fallback position is going to be 'sacrificed' to provide a distraction for the main attack on CSIS headquarters.

I have a feeling something went on between Cantata Blast, Poutine, and Golden Rule to cause the SIRENS to go 'rogue.'