Perception is a fascinating thing. Sometimes, how someone views themselves and how others view someone don't coincide. In fact, it can be absolutely baffling how different the two are.

The girl who seems to have everything together? She might be a wreck beneath the surface.

The girl who seems so inattentive? Perhaps she genuinely doesn't see the attempts to reach her.

The girl who seems so moody? Maybe there's more to it than what people see.

But of course, that's the thing about perception. Sometimes, it just doesn't line up. And few know that better than the girls at Crystal Prep Academy.

(This is a collection of little vignettes I'll be publishing, effectively going into my headcanons for the Shadowbolts. I hope you enjoy it.)

Indigo Zap was the star athlete of Crystal Prep Academy. Way more athletic than she had any right to be, and always looking for a challenge, she helped the school's reputation immensely. Everyone respected her.

But no one knew what lied beneath the surface. No one knew why she was such a loner, even by Crystal Prep standards.

She rarely, if ever hung out with others, often rushing back home after practice. And she rarely called or texted anyone, and no one even knew what hobbies she had. That was by design, because Indigo didn't WANT them to know.

After all, how could they understand her obsession when even she didn't?

Edit (9/15/22): Edited a small detail about the number of sketchbooks. Not too important, but simply made the number smaller to fit new continuity details.

Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy each have their fair share of amazing students, both academically and athletically. None, however, are quite as notable as Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap.

A short time after the near-disastrous events of the Friendship Games, the two star athletes from each school arrange to meet up for a chat at a city park, where they find that they're not as different as they may have thought.

The artwork for this story was made by IJAB.

This story was graciously edited by Dubs Rewatcher.

Featured on Equestria Daily 31/03/2016.

This story now has an audio reading! Done by the ever amazing Lotus Moon

This story is a sequel to Zest for Life!

An unfortunate chain of events leaves Sugarcoat from Crystal Prep Academy with a bunch of electric scrap and empty pockets. To refill her purse, she decides to earn some money by taking on a job as a babysitter: On a Friday evening, she is supposed to watch over a pair of twins in the neighboring town. Despite the warnings of her fellow Shadowbolts friends, she is convinced that watching over a pair of toddlers will be a piece of cake.

It soon turns out however being a babysitter requires a little bit more work than she first thought...

During the final minutes of school, Indigo Zap steals Sugarcoat's glasses and refuses to give them. Thinking of a way to get them back, Sugarcoat uses the last resort to get her glasses back.

After getting stuck together on a class project, Sunny starts to question her views of Indigo. The brash tomboy was very different when they were working together, and that just didn't add up. So it was time to do some digging.

Hints of romance in later chapters, this is basically the backstory for Indigo and Sunny's relationship. There's some threads to other fics, but they're really not gonna jump out until later.

I hope you enjoy, I'm no good at drama.

Art done by Ta'ruht Qarine a good friend of mine, her stuff is awesome and her commissions are affordable, check her out!

Oh snap, this was featured on 10/26/22
Never imagined I'd make it to the front page outside of update windows, that's really cool!

A regular day at Crystal Prep is shaken up as Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap get bored during their free period. Zest's idea to relieve that? A wacky little unauthorized project in the science lab. Things take a turn for the worse when the project vaporizes the head of the school. Now the two have to prevent anyone else from finding out about it long enough for them to get rid of any evidence. Question is, who'll crack first?

It's a parody of one of my favorite episodes of Spongebob.

Rated T for a few lightly suggestive jokes.

Sunny Flare agreed to work at a sushi shop mainly to get away from her grouchy Aunt Cinch. However, it turns out her associate is none other than Sunset Shimmer. As if the Wondercolts hadn't caused enough trouble.

This story is a sequel to A Sweetly Sour Surprise

After being introduced to each other, Indigo Zap and Iconic Portrait begin a friendship on the verge of becoming much more. However certain insecurities begin to give them second thoughts. Can their friends and family help direct their path towards happiness and nude photos?

Collaboration with Ron Jeremy Pony

Two schools: Canterlot High and Crystal Prep. One is carefree and lively, the other is more series and strict. While both schools are fair on their students, let see what happened if one student from each of them switch places.

Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap, to competitive teenage girls who love sports and showing off how great they are. Even though they haven met, they would find they might have a few things in common.

But when they try out for their school's soccer teams, they will find out that playing sports isn't just about being the best.

Art by Mixi Pie