The summer after their first year of college, Sunset and Twilight are living a happy life together. Twilight has moved in to Sunset's surprisingly spacious apartment, and, for the first time in her life, is sharing a bed with another human being (well, unicorn-turned-human, but close enough). And despite some initial misgivings, life with her longtime friend-turned-girlfriend has proven to be a rather easy adjustment.

But both Sunset and Twilight, with quite a few stressful memories apiece, are prone to some bad nights of sleep. And when Twilight finds herself suddenly awake in the wee hours of the morning, her bedmate clearly distressed and in the grip of a nightmare, she knows what she has to do, what she and Sunset have so often done for each other:

Cuddle.

Cover art by TheRainbowMaiden. Used with permission. Author's Notes art created for this story by The Sleepless Beholder. Pre-read by Avery Day and Axolotl222. Chapter 2 written for the Bean's Writing Group prompt "A Shared Meal".

T-rating for sexual references.

Featured 12/13/22-12/15/22!

Sunset's father picks her up from school and drives her to Crystal Peak for a mountain hike. However, she senses that there is more to the spontaneous outing than simply enjoying the trek.

Written in honour for today's Father's Day

Huge thanks to PseudoBob Delightus for prereading this fic!

Learning how to be human, in the sense of both her physical body and her new outlook on life, has been an interesting process for Sunset Shimmer. Just as she starts to think she's figured things out through and through, something else comes to shake things up completely.

The latest such instance being when she learned her best friend had begun to think about their relationship in a whole new way.

And as Twilight and Sunset begin to explore what it means to care for one another the way they do, encounters with Twilight's family bring back moments in Sunset's life she'd long tried to lock away in shame. Resolving to confront some of the ghosts of her past in person -- albeit not quite in person -- the pair embark on a journey that brings Twilight to a brand new world, and Sunset to one she struggles to recognize, as both find themselves laying their souls bare before each other.

Cover art by Avery Day, who is pre-reading the story alongside Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder.

While this story is not specifically a sequel, it is in continuity with two other fics: The Final Conversation and Milkshakes, Marionettes, and Midnight. The story begins late during the events of Legend of Everfree and diverges further from the canon timeline during "Dance Magic".

Featured on 6/20/23-6/21/23, 7/4/23, 8/15/23, and 9/10/23!

Once upon a time, Princess Celestia meant the world to her young protégée, Sunset Shimmer. In many ways, she was the world to the unicorn filly.

Now, the relationship between mentor and student has become deeply strained. Some weeks ago, the two suffered a major spat. As the rift between them grows and emotions churn inside Sunset, she begins to wonder exactly who she is in the eyes of the age-old alicorn who controls the sun.

And as Celestia prepares to leave for a diplomatic errand, she finds herself confronted by her volatile pupil -- and, put on the spot, must find a way to bridge the gap before it's too late.

Ignores the depiction of events in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer. While the story works as a standalone prequel to canon G4 animated media, it is also canon with my ongoing longform story Together from Canterlot to Canterlot, as well as, separately, my alternate universe setting established by What My Destiny is Telling Me. (Despite the name, it is not directly related to my story Late-Night Conversations.)

Cover art by daOtterGuy, who pre-read the story along with The Sleepless Beholder. Special thanks to TCC56 (First Hoof Account) and Sledge115 (Sogno di Volare) for inspiring me to dabble in this period of Sunset's life.

Featured on 11/8/22-11/10/22! Re-edited 1/14/23. Now featured on Equestria Daily!

New Cover Art! See the full image here: https://www.deviantart.com/harwicks-art/art/Commission-What-My-Destiny-is-Telling-Me-969614816

Sunset Shimmer was a pony that always had her destiny in her control… but that was before. Now, trapped for months in a world where she no longer has magic, no longer has a plan and no longer even has her own body, she's lost. She found an unexpected lifeline, however, when she showed up at the Crumbles/Flanks residence, desperate for help, and formed a close bond with a human around her own age, Rarity.

Having lived together for several months, Rarity has grown to consider Sunset a sister, even as Sunset feels hesitant about the moniker. Shortly before the start of the school year, Rarity brings Sunset along on an annual camping trip, hosted by Applejack and Big Mac, hoping to better acquaint Sunset with her friends. But one morning, Rarity awakes to find Sunset, sleepless and distraught, struggling with concerns and fears she doesn't understand... as the specter of destiny continues to loom large in the former unicorn's mind.

And it's up to Rarity to provide some much-needed comfort.

Set in an alternate universe in which the timeline diverges after Sunset leaves Equestria. This story also deviates from the depiction of Sunset's past as portrayed in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer. Chronologically, it takes place after the events of The Final Conversation, though reading that story is not a requirement.

Pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder and Ninjadeadbeard. Cover art by Harwick. Originally written for the Bean's Writing Group prompt "Let's Go Camping".

Featured on 8/23/22–8/26/22!

Minor Note: My stories generally treat Canterlot High School as a 7-12 school to justify the Cutie Mark Crusaders/Canterlot Movie Club being there in the main films. Keep that in mind if you notice some odd-looking age math in there; at the time of the story, Rarity and Sunset are about to start 9th grade (freshman year).

This story is a sequel to What My Destiny is Telling Me

While this story is set in continuity with What My Destiny is Telling Me (and, by extension, The Final Conversation), it can be read on its own, as there is a quick recap of the first story in the text.

Sunset Shimmer's world changed, very literally, the day she fled through a magic mirror and became stuck on the other side. It changed again shortly afterwards, when a desperate search for shelter landed her at a home that, at the urging of their eldest daughter, took her in as family.

Sunset knows she owes a lot to Rarity, not merely in giving her a home but in helping her grapple with the darkness that lay inside her. Yet she still struggles to find solace in her new realm, the unicorn mind within her still struggling with being trapped in a human body -- and worse, potentially adjusting to it. Rarity can see the turmoil in her sister, and wants to help, but knows it's not going to be an easy conversation to have.

But it's a necessary one, for both their sakes.

Set in an alternate universe in which the timeline diverges after Sunset leaves Equestria. This story also deviates from the depiction of Sunset's past as portrayed in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer; some details of said past are instead depicted in The Final Conversation.

Pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder and Dewdrops on the Grass. Written for the Bean's Writing Group prompt "Stargazing".

This story is dedicated to Ninjadeadbeard.

Cover art from a piece by SarcasticLeaves, who could not be contacted as they are no longer in touch with the MLP fan community. Should they contact me and request its removal, I will oblige.

Featured on 2/28/23-3/4/23!

Everyone has to sleep eventually—everyone, which means that at some point Sunset's new roommate is going to have to stop messing around with her computer and go to bed. But somehow the one-and-only Twilight Sparkle doesn't need to obey the laws of the universe, and therefore she might just be the one-and-only person who never sleeps.

Written as a study on narrative and preconception. Recommended by TCC56. Reviewed by PaulAsaran. Cover art by localsya. Interior art by me!

Sunset, after becoming the victim of one of Twilight's experiments gone awry, sits down and has a long conversation with the mare she secretly hates the most. Herself.

Sunset Shimmer wants to become an alicorn more than anything - it's the entire reason why she's Princess Celestia's student. But she's run out of ways to research it and Princess Celestia has blocked her at every turn.

Fortunately for her, there's a new Princess on the block - Cadance. One who's already ascended. One who knows personally and intimately how she did it.

To get her to talk, Sunset will do anything. Even if it means pretending to like - really like - the Pink Pony Of Passion.

Cover art by daOtterGuy.

Featured 8/28/2021-08/30/2021! (And basically every update date after that.)

Now with a TVTropes page thanks to ZanarNaryon!

There's a problem at the Pie Quarry. One that Sunset Shimmer is uniquely equipped to handle.

Dealing with magic is easy. Dealing with cute quiet girls is too, but to solve this one, Sunset is going to need to dig deep. Real deep.