Sunset Shimmer never intended to hurt anyone. She simply had a dream of who she wanted to be. And nothing's more gut-wrenching than realizing real life simply doesn't include your life-long dream...

An origin story for Sunset Shimmer, as a basis for her episode of the Not Exactly Friends series. (Note: I treat the comics backstory as helpful guidance here, rather than canon.)

For more in this timeline, see: Sunset -- Part II

This story is a sequel to Without Your Cutie Mark

The Great and Powerful Trixie has her eye on a place in Twilight's circle of friends at Celestia's School... and then suddenly discovers it may be her only chance to stay at the School...

For more of this AU, see: Saving Sunset Shimmer (Note: You could also optionally take a detour through its backstory prequels: Sunset -- Part I and Part II.)

And check out the series, beginning with Not Exactly Friends.

This story is a sequel to Shelter of the Storm

Starlight Glimmer decides to accompany Sunburst when he goes to start classes at Celestia's School. It's the worst possible day in her entire life... that is, until a chance encounter with a certain plume-maned unicorn...

For more of this AU, see: Never Any Doubt

And also check out the series, beginning with Not Exactly Friends.

This story is a sequel to Sunset -- Part I

On the other side of the mirror, Sunset unexpectedly discovers a world that offers everything she could have hoped for and more... if only she could see the answer that's standing right in front of her...

An origin story for Sunset Shimmer, as a basis for her episode of the Not Exactly Friends series: Saving Sunset Shimmer

This story is a sequel to Not Exactly Friends

On a dark night, in a gathering storm, Tempest waits to walk Twilight back to her room... and is almost certain that something is out there, watching her...

For more of this AU, see: Without Your Cutie Mark

And also check out the series, beginning with Not Exactly Friends.

Personal discovery is a wonderful thing. In Silverstream's case, five words softly uttered from a certain distraught friend was all it took to ignite a furious fire in her heart.

Unfortunately for Grampa Gruff, he was flammable.

*Spoilers for Season 9 Episode: A Horse Shoe-In*

Starlight Glimmer has gone back in time. Each time Twilight tries to stop Starlight, she fails and is flung back through the portal and into a broken, twisted Equestria, ravaged by wars or monsters, each version worse than the one before, barreling toward the destruction of the world. Until she lands in a version of Equestria that ... isn't worse. It seems unchanged, happy, normal. The only real difference she can find on the cutie map is that her castle isn't there ...

... but the library still is.

Editing by Formerly Committed and JetstreamGW.

Sunset is accused of spreading everyone’s secrets on a Mystable page calling itself Anon-a-Miss, losing all of her friends and reputation in the process.

But it seems the school forgot one thing.

Sunset Shimmer isn't one to be easily broken.

A story dearly inspired by wanting something different out of the Anon-a-Miss 'Genre' of fics. Many are wonderful stories, but at the end of the day, most tend to fall into the same couple of tropes with slight alterations, and many of those tropes are ones I'm not terribly fond of.

So with my ever present desire to take a well trod genre and flip it on its head, I present my own take on this story, and one I have not personally seen. So I hope I deliver on giving you something different from the others!

Pre-Read by the Wonderful and Loveable baes: Uria, the Sacred Beast and Sunny Days

There's a new filly in Celestia's school, who finds making friends difficult. She's seated next to a filly who could care less about making friends. Neither is exactly friend material... but sometimes you just have to take a risk...

For more of this AU, see:

Series 1:

• Not Exactly Friends
• Shelter of the Storm
• Without Your Cutie Mark
• Never Any Doubt
• Sunset -- Part I and Part II
• Saving Sunset Shimmer
• By the Light of the Moon
• Trixie Luna Moon
• Ring Around the Moon -- Part I and Part II

Series 2:

• A Canterlot Engagement
• The Restless Princess
• Where Trouble Goes
• Meet the Sparkles
• Who Needs Enemies -- Part I and Part II
• The Visiting Team -- Part I
• The Visiting Team -- Part II
• What Nightmares Fear
• Hearth's Warming, AP Class

In the wake of Twilight’s escape from her kingdom, Nightmare Moon sentences Rarity, her palace steward, to a terrible fate: bound in gold and priceless gems, she’s to be thrown into an ancient dragon prison to be messily devoured.

Except the prison isn’t what it seems, nor is its sole occupant. Rarity just might find her life instead of losing it, and alter the course of Equestrian history in process.

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