A story set in between Books I and II of All-American Girl.

A lot of news has come out of Canterlot lately: the destruction of Fillydelphia and the razing of Cloudsdale. The attack on Canterlot itself. Princess Celestia declaring war. That was bad enough.

Now, with the news of Princess Luna's illegitimate child - an alicorn, no less! - and her intent to marry the father or abdicate, what does that say about the stability of the nation? What does that say that the lunar alicorn chose not to love a pony, but a human? And what does that say about the newly-invested Princess Luna II (who insists on being called Sterling) herself?

Then there's the news of Viscountess Lyra Heartstrings, now somehow permanently a human and never to become a pony once more. Why did that happen? Could it have been prevented? And was it stopped...by humans, no less?

And those rumors, which seem to be on the increase: That Celestia herself has taken a human as a lover. That Saddle Arabia intends to declare independence. That Nightmare Moon survived the attack on Canterlot...and that Chyrsalis didn't, and now something worse has taken her place.

As the months go by and the sapient peoples of both worlds come closer to the end of 2047, a whole lot of uncomfortable truths may come to light...

...and one just might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.