Magic is real, and Derek is on the verge of unlocking its secrets. It doesn't matter that his best friend doesn't believe any of it, he'll still go along to his first real spell. Unfortunately for the two of them, the magic works a little too well.

Soon they're taken to a strange new world of supernatural horses, a world where intrigue and spellcraft are interwoven to an inescapable prison. An mysterious cult dedicated to the worship of the ancient Alicorns has finally brought two of the ancients back from banishment. Their spell didn't quite work out; they definitely expected the Old Gods to be a little... older.

If the two former humans want to have any hope of seeing their old world and old bodies again, they'll have to make quite an impression to their secret worshipers, or else find themselves at the mercy of the same Alicorn sisters who took over Equestria all those centuries ago.

That's only where their problems start. Growing up as a little pony in a town like Willowbrook might be the greatest challenge they've ever faced.

Updates on Saturdays. This story was edited by Bitera and Sparktail. Cover by Zutcha.

This story was commissioned as a Patreon reward.

Dou·ble (/ˈdəb(ə)l/)
adjective: Consisting of two equal, identical, or similar parts or things.

noun: A person who looks exactly like another.

It was never supposed to end like this.

Princess Cadance has saved all of Equestria from the changeling threat. What comes next isn't going to be half as easy.

One wedding may be cancelled, but a new engagement has begun.

Massive thanks to my pre-readers/ideas tasters: Bronetheus and RK_Striker_JK_5. Go check out Night Errantry and Spanner in the Works for two great fics that are well worth your time.

Warning: This is an attempt to make the Cadance/Chrysalis ship work, without too much darkness (though there will be some), or it leading to an inevitable bad end. If you hate this idea, believe that Cadance ending up with Chrysalis is automatically a bad end regardless of circumstances, or just think it's plain impossible to pull off then please move on as this fic is probably not going to be for you.

Still if you want to see if this pretty cracky ship can somehow be made to work, and have some fun along the way, then this just might be the fic you are looking for.

If you still hate the concept enough that you feel that you have to hit the dislike button, then fair enough, but if you find something else objectionable then please post a comment, or basically I'm going to assume that you're just disliking the ship rather than the story and ignore you.

The Sex tag is there for some of the humour, some implication to off screen activities, and a few bits on screen that while are no where near the mature rating do push things somewhat compared to the rest of the fic. If you're wondering where the Comedy tag went I decided while I do believe there's a lot of fun and amusement to be had, I can see why it might mislead some readers as some of the events are taken more seriously that you'd expect from an all out comedy.

Custom Tag: [First Person Zecora]

When Zecora is asked to show cosmetics from her herbal collection,
She finds herself in the middle of an elaborate misdirection.
Caught in the struggle to thwart a changeling plot,
She must find a way to help guard Canterlot.

Judge Prize winner in Bicyclette's Crackship Contest hosted by the Original Pairings group
Edited by: TheAncientPolitzanian
Cover Found Here: Guard Fleur de Lis

Featured from 3/2/2022 to 3/5/2022 (JST). Thank you very much for your readership!

An entry in the Bloodlines Continuity

It isn't always easy putting up with family. Some of them are embarrassing, some try to tell you how to run your life, and some try to invade the capital city of Equestria. Queen Chrysalis may be gone, but for the owner and employees of the Metamorphosis spa and massage parlor, their work has just begun.

In the meantime, Chrysalis is in for a lot of angry letters...

Featured on 6/10/19, 26/02/20, 29/08/20, 2/12/21, 3/3/22, 29/4/22, 3/6/22, 24/7/22, 14/9/22, 4/11/22, 7/03/2023, and 8/03/2023! Thank you all!

Updates: Weekly, hopefully.
Don't think about this too much, it hurts the squishy sponge.
WOO, FEATURED! 18.1.2020

EDIT: Added a character cheat sheet in the bottom of this section due to requests.

The only thing that's known about changelings in general is that they came from the Badlands and that they eat love. Oh right, and that their queen is evil, cool, and certainly does not star in some of the wilder pony dreams.
Not much, is it?
The thing is, it's not as if they know too much themselves. For example, how many of them there really were? How many of them survived the invasion? How silly was it to attempt to disrupt princess Celestia's cake supply?
No one can fully answer such burning questions. Only one thing is for certain - they're now everywhere, and they all have their own stories to tell, some long, some short, some violent, some silly, some happy. Changelings all over the place.
Not every creature minds, though.

--156,387--
156 - infiltrator, F, hive loyalist.
387 - warrior, M, knows strangely too much.
918 - infiltrator. F.
47989 - drone, hit head on rock, a bit confused
559, 791, 2899 - warriors, M
10013, 13887, 19441, 31214 - drones

--1988,9999--
1988 - infiltrator, M, in charge of the lumber camp lings, totally femboy looking.
9999 - currently the highest ranking drone in the hive, involuntary drone Jesus.
36658, 57999 - drone bark meister, drone bark padawan. Definitely not opiate dealers.
13415 - drone, second-in-command after 9999.
17070 - cooking drone, deaf.
20100 - moving pictures drone
54331, 74989, 33125, 65661 - drones
3x Silent

--1313--
1313 - infiltrator, M, breaks easily, is put together easily.
Zamira - F, Blueblood's zebra bodyguard

--65536--
65536 - drone, requires no details here.
Sharp Biscuit - Batpony, M, Nightguard Commander.
Beacon - Unicorn, M, paladin Grandmaster
Pink Sunset - Batpony, M
Gloom - Batpony, F
Night Hunter - Batpony, M
Steel Glimmer - Batpony, F

Den is a pegasus vice captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Echo is a high class infiltrator of the reviled changeling race. Can their love flourish in an Equestria under threat? Which bounds are stronger love or loyalty? What dark designs lurk in the backdrop? Romance, adventure, and the search for universal truth!

We now have a Wiki Page! Pay a visit!

Executive Editor- the awesome BitAcoustic
Editor- the wondrous The 11 Wonder
Art by yours truly!

Character Cast
Dented Armor “Den”
A pegasus with a penchant for reading, an intellectual, he is the new model of an Equestrian officer matching brains with brawn. Love and loyalty compels him however soon he will find the two under conflict.
[img]http://xcaliberproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Dented-Armor-Avatar.png[/img]
??? “Echo”
A changeling who survived Canterlot, her role may have been more than that of a simple soldier in the events preceding and those that will come after. She carries the burden of people’s plight and the secret dream of all changelings.
[img]http://xcaliberproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Larvi-Echo-Avatar.png[/img]
Blueberry Frost “Blue”
An earth pony whose steadfast resolution and stubbornness won her an officer’s position. She tackles problems and foes head on.
[img]http://xcaliberproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Blueberry-Frost-Avatar.png[/img]
Amorpheus
Answering directly to Queen Chrysalis, Amorpheus is fiercely loyal and devoted to his people. Entrusted protector and guardian of Echo he wishes one day to see her fulfill her role.
[img]http://xcaliberproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Master-Amorpheus-changeling-avatar.png[/img]
Reagle Hawkmor
Heir to the Griffin Kingdom, he embodies the pride of his people as their warrior prince. His noble inclinations though may come counter to the direction of his nation.
[img]http://xcaliberproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Reagle-Hawkmor-Avatar.png[/img]
Zaza Zakar
A Zebra mare, she is Reagle’s partner in battle and outside of it. From the Zerker school of combat, she is deadly opponent. She is the more level headed of the odd couple.
[img]http://xcaliberproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Zaza-Zakar-Avatar.png[/img]
Reagle and Zaza have their own story. Zig Zag LoveClick to visit.

[img]http://24.media.tumblr.com/a257ad5165644b1f79354634dfdee284/tumblr_mqo61uYbwk1rj6vd5o1_400.png[/img]

Faux Pas: War Engineer of Chrysalis' Hive, a personal advisor to the Queen and one of the select few allowed to think freely.

Military genius, master strategist in both offense and defense, mastermind of the Canterlot raid.

Of course he got captured.

For his actions during the raid on Equestria's capital, he is put on trial and judged by a court out for his blood. The odds are stacked against him, and there is hardly any doubt that his days are numbered.

But changelings are nothing, if not masters of deception. Faux's got his own plans for the trial.

Now has a sequel

A/N: My submission for the fourth Author's Prompt, which is about, you guessed it: being on trial. It's a little darker than my usual fare, and I'm not too sure about the ending. Feedback is appreciated, as the story hasn't been officially submitted to the prompt yet.

19/12 Edit: Woop! Judges loved it, offered suggestions. It has been rewritten with their suggestions in mind.
Some changes:
-actual trial is more two-sided. Both parties have a fair point.
-fight that breaks out during the trial is longer.
-Celestia is made more believable in general (I hope, it's really hard in this sort of story).

Twilight Sparkle is not in a good place. Shunned and abandoned by her friends, her mentor and even her family for a thoughtless outburst at the wedding rehearsal. But she still has friends in Canterlot, even if she forgot about them.

Oh yeah, and somepony should probably do something about that whole changeling issue.

Written under the prompt "Warrior Twilight" for FOME's Imposing Sovereigns Contest.

When Princess Celestia finds a young nymph in a basket floating down the river, she decides to take him in as her son. As the years go by, She decides that her beloved son and her star student needs to learn an essential part of life. Making friends.

So she sends them to Ponyville, in hopes that they learn about the importance of friendship.

Bandit and Chad belongs to Me
Lightning Sprint belongs to Lightning Sprint
Art by the Awesome Julunis14

I hope you enjoy.