"Take my hand, Twilight," Sunset Shimmer once said, "Let me show you there's another way."

It's been three weeks since Twilight Sparkle joined her new friends at Canterlot High, and she really really really wants to hold hands with Sunset Shimmer again.

Luna begins to question her understanding of the modern day language when she finds that nopony wants to be gay with her.

Gay
Olde meaning
'Light-hearted and carefree.'

Reading by Skijarama / Tone Shift

Centuries after most of her friends have all passed away, Twilight decides to make one last trip into the past. No interacting, no greeting deceased friends, no reunion with her beloved marefriend. Just one quick glance at a life long lost.

However, for better or worse, she'll end up getting much, much more than that.

This story has a prequel entitled The Last Train Home.
Cover art by Swan Song

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?

Twilight and Sunset race against the clock to save Canterlot from a foe of unimaginable power… a romantic narrative.

Entry in Aragon's Comedy (is Serious Business) Contest with the prompt Today We Learned Something "Subtle."

Cover Design by Novel Idea
Twilight Sparkle Cutie Mark By Intbrony
Cover based on screenshot from Black Mesa

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word
Little Tinker: Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Ladrian: Resident Snarky Mistborn
Heartshine: Smol Pegsus, BIg Heart
Oroboro: Assassin of Extra Spa ces

Word Count: 12,000
Version: 3.1

During her usual evening stroll through the grassy plains surrounding Ponyville, Twilight comes across a crying mare whom she never expected to see there... Or crying, for that matter.

It is said you don't really know a pony unless you step into their hooves. So that's what Twilight decides to do. Well, not literally of course...

...but the two do get awfully close to one another.

For years, Twilight Sparkle and Queen Chrysalis have been at each other's throats. Both have experienced victory over the other, and both have experienced defeat. Out of all the creatures in Equestria, none despise each other the way the pony Princess and changeling Queen do. They seemed destined to remain locked in battle forever, or at least until one is finally dead at the hooves of the other. The cruel insults, the vicious loathing, and the powerful spells that have passed back and forth between them at each meeting have become the stuff of legend.

Imagine Twilight's surprise when she finds out changelings consider this dating.

And now they're married.

***

Sequel: Pony Courtship Rituals

***

Some beautiful fanart of the end of chapter three was done by Dmann892; you can see it here.

More awesome fanart, this time from chapter one.

Now with a TvTropes page (obligatory TvTropes warning goes here).

If you want a Russian translation, you can find it here.

There is now a reading of the story on Youtube, which starts here.

Sequel is now live!

Revenge. It has been the only thing on Chrysalis’s mind during the months of her exile. What should have been her greatest triumph turned out to be her ultimate downfall. After months of waiting, she has at last developed a plot to win back the support of the changelings and take over Equestria: Run a dating service.

Disguised as the lovely unicorn Cherub, she starts up her business, ready to reclaim what she had lost. However, she soon discovers that the dating world is not as simple as it appears. Realizing that she cannot do this alone, she is forced to seek help from the most unlikely of sources.

Cover image created and permitted by FeliXao.

This story is a sequel to Changeling Courtship Rituals

Queen Chrysalis attacked Canterlot, brainwashed Twilight Sparkle's brother, kidnapped her former foalsitter, defeated her mentor in combat, and conquered her kingdom. She kidnapped the sisters of Twilight's friends, turned them against one another, and tried to drain all of Twilight's magic. Queen Chrysalis has, at every opportunity, done her very best to utterly destroy Twilight Sparkle's life.

For some reason, this has not caused the pony to fall in love with her.

However, due to Twilight's misunderstanding of changeling customs, it does mean they are now married. Twilight eventually managed to tell the Queen the truth, but she forgot that whether it's a kingdom or a heart, changelings conquer.

And since the changeling way of conquest didn't work, Chrysalis is determined to try the pony way. The only problem is, of course, she has no idea what that is. But she knows someone who does: Princess Cadance.

Now, with the absolutely sincere help of her mortal enemy, the pony she once locked in the caves beneath Canterlot while trying to steal her husband on their very wedding day, Queen Chrysalis is going to woo the sister-in-law of that very pony.

Surely this is the most perfect plan ever devised.

***

Proofread by ShutterflyYay.

Takes place roughly after season five (so Starlight Glimmer is running around occasionally)

This story is a sequel to Diamonds Amidst the Stars

With the defeat of the shadowkin horde, the Diamond City of Canterlot rejoices under the soft touch of winter. With celebrations abound, Astra Princess Twilight Sparkle plans to make the most of it with the deer who stole her heart.

But, just as winter brings celebrations, so does it bring winds as frosty as the realization that the young Princess still does not have a name to define her relationship with Rarity and, more than that, a relationship she might be afraid to fully define.

Assuming Rarity stops flirting with her long enough to let her define it.

Historian's Note: Diamonds Amidst the Snow is set about six weeks after the Battle of Harmony Gate, chronicled in Diamonds Amidst the Stars.

Cast: Astra Princess Twilight Sparkle & the Lady Rarity
Co-Starring: Starlight Glimmer & Trixie Lulamoon

Cover Text & Header Design by Novel Idea
Snowbound Virtrung Deerkin Rarity and Princess Twilight Sparkle by Jykinturah and lilfunkman.

Virtrung Deer based on and inspired by the original concepts by Sirzi.

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Beltorn - Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word
Monochromatic: It's a RariTwi Story. Of course I asked for Mono's help!

Word Count: 13,000
Version: 3.2