They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if all who behold you see naught but a monster? Given the chance, can this view change? Sometimes, it just takes one person to reach out...and help.

This story is rated T for violence, use of alcohol, and suggestive sexual references and situations.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters directly associated with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor the original story.

Cover art used with full permission from mysticalpha

As I'm sure you can tell by the dates of submission, this story was started quite some time ago. Instead of completely ignoring things that have happened since season 3 on, this will be an alternate reality that branched from shortly before Twilight began the path to become an alicorn.

Failing once in her attempt to take Canterlot and failing again in her attempt to take down Twilight, one would think Chrysalis would have cut her losses and let things be, but the queen has once again appeared, this time in broad daylight with no disguise and no army. Her weapon of choice? Diplomacy.

Now Twilight is having to deal with the changeling queen, but surely putting up with her antics will be worth the knowledge she's willing to provide about her mysterious race and the potential undiscovered agents still within their midst...right?

Takes place before Magical Mystery Cure and diverges from there.

With thanks to MisterGunpowder for proofreading and editing.

Revision History:

05/09/2015: Chapter 1 updated with millions of little corrections.
05/20/2015: Chapter 2 revised and edited with another million small and large corrections.
06/12/2015: Chapter 3 given a thorough editing and revision.
06/23/2015: Chapter 4 taken to the gutter and edited twice to be sure.
07/14/2015: Chapter 5 thoroughly brutalized with the editing stick.
08/03/2016: Chapter 6 finally edited. Yes, I'm still alive, dammit.
09/29/2016: Chapter 7 fell out of the editing tree and hit every editing branch on the way down.
10/26/2016: Chapter 8 has emerged from the editing emergency room.
11/17/2016: Chapter 9 found and edited. No casualties reported.
11/30/2016: Chapter 10 treated for whiplash after lightning fast editing.
12/22/2016: Chapter 11 edited. Chrysalis shot first.
01/17/2017: Epilogue edited. Time to hit the cider.

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.

When Twilight Sparkle is sent to Ponyville to study the Magic of Friendship, the last thing she expected was to use the Elements of Harmony herself. But when, instead of killing Nightmare Moon, the Elements merely separate her from Princess Luna, Celestia decides the Night Alicorn could stand to learn a thing or two about friendship herself, along with Twilight. Secretly, Twilight hopes for something more than friendship. But can a being spawned of hate and jealousy even make friends?

A/N: One-shot shipping, now with 100% less cheeselegs and 100% more cheesebutt! I came up with the ending and wrote towards that, if it seems a little weird. Kind of an AU retelling of the end of S1E2 and some stuff afterwards. Yeah. Art courtesy of madmax.

The Elements of Harmony are defeated and Nightmare Moon stands on Equestria's throne as their new Queen. Is Equestria doomed to suffer through night time eternal or will they be... perfectly fine? Twilight finds her new job as slave or "personal assistant" to her new ruler to be a bit maddening. But is this evil sarcastic queen really as bad as she originally believed? And just how many others are diabolical enough to cash in on the change in staff? Can Nightmare truly run a peaceful Equestria? Let me just answer all these questions right here in the description...

It has been a year since the Element's failure, and Nightmare Moon has not been seen. The pressure is finally weighing down on Equestria's new Chancellor, Twilight Sparkle. She still struggles with the events of that fateful night - the night the moon made its permanent place in the sky. After one fateful encounter, though, the course of Equestrian history shifts yet again as she begins to truly see this Nightmare. And maybe, just maybe, she and Nightmare Moon aren't so different.

A MoonLight fic with a twist.
And a bit of Twixie.
Etc.
Art by nikohl: http://nikohl.deviantart.com/

Everypony believes that Nightmare Moon was some dark demon or a servant of Discord possessing Luna, but the lunar princess can't bear to tell them the truth. What really happened a thousand years ago, and how does it continue to influence Luna's mind? Will the power of friendship be strong enough to help, or will Luna give in to hatred once again?
Come one, come all, and join a great new experiment in the writing of collaboration fanfiction! New or experienced, old or young, all are invited to participate!

Deemed a traitor by the God Empress Celestia, Twilight Sparkle must now flee for her life to escape her inevitable execution. In hot pursuit by Celestia's minions, Twilight discovers a cave where an ancient creature has been kept prisoner for over a millennium.