Bright lights! Busy streets! The hustle and bustle of city life! All of this means absolutely nothing to Queen Chrysalis, who is currently huddled in the darkest depths of the Everfree, talking to her pet log. But changelings - true changelings - are always hungry, and Chrissy hasn't fed in a long time. Attacking ponies and stealing their love is a risky proposition, though, so her options are limited. Necessity reminds her of a target she can feed upon safely... even if it means travelling to the heart of Manehattan itself.

(Now broken into smaller, easier-to-consume chapters. Takes place before Season 9)

Everything was going well for Queen Chrysalis of the changeling Swarm. She had fooled the ponies completely and the barrier that blocked her swarm was gone. Victory was all but assured as her changelings descended upon the helpless city of Canterlot.

Yet, even after all of that, there would be no victory for the changelings. A barrier of pure love would repel the invasion and bring about the end of Queen Chrysalis’s great swarm. With what fleeting magic she had left, Chrysalis attempted to slow the barrier's expansion in a desperate attempt to allow her swarm to escape.

She succeeded, but at a terrible cost. Magic drained, wings gone and chitin cracking. The only thought that went through her mind as the renewed barrier launched her through the air at close to the speed of sound was how she hoped her sacrifice was not in vain.

Then she hit the ground, and the Queen was dead. Her life ended as her broken body collided against the sand of a faraway desert. Yet her journey would not end here, for the Gardener had chosen her, and the Queen would live again.

Now armed with a strange companion and power known only as ‘the Light’ a new mare, devoid of her previous life's memories, must find her place in the world before her past returns to finish what they started.

Still takes place in Equestria not on earth
Tags will be added as the story progresses
A Destiny Crossover. Knowing the lore is not needed to understand this story. I was very meticulous about that. Everything you learn, you learn with our Chrysalis.

The sequel to this story: Sweetie Belle and the Quest for Knowledge is now available!

When Sweetie Belle finds a mysterious artifact of a now lost civilization, how will she come to terms with the wealth of knowledge it provides? It says it can be ignored, it says it will never try to influence her, but can an artifact of such power really be so harmless?

Book I of III

Prologue and Chapter 1: Thanks to TheOtherSideOfFluttershy for pre-reading and editing.
The whole story: Thanks to RaylanKrios for editing.
Chapter 4: Thanks to AuthorGenesis for editing.
Epilogue:
Thanks to Malefactory for editing.

Queen Chrysalis planned for months to finally take Canterlot for herself. Months of reconnaissance, bribery, and maneuvering to finally lower the defenses of the Equestrian capital at just the right moment. But while her stated goal was always to have enough love to feed the desperate Swarm, the reality of the invasion was something else.

The queen spawned thousands of drones, filling the sky with untrained warriors in order to marshal the greatest forces when the day of battle arrived. But then that day came, and they won. Now what? Most of those drones didn't even matter enough to earn a name, and so they will probably die unremembered. But at least one is determined to make something of herself in her queen's new world. She's determined to understand these strange creatures called ponies, and to survive the invasion no matter what.

Begins during a reimagined Canterlot Wedding. Updates every Wednesday.

Sponsored by TyrannisUmbra on my Patreon. Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail. Cover by Zutcha.

"In the beginning, there was nothing but all encompassing darkness that claimed all of existence within the void.
Yet even in this darkness, there was light.
A single speck of light that defied the shadows and slowly grew to encompass the known universe, bringing light to a once dark and dreary realm.
The being had wrested control from the void, yet it was not content.
With its power, it created the stars and planets that dot the seemingly infinite expanse of the universe.
This, was how the universe had truly come to be."
Creation of the universe according to the Church of Primis
Long ago, before the times of the princess's, the world stood divided. The father of the universe saw the hatred between the races of the planet, and sought to rectify his mistake of abandoning his creation, choosing to live amongst them once more.
This is where our story begins.

*Tags will be added as needed, or when the story. calls for it.*

Been featured like seven times now...wow, that's awesome, didn't think I'd even get it once.

A distress call issues from a mansion in the snow-capped peaks of the Crystal Mountains. One of the six young residents is reporting evidence of a changeling among them. The Royal Guard rallies to their remote location with all haste, but they are days away—they have charged Detective Pesco and his apprentice Bluebird with investigating the scene in advance.

There's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. Identity is a delicate thing, and the changeling's isn't the only one on the brink of unraveling.

A novel-length mystery (social deduction, closed room, limited suspect pool) with an emphasis on character drama. Entirely original cast split among canonical and semicanonical MLP species: ponies, griffons, reindeer, zebra—and among them, the changeling.

Assumed to take place prior/alternative to the changeling reformation in season 6.

Cover art (one and two) by Rocket Lawnchair.

Many thanks for the catches and suggestions from my beta readers, including: wonderkid125, Miller Minus, mikemeiers, Secret Moon, Majora.

After the invasion of Canterlot, ponies became aware of the frightening changeling race. As a result, they had adopted methods of exposing and countering the love-feeding parasites.

Glamour, like other changelings, have found it more challenging to find a stable supply of love. Seeing the flaws in posing as a pony's loved one, she tries a new way of getting love.

By becoming a fashion model.

All she had to do was become famous and bask in the adoration of her fans. However, the world of fashion is not as easy as it looks, and Glamour finds her life become much more complicated when she gets paired up with Manehattan's newest fashion designer, Coco Pommel.

First featured on 8/29/15

This story takes place a bit after the events of "Rarity Takes Manehattan".

Aecorum was once the High Prince of the Sea, who stood alongside Celestia and Luna in the battle with Discord and helped rule over Equestria. But after he used the Elements of Harmony with Celestia to banish Nightmare Moon, he left. He blamed himself for what had happened, so he erased himself from history and from the memories of everypony in Equestria, even Celestia herself! He trapped himself in a network of caves by the sea, and lived in solitude for a thousand years. But now Luna has returned, she has regained her lost power, but she can’t find her old friend. What will happen when she discovers what he did? Will she find the stallion she considered her dearest friend and convince him to return? Or will he remain alone with his guilt and shame forever?

Princess Celestia has returned from a diplomacy mission with the Changelings, and she has a big surprise. She and Queen Chrysalis have fallen for each other and are now a couple. Cadence, more than a little distraught over what has transpired, plans to separate the two and prove that Chrysalis is still the evil enemy she was at the Royal Wedding.

Sequel: To Cast the Doubt Away

My captor was kind, to a point. They provided me with a comfortable private suite, three meals a day, and tried to accommodate any of my needs within reason. It was a far cry from being locked away in a dingy dungeon or straight up killed, but I still was a bit wary about the true intentions of this alicorn. 

A gilded cage, however, is still a cage.

Edited by UnamusedWaffle. and INeedSleep

Thanks to Snuffy for proofreading chapter 9 part 1

Credit to Neither for the amazing cover art!