Chartreuse Le Feu, a filly with a knack for shield magic, decides to become Shining Armor’s apprentice. She has plotted and planned for many years on how to accomplish this goal. Now, having finished primary school, she works to make this happen.

Shining Armor is in for surprise.

An entry in the Weedverse.

Chartreuse.

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)

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.

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

Twilight Sparkle wants to reestablish her old rapport with Princess Celestia - the close relationship they had when Twilight was the Princess’s personal student. But life moves ever onward and the connections they had in the past will not be enough for the alicorns to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. To make it through their shared trials and revelations, Twilight and Celestia will need to grow beyond their existing bonds and become much more than faithful student and immortal mentor.

Sunset Shimmer, the Magus of Freeport, has always been of two minds regarding Strumming Heartstrings. The Equestrian spy is irritating, difficult to work with, and does a lot of things Sunset doesn't approve of. However, when an old enemy leaves Strumming on death's door, Sunset will have to decide how far she's willing to go to bring her attackers to justice.

This story is a sequel to Long Road to Friendship

It is a new year for Sunset Shimmer; a fresh chance at real happiness with her five best friends and her girlfriend. But Sunset is constantly troubled by her uncertain future, and haunted by the consequences of her past.

For her battle against Princess Twilight has drawn forth ancient forces with eyes on the last bastion of magic: Canterlot City.

As darkness closes in, Sunset must find her light and guide her friends to defend their world against old rivals and legends best left forgotten, all while dealing with their ever-looming futures.

But when graduation comes, what will Sunset Shimmer do? For she is still a stranger in this world, with or without her friends, and the road before her guarantees nothing.

Of course, with the universe conspiring against her, it'll be a miracle if she even makes it that far...

Story plot edited by HenryAnthonyCourtler
Pre-read by DrakeyC
Wonderful cover art designed by HanasakiYunarin!
Text added by Amber Spark!
The page of Spectacular Tropes!
Presenting the French translation!

This story is a sequel to The Shimmer of Magic

Sunset and Trixie begin the new year with goals and ambitions. Their feelings for each other are stronger than ever, and they are sure they can face anything life has to offer head on.

And now, with the help of their friends, they'll have to face a challenge bigger than any of them could have ever foreseen when they are approached by the last person they expected.

Edited by Crow

It's not easy to go back to your life after a thousand years of insanity and exile. It's not easy for Luna to even leave her room. All the same, there's a special somepony that Luna desperately wants to get closer to, and that's worth facing the outside for. All she has to do is get up the nerve to talk to her.

This story is a sequel to The Freeport Venture

Young Kukri Doo faces the greatest crisis of her young life. Worse than the time her ship was chased by pirates. Worse than the time the Equestrian Intelligence Service took her prisoner. Even worse than the time a Primal Changeling tried to turn her into its next meal.

It's Sunset Shimmer's birthday!!! And despite being the Shimmer-mare's personal apprentice, Kukri doesn't have the first clue where to get the perfect gift for her or what that gift even is! Her parents and friends simply fail to grasp the gravity of this unfolding crisis, or the terrible consequences of failure. Who can imagine what horrors might be unleashed if Kukri can't find the perfect present before time runs out?!