This story is a sequel to Advanced Lessons

After stumbling upon the secret history between her mentor and the Queen of the Changelings, Twilight now finds herself in a position to put an end to the Pony-Changeling conflict...if she can just deal with all the craziness around her.

Alongside Chrysalis herself, Prince Blueblood, and her friends, Twilight must now visit the home of Chrysalis' Changelings, to ascertain for herself, whether or not the Changelings can live alongside ponies peacefully. Are the Changelings just a bunch of monsters? Or do they have more in-common with Ponies than anypony thought?

By popular demand (At least one person :}) here's the story detailing Twilight's visit to the Changelings. This is an interquel, that takes place during the timeskip between Ch.2 and Ch.3 of my earlier story Advanced Lessons. In this case, you're probably going to need to read that first, to be able to follow everything. Hopefully everyone enjoys reading it. -Featured: 6/29/14-

Discord is up to his old tricks again...But he's noticed something. Something that he can't explain: Love.

And once finding out about it, he comes to the logical conclusion that he needs it...And unfortunately for Ponyville's local farm-mare, he's set his sights on her.

With Cadance's help, will he succeed? Or will Applejack buck him all the way to Tartarus?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
And now with a TV Tropes page.
Please feel free to contribute.

Now with an audio reading by Skijarama!

Now with a print version available for order!

A purple Alicorn shows up one night and then vanishes into thin air. Many wouldn't think anything of it besides how strange it was.

Not Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash has met that Alicorn before.

The implication it brings and the guilt that follows leaves Rainbow Dash with questions weighing on her mind.

Luckily, in the crushing pain of reality, she still has friends.

***

Cover art created by the extremely talented invertigo and paid for by the amazingly awesome Shipmun. Oh my gosh it's just so cool.

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.

Wastelands. Dystopias. Playgrounds for megalomaniacal villains. Each time Starlight forced her into a new world, it was just another variation of Tartarus that she was glad to leave behind and forget about. Unfortunately, thanks to over thirty timeline jumps, Starswirl's spell has gotten worn and frayed, forcing her to stop in this latest world to repair it. Fortunately, things seem relatively peaceful. Unfortunately, Twilight soon finds out the reason for that peace is...complicated.

Thestrals, known colloquially as 'Bat Ponies', have deep roots in Equestria. However, before they became fully integrated into our own society, they dwelled in a mysterious land, not known to normal ponies, known as Nocturna. Though it's history is brief, and often tumultuous, knowing the history of this lost land it is nonetheless vital to understanding our current state of affairs.
Before Reading, I ask that you first go back to Legacy and Nocturna Eternal. These are essential to understanding where this history ultimately leads.

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)

Scootaloo wasn't quite sure what she expected when she found a letter from her "secret admirer" asking to meet her after school, but it wasn't an invitation to the school dance. Nor was it spending Hearts and Hooves Day with Silver Spoon.

Prereading and editing by Formerly Committed, Jondor, and Timaeus.

Special thanks to bats and Formerly Committed for giving me the prompt this came from.

Art originally by Cuppae

No one alive today can say where she came from; simply that she has always been there.

And yet, few ponies have had a greater impact on Princess Celestia's life than Raven, her most faithful aide.

Inspired by and based off of a headcanon put forth by Heir-of-Rick, though perhaps a bit less insidious than what he had in mind. He very kindly provided an alternate version of his image for me to use as my cover image! Text added by me.

All comments and criticism very welcome!

Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library! Go there to read the interview for some behind-the-scenes info on this story!

Translations: Chinese, Spanish!

"I can face the whole world with one claw, as long as your hoof is holding the other." - A Dragon in Love -

Luna and Spike romantic feelgood thriller with a dash of political intrigue.

'...a great and glorious orchestration in romance...' - Wing, Non-Pareil Fiction
'You made me cry tears of sorrow and joy, cheer like a madman and truly be happy for the two characters I never even liked in the show.' - Eversquee
'This is the most I've laughed, cried, exclaimed and cheered in a long long time.' - Melancholy
'I usually don't like romances, but this one is awesome!' - Aguion12
'When the characters are happy, I'm happy. When they're not, I'm not. It's all so perfectly done..' - Drgnwolf

Synopsis

Greed strengthens a dragon. But what of the opposite? Spike feels a little bit of himself broken away with each passing day as Rarity flaunts her newfound love with another stallion. But that's the least of his troubles. A formal gala for which he is the guest of honour quickly approaches. With the relationship between the Council of Friendship and the nobles of Equestria at stake, he is certain this gala could only end in a big political disaster. Enter Princess Luna, cunningly disguised as the sweet elegant mare by his side, intent on turning him from a laughingstock into the star of the show. But jealousy and misfortune swiftly strike, leaving Luna permanently stuck in her disguise. Together they must maintain their cover until they somehow figure out how to fix everything. As the days pass, as the 'one more day's turn into a week, they slowly come to a startling realization - Perhaps there is nothing to fix?

Proudly brought to you by our hardworking editor dream team, Not A Hat and Brad The Brony

Story Art 1 - The Moon Rises!
Story Art 2 - Moonlight Sonata(Disguised Luna)'s cutie mark
Story Art 3 - The World Has Been Doubled!
Story Art 4 - Moon Walk
Story Art 5 - Raising the Moon

New Cover Art by this guy who's into candy-coloured little equines. Apparently calls himself Pen Mightier or something.

Old Cover art by the talented Yakovlev-Vad! Please be sure to give him a 'watch' on his DA as thanks!

'We’re taken on an adventure, and if I dare say, we aren’t just told the damn story. We’re allowed to experience it. Spike has a moment, and I feel warmth. Luna tosses off the royal baggage, and I feel the feels. This is a great and glorious orchestration in romance...' - Wing

'Bravo! Bravo! ...I'm not into Romance stories because I don't really like them at all but this story here...This is my favorite!' - PlatinumPony

'I don't think I can accurately express how much I truly enjoy this story, right now. When the characters are happy, I'm happy. When they're not, I'm not. It's all so perfectly done that it's like I'm living the story instead of merely just reading it off a page. This already wins first place for most adorable story I have ever read...' - Drgnwolf

'Oh my Gods the feels! I smiled, laughed, got very angry and very sad all in one chapter! Please oh please complete this awesome tale soon! The suspense is killing me!' - Wiriamuzu

'I always wait until a story is finished before thinking about adding it to my favorites. Always. I have never added a story to my favorites before it's finished. This story is the one exception.' - Jomp

'Yeah. You just made a grown-ass man make a 'squee' sound.' - HoneyBadgerr

'Of all the stories I've read I can safely say that this is the one that best combines the written word with sound and music, there are plenty that have tried the same and not even come close to what you achive here.' - Lore

'This is the greatest story I have ever read. This is also now my favorite story. If you don't upload another chapter soon I will wait patiently until you do. I will climb mountains for this story. I will go to Disney Channel.com without my parents permission for this story. If i don't finish this story, i will write down in my will for someone to finish it for me. You, ascended pony writer from a land where the pigeons poop gold, are the greatest person in history.' - Blooming Cherries

'I am loving this story so far. The storytelling, the drama... oh it is so magnificent. A well crafted story by a well deserving author. I tip my hat to you sir. I can see some form of "Beauty and the Beast" in here. But what also surprises me is the way it is written. I've even had some moments of portraying Spike as Holden Caulfield from the famous story, The Catcher in the Rye. Just the way he speaks sort of reminds me of the way that poor man was, and the bits of Spike not wanting to detach from Rarity felt similar in the regards of Holden not wanting to grow up. Again, Pen Mightier, you have done a great job. Keep up the great work!' - XxEpsilonxX

'My cheeks hurt because I been smiling all the way down the chapter. Princess Luna really is the best pony.' - Allen Vth