Shining Armor and Cadence's spell reveals something completely unexpected as it expels Chrysalis and her changelings out of Canterlot: A secret kept from everypony for several years...

Now with a TV Tropes page! Warning: Will Contain spoilers.

Stalwart Drone has been a Night Guard for a little over two years, and now he's being reassigned to the Crystal Empire, forced to leave his home and his talent behind only to have to readjust to living up in the frozen north.

Ruby Swift, conversely, has been in Equestria for most of her life, and recently she's taken a... darker look on life.

Forced to live in the same house as one another, the unlikely duo are going to have to live with what they fear.
At least, for now anyway.

Cover image can be viewed in its full resolution by clicking on it (or right-clicking and opening it in a new tab.) Spent a couple days working on it and I'll be uploading it to my DeviantArt gallery soon.

Hi there, my name's Abel, I'm the new changeling on the block.
Been living in Ponyville for three years. Been here a year before Twilight and managed to make a name for myself as a darn good accountant that goes by the name of Balanced Books.
Even got along with each of the Bearers pretty well. Well enough that Twilight decided to invite me along for her brother's wedding.
Getting past that shield the first time wasn't fun. Figuring out the plot behind the wedding, also not fun.
Did I happen to mention that any and all changelings who are NOT a part of Chrysalis' Hive Mind have a VERY good reason to hate her? Me moreso than most?
Yeah, that was torture.
Now all I have to do is explain to the bucking princessess about my true nature and pray to, well, them, that I'll be allowed to return to my life as Books.
Wish me luck, my interrogator is here.
Cover art provided by jjamess10

The law exists to protect Equestrian citizens, and must be enacted in a fair and even manner. Prince Blueblood knows this; he's accepted punishment for his numerous minor disturbances of the Equestrian legal system, without ever trying to slip out of it.

Fluttershy is in violation the law. Ergo, she must be brought to justice. That's just logic.

Now if only he can get the captain of the guard and his annoyingly lackidasial aunt to cooperate...

Made for the eighth FTP competition. Cover art by hwaho.

Changeling Queen Twilight Sparkle was resting after the trying and costly adventure to Rookhaven when a magical event causes the last thing she ever expected. And alicorn Twilight Sparkle.

Spin off The Hive series by Law Abiding Pony

Edited by ThePrinceoftheNorth and Edguy0009

Two passengers on a train ride toward an uncertain future. One is a pony. The other only pretends to be.

Sex is tame and non-explicit. Don't be afraid to read.

Written expressly for Equestria Daily's Outside Insight Summer Fanfiction Contest.

Now with a dramatic reading by Illya Leonov!

Russian translation courtesy of Arsus.
Chinese translation courtesy of viczhn.
French translation courtesy of BroNie.

Inspired by the artwork of RubleGun and Raddjuret. Musical accompaniment by Patrick Poe.

Featured at Equestria Daily and the Royal Canterlot Library.

Reader Testimonials

"Vinyl + Octavia is one of the fandom's most cliché and mismatched pairs, and yet this is a real romance with genuine depth and emotion." - horizon
"Holy shit this is impressive. Like... Holy shit, man." - Skeeter The Lurker
"You have crafted something wonderful here, a true gem. You should be proud." - Illya Leonov
"Note that I hate this ship when I say this is far and away the best ScratchTavia I've ever read." - PresentPerfect
"Fuuuuck it's so good!" - Luminary

Meet Level Ledger, your average, well-read unicorn colt. He has a talent with numbers and systems, which is why Pegasus Air was so interested in acquiring his talents. They use him to make sure their books are balanced. Both the legal ones...and the ones that'll never see the light of day.

Meet Midnight Song, your not-average, well-trained Thestral mare. Everything she sets out to do, she accomplishes with aplomb. When she rises a little too quickly through the Day Guard's ranks, her superiors decide she needs to cool off and learn a bit about how to be a mature member of the Guard. Not a bad idea, seeing as she's a massive flirt.

When Level's rent goes up, he needs to take a roommate or risk being thrown out into the street. A twist of fate will see these two souls coming together and having the time of their lives.

Now, if only one of them could tell the truth to save their life...

A collab fic worked on by myself and Ausbrony. We liked the setting of Las Pegasus and the villains of Pegasus Air a lot, so we put our heads and characters together, and this came from our efforts.

In lieu of a list of dates, I will simply say that this story tends to get featured every time I update it for a short while at least. And I am very happy about that fact.~

Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch are a lovely Manehatten couple and have been together for nearly a year and a half. They are happy and in love, the only problem is Octavia is a changeling. Octavia has been on the run for a long time and just when things are going there best it looks like her past has finally caught up with her. Just yesterday her only problem was her noisy neighbors Lyra and Bon Bon. Kind of based off of the song "The Sameling" with amazing cover art by Gift-Wrap on DeviantArt.com I give you Duel Melody.

Cadance? Sigh. I should have seen this coming. I shouldn’t have fallen in love with a mare I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have become best friends with the mare I loved. And now, I can’t do anything but watch her get whisked away by my other best friend.

Even within your best of friends, there are things that you do not know about. Things that may hold truth as to why Shining Armor can dance even though he knows he can't. Changelings? Perhaps.

The male changeling Vinyl Scratch studies in Canterlot High. Unorthodox may it be to leave the hive, but granted permission from the queen, he studies there and befriends Shining Armor and Cadance.

However close he may be to them, he lives a life of lies. Can s/he withstand the pressure it is to do it? To live a double identity- a pony on the outside, a changeling within? He's Vinyl Scratch- the changeling within.

Rated T for coarse language.
Edit: Added [Romance]

Echo is a high ranking changeling officer. The Canterlot invasion was going perfectly, and her battalion had personally defeated the Elements of Harmony. Suddenly, she finds herself far flung from Canterlot, crashing into the Everfree forest. Now she is faced with a difficult reality - her hive, the only family she's ever known, no longer exists, and she must adapt to life as a pony. What she finds out about herself, though, will surprise her.

Rated Teen for occasional suggestiveness and language, tagged gore for brief violence, particularly in later chapters.

Dark because later chapters get pretty ... well, dark.

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Addendum 5/29/2018

This story is now, as of this addendum, five years old. It is getting more attention as I put out new chapters on the sequel.

I recognize that this story has problems, and that some of them by their nature carry over to the sequel; please remember that when I started writing this, I was not yet even old enough to legally drink in the US. A lot has happened and a lot has changed, and there are many things about this story I regret including, but which it is now too late to change. Some of those things I have simply done my best to ignore and make irrelevant, but some of them are errors from a 19 year old me that will haunt me until the sequel is finished.

In short, please be gentle.