This story is a sequel to The Crown of Night

Now available in print from Lulu.com! Hardcover - Paperback.

(New readers, unsure where to start? The Education of Clover the Clever is best.)

Clover Cordelia is a freshmare student at the Cambridle Academy of Magic who is determined to become a great sorceress.

Star Swirl the Bearded is a legendary wizard in need of an apprentice.

It's a tough job, working for the world's greatest wizard. On top of the usual challenges of student life there are apocalypses to deal with, and assassins who show up at inconvenient times, and plant life scheming for world conquest.

It's probably nothing Star Swirl can't take care of, provided he and Clover manage to resist killing each other first.

Previously updated alongside its prequel, The Crown of Night. It is not necessary to read The Crown of Night first.

Featured on Equestria Daily!
Featured on the Royal Guard!

Cover art by iisaw.

"Characterization is the name of the game here, and this story's take on Star Swirl is one of the most enigmatic and intriguing I've seen. His eccentricity is offset perfectly by his straight mare, Clover the Clever, and the interactions between them are a joy to behold."
-Prak, PR for the Royal Guard.

Rated "Why Haven't You Read These Yet?" by PaulAsaran.

Weird praise for The Education of Clover the Clever from the comments:

"........The sadist in me is grinning while the student is screaming it's little lungs out "
-Smirkythread.

"I can't tell if he's insane or not. And it's glorious."
-FancyFan.

"I am unsure if this is merely silly and deranged or subtly brilliant."
-SIGAWESOME.

"Ok, so I like this story. I actually like it quite a bit. I have no clue why though. Not a single clue.
I haven't a clue what you're doing right, but keep doing it. You're awesome."
-Vibrato con Amore.

This story is a sequel to A War of Words - The Opening of the Guard

For centuries, the stallions of the Royal Guard have protected Equestria from every danger imaginable.
Now they face a new threat to their position that will not be so easy to defeat.

Mares.

The story of four mares who answer the call to guard Princess Luna, and the troubles they go through to gain acceptance and respect in their new jobs. Or it could be considered to be the story of four interlopers into a traditionally male role and the underhanded tricks used to secure their position despite their obvious unsuitability for the job. Pick one.

Cover photo credit to the fantastic MuffinExplosion at DeviantArt.

Thanks to my editors: Peter, MSPiper, Featherprop, Seether00, GameKnut and Tek

Author's notes on the development of the story and characters may be found here.
This is a sequel to A War of Words - The Opening of the Guard which is featured on Equestria Daily

Three weeks have passed since Twilight Sparkle was crowned a Princess of Equestria; but many things have not changed. For instance, one hour every day, all of the animals at Fluttershy's home take a nap, and she has tea.

One day, though, her routine is spontaneously interrupted by the least spontaneous mare she knows, eager to talk about anything, except what brought on her visit in the first place. Fluttershy is left to wonder: Just what is going on in Twilight's mind, and can she help her unravel it?

Frosty Mug runs the premiere (and only) watering hole in Ponyville. He's been behind the pine for years, and listened to many a sob story, and joyous announcement. Enjoy his recollections of a rather strange week in which he served a different Element of Harmony every day, and a pony he would have never thought he'd have the honor of getting drunk. These are the memoirs of a Ponyville booze vendor.

Now with bonus drinks! Consider it 'Happy Hour'!

Warning: Shipping is mentioned.

When a royal guard in the prime of his life gets assigned to guard Princess Twilight's castle, he figures it'll just be another post to stand at. However, when he gets to Ponyville, he realizes that this job may be more tricky than he first anticipated... especially with all of this "friend-making" business.

XXXXXXXX

Just a little something I whipped up. I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Rated Teen for a fairly momentarily but still rather graphic gore scene. It lasts a little, but everything else is tame.

EDIT: apparently, this story is featured by twilight's library. Thanks a bunch, seriously.

Big McIntosh has a unique way of appreciating music, and Octavia certainly provides an experience. Octavia would love to get in touch with her earth pony roots, and Big McIntosh has the deepest roots around. They could learn so much from each other about why they do what they do, and they just might gain some insight into their own simple gifts in the process.

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Reading by Goombasa.

Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are happily married, but the royal duties they share in ruling the Crystal Empire can be a little distracting in regards to their personal relationship. As a gesture of goodwill to their beloved royals, the crystal ponies give the couple a free vacation from all work. Two tickets, one paradise resort, and unlimited love between two ponies destined to be together. There's nothing quite like living happily ever after.

NOTES
1. Straight-forward Shining Cadance. The couple is usually spending all their time fighting through disasters so why don't we give them a little time off?
2. The most powerful marital pairing to ever grace canon. Literally. (Reference the end of A Canterlot Wedding.)
3. Best read with a tropical drink in hand, such as a piña colada. (optional)
4. The couple's combined cutie mark used in various places: Full HD

Featured February 26, 2015

Art by BlackWater (me)

Five years. Five years have passed since Cheerilee chose to quit as a teacher. She had thought that life was behind her, but finds herself drawn back in, compelled to help her former students through their teenage years.

She will discover more about both them and herself then she thought possible.

Carrying more emotional baggage than her students, she will find that the journey to self-forgiveness, while not an easy one, is not one that can be ignored.

(Thanks to BluRoseFriendship for the temporary cover image.)

A few years after Twilight and Celestia's marriage, they begin to worry that their obligations to the job are interfering with their obligations to each other. So they decide to take a break. A few spells and perfectly legal papers later, and they are ready to start their lives as Sunny Skies and Dusky Sparks, just your average, everyday, married couple living and working in a suburb of Manehatten.

(Non chronological story, with many chapters based on prompts for the Twilestia Group Collab.)

Rated T for Tantalizing.

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!)