Life in the Crystal Empire is sure nice. And stable. And the same every single day. Cadence is almost bored to tears when an old enemy comes calling, and her entire life is thrown into chaos again.

How will Cadence manage when Chrysalis shows up on her doorstep begging for help? Especially when her husband seems intent on helping the monster who tried to steal him away not too long ago.

Starlight and Trixie go to the store to buy groceries. A task so mundane there’s pretty much no way they can mess it up.

Note: Part of my “Twilight, Spike, Starlight, Trixie, Tempest Shadow, and Grubber all hang out at Twilight’s Castle continuity” which I should maybe think up a name for… 3TsG2Ss? It’s Always Sunny in Ponnyville?

Thanks to
Tired Old Man,
Nova Quill/Firimil, and
Steel Resolvefor their edits and suggestions and cloudyglow for the adorbs vector!

M.A.N.E.

Mutually Assured Nuclear Extinction.

For fifteen years Equestria has been involved in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with their neighbour to the northwest, the Union Of Saddle Republics. The doctrine of M.A.N.E. has kept things relatively peaceful so far- both nations know that any nuclear attack will be met by a response in kind, and that there are no winners in a nuclear war. But now, border disputes and a few trigger happy ponies threaten to turn the cold war hot...

Part of the MADVerse.

Tired of Sunburst hitting it off with all her friends, Starlight brings in expert of social interaction Sunset Shimmer to coach her through the difficult process of getting him to sit down and just play tons and tons of Dragon Pit. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

Thanks to Nova Quill/Firimil, and
Steel Resolve for their edits and suggestions! And a big special thanks to Nova for the cover art!

Also thanks to Somber Star and nuclearcore for some more edits and Jarkes for the story prompt.

This story is a sequel to MLA: Perihelion

It's been a handful of years since Twilight came into her own as a Princess of Equestria, a few years spent in peace and harmony without so much as an angry spirit or clandestine invasion to take away from the tranquility of Equestrian life. Unprecedented developments in the technological and thaumaturgical sciences seem to be preparation for something, though nopony realizes what that something might be.

Nopony except the Princesses, who have not failed to see the signs of impending disaster that began with the mass kidnappings just following the Summer Sun Celebration. When all their preparations are turned upside down, can an alliance with the mysterious Precursors turn the tides of the most devastating war in Equestrian history, while there is still anything left to save? Enemies and allies appear in the most unlikely of places, and friendship with a dying elder race can be more dangerous than an invasion of Dragons and Changelings. What is a pony willing to give in defense of harmony? What are they willing to sacrifice?

This story now has a companion piece, The Sunset Campaign! This story is designed to bring Harmony Defended more into line with the three-story version of My Little Apprentice. If you read Apogee and Perihelion, you may want to read that as well!

This story was written prior to season five, and as such any events which transpire therein may or may not be treated as canonical. All events up to and including "Twilight's Kingdom" are treated as having occurred, however.

A huge thanks to my Alpha Readers! Thanks to these wonderful people, new chapters aren't nearly so riddled with mistakes and errors as they used to be. Thanks to Sparktail, TwoBit, Withered Pyre, and Zutcha. Zutcha of course deserves double the love, since he's also the artist of the cover and any other fantastic art that finds its way into the story.

This story is a sequel to My Little Apprentice

The summer sun celebration brought the filly Second Chance into contact with one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, Discord. Thanks to him, she's got all her memories back, and has access to the powerful Jebr Stone. Will that be enough to save her dying species without sacrificing Equestria in the process? Nor is she the first traveler from her world to reach Equestria, or the only one with plans for it.

Will Chance's newfound friendships be enough to keep her sane and preserve Equestria through the dark times ahead?

Continued in MLA: Perihelion!

As usual, a huge thanks to Zutcha for the excellent cover, this time with shading!

This story is a sequel to Steel Solstice

Continued in: My Little Apprentice: Apogee

Twilight Sparkle learns that the trust and goodwill of the Princess isn't always a good thing as she's given the trust of an important assignment. When that assignment turns out to be long-term, how will she handle taking care of a filly of her own? How will she handle this strange new filly, who proves to be much more than she appears. As a matter of fact, she seems to be from an entirely separate universe.

Meanwhile, Second Chance has kept only enough of her memories to know that she isn't what she should be. The wonderful world of Equestria has its own dangers, and she seems to have a knack for attracting trouble. The more of her memories return, the more she wishes she could just forget. But you can't forget when all of Equestria depends on you remembering.

Only one thing's for sure: The longer Twilight keeps this strange filly in her care, the stranger her own life will become, and things she thought she knew about Equestria will unravel before her eyes. Strange ancient devices, an eccentric mint unicorn and her so-called "Equestrian Precursor Society" are only the beginning for Twilight Sparkle as she begins a journey of her own. She too may wish she could simply forget. Unfortunately, it's too late for either of them.

This story is a sequel to My Little Apprentice: Apogee

A year has passed since Second Chance arrived in Equestria. She has a loving adoptive family, one of the best teachers of magic in Equestria, and some fantastic new friends. Compared to a world destroyed by war, her new life seems like a paradise.

Unfortunately for her, Equestria isn't as safe as it sometimes looks. It has its own dangers; powerful evils that won't spare her just because she came from Earth. Between human dangers and natural ones, Equestria's ponies may not survive.

As usual, editing by Two Bit and Sparktail, with art by the talented Zutcha (who's got a Patreon now, if you're feeling generous!)

This story is a sequel to Steel Solstice

Sunset Shimmer's plan to escape the Steel Tower failed—but she is still returning home. Instead of a victorious pony, come back to gloat to her previous teacher about the secrets she had uncovered, she is an adviser to one of the most dangerous men alive: Tesla.

But it isn't a simple invasion; Equestria is under attack by demonic forces, and the Steel Tower has been invited to help. But there's another faction of humans in Equestria, one that is still at war, and one who Sunset suspects are plotting terrible things...

She isn't alone. One of her human friends, now trapped as a cybernetic bat pony, is sent on a covert mission of her own. Equestria may depend on them in ways they never could've realized.

Updates Thursdays.

This story is meant as a companion to Harmony Defended, and to take the place of the long-anticipated revision. I decided it would be better to write something new than to overhaul something that was so long in itself. This story will probably spoil various elements of that one, though the reverse will largely not be true. If all of this seems confusing, you should probably start with my first story in this series, My Little Apprentice. As that story was written in Season 4, this one will not necessarily incorporate the canon of future seasons of Friendship is Magic.

The Sunset Campaign was sponsored by Two Bit on my Patreon, who is generously sponsoring me to clean up my tangled web of previous stories. Sparktail and Two Bit did the editing, and Zutcha did the cover.

This story is a sequel to It’s Not Easy Being Green… and Purple

Spike lives in a giant castle with the company of not one, but two mares. So everything's just peachy, right? You know… ignoring how unhinged his castlemates can be in conjunction with how much magical power they happen to have… and sometimes abuse.

Having read the previous story is not strictly necessary to enjoy this one, though it will help in regards to the second section.

Spike vector from dipi11.