For almost a thousand years, the immortal Nightmare Moon has reigned over Equestria as Empress. To the average pony, Nightmare Moon is an overarching enigma whose rule is absolute and whose wrath is terrible. But to Twilight Sparkle, who as an orphan has never known her parents, the Empress is something else entirely. When the young unicorn is brought under the royal wing as an apprentice, she learns a great deal more about the supposed tyrant than she ever knew. But as Twilight is introduced to life with her new mentor, she is thrust into a world of political intrigue, conspiracies and secrets. Secrets that were never meant to be revealed. As allies and enemies plot against the very peace of the nation, will Twilight fall prey to the perils of her new position? Or will she prosper and find in Nightmare Moon the mother she never had?

============

My eternal gratitude to my editor, LordOfTheWrongs, without whom Night's Favoured Child would not be the story it is today.

Now with added TVtropes!

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Twilight Sparkle just can't find enough time in the day. She has to study friendship for the Princess, hang out with her five friends, and juggle her own hobbies and interests besides. But when a novel solution presents itself in the form of an experimental new spell, will it solve her time crunch, or will she be distracted even further?

My name is Gilda. I used to be a Griffon warrior, until I got banished.

When you're banished, you've got nothing. No clan, no funding, no gold watch and friendly job reference. You're stuck wherever the Griffon clans aren't.

You do whatever work comes your way. You rely on anyone still talking to you. A speed-freak ex-marefriend. A megalomaniac illusionist working as a middlemare for the EIS.

Family too, if you're desperate.

Bottom line is, as long as you're banished, you're not going anywhere

There's been another sighting of the mysterious Mare Do Well...but this time, all of Rainbow Dash's friends plead ignorance, insisting that they've put aside their costumes for good. Rainbow Dash is determined to uncover the masked mare's true identity before she's humiliated yet again, but this time around, the vigilante seems especially interested in her as well. Will Rainbow Dash be able to solve the mystery before the culprit takes the hoax too far? Or is she in danger of losing not only her mind, but her heart?

Featured on Equestria Daily.

Finding herself with wings and unusually powerful magic, Twilight Sparkle proceeds to have breakdown after breakdown, until with the help of her friends, she confronts Celestia and Luna about it... And learns that she's a far more important little pony than she ever imagined - for all the wrong reasons.

Awesome painting by Drezzer can be found here!

20 megapixel version is here (10MB JPEG, 210dpi strangely, 24"x20")!

Thanks, man!

When strange ponies from another world suddenly pony-nap all her friends, Pinkie Pie must find a way to defeat their master all on her own. Blamed for the crime herself, she has no help from Celestia and just about every pony in Ponyville is convinced that she's finally cracked. Who can she possibly find to fill in for the other Elements of Harmony, and help her defeat the ancient evil behind it all?

This story occurs after Discord is defeated but prior to the rest of season 2. Story is featured on Equestria Daily and is now officially a 'six star' rated story! Full size image can also be found there.

Special thanks to my editor Florentine

TV Tropes entry is here.

Other images:
reference of what Blinkie and Inkie's cutie marks look like
The G1 team

This story was written for National Pony Writing Month 2011. I completed the required amount for PonyWriMo on 20th of September.

Also features: Inkie Pie, Blinkie Pie, Twilight (G1), Applejack (G1), Sparkler, Posey, Surprise, Firefly