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?

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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!

Servants have their uses, no matter their form, station or handicaps. Marwolaeth Pydredd is one such servant, cursed with an infernal visage that causes any who look upon him to convulse in fear before locating the nearest set of torches and pitchforks. As such, Marwolaeth hides his body underneath layers upon layers of metal and leather, concealing all but the barest glimpse of his eyes with shining metal and sturdy chainmail. For years immemorial Marwolaeth has been guided from town to town, between planes and even into the dens of powerful creatures at the behest of his master, who lends his skills to the highest bidders.

Marwolaeth's newest charge is the peaceful land of Equestria, lent to Princess Celestia herself, in order to guard the Elements of Harmony. Not even five minutes into his new assignment is Marwolaeth asking himself why he's there. A peaceful land has no need for a hardened warrior, and he has no need for the rest such an assignment would provide. What Marwolaeth doesn't know, though, is that trouble is brewing on the horizon, and just under his nose.

Edited by G3k0771

Fantastic, I finally get to visit my favorite cast of awesome talking ponies to have one small thing keeping me from enjoying it to its fullest. I CAN"T FREAKING INTERACT WITH ANYTHING. I guess being a ghost in Equestria isn't the worst thing that could have happened, at least I can shadow my favorite ponies and see what going on in their lives. Heh, I guess I've become the ultimate stalker, I do miss having someone to talk to that wasn't me, myself or I though.

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Set before the events of season three.

Rated teen for now for safety, rating may change later on based on where the story goes. Characters will be added later if they get added to the story.

During the end of dead space 2, instead of escaping, Isaac makes a bold sacrifice to save Ellie from the exploding Titan station and thinks that this is the end. It's not as he is soon brought to another world by something powerful. Something that sees Isaac as no more than a tool for its own use.

But can Isaac prevail and stop this new threat and perhaps learn the ways of friendship while he's at it?

Edit: Featured on front page? Thank you everyone!

I have traveled this world for decades. Yet I have seen no sign of life but the predators that hunt their prey.

I have made a home among the jagged peaks of a near dead wasteland. One day a creature fell from the sky, badly wounded.

She calls herself Chrysalis. She tells me that she is the last of her kind.

Or so she thought.

[img]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a331/brittmcgee/MLP%20Minecraft/TLSOA_zps2aa17c49.png[/img]

A failed experiment.

Not exactly new for Twilight. But when the outcome brings forth its own science, the likes of which her nation hadn't even yet dared to hope for, the ponies of Equestria slowly realize that they're in for the adventure of a lifetime.

The problem is, they might just not be ready for the revolutions that technological advancement always brings.

And they're about to get hundreds of years of human science and advancements all at once.

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As a forewarning, updates will likely be erratic. I have every intention of finishing this story, it's just that my life has been rather crazy lately as I'm sure many of you can imagine.

Also, if you are going to leave a thumbs down, please leave a comment detailing why. Thumbs downs don't tell me much, and I can't make the story better until people tell me what's wrong with it.
Thank you for your time.

WARNING: There may be spoilers in the comments. Read at your own peril.

Covert Art brought to you by the amazing powers of photoshop with an artist's permission.

Twilight Sparkle wakes up one morning to a harsh dose of unreality. She is stranded, without her friends, on an island which matches no known locale on Equestria. Surrounded and harried on all sides by the alien and the dangerous, she will find her mettle sorely tested, and find perhaps that the best friends you will ever have in your life are the ones you make when your back is to the wall...

Thanks to CedricBale and noobie56xx for tracking down the name of the artist so I could give them credit.

Video games are my passion. When I was offered a chance to test out some new "Chess Game" virtual reality simulator during its beta stages, how could I refuse? Go on adventures, explore new worlds and troll NPC's programmed with the most advanced AI available. It sounded like a dream come true.

Too bad I didn't read the fine print.

Chess Game of the Gods fic
Approved by Troutking
Contains a healthy amount of swearing and violence.

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!)

A living meteor has fallen, bringing the threat of Equestria's destruction. The Elements of Harmony have broken, following Rainbow Dash's ultimate sacrifice to protect her friends, and they scramble to solve the mystery while the world prepares for war. Moving forward is hard with Rainbow Dash dead.

But peace in the world beyond proves elusive to Rainbow, and she'll never let her friends down when they need her. Not even death will stop her from coming back.

Currently undergoing rewrites on a semi-regular basis, please check recent blogs or the 'current projects' module on my user page for details.

Editing for remastered version by Formerly Committed and Shellsh0cker.