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!

It has always been Twilight's nature to consider her options carefully, in fear of making a mistake. But, when that indecisiveness leads to tragedy, it might take a lot more than friendship to pull her out of a downward spiral.

CURRENTLY PUBLISHING PHYSICAL COPIES, UNTIL THE 25th OF SEPTEMBER: http://igg.me/at/InnerGloryFinalFund

After doing some research into the history of Alicorns, Twilight finds a dead end. When she chooses to pursue it against Celestia's wishes, she finds herself entangled in a messy history that some want forgotten. An Alicorn's position comes with sacrifice. And when given power, one will always be in want of more...

A complicated explanation for the history and intricacies of the My Little Pony universe. If you're reading this, be ready for the long haul.

A rewrite, or rather, the heavily revised and actually worth reading version of The Struggle for Power, my earlier work. Think of that as an alpha build, and this as the "released-to-the-public" program.
http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/story-struggle-for-power.html