Note: Rethinking the approach on this story. Will be made teen and other changes before I continue.

A young thestral has just recently completed his grueling training. Though he had thought he was ready for anything, nothing could have prepared him for the chain of events that were set in motion as he led his first mission.

"This story in based in what we would know as a Dark Age setting, though with ponies whose names we are familiar with."

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!

Talks broke down. The unification failed. Hearth's Warming have never occurred. The Great Pony War divided the land, and fears of a prophecy forced the unicorns deep underground and into near extinction.

Almost one thousand years have passed. The curious unicorn Sparkle yearns to breach the surface to discover its many wonders and to search for her missing father and brother, both of whom crossed over many years ago. She is forbidden to leave the safety of her subterranean village of Unicornia until she discovers an orange earth pony washed up on the shores of an underground river. That pony bears one of the six Elements fabled to change the world.

Or destroy it.

Cover art credit goes to ouyrof.

Re:Harmony was conceived before Season 4 aired, so some personalities and character relations do not line up with the show's canon.

Also, please refrain from revealing spoilers in the comments. Thanks!

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.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have gone through a lot. They fought the Minotaur, Medusa, a Manticore, the Chimera, Kronos, and even Arachne, the Spider Queen. It was during this last fight that they recovered the Athena Parthenos, a sacred statue that would help secure the demigods' victory over Gaea and the Giants, but the unexpected happened: the floor gave away, and the pair fell all the way down to Tartarus. The first thing they noticed, was that a large mirror, that no monster would approach, not even for some tasty demigod blood. They were trapped, and the only way to save themselves, was through that mirror. What was on the other side, however, was even wilder than they ever thought possible.

(Added romance tag and made story "Teen" for planning on future chapters, and romance mostly in post-story Extras section.)

(Being a big Percy Jackson & The Olympians fan, I couldn't help but notice that Tartarus existed in Equestria, according to Twilight. This story recounts the events of Percy and Annabeth's journey into the other side of the Pit, and beyond.)

Fluttershy and Twilight go in the forest to search for Angel when he disappears. Trying to get back to the cottage as fast as possible, the two find Angel, and two other strange creatures. Perhaps these strange creatures are tied to the item that Fluttershy found in the forest on her morning routine, or maybe just a new species awaiting to be cataloged.

Zelda crossover. Both titles belong to their respective owners.