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!

A young man lost in the hilly embrace of a mountain sleeps the night away under a knot of tree roots. When he wakes he will find himself thrust into a strange new environment, the Everfree Forest. With only his pack and his experience as a Boy Scout to aid him, he must survive, make sense of his surroundings and with some luck, ultimately find his way home. What does one do after wandering beyond the edge of the map? And better yet...

What if you are not alone?

I have been reading fan fiction here for a while and wanted to give something back.
My first fiction ever so constructive criticism is welcome. Fair warning, it takes a while for me to write a chapter so expect gaps between updates.

[Hiatus notice: As of 10/1/2022 this fiction is on hiatus so I may focus on other projects and items, will resume at a later date.]

Rated teen for strong language

Awesome cover art by Carnelian. Seriously, the guy has major skills with how fast he drew this up.

and of course ALL CHARACTERS / REFERENCES BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. “MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC” IS OWNED BY HASBRO

NO PROFIT WAS MADE IN THE CREATION / DISTRIBUTION PLEASE DONT SUE ME OR ANY PARTY THAT DISTRIBUTES THIS WORK (unless they try to sell it, then by all means go nuts)

King Sombra’s dark influence was obliterated by the Crystal Heart, and the villain is well and truly dead. But when he attempts to steal the afterlife of an innocent victim, a human spirit is left hurtling towards Equestria, where this unfortunate soul is revived into the only vessel available: the reconstituted body of King Sombra himself.

Thus, a cheerfully oblivious alien is crammed into the form of the most evil and malicious being Equestria has ever known. Not that Shining Armor and Cadence know this, of course. As far as they are concerned, the King is back and he’s lost his fricking mind.

Click here for the TV Tropes page!

When you hear the name Enterprise what is the first thing to come to your mind? Is it a Yorktown class aircraft carrier with more medals and honours than you can wave a stick at? Or maybe a starship of the Federation? But what about an ageing Emerald class light cruiser of the Royal Navy who served valiantly in WWII? No? She has been forgotten from history, and this is her story, the untold story of the H.M.S. Enterprise D52. Her story is one of survival and valour, adventure and loss, we open a book untouched by history, to remember, remember the brave men who have faded from history. This is their tale.

Now that we have the hopefully powerful description out of the way, this story isn't historically accurate (Just a warning but really, how accurate is it going to be with talking ponies?) this isn't a HiE or a PoE, oh no, this is something I don't think has been done much, if at all. But alas: Spoilers.

Equestrian flag by: http://qtmarx.deviantart.com/

I do not own anything My Little Pony related in this story, other than the story itself. Nor do I own anything pertaining to the Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson, while not a crossover his work is referenced directly and some basing is from it.

Ever since she burst into flames trying to discover Pinkie Pie's sense, Twilight has had terrible feelings constantly tormenting the back of her mind. Nightmares show visions of her burning everything she has ever loved to the ground, and she is enjoying it. Desperate, she searches for anything that can help clear all of these terrible thoughts. Twilight then discovers that a unicorn whose coat was white and hair writhed in flames tried to destroy Equestria in the past. To her horror, she learns that she is destined to be the reincarnation... and there is nothing she can do about it

Featured in the group Authors Helping Authors

Special thanks to Thardoc for editing this along with several other of my stories.

This was inspired by the amazing story 'Inner Demons' by SapphireLibra3.

Artwork belongs to Tsitra360.

It occurred one peaceful night. Half of Equestria awoke to the sound like a double-shot thunderclap. A percussion heard in the skies and rattling windows from Apploosa, to Canterlot, to Ponyville. Nopony knew what it was or what it heralded for the world as it drew a line across the nation.

For Twilight Sparkle, this isolated incident might have faded from memory after a time, if not for the strange rumors of a creature sitting on the hill on the outskirts of town.

These are her thoughts given written form. These are Sparkle's Notes.

Report EVERYTHING to the Princess.

Following the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant, Twilight goes to Canterlot in order to research the historical events of Hearth's Warming Eve. However what she finds leads her on a journey across the sea and into uncharted northern lands. When she returns, she is visibly shaken and refuses to speak of what she saw to anypony. While over time she starts to recover, there are important questions left unanswered. What did she see on her journey and perhaps more importantly, what followed her back?

The key to power isn't immortality, nor is it strength. It is the simple spear and the will of the soldiers that wield it. Power to force peace, and war. Power to save, and kill. The standard-issue spear of the Royal, Lunar, and Solar guards are identical, and have been identical for hundreds of years, differing slightly only in style. They were passed down from their father, and his father, and his before him. Each has a story, and the oldest have a particularly interesting tale to tell...

A thousand years ago, we fought them with sharpened sticks. As you might've predicted, we lost. No, we didn't even put a dent in their numbers. But if there's one thing we humans were always good at, it's living in caves. No pony in their right mind would ever enter a cave. Too small, too dark, too dangerous.

But to us, it was a sanctuary.

Oh how we wished for a glorious final battle where our very species would be ingrained in myth, to be spoken of as mighty warriors that would rather face death than dishonor. Unfortunately, we faded away with barely an afterthought. The princesses returned to their thrones, and the ponies to their homes. Only the oldest of texts hints to our existence. Only the oldest of dragons have drawn human blood. Only a few beings clearly remember our faces.

Let us embrace the sunlight. Let us sleep under the moon. Let us smell the fresh scent of a spring forest. It is time my brother. Whether by eagle or by dove, we will return.

Let us march. The overworld is calling.

-The Key to Power.

The events recorded here are small snippets, from journals, transcripts, interviews, etc... All focusing on the history of humans. My name is Prof. R█████████ H██████, and we will be going on a little journey down memory lane.
They're a curious race, one filled with violence and love, honesty and greed. They're a chaotic species that managed to live in harmony. My personal journey started here, in the archives of the Manehattan University. I only have snippets, so if something appears in the middle, it's there because I organize my information in chronological order.

Are you ready?

Good. Let's go.

I am Twilight Sparkle. Newly crowned Princess of Equestria. Element of Magic. Student of the magic of friendship under the tutelage of Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia.

Female. Lavender in the coat, indigo in the mane, with purple and pink stripes. Razor straight mane cut, with a little bit of a flip... shimmering ethereal mane and tail possibly pending. Large wings, lavender, barely used.

Beloved daughter of a scientist and a stargazer. Sister to the Captain of the Royal Guard. Sister-in-law to an Empress.

Best friend to five ponies plus one dragon in Ponyville.

Or am I?

After the changelings' failed invasion of Canterlot, Twilight tries to soothe some of Ponyville's rampant paranoia by casting a spell to prove there are no imposters hiding in the town. But her spell leaves her in an alien body, facing a mob of angry ponies who just don't believe her when she says she is Twilight Sparkle.

Or, at least, she was Twilight Sparkle, anyway...

Featured on Equestria Daily, 2/17/13
Cover art is by the awesome and amazing Conicer