Nopony ever said the friendship between Fluttershy and Discord would be an easy one. The difference in their life expectancies doesn’t help, but that’s a problem Discord can fix with a snap of the talons—that is, until Fluttershy finds out. Discord isn’t one to give up easily, though. He’ll do anything to keep his one and only friend. Anything.

Inspired by the image by C-Puff.

There is now a video review! And still another video review! And Russian and French translations! And there are dramatic readings from Joehighlord and Dr. Wolf! But wait! There's more: Dr. Wolf has collaborated with Meb90 and a team of other talented artists to produce something amazing.

Canterlot... For centuries, Canterlot was the shining gem of Equestria, the pinnacle of pony society. Now, it’s a reminder, a bleak and monolithic warning to the world. 

Changed by the chemical and technological poisons that plague the mountain, an abomination of nature, I wander the greatest disaster Equestria has ever seen. 

... I will escape eventually, and when I do, I hope my friends still see me as Twilight Sparkle, and not the monster that hides among the ruins. 

In the days after her ascension, every newspaper in Equestria is talking about how Princess Celestia transformed Twilight Sparkle into an alicorn princess.

There's just one problem – Twilight knows that's not what happened.

Why does Celestia let them believe something that isn't true? After all, it isn't like knowing could hurt anypony, right?

I have heard ponies say that living so long would be a curse. That it is a burden. That it can break a pony's mind. There is some truth to that. It can be hard to know that you'll always be left behind as others pass on. However, that is not the whole truth, I am also blessed. I have an opportunity to see history play out in front of me and tell future generations of the ponies behind the legends.

In audio form: http://youtu.be/mTGMfwcAcwQ

Twilight has always been the best there is at magic. She's won dozens of scholarly competitions and tests of skill in Canterlot. But when it comes to the more violent uses for magic, she is essentially clueless.

When she meets a strange unicorn in a seedy bar, he introduces her to a little known sport that will test her knowledge of magic in different ways. That is, of course, if Twilight can't resist its primal lure.

Twilight Sparkle has too much magic, and it will take her decades to learn to control it. Her spectacular loss of control during her entrance exam only proves that fact. She is a danger to herself and others.

After Sunset Shimmer’s disappearance, Princess Celestia needs a new student to bear The Element of Magic to defeat Nightmare Moon. With all of Equestria at stake, Twilight Sparkle…is not the pony she needs.

Princess Celestia seals Twilight Sparkle’s magic with the distant promise of one day teaching her.

But there are two diarchs of Equestria. Amidst a lucid dream, an offer is made.

“Hello, Twilight. Would you like to be my student?”

Cover art provided by Lafiir.

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!

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

When Twilight is stolen from her home, fate intervenes and brings her straight to her destiny. After growing up sheltered and loved by the spirits of the Tree of Harmony, Twilight will grow into her place in Equestria like never before while she searches for the family that raised her and gets to know the one she's lost.

(Unapologetically OP Twilight, if you’re going to nitpick that point then you are welcome to leave at any time.)

Twilight Sparkle is not in a good place. Shunned and abandoned by her friends, her mentor and even her family for a thoughtless outburst at the wedding rehearsal. But she still has friends in Canterlot, even if she forgot about them.

Oh yeah, and somepony should probably do something about that whole changeling issue.

Written under the prompt "Warrior Twilight" for FOME's Imposing Sovereigns Contest.