When the Cutie Mark Crusaders dig up an ancient magical artifact, they unleash a spell on the town that allows everypony to see a "lie meter" floating above each other's heads. While attempting to solve the mystery, Twilight Sparkle has to analyze the tenuous balance between friendship and honesty. She doesn't like what she finds.

Based on a story idea conceived by theworstwriter
Written and posted with his permission

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?

============

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!

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.

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

You'd think that being trapped in stone would mean that, if nothing else, I could get some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it seems that Celestia has other ideas.

She has appointed these ponies... these 'Keepers', as she calls them, to keep me entertained during my incarceration.

Honestly? I'd prefer the boredom.

Cover art by matrosha123
Spanish Translation by SPANIARD KIWI found here

A normal day was all it took.
A simple failed prototype, a missed experiment.
There was an explosion, and I woke up. I don't really know what happened between those two events, but I'm fairly certain I shouldn't have awoken in a small, dark box.

I'm scared.

Cover art by the amazing Avatar of Madness!

Twilight Sparkle has obtained the combined power of all four princesses of Equestria. Wielding this power, she confronts Lord Tirek, but the result of their fight is a tie. When he holds her friends hostage, she is forced to make a difficult choice.

All is not lost, however: one force remains in Equestria that could give her the edge she needs to defeat her foe, save her friends, and restore the world. She need only retrieve it from Zecora and place it around her neck...

Runner-up (one-shots category) in the Twyrant's Kingdom Competition.

Story inspiration: Corruption of a Desperate Mare, by Chris Wöhrer.

Edited by NightWolf289, AugieDog, and Prak. Thanks also to Pascoite for his WRITE review.

Rated teen for gore and dark themes.

Featured on:
Fimfiction.net Feature Box (05/12/14)
Equestria Daily!
The Royal Guard's Fic Spotlight #10.

This story is 100% approved by Twilight's Library!
Approved by Nonpareil Fiction!

With the whole of Equestria plunged into darkness, the once peacfull world is now tearing itself appart with fear. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike are now the only hope the world has.
They choose to leave their home to save Rainbow Dash. Despite loosing their friends because of her they are determined to prove she can be saved from her madness, which is slowly consuming her. But will there be anything to save?

This story is a sequel to Rainbow Factory

Cloudsdale Weather Corporation has been running without incident for over twenty years. That is, until two foals manage to avoid being processed and find themselves in the haunted bowels of the massive facility. Can they make it out of the abandoned factory with their sanity intact? Will they uncover the secrets even a company as dark as the CWC is ashamed to keep? And what of the workers who help ensure that, in the end, not a single soul gets through...

Love the series? Buy the book!

—[TVTropes Article]—[Plagen Shiki's Reading]—[The Song Inspired by the Story]—

Several days after having a terrible nightmare, Scootaloo takes her final exam at the Cloudsdale Flight Academy, and with the help of Rainbow Dash gains insight into the nature of her own character as well as knowledge of the deepest secrets of the Rainbow Factory.
Upd: YouTube reading by linksbro1: link