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?

With the Spirit of Chaos locked in stone by the powers of Harmony, a new order must be created. The spirits of Love and Harmony are given physical form, taking the names Cadence and Philomena, so that they may walk among the ponies and ensure peace reigns.

Too bad they're both terrible at this.

Sequel to Head Full of Cotton Candy

Co-authored by TheGreyPotter

Twilight Sparkle moves from Ponyville to Canterlot, and promises herself she will only be friends with her childhood friend, Fluttershy. Determined to not let romance or friendship get in her way of being the youngest pony to earn the Peace Prize, Twilight nonetheless is pulled into many friendships, and meets the mare of her dreams, Rarity. But will Twilight allow herself to be a normal young mare, or will she only follow her dream of becoming a scholar?

Co-author: Greatkingrat88 on DeviantART.

Beta reader for chapter one: Tailslover13

Want to download the story for your very own without having to highlight the whole thing? Well, Pinkie is granting your wish! Here are some download links!

Chapter 1 : http://www.mediafire.com/?oy1rnrwc64rmpt5
Chapter 2 : http://www.mediafire.com/?lpyyowx72hnccdl
Chapter 3 : http://www.mediafire.com/?osud6kf28zhqq43
Chapter 4 : http://www.mediafire.com/?voc2zkyon9mk416
Chapter 5 : http://www.mediafire.com/?b0br1b790phqjfk
Chapter 6 : http://www.mediafire.com/?63lwds6o6e8sbg9
Chapter 7 : http://www.mediafire.com/?7hu6pj2c69d3d75
Chapter 8 : http://www.mediafire.com/?qlhb2765hi9sd6r

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!

The Elements of Harmony are defeated and Nightmare Moon stands on Equestria's throne as their new Queen. Is Equestria doomed to suffer through night time eternal or will they be... perfectly fine? Twilight finds her new job as slave or "personal assistant" to her new ruler to be a bit maddening. But is this evil sarcastic queen really as bad as she originally believed? And just how many others are diabolical enough to cash in on the change in staff? Can Nightmare truly run a peaceful Equestria? Let me just answer all these questions right here in the description...

When facing Twilight Sparkle, Nightmare Moon was given a choice: redemption or revenge. What if she had chosen the latter? A grim fate awaits Equestria, but in a time of greater strife and conflict, Discord's return is accelerated. While he expected to bring chaos, he did not anticipate that he would end the Longest Night and bring hope and joy back to the land.

Discord struggles to reconcile his nature with his desire for admiration. While Twilight's friends strive to carve a new life in the ever-shifting Equestria, she searches for Celestia, the only one who can bring harmony back to her lands. But Nightmare Moon also seeks her sister in a desperate attempt to find her place in the world. New dangers lurk in the wild and more threaten to fall over Equestria. Nightmare Moon's decision broke the balance of the world. Will Equestria ever turn to peace, or will the spiral of chaos and destruction be the end of everything?

(An alternate history, this story takes the universe established by the canon and explores one possible outcome if Princess Luna had not been redeemed.)

Comments contain huge spoilers. Walk softly.

Special thanks to my pre-readers, MmmandarinOrange and DarkmatterButterflies for keeping my head on, taking the journey of the story, and making it so much better than it would have been if I wrote it alone.

Shining Armor learns the most important tactical lesson of his life.

Audio version! https://youtu.be/YgDr0Xc6rN8

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Pinkie Pie has an existential crisis while painting her room. This self-parody is dedicated to Professor Piggy, who once told me that I could write a story about Pinkie watching paint dry and weave it into an incredible psychological journey. Let's see if he was right.

Featured on Equestria Daily.

Dramatic reading by MicTheMicrophoneZero.

Cover art by chaosdrop.

We all know the story. Discord was released, had his day of fun, but was eventually defeated by the Elements of Harmony. But what if things didn't go exactly to plan, and Discord didn't sit there and take the final hit? Instead of the God of Chaos being encased in stone, the Mane Six find themselves far from home on an adventure that will change them all. With villains around every corner, and allies in the most unlikely places, how will they defeat Discord?

After Angel falls gravely ill Rainbow Dash agrees to help Fluttershy by embarking on a journey into Everfree in search of a rare herb needed to make medicine for him. The trip pits them against a creature dwelling deep in the forest, and the encounter changes Rainbow Dash's entire view of her gentle, reserved friend. As she spends more time with her following their return from Everfree, she finds her feelings for Fluttershy changing and is forced to deal with something she's never had to face before -- something that could possibly interfere with her dreams. While Rainbow Dash struggles with her first crush (with a little help from her friends), a lonely Pinkie Pie struggles with her resulting feelings of resentment and is drawn into an unhealthy friendship with a strange unicorn living on the outskirts of the forest...