Luna has fallen back to Equestria. And, to her shock, she is no longer Nightmare Moon. Perhaps this is her second chance at life. Will she find it, wandering aimlessly into the nearby town? What will the new ponies she meets think? Can she truly hide among them, disguised as one of their own? Well, perhaps, with a little help from some new friends, as she leaves behind her crown, to run away from her past that haunts her.

But can you ever truly escape the monster you've become?

Taking that one necessary step forward to begin changing our life for the better requires a lot of courage. We must hold out our hearts and open up to others who will help us, even if we're scared of getting hurt. Life will not wait for us, so we must chase after it with all we've got. No matter how hard, how far, or impossible it may seem. We've got to find our happiness.

This is the story of one such changeling as she takes those first steps forward, her whole world changing right before her eyes.

((Cover art drawn by the fantastic Little Tigress.))

Sequel: Left Behind: Sunny Disposition
Apparently it was scouted and is on EqD too

Nightmare Moon was meant to be released after a thousand years. A momentous occasion for her but terrifying for all the ponies on her day of freedom. She would get revenge on her sister and cover the world in darkness and shape everything to fit it.

That was the plan, at least. Instead, something went awry with the spell and she wasn't released when she was supposed to be. The mare-in-the-moon is brought into a world with stagnated technology, giant cities, and no sign of her sister or any of the other immortals. In fact, ponies don't seem terrified of her at all, and the stay within the core of her powers infused and changed the alicorn's body drastically.

The alicorn had no obstacles left! But...she was also a relic of the past. A past everyone seemed to have forgotten. A past she could no longer look upon.

Artwork by ElkaArt. Link in source.
Big thanks to Kryostase for helping spot errors I've missed.

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!

Queen Chrysalis, the proud former ruler of the changelings, is brought out of stone sleep to avert a terrible crisis. But what will it take to convince her to help?

Fourth place in the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Classic Contest #34 with the theme "going home" and prompt "this is not how I left it/this is not how it used to be" in an incomplete state and finished at a later date.

A thank you to Seer for editing help and proofreading before publishing.

After the events of “To Where and Back Again,” Fluttershy starts feeling bad for Queen Chrysalis, who is all alone with no other changelings and no love to satiate her hunger. So the pegasus finds Chrysalis in the Everfree Forest and offers to take care of her in the Sanctuary. Chrysalis reluctantly agrees, and finds that even though she doesn’t feel any love from Fluttershy, she feels fulfilled in other ways. The changeling queen goes through some inexplicable changes as she gets used to her new life, and wonders if it’s possible for her to love somepony else.

"Sweetie, Are ya okay? Ah took a medical kit if ya need help?" Apple Bloom said as Sweetie kept totally still, the pair in front of her making no move to enter the small cave.

"Please do not harm this unit." The voice was distorted, damage to the vocal box giving a metallic tang to the request. Both Bloom and subject 2 jumped back from the entrance, their eyes wide at the distorted voice.

"S-Sweetie?" Apple Bloom stammered, reaching for the shotgun strapped to her barrel. Sweetie pressed herself a little deeper into her hiding place.

>Updating survival odds: 37%

"Please do not harm this unit." Sweetie tried again, various subsystems starting to simulate the most optimal way to fight in her current state.

"H-Hey Sweetie, t-that's you, right?" subject two asked, sounding even more terrified than Apple Bloom.

A small Sweetie Bot story I had in the back of my mind and have occasionally dotted down things for for the last 9 months. Hopefully a fun read!

Cover Image Source

Now with physical book print!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037123/data-lost-physical-print

This story is a sequel to Rider on the Storm

For the briefest of moments, Anonymous wielded absolute power. He single-handedly destroyed the city of Canterlot, laid waste to Ponyville, decimated the Everfree Forest, and came dangerously close to annihilating the very Tree of Harmony itself. And he had an absolutely fantastic time doing it.
Right up until he lost.
Now he's stuck as a statue under the watch of the princesses he tried to subjugate, awaiting the time he'll be locked away forever, with the key no doubt thrown into a volcano. But from the very beginning, Anonymous suspected that the shenanigans of the good guys would cost him his victory at the last moment, and so he laid plans with his most loyal of subjects—all former soldiers of the Storm King he betrayed to obtain his power—to arrange for his release should the opportunity arise.
Unfortunately, he wasn't counting on the ponies calling in help from a faraway land. Enter the Four Princes of Zebrica, all wielding the same exact power that Anonymous did, and knowing a thing or two about how to put bad apples like him away for good. This is made even worse by the sorry state of Anonymous's storm beast forces, having hit hard times in the months since his defeat.
But not all is lost for the petrified supervillain. Because in a rare twist of luck, the Princes just so happen to unknowingly bring with them a zebra criminal with his own dirty little secret. A secret that not only secures Anonymous's release from captivity, but just might be the start of a horrifying new partnership, and with it, the birth of a new force of evil.
And of course, with all that going on, there's always the matter of the nascent Legion of Doom, plotting to bring their own age of darkness to Equestria as well...

Takes place during the final two seasons of Friendship Is Magic. With a few alterations here and there, because I HATE THE ANTI-FIM I HATE THE ANTI-FIM :bread:
Reading Rider on the Storm is strongly advised if you want any idea of what the hell is happening in this story.

Princess Celestia has returned from a diplomacy mission with the Changelings, and she has a big surprise. She and Queen Chrysalis have fallen for each other and are now a couple. Cadence, more than a little distraught over what has transpired, plans to separate the two and prove that Chrysalis is still the evil enemy she was at the Royal Wedding.

Sequel: To Cast the Doubt Away

"If you want to test a man's character, give him power." -Robert G. Ingersoll

An otherworldly new power falls into Chrysalis's hooves--or rather, it chose her. But will it lead to the conquest the queen has always wanted, or will it lead to another conclusion?

Takes place between the end of Season 2 and the start of Season 3.

Crossover with Blue Beetle and D.C. Comics in general.

A thank you to Nailah and SwordTune for helping to edit the first issue.

Releasing in intervals in issues, starting with Issue #1. Fully released!

Featured 01/06/24. Thank you all so much!