Celestia sends Twilight a very special book that contains some of the oldest and most powerful magics known to ponykind. Included in the book is the way by which alicorns are created. Twilight visits her teacher in Canterlot to learn more, but gets much, much more than she bargained for.

I wasn't really sure what to tag this story. I chose the adventure tag because I see this story as an intellectual adventure for Twilight. Let me know if you think it should be something else and I'll change it.

Big thank you to GorisTheDeathclaw (my editor) for putting up with my typos and grammar fails, and for helping me in writing this. Also edited by my brother, but he's not worth mentioning.

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!

Think you're smart? Think you have a discerning eye? This story will test your intelligence.

When your life is as dull a gray as the world that surrounds you, the mundanities can make it all seem meaningless. Sometimes all we need is a little color -- or six -- to reintroduce us to what truly makes life worth living.

*6-16-2017 Edit, added Rainbow Dash tag because it triggered knighty.*