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!

Sweetie Belle pulls a prank on Rarity, but a good laugh is not the only thing that she wants.

Even though it's late at night, Twilight Sparkle is wide awake and immersed in her... Let's call it work. That is, until a certain earth pony shows up, with a big problem on her hooves.

Warning: Contains some spoilers from episode 19: Putting your Hoof down

Note: As you may have already guessed this is TwiPie fic, but not really a romantic shipping fic (hence no romance tag). It still is a teeny-tiny itty-bitty shippish. Not the “OMG, let's make out and have some magical babies” shippish. Not even “I love her, and she doesn't notice it, sob, sob” shippish. More like “There is some really good air between them, that could lead to future developments, but neither of them notice it yet” shippish. Really, really mild. Or so I think...
But just in case there is someone who absolutely hate anything – and I mean anything – even vaguely considered a ship I'm putting this warning here.

There comes a time when the light must go out; but how do you know if you've burned brightly enough?

Pinkie Pie learns a new word that starts with 'F' and ends with 'K'. No, it's not firetruck.

How will she use this new word? Let's find out.

We all have secrets. For some it's nothing more than having an extra scoop of ice cream after dinner, for other's it's something much more morbid and disturbing. Those who pursue the truth, be warned, sometimes the darkest secrets of certain ponies are best left hidden in the shadows of their silence.

(Cover art by Stalin the Stallion)

Sweetie Belle gets curious about where babies come from, so she confronts Rarity about it.

Throughout all of history, one concept has kept both the written and spoken word from becoming an unintelligible mess. That concept is that most holy of grounds known by some as "grammar." It sets down rules for language to follow, and keeps it free of distortion.

Yet something is wrong. The rules are failing. And only one pony so much as suspects that something is wrong. Something that goes deeper than a simple appearance of errors. Something that could be an attack on the very root of language itself.

Because sometimes, just because you're immortal doesn't make you invulnerable. Sometimes, the one you're more proud of than anything else is the one that respects you the most, and sometimes respect goes deeper than either of you had ever realised.

Additionally, because sometimes an author wants to try and write something that doesn't end in horse sex, but instead adorable hugging and stuff. If this doesn't work out I'll probably go on and add some horse sex later, because people always like to see that, but I hope people enjoy it. My first foray into a full sized shipping fic, so please tell me what I screwed up.

EDIT: Updated with grammar improvements/education courtesy of the incredibly helpful kits.

Once, there was a little unicorn filly who was scared of many things. Almost every night, she found herself unable to sleep and could only be comforted by the singing of a certain lullaby. Years later, long after Rarity left home to pursue a career, Sweetie Belle tries to find a way to reconnect with her older sister, but that's proving to be more difficult than Sweetie expected. A tie-in with Ambition.