Celestia and Luna were born as unassuming foals in troubled times. But already marked for greatness, the simple earth ponies stand to face a world set against them, full of danger, fear, and sadness. A world they will change forever.

A sweeping epic taking place before Equestria was made, where Celestia and Luna must rise from normal foals to become the Princesses we know them as, beset from all sides by monsters, other ponies, and even the forces that govern nature. Their tale is as tragic as it is triumphant.

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(Cover and internal art by Madmax)
(Editing credit predominantly Lightside Luc)

A thousand years ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together (basically) and created harmony for all the land (well, mostly).The two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different kinds of ponies (it's a little more complicated than that). But, as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night (generally speaking, but you know, that's not exactly the whole story).One fateful day, the younger sister refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn (okay, you're skipping over a lot of details here). The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness! Nightmare Moon! (Okay, this is getting misleading) She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony! Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon (whoa, hey, now you're skipping over, like, everything important). The elder sister took responsibility over both sun and moon, and harmony has been main- OKAY LET'S BACK THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW SHALL WE.

Okay, look, that's all technically true, but a lot of information is missing. So, let's get the story straight.

This is the story of a powerful pony who must face her faults when her strength fails her. This is the story of a teacher with lessons to learn. This is a story of love and of hatred. This is a story of joy and of sorrow. This story does not have the purpose of instilling a particular lesson -though it has many- or bringing about a particular feeling -though it has many of those too- like so many stories do.

This is just an Old Mare's Tale.

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This is a story I actually began, like, a year ago. Somewhere around fourteen chapters are up on EqD and Fanfiction.net. Now that I have resumed work, I've decided to post it to FiMFiction as well. It's not been on FiMF before, so this is NOT a re-post.

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Though the content of this story does not cross over into Mature territory, there is some graphic violence, and certainly some immature allusions (okay, and they straight-up talk about sex, too). Plus, there are swear words. If you are worried about that sort of thing, then this may not be the story for you. I know this warning is a bit redundant with the content rating, but I feel warning redundancy is a good thing.

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?

When a mishap occurs with Celestia's bathroom scale, an ancient protocol that may just doom Equestria is set into motion. With the entire palace staff now conspiring against her, the sun goddess must not only contend mountains of paper work, dancing celery sticks, and steroid pumped stallions, but a sister who will take this chance to torture Celestia any way she can as payback for her banishment. Lock the cupboards and barricade the fridge! It's the Royal Diet!

Now with TVTropes page! :http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/ASliceOfLife

When Twilight plays with magic beyond her control, she finds herself and Rainbow stuck in a strange, horrible world. When they find out what happened, will they be able to get home? Will they even want to?

A heated confrontation with Celestia over her portrayal as Nightmare Moon and her sister's authoritarianism leads Luna to search for answers about the past, unwittingly tangling Twilight and her friends into a cosmic struggle between order and liberty. The tragedy of the past bleeds into the present as the Royal Guard, led by the (in)famous Captain Braveheart, pursues the moon goddess as if the fate of the world depended on it. A tale dedicated to the history and government of Equestria, the psychology and political/moral philosophy of the characters, and especially that amorphous and mysterious force that so many seek yet so few gain: power. What is its nature, what drives us to pursue it and keep it? What does it mean to be a leader, a princess, or a goddess at that matter? These are but a few of the questions the characters must struggle with in order to restore harmony to Equestria. This story tries to bring an edge of realism to the political organization and history of Equestria. If you're seeking utopia or dystopia or extremes of any sort, it's not here. .

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 tyrannical Shadow Stallion oppresses Equestria, coating the land in a thick layer of clouds, tightly controlling the population. Three children, the unicorns Celestia and Luna, along with a Draconequus, Discord, must live up to their fate. They must find the Elements of Harmony and take up their rightful place as Equestrias new gods and saviors.

Adventure and Friendshipping mix, intended to be a possible prequel to the show. Featured on EqD since January 09, 2012. Six Stars.

Many years after sending her beloved protege to Ponyville, unease sits heavily on Princess Celestia's heart as her relationship with Twilight Sparkle seems to have cooled despite all they've accomplished together. On the advice of her sister, Celestia sets out to investigate and resolve the lost connection with her most faithful student. What does it mean to be a Faithful Student...or a Princess of the Sun?

Earned a six-star rating on Equestria Daily and featured on its very own TVTropes page!.