[2nd Person Perspective]

Working as a waiter at Canterlot's various social gatherings is a nice job. Especially since you began chatting with the cello player of the usual quartet, Octavia. You've gotten to know a lot about her, but one night there seems to be something on her mind. You offer her a drink to ease her nerves and you bring your glasses together in cheers.

Next thing you know, you wake up in a strange hotel room in a town you've never been to next to a certain gray mare.

Art by John Joseco

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!

Twilight becomes alicorn of the stars. This is sort of a problem, because Luna kind of already was alicorn of the stars. Oops!

TV Tropes

After rising to stardom following Rarity's first, poorly received fashion show, Vinyl Scratch struggles to adapt to the higher class of life celebrity status bestows. Her personality and own moral values do not mix with the fake, corporate ideals of her agent, and her sponsors are only interested in her as long as she conforms to their expectations. Her life is barely her own and soon she will have to decide what's more important; her existing relationships, her fame and fortune, or perhaps something unexpected in the form of a refreshingly grounded Canterlot Elite who just invited her to breakfast during the Canterlot Music Convention.

A Vinyl Scratch x Octavia story where the two Ponies involved don't instantly form a romantic relationship the moment they meet, and instead allows it to grow over time with good old character development.

All criticism is welcome, and of course some spoilers follow in the comments below so please read cautiously.
Mega thanks go to Cruel September for her fantastic cover art for the story. Go show her lots of love, she's an amazing artist. http://cruelseptember.deviantart.com/

A refined mare fresh out of high school and a dropout following her dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.

With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

French Translation!

Fan Stuff!