In which Shining Armor receives a promotion, Princess Cadance reunites with an old friend, and cloudfall is finally made. Part of the "Cadance of Cloudsdale" cycle, now with its own group!

This story is a sequel to Tales of a Wizard: Passing Connections

The White Council's war against the Red Court vampires continues on and has grown nearly out of control. With every passing day the Red Court push harder and seize control of more lands, and more hunting grounds. However, with their new Equestrian allies, the White Council has gained the much needed strength necessary to try and turn the tide against one of Earth's most dangerous supernatural predators.

Harry Dresden and the Elements of Harmony must be called upon to counter the Red Court's latest movement against the White Council. They must be careful however, for a new shadow lurks in the theater of war.

Pre-read and edited by NaughtSought

This is now firmly splitting off from the source material. After the events of Flesh Masks, this story diverges widely from both MLP after Magical Mystery Cure, and The Dresden Files after White Night. It is not necessary to have read The Dresden Files to read this, as I will explain Dresden's history as it becomes relevant to the story. At the time of writing, I haven't read Cold Days or any novel onward, so please no spoilers in the comments.

I am now adding the AU tag to this story as I must very slightly alter how some of the magic in MLP works to fit into the logic of the Dresden books. 99.9% of the MLP world remains the same, save for one or two things. There is one interesting biological consequence of this logic which I actually quite like and will elaborate on early in the story.

Bon Bon's voice is funny, and that's about all that anypony who meets her notices, as her marefriend Lyra soon steals the spotlight with her explosive personality, strange obsessions, and curious beliefs. And why not? Bon Bon is, after all, a perfectly ordinary, boring pony in every way but two: her voice, and the carefully kept secret that she isn't really a pony.

(Edit:) Now with an annotated version, courtesy of the incomparable Shoggoth Lord!

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!

A saucy collab with Skeeter The Lurker.
After several failed attempts at other friendly games, Luna and Celestia have finally found the perfect game to pass the time: poker. One night, drunk on cider, they decide to make the game interesting: If Celestia wins, Luna has to go on a date. If Luna wins, Celestia has to tell Twilight how she feels about her. Ante up.

Sexy artwork by Rurik.

Editing by Sharp Spark.

(Note: much shipping abounds, but this is not a Celestia/Luna fic.)

Rated "Teen Sex" for some heavy wink wink, nudge nudge, and also booze.

In the aftermath of her battle against Tirek, Twilight Sparkle is unwell. She wants more. She needs more. And she is afraid of what others might think of her.

But even in the midst of her growing despair that she has betrayed everything she stood for, she learns something about friendship and what it means to be an alicorn.

Princess. Alicorn. The pillar of all ponykind, against which so many ponies often judged themselves. Celestia hates having to constantly be these things, and it's past time for a break. Luna will watch over Equestria while her sister is gone, but taking a break from your duties and taking a break from how the world sees you are two very different matters. Enter Prominence, a quiet pony who nopony really pays much mind to. Perhaps because she doesn't exist.

Aided by this disguise, Celestia will find her peace and relaxation in the home of one of the few ponies who know Prominence's true identity: Princess Twilight Sparkle. But when Twilight begins to see Celestia as a pony, and not a princess, can she deal with the feelings that arise? And are the feelings for Celestia, or for a pony she knows is not actually real?

EDIT: I've been featured, July 19th, 2014. I have no words to express how terrified and humbled and terrified and proud and happy and terrified this makes me.

The past always comes back to haunt the present, there is no escaping the inevitable. For decades, Celestia has kept a secret from her student. A secret she made out of pain, and through pain will be revealed for all to see; for Twilight Sparkle is the secret daughter of the Sun.

Now, there will be consequences.

Consequences, they come in all shapes and sizes for every decision. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These words are lessons that Princess Celestia should know, bits of wisdom she practices in her rule of Equestria. How is it then, that when faced with a decision, she chooses the one that would inevitably bring the most pain? How is it that she couldn’t bear being recognized as the mother of her child? And why? Twilight Sparkle is about to find out.

Disclaimer: (I do not own the picture; Title Picture owned and designed by KitsuneHino; Source: http://mel-rosey.deviantart.com/art/By-my-side-364777307) (I do not own any of the characters, places, events, etc. outlined in this fanfiction, MLP FiM does under Hasbro, give them the credit.)

Twilight Sparkle has too much magic, and it will take her decades to learn to control it. Her spectacular loss of control during her entrance exam only proves that fact. She is a danger to herself and others.

After Sunset Shimmer’s disappearance, Princess Celestia needs a new student to bear The Element of Magic to defeat Nightmare Moon. With all of Equestria at stake, Twilight Sparkle…is not the pony she needs.

Princess Celestia seals Twilight Sparkle’s magic with the distant promise of one day teaching her.

But there are two diarchs of Equestria. Amidst a lucid dream, an offer is made.

“Hello, Twilight. Would you like to be my student?”

Cover art provided by Lafiir.

It has been twelve years since Twilight Sparkle was shrunk to 1/100 of her original mass to minimize the damage caused by her uncontrollable surges. Twelve years of struggles, challenges and hard work as Princess Celestia’s student, in which the tiny mare found the joy and excitement of facing everyday adventures of a huge world.

One year before Nightmare Moon’s return, Princess Celestia sends her tiny student to learn about pegasus magic from professionals, the Wonderbolts themselves. Much to the princess’s pleasant surprise, Twilight forms strong bonds of friendship during her one month of studies with Soarin' and Spitfire while the Captain of the Wonderbolts, Impressed by Twilight’s talent in magical surgery after the crystal mountain incident, offer her a job as one of the Wonderbolts’ medics.

While Twilight accepts the offer with Celestia’s blessing, provided that it would not last longer than half a year, the other Wonderbolts are not too happy with this idea. Will Twilight manage to win their trust, and what kind of adventures and challenges await her so far away from her home in Canterlot castle? Only time will tell.

This is a sidestory that takes place in "Celestia's Tiny Student" between chapter 20 - "Camping Trip" and chapter 21 - "Birthday Party."