Rainbow Dash hates getting up early to go through such a tedious routine. It's a waste of valuable time. She could be sleeping or enjoying a few extra moments with her marefriend in their nice, warm bed.

Of course, that doesn't mean she can't have a bit of fun with it.

Preread/Edited by The Albinocorn, Foals Errand, Lambent Dream, and Timaeus

Cover Art by zeroexe109 can be found here.

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

Twilight Sparkle finds herself inside a cocoon in the throne room of Canterlot Palace along with her friends and many other ponies. She is thrust into a dream world by Chrysalis who is feeding on the feelings of love and friendship she and the others will experience in their alternate realities. In her dream, she finds Princess Celestia, who has been able to cross between dream worlds. Twilight and Celestia must now travel between dreams in order to awaken their friends and stop Chrysalis. However, some dreams are not as happy as they expected, and some secrets held in the subconscious may be better left unawoken.

Additional character tags: OC's, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, Trixie, Zecora, Diamond Tiara, Snips, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Roseluck, Big Macintosh

Inspired by the fan video of an alternative ending of season 2. Click here to watch it!

Featured on Equestria Daily 9/14/2012.

Now a comic illustrated by Zoarvek! http://zoarvek.deviantart.com/gallery/48143295

"Sex" tag added on 10/12/2014 due to sexual themes here and there. It's not the focus of the story, but it's in there. For a more detailed explanation of why the tag was finally added, see the author's note on "Corruption Ch 10"

Old cover art here: http://i.imgur.com/Tgt974q.jpg
Full size: http://i.imgur.com/9uWAX.jpg

A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon, that much we know. What wasn’t known, and what Celestia kept secret was that before her banishment, Luna had given birth to a foal. Now a thousand years later, as Nightmare returns to Equestria to bring about Eternal Night.

Twilight Sparkle, protege of Princess Celestia, struggles against the tyranny of this ancient foe. But how will she be able to save herself and her friends when the truth of this ancient legend crashes down upon her? Twilight will have to confront herself...and her heritage.

Polaris501

The wheel of time turns, as destiny and history clash together.

Fifty years into the future, Sunset Shimmer is Princess Twilight Sparkle's most faithful student. She is smart and eager, but doesn't always think things through. Her life had been perfect, right up to the End of the World.

With a ruined future, Sunset travels into the past to alter the course of history. With only her mentor's cryptic word to go on, Sunset and the Elements of Harmony must solve the riddle of the Dark Regalia and stop the mysterious Vesper Radiance from rising to power. But the further Sunset goes, the more she feels like she's been through it all before.

Is destiny set in stone, or can Sunset shape her own future? Only time will tell.

Featured on Equestria Daily 6/16/13
Gratefully edited by JustAnotherTimeLord, Icarus_Gizmo, Cerulean Voice and Bad_Seed_72

The Sunset of Tropes page!

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!

"Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

Mere months after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding," the memories of cold shoulders and dismissals remain fresh in Twilight Sparkle's mind, which causes her to question her ability to face the next task that Princess Celestia bestows upon her.

Alone, she must find a way to protect an entire empire. She's afraid and unprepared, but when a mysterious stallion lends a hoof to her success, she soon discovers a friendship that threatens to blossom into something much greater.

(6/9/2016): Made it to the "Featured" page again! You're so awesome, guys!

(( "Of Magic and Masquerades" is the first story in the Crucibles of Harmony series. It is an alternate take on "The Crystal Empire," with some alternate events from Season 3 and minor Twilight/Sombra shipping. ))

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.

Twilight Sparkle is lonely and is determined to change that.

She’s had her eyes on Rainbow Dash for a while, but she doesn’t know how to truly express her feelings. No books were able to properly explain how to cope with her feelings of love, leaving her frustrated and confused. She has tried dropping subtle hints here and there, but Rainbow is oblivious to her advances and Twilight is too nervous to spill her heart out to her.

So she waits, spending many months devising a way to get Rainbow to see her more than just a good friend. Given a set of perfect circumstances, Twilight is finally able to put her plan into action. Now, Twilight might finally be able to see if she can turn her friendship with Rainbow into something wonderful.

Edited by Rated Ponystar and Alcatraz

Featured on Equestria Daily

When Celestia went on sabbatical into the west, she promised Twilight it would be only a couple of months. A year and a half later, the sun resists control, the country is in ruins, and her teacher is lost in the wilds. Twilight has become the apostate, her faith in her teacher and her teachings waning. In the wake of tragedy, her resentment blossoms into fury and she vows that something must be done. Shadows gather around Canterlot, and old things that should not have been awakened are on the move. The Student goes west, her hope restored by friendship and righteous fury.

The night, at long last, is passing.