When a freak reading accident causes Twilight to be admitted to the Ponyville hospital, Rainbow Dash is right by her side. Compelled by a sense of duty and repayment, she takes it upon herself to cheer up her friend.

Rainbow Dash returns from an evening in Cloudsdale to find Pinkie Pie in a dreadful state after a terrible nightmare. The pegasus tries her best to comfort her friend, but will it be enough?

Image by microgrid (http://microgrid.deviantart.com/).

Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI - https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/La-luz-en-la-oscuridad-970255243
Reading by Agent Fluffy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdVGfjmnsrM
Reading by Alchemystudent - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcdJtTA5A14
Reading by AJ Earthbend - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw_sIt1PfQ8
Review (sort of) by Changeling Number 32 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEb_xv9eQdo

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and its characters are owned by Lauren Faust and Hasbro. Characters are used without permission but with the greatest respect.

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!

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

What started as a normal friendly visit ends up taking two ponies on a trip down memory lane that leads them both to realize their friendship began even before Rainbow Dash's first sonic rainboom.