The year is 506 AC (After Chaos) and 310 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon. The nation of Steelshod, nestled between peaceful Equestria to the southwest and the powerful kingdoms of Magia, Hoofswell and Cirrus to the northeast, has been a place of war and power for as long as anypony can remember. It is a land of shifting allegiances and violent combat, a nation where Warlords vie for power over ever-malleable holdings in order to impress their fickle leader. Duels to the death, cutthroat court intrigue and violent betrayals are almost commonplace in the lives of the ponies of Steelshod, and the ponies who live there are more than eager to continue its bloody traditions.

Amid the chaos and violence, a mare named Sabersong finds herself cast out of the service of her lord. Injured, lost and alone, she struggles to accept the fate that has been dealt to her; the fate of a wanderer, a warrior with no place to call her own in a world where a warrior's place in an army was everything.

Yet even as she despairs, her heart lost in the twisting paths of the forest of her life, fate is busily molding her into what she is meant to become: a mare who carves her own way in a nation of pre-set destinies, a unicorn who challenges the way things are done, and a pony who finally can answer the question that haunts her night and day:

'When does the lotus flower bloom?'

Action! Drama! Suspense! Morality or the lack thereof! No matter what your taste in television, "The Hoity Toity Show" has what you're looking for! We bring you the dirtiest dirt, the darkest secrets and the most challenging problems of ponies from all over Equestria all orchestrated by our masterful maestro, the sultan of stage and show: Hoity Toity! Watch as Hoity speaks to disgruntled fillies, despairing mares and frustrated stallions, and through his amazing wisdom and wit makes their problems simply vanish into thin air! So don't touch that dial- "The Hoity Toity Show" is up next!

Rarity prides herself on her work, and when letters start pouring in from Canterlot after the Royal Wedding she is overjoyed by the enthusiasm for her dresses. Drawing on her friend Fancy Pants, she is able to set up a temporary shop in Canterlot for one month, where she will do her best to turn out as many dresses and outfits as she possibly can.

She swears to Twilight and her friends that she won't fall for the allure of the big city again, and that Ponyville won't have to go long without her... but once there, she is quickly swept up in the grandeur and glamour of post-Wedding Canterlot. Her clients are rich, prestigious and famous, with clout and influence to burn...

...but it is one mare, a simple gray earth pony, who catches her attention. She doesn't behave like the rest- she is quiet, yet when she speaks she is witty and clever, not dull and droll like the others. She dodges Rarity's questions about her artfully, which only piques the white unicorn's interest and nigh-on forces her to dig deeper into the community to find out about this mysterious mare named Octavia.

But what does she hope to find? Why is she so driven to find out more about the gray earth pony musician... and what will she do with the information she gleans?

This story is a sequel to The Stars of Darkness

I have wondered many times if I should just stay here. Here, in this forest that is now my home... locked safely away from the rest of Equestria, the rest of the world, where I cannot do any harm to anypony. Here in the forest I can live my life in seclusion; I have all the food I need in the wild berries and other edibles that grow here, and with my magic I can make them last as long as I need. I have built a hut that serves well as a home, and there is a stream nearby for water. It is peaceful here... and I wonder if I should stay.

Staying here, I could ensure that nopony ever suffers again at my hooves- that I am truly able to regain the control I once had over myself, and live the rest of my days in comfort and solitude...

...but I am restless... and in my heart I know I cannot stay.

She waits for me... so I must go.

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!

When Twilight receives a letter from Princess Celestia asking her to come to the castle for something very important, Twilight is puzzled. What Princess Celestia and Luna have to tell her will change the Unicorn's life forever.

This story is a sequel to The Stars of Darkness

By all accounts, Wild Wings should be very happy with how things in his life have turned out. He and his friends Shooting Star and Morninglight have been freed from any influence of the Elements of Destruction, thanks mostly to the Elements of Harmony blasting them (almost) into oblivion. He's got his old job back as one of Luna's Generals, and even some new friends to be around- especially Rainbow Dash, against whom he races almost constantly. He survived something that should have claimed his life, and is ready to get this whole "second chance" thing well and truly started...

...but something's bothering him. Something that is nestled so deep in his heart that he can't shake it, something that is frustrating him to the point of everypony around him asking if they can help.

But can he find the courage to admit his fears... to tell them all that despite being given this second chance, he may have already destroyed what he wanted the most out of it? Or the courage to admit to himself that the beautiful mare he can't stop thinking about may want nothing to do with him... and that the family he so longs for may have already slipped through his hooves?

Luckily for Wild Wings, he has some very good friends- from an excitable filly to the Moon Princess herself- who are more than willing to help him in his time of need. But will they be enough to get him to confront the one pony in Equestria who he most desires to see again?

[Ponies on cover were drawn by this lovely and talented artist .]

This is a realistic view on how shipping would actually happen in the show. Almost every pony has been shipped with everypony else, but this is what would actually happen if two ponies ever attempted at a relationship.

...

No offense to any shippers, even though you shouldn't take any. If anypony would like to see any other shippings done on this fic, just leave a comment. Maybe I'll write it if I feel like it.

A lost and lonely soul struggles through the fears of the past without much hope for a bright future, until a kind heart shows her what a life full of love is like once again.

Thanks to my good friend http://fairiegirl101.deviantart.com/ for the amazing cover art!