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!

Orphaned from birth, with only the memories of a soft touch and gentle voice to remember her by, Twilight yearns for her mother. What pony wouldn't want to know why they were abandoned, why they were left to be found by the Princess of the Sun herself.

That was nearly two decades ago though. Twilight was older now, and hopefully wiser. She is happy with her two best friends, Cadance and Shining Armor. They are like family to her, the brother and sister she never could have. Though dreams still haunt the young mare, dreams of lullabies and tender kisses, she has moved on.

The personal servant to the Princess of Helios, the land of the Sun, Twilight enjoyed both rank, and knowledge. But it also means that when Princess Luna comes to visit her old friend, Twilight is given the task of tending her. The Princess has come in search of marriage, at the behest of her ruling Council. They demand an heir to ward off the potentially catastrophic attacks of the neighboring dragons.

Soon, Twilight will be tested and tried. She will be given the a choice between the life she has known, and the duty she is sworn to. But never, not once, will she forget.

For who can stop loving their mother.

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

Princess Twilight Sparkle went through the portal to find herself face to face with the Twilight Sparkle of the human realm. Is it a simple meeting or did they just stumble on something much more? The fanmade sequel to Friendship Games and the concluding chapter of the Equestria Girls saga.

I would appreciate any commentary or thoughts you can provide. I'm always looking to improve.

Featured!

Note: Story takes place between seasons 4 and 5 (and was drafted prior to knowledge of "Make New Friends but Keep Discord".)

Discord’s miffed that Princess Celestia doesn’t seem to have extended him a ticket to the Gala—he thought they were friends! (Though maybe he understands a little, considering his recent betrayal, even if he did make things right in the end). However, when she shows up to not only give him his ticket in person but to ask him to be her personal escort for the evening, Discord is surprised (and then smugly satisfied) to say the least…that is until Rarity decides that Celestia’s invitation was clearly her asking Discord out on a date.

Discord dismisses the idea however as he has plenty of other things on his mind at the moment—ponies at the Gala will certainly be talking about Tirek, and how can he face their questions when guilt about what he did is bothering him so much that he can’t even talk about his mistake with his friends? And what is he supposed to do now with his life since he’s finally fully reformed?

Pretty soon Discord’s worries spill over into his dreams—many random dreams…and many random dreams specifically about Celestia. What is his subconscious trying to tell him? And why does Celestia keep trying to get closer to him? It’s all leading up to the most chaotic night ever when Discord will show up at the Gala arm in arm with Celestia and ready to face the world as the ‘REFORMED reformed’ Discord!

(Featured fall 2015, and spring & summer 2016 )

What happened to Twilight when she finally got accepted into that amazing private school?

Did she meet amazing friends? Check.
Did she do amazingly in all her studies? Check.
Did she have a very fiery outburst? Check.
Did she laugh it off? Check.
Did she get into some trouble? Check.
Did she save the school from Celestia's evil uncle? Che...WAIT WHAT?

Read and find out.

Discord is awakened by all of the drama from the changeling attack on Shining Armor's and Princess Cadance's wedding. Twilight Sparkle can't shake the whispers in the back of her head causing her to doubt her friends and family. Will Shining Armor and Cadance ever get to say 'I Do'? And what will become of Equestria?
Probably Chaos...

Mistakes.
Everybody makes them.
Not all mistakes are equal.
Some are far less costly than others, and some can spell disaster.
When mistakes have such disastrous effects that you know it was not meant to be this way, you try to fix them.
When alicorns make mistakes, the fate of the entire world can change on a whim.
I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. I know where it went wrong.
I may not be able to undo my mistakes, but I can prevent them from happening to myself again.

What would happen if Twilight Sparkle was exposed to the corrupting influence of dark magic? This question is answered when Twilight finds a spellbook in an old library in the Crystal Empire palace. The spells within begin to corrupt Twilight with the want of knowledge. Can she resist?

Based on Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper."

Twilight Sparkle is stressed with her new role as a princess and wishes she could go back to being a regular old unicorn.

Dawn Cracker, a unicorn living with her indebted father, wishes she had the life of a princess.

When the two meet, they discover they look a great deal alike and (of course) decide to switch places. What chaos will become of this?