Twilight Sparkle was a daughter to Nightlight and Twilight Velvet, a sister to Shining Armor, and a student to Princess Celestia. That was who she was, nothing more and nothing less.

However, on the longest day of the thousandth year, her world will change forever. A secret kept even from her will be revealed and her life will be forever changed.

A different take on the Nightmare Moon incident with a slightly darker outcome.

I'm not sure where the cover came from. If you do, please let me know. Cover art belongs to rosahadoodle

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!

This story is a sequel to Past Skies

Thousands of years ago, three youngsters roamed the wilds together. Many things happened to them. Some were good, but others are better off forgotten. There are plenty of those. One has just resurfaced, one that Celestia would rather forget.

This can be treated as a stand-alone story. Edited by TCC56. Contribute to the TVTropes page!

This story is a sequel to Crystalline: Her Destiny

Ever scholarly Princess Twilight Sparkle can't wait to finally embark on her own arctic quest with her friends to find evidence of Starswirl the Bearded's life.

But what if things don't go as planned? When Princess Celestia orders a new companion who is a master magic user to accompany Twilight she's thrilled until she finds out on who it might be.

Her fears come to life when it turns out to be none other than Sombra. Will this ambitious Princess and the snarky loner be able to refrain from killing each other? Ancient magic awakens and history becomes vivider and its participants a little too alive as things play out.

Book Two of Sombra's Odyssey. Takes place in between MLP:FiM seasons 4 and 5. Proofread by: ElderXelpud and an anonymous user. There are many unmarked spoilers in the comments, and many more containing excerpts may not be relevant any longer because of the changes made in the updated version. Find the old version here! Cover art is by matrosha123 and has been edited by me. Contribute to the TVTropes page!

Twilight died today, and then she woke up.

Edited by Pegasusmesa

In an alternate reality, Twilight Sparkle awakens into a world she does not recall. Centuries after the clash of Sun and Moon, the planet of Equestria is besieged by an ancient foe and their mechanised armada.

Can she and a small host of newfound friends turn the tide of a losing war?

You can bet your cupcakes that they'll try.

Cover art by Woolly, edited slightly by a friend. You can find more of Wooly's stuff over at their Deviantart!
Font used therein created by Michal Nowak, also known as Neoqueto, and can be found here 1001 Fonts - Corruptor.

An idea which sprung to my mind a few days ago. Hope you enjoy it.

AND NOW A BIT OF ELABORATION!

Always been a fan of mechs, giant robots, gundam... call them what you want. Want me to buy something? Tell me there are robots and that you can fiddle with their weapon loadouts and the like and you have a sale.

Uniting it with a second beloved thing of mine, Friendship Ponehs, is therefore a welcome addition.

This story takes the oneshot of Crescent Pulsar's Pamphile and expands into how Twilight will deal with her broadening outlooks and revelations, becoming an alicorn, preparing to be a princess, and the implications of being the Sole Bearer of Harmony.

Twilight Sparkle was a humble unicorn, but between her defeat of Nightmare Moon, wielding the Elements alone, and ascending all in one night? The world will come to revere her for her growing abilities, her increasing deeds, and her virtue as a Pamphile, intending to be a Friend to all beings. There will be bumps, conflicts, and challenges along the way, but Twilight never was one to shy from tests.

But the question grows, how will the Alicorn of Harmony fair as a Defender and Future Princess of Equestria? Either way, one thing is certain.

There certainly hasn't seen one quite like her before.

AN First chapter picks up immediately after the original Pamphile. I WAS going to be Pulsar's chapter- with his permission and at his suggestion- but for some reason, this site refuses to allow you to use another author's piece as an opening bit, even with their expressed permission.

7/28/16: Somehow, this got featured just by updating it. Sweet. Which lasted all of five minutes.

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

After unexpectedly being freed during a Changeling invasion, Discord finds himself allying with the Queen of the Changelings and the Mare of the Moon. In a bid to weaken their enemies, they take the element of magic, Twilight Sparkle, as a prisoner. Twilight then finds herself becoming a pawn each of them wants to use to secure their own dominance.

Will she be able to resist these beings of darkness, or will she fall into the darkness herself?

Hey, I'm Rainbow Dash. You probably know me, right? What am I saying, of course you do. Best flyer in Equestria, and all that.

Well, the thing is, I'm kind of in trouble. You probably heard about my friend Twilight becoming a princess, right? Well, she cast this crazy spell and now I don't know where I am. I mean, it looks like Ponyville, but I know it isn't. It doesn't feel right. Ponies are paranoid, and the guards are everywhere.

Worst of all, though, everypony seems to run in fear at the mention of Twilight Sparkle.

What am I going to do?