Everypony has a story. Some tell of heroic feats and grand adventure. Others tell of villainy against the forces of Harmony. The story of an average guard, however, is one of obscurity. They live in the background, unnoticed but ever-present.

Silent Knight assumed his tale would be like that of his father's: join the Royal Guard and serve Equestria. He would be just another helmet and spear, part of the rank and file. And that was all he ever wanted.

However, when Captain Shining Armor asked for volunteers to form a House Guard for the recently returned Princess Luna, it was Silent's hooves that stepped forwards to set his new life in motion.

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!

Alone and far from home, Luna has sought out the changelings. Completely in their power Luna is entirely at the whim and mercy of the Queen of changelings, but what has prompted this strange encounter?

Thoraxis, a changeling, finds himself stranded in Ponyville, with no way of knowing how to get back home to his brethren and queen. The Mane Six, knowing of his presence in the town, and dreading of what he might do, try to find him, forcing him to hide. Adopting a persona, Thoraxis tries his hardest to survive in this enigmatic land of ponies, without being found, and runs into several, rather large "obstacles," of varying natures, in the process. Will he make it?

Warning! Early story. Bad grammar inbound!

Scootaloo wasn't quite sure what she expected when she found a letter from her "secret admirer" asking to meet her after school, but it wasn't an invitation to the school dance. Nor was it spending Hearts and Hooves Day with Silver Spoon.

Prereading and editing by Formerly Committed, Jondor, and Timaeus.

Special thanks to bats and Formerly Committed for giving me the prompt this came from.

Art originally by Cuppae

For years, Twilight Sparkle and Queen Chrysalis have been at each other's throats. Both have experienced victory over the other, and both have experienced defeat. Out of all the creatures in Equestria, none despise each other the way the pony Princess and changeling Queen do. They seemed destined to remain locked in battle forever, or at least until one is finally dead at the hooves of the other. The cruel insults, the vicious loathing, and the powerful spells that have passed back and forth between them at each meeting have become the stuff of legend.

Imagine Twilight's surprise when she finds out changelings consider this dating.

And now they're married.

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Sequel: Pony Courtship Rituals

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Some beautiful fanart of the end of chapter three was done by Dmann892; you can see it here.

More awesome fanart, this time from chapter one.

Now with a TvTropes page (obligatory TvTropes warning goes here).

If you want a Russian translation, you can find it here.

There is now a reading of the story on Youtube, which starts here.

When facing Twilight Sparkle, Nightmare Moon was given a choice: redemption or revenge. What if she had chosen the latter? A grim fate awaits Equestria, but in a time of greater strife and conflict, Discord's return is accelerated. While he expected to bring chaos, he did not anticipate that he would end the Longest Night and bring hope and joy back to the land.

Discord struggles to reconcile his nature with his desire for admiration. While Twilight's friends strive to carve a new life in the ever-shifting Equestria, she searches for Celestia, the only one who can bring harmony back to her lands. But Nightmare Moon also seeks her sister in a desperate attempt to find her place in the world. New dangers lurk in the wild and more threaten to fall over Equestria. Nightmare Moon's decision broke the balance of the world. Will Equestria ever turn to peace, or will the spiral of chaos and destruction be the end of everything?

(An alternate history, this story takes the universe established by the canon and explores one possible outcome if Princess Luna had not been redeemed.)

Comments contain huge spoilers. Walk softly.

Special thanks to my pre-readers, MmmandarinOrange and DarkmatterButterflies for keeping my head on, taking the journey of the story, and making it so much better than it would have been if I wrote it alone.

Hello, friends! My name is Lemony Cutewhistle.

I am probably a normal pony.

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Editing thanks to Aquaman and Masked Ferret.

Twilight asks Celestia for romantic advice.

You know, for a friend.

There is now a Spanish translation of this story, courtesy of Spaniard Kiwi

Queen Chrysalis sees an opportunity to break up the Elements of Harmony before they spoil another one of her brilliant plans to rule all of Equestria. Since all of them are unmarried mares, all she needs to do is get them fighting over a stallion. And if one stallion isn't enough, she sends one male changeling for each of them, plus a spare.

Too bad she didn't think this one through first.

Editors: Tek, Peter

Vector credits: Wiki, Bocchinocullen (sign), Ackdari (changeling)