Nightwatch's Flaws · 1:05am March 20th
Before we get started, just letting you all know, I have chapter 6 of Ester Dracos in progress, but there's a song in it which I'm composing, and as per the usual, it is taking a while to finish. After some difficulty, I have managed to come up with a tune now. It sounds good, I'm just getting to a more challenging section and it might complicate things. I actually have the first chapter of "Ghost of Grogar" complete (proofreading still needed), but I will wait on that one before it is uploaded. There are no songs in that story, so I should be able to get through it quicker, but I do want to at least get the cover art done as well as a picture of the "Harmony Clubhouse" tree, so please be patient. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.
***Spoilers ahead for those that have yet to read My Little Sister is a Dragon: Ester Dracos Arc***
In the most recent chapter of Ester Dracos, we learn that Nordo Dracos, the land Buttercream might have come from is governed by King Rubble, a dragon that hates ponies. After seeing a portrait of the royal family of Nordo Dracos, Nightwatch suspects that Buttercream could be closely related to them and he instantly fears losing Buttercream if they find out where she is. This causes him to make a rather foolish decision: to keep everything he has learned secret and to not tell Buttercream anything about Nordo Dracos. He even takes a book about dragons home with him from the Ester Dracos archives to do his own research, but he will be keeping that secret from her as well.
Now I won't give it all away, but this is not the only secret Nightwatch will keep from Buttercream or the only secret he'll keep from anyone. In order for the continuity to line up properly, I have to write all of this so that he and Butter never come into any real contact with the Mane Six throughout the events of the show until we get into the FHS timeline. Now you know that the reason these two groups haven't met yet is because of Nightwatch's fear of losing his sister and how it causes him to not want others to know of her. Nightwatch is also a bit shy about putting himself out there which will result in other secrets being kept. Some really big secrets.
Obviously Butter will eventually find out. In FHS we see that she is fully aware of these things and that's how she got to Nordo Dracos to find her family. She has known for years now. When that will happen in MLSiaD is yet to be seen, but Nightwatch's biggest flaw has already been revealed and it will not make things easier for him. In the coming episodic stories for MLSiaD, he will be challenged to keep this secret by resorting to rather shady methods, and he will eventually find out about Spike and the Mane Six. It will lead to some friction between him and Buttercream, but they obviously make up. In FHS, Nighty currently hasn't appeared, but he may soon. I won't say which episode it will be though.
Now another question you might have his: how, if I am building up Nightwatch and Twilight to be a couple, has he not yet met her in person? We saw in "Go North, Young Dragon" how Twilight clearly remembers having some back-and-forth with him via mail, and we know she will eventually mail his journal and telescope knob back to him (as it is set up at the end of the Nightmare Moon Arc), but why haven't they met yet? Why isn't Nighty brave enough to go out and introduce himself? Well let's just say he's kinda shy when it comes to girls he likes, but there's another big reason he's been avoiding Twilight. A reason that even Buttercream understands. I'm not going to touch on that, but it'll make more sense when I get to that story later on.
When I first thought of Nightwatch, not a lot of this came to my mind, but the fact that he was a character I could see being with Twilight meant I'd have to have an explanation as to why he never would have shown up in the show. Obviously it's because he's an OC and Hasbro would not have had him in there, but I am challenged with explaining why that is. The gap in time between Ending of the End and Last Problem is open to massive interpretation and things will be explained in MLSiaD over time. Nightshade is not a perfect pony and he makes mistakes. You already see him making a big one. He loves Buttercream more than life itself and will do anything to protect her, but he is still thinking a bit too much about what he wants without considering what she may want. He'll grow over time and learn his lessons, but not without going through some rough stuff. By crossing the Brotherhood of Grogar, Bray will be giving Nightwatch some serious trials.
Sweet insight on Nightwatch here regarding Buttercream's real dragon family reveal that he covered for quite a while it seems!
I do wonder if he'll apologize to Spike for keeping his sister from meeting him earlier?
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He’s eventually going to have to admit this to Spike and the others too.
I just realized a tragic irony with Nightwatch’s secret. Because he didn’t want to lose another sister he ended up taking away someone else’s sister
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And he doesn't even know that yet.