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This was a great chapter and I liekd seeing how Luna managed to overcome her own desires. I also enjoyed the depiction of Twilight's Canterlot friends altough it says Lemon Drop at one point instead of Lemon Hearts. I am surprised that when I started reading this chapter there weren't any comments. I Luna were to fall victim to the "curse" it wouldn't be as bad as she fears given tht it wouldn't change her as much as the Nightmare did.
Thank you! I'm glad. One of the keys to this was making sure Luna's temptation and subsequently overcoming it was believable.
Sorry about that. And I thought I was careful, too! It's fixed now. In any event, that opening section was for you.
Unfortunately, that's the way it's been going with this story of late. Plenty of reads, but few comments except by you, Implausible Deniability, MSie95 and AJ_Aficionado. It's very frustrating, especially on a climactic chapter like this I worked so long and hard on. I really do wish people would comment more, but this has often been the case with my stories where heavy clop chapters get fewer comments.
As to why, maybe readers who more enjoy the story plot instead of the pony one have less reason or desire to comment when there's a lot of clop, while those here for the pony plot get what they want and then go.
No, but she doesn't know that and she can't take that chance. She's not the same pony she was then, or even before then, but she knows everything she was and did back then. You actually got a glimpse of what a new curse-induced Nightmare Moon would be at the end there when she was fantasizing about what she'd do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW6RWSiR88s
What's this? Silly ponies actually being proactive? Heresy!
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Certainly classic, but I was thinking more in terms of another classic scene from Animal House:
I know, right?
Not sure what would be better- Moondancer as ultimate sexual predator or her being dominated by her crush. Hmmm, you think she would like Sci-twi?
OK, we're getting some... "interesting" info about the Princesses.
Now can't stop thinking about Trixie. They stole it from her.
There was something really hilarious in this scene
What, not even a goodbye kiss?
Is it because there is some genuine problem in it or just the previous incarnations were racists?
There's something wrong with me. I'm more impressed with this than terrified.
But the foal part was just disturbing... yeah...
And you do great. It really shows. And in the show, well despite how far the MLP went it's still a kid show. They could do only so much without getting too serious. I think "The Pefect Pear" was the limit.
And great chapter. Luna's resistance and her reasoning- Games of Thrones level.
Epic Luna, well done! I was grinning like a maniac as I read the parts about her going nightmare.
I loved it, dark, sexual, or not, does not bug me in the slightest. Real-life is not fantasy or storytelling, and I have no issue separating the two which is how I feel most people end up feeling bothered by this.
I feel they barked up the wrong tree, the nightmare for all its darkness, was not what Luna is, only an aspect. I think (E)Twilight/Eclipse, would be able to explain more what they missed. Then again embracing a curse, and rejecting it tends to lead to different results. (in reference to were transformations/vampirism) So while Luna proved her resolve above all which was cool. I fear she still doesn't understand it, or I may have read far more into it, as I fear there is more to it than simple desire, then again that might be a misread due to Blueblood's strain was infact from the Nightmare's own twisting and ironcily perverted the corruption further. I am interested in seeing you plans, and I do hope for more to read!
Alright... full chapter comment time!
I haven't read through the replies posted to your new chapter but I have to imagine at least one of them has asked the question, "how does Luna come back from this in the eyes of all ponies". And I believe the answer is simple; no punishment can truly last forever and nor should it. A near ageless being, no matter how terrible her crimes, can't suffer righteously in the eyes of justice for all time. Luna spent a thousand years on the moon, possessed by an evil demon that controlled her will, and given such mitigating circumstances, can one truly find it in them to resent Luna after all of this time? I can't and I won't. And you shouldn't either — hypothetical person who reads my posts.
I don't really consider myself a leftist on the matter of criminal justice who sees rehabilitative justice as desirable or even possible for all offenders and likely never will. That said, even I have to acknowledge rehabilitation when I see it and if there's a mare who's served her time and come out better for doing it, it's Best Princess. And I am accepting all of this as my own personal headcanon. Well done, Sensei!
Some heretics have suggested that since Cadance's actual name is spelled like this, the proper spelling ought to be Cadence, as in 'Cadenza'.
Those people are flammable.
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You were referencing Leslie Neilson but I thought of Officer Barbrady from South Park.
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Don't you just want to hug them all? For real though, don't you want to hug Lily and Daisy and then have sex with Roseluck?
Not only is this a reference to my stories, this is a reference to OG Linky from Siege of Castle Harmony. I appreciate the nod!
Good to see my favorite clop scene in Five Star Service is canon here! Anyone else love Minuette? Yeah, she's a color swap of Roseluck. Muh dick cares not for the distinction. Her breath is minty, her coat is blue and she's a sexier gal than most.
I feel bad for Moondancer. Anyone who's seen the adorkalicious Twi in seasons 1 and 2 knows she gives you a particular kind of boner that never truly leaves you despite how utterly useless as a character she becomes in the later seasons.
That gives me warm fuzzies right there. To my knowledge, I'm the only guy who calls her that.
One of us must have been infected. We fled to Kirin Lands and ended up having sex with all of them, males and females!
That's an alpha breeder ability from Fulfilling PInkie's Dream!
Thestral sexual imperialism is a great headcanon! Personally, I have it that in modern times, Thestrals don't have a lot of sex outside their race but when they do, it's 70% zebra mares for Nightborne and like 99.99999999% zebra mares for the Highborne. They're poaching zebra females at such a spiraling rate, the stallions living in Equestria are languishing, leading to pony mares being seen as a natural alternative, even superior - like those weird White guys that are obsessed with Asian women only far far worse.
As much as the Zebras would like it, they can't really close down the country to the Highborne given their wealth and influence, but Nightborne are denied Visas to even visit Zebreca. Studies are ongoing to determine why this fetishism exists on both sides but it's a point of concern for reactionaries in both countries. Hell, the Thestralslovakians have threatened to ban long-distance transport by their male couriers because of their sordid habit of engaging in consequence-free debauchery as soon as they cross the international line. Zecora is getting a whole hell of a lot of action out there in the Everfree Forest.
A lot of great headcanon here. It makes sense that her repression stems from her violent past.
Luna and I have that in common. That is why we both need fiction.
I'm not entirely sure what this means. Where they oversized when she was Moony and aren't now? I did headcanon they've always been at least relatively large in Don't Feed The Bats.
Hot!
Long-eared Luna is my favorite headcanon of hers!
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Hoooooooooooot!
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Dude, you called down the thunder on my ass with that paragraph!
I think I need I break from commenting after being served up that ownage! I'll post part 2 later.
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Dammit, you know better than to give me ideas! And since I may end up using it, I'll refrain from commenting for now.
It's actually keeping with what I've said about Celly in multiple stories, including this one and TLaTU, where she admitted she had a weakness for 'younger mares', by which she meant (without actually saying it) adolescents. As for Luna... well, she's the opposite of Celly in many ways, so I figured if Celly liked younger mares, Luna would like younger colts, and perhaps indulge a few young teens who have thoughts of mating her in their dreams, indulging herself in the process.
Trixe would no doubt be outraged were she still in Equestria and aware of it!
I admit, I didn't think of that innuendo until you mentioned it. I can just imagine Sci-Twi naming her futahood 'Midnight' after this!
Between her and Twilight? Well, she knows Twilight wouldn't be able to deal with that right now and it might set Midnight loose again, which they really don't want right now.
I'll let AJA answer this one, since it's his OC.
Nothing wrong with you from my end! I just figured it was something she'd do.
With apologies, it was supposed to be. Nightmare Moon is basically all of Luna's desires and proclivities taken to the nth degree with all inhibitions and morals stripped from her by The Nightmare. So though I fully realized it might make people uncomfortable, I decided it had to be included just to show what kind of unholy and completely amoral creature Nightmare Moon truly was. Actually, that's not quite true--even as The Nightmare, Luna retained her love for her Shadowbolts Captain, Star Sable, who was the one pony she would listen to and not punish for backtalk. He alone could restrain her, but in the end, he wanted what she wanted--eternal night and control of the entire world--too.
I appreciate that, I really do! And yes, MLP:FiM is still a kid's show, but they still could have respected characters and canon a lot more than they did after season 7, starting with the movie. To me, it was like we were watching a completely different cast starting with the MLP movie and I didn't like it at all.
As long as it's not GoT season 8 level (I never saw it but I heard from my coworkers how bad it was compared to what came before), thank you very much!
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Yay! That's exactly how I hoped readers would react! Just wish I'd been able to find a suitable picture for her post-transformation, but nothing I found really tickled my fancy.
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Well, that comment in the author's notes was more preemptive than anything else, as I expected some folks to object and maybe even to stop reading the story or downvoting it because of what I said Luna/Nightmare Moon liked/did. But nothing happened, so I've been pleasantly surprised!
To me, Nightmare Moon was basically Luna's deepest desires and passions taken to the nth degree, and then stripped of all morals and inhibitions by The Nightmare who had possessed her. Given that, the rather ugly events she reveals fit only too well what she was.
Thank you again! I really wanted her to show that she was a changed pony from before, and she could now resist even the worst of temptation--at least, once she figured out what was happening.
She believes the curse came from The Nightmare, though she's been at least somewhat disabused of that notion by now. Actually, you've just given me an idea, for which I thank you. I'll have to refrain from further comment for now, but you'll definitely hear an authoritative answer to your question as to whether the Blueblood strain was twisted in some ways off the norm by The Nightmare later.
Thank you very much for the comment! It was appreciated, and I'm very glad you enjoyed both the chapter and Luna's depiction!
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“It was then she told me it was impossible. She said the wisdom passed down to her from the previous incarnations of Juniper Neptune convinced her ‘it would be folly to reform the Highborne’ to accept or interbreed with outsiders. She said it would bring about the Highborne’s destruction in the long-run and ended on an apology — however futile — for leading me on…”
This is an excellent question. Sadly, the headcanon this story is built on top of relies on an understanding of a cancelled work of mine called "Foolers Rush In" - which I do recommend even if the World of Warcraft stuff is cringe nonsense. Basically, Firesight is building on top of that for the Highborne and is a big reason why he outsources to me when he writes them.
To answer your question, the Highborne are the product of an unknown mutation that coincided with the appearance of a comet over Thestralslovakia which saw large numbers of albino thestrals born from the Nightborne stock in three waves. After the second wave of these births, the Nightborne started persecuting them, seeing them as a cursed version of themselves and started driving them away or outright killing them. The third wave saw the most tragic events as well over half of those born were immediately killed by their own parents. There weren't any more waves of albinos after that, leading the Nightborne clergy to conclude the genocide had cleansed them of their corruption the evil comet had brought on them. It also led the Highborne to conclude their Nightborne cousins were demons themselves and that the comet had done thestraldom a favor by creating a pure race of bat ponies blessed by a force greater than the moon.
The two subraces developed a seething hatred for one another that burned for thousands of years. There were times of peace and reconciliation but never for long and they were back to scheming and stabbing each other in the back. Many Highborne albinos fled Thestralslovakia entirely to get the hell away from their cousins and bred in with the other races, leading to their current appearance as mostly light-coated bat horses. Over the years the Highborne religious authority has stressed that their heritage must be protected and part of that protection is sticking together so that their genetics aren't washed out completely.
Juniper Neptune the First (Called Juniper Tree in Foolers Rush In) was a genocidal maniac in the tradition of Magneto and is part of the collective consciousness of all of her successors, even though their tone has moderated in successive generations.
I do believe the JN in this story didn't want to do what she had to do to Delta but saw it as her religious duty and shouldn't be simply dismissed as a 'racist' but that's just me.
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Thank you for being such a social author, it's nice, and not the most common thing!
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You're very welcome! I love comments, and the thoughts and discussion they provoke (usually). In any event, it would hardly do for me to request them if I don't answer them with equal thought and care!
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I admit I had some trepidation about how this chapter would be received, but to this point, nobody's really complained. I've been pleasantly surprised and relieved that all I've gotten thus far is one expression of discomfort, but even they said they loved the chapter. And your point is valid. Luna was already punished, and very severely. As you say, there's also the mitigating factor of demonic possession as well (a factor that at least loosely holds in the case of the infected here, once all is said and done), so even back then, how responsible was she really? Well, some, since she did accept The Nightmare into her, and she does feel responsible for her actions as Nightmare Moon because of it. That's why she says at the end here that she finally passes the test she failed back then by not giving into temptation.
Well said. And thank you! Rehabilitation is possible for some but not all. It's a matter of attitude and willingness to learn/grow, which unfortunately, is not cultivated by society at this time. We reward and punish all the wrong things right now. But that's a discussion for later.
So Lily is proven right yet again--sometimes, fire is the only answer!
Actually, I was referencing this classic scene from Animal House:
Why not sex with all three? Or is Daisy spoken for by the Tentaculus?
You're welcome!
Five Stars certainly thought so! A pity Roseluck and Five Stars have never met, but the universe might collapse in on itself from the overload of sheer sexy awesomeness.
Early-season Twilight was a girl you'd want to date. Late-season Twi was a girl you'd stay the hell away from because she was way too clingy and neurotic. Another reason I despise the later seasons.
You're welcome again!
So what's the bad news?
I didn't say so directly, but yes! All infected thestrals are getting alpha breeder abilities taken to the nth degree.
Interesting. Why is the percentage partial for the Nightborne but near-total for the Highborne?
Sounds like a grass is greener effect.
Curious. It almost sounds like there's a biological and/or magical reason for it. It would be interesting to explore. We'll have to see if there's additional consequences along these lines from the curse after.
She fears more than anything else falling into darkness again, and this curse could well do it. Would she be the same Nightmare Moon as before if the curse did get full hold of her? Probably not, but she also can't take the chance, given what was recited later.
Me three.
Pre-Nightmare, she had them very oversized as a personal or fashion statement. That's where a lot of classic art of her came from, but she dialed them back somewhat later, maybe because she found their large size impractical. I'll try to clarify this a bit for you.
Thanks!
The other reason to not have them long right off the bat is to be able to make them longer again as part of all this, you know!
Well, don't hold back... how do you *really* feel?
You're welcome! I really fleshed out this opening scene and I'm very happy with how it turned out. This is Luna on the brink, and it's quite possible she would not have been able to recover if Concord hadn't engaged in his little overstep.
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the longpost and I look forward to the next one, which I'm sure will be equally epic!
"Impertinent churl! Thou wouldst thou thy sovereign? Mockest thou Our diction?"
"Uh... Concord? Little help?"
"You stepped in that one, buddy."
(Yeah, thee/thou are used with either close friends and family or subordinates. Not the best way to show nigh-religous fealty. )
Unfortunately, that "won't" is missing the "hopefully" that would make the statement totally accurate.
Yeah, assuming the Nightmare lasted for longer than a few minutes, she'd have definitely performed some severe atrocities. Not necessarily such sexual ones, but those seem entirely in keeping with some interpretations of her.
I view it as her keeping Celestia company for a bit and seeing if Tia gets bored. Failing that, she'll be back in Canterlot asking them to get her throne out of storage. That wasn't retirement. That was a vacation.
In any case, heck of a climax for Canterlot (if a little heavy on end-of-sentence italicization!) Now to see how Ponyville shakes out. But first, a look at Gilda.
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I don't usually need to reply to the reply but here goes...
Daisy said in Fertile Ground she'd "never go pony again". In my headcanon, Daisy ends up marrying Winston, the "late bloomer" cleansed tentaculous, and together they cleanse and reclaim a vast swath of the Everfree Forest which is now bathed in a soft, violet bioluminescent carpet of grass, flowers and trees from all of Daisy's life force which has been suffused into everything with a root network over a ten-mile radius. Daisy herself will be granted an extremely long life and be fertile well into her 6th century of being alive and give birth to no fewer than five-hundred tentaculus/pony hybrids who have similar abilities to your timberponies.
Daisy isn't a demi-goddess like an alicorn but far from the mere pony she once was.
The Highborne that encounter Zebras are "travelers" -- the Highborne diaspora who fled Thestralslovakia and wanted nothing more to do with the religious violence, going so far as to flee North America (whatever the ponies call it) to the World Island where the Eastern Pony Herd lives.
Travelers are more than happy to intermix with other races, fit in and not make too much of a fuss, setting them apart from their religious cousins.
The Eastern Pony Herd is made up of Chineighse, Hindis, Kirinamese (ya know, Kirin), Saddle Arabians, and our handsome stripy friends, the Zebras.
The Zebras were the first Eastern Herd race they encountered and were treated well by them. The two have a deep, abiding friendship that goes beyond simple fetish, though the fact they find each other beautiful does help. Although, the Zebras do get upset when they catch the Highborne fencing in stolen gemstones as Barrel Rider mentioned in Into The Storm.
The Nightborne stallions have no such history, but they share their cousins appreciation for the mysterious zebras and their enchanting ways and help themselves to the Equestrian Zebras at every opportunity.
The Nightborne as a whole are quaint, even a bit naive, because of their isolated history as a race and upon leaving Thestralslovakia, have a tendency to lose their identity -- not to mention their virginity. Preserving the past while taking away the good things the future offers has been very hard for them. Indeed, it's been wryly observed by irreligious Highborne that the Lunarian religion the Nightborne practice is becoming the very thing it once hated and adopting Highborne tactics of forming enclaves/exclaves and sowing suspicion of the 'other' to keep the faithful in line.
That answer went a bit long. I'm sorry. I can talk about thestrals literally all day and night.
Possibly. Thing is, statistically, some ethnicities are drawn to other ethnicities and a split diverges between men and women on which ethnicities are favored. If it were "grass is greener" as you say, once would expect regression toward the mean to assert itself quickly but many trends are longstanding. But this is a very complex issue that glosses over the effect of what mass media and pornagraphy has done as a whole towards our collective psycology in the information age. I haven't even written anything based on this recent headcanon yet, so extrapolation is useless at this point. I do want to write on this subject though.
Possibly. I just know for a fact that certain outgroups develop a curious affinity for one another. You could factor in technology as well like zebra alchemical enhancements or even something simple as a musk or aroma. I know that in Gentleman For Mares, ponies mentioned that human men smell a certain way and it drove them wild.
Doorways: the scourge of Roseluck's ears! I get this mental image of her trying to limbo her way through a door, comically getting stuck on the frame no matter what she does.
And after that long comment... time to write another long comment.
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So with time and right successors Tree's influence should (hopefully) disappear. Isolationism can work in certain situations but not as constant policy.
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I know. It's one of this things that disturbs but it's also the reason one continues to follow the work. Like Berserk.
Well, personally I like Season 7. Liked the Student Six but yeah, there was out of character moments. Like, seriously Twilight? You really think CMC would really lie to a filly they've just met? Felt like it was an excuse to give Starlight a moment to shine.
Me neither. I read books. Few times. So it's very much a complement.
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I'm glad. It was my fear that the inclusion of these disturbing declarations from Luna would cause some people to abandon the work, but so far, that hasn't happened at all.
You misunderstand me. I said *after* season 7. Season 7 itself I loved. I thought it was one of the strongest story arcs of the series and ending with the resurrection of the Pillars of Harmony we'd spent all season learning about was an excellent way to cap it all off. It's the MLP movie forward I can't abide.
The movie was canon-destroying despite being quite pretty due to massive plot holes and out-of-character behavior, and with apologies, I absolutely despise the Friendship School and the Student 6, with perhaps the sole exception of Smolder (because she had the most interesting personality and some genuine chemistry with Spike).
Why? because the school makes no sense and we had no reason--zero--to identify with or like these six interlopers, which they just introduced out of the blue and instantly elevated to be on par with the Mane 6. They did nothing to earn it; they were just granted it. The last couple seasons had some good individual episodes but the overall story arcs were awful. There's just no other word for it for me. Character and canon destroying, and having the Celestial sisters retire was, in my view, a very disrespectful and slap-in-the-face way to both their characters and as a means to end the series.
I'm glad. Then thank you again!
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Dang it! I meant season 8. Sorry. My bad.
I can see your point. Lot's of people had mixed feeling about The School. Maybe if they had more seasons to work on them... Maybe...
And about the seasons themselves, guess the less said the better.
Okay, time to finish this chapter's longpost.
Here we are at last. This section is a collaboration between myself, Leo Archon and Firesight. I like what we came up with, even it did take considerable rewriting and compromise.
Juniper Neptune indeed has quite a large dick. A massive, pink donger inhereted by all of the JNs that remains in a state of partial erection at all times and needs to be strapped to her belly by her holy vestments of power -- a reminder of their ignoble origin as Juniper The First, a savage cult leader and living weapon who ritually sacrificed and drank the blood of unicorns to gain untold magical powers. The Holiest of Holies has never been measured for what mortal could concieve of something so large? A heretic once measured JN19's dick while she was sleeping and went completely insane. For his crimes, he was banished to the Twisting Nether, captured by the demonic Burning Legion, and shackled to a Legion portal somewhere, awaiting Activision/Blizzard to come out with future expansion #2743030 where he'll get repeatedly killed by 10-20 well-armed human players for his epic-quality loot.
Visit beautiful Palestine, the Land of the Bible.
This is why you don't defend your mind using Master Lock!
Oh, but I will very soon. And yikes!
I have no headcanon for the caribou. Where the hell do they live? Alaska, perhaps? I get the point of the reference, though.
> Being 90 years old and still eating that Nightmare poon.
So worth it!
"Based!" - Every thestral stallion living at the time.
I can't believe I didn't write this. I didn't even suggest this. Firesight actually wrote in cross-species attraction as a curse! You are a far cry from the author that wrote Auld Lang Syne in Five Star Service!
I couldn't be more proud!
"You alright, General?"
"Nah man. I'm pretty fucking far from okay."
Nightmare Moon invaded Russia!? Holy shit, when did she do that!? Where did she land from? I suppose she must have sailed for Europe, conquered all of that and proceeded into Eurasia proper. She'd have looked pretty absurd landing in Siberia, I promise you that! I need to hear your full headcanon to the Lunar Rebellion/Revolutionary empire. That's an epic story all on its own!
We're not in TV-Y anymore, Toto!
Legendary alliteration!
1 out of 2 ain't bad in this case.
Or, you know, just give them the garage-door opener from Season 9.
I fucking hate you, season 9. But I can never hurt you like you hurt me!
Subtle ackowledgement of the season 4 finale!
She will accomplish more in her sleep than all of ponykind will accomplish in the span of their lives awake. Being cursed only made her an even bigger badass!
And the award for cutest ending to a chapter goes to...
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Tree's influence could have been banished entirely by plot-convenient magical means. That she was not so teaches us two things about the Highborne way of thinking:
As evil as she was, she was still a hero of the Highborne race who committed crimes for the betterment of her tribe.
Even her negatives, as bad as they were, are teachable. They bear the curse of Juniper Tree as penance and a reminder no matter how powerful they become, they will never be perfect and that gives the JN's a reason to grow and adapt to meet the changing times.
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I'm sorry. I completely forgot to respond to this.
Really? I didn't see anything indicating that when I was studying up on ye olde English. Just that they were archaic/formal forms of modern words.
"Hopefully" has been inserted.
There you go. At her core, she was completely amoral. What being possessed by The Nightmare does to you is take all of your proclivities and desires and raise them to the nth degree while simultaneously stripping you of all ethics and inhibitions. That's her particular form of corruption, and she loves it. So even if this recounting of past horrors had upset people, I stand by it because I believe it's very much in keeping with my own particular interpretation of her. I've been pleasantly surprised and relieved that nobody's complained.
Call it a sabbatical, then.
Thanks for commenting. Once Gilda's done with, I may come back here and see if I can ease those off a bit for you. Until then, take care and hopefully enjoy the Gilda chapter.
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Oh! I didn't mean it was a typo; I was just commenting on Sunset's overconfidence. Sorry for the lack of clarity there.
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Waaaaiiiittttt... it just hit me- if the Princesses like younger ponies, what does it say about the Principals? That what Mighdnight meant? I thought it was just incest but now it looks like there is much more to it.
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I'm sorry, I forgot to answer this! Let me take care of that now...
It says exactly what you think, and you'll be seeing some of it over in the Midnight Rising revamp when all is said and done!
Is that what Twilight meant? Well, maybe partially. No hints, except to say this: The two Principals are going to play a big role in the story's climax and conclusion.
First of all, quick question. Seeing as how you've referenced real life songs, what exists in your version of Earth and what doesn't? Because if it has everything we've got, I doubt Twilight would plan to conquer it. And while we're on the subject, for all her talk of being a benevolent ruler, to me, Twilight is doing what people in real life have been doing for ages and still do today: force their will on others. And just like most, if not all of them, she's so convinced she's right that she doesn't listen to people who say "no". I really hope it's just the curse making her think like that, because I've read enough to see what happens when people with power think they're morally superior to everyone else.
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Thanks for some thought provoking comments! Let me try and answer in kind:
This is the EqG version of earth, slightly modified. It has all our tech and music/whatever else, and this version of Twilight is certainly interested in it all, as she loves new knowledge and learning things. The human world is also gaining some exotic form of magic, which she would wish to study and master. So as Eclipse, she would very much want to conquer it, never mind the fact that Flash is there.
Indeed. There is way too much of that now as well, especially from people who claim to be fighting exactly that.
She's affected by the curse, same as everyone else. The curse works in a couple different ways, but always with an eye on spreading itself further. One of the ways it will do so is to basically brings forth your darker desires and more predatory proclivities, and then enhances them to the nth degree while still leaving your basic personality intact. In Twilight's case, it made her desire to spread Friendship and Harmony all-consuming, then skewed exactly what those concepts meant. And she would therefore wish to spread it everwhere, even to the human world regardless of Flash's presence. Fear not--she'll be aghast at that version of herself when all is said and done.
I don't know if you've read my other stories, but this isn't the show Twilight, which I honestly came to dislike by show's end for being more about neuroses than her power and abilities, which they completely nerfed over the final few seasons, reducing her to little more than an average unicorn, which makes no sense to me. This is more based on the season four/season five Twilight crossed with the one I wrote in the Turnabout Storm/Lawyer and the Unicorn series, where she's very powerful and knowledgeable, and can bring some Batman-like qualities to bear on a problem when she wishes, coming up with plenty of plans and contingencies.
Given her bookish nature and tireless pursuit of knowledge, it makes perfect sense to me that she would research ways to defend her friends and ponydom against things that had happened/could happen, like the Nightmare's possession of Rarity, and be very thorough about it. That's how and why she knew the origin of the Nightmare and had a plan prepared against her should Rarity or anypony else fall victim to her possession again. Against that, she's also been holding back her power quite heavily (as Starlight learned), for reasons I'll go into at story's end.
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Thanks for the reply. I think you nailed an antagonist Twilight. Not to be rude, but I meant that that Twilight might also be drunk on power, and it's not just the curse fuelling her ambitions. The question about what your Earth has was more about what weapons they have, because I don't think Twilight would invade, giving how (sadly and scarily ) good we are at developing ways to kill. One more thing: I know you've addressed it a few times before, but I'm still worried about what happens when everyone gets cured. To flip someone's mental state, have them do things while in that state, and then flip it back to their original state, will almost certainly mess them up. Thank you for the commentary.
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I don't find that rude at all. She's very much drunk on her own power right now after suppressing it for so long, and after having all her internal barriers and inhibitions ripped down at once. As for it not just being the curse? I will decline to comment on this, as I plan to address it at the end of the story.
If ponies were at canon levels of ability from the end of the show, I'd agree. But this isn't canon. Here's one possibility--the Nightmare already made plans to conquer earth once she could take a host there with all her magic, via a series of technocurses that would allow her to take control of computer systems and machinery. She demonstrated one of those curses on Cyber Belle and nearly won the day right then and there. Nightmarity now knows those spells, so Twilight could use them in her service.
But even aside from that, in this canon, Alicorn-level power brought to earth would be very difficult to defeat even by human militaries. Celestia is the most powerful Alicorn in this verse and could destroy a city or army if she wished. Twilight isn't quite up there, but her best shot would hit with the force of a tactical nuke. Other stories of mine demonstrate this. Check out Chapter 12 of Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly if you'd like to see what Celly could do when roused to action.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/281029/13/before-the-storm-the-rise-of-firefly/part-12-ultimatum
So as powerful as she is, the only questions Twilight actually has to answer is, how can she cross over while keeping her power intact, and how can she get past the human element bearers?
In response, all I can say is to assure you again that this isn't a bad end story, though there may be a few sniffles involved at points. I plan a series of closing scenes to show how everybody's getting along after, from Spike to Twilight to Starlight to Trixie even just regular ponies (and griffons). It won't be status quo afterwards, and there will certainly be some major issues, but it won't be all bad either. Far from it, in fact. Just trust me that I have thought this through, and I think you'll like the ending.
I've read several chapters again and this just keeps being great. The primary reason Eclipse is such an interesting character is because she can actually succeed in taking over the world an have it accepted without much resistance.
You know, I really hope some asks Twilight the tough questions, like "how far are you willing to go in pursuit of your goal (I.E. killing)", and "what happens to someone if you can't convert them?". I'm really interested to see how this version of Twilight would answer them, and I've found the response to these types of questions usually sets apart the heroes and villains. Honestly, I find the psychology of the infected Twilight (and everyone else who's infected) to be the most interesting part of this story.
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Why, thank you! I'm very glad to know this holds up well on repeat readings, though I think at some point I'm going to have to go back to the earlier chapters and make some editing passes. Skimming a couple of them, I'm finding some stuff that makes me grimace--my old bad habits of too many ellipses, some run-on sentences, and overuse of things like "for it" or "at that", which I now find to be meaningless filller phrases that are rather appropriate to the work.
She could probably do it, at least initially. But I think even she would actually maintaining her new empire would be far harder than initially conquering it, and that she would indeed meet resistance given how the curse would also enhance the powers and abilities of potential adversaries.
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That sounds like a very reasonable request, and I could very easily see Sunset challenging her like that. Nobody knows better than her how absolute power corrupts absolutely, after all, and she might well try to wage some psychological warfare on Eclipse as a distraction, of which those questions could be part. So you'll get your wish. And if Twilight thinks that Sunset couldn't challenge her without her goddess form, she'll find out late in the game that Sunset learned some things she didn't, and that she was a lot more willing that she was to learn things she shouldn't.
Hey, that works! If you enjoy the clop, great, but if you also enjoy the storytelling, worldbuilding and character development around it, even better. That means the story works on multiple levels, and I take it as a compliment to my writing skill.
Honestly, I never really got off to the clop. It's weird, because I'm as deviant as one can get at times, but this just really doesn't do it to me. Like a few other commenters, the psychological aspects appeal more to me; yet I'm also sticking around for the plot. When you inevitably (hopefully) return to writing this after you have finished the rework of Midnight Rising (which I enjoyed as well!). It's dissapointing to me to see so many stories I was invested into be cut short due to the writers having lost interest or such similar situations. Good luck, and onto the smut!
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I like your comment but I have to ask. What is an unironic groverist? Are you a huge fan of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States of America?
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Once again, I am very sorry to have let this comment languish for so long. I posted a new chapter today only to realize that I hadn’t any comments on the story for a year. That’s inexcusable.
Hey, I consider it high compliment that readers such as yourself enjoy it aside from the clop! That means the story carries its own weight even without all the M-rated action, and I’ve done my job in merging the literal plot together with the figurative kind.
Not to worry. Well, a year later, the rewrite remains in progress but is slowly crawling to completion, with the main delay being not so much a lack of interest as a need to finish off the second Firefly story while also working tirelessly on Feathered Hearts. But we’re getting there, and I definitely don’t plan to wait a year between chapter releases of Nightmare Night again!
Thanks, and hope you like the newly launched chapter!