Be On the Alert for this Rebel Traitor! · 5:28am Dec 2nd, 2015
October 21st, YOH 1500
TO: All Guard Personnel, Canterlot
FROM: High Command, Moonlight Castle
RE: Sedition in Canterlot.
1. It has come to our attention that seditious pamphlets insulting to Her Royal Highness Nightmare Moon, Ruling Princess of Equestria, and fomenting civil unrest have appeared in numerous public places in Canterlot over the last several weeks, apparently placed by teleportation.
2. The inability of the regular Canterlot City Watch to effect a capture of the perpetrator is demoralizing to the loyal population and could rouse elements desiring a return to the previous and tyrannical rule of Celestia, styling herself Ruling Princess of Equestria.
3. Combined analysis of the pamphlets indicates that the author (s) is or includes individuals who are:
(a) a young Unicorn mare, at least 16 and probably no older than 25 years of age, who is physically-healthy,
(b) highly-intelligent, well-educated and a very orderly thinker,
(c) a powerful and skilled mage,
(d) from a military family,
(e) of the scholar-gentry,
(f) experienced with operating a printing press,
and
(g) probably commissioned or enrolled in, or worked for, the Night Watch.
(4.) The name and honorifics with which these pamphlets are signed is almost certainly a nom du guerre. However, it may have some significance, so we are reproducing it here:
"Captain Smarty Pants of Celestia's Loyal Night Watch."
No such individual nor military unit is known to exist.
(5.) Anypony receiving information which might lead to the identification or capture of this rebel traitor should make it immediately known to the Guard.
Marshal Thick Memoir,
Night Watch,
Moonlight Castle
You have my attention.
3586261
From the Nightmare Moon Triumphant bad future, which I've named "Moonlight Nights." This makes it obvious what the alternate Twilight Sparkle decided to do, in general.
3586264
Makes perfect sense to me ^^
Oh, great, I'm getting transmissions from other universes again. Better go get Ditzy so she can make sure the antenna isn't pointing along higher dimensional axes...
In all seriousness, I could definitely see Twilight doing this in this timeline. The formative experience of watching Celestia raise the sun never changed. Also, part of me hopes that Pinkie Pie joined in in ridiculing the establishment, though getting the two of them together in this worldline would be tricky to say the least. (Not inconceivable, though. The Chrysalis Triumphant timeline showed that it is possible for Pinkie to earn her balloons even without the rainboom.)
3586292
Pinkie Pie is leading a dangerous double life. Openly, she's delivering metals and crystals from the rock farm to buyers around Equestria. Covertly, she's shipping strategic metals and crystals from the rock farm to the Resistance.
The day she handles a delivery to Canterlot to Captain Smarty Pants, she's going to get a great, and pleasant, surprise. The moment of Minty-recognition.
3586264
I thought she gave up on life after she failed her magic entrance examine (ironically hatching the egg wasn't even the point). I wonder... Celestia's not stupid, she WOULD NOT have had Shining Armor and Cadence in Canterlot when Nightmare Moon returned, she'd have likely had them OUT OF THE COUNTRY... (The entire reason for the pony pov series Cadence being on a world tour so she'd be SAFE from Nightmare Moon who in her insanity might see Cadence as a 'replacement' for herself, and SA as the most powerful defense magic user alive). And Blueblood shipped off to distant cold (and VERY heavily fortified) Stalliongrade.
So while it's cool to see that this reality's Twilight found her courage... (Though I doubt Trixie has gone up in the world due to having too big an ego to weasel her way up), I think Cadence and SA would still be out there to provide a legitimate alternative to Nightmare Moon's insane rule!
If this becomes a story I'll read it. There was certainly enough fanfic material in those two episodes to support several dozen stories.
3586315
Oh, Twilight Sparkle's not leading the Resistance. She just started one cell of it.
Twilight didn't give up on life. She didn't get to go to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Instead she attended Canterlot Secondary School ("Canterlot High School" in the IDW comics) from 10-13, college from 13-16, and was just starting to go for her masters' in YOH 1500 when the hammer fell. She was interning at the Library of the Palace of Canterlot and with the Night Watch's Restricted Section, and around the last year of her normal life she started to notice things in some obscure texts which made her worried that things were going to get very bad starting a year from now.
So she started diverting supplies and built herself a hidey-hole in the crystal catacombs beneath Canterlot. Originally just as a sort of game to see if she could get away with it, sort of a Live Action Role Playing exercise, but the point is that when the first fight between Celestia and Luna erupted on the Palace grounds, leveling parts of the Palace in a few seconds before Celestia was able to draw the fight out into the uninhabited parts of the North, Twilight had a place to run. And she did.
And Celestia lost.
And in the chaos, as Nightmare Moon was declaring herself the new Sole Ruling Princess and Autocrat of Equestria, Night Light and Twilight Velvet bolted in one direction (they really were Night Watch Reserve Officers), and Twilight Sparkle bolted down to her prepared hidey-hole, and Twilight Sparkle found herself on her own, salvaging what she could from the ruined Palace and other parts of the city, before the new authorities could take control of them. And one of the things she managed to grab was one of her parents' printing presses.
And Twilight Sparkle, who had read some of the Night Watch "worst case" manuals, which included What To Do in situations like super-powered invaders taking over the country, decided to start her own Resistance cell. All on her own, because she couldn't find any of her other friends at first (the alternate Twilight had made more friends than the original ones).
But she needed a name to fight under, and "Twilight Sparkle" was connected to other Ponies who might get hurt because of her own actions. So she cast about for a name -- preferably one that her family would recognize if they heard it, but which nopony else would even suspect. And she needed an organization to fight for, to make it more official. And, remember, she was just 17 years old, and frightened and alone ...
... so was "Captain Smarty Pants of Celestia's Loyal Night Watch" born. And its motto, which wasn't reproduced here: "The Day Shall Dawn."
And that was one of the seeds for the Canterlot resistance. Before that worldline's version of the Shadow Wars was over, Captain Smarty Pants would find herself leading hundreds of followers, and Celestia's Loyal Night Watch would become a reality.
3586315
Cadance and Shining Armor wind up in an Enemy Mine situation with Nightmare Moon vs. King Sombra (whom Luna hates far more than she could ever hate any Equestrians), and wind up half-fighting, half-tricking themselves into possession of the Crystal Heart, destroying Sombra's fleshform and driving Nightmare Moon out of the Crystal City. This is actually a turning point for the Resistance, because, protected by the Crystal Heart, Cadance now controls a sizable territorial base within which guerilla bands can start organizing main force units, under the ancient standard of the Crystal Empire.
And they are also shi**ing bricks from the beginning of their war, long before that point, beause they know damn well who "Captain Smarty Pants of Celestia's Loyal Night Watch" pretty much has to be, and they really do not want her to fall. It doesn't help that both of them find it very difficult to think of her as anything but a filly.
3586347
What is the Night Watch?
3586352
So where Cadence and SA playing Sombra or Nightmare Moon to get the crystal heart?
And ironically, I imagine ponies like Rarity and Rainbow Dash aren't loyal to Nightmare Moon so much that they're loyal to her as PRINCESS. (One fanfic had Zecora for some reason as a prisoner in the dungeon of Nightmare Moon's castle, and Rarity regularly secretly feeds her, Zecora correctly guessing that Rarity KNOWS that she's just a slave herself in all but name (she owns nothing she has) and Rarity feeds Zecora to appease her sense of generosity, but Zecora doesn't hate her and freely offers her advice) .
---
You notice how in the changeling timeline, the bullies aren't present, the same colts who became Fluttershy's first real friends in that reality... in other words, Fluttershy is so ruthless because she's ALREADY lost the friends who meant the most to her from Chrysalis' changelings. (BTW: fans have pointed out a tiny cameo shows Trixie was part of Zecora's free fighters.)
3586378
A subset of the Night Guard (which, remember, was maintained by Celestia in the thousand years of Luna's absence) which is tasked with defense against unusual (often decidedly paranormal) threats to the Realm. Think of a cross between the real-world FBI, Hellboy's BPD, and Delta Force. When she was sane in the first five centuries of the history of the Realm, Luna personally led them as a monster-fighting force. Under Celestia in the next thousand years, they pretty much ran themselves under her authority and remote supervision.
In the main worldline, they play a crucial role in the fight against the subtler attacks of the Shadows, and many members of the Light Clan serve in them. Moon Dancer's father Night Dancer is a Colonel in the Night Watch; Night Light is a reserve officer of the Watch, and Twilight Velvet was an officer helping to run the Restricted section of the Library, before Night Light and Twilight Velvet retired to open their own small publishing firm. Daring Do has often worked with the Night Watch, which is one of the reasons she knows Night Light and Twilight Velvet (the other, of course, being her former mentor Night Flight). For Twilight Sparkle, with her brains and connections, interning with the NIght Watch came naturally as extra-curricular activities.
Incidentally, I'm assuming that the Moonlight Nights version of Twilight Sparkle was working toward a degree in Library Sciences -- she was training to become a (highly) professional librarian. She is still, of course, a naturally powerful mage with a Talent for magic analysis and duplication -- she just doesn't have the special advanced training that the main worldlines Twilights got. That's how she distributed the pamphlets -- with her ability to perform rapid, precise and almost effortless teleportation by the standards of most Unicorns.
Celestia did, of course, in the Moonlight Nights worldline send her special student in an attempt to make friends and liberate Luna. Unfortunately, Moon Dancer's reaction to seeing Nightmare Moon manifest and make threats was to go into berserkergangen and fight Nightmare Moon spell-to-spell. The resultant battle, carried out primarily with lightning bolts and some of Moon Dancer's basic-level gravity lances (Nightmare Moon held back, and didn't use her full-powered ones), erupting inside the packed Ponyville Town Hall, a multi-story wooden structure, fortunately killed only about half a dozen Ponies and wounded a couple dozen to varying extents.
Significantly, one of the seriously wounded was Moon Dancer herself, who wound up plummeting from a balcony with extensive first, moderate second and limited third-degree burns. Her life was saved at Ponyville General Hospital but she was in no shape to continue with the Quest of the Elements. Without her leadership, nopony else knew what to do, and Luna wasn't even decoyed back to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.
Instead, Nightmare Moon, who had no particular desire to level Ponyville (Celestia was quite right that her Sister was still sane enough to think in terms of coherent military strategy), teleported to the Palace at Canterlot, and accidentally destroyed part of the Palace in the initial fight. killing another few dozen Ponies. Celestia then teleported to the snowy North, almost to the Ice Wastes, and they finished the battle over uninhabited country, leaving some interesting new terrain formations, but no more deaths. Luna defeated Celestia and banished her to the Moon. And was now the ruler of Equestria.
3586383
Nightmare Moon. Though, note, they destroyed Sombra. As much as Sombra can be permanently destroyed, as long as any copy of him remains stored in crystal.
King Sombra is considerably worse than Nightmare Moon. His Night-Shadow controls Sombra much more than hers controls Luna -- in part because Crimson Quartz was weaker to begin with than was Luna Selena Nyx.
That's why Nightmare Moon's tyranny in the Moonlight Nights worldline is nowhere near as bad as Sombra's in past history. The Moonlight Nights worldline is one in which Luna manages to keep most of the control of the shared form, in part because she's able to quickly find friends, and even love. The Shadow retreats into the back of her mind to avoid Friendship and Love; it's most powerful when she's experiencing Enmity and Hate.
Of course, Nightmare Moon is still a mad tyrant -- but most of the time, she's genuinely trying to rule Equestria wisely -- taking into account her obsessive hatred of sunlight.
The reason the land isn't dying is that Luna's channelling a lot of the Sun's energy around and past the Moon. In particular, the "moonlight" being emitted is much brighter even in the visible spectrum than real moonlight, and she's packing a lot of IR and UV into it as well. So the planet's not freezing and plants can photosynthesize.
Crazier versions of Nightmare Moon wouldn't have bothered to do this.
3586393
That... is disturbing... 1, due to human nature and us KNOWING the ponies Ponyville and even with that many death likely ones who we know and love died. And 2, because Celly DID fill Ponyville with potential Element bearers, those with the will and and moral conviction to embody a virtue. (Ironically, Glimmer seems to be an Element of Trust, which works AGAINST HER as much for her at time, same as the others.)
3586397
I'm impressed Cadence LIVED long enough to get that far.
One friend suggested Luna kept Cadence confined to the caste 'for her niece's own protection of course.'
Ya know how I feel about the parasite thing, so I won't go into a ramble.
Though ironically, in the pony pov verse, even if Sombra is resurrected, it wouldn't be the Sombra Radiant Hope fell in love with and befriended, since it would be just a new construct of the inner darkness of the crystal ponies, and Radiant Hope would mean nothing to it. (The Umbrum Ponies themselves seem to the Crystal Ponies' dark side... though I think it's cheap how their true form is hideous... creates the idea that just because something is ugly it is therefore evil.)
3586383
Well, the Moonlight Nights version of Rarity Belle isn't as nice as the one in the main worldline. This one never realized her full Talent (pattern recognition and manipulation) and thinks that she's just a talented designer and seamstress. Because her Talent is partially blocked from expression, she was less successful at every stage of life and protected herself less effectively at each stage from 12-18, and was a lot more beaten down by life when her life changed forever.
That was when she was one of the first Ponies to impress Nightmare Moon favorably with her courage, by standing up to her at her first appearance rather than bolting or cowering. Rarity didn't realize it, as she ran out of the burning Town Hall, Sweetie Belle on her back and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gripped in her aura, but she'd just basically had a job interview and been accepted.
Soon after the defeat of Celestia, when Luna reoccupied the former Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters and decided to rebuild her old fortress, Rarity was summoned to the castle to join Nightmare Moon's staff, with the specific job of helping them make appropriate royal garments. After Pumpernickel married Laminia and they got posted to the Griffon Empire as diplomats, Rarity wound up with Laminia's old job as chief dressmaker, and eventually she wound up also responsible for internal decor at the renamed Moonlight Castle.
And that's why she was on the staff in YOH 1505 when main-worldline Twilight and Spike came to call.
Incidentally, the Moonlight Nights version of Rarity does not like Dragons. The reason she does not like Dragons is because she does not get along with one of Nightmare Moon's hostages / better friends, namely Fischfootur of the Northern Isles. In the Moonlight Nights worldline, Nightmare Moon befriended Fischfootur, but decided to hold him as a hostage for his father's good conduct. She doesn't actually mean to kill him, she's hoping to imbue him with so much Equestrian culture that when she finally lets him go, he'll be half-loyal to Equestria. Fischfootur's fairly cool with this, but he and the MN-version of Rarity just don't get along well. (Ironically, main worldline Rarity and Fischfootur get along just fine -- but then main worldline Rarity likes Dragons).
MN Nightmare Moon recruited Rainbow Dash because she recognized who she was -- the reincarnation of her old friend Dash Firehooves. Rainbow Dash is okay with this because there's nothing else to be loyal to, and besides main worldline Dashie was tempted at the thought of becoming a Shadowbolt. And here there actually are Shadowbolts to join!
MN Nightmare Moon has no idea, at least not at first, that "Captain Smarty Pants" is actually the lavender stargazer she saw from the Moon, and still less that she's Dusk Skyshine reborn. Recognition will be impossible until they actually meet face to face. MN Nightmare Moon would much rather capture and possibly recruit Captain Smarty Pants than kill her, mostly on general principles -- Nightmare Moon isn't as humane as Celestia, or even as Luna, but she generally prefers not to waste the lives of brave and clever Ponies. She figures she can always kill her later, if it turns out to be necessary, but unkilling somepony usually isn't possible.
After Macintosh Apple becomes Nightmare Moon's offical Favorite, his sister Orangejack becomes a frequent visitor at Moonlight Castle. She winds up with a major fruit concession to the Night Court. She's not entirely happy with the situation, but since Big Mac is mostly happy, she accepts it. At least at first.
Rainbow Dash still has a soft spot for the mad hermit of the Everfree, who is none other than Fluttershy Wind -- a Fluttershy Wind who took a lot longer to discover her talent with animals, never made friends with Rarity, and had every bad thing happen to her which happened to main SWSV Fluttershy. Hence, she really is mad. Rainbow can't actually help Fluttershy, but she can keep anypony from hurting her more.
This has unfortunate consequences, from Nightmare Moon's point of view.
Nightmare Moon, of course, had much of Celestia's statue garden moved to Moonlight Castle, especially that portion of it which used to be alive. This most definitely includes her petrified Former Best Friend, Discord. She has an especially regular and symmetrical part of the garden built, stocks it with imported artifacts from the ruins of Lith, and builds a Field of Law around Stone Discord, which saps his strength and prevents his release (it is also intensely uncomfortable for Discord, which is why Celestia didn't do this in the main worldline).
Fluttershy winds up moongazing rather a lot and learns that this is a special statue. She becomes obsessed with it, sneaks into that part of the garden a lot, and has conversations with the statue. Most assume that she's simply gone mad(der). Nightmare Moon would have known in an instant what was really going on, but nopony bothers to tell her, because they feel sorry for the Mad Hermit.
Comes the big party Nightmare Moon throws for her paramour Big Mac, making his Official Favorite status, well, official. The party gets crashed, by Queen Chrysalis and an invading Swarm of Changelings from her Hive. Nightmare Moon repels the invasion, not so much by the Power of Love as the Power of Electromagnetic and Gravitic Energy Bolts, applied to Changelings by a furious Moon Princess.
Chaos ensues. And Chaos escapes, more dead than alive from two and a half years' exposue to the Law Field, moving partly under the power of his own mismatched limbs and partly being dragged by a very determined Mad Hermit. Nopony even notices that he's missing until well after the end of the resumed Official Favorite Choosing Celebration.
Oopsie.
3586427
You're a better story teller than me. No two ways about it.
Soooo.....the Elements stand divided thanks to Starlight. I wonder how this worldline will play out.
What would Nightmare Moon's opinion on Twilight be in this timeline? I imagine that, in her more lucid states, Luna would see “Captain Smarty Pants" as a misguided, yet admirable opponent, cursing her rebellion in one breath, and praising her brilliance in the next. (Your stories and other blogs suggest that Luna has a habit of acquiring worthy opponents.) Add the fact that their Shadowverse counterparts are in a Reincarnation Romance/Unresolved Sexual Tension courtship thing, and you have a strange new dynamic just waiting to cause havoc.
This is good! now i kinda want to see your thought on sombra world, chrysalis world etc.
Nice, I would love to see more of this timeline.
I imagine that Nightmare Moon's Shadow is rather frustrated that it has only managed a partial victory in this case, but it's possessing an immortal alicorn, so it can afford to be patient.
What's your take on RD's bat wings in this time line? Are they an enchantment on the armor, or did Nightmare Moon transform her into a bat-pony?
I wonder if "Captain Smarty Pants'" Night Watch got a flame-haired unicorn as a member... I can only imagine Sunset Shimmer's reaction on coming through the mirror to find a land of eternal night, but it probably wouldn't be good. My head-canon had Sunset Shimmer originally come through the mirror to find what had changed in Equestria while she was gone and maybe find some way to complete her ascension to an alicorn... and the Element of Magic was present in the original timeline. In the new timeline, I'm sure Nightmare Moon shattered the dormant Elements like she did in the main timeline and assumed that this destroyed them. If Sunset latched onto the most powerful source of magic nearby, that would probably lead her to the Tree of Harmony, which could then give her a vision of a certain lavender unicorn whose cutie mark is on the Tree... just idle speculation on my part.
Pursue this. Pursue this. PURSUE THIS. PURSUE THIS. PURSUE THIS!!!!!!!
3586292 Derpy
You say that MN Nightmare Moon (...hehheh...MN NM...Mmm–Enn Nemm...M&M...Eminem...Miss N and the Rats of NM...egads, I got a jillion of these now...) is able to subconsciously jeep her Shadow in check because she has found love (Big Mac) and friendship. Would one of those friends be the ever-valiant Desiree Doo, more commonly known as Derpy Hooves? And in what capacity is that friendship (is she MN NM's personal courier, a la Shadowverse)?
And how does MN Applejack (Orangejack, I think you said) feel about being as close to a sister-in-law as one could get to the mad tyrant of Equestria?
3586739
There are many instances of She of the Seven Bubbles across probability space: Muffins, the canonical clumsy courier; Derpy, the developmentally disabled darling; Bright Eyes, the secret genius of Ponyville; Ditzy, the hyperdimensional entity born of Equestria but part of a much vaster multiverse...
Like most background characters, who she is depends on the writer and the story.
(Sorry for the Derpiology tangent, Jordan.)
3586828 Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm.
Derpy.
So is this all this going to turn into a story or are you just leaving your notes here for us?
3586446
I'm glad you like this AU. I've been having lots of ideas about it. One of the major themes is Nightmare Moon's internal conflict -- the Nightmare wants to destroy, but Luna would rather rule wisely. The friendship and love that she finds helps keep Luna more in control, limiting the damage that is being done. The problem, of course, is that a multi-lateral civil war is erupting, and external enemies threaten as well. The obvious solution would require Luna to let go of her anger, or be purged of the Nightmare, and reconcile with Celestia. None of the other claimants would keep fighting against both sisters united, and the external enemies would then be manageable. Bonus points if Discord is both free and reformed. Not sure how likely the ideal outcome actually is in this situation, yet.
3586452
I've been thinking about who may attune with which elements. Because, of course, the Elements haven't been destroyed: they just remain unattuned.
Even if Moon Dancer had not succumbed to her own wrath and thus chosen the wrong path early in her adventure, I'm not sure she could have attuned to Magic. The other obvious candidates in this world are Twilight Sparkle aka Captain Smarty Pants, who did not get her special training but is still a strong and talented mage nevertheless, and the alternate Starlight Glimmer herself (not the time-traveling one, but the one that grew up in the world that her main-worldline analog created). Other possibilities are Sunset Shimmer (who is, however, in the AU's EG-verse) and ("dark horse" candidate) Dawn Starfall.
Jackie lost her chance to be Honesty when she chose to move to Manehattan as a filly, but her brother, Big Mac, is a strong candidate -- and, before anyone raises the issue, there's nothing dishonest in his love for Luna -- it's very real on both sides, and part of it is that he can see and relate to Luna within Nightmare Moon.
Rainbow Dash might well still be Loyalty. She was one of the few who tried to fight NIghtmare Moon when she first appeared, even though she had no particular responsibility to do so, and by the time she came out of the hospital the coup was over, Nightmare Moon was the new Ruling Princess. Since then she's been loyal to Nightmare Moon, who actually has the best claim after Celestia. The various rebel factions would call her a traitor for aiding the usurper, but that's the thing about a civil war -- there's more than one side. Nightmare Moon intelligently avoided doing anything too horrible and deliberate, to the point that she can't command the loyalty of Ponies like Dashie.
Derpy Hooves might be able to attune with Loyalty or Kindness. She's solidly loyal to Nightmare Moon now, because Nightmare Moon has treated her well and provided for Derpy's children.
Fluttershy might still be able to attune with Kindness. Her main deed in the AU is the rescue of Discord from what amounts to torture. She's loyal, essentially, to Discord -- and secondarily Celestia -- she doesn't like Nightmare Moon at all because Nightmare Moon has altered the environment in a manner harmful to many creatures (even with enough UV and IR, many life forms are poorly adapted to the new wavering-moonlight cycle) and harmed the focus of her affections, Discord. Her loyalty to Celestia is based in part on the fact that Celestia recruited her to save Discord in the first place.
I'm not sure about Laughter. Pinkie Pie is still a possibility -- she didn't have the same Cutie Mark Epiphany, and become a party-planner, but she's still the Herald of Joy.
Cheerilee is another possibility. Pinkie is a rebel, loyal to her family who are in turn secretly supporting Cadance. Cheerilee's loyalties are divided: on the one hand, Celestia once saved her from making a great mistake (essentially, becoming the Lunaverse Cheerilee); but on the other hand, she's the teacher in a community right on Nightmare Moon's doorstep. She'd probably join Cadance's faction if she dared.
Generosity ... is not Rarity, who's been too badly messed up by everything that's happened to her to attune. Carrot Top, as in the Lunaverse, is a possibility. Carrot Top is a Nightmare Moon loyalist, in part because of her brother Landscape's employment at Moonlight Castle. I can probably think of other possibilities, such as Coco Pommel, who are very minor characters in the main worldline.
Suggestions are welcome.
The big problem is that different Element Bearers might have different allegiances, and hence it might be very difficult to get them all friends or cooperating.
3586456
At the point to which I've been writing stuff, Nightmare Moon does not yet realize that Captain Smarty Pants is Twilight Sparkle, though of course Twilight Sparkle (not seen alive since June 22nd, YOH 1500) is one of the candidates to be Captain Smarty Pants. (From NM's POV another strong possibility is that Twilight Moon really did die in the brief part of Nightmare Moon's battle with Celestia which took place in Canterlot. Not all the bodies of the Ponies who disappeared in that incident were ever found.
Nightmare Moon is aware by now that the lavender stargazer she saw from the Moon was, indeed, Twilight Sparkle. So if she actually did kill her by accident in the fight, that saddens her -- Luna had hoped that they might become friends. She has no idea that Twilight Sparkle used to be Dusk Skyshine -- though if they ever meet face-to-face, she will probably realize it. There are a couple of additional complications here, such as the fact that NIghtmare Moon gets an Official Favorite -- Big Mac -- and that Twilight Sparkle is a Cadance loyalist (unsurprisingly, as she's ultimately Cadance's sister-in-law!!!
If Nightmare Moon had the chance to capture Twilight Sparkle, she most definitely wouldn't want to kill her. There'd be all sorts of good reasons to avoid doing so even from pure ruthless utilitarianism, such as she's Cadance's sister-in-law and hence a useful potential hostage (even before Cadance's marriage, Twilight's the sister of the captain of Cadance's personal guard), and in fact Nightmare Moon would admire Twilight Sparkle, even more so if she realized Twilight was Captain Smarty Pants.
Yes ... the dynamic would be very interesting.
3590660
I imagine crazy Fluttershy IS the first being in a long time to show Discord compassion.
3591103
Well, her and Trapped-in-the-Moon-Celestia, who actually vectored Crazy-Fluttershy in to rescue Discord. Nightmare Moon wasn't actually torturing him for the sake of torturing him; she just knew that he was likely to break loose and that one way to prevent it was to isolate him from most other Ponies (hence, no CMC having a fight in front of his statue) and contain him in a Lithian Law-Field. However, that's actually painful to Discord, at least on the level of capturing Noriega by playing loud music around the embassy he's hiding in.
Celestia could have done the exact same thing. She just didn't want to cause him pain. Luna might have restrained herself for that reason. Nightmare Moon just didn't care.
3591103
My wife and I were talking about it this morning, and we agree that Discord would still have to be a jerk to Fluttershy at least once or twice, no matter how much he owed her. But he'd be likely to be nicer to her than he would to most Ponies. Which isn't saying much.
3590728 I would tend to think that the indigenous Starlight would have something to say to the interloper....especially if Sunburst wound up in whatever cell of the rebellion she was part of.
This needs to be written. The set up is far too good to pass by: the story of Captain Smarty Pants must be told.
3586566
I'm guessing that because Rainbow Dash's most obvious talent is Speed, it would have been a bad idea to turn her into a true Thestral, as the Night Pegasi are slower but more maneuverable than normal Pegasi. On the other hand, Dashie would have done this if asked; she became very loyal to Nightmare Moon; the more so because Luna likes her.
I'm also guessing that -- even if she bothered to smash the Elements -- Nightmare Moon would not assume they're eternally destroyed, because she knows from where they originally came. And the Tree of Harmony is, after all, growing in a cave just down the cliff face from Moonlight Castle. This does not mean that she would necessarily be able to assemble a team of Element Bearers loyal to her, or get the Tree's full cooperation (though she and the Harmony might very well be on the same side regarding certain threats, for instance Tirek).
Under "awesome," consider this. Nightmare Moon defeated Tirek. I'm not sure how she did it, and it's possible she did so by allying with other powerful beings such as Cadance and even Discord (depending which side he was on, and he may have been bouncing around from side to side just as in the main line universe). But she has to have defeated Tirek -- and in a way not involving the destruction of her castle, too.
I like your points about Sunset Shimmer. I don't know if somepony else traveled to the Humanoidverse first or if Sunset Shimmer just investigated developments on her own (in the main worldline, Sunset Shimmer actually went back first as I think you noticed). One big question is what happened to the Mirror. I'm guessing it would have been taken back to Moonlight Castle if not destroyed in the fight at Canterlot, as Luna would have a very good idea what that was.
Speaking of mirrors, one problem Nightmare Moon would have would be (alternate) Reflections King Sombra, who would very much care if the Celestia with whom he was in love were imprisoned on the Moon. It's not obvious when he'd find it out. In the main Reflections verse, Sombra's problem was that Reflections Luna switched sides when main worldline Luna reformed, so he was suddenly fighting three Alicorns (Reflections Celestia, Reflections Luna and Reflections Cadance). This was too much for him even with Alicorn Trixie and Duchess Chryssie on his side.
In the Moonlight Nights Reflections verse, Reflections Luna probably remains Reflections Sombra's friend, so he's only fighting two Alicorns (Celestia and Cadance). Remember, in that world Trixie is the Unicorn who Ascends, while Twilight is a mostly-inept Unicorn mad scientist.
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Hopefully a series of stories -- I already have plotted out some of the analogue episodes. My favorite so far is the one where the rebel unit "Storm Cell" (Storm Front, Cashmere, Echo Fleetfoot, Night Glider and Night Miner) attack Moonlight Castle with a megastorm.
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As I considered your post, I started thinking about when Sunset Shimmer first went through the portal. Most people, IDW included, figured she did it long ago and that some sort of time dilation is involved. But what if her argument with Celestia and her use of the mirror were two separate events?
When I first saw Equestria Girls I thought that the stars that marked the closing of the portal were a lot like the "...and the stars shall aid her escape." What if Sunset Shimmer went to Canterlot High on the night of the 1,000th Summer Solstice? She may even have heard about the Elements of Harmony before she ever left Equestria. Add in some abracadabra-y magic and she ends up in Canterlot High as a Freshman... at the same time as dimensional duplicates of the Elements of Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter. Thirty moons later, she returns to Equestria and confronts Princess Twilight Sparkle.
In your Moonlight Nights world, Sunset Shimmer could have been trying to reach the mirror just as Nightmare Moon and Celestia began their big battle. Either she makes it through (perhaps to a CHS with different Elements of Harmony?) or she finds herself buried in the rubble of Canterlot Castle. Maybe she's rescued by a lavender unicorn heading to a bolthole?
Given that Sunset Shimmer is older and definitely better trained than the Twilight Sparkle of Moonlight Nights, she'd probably have to suffer some sort of setback.. perhaps she was wounded badly, or she actually fought Nightmare Moon when she saw her attack Celestia and got cursed or something. Otherwise, there's no reason for her to defer to "Captain Smarty Pants." Or she just returns to wherever she was hiding from Celestia in order to set up her own resistance cell.
Regarding the Elements of Harmony in Moonlight Nights, I might suggest this:
Honesty: Rarity.
She speaks Truth to Power with Nightmare Moon, which is one reason Nightmare Moon values her friendship. She seemed pretty blunt, almost to Sugarcoat levels, in the episode.
Loyalty: Keep it Rainbow Dash.
Nightmare Moon values her friendship because of her Loyalty.
Generosity: Orangejack.
Now reasonably well-to-do Manehatten socialite, she is secretly funding a lot of Resistance activities as well as charities to help those struggling under the Eternal Night. (And I like swapping Applejack and Rarity's roles... 
)
Magic: Could be Twilight
, Trixie 
, Sunset, Starlight, or someone else... I don't think the Element of Magic can actually be chosen until the spark of friendship unites the other Elements. But, of course, Twilight's cutie mark is on the Tree of Harmony, so that hints are it all being part of some master plan where she's concerned. Of course, we never saw "Captain Smarty Pants" in the episode, so she might not have the same cutie mark.
Kindness: I'd keep it Fluttershy
. making her the wild card in the bunch.
Laughter is the toughest. If I had to choose, I'd say keep it Pinkie
, but have her using her Pinkie Sense (perhaps as Mare Do Well?) to play pranks on Nightmare Moon and her forces.
That splits the Elements almost into three groups... one favoring Nightmare Moon, one favoring Celestia (if Twilight is Magic), and one favoring Chaos... (There are times when I think that Discord left some of his Magic in the Pie Family line given how Pinkie is...)
3593516 Regarding her defeat of Tirek, there's probably a more mundane solution in play:
Tirek never escaped in the first place.
Also, if you actually plan on writing this, I will follow you so hard.
If you do not, I will probably end up writing a Captain Smarty Pants story myself. With due credit, of course.
In fact, I might do that anyway.
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Just had a thought about Cadance in this timeline.
You'll remember that Celestia left her sealed orders "confirming Cadance to the immediate succession and instructing her and Shining to lead the resistance against 'any who might usurp the Throne.'" (That was in the main worldline, of course, but I don't see any reason they'd be different here.) So far, so good. But let's also remember the sealed orders inside those:
So... in this timeline, has Nightmare Moon regained her sanity? Probably not. At least, there's a very valid argument she hasn't. (Look at all the ponies she's failed to protect, says Shining. Look at how she loves making ponies fear her, says Cadance.) But considering that she has gone to great lengths to ensure that the planet survives her eternal night, and how she's probably no worse than a number of pre-Discordan monarchs, there's also a valid argument that she is sane. And Cadance and Shining Armor are going to have to decide whether to even open that second sealed envelope, and then live with how there's always going to be a perfect excuse for them to declare Nightmare Moon sane and give up...
I am so using A LOT OF elements of this for Amicitia visiting this world line... these events are just what she needs to help turn things around (since she can't avert the events of Twilight's visit).
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That's a very good point. Certainly, Celestia would have wanted them to support a remotely-sane Luna against entities such as Chrysalis, Sombra or Tirek!!!
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Oh, I'd be nothing but honored if you were inspired in any way by my ideas. I've certainly been very much inspired by yours!
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worried my recent chapters have done NOTHING to inspire you.
considering Discord can flip ponies personalities with just a gesture what can he actually do to something like a Night shadow? With him free once he regains his strength he'd be pissed at Luna and maybe even grateful to Celestia once he finds out she directed Fluttershy to him
http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Twilight-visit-grim-worlds-8-Cutie-Re-Mark-Part2-575701413
I hope I stayed faithful to what you wrote. If you feel like writing the other half and what happened to the other mares and characters, go right ahead.
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Want to read my version of how this turns out?
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Did you ever read this?
This is MY Moon Twilight timeline canon as far as I'm concerned.