//------------------------------// // The Episodes that Started it all // Story: Becoming the Nightmare // by Masters-of-the-Elements //------------------------------// Becoming the Nightmare Prolong: The Episodes that started it all I’m a meek man at best, despite how I look. When people see that I stand about 6 foot, 5 and half inches tall, and my big bone body, they immediately become afraid of me. But I’m just a big teddy bear really; I even work at a daycare center part time. Outside of my massive body, I’m no one special. My sandy blonde hair is usually kept short and parted to my right. My brown eyes are usual covered by glasses due to my poor eye sight. I’m actually saving up for corrective surgery so I can be rid of these things for good. My face is a little wide, again due to my big bones. Currently, I’m wearing a gray sweat suit, with a numbers of holes in them. Like I said before, I’m no one special. I don’t even feel special on this day, my 25th birthday. Then again, my birthday had always happened after summer break had started, so most of my friends always wanted to spend those days having fun instead of coming over to my house to celebrate my birthday. But I had long since gotten over that bitter pill, being a grown up after all. Well, maybe my birthday is somewhat a big deal, after I meant my two best friends in the entire world, that is. In bit of ironic twist, my friends and I share the same birthday, and a few common interests. So we decided that on our birthday, we will go to a local pub, get ourselves hammered, and then pass at one of our apartments. The one to get up first is consider the looser of our odd little game, and thereby the others’ slave for the day. Unfortunately, for me, I’m always the looser. I believe it’s because of my body‘s size. It able to handle boozes more easily then my friends and I never been a lightweight with that sort of thing. Still, I take in with good humor, and I always know how to get even in the end. I always laugh when I add some ground peppers to my friends’ coffee, no matter how many times I pulled that trick. And it’s all the sweeter when my friends fall for it all the time. Speaking of my friend…I looked over at the clock hanging on the right wall in my apartment, and couldn’t help but frown slightly. I was going to meet my friends at Eddie’s Pub around seven, and it was 3:15, so I had time to waste. Normally, I would be working at my main job at the factory, but I always take the week of my birthday off, mainly because of my little game with my friends, and plus I like to relax on my birthday. So, I popped in the third disc of “My little Pony: Friendship is Magic: season four”, and got comfortable in my favorite easy chair. I couldn’t stop the frown as I think back to when this season was first airing. This season had drawn in a lot of controversy, much more then season-three-finale but no way near as much as the series end did. Still, when the season was airing, there was a lot of talk and debut about the themes in certain episodes. The season premiere is still source of internet debut, despite the show ending five years ago. In it, Twilight Sparkle’s first task as a princess was to go the border of Equestria, to settle a small debut that had erupted over a colony of ponies and griffins; all who wanted to have the same patch of land. Twilight, for the first time in her life, got a swelled head, and believed she could handle things on her own. Things didn’t work out as she hoped, and soon the two colonies were at war, and this wasn’t the pie-throwing, buffalo-stomping we were treated to in that season one episode, either. No, this was a near hooves/claws show down that could have ended badly, if not for the timely entrance of the rest of the Mane Six. Twilight, with her friends’ aid, was able to pull herself together and resolve things peacefully before thing truly got out of hand. Twilight, however, come out of this event with some humbling, if not embarrassing lessons. She realized that while she has the skills of a leader, she lacked the refinement needed to use those skills in the best possible way. So, with her teacher’s blessing, Twilight renounced her crown but kept her wings, and moved back to ponyville to continue learning about friendship and how to be a true leader. A lot of fans, myself includ, have predicted something like this to happen, and while a lot where a little upset for the reused plot, it wasn’t what cause the debut eruption. No, the real source of the debut came with the last minute and half of the second episode. The audience learns that a mysterious pony was behind the entire thing, trying to make Twilight Sparkle looked bad in the eyes of her teacher. Following the premiere, episode centers around Twilight had gained a certain theme. She would try her hoof at becoming a better leader, such as running for mayor or opening a small side-business. They always ended in nearly the same way, but Twilight has always learned something from it, and felt she was one step closer to become a true leader. These episodes, while MLP standard, always ended with the mysterious pony having a hoof in sabotaging Twilight, trying to make her look bad in the eyes of Princess Celestia. A lot of fans were outrage by the direction that the show was being taken in. A lot felt that Hasbro had reached a new low by introducing a cardboard cut-out villain who only purpose was to ruin Twilight Sparkle’s life. The fan outrage was made worse when, in the middle of the season, the identity and history of this mysterious new pony was finally revealed. This also led to what I believe to be the highlight of season four. The mysterious pony was revealed to be a unicorn name Sunset Circle. She has been the personal student of Princess Celestia before Twilight, and like Twilight, was talented in magic, just not on the same level former unicorn. That’s where the similarity between the two personal students ended, however. Sunset was shown to have an ego bigger then Trixie, if that was possible. She believed herself prefect, and thereby incapable of making a mistake. While Sunset explained her past to a mysterious group she had gathered, we, the fans, were treated to a flashback of how thing truly happened. It turns out that Sunset was sloppy in lot of her work, and made small mistakes that not even a unicorn filly would make. We also learned that Sunset tried to use her position as Celestia’s personal student to her own advantages. She would often try to get free stuff by telling ponies that she was Celestia’s student, and thereby could have something nasty done to them if she doesn’t get what she wanted. Celestia was disappointed in her student when she learns what she was doing, but didn’t take much action against this behavior. The straw that broke the alicorn’s back came when Sunset, with her ego in high gear, tried to cast a high level spell. The spell, we learned, was meant for high level unicorns, with years of experience, and could be disastrous if done wrong. Things didn’t work out like Sunset had hope, and an entire block in Canterlot was sent flying due to the unicorn’s mistake. No ponies were injured, thanks to the quick actions of the royal guards. It was this act, however, that pushed Celestia pasted her limits, and she was forced to do something that she never had done before. With a heavy heart, the sun princess was forced to renounce Sunset Circle as her personal student. We then learned that Celestia had taken on Twilight as her student a few mouths later. Sunset, thank to her ego processing her ex-teacher’s words differently, thought that the princess was just taking a long break from teaching her, and continue her studies on her own. When Twilight had made Ponyville her new home, Sunset had approached Princess Celestia, thinking it was time to study under her again. Celestia didn’t have the heart to tell her former student the harsh reality. Princess Luna, however, didn’t have the same reason to hold the truth back, and use the Royal Centerlot Voice to tell Sunset this horrible truth. Sunset, instead of being crushed by the news, was furious, and all that rage was directed at Twilight Sparkle. She believe that Twilight, an inferior unicorn, had stolen her glory, and became determined to prove herself the more talented unicorn. She decided then and there, to do everything in her power to discredit Twilight and prove to Celestia that she was the better choice. To that end, she has been secretly following Twilight since her early days in Ponyville, studying her to find any sort of weakness to exploit. She had used Twilight’s swelled head to try and get her ex-teacher to see that Twilight wasn’t right as her personal student. When fans learn of this, they were outrage, probably more so then when Twilight became a princess, and I could see why, too. Through this simple act, Hasbro has changed an entire series that focused was on life’s hardship made easier with friends by your side. The fan felt that adding Sunset, a single-minded character, whom only appeared recently but has been watching Twilight since the show beginning, was taking two steps back. But I believe I’m getting off topic here. Let me tell you what Sunset did after failing to make Twilight look bad so many times. After learning that her plan weren’t doing what she wanted, she change things up, and formed a group for a dangerous task. This group had a few familiar faces; including the disgrace inventors, Flim and Flam, as well as the Wonderbots’ dropout, Lightening Dust and Gilda the Griffron. The final member of the group was Trixie, surprisingly. It was during this time that we learn that Lightening Dust, and Trixie are cousins through their mothers. But…more on that one later. With her group together, Sunset led them on a mission that would consider suicidal; they were going to sneak into the castle and pony-napped Princess Luna. It was then that secret about the younger princess was learned, and like much everything else in the season, caused outrage among some fans. We learned that lunar princess was fighting against her dark half, Nightmare Moon, and winning. I believe the writers of the show used this to explain why Luna didn’t have much screen time during the first and second season. Sunset learn about this, and believing this would put her back on top, had gathered her group, and used their skills to do the impossible and pony-napped Luna. She planned to do rid the lunar princess of her dark half, and thereby do what Twilight Sparkle had failed to do, and that should put her back in favor with the princess. Sunset then use some sort of ritual to removed Luna’s dark half. Unfortunately, Sunset had made a mistake, and the creature that they got was nothing more then a beast, and went on a rampage on a nearby town. Sunset’s group got lucky and was able to capture the best again. The failure of a unicorn, in a moment of poor judgment, transferred the memories and feelings that Luna had when she was Nightmare Moon into the current Nightmare. It was at this point that Sunset made her true plans known. She wanted to control Nightmare Moon, and make Celestia acknowledge her talent, and turned her into an Alicorn Princess. Sunset’s group realized the fault in this plan, and tried to stop her. But it was too late, for all of them. Nightmare Moon was back, and ready for her revenge. The new nightmare, no longer want to make the night last forever, but still wanting to rule all of Equestria, rejects Sunset‘s commands, and attacked her and her group. She made short work of the group, and even sent Sunset to parts unknown. Her next target was Luna, who she turned into a simple unicorn. From there, she took out the “lesser” princesses, reducing Twilight to a Pegasus, and Cadance to an earth pony. Her final target was Celestia, and while she put up a good fight, she fell in the end, and was turned into a crystal pony. Her final act was took Fluttershy hostage, and kept her close so the Elements of Harmony couldn’t be used against her. She then took over Equestria and gave the ponies this one law; submit to her rule and continue to live in the sun. Rebel and the night will be the last thing ponies see. But Celestia wasn’t done just yet. Before Nightmare Moon had fought her, she had sent a message to her student, and fellow princess, telling her about an item that could defeat the new nightmare. This item, ironically, was the Alicorn amulet, and Twilight learned a little more about its history. The amulet, while able to get powers to unicorns, it can take power away from Alicorns. This is also the reason behind the items corrupting nature, as the power that was taken, was all from Dark Alicorns. Twilight got the item from her zebra friend and went to challenge the nightmare. Unfortunately, Nightmare Moon had learned of this, and was ready for the former unicorn. The fight was short, and the new princess was defeat and the amulet was destroyed. It was at this point that it was discovered that Twilight was merely a decoy and the amulet she had, was a hastily constructed fake. The real one was with Rainbow Dash, who used her speed to fly in through an open window, and stick the amulet around Nightamre’s neck. Nightmare Moon tried to get the amulet off of her before her magic could be drain, but like how the rules were different when worn by an Alicorn so to was the rule that kept it on a pony’s neck. In short, only the pony who put the amulet on an Alicorn’s neck could take it off. Soon, the item had drained Nightmare’s power, and she was turned into a “lesser” princess, with magic slightly above powerful Unicorns. And with her magic weakened, her spells were cancelled, and the four princesses were restored to normal. With the threat over, Princess Celestia had gathered her fellow princesses to discuss what to do with the weakened Nightmare. In the end, the princesses were kind, and offer Nightmare a chance to change her ways. She would live with Twilight for a mouth, and if she could truly change, she would be pardon. If not, then she would suffer imprisonment. The next three episodes after this large story were devoted to showcasing Nightmare’s transformation from a villain to a good pony. This show how she interacted with the Mane six and what they taught her. Slowly, she went from a rage-filled pony to a pony who loves to dance and love candy apples. She even became a sort of advisor to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, even becoming an official member. The final episode dealt with the awkwardness between Princess Luna and the reformed nightmare. In the end, the entire episode was one big slapstick fest as the two tried their best to avoid each other. It took the might of Twilight and her friends to get the two into the same room. Things were still awkward for the two, but like all children show, they eventually worked it out. They both came to realize, in a strange way, they were family, and Luna acknowledged Nightmare as her daughter. Nightmare Moon was then given a new name to complete for reformation. She became Princess Night-Flare, and would one day take over for her mother in controlling the stars when the time was right. To me, this is where the fourth season picked up and regained some of it lost steam. Plus, Night-Flare became a regular character, choosing to return to Ponyville to continue studying friendship alongside Twilight. Still, this caused some outrage from fans. Some felt that Sunset wasn’t given a proper ending. I often found this ironically, when I think about it. Almost everyone in the fan base didn’t like Sunset, and yet when she didn’t just reappear when it was all said and done, and face the music for her crimes, they were outraged. “…There’s no pleasing some people,” I mused softly, as I looked at the clock on the wall. I suddenly gasp as I felt like I was about to have a heart attack. It was 6:15! I couldn’t have daydreamed for nearly three hours without noticing it, could I? I looked back at my TV and saw that DVD menu was up, meaning that I have somehow had daydream for nearly 3 hours. I must have sat there for nearly three minutes just thinking things over. I never had just zone out like that before, and it sent shivers up my spine. Maybe I was trying to come down with something, and if that was the case, I probably shouldn’t drink tonight. Out of habit, I began to check myself out, looking for any abnormal sighs. Heart rate…normal, check! No fever…checked. Throat not dry…check! Nose not plugged up…check. In the end, I couldn’t fine any sigh that I was sick, and this was good. Still, I made a mental note not to drink too much tonight, just in case. I got up, and stretched, stretching out some muscles that had fallen asleep on me. I don’t care most people say; you get stiff muscles even when you’re in an easy chair. I walked over to my set, and turned off, smiling slightly as I turned away from it. “Man, I turned 25, and I go weird,” I muttered to myself. I then walked over to the bathroom. I was planning on taking a quick shower before I head over to the pub. Unfortunately, this would make me a bit late, as the pipes in my apartment complex suck bad, and usually takes about 7 to 8 minutes for the water to get hot. Still, I knew my friends would understand. If anything, being a little late would save me for their usual debut that those two liked to have on our shared birthday. “…Those two would be married in the next few mouths, but they acted like siblings…or close knitted cousin,” I muttered whimsically to myself. I turned on the water, and stripped to my birthday suit as I waited for the water to get hot. I passed the rest of the time humming the extended theme sing of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Suddenly, my hips began to itch and I scratched them without a second thought. Soon, the water was ready, and I adjust it to the right setting. I was about to step in when spotted some on my hip from the mirror out the corner of the right eyes. Frowning, I turned my head toward my mirror, and studied the strange image. I think my eyes nearly rocketed out of my sockets as I get a good at the thing that suddenly appeared on my hip. It was an image of a crescent moon on an indigo backdrop. I recognized it immediately, though my brain was having trouble processing what I was seeing. It was right then and there that I decided that I was sick, but not in the way I first thought. I’m thinking that I’m had some sort of small head cold, and it was messing with my head, making me see things that clearly wasn’t there. Still, I slowly reached for it, and felt sooth skin. Ok, now I was certain something was wrong with me. But the real question is this; just what is wrong with me? Still…I couldn’t stop the faint blush cross my cheeks as a shy smile appeared on my lips as I said, “I have Nightmare Moon’s Cutie Mark…”