Here's something I've struggled with a little bit in my story. When it comes to Equestria, how well known is Nyx? I mean, in Past Sins, she usurped the Canterlot throne, banishing the royal sisters, and brought about perpetual night for two whole weeks... This is a world-changing event. Literally nobody would not have been affected by it.

And it was only fifteen years ago. 9/11 was fifteen years ago, this year, for perspective... And that was just in New York. Imagine if something on the scale of Nyx's rule as Nightmare Moon in Past Sins happened in 2001.

I can't think of any way that Nyx, and her story, would not be known worldwide.

But this is a problem. It automatically makes Nyx a globally recognized figure, which means introductions of all types are going to be really awkward.

"Hi. I'm Nyx."

"I know who you are. Black alicorn. You're Nightmare Moon reborn. Plunged the world into cold and darkness for two weeks."

"Um... yeah sorry about that. It was a long—"

"No, it wasn't really. I remember it pretty well. You kind of don't forget that type of thing."

*awkward silence ensues*

So yeah, I'd prefer to avoid this sort of thing in my story. Past Sins kind of obliterated Nyx's recognition (or lack thereof, rather) by making her into a world changing event. It's really hard to follow that up and have her proceed in an adventure story, meeting new characters and having them not already know everything about her. I'd prefer to rewrite that... somehow so that Nyx can actually go places and not be known by absolutely everybody.

What do?

5243692 , I guess as a last resort, you could always do what the show does: Make characters inexplicably forget about Equestria's heroes/villains for plot convenience.

5243756

I... guess.

That's a last resort, though. I really dislike contrivances in all forms. If I can make it work more naturally, I'd prefer that. Most everything about my story is supposed to be natural and consistent within its own universe.

And I suppose that's one of the reasons I change canon from time to time - to form a cohesive narrative within my story. But in this case, it's a bit more difficult to do because it involves the very nature of Nyx's history within Past Sins. When I messed with her nature of origins recently, it didn't really contradict Past Sins. But Nyx did do things which shook the world. That's not something people are going to forget. Unless, as you say... they just do for the story's sake. I wish somehow that there was a way to make the Past Sins events a localized phenomenon. That way, only those around central Equestria would have been affected. But Past Sins doesn't really allow for that, does it.

5243692
One thing that works for you is just how many wierd and world changing events happen in Equestria, by now they're pretty nonchalant about it all. I mean, if you can shrug off Discord you can deal with almost anything.
Ponies reactions to Nyx would come down to how her reign affected them personally. Nyx never killed anypony directly and she wasn't in power long enough to really effect life in the likes of Manehattan. Feelings were strongest in Ponyville and Canterlot, but beyond they would likely be far less. The fact the night ended before real problems arose would help lessen public perceptions and time would help erode these even further.
You also have Nyxs' dual identity as Nightmare Moon. Most ponies beyond Canterlot would have heard that Nightmare Moon had taken over and had been defeated. Gives Nyx a certain level of anonymity and lessens her degree of accountability.

5243692
In Past Sins, Nightmare Moon was a Celestia-sized jet-black alicorn with dragon eyes and a prehensile, ethereal mane and tail, trotting around in highly distinctive armour and makeup. In the appearances she made while she was ruling Equestria, that would be the image presented to the public. The end of Past Sins, as well as the entire plot of Winter Bells established that Nyx is, essentially, concealing her identity.
Just some information. I'm genuinely unsure as to how you should proceed from here.

5243795

5243817

Hmm... I wonder if I can use the zebra war to obscure Nyx's history. Fifteen years of typical MLP magical events plus nine year war might be enough blend in her actions with all the other weird things.

5243872
Sweep it under the rug. Sure.

5243872
Heh, Nyx could even be relegated to the "villain has-beens section" of history

Another thing, the Ministry of Image has been promoting Nyx's actions fighting the zebra, will certainly help soften peoples views on her.

5243880 Well ideally I want people to not be familiar with her. Like at least half the time. It really bites into the narrative when everybody already knows your protagonist.

5243892
That is true.
With the war with the Zebra hotting up it certainly helps sweep that particular bit of history under the rug. Peoples collective memory can be quite short, especially with far greater tragedies occurring everyday on the frontlines.

5243692

Pen Stroke's " solution" to this issue was that the Sisters did not publicize the " trial" of Nightmare Moon... so that ponies ended up believing what they wanted to believe. Thus in "Winter Bells" it's stated that outside of ponyville most ponies seemed to think that the Nightmare Moon from " past sins" was exiled, under house arrest, in prison or some combination thereof...

Indeed according to the conversation between the two reporters in Winter Bells Luna and Celestia released an interesting communique about the end of the " Nightmare moon Crisis". You may have heard of a " mathematician's answer" that is an answer that is technically correct but doesn't really tell you much. This communique seems to have been the politicians version of the matematician's answer.... It said something like " Nightmare Moon has been placed under the watch of a Pony Celestia and Luna trust completely and who will make sure that she never again poses a threat to Equestria" .. and that's it.

See that is a technically correct description of the situation .. but it is also ( purposefully I assure you) crafted as a " Rorschach's test" of a sentence, that allows anyone to project onto it whatever one wants. If one wanted to see NM punished then you read that and think that the relationship between NM and the " pony the sisters trust completely" is one of prisoner and warden... not the daughter/ mother relationship they actually have!

Anyways back to the point... How should the average John/ Jane Doe pony react to Nyx?

Overall, I think that Ponies seem to be a very forgiving bunch, and they also have extraordinary faith in the royal sisters, in a way that befuddles us humans ( then again this is quite literally a fanciful utopia) . You and I share a distaste for the way Discord was reformed... but it's illustrative. The fact the sisters could do that without triggering riots ( can you Imagine if say Saddam Hussein was handed over to a civilian to learn about friendship how would the US population- to say nothing of the Iraqi one- would react) tells us a lot about Equestrian society.

So how would Ponies react to Nyx?

In Canterlot and Ponyville, Nyx can probably, at this point in her life, live a pretty normal life. Nyx has lived in both towns and the populace their would be familiar with her. They would know exactly who and what she is and her backstory. Most of them would try to treat her normally. This is not to say that there isn't any hostility to her ( particularly among some elements of the Canterlot aristocracy) but this would not be something that would happen to her in person to her face.

Elsewhere I think most Equestrian adults would treat her with " polite curiosity". They would be interested in confirming that she is who they think she is. However Ponies are a very empathetic bunch, with social skills that on average vastly surpass those of humans. I can't see her being mobbed in public. Instead this would be a question that would be raised in private after a certain level of trust is established, after the icebreaker phase if you will. Willow could ask it for example, but I don't see any of the other inhabitants of her town asking this to Nyx at this point in your narrative ( Kids of course are a different story and may be more likely to blurt the question.) Of course hostility would still exist towards Nyx in some sectors but this would not result in face to face confrontations especially when they have other enemies ( the zebras) on their minds. Exceptions do of course exist, such as people who were directly harmed by Nyx's takeover ( a farmer who lost his farm because his crops were ruined by the two weeks of darkness for example).

As for kids, they would be divided into two camps. For a minority Nyx is terrifying. For most fillies and colts, well they would be very " pro- Nyx", she would be endlessly fascinating to them. This would stem from two reasons. The first would be the use of Nyx by Rarity et al as a propagandistic figure, cast as a hero and role model. The other would be a simple psychological reason. Kids LOVE things that are dangerous and scary, especially if it is on their side! How many kids fantasize about befriending a sapient Tiger/ Shark/ T-rex etc? In the world of your story Nyx is precisely this, she would fulfill the same role to the kids of Equestria that the Golem did to the Jews of Prague, a protector who looks out for the weak and helpless. The fact that Nyx is very much " of the dark side" ( about as dark as a Pony gets!) and yet at the same time is friendly and there to protect and help them and their parents would make her a living myth amongst the children of Equestria.

5248185

That... is hands-down the most awesome answer I could have gotten for this question! Seriously, I'm impressed. Let it never be said that you misunderstand this world I've dreamed up.

5243901
5243876
5243756

See this? Wow!

Okay, so now that I'm done fanboying over one of my dev team members, let's see if I understand this correctly.

Basically, Nyx is known by most everyone in Ponyville and Canterlot specifically, but because the royal sisters did not make her redemption story public knowledge, most everyone outside her stomping grounds thinks Nightmare Moon was simply defeated per usual like most every villain out there, and dealt with.

And so when meeting Nyx for the first time, the typical reaction is divided between children and adults - the children being familiar (and positive) due to the toy line and the fact that Nyx is badass, and the adults being generally unfamiliar with Nyx by name, but would immediately recognize her physical appearance, perhaps being more than a little surprised to be face to face with Nightmare Moon. But because ponies are so sociable, and megalomaniacal villains are regularly redeemed, they would not outwardly react as a first impulse, but be incredibly curious who this was who looks exactly like Nightmare Moon but goes by another name and apparently is on good terms with the rulers of the land.

Also, since Nightmare Moon's actual damage was relatively minor, and it stands to reason that there's been a fair number of other enemies to think about, not to mention the zebras who are the current threat, there may very well be a fair number of adult ponies out there who simply do not recognize her at all.

There's also the factor of everyone being fifteen years older now. Past Sins took place before most kids in my story were born. And most young adults would have been kids themselves during the events of Past Sins. Only those who are middle aged or older would even likely remember the events of Past Sins as they happened.

5248185 ... Hmm, well put.

5249159

Is good.

Basically, Nyx is known by most everyone in Ponyville and Canterlot specifically

Ponyville, yes. Why Canterlot?

5249159

And so when meeting Nyx for the first time, the typical reaction is divided between children and adults - the children being familiar (and positive) due to the toy line and the fact that Nyx is badass, and the adults being generally unfamiliar with Nyx by name, but would immediately recognize her physical appearance, perhaps being more than a little surprised to be face to face with Nightmare Moon. But because ponies are so sociable, and megalomaniacal villains are regularly redeemed, they would not outwardly react as a first impulse, but be incredibly curious who this was who looks exactly like Nightmare Moon but goes by another name and apparently is on good terms with the rulers of the land

Mostly yes. In a world where Discord-who once nearly ended pony civilization- can appear in public places without causing mass hysteria, ponies wouldn't view Nyx immeadiately as a threat. Also making them extra curious is that Nyx looks ALMOST exactly like NM... but not exactly.

As someone pointed in a previous comments, the images of NM that the non ponyville population would have seen during Nyx's rule would have FELT very different than standing in front of Nyx feels. Most ponies outside of Ponyville would have seen images of her put out as propaganda by the Children of Nightmare. Think of the portrayals of NM in the art inside Nightstone Castle. These propaganda images would have been for example, images of her surrounded by guards standing on the parapets of Nightstone Castle wearing her armor, her ethereal mane floating behind her. Imperious, authoritarian, cold, unapproachable. The Children of Nightmare wanted ponies to fear Nyx, to terrify them so that they would not even conceive of rising up against her.They purposefully dehumanized her.

Now Imagine standing next to Nyx as she walks around with Rumble and maybe a few other friends. Here is this warm energetic mare laughing with her friends exchanging flirty looks and nuzzling with her husband ( would Nightmare moon marry or even have a boyfriend?) interacting with other ponies in warm polite manner. Remember Celestia talking to spell Nexus as how she wasn't sure Nyx was NM because

I have met Nyx personally, over a short dinner, and she acted nothing like the Nightmare Moon I knew. At first, she was scared of me and my sister. She shied away, and only after some encouragement from Twilight was Nyx even able to say hello to us.
“Eventually Nyx drew herself out of her shell, and, after that, she laughed and spoke excitedly on many topics. She spoke of friends, spoke of school, spoke of things a normal filly her age would want to talk about, things Nightmare Moon would never care about.
“And thus I am torn,” Princess Celestia explained. “I worry about what Nyx might become, but I wonder if she is different than Nightmare Moon. She is the product of that spell, and yet she acts like any normal filly.

Same thing Nyx acts nothing like the propaganda put out by the Children of Nightmare made her out to be.

I think for a profoundly empathetic race of beings like Ponies seem to be, this would throw them for a rather dizzying loop. Even if they could conceive of a " good" NM ( and this being Equestria they probably actually can) they would probably expect something more ... Grandiose and pompous( "Mortals! It is I Nightmare Moon! Here to rid this fetid swamp of the Zebra invaders that plague you!"), not this down to earth self effacing mare who is more interested in cuddling with her hubby than in making her presence known. And so there would be this doubt.. is she NM? their brains would be telling them it has to be.. how many mares that look just like NM ( minus the armor and spectral mane) can there fucking be walking around Equestria... but the emotional dissonance would introduce just enough hesitation that they would not automatically feel one hundred percent confidence... thus the " polite" hesitation in which they would try to treat her as close to a normal mare as possible... until they feel they have enough of a rapport established with " presumably NM" to actually ask " the question". This is basically why I don't see people going " Sup Nighty!" the moment she walks into a bakery or something.

Basically to answer your original OP question. Is Nyx famous? absolutely, but it is not going to be an issue in the story because the way I see it, Ponies are not going to feel comfortable treating her as if she is famous when they first meet her ( and once they are comfortable enough to ask the question and get confirmation they probably would have been able to get enough of a read on her to notice she does not want to be treated as a famous pony.)

As to their reaction when they find out she IS NM? Given the circumstances of Equestria in the story, mostly relief. In your story most of the ponies Nyx meets will need all the help they can get, and if NM is on their side... that is probably quite a bit of help! Indeed if anything Nyx should feel "pressure to perform" as she sees ponies relying on her.... making Storm Shadows dangerous talk ever a little more seductive....

As for children two reactions.. a minority will be primally terrified of her and turn tail and flee the moment she appears on the scene. But for most children the reaction she should get should be fascination , almost an unspoken form of " you are actually real! " Lots of wide eyes and bashful giggles and ever more kids showing up at the town square to see with their own adorable little eyes that the whispers of a nice " kid loving" Nightmare Moon wandering around Equestria were actually real.

Of course kids would be a lot less coy about " the question". If you ever want to get Nyx's NM identity out in the open ASAP when she meets a new group of ponies just have some cute kid blurt out the question.

5249260 Mutliple trips with her mother, staying at her grandparents place over Hearts warming eve and other holidays, visiting Luna ( remember they were very close for years) and of course attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

5249260
Canterlot would have been pretty heavily impacted during the two weeks which the royal sisters were missing and Nyx was in power (even though Nyx was not there). Also, in my story, Nyx did get a two year degree at Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, so she would have actually lived in Canterlot for those two years.

What 5249353 said.

5249349

Think of the portrayals of NM in the art inside Nightstone Castle. These propaganda images would have been for example, images of her surrounded by guards standing on the parapets of Nightstone Castle wearing her armor, her ethereal mane floating behind her.

Chapter 11 of Past Sins just happens to be the one which is currently being worked on by SaturnStar, who draws the comics. It's nearly done, and when she finishes, I'll be putting out the video syncing with it. But yeah, that's all true.

Being with Nyx in person ought to be a very emotionally comfortable experience since she's very easy to relate to, although there would still be some internal conflict since her exterior bears such a resemblance to a known villain.

But the reason I brought this up in the first place was because I need to get this solid in my mind as I write the story and Nyx encounters brand new characters. What first brought it on was my finishing touches on chapter 4 where Archer meets Nyx for the first time. I had to think about what to have her say. In the end, I decided that she would not have known Nyx ahead of time, having moved away from Ponyville as a child. But then when she was told to expect a black alicorn for the mission, she would have wondered if that was a joke. It flows pretty good I think. Going forward, I do need this solid though, since I figure there will be several new OC's that Nyx will encounter. We know Jet Valkyrie and his daughter will be the next ones in chapter 14.

5249349

This is basically why I don't see people going " Sup Nighty!" the moment she walks into a bakery or something.

Haha. Yeah. Although I find it interesting to give the different OC's each their own spin on how to react to her. Like if you recall Mint Blossom's reaction in chapter six for instance. Everyone ought to react slightly different, to keep things fresh and also to explore all the different angles to this very interesting phenomenon.

Is Nyx famous? absolutely, but it is not going to be an issue in the story because the way I see it, Ponies are not going to feel comfortable treating her as if she is famous when they first meet her ( and once they are comfortable enough to ask the question and get confirmation they probably would have been able to get enough of a read on her to notice she does not want to be treated as a famous pony.)

Probably it's something I'll just have to keep in mind since I'd prefer a lot of new characters be unfamiliar with her so that introductions can proceed normally. But this is actually a really intriguing situation because she may very well be widely known, but there would be an incredible variation of misinformation about her to the degree that each new introduction can have its own unique qualities so that it doesn't just get repetitive (Oh - yes of course I know who you are)...

almost an unspoken form of " you are actually real!

Yeah, so true. The next child to encounter Nyx (in chapter 14) is so enamored when she suddenly realizes who she collided with that she convinces her father to sell them his prize project!

5249260

There may be a somewhat easier solution to all of this. If Nyx did the vest thing as an adult, she'd avoid any attention from being an alicorn when meeting a new character. In the case of meeting Jet Valkyrie, that's a bit more complex though because they all flew out there except for Dinky, who has another mode of transport. I'd rather not spend time focusing on any confusion that might raise. In addition, Nyx is as tall as canon Luna, so that's kinda tall for a unicorn mare.

There's also the idea of a horn-hiding spell, but I think that's too cheesy and too much obvious effort put into avoiding a literary problem.

Unavoidable fact is that Nyx just stands out. Handwaving seems to be the only solution.

5496645
Luna is taller than almost all stallions. Nyx would most definitely stand out on that alone, even excluding the narwhalalicorn horn and slitted eyes. Short of a full-body glamor, she's going to stand out. It becomes a question of degrees, in that case.

5496815
Meh. Okay I'm just going to have to handwave this one.

Or lampshade it slightly.

(J)“Princess Twilight is your mother?”

This was always the worst thing about meeting a new pony.

At least he had the decency to not make a scene about her being an alicorn when they had first arrived.

Nyx sighed and nodded. Why couldn’t she just lead a normal life?

(N)“This doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

I think I like that version best.

5496860
Eh. Not fond of the 'why can't I just be normal' thing, at least when it's phrased like that. Nyx might well long for some normalcy or the tokens of a family life, but when put like that it's reminicent of the 'ugh I'm so beautiful and special it's such a burden' type of shitty teen wangst.

5497738
Perhaps phrased differently? The thought isn't meant to be "I'm so special it's such a burden."
It's supposed to be "I'm so tired of everybody making a big deal about what and/or who I am. I'm not special. Why can't I just lead a normal life?"

So... kinda the opposite of how you interpreted it. Is there a way for that to come across?

5496815
5497738

All of this talk about glamour spells reminds me of something else that we never mention because it isn't germane to the story, but which is a major physical characteristic of Nyx that would be obvious to any pony standing next to her.

And that is the fact that by pony standards Nyx is
Drop.
Dead
Gorgeous

This isn't merely my bias speaking ( though I've always thought NM had the best character design of any pony) but as close to actual objectively verified fact as something like this can get. My evidence?

This fancy mare

That is of course Fleur De Lis ( bizarrely mispelled as Fleur Dis Lee throughout the fandom) who you'll remember as Fancy Pants's girlfriend/ hanger-on. The point is her official job title is " supermodel" . And if you look up the production notes for the episode she first appears in,( "Sweet and Elite") you'll read the production team created her by grabbing Princess Luna, taking of her wings and changing the colors.

So again when tasked to create a Supermodel pony they used Luna's body quite literally.

Which means Luna has a pony supermodel's pony.

And Thus for the obvious reason Nyx has a supermodel's body. With less anemia and more athleticism but still.

Add the fetching combination of that purple mane with the black fur and most stallions who aren't terrified of the very idea of dating in essence Nightmare Moon are pretty damn Jealous of Rumble. To which Rumble would probably respond with " who dares, wins"

I Bet you any amount of bits that in happier times a few years back Rarity tried to talk Nyx into a modeling career. Which I am sure is an idea that horrified the attention shy, normalcy craving Nyx. But still.

Again this is not a plot relevant point to the story. But let's not kid ourselves, one's appearance plays a huge role in how strangers perceive and interact with you. This of course is already obvious in the case of Nyx, since she is literally NM with a purple mane and different cutie mark, and this visual appearance has long been a dominant part of her first time interactions with Ponies. It is the calling card she wishes did not always precede her. But the other way, which is still there, is that it is quite obvious that Nyx is an extremely attractive mare. Like ranking in the 99.99th percentile of physical beauty. And this would also inevitably have a subconcious impact on the ponies around her. Like for example this is yet another reason for Diamond Tiara's hatred of Nyx... once puberty rolled along I assure you DT did not fail to notice that Nyx was the prettiest mare in their age group in Ponyville ( trust me who the " town beauties" are is always well known in a small town atmosphere). To Paraphrase DT's rant about Nyx's appearance at the play in Past Sins " I have to work at it while she naturally looks like that".

This could be mined for comedy if you were so inclined. I said before that Nyx would have a magnetic pull to equestria's children... I suspect this would be especially the case amongst those colts just beginning to hit puberty, who don't know why precisely they feel so drawn to her apart from the fact that they really really like looking at her. Hell Rumble could even even make a joke about how every time Nyx is around colts of that age they get really stupid and fidgety. Like maybe they run into a few junior High school age colts and they stop functioning in her presence and Rumble goes " oh this shit again"

But again not something that has to be pointed out in dialogue, just something that you should be aware is indisbutably part of Nyx's " aura" that affects how ponies react to her.

5499941
Fleur having a scaled-down Luna body type minus wings is a solid basis for saying that alicorns are the ideal for pony beauty standards. Agreed there.
That does raise the interesting question of whether that's because alicorns represent the pinnacle/optimisation of the pony form, or whether their exalted status in Equestrian society resulted in that particular body type becoming idealised/desired over time, or some combination of those two.
As for Nyx in particular...I'm not sure. I mentioned somewhere that predatory fangs and eyes would be very off-putting to a herbivore species. On the other hand, extra points for being 'exotic'. I think it would come down to taste.
I'm also not sure what being the ne plus ultra of equine beauty would add to either her characterisation or the story. She's already got superior magic and physical strength, plus agelessness. Not like she's lacking for natural gifts.

5499941

Much is speculation since there are not actually that many canon body types in the show. Though clearly Fleur's form was meant to be attractive. I'd say the same for Luna despite the fact that she never seems to portray herself as such. It's something how body posture and general countenance makes a difference.

As for Nyx... generally speaking, the fangs and eyes would be very hard to ignore. You can take a gorgeous young lady and put a gigantic wart on her nose and that is all anyone will see. If you have dragon eyes and fangs... well... I think the double-takes people give you won't be because of how attracted they are.

I'd have to disagree regarding Nightmare Moon (at least as depicted in the show). In canon, NMM is anorexic -- stupidly tall and lanky. Her face is ass-ugly, with an eyeball that goes below her mouth (see Chrysalis for the same problem). Thankfully, there is some good fan art which fixes some of this.

I made particularly sure to give SilFoe specific instructions on how I wanted Nyx to look in my cover art, so as to avoid the "typical" NMM look. I remember telling her "No, the upper forelegs should have some muscle" and all that. I also am completely ignoring the height change between Luna / NMM because I think physically getting taller just because of Magic is stupid. That, and I like the idea of Nyx being Luna's canon height. If nothing else, it helps with the height disparity between her and Rumble.

So I don't mind the idea of Nyx being physically beautiful. It's certainly what I would argue. But this is somewhat offset by fangs, eyes, and the fact that she is still, at least somewhat, recognized as the embodiment of night terrors.

For what it's worth, I consider this to be the best "body form" physically for Luna. It's also my desktop background.

I'll also echo what Q said regarding too many positives. We don't want to stray into Mary Sue territory. Not that I'm all that worried about that.

And while I'm fine with Nyx being considered attractive, there's still that important aspect of her character in that she strikes a sort of cognitive dissonance in people. At first glance, she's scary. But people quickly find out she's nice to be around.

5500119

And while I'm fine with Nyx being considered attractive, there's still that important aspect of her character in that she strikes a sort of cognitive dissonance in people.

Oh don't misunderstand me, I am arguing for an increase in cognitive dissonance, never a decrease.

5500132

And that's certainly a fair point. After all, there's a significant difference between scary/beautiful and scary/hideous.

We've seen this depicted with the Disney queens. Was it not Angelina Jolie who played Maleficent? Charlize Theron who played Ravenna?

One could have quite the uneasy feeling when first meeting Nyx, unsure what to expect, but perhaps too polite to actually say anything.

Most of this has come about due to this one scene in chapter fourteen where Jet meets Nyx for the first time. His reaction is polite, but he's secretly wondering who this is. He isn't drawing the connection to Nightmare Moon. Perhaps the legends weren't popular where he lives. And perhaps the 3rd Nightmare Incident was glossed over after a few years. I realize none of this is 100% plausible, but dammit, having your protagonist universally recognized is a pain in the ass.

What's perhaps even harder to explain is why he doesn't immediately know she's someone important simply because she's an alicorn.