(Ponvyille, 3rd Person's POV)
It had been two months since the Elements of Harmony had encountered the mysterious being known as Isaac, who had proceeded to turn them into alicorns as a 'gift'. Since then, Twilight had temporarily gone crazy because she didn't have a friendship letter to send to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna had been introduced to Nightmare Night, Rarity and Sweetie Belle had grown stronger as sisters, and Apple Bloom had learned to be patient. There was also the constant questioning of whether or not they were Princesses now that they were alicorns, which was certainly getting annoying by this point.
It was night time when a pony and a baby dragon walked into the Golden Oaks Libraby
"Well today was a good day, huh Spike?" Twilight asked her faithful assistant as they entered into their home inside of tree.
Spike yawned. "You bet, Twilight. I still can't believe Rainbow Dash chose a tortoise to be her pet."
"It just goes to show that's more important to be a loyal friend rather than a cool one." the newly minted alicorn said.
"Ain't that the truth?" another yawn. "Well, I'm going to sleep." the baby dragon replied as he went up the stairs. The library had already been cleaned up before they all went on their pet playdate, so there were no chores left for him today.
"Good night." Twilight levitated a few books into a pile, and put down a pillow for her to sit on.
"Good night, and don't stay up too late studying!" the young drake called.
The lavender mare rolled her eyes with a smile, before getting to work.
"The Potential Applications of Evocation and Illusions, by Star Swirl the Bearded." she started to read. It was like that for a few hours, her quietly reading aloud and taking notes. That is, until a familiar sound hit her ears.
*BELCH!*
"Spike? What is it?" Twilight asked, only receiving tired grumbling as a reply. Soon enough Spike was walking downstairs reading a letter with the royal seal on the bottom, his eyes widening as it dragged on.
"You really need to read this, Twilight." he said, handing it to her.The mare's own eyes became as large as saucers at the contents of the note.
"Princess Luna-" she began
(The Next Day, Same POV)
", previously known as Nightmare Moon, is having criminal charges brought against her by the citizens of the South Pole!" she declared, much to her friends' shock. She had gathered them all here right after breakfast.
"But Princess Luna didn't do anything!" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight grimaced. "According to the letter she did, specifically the murder and torturing of hundreds of polar griffons." Fluttershy fainted, while the rest all gasped in horror.
"But Princess Luna wouldn't do something like that! She's not even a hundredth that mean!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Technically girls, she did. The Elements of Harmony didn't just make her sane again like we assumed, it only removed and weakened most of the darkness from her. The darkness then fled to the South Pole where it possessed a griffon and then conquered the tribes. After that it just decided treat them as horribly as possible. They're technically the same pony, since Nightmare Moon is just the darker aspects of Luna made manifest."
"And there's nothin' Princess Celestia can do about it?" Applejack asked.
"No Applejack. Normally the Princess acts as the judge in international crime cases like this, but since she's emotionally attached to the defendant somepony else is being appointed." Twilight replied.
"Wait a minute, how were they even able to send this letter if they were being horribly oppressed like this?" Rarity inquired.
"That's another thing, it was Isaac who freed them."
"Then how do we know this isn't just a trick?!" Rainbow Dash said, her wings flapping angrily.
"Because last night just before we all got in from our pet playdate, a cage with an unconscious black-coated alicorn filly that has the exact same magical signature as Luna appeared in the middle of Princess Celestia's throne room. On top of the cage was the letter, and when the filly woke up she tried to bite the ponies who were taking care of her." Twilight finished.
A tense silence broke out across the room.
"So since ya can't really say that she didn't do it, what's going to happen to Princess Luna and... that demon foal?" Applejack said.
"I don't know girls, a crime like this hasn't been committed before in modern Equestrian history. If it were any other pony, it would be life in prison." The others gasped again.
"Can't Princess Celestia just give her a Royal Pardon like she did right after Luna got turned back to normal?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight paused. "Theoretically she could, but considering the severity of the crimes along with all the griffons and ponies who would be upset if she did, she would lose a lot of international credibility. Not to mention, Luna didn't do anything near as bad as this when she was Nightmare Moon."
"So what?! If that Nightmare Moon foal is pure evil like you said, then shouldn't it just be the one getting put in the slammer?" the cyan alicorn continued.
"Like I said Rainbow Dash, they're the same pony, even if one is just a separated part of the other. By that logic if the Princess gave Luna a pardon then the Nightmare foal would also be allowed to roam free." Twilight replied. The room grew silent again on those words.
"H-How are the polar griffons doing?" Fluttershy, who had woken up a few minutes ago, asked.
"According to the letter, Isaac's been helping them recover by conjuring up food and homes, as well as imprisoning any of Nightmare Moon's followers."
"Guess he was serious about all that 'community service' stuff." Applejack remarked.
"So what do we do now?" Rainbow grumbled.
"Yeah! Can't we testify in Princess Luna's favor or something?" Pinkie asked.
"That wouldn't work, because any good testimony given for Princess Luna would also be given for Nightmare Moon."
"So a Princess is going to spend the rest of her immortal life in prison unless pardoned, which would cause another to lose international credibility and anger thousands? This sounds like a lose-lose situation, but the question is what is Equestria more willing to lose?" Rarity said.
"A little stupid credibility, no question about it! If that pisses off a bunch of ponies and griffons, then that's their problem!" the cyan alicorn said.
"Rainbow Dash! Those griffons have perfectly warranted anger!" Fluttershy scolded in a sudden display of anger.
"So do you want Princess Luna do be stuck in jail for the rest of her life?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.
Fluttershy had the decency to blush "Umm... No. Personally I think she should be pardoned."
"But then if she is pardoned then that ghastly Nightmare foal is also allowed to roam free." Rarity interjected.
"Well if Isaac turned her into a filly, then doesn't that make her harmless?" Fluttershy continued.
"If Sweetie Belle and her friends are any indication, then foals are hardly harmless. Plus this is no ordinary foal, remember? This is a literal incarnation of evil with all of the Princess's memories at her disposal. If she was pardoned, then what's stopping her from doing something terrible like this again, causing us all to end up right back here again." the white alicorn replied.
"UUGGGH!" Twilight groaned, throwing the letter against a wall. "We're just talking in circles! The only way this could possibly work out is we could make it so that Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon were two different ponies, but we can't!"
It seemed hopeless. Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon would both have to be imprisoned for Equestria and the rest of the world to be satisfied.
(Meanwhile at the South Pole)
Isaac was whistling a jaunty tune as he walked through one of the towns he had liberated from Nightmare Moon's control, enjoying the enthusiastic greetings from the townsfolk. He had spent this last month and a half doing exactly what the letter said, conjuring up food and homes for those who needed it, as well as imprisoning any of Nightmare Moon's followers.
Celestia and the Mane Six were probably freaking out right now, trying to find a way out of pardoning Nightmare Moon and imprisoning Luna. Contrary to what they all thought, he didn't want the moon princess in prison forever or executed. It simply wasn't a part of his Master Plan. When the time came, they would all understand. Sure they would think he was a dick for doing it the way that he did, but it was all meant to be good in the long run.
"Mister Donohue." a voice said, breaking him from his thoughts.
"Yes, Kowalski?" Isaac replied, turning to the smart-looking polar griffon with a clipboard. Yeah, he was surprised too when he met this guy. Isn't it funny how the multiverse works with alternate versions of the same person?
"Constructions on the ship have just reached seventy percent completion. In another two weeks we should be ready to set sail for Equestria." to watch and testify at the trial of course. Of course they're going to be really pissed when Celestia inevitably doesn't execute Luna and then pardons her of her crimes, but Isaac is still working on a way to placate them when the time comes.
"Good, and makes sure Rico does NOT go near the fusion reactor again." Isaac replied. "Seriously, who tries to eat a miniature sun?!" the man thought.
"Right away sir!" the polar griffon saluted before flying off.
Now where was he? Oh yes! Contemplating what he's going to do next. At that moment he heard a deep, menacing voice through the Void between dimensions.
“I am the Overlord! Scourge of Equestria! Corrupter of innocence! If you seek to dominate the weak. If you wish to destroy all who oppose you. If you are willing to pay the price, then you may call upon my aid!”
A black token fell from the clouded sky, and into his palm. Isaac held it up to his eyes, scrutinizing it carefully. It looked like some sort of summoning item. So he wasn't the only schmuck human who got sent to a version of Equestria, and this guy got turned into the freakin Overlord it seems.
"I always did like that game." Isaac thought. He pocketed the coin. This seemed like a good idea to follow. The angel held up a hand and grabbed his wrist with the other, before focusing. A glowing, bronze coin sparked into existence. It depicted him wearing a crown, with the words "King of Angels" written on the other side.
"What's up, fellow prisoners of Equestria? My name is Isaac Donohue, the Deputy Spirit of Chaos and soon-to-be King of Angels. If you need my help, just use this coin to call me!"
With that Isaac opened a tiny hole in the fabric of reality, copied the coin and the message, then dropped it into the Multiverse for whoever needed it to find it.
Now that the ritual was done, Isaac contemplated what he was going to do next. Unfortunately he couldn't just declare himself King of the South Pole or else Celestia would think he had conquered them, and they had decided to form some sort of United Republic. On the other hand, he couldn't just leave them just because they wouldn't make him their ruler, what with the community service and all.
After the trial, he would leave and then start gathering minions, who were always fun to have around.. He already had a few candidates in mind that would need persuading, such as a certain showmare who was probably working on the Pie Family Rock Farm at this point in time...
(Meanwhile, in the Canterlot Castle Dungeons)
Nightmare Moon growled as she kept trying to use her magic to break out of this infernal cell she'd been put in! But alas, they had put a restricting cone on her horn that kept her from using it. So why was she trying to break out of the cell when she knew it was futile? Well, it kept her occupied for one.
"REMOVE THIS CONTRAPTION FROM YOUR QUEEN'S HORN IMMEDIATELY!" she roared. It also gave her something to complain to the guards about.
"Pipe down, Prisoner!" one of said guards shouted.
Nightmare Moon screamed as she started ramming her new tiny body against the bars repeatedly, just aching to kill that guard for his insolence! However, she quickly got dizzy and had to stop.
"Curse this foal's body! If I had the real thing, thou would be naught more than a bloody smear on the wall!" she swore.
"Yeah, that's a big fat 'if'. You're staying right there until your trial, you little monster." the same guard grumbled, currently playing poker with his co-workers.
The mare in a foal's body snarled, before sighing and sitting down.
"Getting angry at these fools will not solve my current dilemma... I must find a way to escape!" But the question was how?
The sound of a teleportation caused her head to snap towards the middle of the room. There were anti-teleportation wards in here! A box wrapped in decorative paper and a bow had appeared. Rightfully suspicious, Nightmare Moon slowly walked to the present and opened it, looking for any hint of a trap and finding none.
Inside the box was what appeared to be a small knife, a key, and a note. It read:
Dear Nightmare Moon,
I believe your situation is positively dreadful, so I've decided to lend you a helping hoof. I don't think I need to tell you what to do with this. When you get yourself out of your cell, head for the caves below this city where you will meet me, and we'll discuss our next course of action.
Sincerely,
A Friend
Nightmare Moon's grin was so scary it could give Tirek and Sombra the shivers.
4452004
Spoilers!
Dammit Chryssi!!
HELLO CHRISSIE
also, 'Kowalsk', 'Rica'? and he's Skipper?? OH THINGS JUST GOT HAPPENIN'!!!
Great chapter. Loved the Penguins of Madagascar reference. Any chance of seeing more of that, or was a one time cameo? If it's not just a one time cameo i think it would be interesting to see those four join Isacc along with Trixie.
I think Nightmare Moon needs a little application of 'Shotgun' to the forehead. That'll calm her down.
Yeah... there's a small mistake you made this chapter. Technically, the south pole isn't suing Luna, more like they are bringing charges against her. If they were suing, it would be to receive monetary compensation, but to bring charges against them would be to imprison them. Still, great chapter, keep goin and stay golden^^
4453313
Yeah, I wasn't sure how to word that part. I'll change it later.
That's... stupid as hell. If they have separate bodies, now, it makes absolutely no sense for the verdict to affect both of them. Especially since the Griffon thing happened after they were separated.
4453396
Meh, I know it is. I'm just using that logic for this story. Nightmare Moon is a dark part of Luna made physically manifest. That's all she is, not anywhere near a complete being. She like is a sociopath, only worse. Sociopaths can at least feel positive emotions, they just can't truly care about others. All Nightmare Moon can feel is negativity, even though she remembers what it was like to have things like positive emotions, a sense of morality, and empathy. That's possibly another reason why she wants to go back to Luna, or at least possess someone else.
4453280 Shotgun, apply directly to the forehead!
Nightmare Moon and Luna are in the wrong order, or is it a trolling thought to mix them up!
4453751 actually, the dilemma is that they can pardon Luna (thus pardoning Nightmare Moon as well), or they can imprison Nightmare Moon (thus imprisoning Luna as well). It's in the right order.
Oh dang, we got two of 'em. I wonder where Private is?
4453751 the sentence stays correct as it says they were tryig to find a way " out " of pardoning Nightmare Moon and imprisoning Luna
basicly he made it negative so that he indeed said but in other words They are tryig to find a way to not pardon Nightmare Moon or imprisoning Luna
but anyway very nice chapter and i am interested in who will summon you
"fix" ugh damn lag sometimes makes me post up to three times
What game is this from?
4454791 overlord pretty fun little 360 game
4453348
4453313
To sue just means to institute legal proceedings against. Don't worry about money or wordplay.
The whole "They're the same ponies" plot device felt too forced. I needed more precedent than just "They just are cause NMM came from Luna!" to bite this particular aspect. I would suggest later on adding some reason, like certain law descriptions that depict what "self" means and how LunaxNMM fall into it despite being obviously separate entities. Since unicorns are the aristocracy, it could have something tied to their magic signature being the same even. Like "A 'being' defined by law is all that has a specific magical signature" etc. As it is, it feels too contrived and like an obvious set up for Isaac to uber problem solve later on while the others are stumped. A good twist to side track that possible Gary Stu-ness would be if the ponies actually do come up with a good work around for their problem and Issac has to trouble shoot things a bit to get his plan back on track (incidentally making himself look even worse for thwarting their would-be-successful effort).
4454791
Overlord...
Not sure if typo or serious...
4455056
It means that if they imprison Nightmare Moon, they also imprison Luna. But if they let Luna go free, Nightmare Moon is also allowed to go free.
First things's first.
One. Luna and nightmare moon aren't the same people. It's been established IN CANON that NMM is a different entity that corrupts people. It was proven that in the MLP comics when it took over Rarity, preying off her darker desires. So they're NOT the same.
TWO! I almost forgot to mention it makes ZERO sense to blame Luna for something that not only SOMEONE ELSE DID, because that's completely insane and unfair, and even if we accepted the nonsense idea they're the same, Luna was clearly out of her mind and not in complete control of her mental faculties. This is not only spitting in the face of canon, it spits in the face of good sense and LOGIC. Do you want we should blame George Carlin for creating Carlos Mencia? Blame Karl Marx for creating communism and thus all the people Stalin killed? I don't see no smoking gun in Luna's hand!
4455268 THREE. this is a fan fic, the authors will is gods will in this story
4455268 and no one has stated that the comics are cannon, Addy prince said we decide for our selves, what you may consider cannon in the comics we might not
4455713
ACTUALLY...see this. It's a reply from an editor in IDW itself in regards to that very issue. http://boards.idwpublishing.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=352746#p352746
The comics ARE in continuity with the TV show, even if the TV show is not necessarily in continuity with the comics. As in things that happened in the comics might be contradicted LATER, perchance, but for the most part, the comics are canon.
And you can't exactly use the excuse of "it's just fanfiction". Because this isn't really your own story, it's someone else's story we here in this very site are taking upon ourselves to make use of. The characters, the setting, the environment, the near everything? None of it was our creation. It's someone else's, and we should honor the source material. Or else we end up with something like "Patch Adams" or "Man of Steel" or "Transformers" or other awful adaptational work.
4455759 it says they're in continuity, not cannon and the fan fic excuse does work because this is a fan fic the author can change what ever he wants even the source material
4455268 this guy pretty much said everything I was thinking, the logic of PL and NMM being the same entity in this story and every pony just accepting it hurt my head. I'm mean, stabbing one in the heart isn't going to kill both of them is it? Maybe I'm missing something blatantly obvious and I'm just over thinking (or under thinking?).
I just don't understand.
... okay then. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
4454791
4454936
Yes, but you can't suit someone and have them put in jail, that's because to sue is to bring a civil charge against, where as a criminal charge when law enforcement tries to bring legal action against you, the action being either a monetary fine or a sentence fitting the crime. A civil lawsuit can only have monetary action or the law forcing you to do some sort of action within your power to make things right (And seeing as she can't bring back the dead, I believe a civil lawsuit would only be able to have her pay money). Then again, she could be sued after legal action has taken place, as she can be tried in both civil and criminal court.
4456473 Hmm. That sounds about right, actually. I wonder what the legal system is in this Equestria though.
Wondering if any of these guys in the LoHAV are in the Covenant of Champions, meaning NO SUMMONS whatsoever!
4457079
Well judging by it's culture, appearance, and overall feel, I would guess that it is similar to the western courts (US, UK, Europe, Ect), where this is a generally accepted practice.
Do you accept character memos like that OVERLORD thing? Cuz if so, I've got one for you to add.
A simple polished black stone with a pentagram on it. message:
For those who receive this; I am the advent of darkness, but my name is of no concern. I mean you no harm. If you wish for assistance, I'm always willing to help a friend. If you are not a friend... well, don't bother talking to me.
4457474
Um no... That was taken from this here. Its a summoning thing, other villains in the group have it. I just used it as way to introduce summons, should they need to be used.
4457941 Aaaw... where do I put mine?
4457953
Write a story first.
4457960 Doing that.
Ooo, dis gun be gud!
4453439 Headcrab! Apply directly to the forehead!
Couldn't they testify to get Luna and NMM tried as separate entities? I mean, you can get teenagers tried as adults, so why not?
Nightmare Moon and Luna are the same ... how? They are not alike in personality or form. They share no goals. Luna has never been asked to accept, nor has she ever accepted, legal responsibility for Nightmare Moon. They do not share bodies or minds. She has no form of control over the Nightmare. They share no known bond. And Luna has been acquitted of previous offenses. The only possible connection between Nightmare moon's c and Luna is that one came from the other.
I came from my mom, does that make me the same person as my brother? He also came from my mom. Does it make my mother the same person as me? No, of course it doesn't, and no sane court would say it does. The most that can be said is that my mother can be held responsible of my actions if I am deemed too young to be responsible for my own. But Luna is not Nightmare's legal guardian and never accepted that responsibility. Celestia, as the primary head of state at the time, would be much more likely to be held legally responsible if one assumes that any newborn is the responsibility of the state if that newborn has no family willing to care for it, as is the case of Nightmare Moon. And no one is calling for Celestia.
So in what possible way is Luna responsible for anything to do with Nightmare Moon? I must apologize for writing so angrily, but this just seems so ridiculously stupid. Maybe the connection between Nightmare Moon and Luna will be more clear in future chapters, but for now there seems to be none. So I am left without answers and with a question I must ask again: The Nightmare and Luna are the same ... how?
Calming down now,
The Smileyrat
Post Script: I just realized the next chapter was already out. It did not explain things. It did confirm that the claim against Luna is ridiculous. But the problem is not so much the ridiculousness of the claim as the fact that anyone made it in the first place and that it is being take seriously at all.
...That is the most inane thing I've ever heard. When the Elements purged NMM from Luna, they CEASED BEING THE SAME PERSON. While anything up to that point could be considered Luna's crimes, anything NMM did afterwords was completely separate from her.
4468469 Especially since Luna didn't even have any idea that NMM was still existing somewhere.
If nothing else, the mane 6 and Celestia are all co responsible, because they did not make sure she was gone for good.
The first time through I didn't get the Kowalski and Rico references, I had thought you were talking about NCIS when I first read through and couldn't figure out what they had in common other than the name. This time I did though.
4459456 I think you guys' have a good concept goin' here! Why not apply overkill directly to the forehead?