An extended, fan “Snyder Cut” reimagining of the pilot two-parter episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Thousands of years ago, a great battle commenced between the forces of Night and Day. Nightmare Moon, the Queen of the Night, amassed an army to try and take down the benevolent reigning Princess Celestia. With no other choice, Celestia used the fabled Elements of Harmony to seal the Dark Alicorn away in the Moon. But it was prophesied that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars would aid in her escape and she would return to bring eternal night upon the magical Kingdom of Equestria.
Only six ponies of very different backgrounds stand a chance of coming together in an unprecedented and unlikely friendship to take down the Mare in the Moon once and for all. But will they be enough to finally do what the Princess herself could not…?
Before I read this, I'd like to know what will make this story different from canon.
I hate it when batponies are bad guys.
10953823
I’m glad you asked. Well first, it’s an expanded version, a somewhat darker retelling. The Mane Six’s individual motivations and character attributes will be fleshed out, the history of the Mare in the Moon will be explored further, and spoiler alert: some characters will die. The Elements of Harmony were discovered in a different way as per the prologue, and I want to showcase the Mane Six more as a team. That includes fighting the Nightmare forces in some action scenes I have planned out. Twilight will gradually grow into a leader by the end of this fic. Basically, the intention is to set up the world of the Equestrian Civil War series better, which is something I feel the original version of the stories failed at, not to mention me writing the sequel before the original back then. Those stories are now deleted and I’m going back to the beginning. Also, I want to use this fic to basically correct some stuff in the series premiere, because in my humble opinion, even though it’s a solid opener, it’s got some flaws in retrospect. This will ultimately be a hopefully better version and maybe even the definitive version if you end up liking it that much, who knows?
This story will be the first in a 5-story arc for now, unless you all want the characters to have solo stories later down the line, which I’ll be happy to write if you all request it. Hope y’all enjoy!
10953873
They’re not the bad guys actually. More like misunderstood anti-heroes, per se. They oppose Celestia for personal reasons and out of loyalty to Nightmare Moon, who basically created them in the Prologue. All they know is her. They really think they’re doing the right thing because that is what their mistress fed them. It’s what they’ve been trained for. To fear the Day, to defend the Night. Don’t worry. They’re not the real bad guys. That honor would be reserved to the Shadowbolts and the Nightmare Forces, who will be more of a sinister presence egging Nightmare Moon on kinda. Also, let’s not forget our eventual big bad: Grogar!
[Uh, perhaps I’ve spoiled too much]
10953986
Good.
10954033
Yup, good. It’d be pretty terrible if they were the actual bad guys, lol, considering that eventually a batpony (my character OC Hawk Nightwing) will become the main character. Don’t worry. This story isn’t just your average black and white good vs evil-type story. There are heroes on both sides. Both sides believe they’re doing the right thing.
10953981
Equestrian "Civil War"?!
11123804
Yep! This story and its upcoming sequel Luna v Celestia will set up the Equestrian Civil War trilogy. Essentially, the trilogy will be based off of the Solar Empire vs New Lunar Republic part of the fandom.
11123905
Oh dear! Then I'm guessing that the Mane Six themselves will be separated, and be on opposing sides? That's depressing if you think about it.
11123935
Yup. That is to happen in the next story.
11124315
Well, it's on them for being idiots!
And I bet both Celestia and Luna would be both war criminals!
11124339
I don’t want to spoil too much about my plans for the next story, but be prepared for the princesses splitting up by the end and forming their open separate nations. Canonically, the story takes place before Season 8, rendering that season and Season 9 non-canonical in my continuity. The reason for that being I want to introduce the Young Six later down the line and having the School of Friendship already existing would be an inconvenience to that. I want to explore what would happen if Celestia got too greedy with her own power one day and believed that only through conquest and subjugation could the Magic of Friendship be spread. Luna believes the opposite, believing in the innate good-nature of ponykind after being given a second chance by the Mane Six.
The ideological divide between the sisters is what will set up their rivalry.