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Nightmare Rarity (Comic Issues 5-8, March 27th, April 24th, May 16th, June 12th 2013)

A lot less pop-cultural references this time around. Which gives a bit more room for actually building the setting.

Summary: The Nightmare returns, and this time the corruption is less than generous.

Issue 5

Notice that Spike is sleeping in a dog bed? That's not just here, that's in the show itself.

Mabel from Gravity Falls, as Maybelle the pony, twinned with a cute in-joke with Twilight being spelled Twilite and Rarity calling that out.

The black smoke entity shows that it has physicality in that it can carry Rarity, and hit Rainbow Dash. Plus it can teleport.

Interesting that we're going with Luna's appearance from Season 1. Yet all the ponies know she's the protector of dreams from Season 3. Perhaps her appearance does in fact wax and wane just like the phases of the moon?

In fact, Luna says that it's currently a new moon. It's been a full moon whenever we've seen Luna previously. Huh.

The 'Nightmare Forces' appear to be another set of entities that feeds off of emotional energy. Luna speaks of them as if they were always an external power to herself, but then we have them being granted 'one more chance'. Granted by who? Why only one more chance? Why are they connected to the moon's cycles? I'm getting the impression that these were not originally an external force, but instead are created in the mind of Luna as a personality fracture when she became Nightmare Moon. Something to shuffle off all those negative emotions and keep the original Luna 'clean'. Classic comic-book multiple personality disorder, like the Incredible Hulk. And now, the 'cleansing' of the Elements of Harmony stripped that Nightmare Moon partial personality off, giving it something of a form.

Reference to the cow's native language, cowhili. Probably just a joke.

Issue 6

I... okay, lassoing the moon with an enchanted rope. A bit more fairy tale than then middle-to-low fantasy that we normally deal with in MLP, but fine.

Reference to the moon landing, I should have been expecting that one.

Not sure where Spike got all the armor from, he must have been collecting it. I especially like the heraldry, although the pattern in the chief isn't one that is covered by the standard English or French heraldic system.

Twilight seems to indicate that her telekinesis can't hold the weight of Spike at this time. But Luna's can.

So the moon is inhabited in this continuity, by lunar animals. The Nightmare Forces has to take on their general shape and inhabit them to survive.

And they have the power to move the ponies in and out of a dreamscape. A pseudo-reality manufactured from the minds of their victims. However, the ponies are still physically on the moon, it's just their minds that are trapped. This is not the same ability as the trick with teleporting Rarity away in the previous issue.

Pinkie breaks out without much help from the others.

And the reveal of Nightmare Rarity.

Issue 7

Heh. Sigh Stallion. Cute.

So there's a dungeon up on the moon, to go along with the dilapidated throne room we've seen previously. Fascinating. Who built it? The lunar animals? No, more likely Nightmare Moon did.

Se there's a bat-like rabbit-thing native to the moon, and single eyed fuzzy slugs.

And the Nightmare Forces' powers are subtle enough to move Spike into the dreamscape without him even noticing the transition.

And they are not limited to just nightmares, but can create pleasant traps as well.

Issue 8

The magic of the Elements may not be particularly effective unless working as a set, but they appear to have some functionality individually as they can make the ponies glow at least.

Rarity's transformation into Nightmare seems to be still progressing. Her cutie-mark has continued to change, and she seems to be getting taller. Interesting that she has not yet gained the sharp teeth that Nightmare Moon and Sombra both had.

The various ponies are actually pretty effective on their own.

Heya Doctor Whooves. Complete with sonic screwdriver even.

Reference to Kesuke Miyagi of The Karate Kid.

Trixie referring to Magic Duel.

And Luna transforms into her Season 2+ form. I'm so confused as to where this is supposed to sit in continuity with the series, to be honest. This form shift is implying that it's happening before Luna Eclipsed (Season 2), but everything else is implying that it's after Sleepless in Ponyville (Season 3).

I'm not entirely sure how to describe Larry and Jerome's natural moon-creature forms. They are very obviously different species though.

No bonus comics in this volume, this time.