Nightmare Moon and Season 4 [Spoilers]

[Wardaddy 470]

After taking another look at the Comic-Con Season 4 sneak peek, I started thinking extremely hard about the possibility of the final scene depicting Nightmare Moon's return in front of Twilight, or a sort of Pensieve-like scene where Twilight experiences Nightmare Moon's return through Celestia's eyes. I came up with a couple of theories (the latter two mentioned), as did every other brony who saw the sneak peek. Personally, I've got two sides of opinion on this matter. One side thinks that this is little more than a flashback which Celestia showed to Twilight, probably pertaining to her gaining her princesshood; a sort of "pay close attention to your friends or else they'll turn" lesson being taught.

 

However, the other side of me thinks (and theorises) that Nightmare Moon's return was provoked by an unknown force, probably an archenemy or archrival of Twilight's (Sunset Shimmer?) who convinced her that Twilight would overtake her as the next heir to Celestia's throne. As Lauren Faust wanted, perhaps someday Twilight will take the throne, however my thinking is that this longtime archenemy/rival doesn't want that happening, and so coerces Luna to return as Nightmare Moon in order to deter Twilight. What do you guys think?

[The Awesome One 1,314]

That seems pretty possible but my headcannon thinks...

 

Nightmare Moon was not a corrupted version of Luna but some other pony. A villain who was defeated by Celestia and Luna. However, just like Voldemort from Harry Potter, she found a 'host' in Luna, feeding off her jealousy for Celestia being the popular princess.

 

Now she's back after defeated. If you remember that mist thing just after the Elements of Harmony did their thing on Luna? I think that was Nightmare Moon going into hiding, waiting for a new host, but then Luna got jealous (again) and became Nightmare Moon (again).

[Scootalove 10,684]

In my opinion, Luna knows that Twilight has accomplished a lot but she still feels a bit of a anger towards Twilight kind of relationship where she sees Twilight achieve many outstanding goals to go for the throne. Luna wants to make sure that she isn't just a princess in the shadows looking for attention, so her jealousy and hatred returned once again to manifest into Nightmare Moon. Celestia tells Twilight these lessons because, she wants her to learn that there will come a time where these lessons come into play.

[Planty 1,052]

In my opinion, Luna knows that Twilight has accomplished a lot but she still feels a bit of a anger towards Twilight kind of relationship where she sees Twilight achieve many outstanding goals to go for the throne. Luna wants to make sure that she isn't just a princess in the shadows looking for attention, so her jealousy and hatred returned once again to manifest into Nightmare Moon. Celestia tells Twilight these lessons because, she wants her to learn that there will come a time where these lessons come into play.

 

I thought this the most, but I've herd the idea that twilight is actually in a dream or in a dream state (we know that she is the protector of dreams so maybe she uses that to her advantage?)

[ReGen 1,466]

I never saw the Season 4 videos (LALALALA I CAN'T HEAAAR U) but the possibility of Nightmare Moon coming back seems unlikely. As far as I know, NMM was just an "evil alter-ego" that Luna called herself when she went psycho-nuts-evil.

 

Luna doesn't really seem to show any jealousy or hatred towards Celestia anymore, so I don't see why NMM should make a return. Unless i'm missing something here...

[Scootalove 10,684]

I thought this the most, but I've herd the idea that twilight is actually in a dream or in a dream state (we know that she is the protector of dreams so maybe she uses that to her advantage?)

That could definitely be one of those theories that can happen in a episode. I see where your getting at, just like when Scootaloo was in a form of a dream state but it was more of a nightmare where Luna was in the dream. Plus, her duty is to appear in her citizens dreams.

[Wardaddy 470]

That could definitely be one of those theories that can happen in a episode. I see where your getting at, just like when Scootaloo was in a form of a dream state but it was more of a nightmare where Luna was in the dream. Plus, her duty is to appear in her citizens dreams.

Ermahgerd, I swear ur making it sound like Luna's playing the part of Freddy Krueger, striking at pony's dream where nopony can protect them! But seriously, the unknown force that I mentioned above provoked Luna into becoming jealous of Twilight, by saying she completed far more dangerous tasks than her, or achieved more than her, or is plainly overtaking her in terms of attention, hence why she turns back into Nightmare Moon.

 

That seems pretty possible but my headcannon thinks...

 

Nightmare Moon was not a corrupted version of Luna but some other pony. A villain who was defeated by Celestia and Luna. However, just like Voldemort from Harry Potter, she found a 'host' in Luna, feeding off her jealousy for Celestia being the popular princess.

 

Now she's back after defeated. If you remember that mist thing just after the Elements of Harmony did their thing on Luna? I think that was Nightmare Moon going into hiding, waiting for a new host, but then Luna got jealous (again) and became Nightmare Moon (again).

Good point, however I don't think Nightmare Moon, as a possessive spirit, doesn't just take over one pony. Darkness resides in anypony's heart, ignored or embraced. And for as long as they feel angry or jealous over something, Nightmare Moon will strike. In this case however, Luna may have been convinced to feel jealous about Twilight, and I'm suspicious that this is Sunset Shimmer's doing..........unless this is that side of me talking.

 

(That side of me refuses to accept that the Sunset Shimmer we saw in Equestria Girls is that pathetic, leading to me hoping that she will re-appear in Season 4, brandishing a much nastier side of her than what we witnessed. Hell, even her trying to murder Twilight didn't quite scratch the surface for me)

 

And the thing with Voldemort, I never knew that. I thought he, Tom Riddle, was bullied as a child, growing up to become Voldemort, a sick, twisted, psychopathic/sociopathic murderer hell bent on dishing out his pain on others, no matter how extreme. I never read the books, you see, so I don't know a whole lot about Harry Potter, other than after the murder of the Potter parents, both Harry and Voldemort shared a link, and it could/would be only him who could vanquish the Dark Lord.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Firebolt Blitz

[Scootalove 10,684]

Ermahgerd, I swear ur making it sound like Luna's playing the part of Freddy Krueger, striking at pony's dream where nopony can protect them! But seriously, the unknown force that I mentioned above provoked Luna into becoming jealous of Twilight, by saying she completed far more dangerous tasks than her, or achieved more than her, or is plainly overtaking her in terms of attention, hence why she turns back into Nightmare Moon.

I was expecting a different reaction but, okay. We get it, jealousy, hatred, and other traits forced Luna to turn back into Nightmare Moon. But, I'm just saying.. you don't have to overreact a bit.

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Yeah. When Luna gets all jealous again, she calls upon the 'spirit' of Nightmare Moon which was hiding in the Everfree forest...OR. What we saw is actually Twilight travelling to the past to when Luna first became NightMare Moon...but it seems unlikely because sure Twilight was in princess attire..why would she do that?

[Wardaddy 470]

I was expecting a different reaction but, okay. We get it, jealousy, hatred, and other traits forced Luna to turn back into Nightmare Moon. But, I'm just saying.. you don't have to overreact a bit.

Um, I didn't overreact. I was making a joke about how it sounded like you were connecting Luna appearing in ponies dreams with the technique used by Freddy to kill his victims. Now, this other reaction you were expecting, exactly what should it have been?

[Scootalove 10,684]

Um, I didn't overreact. I was making a joke about how it sounded like you were connecting Luna appearing in ponies dreams with the technique used by Freddy to kill his victims. Now, this other reaction you were expecting, exactly what should it have been?

Oh, I see. Well, Luna appearing in other ponies dreams does sound a bit scary. Well, the other reaction that I was expecting probably something funny.

[Wardaddy 470]

Yeah. When Luna gets all jealous again, she calls upon the 'spirit' of Nightmare Moon which was hiding in the Everfree forest...OR. What we saw is actually Twilight travelling to the past to when Luna first became NightMare Moon...but it seems unlikely because sure Twilight was in princess attire..why would she do that?

None of this seems to make any sense. *Spoilers* The scene was shown as S4E1 *end spoiler*, but when we last saw Twilight, she was in her princess attire. Maybe Celestia asked her to come back to Canterlot to show her the memory and thereby teach her never to take her friends for granted, which was the mistake Celestia made in the first place. That's all I've got so far.

Oh, I see. Well, Luna appearing in other ponies dreams does sound a bit scary. Well, the other reaction that I was expecting probably something funny.

The joke I made was supposed to be funny, unfortunately it seems typing has let me down again, as you can never broadcast voice tones on typed text.   Oh well, no harm done anyway. If u think Luna appearing in ponies dreams is scary, imagine her as Nightmare Moon distorting their dreams to make them rebel against Celestia (or in this case, Twilight)!

Edited August 19, 2013 by Firebolt Blitz

[Scootalove 10,684]

 

The joke I made was supposed to be funny, unfortunately it seems typing has let me down again, as you can never broadcast voice tones on typed text.   Oh well, no harm done anyway. If u think Luna appearing in ponies dreams is scary, imagine her as Nightmare Moon distorting their dreams to make them rebel against Celestia (or in this case, Twilight)!

Well then, I'm sorry. Hmm, Nightmare Moon in dreams to rebel against Celestia or Twilight? Now that is something that could scare me to death.

[Silver Letter 1,830]

I did not watch that video but I would hope that Nightmare Moon does not return. I think it is not necessary. I am hopeful that it is a mere flashback scene that is referenced in that video. As others have said, don’t take friendship for granted.

 

 

and I'm suspicious that this is Sunset Shimmer's doing...

I think that might be very surprising since she is not canon to FiM meaning that she is either not existing in it or she does exist and that the events in EG never happened. Either way I think, she is not relevant to the show.

 

If I am wrong in the above points, please note where my error lies. Thank you.

[Wardaddy 470]

I did not watch that video but I would hope that Nightmare Moon does not return. I think it is not necessary. I am hopeful that it is a mere flashback scene that is referenced in that video. As others have said, don’t take friendship for granted.

 

 

 

I think that might be very surprising since she is not canon to FiM meaning that she is either not existing in it or she does exist and that the events in EG never happened. Either way I think, she is not relevant to the show.

 

If I am wrong in the above points, please note where my error lies. Thank you.

Well, like I said, it might be that side of me that hopes it is Sunset Shimmer who convinced Luna to return to her old villainous ways as NMM, but in the end, it's not going to happen. Now, as for your hoping NMM won't return, don't panic just yet. It's only a few minutes of the opening episode to the series, we don't really know a lot yet. Hell, I could be wrong about the reason Celestia showed Twilight the flashback in the first place. It may be for other reasons. Anyway, don't worry, not long left now.

[The Awesome One 1,314]

What I'm saying is maybe that the story involvs Twilight being asked by Celestia to go back in time and stop Luna from becoming Nightmare Moon but that would be unlikely because then she would have no reason to all that dressed as a princess.

 

I'm pretty sure they're doing this because they cant think of a new villain.

Edited August 19, 2013 by The Awesome One

[Silver Letter 1,830]

 

Well, like I said, it might be that side of me that hopes it is Sunset Shimmer who convinced Luna to return to her old villainous ways as NMM,

I understand but it would be a weird thing since if I understand it correctly, Sunset Shimmer does not exist in FiM, at least not in the same way as she was in EG.

 

 

I'm pretty sure they're doing this because they cant think of a new villain.

I think the writers are talented and I hope that is not the case. I could come up with a new villain in my sleep.

[Wardaddy 470]

What I'm saying is maybe that the story involvs Twilight being asked by Celestia to go back in time and stop Luna from becoming Nightmare Moon but that would be unlikely because then she would have no reason to all that dressed as a princess.

 

I'm pretty sure they're doing this because they cant think of a new villain.

If that is the case, then all the hype for the new season will have been for nothing. I hope Hasbro comes up with a good idea for this, because Twilight becoming a princess is a pretty big deal, and I was thinking Luna didn't like the fact Twilight would overtake her as the next-in-line to the throne, so by growing jealous of Twilight, Nightmare Moon would return. Don't forget, when Nightmare Moon first returned, Celestia was nowhere to be found until after her defeat. It may be the same case here for all we know.

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Celestia disappars because I'm sure she can easily just banish Luna yet again but only the Mane 6 can 'cure' her because Celestia can't use the elements anymore.

Edited August 19, 2013 by The Awesome One

[Wardaddy 470]

Celestia disappars because I'm sure she can easily just banish Luna yet again but only the Mane 6 can 'cure' her because Celestia can't use the elements anymore.

Remember when Chrysalis took on Celestia and won? Clearly Celestia's not as powerful as she was in the days of yore, which again adds to why she handed over the Elements of Harmony to the Mane 6. If Chrys could defeat her, then a re-awakened Nightmare Moon could as well, with perhaps more power than before, who knows? There's a saying: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Technically, NMM wasn't killed, she was merely sapped of her powers and her grip on Luna, but that doesn't prevent her return anytime soon.

[RiseofSpectrum 359]

Just like I said in the spoilers thread, another Nightmare Moon would be bland and wouldn't add anything to the plot. However, it WOULD be interesting if the pony shown in that clip would have been Celestia.

[Dsanders 5,742]

I thought that clip at Comic-Con which showed Nightmare Moon's return was for one, a great surprise. I never once expected that. That was insane lol. 

 

I'm seeing a lot of interesting perspectives and theories here on the possibilities how such a scenario could take place. I can also easily agree with most of them, as a lot of them make sense. The headcannon that Celestia could be showing Twilight Sparkle flashbacks from the past could be a really good possibility.

 

The only thing I'd disagree with here though was that if it was really a flashback shown to Twilight, then why is Twilight shown in a third person point of view in the scene? Maybe, Twilight could of actually entered the subconscious mind of Celestia and though she is witnessing Celestia's own memory flashback, her form is manifested as Twilight rather than Celestia....okay, wat?

 

Lol sorry but yeah, really thinking about that flashback headcannon, it doesn't seem to make any sense. It would make sense if Twilight was literally seeing the scene take place through Celestia's own eyes in a first person point of view, but clearly she's not. It legitimately seems that Twilight is actually there.

 

So two other headcannons come to mind.

 

1. One is that Twilight Sparkle could be having a nightmare. This would make a whole lot more sense, considering how nervous, stressed, and worried Twilight Sparkle could be now that she's become a Princess. It was a extremely drastically change for her, and we all know that Twilight Sparkle tends to worry and get worked up at just the smallest issues, but this? This is huge. I'm surprised Twilight Sparkle hasn't gone all 'lesson zero' over it. 

 

She could be really worried about Princess Luna getting envious. She could be worried at the possibility of Luna feeling threatened by Twilight's new princess-hood possibly becoming much more greater than her own rule and jurisdiction. 

 

2. The final headcannon, which is crazy but also makes sense insanely enough, is basically what I just explained, but the difference is, Twilight's not dreaming. It's actually happening! All because of Luna's jealously, and feeling threatened by the possibility Twilight may become a better and more efficient ruler than her.

 

So yeah these two headcannons are basically the same with just a little difference, but they seem to make a whole lot of sense and are the major ones that come to mind. 

[The Awesome One 1,314]

Remember when Chrysalis took on Celestia and won? Clearly Celestia's not as powerful as she was in the days of yore, which again adds to why she handed over the Elements of Harmony to the Mane 6. If Chrys could defeat her, then a re-awakened Nightmare Moon could as well, with perhaps more power than before, who knows? There's a saying: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Technically, NMM wasn't killed, she was merely sapped of her powers and her grip on Luna, but that doesn't prevent her return anytime soon.

 

Damn right, but she kind of had to lose their because if she had won, the episode would end right there. I still think she's powerful enough it's just that Chrysalis was really power boosted at that time. She might not be as powerful as she used to be but I still think she just has enough to banish Night Mare Moon yet again to the moon but she wont because they'd want to 'cure' Luna. If you want to call it that.

[Wardaddy 470]

Damn right, but she kind of had to lose their because if she had won, the episode would end right there. I still think she's powerful enough it's just that Chrysalis was really power boosted at that time. She might not be as powerful as she used to be but I still think she just has enough to banish Night Mare Moon yet again to the moon but she wont because they'd want to 'cure' Luna. If you want to call it that.

Cure, purge, extricate, makes no diff to me. Still, I do hope Nightmare Moon will return in the way that my other side wishes, however it looks more likely that my one side's theory is becoming clearer all the time. There's not a lot I can say to that, but hey, a man can dream!

I thought that clip at Comic-Con which showed Nightmare Moon's return was for one, a great surprise. I never once expected that. That was insane lol. 

 

I'm seeing a lot of interesting perspectives and theories here on the possibilities how such a scenario could take place. I can also easily agree with most of them, as a lot of them make sense. The headcannon that Celestia could be showing Twilight Sparkle flashbacks from the past could be a really good possibility.

 

The only thing I'd disagree with here though was that if it was really a flashback shown to Twilight, then why is Twilight shown in a third person point of view in the scene? Maybe, Twilight could of actually entered the subconscious mind of Celestia and though she is witnessing Celestia's own memory flashback, her form is manifested as Twilight rather than Celestia....okay, wat?

 

Lol sorry but yeah, really thinking about that flashback headcannon, it doesn't seem to make any sense. It would make sense if Twilight was literally seeing the scene take place through Celestia's own eyes in a first person point of view, but clearly she's not. It legitimately seems that Twilight is actually there.

 

So two other headcannons come to mind.

 

1. One is that Twilight Sparkle could be having a nightmare. This would make a whole lot more sense, considering how nervous, stressed, and worried Twilight Sparkle could be now that she's become a Princess. It was a extremely drastically change for her, and we all know that Twilight Sparkle tends to worry and get worked up at just the smallest issues, but this? This is huge. I'm surprised Twilight Sparkle hasn't gone all 'lesson zero' over it. 

 

She could be really worried about Princess Luna getting envious. She could be worried at the possibility of Luna feeling threatened by Twilight's new princess-hood possibly becoming much more greater than her own rule and jurisdiction. 

 

2. The final headcannon, which is crazy but also makes sense insanely enough, is basically what I just explained, but the difference is, Twilight's not dreaming. It's actually happening! All because of Luna's jealously, and feeling threatened by the possibility Twilight may become a better and more efficient ruler than her.

 

So yeah these two headcannons are basically the same with just a little difference, but they seem to make a whole lot of sense and are the major ones that come to mind. 

Wow dude, you sure know how to think up good headcanon, and on headcanon no.2, that's what my gut feeling was from the very beginning. Celestia's absence, to me, pointed out a total case of de-ja-vu that could only result in Nightmare Moon's return. Sure, Celestia could banish her again, but would NMM give her the chance again?

[True Rarity 1,239]

Okay, so before I go into anything, let me just say that I have nothing against Princess Luna, and, in fact, I desperately hope I'm wrong.

 

So I was looking at Princess Luna's page on the MLP wikia, and I scrolled down to some of her famous quotes. I found two at the very end that were said to be from a "season 4 episode one animatic". Ready? Here they are:

 

 

Not another step!

Here's the one that's even more shocking:

There can only be one princess in Equestria! And that princess... will be me!

 

 

 

I'm not sure, but maybe Twilight's becoming a princess has made Luna angry. Twilight may need to help rule over the night (hence the name Twilight) and this could make Luna seem less important. During the coronation, she seemed fine, but Princess Luna can mask her emotions quite easily("We could not be happier! IS THAT NOT CLEAR?!"). Princess Luna could also be mad at Princess Celestia for some unknown reason. I really hope I'm wrong and I'm not even sure these quotes are real, but I'd like some discussion on the matter from my fellow bronies and pegasisters.

 

So, here's my question: What do YOU think?