Luna Eclipsed

Dear Princess Luna...

Okay, I've said it before, and was wrong, but this time I'm pretty sure this is the only episode of Season 2 I have left. I hope so, because I kind of wanted this to be the 'finale' so to speak, since the title suggests it's Luna related. =]

Alright, let's unpause this sucker and see what's going on in the Ponyverse! Spike is nagging on Twilight, saying they'll be late for the Nightmare Night festival. I think we have found the Ponyverse Halloween, as he is in a dragon costume. Twilight Sparkle appears at the top of the staircase in her costume, a traditional fantasy wizard look.

"I cast Magic Missile!" "Why are you casting Magic Missile? There's nothing to attack here!" "I'm attacking the darkness!"

Spike stupidly asks if she's 'that one cooky grandpa from Ponyville retirement village.' Boom! About 20 seconds in and we already have some Twilight Rage. Twilight says she is Starswirl the Bearded. I know that name, hmm, definitely in It's About Time I believe, where there is a whole section of the Canterlot library dedicated to this wizard. I think it may have also been mentioned in Hearth's Warming Eve? Regardless, he's obviously a hero/role model to Twilight, so the fact Spike doesn't recognize the costume is pretty sad.

Knowing Twilight, she has probably talked for hours about Starswirl the Bearded.

Starswirl the Bearded is the 'father of the amniomorphic spell' and Twilight even gave Spike a book about him, a book about 'obscure unicorn history' so on one hand, maybe Spike not knowing him isn't a great surprise. On the other, Spike is, you know, the slave/servant of Twilight, who clearly has great interest in Starswirl, and the guy does have his own wing at the Canterlot library dedicated to his spell research and whatever else.

What Would Twilight Do? Oh, yeah, she would smash Spike against the wall with magic for his insolence.

Spike escapes Twilight's ire as there is a knock on the door. He seems legitimately frightened by these ponies:

That green thing above the center pony is Granny Smith. I don't see Applebloom, or either other Cutie Mark Crusader, there, so I have no idea what Granny is doing escorting random kids around.

A very small pony named Pipsqueak leaps through the trio and trips. It's his first Nightmare Night since moving to Ponyville from Trottingham (So even Great Britain fell to the ponies). Pinkie interrupts, ranting about 'Time is candy!' and is in a chicken costume.

"Give me candy, or give me death!"

Twilight shows off her costume to Pinkie, Pinkie thinks it is a 'weirdo clown' costume.

"Yeah, Twilight, that's real cool, now give me your candy!"

Pinkie, ever the glutton (and now acting like a chicken) pecks at Twilight's candy bowl and steals most of their candy. It looks like it wouldn't matter anyway, as they both just leave, unless they were going to leave the bowl and hope ponies have enough respect to take only one. Well, it is Twilight, so that does seem like something she would do.

Aww, Twilight apparently made her costume herself, and no one is appreciating it. She rants that the borders are 'hoof stiched.'

"This is garbage! I put all this effort into my costume, and people think I'm just some senile old man or a bizarro clown?!?"

Spike says 'It's a great costume, grandpa' and enrages Twilight further.

Every Nightmare Night, several ponies wind up missing and presumed dead, the local law enforcement can never figure out what happened...

Twilight and Spike arrive in the town square, Twilight is still ranting about Starswirl the Bearded and how he is the most important conjurer of the pre-classical period, invented over 200 spells, and has a shelf in the Canterlot Library named after him. I'm pretty sure he has more than just a shelf, since Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike were searching all over a giant room in It's About Time.

Twilight thinks she should start up a 'pony group' to teach ponies about history. That could be pretty cool, since with magic she could create visions, images, conjure up props, etc.

Pinkie and Spike obviously enjoy one aspect of Nightmare Night the most: the free sweets.

Rainbow Dash is dressed as some kind of lightning based villain, she flies a storm cloud over Pinkie and hits her with lightning.

"I AM the law!"

Ponyville Fried Chicken.

Apparently it's only okay for Twilight to hurt Spike, as she starts chewing out Rainbow for not being very nice and making Spike choke on his massive pile of candy.

"Twilight," *COUGH* "don't let me die yet, I still" *COUGH* "need to eat this candy...."

Rainbow flies off to 'prank' more ponies (somehow blasting them with lightning is a prank) and Twilight and Spike wander around a bit, running into Applejack, who is supervising a 'bobbing for apples' thing.

Applejack actually compliments Twilight's costume, but only because she thinks she is a country music singer, because of her beard. So that's 3/5 of Twilight's friends that don't recognize her costume as her idol. Rainbow may have, but she probably did not, leaving Fluttershy and Rarity. Fluttershy probably doesn't even participate in Nightmare Night, I would be surprised if she is in this episode, but Rarity ought to be, since it's all about costumes.

So, in a world where MAGIC is an everyday thing, somehow no one recognizes the obvious wizard appearance. Country music singer? Really, Applejack?

That one retarded pegasus emerges from the apple bobbing vat, in a costume of paper bags, and grabbed the plug instead of an apple.

"You flaming idiot!"

The ponies gather in front of a stage, where the mayor, in a clown outfit, invites them all to enjoy the story of Nightmare Night/Nightmare Moon, as told by Zecora the zebra.

Zecora enters through green fog, like a boss.

Zecora is a vampire, I think. This reminds me, in theory, we should be able to tell just how 'dark' the Ponyverse is by the costume people have. We know magic, minotaurs, Tartarus/Hades/Hell, Cerberus, etc. are real, so there's a decent chance other crazy mythological stuff we see as costumes is real too. She leads a group out to a statue of Nightmare Moon to tell them the story of Nightmare Night.

They better hope this is an actual statue, and not another petrified being of evil that will be awoken by little ponies fighting.

The story of Nightmare Night: "Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves, from her searching eyes. But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing. To gobble up ponies in one quick swing. Hungrily, she soars the sky. If she sees no pony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year!
 "Uh, Miss Zecora, if we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she won't gobble us up, how come we still need to give her some of our candy?"
 A perfect question, my little friend.For Nightmare Moon you must not offend. Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat you!"

I remember in some other episode Zecora mentioned everyone being afraid of her, this can't be helping.

Hah, just like I said earlier for Twilight's history class, Zecora uses magic to make images.

"Fresh meat!"

The background story for Nightmare Night is actually pretty scary. Technically, Nightmare Moon isn't all that badass, as costumes easily deceive her apparently, but she is clearly a royalty breed pony, with wings and a unicorn horn, and she hunts other ponies to eat? That's some messed up stuff right there.

"Damn! No ponies, again?! Just a bunch of pony looking beings in weird hats and helmets, at least I got me some Reese's cups."

Part of the tradition has them leave a bunch of candy as sacrifices by the Nightmare Moon statue, so she will fill up on sweets and not the sweet, sweet, flesh of other ponies.

"There she is! There's the coward who left us to die!" "I was trying to be a leader! We needed someone to lead the way to safety!" "But you yelled, "Get out of my way"?" "Be-because.. Because! As the leader, if I died, who would lead? The clown? What kind of topsy turvy world do we live in where heroes are treated as villains?" "I saw you push the women and children away in a mad panic! I saw you knock them down! And when you ran out, you left everyone behind!" "Seemingly, seemingly, seemingly... To the untrained eye, I can fully understand how you got that impression. What looked like pushing, what looked like knocking down, was a safety precaution! In a fire, it's important to stay low to the ground! I risked my life, making sure the exit was clear! Any other questions?" "How can you live with yourself?" "It's not easy."

Pinkie, the teenager(?) is as freaked out as the little kids. She dumps all her candy at the foot of the Nightmare Moon statue, but it is too late. A chariot, drawn by bat-winged ponies, descends from the moon. I do believe our fair Princess Luna has arrived! =] Hmm, didn't Return of Harmony mention Twilight beating Nightmare Moon? Just checked, yes it did, so Princess Luna would appear to be Nightmare Moon?

Are these actually demonic pegasus, or are the wings part of their armor? Either way, they look pretty awesome.

The chariot buzzes the gathered ponies, and they all run away, except Twilight.

"Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design. Your friends, up there on the sanctuary moon, are walking into a trap, as is your Rebel fleet. It was *I* who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them. Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive."

Luna descends into the town, landing and throwing back her hood. I definitely made the right decisions here, using the 'Dear Princess Luna' gimmick and saving this one for last, it's looking pretty awesome so far.

What is thy bidding, my master?

All the ponies bow before Luna, except Twilight, who seems confused as to what all the fuss is about.

Check out the guy in the back, what kind of crazy costume is that? Shark attack victim?

Nightmare Moon/Luna chooses her first victim, the witch pony. Twilight seems to be the only one that knows it is Princess Luna, who should be a 'good' pony, and not Nightmare Moon, but Luna I think was Nightmare Moon, so their fears are justified.

"I'm looking forward to completing your training. In time you will call *me* master."

Luna's voice has so much strength that ponies are blown back by it.

"You want this, don't you? The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant."

Her Nightmare Night address: "Citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our presence, so that you might behold the real princess of the night! A creature of nightmare is no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!"

So, that confirms she was indeed Nightmare Moon, but presumably in Season 1 Twilight and co. made her good again? Luna doesn't seem to like the holiday dedicated to her evil self, and wishes to be loved like her sister, aww.

"It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine."

I'm not sure what powers Luna has, but she seems to be able to call lightning and manipulate shadows? Pretty badass, and in addition she is of course able to use normal magic, along with being one of the two protectors of the realm, so, yeah, she's awesome. =]

Pinkie interprets her plea for love and admiration and turning her 'dreadful' holiday into a joyous one, as meaning Nightmare Moon wants to feast on them, and she and the group of little kid ponies scream and run away, confusing Luna.

"Young fool... Only now, at the end, do you understand... Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side."

Luna explains she desires screams of delight, not terror, and stomps her hoof, splitting the ground. So, yeah, she is physically powerful too.

"Oh, god! Wait! What was that invisibility spell? Darn it, why didn't I pay more attention in magic school..."

She then informs the mayor that 'the princess of the night hath arrived.'

"Now, you will pay the price for your lack of vision!"

The mayor cowers in fear as Luna points her hoof towards her.

"Oh no, my young Jedi. You will find that it is you who are mistaken, about a great many things."

She points her hoof at other ponies and they too just cower in fear. Aww, they hurt Luna's feelings and she leaves in a huff, without even giving the traditional royal farewell. =[ Twilight wants to go talk to her, Spike tries to stop her, and we get some background info.

So Twilight did indeed change Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna, using the Elements of Harmony. Luna had been 'gone' for 1,000 years, so either just plain gone, or she was Nightmare Moon.

Twilight finds Luna looking down-hearted in front of the Nightmare Moon statue.

Aww... =[

Twilight starts to introduce herself, Luna compliments her for her Starswirl the Bearded costume, saying she even got the bells right. Score another point for Luna, actually knowing what Twilight's costume was, which gave Twilight a little bit of mirth.

Daring Do might be having some strong competition here, because while she was totally awesome, she's not a unicorn. Luna, however, has a truly awesome grasp over magic, definitely glad I saved this for last.

"Come, Twilight, see for yourself. From here, you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance and the end of your insignificant rebellion."

Little more background on Luna, the Elements of Harmony took away Luna's dark powers, and she had been imprisoned for 1,000 years. Twilight tries to help her fit in better, by advising her to tone down the strength and volume of her voice (which is apparently the traditional royal Canterlot voice).

Well, I was both right and wrong. Fluttershy is actually in the episode, but I was right about her not participating in Nightmare Night. They went to her house so she could teach Luna to control her voice better, and as Twilight knocked on the door, Fluttershy yelled at them to go away, she has no candy, and doesn't take visitors on Nightmare Night.

"Open the door, Fluttershy, for your sake. Princess Luna is not as forgiving as I am."

Fluttershy opens the door, recognizing Twilight's voice, and is happy to see it's really her, she continues opening the door:

"Nightmare Moon?! What did I ever do to you Twilight!?"

She slams the door, Twilight goes in after her, sounds of a fierce struggle are heard, and finally Twilight drags her out. Luna says, "Charmed" in her royal Canterlot voice, Fluttershy flies inside, Twilight drags her out with magic.

Evil use for magic: Serving up your friends as sacrifices to Nightmare Moon.

Luna explains how she would like Fluttershy to teach her to talk like she does, Fluttershy is cowering on the ground, whispering 'Okay' in response. Luna tries to speak softer, with no apparent change, and asks how it sounds. Fluttershy says 'Pefect.' and tries to run back inside, Twilight might have mind reading powers, as she slams the door in preperation.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Luna practices a few times until she sounds 'normal' then uses her magic to pull Fluttershy over and embrace her.

"As you can see, my young apprentice, your friends have failed. Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!"

Pinkie Pie and the group of kids shows up while Luna is embracing Fluttershy. Pinkie sees Fluttershy looking extremely stressed out in Luna's grasp and deduces that Nightmare Moon stole Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she gobbles her up. Pinkie and co. run off again. Interestingly, Scootaloo appears to be with the group in the wolf/werewolf costume.

Actually, looking again, it looks like Sweetie Belle is in a Dracula/vampire outfit. I think Applebloom is the Bride of Frankenstein, too, coloring seems similar, I think, plus she has a bow. Which should mean Scootaloo is really a werewolf, and they went for classic horror movie monsters, Frankenstein's Monster (sort of), Dracula, and Werewolf.

Luna, using her non-toned down voice, tells the children to wait, realizes the mistake, and uses her new voice to ask them again, in vain, since they already high-tailed it out of there.

"And now, young Pinkie... you will die."

Aww, she really just wants to be loved like her sister. =[

Twilight says it's time for Plan B. Back at Ponyville, it looks like a concert is going on.

Check out the knight pony with a flail tail. Gives an interesting insight into medieval combat in the Ponyverse.

Aww, Luna and Twilight are walking through town and everyone freaks out at the sight of her, Luna says it's no use, they've never liked her, and never shall. =[ That's pretty messed up, especially since Luna seems awesome, and probably can actually help with things unlike Do-Nothing Celestia. I suppose for the last 1,000 years, likely more, she was some evil, possibly cannibal, force of terror, but still, even Satan has worshipers in our world.

If I had to choose between Luna or Celestia.. Luna for sure. I think in all of Season 2 we saw Celestia do one thing directly, which was dispel that enchantment Twilight cast in Lesson Zero. Other than that, she did a little support, like opening the Elements vault, letting Twilight use parts of the castle, etc. but never really helped in the big crises that arose. Also, when she tried to fight Evil Cadence, she got wrecked up.

Twilight's Plan B I guess was to try and get Applejack to help Luna fit in. Now, we heard that the Elements of Harmony were used to cleanse Luna of evil, which means Applejack, Pinkie, etc. have to know that Luna isn't Nightmare Moon.

"That's just crazy enough to GET US ALL KILLED!"

Applejack tells Luna to try and loosen up a bit, have the right attitude, play some games, have some fun. Luna doesn't know what 'fun' is, apparently. Poor thing. =[

Luna inquires what one of the games is: it is to throw spider plushies at a web. Her first throw misses, Applejack yells encouragement, Luna focuses, and the next lands right in the middle of the web, to Luna's astonishment.

"I enjoy this 'fun'! Bring me more, 'fun' in the next five minutes, or I shall have you executed!"

For once, no one seems to be cowering from her as she proclaims she enjoys 'fun.' Next, Luna plays a game where they launch pumpkins from a catapult, and scores a direct hit on target.

"Fire at will, Commander!"

The crowd is warming up, Luna asks Applejack, and everyone else, to call her Luna. Applejack had suggested she bob for apples next, as they head there they see Pipsqueak about to fall in, again. (Applejack saved him just a bit ago) Luna rushes over and pulls him out. Pinkie and the kids wander up, asking where Pipsqueak is, they see Luna holding him by his costume's pants and Pinkie hollers that she is gobbling him up. Pipsqueak yells that his backside has been gobbled and runs away.

Luna is not pleased.

"The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi."

Luna can tell the crowd is turning on her, she invites them all for some 'fun.' She throws a spider at them, I have no idea what she was expecting that to do. The crowd still looking scared enrages her, and she uses her magic to animate the spiders. I'm not sure which rocks more, magic, or Luna, cause that is pretty sweet.

"There is a great disturbance in the Force."

The swarm of spiders crawl onto the web and go to the center, Luna asks how many points she earned.

Aww, she looks so happy. =]

All hell breaks loose, the ponies start fleeing in every direction, crashing into barrels, decorations, carts, lamp posts, each other. Luna has had enough, and uses her traditional royal Canterlot voice to command them to be still.

"In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you will last for ten thousand years."

Twilight Worth tries to tell her to watch the volume, but this was the last straw for Luna. She declares that since they choose to fear and dishonor her instead of loving her,  that Nightmare Night is cancelled forever.

"I know what's been troubling you. Listen to me. Don't continue to a be a pawn of the Jedi Council! Ever since I've known you, you have been seeking a life of great significance, far more than any Jedi."

After Luna's declaration, all the ponies seem distraught. One of the little fillies is crying, saying she wanted to be a zombie next year. Who is to blame for all this, one might ask? Pinkie Pie the fear monger. Right now it looks like there is still maybe 6-7 minutes of episode left, so they will probably fix everything, but it would have been justice if Nightmare Night stays cancelled so that she can't get free candy in the future.

Oh boy. Twilight sees a Nightmare Moon decoration under her hoof, and declares 'It's not over yet!' Applejack asks what she is going to do, and Twilight says she's going to do what she does best, "Lecture her!" I like how Twilight Worth even has some dramatic background energy blast thing:

"Mary Worth powers, activate!"

Twilight looks all enraged at Luna, until she sees her, head bowed, slowly walking away into the night. Twilight explains that Nightmare Night is one of their most popular celebrations, Luna says she can tell, from the shrieks of children as they run away from her. As Luna continues walking away heartbroken, Twilight gets an idea.

Back in town, Pinkie is still acting like a chicken and eating candy on the ground. A trail of candy goes into an alley, where Twilight ambushes her.

Pow! Right in the kisser!

Twilight convinced Luna to go with her, to try and get Pinkie to stop freaking out. Luna calls her the 'ringleader of the frightened children' and asks if she is there to make peace. As they go to 'shake hooves' a storm cloud appears and lightning flashes behind Luna. I'm guessing it's Rainbow, man, we haven't seen hide nor hair of her for quite some time.

"I am sending you my new apprentice, Darth Twilight. She will... take care of you."

Pinkie yells, "NIGHTMARE MOON!" and runs away, it looks like, somehow, she left an egg behind. Rainbow is laughing it up. Twilight teleports in front of Pinkie and tackles her, trying to explain that Luna has changed.

"I'm meaner, nastier, and more evil than her, yet I don't see you running from me!"

It turns out Pinkie knows that Luna isn't Nightmare Moon, but that it is fun to be scared sometimes, which is why she keeps freaking out. Twilight gets an idea. She tells Luna she finally figured out why Luna is having so many problems being liked, Luna seems skeptical.

"Good... Good... you have done well, my apprentice."

Pipsqueak is lamenting that his very first Nightmare Night is his last, Zecora, Applejack, and the Mayor try to cheer them up by telling them they still have the candy offerings to do. They dump all the candy out at the Nightmare Moon statue. Suddenly, Luna talks, in her traditional royal Canterlot voice, telling them she is pleased with their offering, and may eat it instead of them.

"Your arrogance blinds you, knaves. Now you will experience the full power of the dark side."

She had used magic to transform herself into the statue, and then into Nightmare Moon. As the ponies all run away in fear, she transformed back, spitting out some fake fangs. Twilight tells her to just wait when Luna questions whether Twilight's Plan E (A was Fluttershy, B was Applejack, C was lecturing Luna, D was introducing her to Pinkie) worked.

"Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order 66."

The little kid ponies apparently huddled up and sent Pipsqueak to go ask Luna if she would come back next year to scare them, even though Nightmare Night is gone. Luna is confused, he explains it is scary, but fun, and Nightmare Night is his favorite night. Luna says they will have to bring Nightmare Night back. Pipsqueak says she is his favorite princess, then runs to the other children, gleefully saying 'She said yes!"

Luna is really happy. She declares it the 'most wonderful of nights.'

"Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy!

And... we shall have peace."

Luna goes back into Ponyville and plays with the villagers. She throws the spiders with the shark attack guy. Some kids come up, pull on her hair, and dump bags of candy at her feet. She submerges herself in the apple bobbing vat and jumps out, scaring the mouse costume girl.

Here's Luna!

"Every single Jedi, including your friend Rarity, is now an enemy of the Republic. Do what must be done. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy."

While all that was going down, Twilight was dictating a letter to Celestia. She says that when she was sent to Ponyville, she didn't know anything about friendship, and tonight she met someone with the same problem: Luna. Luna taught her that one of the best things to do with friendship is to give it to others and help them find it themselves. She claims all of Ponyville learned that even if some pony is scary or intimidating, if you befriend them you'll find someone different underneath. She also makes sure to mention that her Starswirl the Bearded costume was mostly a failure, but it was still the best Nightmare Night ever.

She then uses magic to steal a piece of candy from Spike, which he took from the offerings to Nightmare Moon. As she savors it, Rainbow appears and prepares to zap Twilight. She is zapped instead and goes flying away at rapid speed. Luna truly is the best princess ever.

What is that on her costume's flank area? Looks like a winged skull-like symbol, so she probably is dressed as some Ponyverse comic book (or real I suppose) villain.

The episode ends as Luna descends on her own storm cloud and she, Spike, and Twilight all laugh at what she just did to Rainbow.

What I learned from this episode:

• Alright, I really love the Luna character. She's just plain awesome. I can definitely tell which characters I like, as I end up with tons of screenshots, this one ended up at 62 for this episode, which I believe beats the previous record holder of 50 something for Daring Do's. Twilight probably has the most overall though.
• What exactly are Luna and Celestia? We know there's a 'royalty' breed of pony, since Cadence is also a princess and has wings and a horn, which in theory would mean she is similar to whatever they are, but we have seen her age. Are they deities? Just really long lived, like elves in other fantasy settings?
• Was Luna 'frozen in carbonite' for 1,000 years? That's a long, long, long, long, time to be imprisoned, probably worse if you're conscious that whole time and not in carbonite or the Ponyverse equivalent: turned to stone.
• Why was Luna having such a hard time? If some demi-god level, badass looking, magic wielding, Princess that reigns over night showed up and wanted to be friends, I'd be all over that.
• I was honestly surprised that, as far as I noticed, Rarity was no where to be seen. What's up with that? A night where they all need costumes, and she wasn't making them or displaying her own elaborate get up?

I started jotting down the various outfits I saw, to see if they'll expose any darker truths to the Ponyverse. =] Since I write these as I watch, it was easy to pause, scan the scene, then jot down any new ones.

Costumes:
Clown, Dragon, Vampire, Mummy, Witch, Starswirl the Bearded, Ladybug, Sci-fi/Astronaut, Princess, Pirate, Viking, Bride of Frankenstein, Fireman, Wolf/Werewolf,  Chicken, Rainbow's Lightning Villain, Scarecrow, Paper Bags, Egyptian/Cleopatra, Ninja/Samurai(?), Devil, Ghost, Daring Do/jungle explorer, surgeon/doctor, fisherman bit by shark, cloak/cape (jedi? hobbit? peasant?), mouse, bee, knight, cowboys/girls, pioneer women? with bonnet, undertaker/old-school villain, Raggedy Ann and Andy, 1920s boxer?, rabbit?

Update -  This episode ended up being in my top 10 overall favorites, write-up copied from my Triumphant Return post:

My beloved Princess Luna really shines in this episode. Her antiquated mannerisms and general magical awesomeness combine, with disastrous results for herself. She shows up in a black robe, on a chariot pulled by bat-winged ponies, her speech is accentuated by storm clouds and lightning, and she wonders why they are scared of her instead of just chilling with her like they do with Celestia. Oh, might I add she showed up behaving like this on Nightmare Night, a holiday dedicated to her evil super villain persona, Nightmare Moon?