#to me its kind of like. with twilight becoming the ruler of equestria+being an alicorn and being essentially immortal both she & starlight

[luminouslotuses]

my love mine all mine…….with twiglimmer/startwi……….from starlights pov……………….

[sketch-shepherd-art]

Alright so I’ve finally finished all of Make Your Mark on Netflix (I have no interest in Tell Your Tale) and, well… I certainly have thoughts. Unfortunately I felt MLP G5 (even including A New Generation) was pretty weak. I don't HATE G5 of course, but it certainly has problems. Not counting the ton of continuity errors and plot holes and retcons from G4, most of the episodes + specials on their own I found flat and boring.

And yes I KNOW that G5 deserves to be its own thing and shouldn’t rely 100% on G4’s popularity but come on… a sequel series still needs SOME connection to its predecessor, and G5 has so little of it?? And the worst part is that the super sparse FIM references were for legal reasons, which makes me even wonder why bother setting it in the same universe as G4 instead of just making a complete reboot. And yes I’ve heard that the G5 comics actually go deeper into the lore, but important worldbuilding details should be included in the show proper, not in supplemental materials. 

So yeah, that only inspired me to make even more changes for my MLP next gen AU. Starting with a bunch of different ideas I have for Opaline. More details about my revamped design and backstory for her under the cut

First off, her canon design is way too gaudy and takes away a lot of her intended scare factor, so I redesigned her with multiple variants. For all versions I removed her blue eyeshadow and the braids around her ears (too ridiculous-looking and difficult for me to draw), and made her hair a bit more asymmetrical. 

As for my version of her backstory, rather than Opaline being over a thousand years old and having known Celestia and Luna when they were fillies, I made Opaline a former student of Twilight who became her successor as the next Alicorn Princess. Only Opaline didn't do a great job as a ruler which caused Twilight to drain her of her magic and banish her to the outskirts of Equestria.

But after Twilight died of old age (don't ask me why Twilight didn't find a new successor, still working that out) the magic shield locking Opaline outside Equestria faded and allowed her back in. So she was the one who caused disharmony between ponies all over again (yeah kind of a repeat of the Nightmare Moon situation but), and additionally kidnapped Misty as a filly to use her as a spy and do tasks to help Opaline get her powers back, including her wanting to steal dragon fire to become a fire Alicorn like in canon.

Made this change for two reasons 1) the whole “ancient villain who knew Celestia and Luna back in the day escaped now and is planning to wreak havoc on modern Equestria” has been done a hundred times already in FIM, let a new villain form literally during Twilight’s reign 2) it would keep the rejection aspect of Opaline's canon backstory but give her more personal beef with Twilight which is why Opaline targets her

so my AU wouldn't just have all ponies restore unity and then have Opaline just come as a threat right after like A New Generation + Make Your Mark did. Achieving harmony between pony AND non-pony kind would be done over the course of a series and not just one movie, with Equestria being restored + Misty being freed after Opaline's defeat. The Unity Crystals still play a role in my AU, with Twilight having created them as a new alternative to the Elements of Harmony rather than just a macguffin to stop Opaline specifically.

Also if it were up to me I like my #3 redesign the best, the blue hues would probably fit the best for a fire-based villain (fire being blue when it's hottest and all) but that depends on if/when I wanna draw my AU Opaline in the future

[glapplebloom]

((The final part. No pictures))

After hearing that the Elements of Disharmony are the same as the Elements of Harmony, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked confused. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy don't seem to care. Rarity was the first to respond. “I’m sorry darling, but how are they the same? How could Geneosity be, well, disharmonious?” Twilight walked to the former Fashion Pony. “Look at yourself. So generous to keep all your trauma to yourself. Willing to spread your pleasure to your sister. You’re still as generous as always, Rarity.”

She walked up to Applejack. “Applejack: the truth you know would cause the ponies of Equestria to distrust their current ruler. Imagine the uproar of their Princess of Friendship being the reason for so many deaths.” Twilight then walked up to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash: your loyalty to Cloudsdale is so strong, you are willing to kill your other friends to maintain its secret. And you don’t hesitate to grind up fillies ino Spectra.” 

The Unicorn then walked to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie: the same laugher that would bring ponies together becomes horrifying when they figure out your true intentions.” She finally walked to the last creature. She didn’t know its name, it doesn’t seem to actually talk outside saying things are cold. “I’m just going to call you Fluttershy to make things easier. But you are the consequences of Kindness given to the wrong pony.”

Twilight then turned towards the door that would lead them to the outside. “So let us return to the Castle of the Two Sisters and finish what I started!” They all nodded as they headed out. Instead of sneaking around, they were more straightforward. Twilight didn’t care if Nightmare Moon knew they were coming, she wanted to confront her once more. The guards that did try to stop them were powerless against these ponies.

Applejack beat the pony who was trying to stop her to death. While she doesn’t remember what happened during her sleep-deprived time, it seems her body still has muscle memory of doing that. Rainbow Dash took care of any airborne guard. If anyone knew how to keep a Pegasus down for good, it was her. Anytime a guard did somehow get an attack in, it was towards Rarity who moaned in pleasure. This freaked out the guard.

And the poor guards who had to deal with Twilight, Pinkie Pie or the Entity called Fluttershy. What happened to them was too horrifying to say. They continued through the Everfree forest and made it towards the bridge with no issue. Except this time the Bridge was no longer there. So with no other option, they decided to go the long route and go down the cliff. But as they reached down, they noticed a cave glowing.

They head towards it and what they see is the Tree of Harmony. And in front of it is Nightmare Moon. Apparently she was trying to destroy it but failed to do so. But she did sense the presence of her new visitors and turned around. “Twilight Sparkle. I see you have returned. But even with the Tree of Harmony, there’s nothing you can’t do.” Twilight smiled. “I think me and my friends have an idea.”

Then suddenly, the six ponies leap towards Nightmare Moon. The Alicorn was caught unaware, so before she could respond Twilight placed a spell that would disable her magic for a short time. Short, but more than enough for the six of them to tear Nightmare Moon apart. The blood spilled upon the Tree of Harmony. It absorbed the blood into itself and formed new Elements. They look similar to the ones we know, but deformed in a way like a funhouse mirror.

They flew to their rightful owner. Nightmare Moon, still alive but looking like she’s been in a car wreck, can only look up as the six ponies gained these new and twisted Elements and used its magic on her. When it was all over, Nightmare Moon was gone for good. Not a single trace was left of her. And from this day forward, the Equestria of this world and others will wish that they were under eternal night.

-------------------------------------------------

And that’s where I’ll be ending this story for now. But you could imagine the horrors that will be coming.

[ssunsxt]

Out of curiosity, who are your favorite EqG/MLP villains/antagonists? I liked Wallflower and I think I still do, but your opinion was super interesting and is making me reconsider just how much I like her.

This is looooooong, so I’ll put it under a read more. 

Starlight is one of my top 3 villains because she was just doing her own thing until Twilight and the gang showed up– but even then she was getting up to some pretty messed up stuff; however, even then, her motives were kind of justified.

Starlight felt like she was abandoned by her bestfriend because she wasn’t good enough– and that seriously messed her up. So instead of taking her anger out on the friend that abandoned her she instead tries to eliminate the feeling of inadequacy (which tbh isn’t that an idea when you think about it). She had the right theory, but went about it in the wrong way, and then things got too far and she wasn’t really able to go back and fix anything.

Then and only then did Starlight choose to blame a group of people for what happened to her (the loss of control of the town); and instead of doing something petty– NO– she once again shows us just how far she’s willing to go to achieve what she wants (first it was discovering how to remove cutie marks, and now its finding out how to time travel???) Starlight is a force to be reckoned with, because of her sheer drive and ambition to reach her goal. Even after Twilight shows her what will become of the world she calls her a liar and thinks she can’t trust her because the one person she did trust, left her.

She never once tries to take things out on Sunburst, and is actually embarrassed about what she did, to the point she’s too nervous to go see him when they find out he lives in the Crystal Empire.

Her motives are justified because she suffers from feelings of abandonment and inadequacy– which are kind of what Wallflowers motives are supposed to be. Except, y’know, Starlight executed them perfectly.

My  second favorite villains are The Dazzlings (I’m counting them as one force).

Their designs are unique and stand out, not to mention I absolutely LOVE any kind of lore pertaining to mythical creatures– and funnily enough, sirens are one of my favorites.

They were banished to the human world and ultimately fed up with how dull it was due to the lack of magical power and influence they had in that world. They created chaos for the sake of chaos and because they wanted to be powerful and have control over people. Their personalities were all super likeable too, and I loved how they used emotional manipulation to put Sunset in her place, and ultimately achieve what they wanted– The Rainbooms to fall apart and argue. Their motives were clear from the start: we want power and influence and we’re going to manipulate people to get it. Wallflower was bitter and jealous of a girl that didnt even know she existed, and instead of trying to change herself, she wanted to ruin this girls life to get back at her over nothing. 

Their creating chaos for the sake of chaos is also one of the reasons I love Discord as one of the villains in MLP. He just loves messing stuff up because he thinks its fun, not because he has any desire to be powerful– he just loves creating mischief, and he doesn’t stop doing this even after he is reformed; he just doesn’t do it as extremely.     

Now last but not least, my favorite villain: Sunset Shimmer. 

Sunset’s motivations, like Starlight’s, come from how she feels and thinks about herself. She always thought she was destined for greater things, and after seeing herself as an Alicorn in the mirror, that idea was cemented in her mind. She felt Celestia was holding her back and that if she was going to get what she felt she deserved, she had to work for it herself– because even her own teacher wasn’t helping her at this point. 

Now you need to think about context for this next part. Sunset was young and naive when she first saw the mirror, and Celestia knew she wasn’t mature enough to learn about its true powers (being a portal to another dimension), which is why she doesn’t tell Sunset right off the bat everything about it. So, when she travels through the mirror, she thinks this is her chance to become what has been implanted in her mind; an Alicorn– a ruler of Equestria.

Except, she was still super young when she went through the mirror. 

She wanted to be a princess and rule beside Celestia, but now she was stuck in a world that was nothing like her own, and even if she wanted to go back, she didn’t think she’d be welcome; and that’s evident even after her reformation.

So here comes Twilight Sparkle– her replacement, in a way– who gets everything Sunset wanted. She’s deemed Celestia’s “prized pupil”, she becomes an Alicorn and becomes a princess; and that’s just a bitter pill to swallow. 

Sunset also struggles from feelings of inadequacy– which is why she feels like she needs to be the best. It’s why she has to make everyone else feel like they don’t matter– because that’s how she feels– and if no one else matters, then she has to, right? 

Wallflower targets a girl who doesn’t know she exists, as does Sunset– however, Sunset’s vendetta isn’t entirely because of how popular Twilight is– it’s because she’s Sunset’s replacement, and she got everything Sunset felt she deserved. It hammers home her feeling of inadequacy and that she wasn’t good enough in Celestia’s eyes. 

Sunset isn’t a monster– she’s a naive girl who wants to prove that she means something and that she’s destined for greater things. 

She admits to bluffing about smashing the portal– but she was also bluffing about knowing what would happen when bringing an element of harmony into an alternate world– and that’s evident when we see how terrified she is when transforming into her demon form. 

 My distaste for Wallflower is due to the fact they take the good aspects of past villains and completely tarnish what made them good. 

She’s shallow and petty and had no real reason to justify her actions, and even when she’s called out on it, she still continues to go further (trying to erase everyone’s memories of each other) and only apologises after the humane7 power up and destroy the stone– her only real defence of form of power against them. 

I doubt she’s sorry for what she did; she’s only sorry that she was stopped and had no means to fight back anymore. 

But that’s just my hot take on it.