My Little Pony Comic Reflections Part 3 *spoilers*

We get a look at night time in the opposite Equestria. Ponyville is drawn in white and black and gray, and is barren.

Anti-Celestia's guards have an egyptian motif, Philomena resembles a vulture, and Tiberius the possom wears a vampire cape of sorts scaring a bug.

Did I mention the pony skull and candle?

Anti-Celestia is longing on her throne and anti-una is wearing a roped cloak and playing a pipe organ. Anti-Luna REALLY plays up the vampire motif.

Anti-Celestia laments how she was close to beating the spell for crossing world out of Celestia.

Giving her cloak to a vampire butler, Anti-Luna turns to red smoke and flies off to spy on the heroes.

"Stay to the shadows!"

"I KNOW! You're probably a pestering big sister in BOTH worlds. Yeesh!"


We also get some snap shots that reveal more about this world.

Spike is a little thug wearing a hat and flipping a coin on the streets.

There is graffiti with the letters 'CMC' (Cutie Mark Crusaders?).

There is a wanted poster for a punk version of (I think) Vinyl Scratch.

Big Mac is wearing a BEARD and top hat with formal collar, and Granny Smith is similarly well to do dresse with furs and jewelry, both with expressions (IMHO, I might be wrong, frowning with closed eyes as they want) to match of uncaring elite that would make the Canterlot nobles bristle in disgust.

ALSO: I think the anti-mane six at this point are a red herring. A bait and switch. 'Not appearing in this story.'

There is a posted that reads with anti-Celestia's mark "The Sun Sees All" (ick).

There's also the 'Sweet Cream Scoops Detective Agency.

----

Sombra mentions to the heroes that when prime Luna was cured of her insanity, Anti-Luna turned traitor and joined her evil sister. Ironically we get hints through the story that is, scar tissue of that Luna, but just that, scar tissue.

SOmbra explains that he's stunned at quickly things have gone down hill since Luna's betrayal.

AJ and RD freak out when they learn Discord and Chrysalis are keeping an eye on the northern and southern lands, leaving Sombra to defend the castle totally. Fluttershy says it's best not to think about it.

Twilight, "But..but...WHAT IF THIS WORLD DOESN'T MAKE 100% SENSE?! I need to record it all for posterity!"

Pinkie PIe, "OUR world doesn't even make sense! Why should this one? Who need continuity?"

I have mixed feelings about this exchange.

Twilight's wall of notes includes
"If you're read this, you're may be over thinking this comic book."

"Why is sugar so rare?"

A picture of evil Cadence.

"Where are the buffalo tribes?"

"No rainbow falls? Dodge city?"

"Cloudesdale in ruins."

"Manehatten vs Manehaten"

A picture of good Chrysalis and a happy changeling.

"What are spican "flame gems?"

"Daring Do Over here is Bravery Blue?" Which IMHO, since the other names aren't changed, suggest Daring Do is the alias.

"What is Amber?"

"Don't blink."

A picture of sweetie sticking out her tongue.

"No avacados."

"Appleble farm and Cosa Nortra."

"Vox populi" (see Bioshock Infinite)

"Mayor Iron Will"

The ponies ask for how Sombra and Celestia first met:

Celestia is dumb struck when she first meets the good king Sombra.

And we learn that anti-Equestria had coffee before Equestria, and that starswirl decide to take it with him to introduce it there (along with several other things ultimately).

We also learn Celestia in this reality was evil even then!

And when Celestia accidentally spit coffee in Sombra's face, she ... well, her thought bubble has a doopy Cragle type picture of her with the word 'DOOFUS'.

And . . .

Ya know how we told that Anti-Luna turned evil only a short time ago?

Guess what?

-_-

You thought that was just throw away world building?

We get t SEE HER as a happy, friendly, and kind-hearted princess!! And her cutie mark at the time is the same as Luna's! Not the red and black cutie mark she has now! In other words, cutie marks CAN changed depending if the pony themself change enough!

Anti-Luna at the time dresses like a roman princess for the record. Basically . . .

Anti-Princess Luna is at the time . .

Celestia, "LUNA! . . . I... I haven't seen a smile on that in ages."

Celestia is overjoyed meeting this warm version of her sister. This Luna also shows signs of being smitten with Star Swirl and enjoy each other's company (in OTHER WORDS, Starswirl was giving up EXACTLY AS MUCH AS CELESTIA when he closed the portal!!!).

Basically, while Luna prime was on the road to becoming Nightmare Moon, THIS LUNA was well adjusted and stabled.

In other words, we FINALLY know Celestia's pain, of knowing such a good person, could become such a monster.


Sombra shows off his Equestira, which is BUEAITUFL, he also introduces them to science which Celestia doesn't have, and magic Sombra doesn't have.

Also they meet Captain Goodguy. The Superhero version of Discord (this is set AFTER they defeated evil Discord).

Ironically, sine Sombra still trusts Discord, this suggests Captain Goodguy didn't turn evil when Fluttershy convinced Discord to turn good.

Maybe it's because the mean six are a small gang of trouble makers here without any connection to Evil Celestia. And so Evil Fluttershy never had a chance to corrupt Captain Good.

But the causal chat between Starswirl and Celestia after they return to their own world the first time reveals the worst truth of all . . .

CELESTIA MEET GOOD SOMBRA BEFORE MEETING THE EVIL SOMBRA OF HER OWN WORLD!!!

Dear God, poor mare!

She had to fight against a unholy version of the love of her life she had to leave behind!

It's horrible.

In prime reality and the present Celestia and Luna chat about when Celly and Swirl noticed that the two realities were beginning to forcibly run parallel to each other. And that traveling through the mirror made it happen MORE!

It was little thing at first.

"Cooks deciding to make the same dish ont he same day, Star Swirl would borrow a book from Sombra and another here would go missing. Things like that."

They begint o spread out their visits more and more. But Celly wanted more time with the king who had won her heart.

They visit a BEAUTIFUL garden with wishes (or thankfulness for things yo have) written on tag and placed on trees. Celly and Sombra of course write to be together.

It doesn't work out.

THAT is when Celestia returned and Starswirl caught her, and sealed the portal then and there, not even letting Celly say good bye.

They had a cold relation after that, but then Celly found a way to open the portal by herself, and began her visits when he was away.

The cracks in the picture and border of the panel, hammer home that this was a DUMB IDEA by Celestia.

In the present, Sombra apologizes for the lousy fair, but he prefers what is around to go to his subjects rather than himself.

AJ admit the soil is so awful that weeds couldn't grow, let alone apple trees.

And with Cloudsdale gone the rain has gone kaput.

Anti-Luna and Anti-Celly have been reek havoc on whatever they can get their hooves on because Sombra can't be everywhere at once.

And any decent farmers still around have run for the far more distant cities.

Pinkie Pie calls the place one big rock farm it's so depressing.

She is horrified to learn that this world no longer has cakes, Anti-Luna remembers how good cakes were.

Also, apparently the castle of the two sisters still stands here and functions as their home base.

And Sombra admits he IS just a flesh and blood unicorn in spite of his long age, and his magic is DEFENSIVE.

And Evil Celestia's deal?

Give the world crossing spell,  and she leaves THIS Equestria in peace.

Sombra refused. Because he didn't DARE put the fate of HIS Equestria on the Equestria of the Celestia he loves.

Also he know that Evil Celestia would NOT keep her end of the bargain. She won't give up what she already has.

Twilight thinks that if crystal was involved in evil Sombra's end, that maybe they can use the elements to imprison the anti-sisters in crystal. Alive, but then harmless. Anti-Luna hears every word.

Ironically it's Rarity who hopes the crystal has civilized furbishings for them.

Resting up and preparing for battle, Twilight ask Sombra for advice on being a leader.

He says she was already a leader of the mane six, Twilight says she depended on her friends then for advice, Sombra says she's lucky to have friends she can count on for advice.

Twilight asks if he'd choose between being a leader or a normal pony, Sombra says he IS a normal pony.

Sombra EARNED being king, same as Twilight and Celestia.

Sombra and Twilight chat about what Starswirl was like, and that he and Celestia are good role models for Twilight.

Sombra says Starswirl could have been a leader of he wanted it.

Twilight laughs at the mental-picture of an alicorn princess starswirl (to AJ and Rarity's confusion).

Sombra takes out his tag he wrote eons ago between he and Celly, and the two across worlds lament their separation again.

And Anti-Luna arrives and begins to give Anti-Celly all the details of what she heard.

We got another short story about Starswirl, the THIRD VERSION of how he got his hat. In this version it was based on his favorite doll when he was a child which was taken by his big brother. Then we FINALLY see the anti-mane six in a off-panel one panel joke picture.

They're in a house with borded up windows.

Anti-Twilight (glasses and hair done up like a librarian), "This book gets weirder every chapter. Who wrote this garbage?" Her star has circles around it, making it look like this Twilight's special talent is science, not magic.


Anti-Pinkie Pie (straight mane, and enjoying a salad, her cutie mark seems to be three pieces of greens or balloos with straight lines). "Why are you reading it? You hate fiction!"

Anti-AJ and Shy and Rarity are playing cards.

Anti-AJ, "GO FISH!"

Anti-Fluttershy (mane done in ponytale), "Where's that baby dragon we had for a while?"

Anti-Rarity (HUUUUUUGE swirling hair without any style to it and make up), "He made fun of my perm. He was banished."

Anti-RD stocking her head through the window, "Am I still banished? It's cold out here."

At this point I think we can safely say that the anti-mane six are just a herd of faceless losers who aren't a threat to anypony.

That Princess Trixie was shown in a stain glass in the previous chapter, but isn't mentioned here . . . makes me dread what happened to her. And while we know Evil Celestia was able to corrupt this world's Cadence, I dread to think what she'd do to an Alicorn Princess whose virtue was humility and wouldn't WANT to conquer the world, and would oppose such obvious and cruel acts of hubris. And . . . whose apprentice was she?

And the most tragic thing we learn here, and we see with our own eyes, is that THIS reality's Princess Luna was a good pony, as Prime Luna fell deeper and deeper into her own darkness. And due to Celestia's reckless use of the world mirror (which was causing the realities to slowly turn MORE parallel as time went on, NOT less), it's very possible THAT is why after a thousand years, Mirror Luna turned to the dark side at the same time Prime Princess Luna stopped being evil. In short, Prime Celestia, if indirectly, contributed to this reality's Luna becoming a monster like her big sister.

And I dread to think how Anti-Celestia corrupted Anti-Luna to her way of thinking, and what she might have done that worked after a thousand years of Anti-Luna helping Good Sombra keep her psycho-relatives in check.