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2!![[center: [- [[Characters/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Main Index]] -]]][[center: [- '''[[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast The Main Cast:]]''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicApplejack Applejack]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSpike Spike]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheCutieMarkCrusaders the Cutie Mark Crusaders]]-]]] [[center: [- '''Supporting Cast:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicThePrincesses The Princesses]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessCelestia Princess Celestia]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicManeFamilyMembers Mane Family Members]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSchoolOfFriendship the School of Friendship]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastPonyville Ponyville]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicSupportingCastOtherLocations Other Locations]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicAnimalCompanions Animal Companions]]-]]] [[center: [-'''Antagonists: Major Villains''' ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicQueenChrysalis Queen Chrysalis]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicLordTirek Lord Tirek]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicCozyGlow Cozy Glow]]), [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDangerousCreatures Dangerous Creatures]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicJerksAndBullies Jerks and Bullies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]])-]]] [[center: [- '''World of Equestria:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRaces Races]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicHistoricalFigures Historical Figures]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 The 2017 Movie]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicToylineExclusive Toyline Exclusive]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicMiscellaneous Miscellaneous]]-]]] [[center: [-'''Minor Characters:''' [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOneShots One-Shots]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers Other Characters]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPonies Background Ponies]] ([[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesCommonPonies Common Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesSpecialPonies Special Background Ponies]], [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicBackgroundPoniesOthers Other Background Ponies]])-]]] [[center: [- '''Equestria Girls:''' [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHeroines Heroines]] ([[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetShimmer Sunset Shimmer]]), [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsVillains Villains]], [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSupportingCast Supporting Cast]] -] ]]
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4
5They are ''the'' [[ArcVillain antagonists]] of the show. They actively[[note]][[SealedEvilInACan when they're not banished or turned into stone, that is]][[/note]] seek to conquer Equestria, bend its pony denizens to their will and eliminate those who stand in their way of [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], such as [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicThePrincesses the Princesses]] and [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast the Elements of Harmony]].
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7See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed here]] for the ex-antagonists.
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9[[foldercontrol]]
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11!!Arc Villains
12
13[[folder:Universal Tropes]]
14
15* AllThereInTheManual: A lot of what happens to the villains beyond their initial appearances that the show doesn't cover (save the Season 5 finale, which were {{Alternate Timeline}}s) is covered in the comic book series. Likewise their pasts are shown as well in the mini-series, ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFiendshipIsMagic''. [[LooseCanon Though if they're considered canon or not is up to interpretation.]]
16** Queen Chrysalis is revealed to have been blasted far away from pony civilization and into a town of sickeningly cute kitten creatures. She and her kind feed on them and take over their village before she tries to take revenge on Twilight for her defeat by kidnapping the [=CMC=], hoping to force Twilight into becoming her new servant. It fails when Twilight beats her in a battle and Chrysalis is imprisoned. She manages to escape some time later after tricking Twilight into freeing her. After the events of "To Where and Back Again", Chrysalis still remained at large and wouldn't show up again till "The Mean 6" in the main series before finally becoming a threat once more following her team up with Grogar, Tirek and Cozy Glow.
17** Whatever force that turned Luna into Nightmare Moon has it's army, the Nightmare Forces, kidnap Rarity to use as it's new avatar to attack Equestria. It fails and is seemingly permanently dissipated when Luna and the Mane Six convince Rarity that they'll never abandon her and, with no more fear or resentment to feed from, is vanquished. It also reveals she spent her 1000 year banishment giving nightmares to ponykind as revenge, explaining her infamy despite how quickly she was defeated in the show.
18** Sunset Shimmer's redemption and story was shown in the following ''Equestria Girls'' movies, ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks Rainbow Rocks]]'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames Friendship Games]]''. But the comics go into more detail about her past with Celestia, how she ended up in the human world and her first encounter with the Humane Five.
19** [[spoiler:King Sombra manages to regain his form from one of his pieces left over after being initially vaporized with the help of Radiant Hope, a Crystal Pony who was his childhood friend. He manages to reclaim the Crystal Empire and defeat the heroes, before revealing his endgame is to free his true kind, the Umbrum or Shadow Ponies, from underneath the Crystal Palace. Thanks to Radiant Hope acting as his MoralityChain who convinces him he doesn't have to be evil, however, he turns on and reseals the Umbrum nearly at the cost of his life. The princesses save him and Sombra gains a true pony form, redeeming him and allowing him to be with Radiant Hope, as they set out on a journey through Equestria to restore Princess Amore, a pony Sombra had crystallized and smashed during his evil days in the past.]] This was rendered non-canon later following the season 9 premiere however which had Grogar bring him back to life and Rarity state [[spoiler:he was destroyed despite witnessing his resurrection]].
20* AntagonistAbilities: Most of the villains are armed with "unfair" powers, including:
21** Nightmare Moon: {{Intangibility}}, MasterOfIllusion, SmokeOut, TrapMaster.
22** Discord: MindManipulation, PowersDoTheFighting, RealityWarping, SummonMagic, TrapMaster, VillainTeleportation, WorldWreckingWave [[note]]Can instantly turn the land around him into a WorldOfChaos.[[/note]].
23** Queen Chrysalis: EmotionEater, MindManipulation, [[spoiler:PowerNullifier [[note]]Her throne in "To Where and Back Again".[[/note]]]], {{Shapeshifting}}.
24** King Sombra: [[spoiler:FromASingleCell [[note]]Regenerates at least once during "The Crystal Empire," and his horn is used to bring him BackFromTheDead in the comics.[[/note]]]], {{Intangibility}}, MindManipulation, PowerNullifier, RealityWarping [[note]]But seemingly limited to the DomainHolder variety, unlike Discord's.[[/note]], SmokeOut, TrapMaster, WorldWreckingWave [[note]]His presence begins turning the Crystal Empire into a {{Mordor}}, and his BadFuture in "The Cutie Re-Mark" shows the rest of Equestria following suit (now covered in his signatures: BlackMagic crystals and a RedSkyTakeWarning).[[/note]].
25** Lord Tirek: EnergyAbsorption, PowerNullifier, PowerParasite, [[spoiler:RealityWarping [[note]]After enough Energy Absorption (especially against Discord), that is. Though he only uses it twice: to open a portal to Tartarus (to trap three of the Princesses), and then to summon Twilight's friends trapped in giant orbs (to force her into a SadisticChoice).[[/note]]]].
26** Starlight Glimmer: DeflectorShields, LongRangeFighter, PowerNullifier, [[spoiler:TimeMaster [[note]]Her WrongContextMagic alteration of Star Swirl the Bearded's TimeTravel spell from "It's About Time".[[/note]]]].
27** Cozy Glow: BadassNormal, TheChessmaster, GeometricMagic, PowerNullifier, XanatosSpeedChess
28* AppleOfDiscord: [[spoiler:In the second half of season 9, Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow work to undermine the peace between the three pony tribes. By the time of "The Ending of the End", the three races have become so divided that it causes the Windigos to return.]]
29* ArcVillain: They each act as the main antagonist of a particular story arc, variably at the beginning or end of a season.
30* BadFuture: Each past ArcVillain gets a different one where they rule supreme due to the absence of the Mane Six during [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E25TheCutieRemarkPart1 the Season]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 Five Finale]].
31** Nightmare Moon is shown ruling over an [[TheNightThatNeverEnds endless night]] in Equestria.
32** Discord is shown tormenting Celestia and Luna from afar, ruling over a truly chaotic Equestria.
33** Queen Chrysalis also appears to be ruling over Equestria, Twilight and Spike get caught up in her and her changelings trying to stop out LaResistance.
34** King Sombra regains his complete power over the Crystal Empire, re-enslaves the Crystal Ponies, ''brainwashes'' them into being his personal army, and then set out to conquer Equestria.
35** Twilight and Spike see Lord Tirek destroying a forest from afar. They don't stick around long enough to know just what else he has done in this timeline.
36* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: The members of Grogar's LegionOfDoom. Cozy Glow (Beauty) is a DeliberatelyCuteChild who uses her cuteness to [[BitchInSheepsClothing fool others]], Chrysalis (Brains) is an intelligent queen who came [[NearVillainVictory extremely close]] to conquering Equestria twice, and Tirek (Brawn) seeks to regain his "huge physique" after being freed from Tartarus.
37* BeyondRedemption: All the members of Grogar's LegionOfDoom are deemed to be this by Celestia during the season 9 finale, due to all their crimes and their refusal to ever stop or change their ways. As a result, [[spoiler:Celestia, Luna, and Discord [[TakenForGranite turn the three of them to stone]] as punishment for all they have done]].
38* BrightIsNotGood: Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow are ponies, and naturally just as bright colored and cute as all the others. They end up being majorly dangerous villains. Starlight Glimmer [[HeelFaceTurn subverts this]], however, and Cozy Glow plays it totally straight.
39* CharacterDeath: As far as "death" [[NeverSayDie goes for the series]] at least. [[spoiler:In the Season 9 finale, Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow are deemed [[BeyondRedemption irredeemable]], and are subjected to the harshest PG punishment possible: [[TakenForGranite Being turned to stone, presumably for eternity]].]]
40* DarkIsEvil: Aside from Discord, Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow, every villain incorporates black into their color schemes and otherwise has a dark appearance (though Chrysalis can transform into a form that isn't dark).
41* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: [[spoiler: In the S9 finale, Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy manage to sow distrust in the pony species, making them so resentful and fearful of each other that it weakens the guard around the castle and prevents aid from coming to the Mane Six when they take the heroes on, and mock Twilight and state that fear is more powerful then friendship since self-preservation is likewise a thing. While not wrong, they fail to take into account two things. 1) The unity of the pony species is the only thing keeping the Windigos from reappearing and freezing the land. Even with all the power at their disposal, the fact that the three likewise can't get along meant their plans for conquest were doomed from the get go if they had indeed triumphed over the heroes, which would've ensured Equestria's destruction. And 2) Fear is not the end all be all emotion they think it is and can be overcome given enough time. Once the students of the friendship school rouse their respective races to fight for their survival, nearly all of Equestria's creatures come to support the Mane Six in the final battle, not only saving them but giving Twilight enough time to realize how to defeat the villains.]]
42* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:This is ultimately the agreement that Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis come to in season 9. Once they start bonding they realize they hate Twilight and her friends more than they hate each other and are willing to work together to destroy them. However, they refuse to become friends out of pride and refusal to accept the Magic of Friendship, and none of them can agree to a long-term alliance without being the leader of the group themselves. They agree to keep working together until they can betray Grogar and destroy their common enemies, then they can rule separately and go back to trying to destroy each other as well. By the time of the finale, their alliance begins to break apart due to their own in-fighting, since they are running out of common enemies to face together.]]
43* EvilCannotComprehendGood: No matter how close they come to victory, ThePowerOfFriendship (and occasionally ThePowerOfLove) blindsides them and spells their doom after they've written it off as empty hope. Grogar on the other hand realizes this weakness and attempts to use this to his advantage, by getting his [[LegionOfDoom own group of villains]] to work together. [[TakenForGranite That doesn't work either]].
44* EvilIsBigger: Most of the major villains are bigger then the average pony. Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow are the exceptions, since the former is a semi-ordinary unicorn and the latter is a pegasus filly. [[spoiler:Ultimately, Starlight ends up pulling a HeelFaceTurn.]]
45* EvilIsHammy: Almost every villain in the show is extremely dramatic and over-the-top in their own way and oftentimes, it's quite hilarious.
46* EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily: Zigzagged. When Grogar forms his LegionOfDoom, the individual members are a bunch of raging jerks barely kept together by Grogar's threats of violence. They do prove capable of working together and bonding over their mutual hatred of the heroes, though. [[spoiler:In the Season 9 finale, they argue and bicker more than ever due to running out of common enemies to face together. On the ''other'' hand, [[PetTheDog they have discovered the magic of friendship with each other well enough]] for the rainbow magic to merely strip them of their enhanced powers, nothing more, even though they didn't let it reform them. It's Discord and the Princesses who later [[TakenForGranite turn them into stone]].]]
47* FangsAreEvil: To date, every major villain except Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow has fangs. Or in Discord's case, ''a'' fang. [[spoiler:Later averted with the changelings (save Chrysalis) who perform a HeelRaceTurn and ditch the fangs in the Season 6 finale "To Where and Back Again"]].
48* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Enforced. A general rule of thumb considering the subject matter. The villains are only allowed to do three things: 1) Appear 2) Cause trouble and maybe 3) Come ''close'' to winning. When it comes to actually ''succeeding'', that just isn't happening. About the most "victory" they can get is [[VillainExitStageLeft getting away]] after their defeat, but it is [[PyrrhicVictory costly]], and trying again will only result in inevitable failure once more. [[spoiler:Grogar's LegionOfDoom doesn't even get [[TakenForGranite the chance to try again]]]].
49* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: According to Discord in the Season 9 finale, this is worst possible thing the LegionOfDoom faces as their punishment: spending eternity ''with each other''.]]
50* TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin: The villains come close to victory, some come closer than others, but in the end, they always lose. If they ever manage to subvert defeat and come back for another round, they usually end up [[HeelFaceTurn becoming good guys]] themselves. Discord and Starlight Glimmer being the prime examples.
51* LackOfEmpathy: None of them show much care for anyone threatened or harmed by their actions. Even the changelings, whom [[EmotionEater feed off love]], only regard it as food, and [[DidntSeeThatComing were blindsided by it being used against them]].
52* MightMakesRight: The [[TheSocialDarwinist general viewpoint]] of every villain. They [[EvilCannotComprehendGood don't believe]] in the Magic of Friendship and believe that power and strength through conquest is the end-all decider of who runs things and there is no room for love, friendship or kindness. Some of them [[HeelFaceTurn get it]] and change their ways but others [[BeyondRedemption simply don't]].
53* MonsterOfTheAesop: The villains may be evil, but they aren't braindead. Some of them have their own cynical (and [[VillainHasAPoint not totally illegitimate]]) gripes and viewpoints, generally viewing Friendship as flimsy and a waste of time. The Legion Of Doom even boast to Twilight that fear is a just as powerful tool as friendship. Their issue is that the villains are too one-track minded on their views that they completely fail to account for other factors, which is what [[VillainBall consistently leads to their downfall]].
54* MonsterOfTheWeek: The villains more or less show up at the beginning or end of the season and then very rarely show up again, usually to be the monster of the week once more.
55* MysteriousPast: Many of them have very little back story, if any at all. Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and Cozy Glow are the most notorious examples of this. The ''Friendship Is Magic'' comics fill in the blanks for most of them, though the comics are LooseCanon.
56* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The list goes: Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, and Lord Tirek. Subverted with Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow, but then [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse that's the entire idea]]. [[spoiler:Starlight Glimmer then ends up subverting this again when [[HeelFaceTurn she truly becomes a good guy]], but Cozy Glow... [[RedemptionRejection doesn't]].]]
57* NearVillainVictory: These guys admittedly come dangerously close to victory. That's about it though when it comes to their overall success. They don't get much credit beyond that. [[spoiler:The LegionOfDoom come closer than any others; they spread distrust and hatred among the pony tribes, defeat, capture and/or DePower Equestria's heroes save for Twilight, and when the Mane Six attempt a counter-attack, the villains force them to surrender by threatening Spike. If not for TheCavalry assembled by the School of Friendship students stepping in just in time, it would have been all over for the Mane Six.]]
58* ObviouslyEvil: Scroll down the page; none of these characters could be mistaken for heroes (except for Cozy Glow, who actually used to be on the One-Shots page). Even Starlight Glimmer looks creepy thanks to TheUnsmile she's constantly giving.
59* PyrrhicVictory: The show has shown on a few occasions that even if the villains succeeded with their plans, they would be [[EvilWillFail led to ruin]] in ways they never fully accounted for. [[spoiler: Starlight Glimmer's "victory" nearly destroys the world several times over, and if the The Legion of Doom "won" over the heroes, their complete inability to get along would lead to the Windigos returning to Equestria, who would freeze the land and render their conquest pointless.]]
60* SealedEvilInACan: Save for Queen Chrysalis, Starlight Glimmer and Cozy Glow, every villain so far has been an old enemy of Celestia's that was defeated and sealed away years ago, and has now broken free. [[AncientEvil Grogar]] was defeated and sealed ''before'' Celestia and Luna's reign. Although, in the comic series, Chrysalis applied for this when she was defeated and imprisoned within her own castle at the end of her arc, temporarily putting her out of commission until the ''[=FIENDship=] Is Magic'' micro-series. It eventually turns out that according to ''[=FIENDship=] Is Magic'', Queen Chrysalis and her minions ''were'' this trope. Celestia defeated them in the past and sealed them in a volcano until they eventually escaped by tricking a dragon.
61* ShadowArchetype: Each villain embodies certain themes that are total antithesis to the shows theme of friendship. Nightmare Moon embodies [[DrivenByEnvy jealousy]], Discord is disharmony, Chrysalis is [[ItsAllAboutMe selfishness]], King Sombra is tyranny, Tirek is pride, Starlight Glimmer is [[TheResenter resentment]], intolerance and vengeance, and Cozy Glow is [[spoiler:[[ManipulativeBitch manipulation]] through [[FalseFriend false friendships]].]]
62* TheSocialDarwinist: [[spoiler:In "The Ending of the End -- Part 1", Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow's gloating to Twilight has shades of this, telling her that in the face of fear it is everyone for themselves and there is no room for friendship.]]
63* StoryBreakerPower: If the show wasn't rated TV-Y and didn't have strict rules to follow, they'd easily end it if they wanted. The villains have clearly proven to be exceptionally powerful and cunning, even more so than the Ponies, but someone or ''something'' always sidewinds them to their defeat.
64* TakeOverTheWorld: While their motivations for doing so vary, inevitably their goals are to conquer Equestria and/or depose Celestia and Luna.
65* ThisIsMySide: Discussed briefly among the members of the LegionOfDoom. [[spoiler:While they agree to work together for the time being, their pact is only until they betray Grogar and defeat the Mane Six. Afterwards, they agree to divide the conquered land among the three of them and [[ICanRuleAlone rule their own kingdoms separately]], never having to see each other again]].
66* TooPowerfulToLive: In general, the main villains tend to be so powerful and aggressive that leaving them around after their debut episodes isn't an option, as the magnitude of the threats they present and their generally... unreasonable... attitudes would force the story to keep revolving around them and their actions if they remained active afterwards. As such, they are almost always removed or neutralized once their two-parter is over, with a few exceptions including the alternate timelines in "The Cutie Re-Mark", to allow the show to return to the light comedy, slice of life and less life-or-death adventures that make up the bulk of its episodes.
67** Nightmare Moon, a match for Celestia in terms of power and devoted to her goal of casting Equestria into eternal night, is turned back into Luna at the end of the premiere. She only briefly returns in dreams and flashbacks afterwards.
68** Discord is easily the most innately powerful of the villains, and can seemingly ignore anything done to him by anything beyond the Elements of Harmony or Tirek's ManaDrain. He's turned back into a statue at the end of "The Return of Harmony" and brought back to imprisonment, and only returns when his HeelFaceTurn removes his status as someone whom the main characters would have to oppose.
69** Queen Chrysalis, who mounted a full invasion and takeover of Equestria's capital, is hurled out of the country by a magic blast. After her return a few seasons later, she remains at large, [[spoiler:but with her threat level severely diminished by the loss of her army and kingdom after their HeelFaceTurn]]. [[spoiler:She is finally turned to stone for her crimes.]]
70** King Sombra, who tyrannized the Crystal Empire with plans to expand, gets KilledOffForReal. And in his return seasons later, he managed to brainwash countless ponies, [[spoiler:destroy the Tree and Elements of Harmony]], and nearly initiated a one-pony takeover of the Crystal Empire and Equestria as a whole before getting KilledOffForReal ''again''.
71** Tirek, who managed to drain the magic of every pony in Equestria and [[spoiler:Discord]] to boot, becoming temporarily the most powerful being in Equestria, is stripped of his power and sent back to Tartarus. [[spoiler:He also receives the stone treatment for eternity.]]
72** The Pony of Shadows, a shadowy AnimalisticAbomination whose powers are never fully explored but who plans on taking over the whole world, [[spoiler:is convinced to abandon his dark powers and goes back to being a normal pony, with said dark powers being sealed away]].
73* TheUnreveal: It's unknown if [[spoiler:the trio are still in stone by the epilogue or if any of them were ever released]].
74* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Nightmare Moon is the one aversion since the show had yet to set its tone, [[SerialEscalation everyone since has been increasingly this]]. Queen Chrysalis has the honor of being the trope's page image.
75* VillainTeamUp: In Season 9, Grogar summons Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow, demanding that they work together to conquer Equestria.
76* YouCantThwartStageOne: The villains always succeed in their most basic plans and gain an advantage. Come the end, however, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption inevitable failure]] begins taking over and it all comes crashing down.
77[[/folder]]
78
79[[folder:Nightmare Moon]]
80[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moon__by_porygon2z_d8m9eim6.png]]
81->''"From this moment forth, the night will last FOREVER! AHAHAHAHAHAAA!!"''
82
83->'''Debut:''' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon "Friendship is Magic, part 1" ("Mare in the Moon")]]
84
85->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TabithaStGermain[[labelnote:Foreign [=VA=]s]]Magda Giner (Latin American Spanish); Creator/TakakoHonda [Season 2, ''Equestria Girls'', ''[=MLP=]: The Movie''] (Japanese)[[/labelnote]]
86
87An evil and wicked creature born from dark magic fueling [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]]'s jealousy and bitterness. Her desire to create a never-ending night forced Princess Celestia to use the Elements of Harmony to imprison her in the moon, seemingly for eternity. However, after one thousand years, the stars help her to escape, and this time, she attacks first, leaving Equestria stuck on night time. After a short rampage, she is defeated and purified of her darkness by Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
88
89In the [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW comics]], it turns out that Nightmare Moon was the product of Luna being corrupted by an outside entity preying on her unhappiness in having her night ignored, nor was she the ''first''. ''[=FIENDship=] Is Magic'' #4 had her corrupt the inhabitants of the moon into the Nightmare Forces, who would enable her return. See the [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe characters page for more]].
90----
91* AdaptationalVillainy: From the comics, ''[[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFiendshipIsMagic FIENDship Is Magic]]'' has her, in one issue, do more evilness than in all her appearances on the show. She played a FalseFriend to the Nyx, corrupts them into the Nightmare Forces, and spent her entire 1000 year imprisonment plaguing ponykind with nightmares as revenge. Contrasts the show, which is [[VillainDecay reducing the evil she was implied to have achieved or be capable of]].
92* AffablyEvil: In her BadFuture from "The Cutie Re-Mark – Part 2". She's surprisingly polite and reasonable for an evil megalomaniac. Not to mention that her BadFuture is by far the least "bad" of all the timelines (Rarity even comments that Nightmare Moon's castle "isn't open for view" at the moment, implying that it is somewhat of a touristic attraction).
93* AltoVillainess: Voiced with a low-pitched female voice.
94* ArchEnemy: Treats Celestia as this. The Mane Six are viewed mostly as annoying children and the challenges she sends them are largely indirect and non-deadly. When she and Celestia faced off 1000 years ago however, Nightmare Moon wanted nothing more than to kill her immediately.
95* ArcVillain: The main antagonist of the opening two-parter.
96* BeamSpam: Her first act after transforming is to start randomly blasting everything in sight with her magic. It's also her main means of attack against Celestia.
97* BeneathTheMask: Nightmare Moon acts evil and maniacal and indulges greatly in EvilIsHammy, but beneath all that she's just very lonely and desperate for ponies to love her. Once she's defeated, the first thing she does is beg her sister's forgiveness.
98* BigNo:
99** She does this when she is blasted with the Elements of Harmony, twice.
100** She also does it when Twilight escapes from her BadFuture in "The Cutie Remark, Part 2".
101* BlingOfWar: Decked out in an elaborate helmet, gorget (collar) adorned with Luna's moon sigil, and boots with a fleur-de-lis pattern.
102* CainAndAbel: The Cain to Celestia's Abel.
103* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In her original appearance, Nightmare Moon is treated more as a MadGod and her conquest of Equestria will inevitably result in the end of all life on the planet due to eternal night. When she reappears in season 5, she's treated less like a generic doomsday villain and more like a tyrant. Equestria is doing fine under her eternal night, the reason it's bad is more because her reign is authoritarian and cruel.
104* ClassicVillain: Nighmare Moon is primarily motivated by Envy towards her sister, and her envy turns into Wrath directed at the more beloved princess.
105* ColdHam: In her first appearance especially. Even in her more reserved moods, Nightmare Moon gleefully plays to her audience.
106* DarkActionGirl: She manages to hold her own against Celestia, which forces her to use the elements to seal her away.
107* DarkIsEvil: In contrast to Luna being TheSacredDarkness, Nightmare Moon represents darkness as an antagonistic force who wants to conquer the world.
108* DarkMagicalGirl: She is driven to evil by jealousy and eternal loneliness, gets a PlotRelevantAgeUp and [[GreenEyedMonster green eyes]], dons a [[EvilCostumeSwitch goth-esque outfit]], and is promptly [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away for a thousand years]]. When she escapes, she uses her powers to fight the even younger MagicalGirl sent unwittingly to redeem her, who defeats her with ThePowerOfFriendship and reunites her with her sister.
109* DependingOnTheWriter: In the [[ExpandedUniverse comics]], she is the product of ''something'' [[DemonicPossession possessing Luna]]. The cartoon presented her transformation as purely Luna's decision and power at work, and has yet to even imply that outside forces were involved. Albeit the cartoon does show Luna having a shocked expression as she begins transforming, indicating at the very least that she did not intend to become Nightmare Moon or did not realize what would happen when she did. Product of ''something'' possessing Luna or not, the way the black mist appears around Luna as she begins transforming suggests that whatever turned her into Nightmare Moon did not come from Luna herself. However, Jim Miller would say during an AMA on twitter that Nightmare Moon is simply Luna's dark half born from burying her feelings and resentment towards her sister until it became Nightmare Moon, and thus was always part of Luna.
110* DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: She quickly learned where the Elements of Harmony were and could get to them much faster than the Mane Cast. She had no reason to even bother with the Mane Cast at all, let alone try to deal with them indirectly through proxies, traps and illusions. Yet she went after them anyway, and in doing so [[NiceJobFixingItVillain helped prove their worthiness to wield the Elements]].
111* TheDreaded: During her absence she has become ponykind's boogeyman, even creating a holiday dedicated to her which is all about fright and terror.
112* DrivenByEnvy: According to the CreationMyth, the problem started when she grew jealous of how their subjects went out and enjoyed the daytime but slept through her beautiful nights.
113* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Her first appearance presented her as more of a ColdHam with a deep reserved voice. After Princess Luna's personality had been established, later appearances made her more of an [[EvilIsHammy evil mirror of her]], as well as benefiting from the show's increasing AnimationBump and gaining more details to her design such as fangs.
114* {{Emo}}: Nightmare Moon uses black and dark blue as her colors, wants to bring about eternal night, and is motivated by desperate loneliness. Her sister [[spoiler:or rather her evil counterpart]] even pokes fun at her for it.
115-->"So much black. We get it, you're sad."
116* EvilCounterpart:
117** For both Celestia (sun/moon, day/night, etc.) and Luna (see TheSacredDarkness).
118** Her Shadowbolts form is this to the Wonderbolts.
119* EvilFormerFriend: Towards Princess Celestia. She used to be her sister and co-ruler, prior to her FaceHeelTurn.
120* EvilIsBigger: Turning into Nightmare Moon makes her about the same size as [[LargeAndInCharge Celestia]]. Even at her largest, Luna is notably smaller.
121* EvilIsHammy: Nightmare Moon enjoys gloating, laughing maniacally, and makes absolutely no attempt to hide how much she enjoys being a villain. "Luna Eclipsed" subverts this by showing Luna was if anything hammier before she turned evil.
122* EvilLaugh: A big fan of it, and tends to let out at least one in all of her appearances.
123* EvilPlan: [[TheNightThatNeverEnds Eternal Night]], with an [[WordOfGod era of evil]] [[https://www.deviantart.com/comments/4/1603670/2282753953 as a side dish]]! Not to mention it would've actually [[ApocalypseHow killed every living thing under the sky]].
124* TheEvilPrincess: She is in a literal sense an "evil princess", but her position seems to ([[ExecutiveMeddling and was supposed to]]) be that of a queen. There isn't anyone higher in position than hers to overthrow with the exception of her equal and fellow princess, [[BigGood Celestia]].
125* EvilSoundsDeep: Has a throaty, regal and commanding voice.
126* ExoticEyeDesigns: Hers look more like dragon eyes than pony eyes, with slit pupils and slightly darker sclera.
127* TheFairFolk: Nightmare Moon's legend post-Elements was told like this. Disguise yourself so she can’t recognize you, give her a candy offering so she could fill her stomach with that instead of you, and above all, '''never''' piss her off. Only then she may just ''might'' decide against devouring everyone on Equestria... until next year, that is.
128* FangsAreEvil: Nightmare Moon's original design didn't have fangs, but the Nightmare Night portrayals of her do. Beginning with Season 4's flashback to Luna's transformation, her design was updated to include fangs.
129* FisherKing: Naturally, when she seizes control of Equestria, the land is plunged into never-ending darkness.
130* FleurDeLis: Her boots and collar appear to have this integrated into their design.
131* FusionDance: In the comics, Nightmare Moon is the result of Luna fusing with and being possessed by nightmare forces.
132* GodOfEvil: While her domain of Night and Darkness isn't inherently evil, she is the polar opposite and enemy of Celestia, who's the main good divine figure in the setting.
133* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Even though she's called a princess, her power, as with Celestia, is that of a queen. WordOfGod states that it was due to ExecutiveMeddling to prevent this very trope from being {{invoked|Trope}} that Celestia and Luna were given the title of Princess. Nightmare Moon remains a straight example of this regardless of title change.
134* GoneHorriblyWrong: She was born of Princess Luna's resentment of her sister, Celestia, being appreciated more than her. Her actions left Celestia the [[UniversallyBelovedLeader universally loved]] {{Big Good}} and her being banished and forgotten; backfiring in every way.
135* GoodEyesEvilEyes: GlowingEyesOfDoom with HellishPupils, [[ObviouslyEvil definitely evil]].
136* GoodWingsEvilWings: Has feathery wings like any Pegasus, but they're drawn with a noticeably more bat-like outline.
137* HellishHorse: Unlike Luna, she's ''truly'' malevolent and frightening.
138* HellishPupils: Has vertically slitted pupils.
139* HotGoddess: For the same reason as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, considering that Nightmare Moon is their EvilCounterpart.
140* LargeHam: Like most of the villains in this show, she loves to ham it up and particularly when making declarations of victory.
141* LeanAndMean: Nightmare Moon is a tall, slender alicorn hellbent on summoning TheNightThatNeverEnds.
142* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Say what you will about her level of evil, in the "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2]]" her BadFuture is the least horrifying of the major villains (arguably excluding Discord's), and she's actually quite reasonable and polite with Twilight (though her intentions are still quite clearly sinister, and she does take Spike hostage).
143* MeaningfulName: She rules the moon and is most certainly a thing of nightmares. "Sleepless in Ponyville" revealed Luna has power over dreams, meaning her evil self can give others nightmares.
144* MenacingStroll: Performs a brief one towards Celestia shortly after her transformation. In general, she tends to move around by either floating around as a cloud of stars, or casually strolling around with no sign of hurry.
145* MoreThanMindControl: According to the comics, Luna was corrupted by being told she could use Nightmare Moon's power to force ponies to respect the night like she desired.
146* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ''Nightmare'' is enough.
147* NiceJobFixingItVillain: When Twilight Sparkle sets off with her new friends to find the Elements of Harmony, they only have a partial idea of what they are looking for. Nightmare Moon's attempts to stop them provide the clues that are needed to figure out the rest of the missing information. With the comics in consideration, this may be [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. For when Nightmare Moon tried to stop Twilight and her friends, Luna may have been FightingFromTheInside.
148* TheNightThatNeverEnds: She wants to cloak Equestria in eternal night out of jealousy that ponies usually ignore her nighttime.
149* OffstageVillainy: The BadFuture where she rules is implied to be worse than King Sombra's or Queen Chrysalis's. From what we see of it, it is the most peaceful and intact timeline ([[NoEndorHolocaust not even showing the damage]] WordOfGod [[NoEndorHolocaust claimed eternal night would bring]]), and she shows less cruelty to her subjects and others than any other villain.
150* OhCrap: When Twilight Sparkle discovers the sixth element of magic and the mane six proceed to use the Elements of Harmony to stop her.
151* OneWingedAngel: Nightmare Moon is what Luna turns into when she turns evil, either from possession (in the comics) or from just losing her cool (in the show).
152* PaintItBlack: Luna's coat turned completley black after she became Nightmare Moon
153* ThePowerOfHate: According to WordOfGod, she came to be because Princess Luna envied her sister to the point of irrational hatred.
154* PragmaticVillainy: In the bad future where she was victorious and rules over Equestria, she's the only villain who's even remotely pleasant to her subjects. After all, how can they adore and admire her if she treats them with scorn and cruelty?
155* PrehensileHair: Her mane and tail are made up of the purple smoke stuff she's also capable of entirely transforming into; it can move as she pleases. She most notably uses her mane to flick Rarity on the chin when she makes her appearance in Ponyville.
156* PsychoElectro: Her lightning powers accompany her hammy moments. Although they aren't solely for show; on her very first appearance, she knocks out a few pegasus guards with lightning bolts.
157* PunnyName:
158** Night''mare'' Moon. Oddly enough, the word "nightmare" is etymologically derived from "mare", as the original word meant both "terror", "horses", and "doom", and was associated with mythological beasts which trampled people as they were sleeping. As such, it's not really a pun.
159** She went [[AxCrazy mad]] from jealousy and The Mare of the Moon was a lunatic.
160** Also her change of name. ''Luna'' is Latin (and Spanish) for "moon".
161** The dark areas or "seas" of our moon are all named "Mare something-or-other". It's too bad they're not pronounced the same[[note]]"mare" is Latin for "sea" and is pronounced "mah-ray"[[/note]].
162* RepressiveButEfficient: In ''The Cutie Re-Mark'', the BadFuture in which Nightmare Moon succeeded in taking over Equestria has her running the kingdom as a functional society, unlike all the other villains' futures. She's also notably the only one to have members of the Mane Six ''willingly'' helping her.
163* TheResenter: She's jealous of her sister gaining attention from everypony since they're awake to see the sun rise, but not when she raises the moon.
164* {{Retcanon}}: Given she was originally defeated before doing anything worse than briefly KO Princess Celestia, it's nigh-impossible to rationalize [[TheDreaded Nightmare Moon's infamy]] and [[GuiltComplex Princess Luna's guilt]] demonstrated in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E13DoPrincessesDreamOfMagicSheep Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?]]" unless one accepts Nightmare Moon's actions in the comics as canon.
165* SanitySlippage: In the BadFuture where she won in "The Cutie Remark", she's noticeably more manic, with a constant bug-eyed expression.
166* SealedEvilInACan: She was sealed in the Moon for a thousand years as "The Mare in the Moon".
167* SelfDuplication: Combined with VoluntaryShapeshifting. Nightmare Moon transforms into a fictional trio called the Shadowbolts based on Rainbow Dash's idols, the Wonderbolts, in order to distract her from helping her friends. However, only the female member speaks (in Nightmare Moon's voice), so it is also possible that the two male members are non-sentient dummies or she couldn't make a convincing ''male'' voice for them.
168* ShadowArchetype: According to Jim Miller, she's literally this for Luna: her psychological shadow that eventually overtook her as its own personality.
169* ShockAndAwe: She uses lightning to escape the Summer Sun Celebration in the second episode.
170* ShoutOut: To [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]]. "STAND BACK, YOU FOALS! [[EvilLaugh BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHA!]]"
171* SpellMyNameWithAnS: "Nightmare Moon" has been used by Hasbro and its toy line, by the trading cards, by Creator/TheHub, by [=WeLoveFine=], and by Creator/LaurenFaust, while "Night Mare Moon" has been used by Hasbro, by at least one episode synopsis, by Creator/LaurenFaust, and partially by the single-volume [[{{Novelization}} storybook adaptation]] of the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon pilot]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony episodes]].
172* SplitPersonality: Jim Miller describes her as being a separate personality born from Luna's repressed feelings and resentment, implying this trope.
173* StarterVillain: The first villain in the series, and only lasted long enough to [[FireForgedFriends establish the friendships]], and show their abilities and personalities, which the series would build on.
174* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: It was initially stated by [[invoked]]WordOfGod confirms that ponies couldn't grow food without sunlight, which would ultimately kill off everything. Season 5 averts this, as the alternate timeline where she rules is doing perfectly well even after several years of her reign, so presumably she found a workaround.
175* SuperpoweredEvilSide: A literal case in the comics, as Nightmare Moon was born from evil magic taking over Luna. In both continuities, Nightmare Moon is larger, more powerful, and eviller than Luna.
176* SuperSmoke: Can transform into smoke to move more rapidly and then reform.
177* ThatManIsDead: During their first confrontation, Celestia begs "Luna" to stop her rampage and lower the moon. Her sister responds with: "Luna? I am Nightmare Moon!"
178* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: According to Lauren Faust, this is what Nightmare Moon's eternal night would have resulted in. Confirmed in the IDW comics as the goal of the Nightmare Forces.
179* TragicMonster: Whether Luna [[AndIMustScream was trapped, hapless in Nightmare Moon]], or [[MoreThanMindControl to some degree complicit with her]], Luna was aware enough of her wrongdoings that she developed a major guilt complex once freed. Also this to Celestia, as the fight against her was one of the [[NotSoStoic only two times in the show she was reduced to tears]].
180* TranquilFury: Has a brief moment of this during her confrontation with Celestia, [[MenacingStroll striding calmly]] out of a cloud of smoke with sinister background music playing.
181* UnflinchingWalk: In "The Cutie Remark, Part 2" she casually strolls through the Everfree forest, blasting [[{{Planimal}} timberwolves]] with her magic and carrying a chained-up Spike behind her, all without breaking stride for even a moment.
182* UsedToBeASweetKid: Could you believe someone as insane as she is used to be [[NiceGirl sweet]], [[SociallyAwkwardHero socially awkward]] Princess Luna?
183* VillainousLegacy: Nightmare Moon frequently acts as this for stories focusing on Princess Luna, since Luna is constantly trying to redeem herself for her past actions. For example, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E4LunaEclipsed Luna Eclipsed]]" has Luna trying to overcome her bad publicity and the shadow of her evil counterpart.
184* VillainousPrincess: As a result of being Princess Luna's evil counterpart.
185* VocalEvolution: Her voice is deeper and more sinister in the pilot than in her later appearances, which have her speaking nearly the same as the restored Princess Luna.
186* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Takes on several different forms throughout the episode, including a thorn to enrage a Manticore and the Shadowbolts to tempt Rainbow Dash.
187* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: She was born from the jealousy and resentment Luna felt towards Celestia for their subjects loving her day and shunning the night, and deep down she still wants to be seen as her sister's equal and receive the same love and devotion she got. This is highlighted in the ''Deviations'' comic; when the cast says [[RoyalBrat Prince Blueblood]] is almost as bad as her, Nightmare Moon is horrified and protests she just wants them to appreciate her and her night. She essentially talks herself down into being Luna again as the Mane Five reassure her they ''do'' love her night, and maybe it's not too late to make up with Celestia, either.
188* YouDontLookLikeYou: Her official toy is relatively show-accurate, but she's given a purple mane. Justified, as a mane made of ''stars'' is pretty hard to translate into a RealLife sharable format.
189[[/folder]]
190
191[[folder:Discord]]
192See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]]
193[[/folder]]
194
195[[folder:Queen Chrysalis]]
196See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicQueenChrysalis Queen Chrysalis]]
197[[/folder]]
198
199[[folder:King Sombra]]
200See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicKingSombra King Sombra]]
201[[/folder]]
202
203[[folder:Sunset Shimmer]]
204See [[Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsSunsetShimmer Sunset Shimmer]]
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Lord Tirek]]
208See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicLordTirek Lord Tirek]]
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:Adagio Dazzle]]
212See Characters/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsVillains (Specifically, the folder marked "The Dazzlings (The Sirens)")
213[[/folder]]
214
215[[folder:Starlight Glimmer]]
216See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]]
217[[/folder]]
218
219[[folder:The Pony of Shadows]]
220See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]]
221[[/folder]]
222
223[[folder:The Storm King]]
224See Characters/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 (Specifically, the folder marked "The Storm King")
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Chancellor Neighsay]]
228See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed Redeemed Antagonists]]
229[[/folder]]
230
231[[folder:Cozy Glow]]
232See [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicCozyGlow Cozy Glow]]
233[[/folder]]
234
235!!Non-Arc Villains
236
237[[folder:Ahuizotl]]
238See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed
239[[/folder]]
240
241[[folder:Dr. Caballeron]]
242See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRedeemed
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:The Mane-iac]]
246See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers
247[[/folder]]
248
249[[folder:The Tantabus]]
250See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDangerousCreatures
251[[/folder]]
252
253[[folder:Daybreaker]]
254For the ''dream'' version of Daybreaker; see Characters/FriendshipIsMagicOthers.
255
256For the ''Alternate'' version of Daybreaker; see Characters/FriendshipIsMagicExpandedUniverse.
257[[/folder]]
258
259[[folder:Mean Twilight]]
260See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicJerksAndBullies (Specifically, the folder marked "The Mean Six")
261[[/folder]]
262
263[[folder:Grogar]]
264See Characters/FriendshipIsMagicHistoricalFigures
265[[/folder]]

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