me: m-my goddess..no..LIER LIER LIER LIER LIER LIER LIER LIER LIER LIER YOU LIED TO ME YOU SAID YOU CAME BACK! TRAITOR! FAKER! :eyes glow red and so does twilights: DESTROY HER!

@Beau Skunky  
Good point. There is still a lot to think about.

@Beau Skunky  
That’s not the only thing they’re divided by.

@SuperSonic15  
Fans are still pretty divided over their portrayal in the comic canon though.

@Background Pony #DB9C  
Yeah, same here.
 
@Beau Skunky  
Maybe there’s more to them than we thought, but we’ll only see it in the comics and not the show itself.

@Background Pony #DB9C  
Really? Didn’t see that coming.
 
Now, all the people here bashing the story for “cheaply bringing back Nightmare Moon” and such are ironic. Celestia & Luna are quite clever.

@SuperSonic15  
I blame time constraints.

@Background Pony #DB9C  
Too bad we don’t see how she plans it out once cured by the rain carrying the antidote. It just jumps from Rainbow spreading it over Ponyville to Luna busting into Twilight’s castle as Nightmare to get close to Twilight and Rarity to give them the cure herself.

So it was a disguise.  
Clever Luna. Clever like a fox.

roll credits

@Background Pony #8CCC  
Yeah, I’ll consider that being the reason, but I still feel they could of at least shown her being cured, then setting up her ruse for dealing with Twilight and Rarity.

@SuperSonic15  

 
They probably would not have shown Luna to bathe with the cure to keep the plot twist of her healing and make us momentarily believe that there was really an evil alliance between Nightmare Moon, Evil Twilight, and Evil Rarity.

@soundtea  
Oh lovely. I’m sure they’re gonna forget that Mayor Mare isn’t a criminal too.

@soundtea  
That’s what I’m guessing it’s going to reference as well.

@SuperSonic15  
IDW in general loves to have ultra rushed conclusions. And the next main series is election with Filthy Rich vs Mayor Mare.
 
You just know they’re going to make it Trump vs Hillary in pony form.

Now that I’ve read the comic myself, I understand this page.
 
Apparently, before Nightmare Moon could reach the Castle of Friendship, she got hit with the storm loaded with the cure by Rainbow Dash, reverting her back into Princess Luna who, relived that she was back to normal after what she just pulled while as Nightmare, knew the only way to get close to Twilight and Rarity to give them the cure was to appeal to their corrupted minds as Nightmare. Thus, using a glamour spell to disguise herself as Nightmare Moon, Luna entered the castle, offered to split Equestria between them, then offer a toast to their newfound alliance.
 
Rarity falls for it easily, but Twilight, having increased her knowledge, sees through Luna’s ruse and exposes her, leaving it up to Pinkie to revert Twilight with the old water-bucket-above-the-door trick as Luna probably thought ahead and had Pinkie set it up should her Nightmare Moon ruse backfire.
 
I do wish we had seen Nightmare get hit with the cure rain and change back into Luna, sort things out with the cured Mane Six, Zecora, Spike, and the Crusaders, then disguise herself as Nightmare to get into the castle to get close to Twilight and Rarity. I know that would have taken an extra page or two to add into the comic, but it would clear up a nice plot hole compared to Twilight simply seeing through it herself and telling us, the readers, what happened instead. Rushed much?

@Ardashir  
She needs to come here

Celestia’s plan actually almost worked?!?!
 
I love how THIS is apparently the most shocking thing of the entire comic. XD

I’ll also say that this does explain why Nighty was so willing to ‘share’ Equestria a page earlier when the real NMM would have crushed these foals beneath her iron hooves.

Celestia Help her

Pretty good! Okay, I would’ve liked seeing Nightmare Moon fight it out with Evil!Twilight, but no sense being greedy.

“That you spiked these drinks with that cure?”  

@Legioner8  
no, it is a hole in the mask

Rarity has a thumb?