So I went looking for a post I made earlier today, then I realized I put it in the wrong season 7 thread. I hope no one will mind if I re-post it here as well, since I can’t delete it from the other one.
I’ve been thinking a bit about Celestia recently.
Specifically I find myself wondering where her dark side doppelganger, Daybreaker, comes from. One would think it is perhaps a byproduct of Starlight’s dream. After all, thanks to Twilight, the consequences of a falling out between the two sisters is at the forefront of Starlight’s mind. Yet while it makes sense that her dreaming mind would, as a result of that combination of stress and fear of what might transpire, resurrect the villainous form Luna once took, I can’t help but think that there are some oddities if Daybreaker is supposed to be her creation as well. After all, Celestia has no prior history of villainy, and given that she banished her sister once before for doing so, it seems odd to think that any of her subjects (even Starlight) would think Celestia could suddenly turn evil as well. And then there is Celestia’s reaction. I’m willing to admit I could be reading too much into the animation, but I can’t help but think it looks less like someone being startled, and more like she knows what is speaking to her.
All of which makes me think that maybe that particular bad dream isn’t Starlight’s at all, but Celestia’s herself.
It becomes more intriguing when you consider the circumstances under which Daybreaker is revealed. She appears mere seconds after Celestia shows up to fight the dream version of Nightmare Moon.
Princess Celestia: “Don’t worry, Starlight. I know how to handle Nightmare Moon.”
Daybreaker: “Yes! But can you handle… me?!”
And then there is the dialogue between her and Celestia which sounds less like someone addressing a nonexistant entity and more like the inner monolgue of someone with some deeply troubling issues.
Princess Celestia: “This can’t be!”
Daybreaker: “If Luna can turn into Nightmare Moon, you can absolutely turn into me — Daybreaker! The better, prettier, and more powerful version of you!”
Princess Celestia: “No! I’ll never turn into you!”
Daybreaker: “Deep inside, you know how powerful you are. You don’t need Luna.”
Princess Celestia: “That’s not true! Even when we were apart, I knew I needed her!”
Daybreaker: “Oh, please! You don’t need anypony! You can do whatever you want. And all you have to do is get rid of anypony who stands in your way!”
And of course there is the fact that all of this is all happening in the dream realm. A place where Luna once created a literal nightmare to manifest and force her to confront the guilt she still carried.
Princess Luna: “I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night… to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon!”
Given that such a thing is possible, and that the dream world seems responsive to such things, it seems more and more possible that Daybreaker is a manifestation of something Celestia fears.
The thing I find most interesting about this possibility, however, is that it explains something about Princess Celestia. The fact that Daybreaker shows up when Celestia moves to once again defeat her sister makes me wonder if she had those thoughts the first time she was forced to banish Luna. If true it would explain the recurrence here, as facing Nightmare Moon again would likely bring such things back to her mind. Also, it would make sense for her to have had thoughts like that back then. At the time she defeated a threat to Equestria and the only pony who could possibly have been her equal in one fell blow. Did she, in the time after, come to the same realizations that her nightmare self voices? Was there a brief moment when she realized that she was without peer, and that there was nothing to stop her from doing literally anything she decided to do? If so, it offers a radically different perspective on why Celestia seldom if ever engages in conflicts where she could likely easily defeat the foe. Having witnessed her sister succumb to uncontrolled envy and desire to have her night loved as much as the day, Celestia might actually be afraid that if she ever fully embraces the immense power at her disposal, even for good, she too will fall.
Admittedly all this is probably a bit close to crazy headcanon territory, but at the same time it would answer a number of questions that have existed for several seasons now. It might even explain something as mundane as why she, a 1000+ year ruler of her country, teaches students, makes the more powerful ponies her proteges, and encourages those in her charge to find friendship. Half as a way to avoid having to face the tempting call of immeasurable power, and half as a way to ensure there will be someone there to stop her if she ever does.
