This image always somehow manages to spark my imagination. This just tells so many possible stories.
 
A lot of people immediately think of her as trying to take Equestria by ruling over the humans. But for me I always think something else.
 
This makes me think of some alternate universe, where after Nightmare Moon’s defeat by Twilight she lived on. Maybe in an entirely new body, maybe Luna was never restored. But she lived.
 
And maybe before or after meeting humans, she learns her own friendship lesson and chances her philosophy. Maybe ponykind is extinct and humans rule. Maybe they co-exist in different nations. But she decided to ally to the humans, and that is her way of making up for her past mistakes.
 
But I don’t know, might seem kinda dumb. It just always sorta pops into my head when I see this. Easily one of my favorite images on Derpibooru.

happy ten years Moe

this is so cool!

“If Her Ladyship permitted us to use proper siege artillery like cannon, this battle would have ended days ago!”
 
“I have told you foals – I wish to rule Canterlot, not destroy it!”

@Hubba  
That’s some good stuff right there.

@Ardashir  
Then after much struggle they realize that NNM is much too powerful to be conquered by friendship alone. Twilight, having been persuaded to join the Sol Invictus cult research Equestria’s ancient history and stumble upon rumors of the mercenaries who won the War of Nightmares on the Moon’s account. So it was, in the year of Lord 2642, that contact was re-established between two disparate people, each of whom having believed the other to be the stuff of mere legend and old mares’ tales. Now the dreadnoughts of the Terran Hegemony hang in the skies above the Midnight Spire, will they usher in a new age of prosperety and unity, or will these two cultures clash to the ruin of all?

@Antonyourknee  
Thanks. It’s just an idea that keeps bugging me, I may have to write that one into a story.

@Ardashir  
That sounds incredibly awesome.

@Vlakc  
No, you are not. I’d love to see a story where when Nighty rebels, she opens a dimensional gate to 16th century Europe and brings in German landsknecht and reiters, stradiots, Italian condottieri arquebusiers and elmeti, and Swiss pikes. They conquer Equestria for her and then a 1000 years later her apprentice Twilight Sparkle gets sent off with their descendants to investigate rumors of rebellion and a Cult of the Unconquered Sun in the little barony of Ponyville…

@Background Pony #F3C9  
I thought that someone was trying to sneak them into her presence in the hope that they will activate and imprison her. Would have been funny.

To explain:it appears that nightmare moon has somehow gained leadership of some sort of militant human organization in equestria,apparently invaded it with them and is building some sort of new capital to rival canterlot with the help of human engineers ,after somehow capturing the elements of harmony

It would be intriguing.

I’m not a big fan of HiE fics but the idea has potential.

Am I the only one who find the idea of medieval/renaissance soldiers in equestria to be very entertaining for a fanfic?