Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Act II
SCENE 1- A room in RAINBOW DASH's castle
Enter TWILIGHT SPARKLE and DAYLIGHT
TWI. How's your night going, buddy?
DAY. Pretty good.
TWI. I'm glad.
DAY. What time is it, mommy?
TWI. Let's take a minute to figure it out, sweetie. The moon is up, right?
DAY. Right.
TWI. And the bell hasn't rung yet.
DAY. Right. It rings again at midnight, so it must be a bit before then.
TWI. What a smart boy! [TWILIGHT kisses DAYLIGHT on the top of the head] Hmm... the stars aren't shining tonight. Do you know why?
DAY. Why?
TWI. Because they'd run out of star juice if they tried to shine every night!
DAY. Mommy, you're silly! There's no such thing as star juice!
TWI. There most certainly is!
DAY. No there isn't.
TWI. Ugh... Mommy's too tired to keep arguing with you. She tried to get some sleep, but she couldn't.
DAY. Why not?
TWI. Just a nightmare. No big deal. Shhh... someone's coming. [shouting] Who is it?!
Enter RAINBOW DASH and a servant with a flashlight.
RAIN. Gosh, Twi, it's just me.
TWI. Why aren't you asleep? The queen is. You know, she was in a really good mood tonight. Oh! Before I forget, she gave me this watch to give to Nightsong. [pulls out a gift-wrapped box and gives it to RAINBOW] She felt bad about having him prepare such a big place for so many people on such short notice. He really is such a great stallion.
RAIN. Yeah, we would have loved to have the place perfect for you guys, but we didn't have much time.
TWI. [to DAYLIGHT] Honey, do you want to go over and look at my sword for a minute while the grown ups talk?
DAY. Sure! [TWILIGHT gives DAYLIGHT her sword from her sheath and he trots off with it]
TWI. I keep having dreams about the spirits. I guess they told you some truth, huh?
RAIN. Yeah. I think we should talk about that if you ever have an hour to sit down with me.
TWI. Of course.
RAIN. I was just thinking... if you ever came into a position where you had to back me up, your loyalty would be rewarded.
TWI. I'm not sure I know what you mean, but I'll support you in anything reasonable.
RAIN. Anyway... good night.
TWI. The same to you. [Exit TWILIGHT and DAYLIGHT]
RAIN. [to servant] Go tell my husband to ring the bell when he's ready for me. After that, go to bed! It's really late. [Exit servant]
[RAINBOW suddenly becomes fixated on an invisible point in the room. She walks around it, waves her hoof through it, jumps at it, tries to attack it, and generally looks as if she is trying to decide whether the object of her fixation is real.]
Are you really a dagger? Come on, beautiful, let mama grab you. Oh, you're tricky! I can't grasp you, but I can see you! You can't be real. I must have spent too much time in the sun. Oh, but you're as real as the dagger at my waist. You look like it, anyway. Now you have blood on you? I call foul. This has got to be fake. There's no such thing. I'm just being chicken, that's all. You know what, you stupid spirits who create this illusion? Forget you. I'm Rainbow Dash! You can't scare me off that easy!
[A bell rings.]
The bell is my invitation. Please don't hear it, Celestia. It's calling you to either salvation or damnation. [Exit RAINBOW]
SCENE 2- A large room in the castle with a big sink in it
Enter NIGHTSONG
NI. The drink that made them drunk makes me bold! What quenched their thirsts filled me with fire. What was that? Oh, it was the owl. The owl is the little fellow who yells out goodnight to those who are down for the count. Bad for Celestia, good for me.
RAIN. [from another room] Who is it? Wait, what?
NI. Ugh! Now I'm scared she didn't do it. What's wrong with her? I laid out the daggers where I said I would. I mean, I would have done it myself, for crying out loud, if Celestia didn't look a bit like my mother when she sleeps.--Rainbow Dash, you're back!
Enter RAINBOW DASH
RAIN. It's done. Did you just hear something?
NI. Nothing but the crickets crying and the owls screeching. Didn't you say something?
RAIN. When?
NI. Now.
RAIN. Just now?
NI. What other now is there, moron?
RAIN. Whatever. Do you know who's in the second room down that way?
NI. Just Cadence.
RAIN. Oh, my hooves! Just look at them!
NI. Oh, would you shut up about your hooves? What about Cadence?
RAIN. As I was coming here, I thought I heard her talking in her sleep. She cried "Murder!" so loud she woke her waiting maid up, and the two of them said their prayers and went back to sleep.
NI. So what?
RAIN. Well, when they said "Amen," I tried to say it too, but I couldn't. It got stuck in my throat! Oh, Nightsong, I'm going to Hell! [RAINBOW bursts into tears]
NI. Come on now, don't cry.
RAIN. But why couldn't I say it? After that, I thought I heard a voice say "Sleep no more! Rainbow Dash kills the sleep of the innocent!"
NI. What are you talking about?
RAIN. It said "Sleep no more! The general kills in your sleep! The Second in Command kills in your sleep, so sleep no more! Rainbow Dash shall sleep no more!" The whole house must have heard it!
NI. Sweetheart, who would have said that? You undermine your strength by thinking so insanely about things. [leading RAINBOW to the sink and turning it on] Let's get a little water going here, shall we? Maybe you'll feel a little better. [seeing that RAINBOW DASH still has two daggers] Why did you bring these daggers? Didn't we agree that you were going to hide these with the chambermaids? I bet you didn't smear Celestia's blood on them either! Get back there and finish the job!
RAIN. No. I will not. I can't look at Celestia again. I won't.
NI. You big baby! Give me the daggers. Only a little filly doesn't understand that the difference between the dead and sleeping is painted by the fears of childhood.
[Exit NIGHTSONG. Knocking from further inside the castle.]
RAIN. What was that? Ugh, what is wrong with me? Every noise is terrifying. [staring at her hooves] I bet all the water in the world couldn't wash these hooves clean. If I tried to wash my hooves in the ocean, I bet they would turn the blue water red.
Re-enter NIGHTSONG
NI. My hooves are the same color as yours, but I would die of embarrassment if my heart was as pale as yours is. [Knocking again] More knocking? Rinse off your hooves quick! We have to get back to bed before anyone can know we're up.
RAIN. I've never been more ashamed of myself. [Knocking] You're gonna wake the dead with that knocking! Actually, I wish you could. [Exit both]
SCENE 3- A hallway in the castle
Enter a porter, BERRY PUNCH. Knocking within. She begins to stagger drunkenly down the hallway towards the door.
BER. Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Don't you people ever get tired of coming and going? Heh, I wonder what it must be like to be the devil's porter. Knock, knock, knock. Who's there, in the name of the- ah, what's his name? Oh, yeah. Who's there in the name of the devil? Here's a farmer who stored more crops than he needed and starved his village. Come on in, and bring a sweatband- it's hot in here. [knocking] Knock, knock! Who's there in the devil's name? Oh, it's a smooth talker who couldn't sweet talk his way outta here. Welcome! You can roast your goose here, if you know what I mean. [knocking] Sheesh! You guys sure are persistent! Never a moment's rest. Eh, I'm tired of being the devil's porter. [knocking] Seriously?! I never get any thanks anyway. Nopony remembers the porter. [Opens door]
Enter LYRA, carrying a COLT, and BON BON, holding the hoof of a FILLY. LYRA sets the COLT down, and BON BON, COLT, and FILLY walk ahead a bit. LYRA stays behind to scold the porter.
LYRA: Did you really go to bed late enough that you couldn't possibly have taken less than twenty minutes to answer the door?
BER. Well, your ladyship, I was drinking until two o'clock. As you know, booze is a provoker of three things.
LYRA. Do I even want to know?
BER. Booze provokes sleep, piss, and, as my grandma used to call it, lechery. The third one is the trickiest. You see, drink kinda, you know, makes you want to, but makes performance pretty... meh. Am I right?
LYRA. I can't say, but I can say that you are hung over. What kind of staff does Rainbow Dash keep around here? Have you seen your boss anywhere?
Enter RAINBOW DASH over by BON BON and the children. LYRA walks to them.
BON. How are you, noble lady?
RAIN. I'm great. Good morning to both of you!
LYRA. Is the queen up yet?
RAIN. Not yet.
LYRA. She told me to wake her up this morning. I almost forgot. That would have been bad.
RAIN. I'll take you to her.
LYRA. You're so sweet. Sorry if I woke you up.
RAIN. Ah, no sweat. Here's the door to her room.
LYRA. I've got this. It's not a big job, and it's the least I can do for my queen. [Exit LYRA]
BON. Is Celestia leaving today?
RAIN. Yes. Erm, she said she was.
BON. What a night, huh? At our place the wind was so strong it blew some chimneys down! The gusts sounded like cries of death or something.
FILLY. There was an earthquake too! I keep trying to tell everypony there was an earthquake, but nopony believes me.
RAIN. Well, it was a rough night.
COLT. I know I'm not very old, but I can't remember a night like it.
Re-enter LYRA
LYRA. Oh, my... I feel sick! It's terrible! Words can't describe the horror I've seen!
RAIN. What is it?
BON. What's wrong, Lyra?
LYRA. It's more evil than every work of Discord combined! A killer has broken in and stolen the most precious item in the house, the life of our Celestia!
BON. You can't be serious!
RAIN. Wait, what?
LYRA. I'd rather stare at a billion cockatrices than go back in. Don't ask me to say anything else. Just go in and see for yourself. [Exit RAINBOW]
[BON BON gathers the children and takes them away]
Ring the alarm bells! Murder and treason! Twilight and Cadence! Luna! Wake up!
[alarm bells ring]
Enter NIGHTSONG
NI. What's wrong? What's up with that horrible alarm? Come on, speak!
LYRA. Oh, Nightsong, you're too gentle a soul to hear this terrible news.
NI. [aside] Oh, really?
Enter TWILIGHT SPARKLE
LYRA. Twilight, Twilight! Celestia's dead.
NI. Woe, alas.
TWI. Please, Lyra, tell me this is all some sick joke!
LYRA. I wish it was.
Re-enter RAINBOW DASH
RAIN. If I had died an hour earlier, my life would have been perfectly happy. From now on, I can't view any thing the same. How could someone find it in themselves to hurt a wonderful mare like Celestia?
Enter LUNA and CADENCE
CAD. What's wrong?
RAIN. Your family, and you don't even know it yet. Your sister is dead.
LYRA. She's been murdered.
LUNA. By whom?
LYRA. Her chambermaids. They were covered in blood, and so were their daggers. The bloody weapons were under their pillows.
RAIN. Even so, I feel bad that I killed them.
NI. What?!
LYRA. Why did you do that?!
RAIN. Okay, well I'm sorry that I loved my queen enough to lose my self control when I saw her corpse covered in stab wounds.
NI. You know what, I think I'm going to be sick. The room's spinning. Who turned out the lights! Someone catch me! [NIGHTSONG "collapses" onto the ground, knocking over a shelf on the wall. LYRA and TWILIGHT rush to help him. Servants carry help carry NIGHTSONG out]
TWI. How about we all take a few minutes to straighten out our thoughts and then meet in the hall? [Exit all but LUNA and CADENCE]
LUNA. What shall we do? Let's not meet with them. One of them has to be the culprit, and disgusting displays of grief are something the traitorous pony does easy. I'll go to Zebrica; they have always welcomed our family.
CAD. You're totally right. Someone around here is after the monarchy, and you and I are next in line. Besides, if they don't find the killer, they'll assume you and I assassinated our sister to take her place. I'll go to Griffonia as soon as possible. I can't help feeling like there are daggers in mare's smiles here.
LUNA. Let's not be dainty and slow in our leaving, but shift away. The quicker we are, the safer we are. [Exit both]
SCENE 4- A room in the castle. Enter LYRA and SCOOTALOO.
SCO. How's it going?
LYRA. Well... you know how it's going.
SCO. Yeah, I guess I just meant... do they know who did it?
LYRA. The pair Rainbow Dash killed.
SCO. Well, that's good, right?
LYRA. [silently stares at SCOOTALOO for a moment] Anyway, Luna and Cadence ran off, which makes it look like they had the maids kill Celestia. It's strange, though. Luna and Cadence always seemed to genuinely love their sister. Doesn't it seem a little far-fetched to say they killed her?
SCO. I don't know. Hey, doesn't that mean Rainbow Dash is going to be Queen of Equestria?
LYRA. She's already been named queen. She's being coronated in Manehattan tonight.
SCO. What'd they do with Celestia's body?
LYRA. She's in the royal tomb.
SCO. So I guess you're off to Manehattan.
LYRA. No, I'm going home.
SCO. Well, I'm going to Manehattan with or without you.
LYRA. Enjoy. [Exit]