This story is a sequel to "Let's go, Shadowbolts!"
Contains spoilers for "Friendship games"
Being an admirer of the classic arts, Sunny Flare loves the theatre. She has actually written quite a respectable amount of plays herself, aiming to be just as good as the greatest of their times. But no matter how brilliant and deep the hobbyist writer thinks her scripts are, the theatre group of Crystal Prep Academy refuses to play them. When an opportunity to actually perform and direct one of her works pops up Sunny is more than eager to take it. But as she tries to bring her vision onto the stage, she is not only confronted with the difficulties of transmitting that vision to the other Shadowbolts - but also with the flaws in her own script.
Chapters (7)
How much do you want to bet that Cinch is doing this just to discourage any attempts at friendship at CPA?
Another excellent chapter, and an evil way to end it. XD
You just had to make the play about the history of Equestria, didn't you? Oh well, still a good story so far.
lol Knew the first go would fail horribly. Though honestly, I think Sour did well with her role. XD
Oh, and one slight complaint. Though one of the top students, Sugarcoat isn't the smartest in school, so doubt she'd have memorized all the lines. Case in point with how quickly she lost the spelling bee part. HOWEVER, considering what's in the chapter? The mistakes were painfully obvious, so not a problem. XD
6674894 Not a very creative idea, true, but I found it funny (plus I couldn't think of anything better
)
6675541 She is actually reading everything from the script. Maybe I should have made that more clear, but I didn't want to write behind every of her lines "she read from script"
6676228 True enough.
Well, this just took a turn.
More please!
Methinks Sunny Flare gave them the wrong roles. Methinks also this is going to end in a similar way to 'Suited for Success'. (Or was it something else?)
There are two things that jump to my mind from this opening:
1) Cinch is a masterful psychological warrior; the way she manipulates Sunny by pretending to ignore her at first is a classic strategem in that field;
2) Sunny is probably in for a sharp learning curve... and the age-old truth from the arts that the real-world never matches the vision.
Wait a minute... The play is Celly and Lulu's battles against Sombra and Discord...? Suddenly, requesting Sunset Shimmer's input in the design of props sounds like a good idea.
Man! The Shadowbolts are such hams! Getting them to perform the play instead of what's rattling around in their skulls is going to be difficult! I'm guessing that poor Sunny is going to age about thirty years before opening night!
Artistic temperament! No, seriously, Sunny is right to be upset but so are the other girls. This rehearsal has been a disaster from the start and they really need to try again.
Asking Sugarcoat to beta-read the script might be a good idea too.
Oh dear. She's got a plan.
.... This aught to be good.:D
Knowing how these types of scenarios end, this could go either way.
Can't wait for more. Keep it up.
I liked it. Can we hope for a story for each girl?
6682061 I don't want to promise too much, but that's the plan, yes.
'Sorry' clearly being an unfamiliar word in inter-student discourse in Crystal Prep!
The number of students studying in the theatre is... alarming. I'm still waiting for the list of nervous breakdowns to start ramping up so that Cinch has to explain to the Board of Trustees why the children of so many nice, fee-paying parents are suddenly ending up in hospital after stress-induced breakdowns.
lol Cute way to end it. With the actor feeling confused.
And I just love how you write Sour Sweet. XD
But…what was the play they ultimately put on?
Looks like Sunny Flare's the Element of Laughter. I'm okay with this.
Meanwhile, in the suburbs, in a shop named 'Sugarcube Corner', one Diane 'Pinkie' Pie briefly levitated off of the ground and shone with pink light. Because she always knew when a moment of true laughter was born.
Yeah, sometimes riotous comedy works (and it should be noted that it's likely that Shakespear's plays probably would have been originally presented in a similar way).
Future Scene:
LEMON ZEST walks on stage wearing a string of plastic tug-boats around her neck like a bizarre necklace.
LEMON: "Never before was there a tale of such woe! Than that of Othello and his Desdimono!" (('Stabs' herself with a tugboat)) "Oh Dezzie!" ((Falls over 'dead'))
SOUR SWEET: "Lemon, honey? What the heck are you supposed to be?!?"
LEMON: "I'm playin' Othello, okay?"
BEAT as the other four look at each other in puzzlement. Then SUGARCOAT slaps her forehead.
SUGARCOAT: "She's playing the 'Moor' of Venice."
(Cheap Shakespeare joke (c) The Reduced Shakespeare Company)
Great job. I look forward to reading more from you.
And we have Sunny writing her first friendship report!
Very eager to see the follow-ups.:D
YES! This was the BEST ShadowBolts story I have EVER read so far! I absolutely loved how you executed each character, you really brought out each of their personalities. I can't even name a favorite in this story, they were all so perfect! I was laughing so much, too, ESPECIALLY during the practice and the actual play! And this wasn't the silly story I expected it to be when I read the summary and the first paragraph or so of the story. It was extremely well written, well detailed, and like I said before, everyone was SO well characterized. Even Cinch and Cadence! And the students at CPA are just what you'd expect them to be. Short and sweet, yet so well written. Goes to show how not all good stories are just long novels. I can go in for PAGES about how great this story is. Best story I have read on FiM fiction yet! And yes, I'm no critic, or expert for that matter, but GOD do I love this!!!
So yes, I give you a 20 out of 10. Congrats, my friend, you just earned yourself a follower :)
6692728 Aw, you're flattering me
Thank you very much!
6690481 I didn't think of it while writing the story, but a few of Shakespear's plays actually have a setup or contain side-story about actors performing a play.
I'm afraid though I don't really get your joke
And since I'm a nitpicker: Who is Lemon Zap? ;)
6694932 No problem! You deserve it! Oh, and to answer your question, Lemon Zap is the ship name for Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap
Why I have the feeling that if Equestria's Celestia and Luna watch such play by the Shadowbolts, they would literally roll in the floor laughing?
I'm thinking of the fixed smile of faux approval on Cinch's face as she watches Sunny get the 'Outstanding New Talent in Comedy (age 14-18)' award. Then she says a few modest words about Crystal Prep 'encouraging and nurturing the full breadth of artistic talent' all the while, inside, raging and vein-popping. I suspect that she's going to end up naming her first ulcer 'Shadowbolt' after the girls.
6694932
It's a play on words. Othello was the Moor of Venice - A Moor being a North-West African, especially from Morocco and Western Sahara. However, 'moor' is also a verb: the act of tying a boat to a wharf or jetty so it doesn't drift away.
The joke (from the RSC's "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)") is that the actor is so dumb, he (for it is a guy in the show) that he sees 'Moor of Venice', remembers a picture he saw once of a Venetian gondola and immediately assumed that the play was something about boats. He then just skims a one-screen-length Wikipedia summary of the plot of the play and bases his performance on that.
6697705 Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh.
...a really cheap joke XD But thanks for clearing it up.
Somehow, missed the alert when this chapter was put out. Glad I noticed in hindsight. This was a hilarious chapter.:D And a very heartwarming one as well.^^
6698731 Wasn't it confusing to read the ending first then? I mean this is kind of the most important chapter.
And thanks, it was what I aimed for.
This is super duper amazing so far!
I love what you've done with Sunny's character.
This line doesn't flow right.
You could change it to "I got a ticket for it weeks ago" or "I've been trying to get a ticket for weeks!"
6704187 I've changed it into "I got...". Thanks for pointing it out :)
That was so meta!
Great job!
I just want to know one thing, who is she trying to scam? Like what's the goal here? Cause no one just writes a play!
Should've expected that.+
Even worse.
Got a calculator? If so, ask it.
You bsessed motherbucker.
Oh she's milking this for all it's worth.
I missed this one somehow back when it came out,
s6.postimg.org/5pzpmopep/Pirate_Approved2.jpg
Cinch shall have her revenge. The shadow bolts are all doomed
I have a feeling I'm going to really like this story. I was part of my school Drama Club for my junior and senior year, and it was a blast. I like plays and musicals so I can really feel Sunny's delight at getting the chance to direct her own play for a crowd to see.
I can answer that for you, my dear Sunny. To the Shadowbolt Five!
Gee, Sunny's play sounds familiar. I wonder why.
The first run through is always the roughest, and I could feel the awkwardness of everything as I read, so good job on that. All the girls were gold here.
Ouch, girls, you might want to apologize to Sunny. I remember how serious my director got when we didn't do things right or were goofing around. A play is not something to be taken lightly.
It's pretty understandable Sunny would snap so easily like she did. Her play was picked up on short notice, they only have a little time to rehearse and coordinate everything, and she'd have to make major cuts if she was going to fit it into a fifteen minute prelude.
Thatta girl, Sunny! Way to rebound!
Learning something you wrote isn't as great as you originally thought is a lesson I'm learning in a class I'm taking right now. You might think it's good, but others might not and there are some people that will just rip it to pieces, finding every little nitpick. On the flip side, you get a lot of good critical feedback that you can use to better your skills.
I can't wait to see what Sunny has in mind.