//------------------------------// // The Decision // Story: Pictures in my Head // by Smashology //------------------------------// The sun rose, a new day had come, the day Rara would demonstrate her talent to the world and, therefore, leave her mark on the world. But she was not in the right mood to accept it. It looked like the coffee she drank yesterday had a negative effect on her because she couldn’t sleep the entire night. Her central retinal arteries were noticeable in her eyes and her pupils shrank to the minimal point. Totally sleepless, she didn’t notice the paparazzi and their cameras, the reckless ones even took away her trench coat and left her to her fate. She did nothing, just remain still. “If there’s something ponies love to see more than a celebrity is a celebrity in disgrace,” the voice came back. “Come on, wake up,” the voice encouraged her once more. “Get up on your feet,” Rara obeyed her and slowly, stood up from the bench and stretched her body. “That’s the ticket.” She was totally unrecognizable: her fatigued eyes, her disheveled and ruined mane, her hooves covered in mud, her body thinner than usual, her dress torn apart, her pale coat. She was in the last ones. Suddenly she was caught by surprise by a pony special to her. Special in the wrong way, a personal intruder. “Don’t give me that face Coloratura, you’re not dreaming. I’m actually here. Now everywhere you go everypony will know you’re not even a bit perfect.” Rara remained speechless, her heavy breathing was a sign of stress. The only thing she could do was turning around, continued her way back to the theater and left her behind but the intruder kept following her. All the ponies on the streets watched Rara and this time there was no dark to hide her appearance, they couldn’t look away her sight from her. The intruder was no other than the voice, who had taken the form of her older alter ego, the Countess, and slipped past the eyes of the public. “So, that Minuette bitch said to be ‘happy with the life you have chosen.’ Why did you trust a dentist instead of me in the first place? I was the reason everypony loved you, without me you’re nothing. If you had listened to me, we must prevail as the most important singers in all of Equestria and then the world, you were fabulous, your ponies loved you and you betrayed them! You changed them for a fucking monologue about your dull life that nopony cares about. Well, good for you. Fuck it! I’ll tell you what. We’ll make a comeback, they’re getting ready for something huge and we’ll give it to them. Brush that pathetic mane! Wash your face! Take off those rags! Get some surgery! Thirties are your new sweet sixteen, motherfucker! We were original Coloratura, they fell down to our hooves, you’ve done so much for these little miserable bastards, give the ponies what they want, some good old-fashioned apocalyptic porn. I even have the title: The Countess Rises. A billion worldwide guarantee! You saved these ponies from their boring, miserable lives. You gave those dreams and hopes to every spectator you encountered. You made them drowned in their spittle, shit their pants. All you have to do is listen to my words!” The Countess shocked Rara’s head sharply, her eyes went phosphorescent, her head exploded into a lights and color range and loud music came out of her ears. Soon, Manehattan was painted in neon colors, the sky was pink and tons of ponies were praising her image and repeating constantly ‘Ra-ra! Ra-ra!’ The singer, totally renovated, was located at the top of the highest building of the city and, sitting on a nearby corner, was the Countess wiggling her hind legs. “Listen to them, listen to that cheer!” the Countess lifted her left hoof up to raise the volume. “That’s what I’m talking about: flashy lights, mountains of bits, your own doll! Look at these ponies, look at their eyes, they are sparkling, they love this shit, they love blood, they love action, they don’t want something original, they want to see the same thing they’ve seen a thousand times before!” Posters with Rara’s face appeared from nowhere and in matter of seconds covered every single building of Manehattan. Rara, for a brief moment, grinned. “Yes, and the next time you scream it will explode in millions of eardrums. Your new style is absolutely atrocious. I don’t care about what your ‘friends’ think you’re not good anymore. You should be us, the one who was famous and the one who had everything. Not whatever you’ve become. If you are truly Coloratura Soprano, stay here at the top of the world, above them, for it is written. ‘We accept the love we think we deserve.’ And you deserve to be loved... for who you are in this moment.” Rara caught up the Countess’s cheat and realized that, to achieve the major accomplishment, she had to slip down. Fearful of her destiny she looked downwards and stepped forward. But in that instant she was interrupted by a voice from afar. “Rara!” the voice came closer and louder. “Rara, don’t do it!” A couple of hooves held her and pulled her backwards, preventing her intention. Those hooves belonged to Coco, who made her come back to Equestria. “What were you thinking?!” Rara soon realized she was at the top of the theater. Apparently she had lost the notion of reality, she returned to her neglected aspect. “Where have you been?” the designer asked worried. “Discord and I have been looking for you all morning and when you finally showed you instinctively went to the roof, you had us worried. Mind to explain?” Rara remained speechless, she did the first thing that came to mind. She broke into tears. Coco didn’t know how to react to this situation so she lifted her up and gave pats on her back to make her feel better. Now it was her time to return the favor. The rest of the day was spent in tidying Rara. Coco bathed, brushed, applied makeup and dressed her in the troubadour costume, the dressing room was now tidy entirely, like if it was the first time. The only difference was that the poster was not seen. Rara came back to be herself in a sense, but nothing Coco did could hide her previous experience. Discord came in when the girls finished. “The audience is coming,” he said. “Better be ready. I already repair the light, like I said and it’s brighter.” She continued to look at the mirror inexpressibly, Coco shrugged to him. “I tried to raise her up, but she seems to be unaware of our presence,” she said. Discord then put his paw and claw on Rara’s shoulders and came up with a simple dialogue. “I know we haven’t met formally since our introduction... but I just want to say that we are grateful you have given this opportunity to both of us. You are a great pony and a great friend.” “Y-Yes,” Coco continued. “And that no matter how the night turns up to be we’ll be here for you.” “Well, I have to order those ponies. Wish you luck.” Discord left the dressing room. Rara noticed an envelope on the counter, she took it and tried to find the remittent but it hadn’t. “It’s from Minuette,” Coco said, Rara looked at the designer astonished. “She came here this morning and tidied the room, she even repaired your old radio. You can turn it on if you want. It seemed to me she still wanted to help you despite of your behavior at the café. And before you even ask yes, she told me everything about. That was rude from your part, but I guess you wasn’t ready for talking about it.” While Rara was opening the envelope, Coco decided to give her a last piece of advice. “Can I tell something to you?” Rara nodded. “Contrary to you I got my dream job thanks to a friend. After I get the good side of my friend, I climbed up fashion career so quickly. I thought I was living in my dream life, but at the same time I was feeling empty. I couldn’t stop thinking if I was just only living in my friend’s favor so I started on my own. And I discovered that my dream was making dresses on ponies, not for my occupation. What I’m trying to say is you think you lost your dream and passion but that’s not the case either. You’re only preoccupied about what would happen but don’t worry. You’ll see everything is going to be ok. We’re ready when you are.” Coco left the dressing room. Rara then read Minuette’s letter, the words chosen surprised her. “For the best artist in all of Equestria. Continue to the end and don’t give up, don’t let anypony to tell you otherwise. Not even me. For it is written, ‘Let’s live a life that gives us pride to tell.’” After that Rara turned on the radio. It was settled in the last station it was originally transmitting, she heard the voice of Sapphire Shores. “This entire planet is backwards. There hasn’t been one instance of correct behavior by almost every single artist. I have come to the conclusion that they’re defected,” Rara, knowing her rival’s complains, was about to do the same as before: pick up the radio and throw it into the wall. But this time was different. “But I’m not better,” she stopped immediately. “I’m also worried about my future, I’m almost elderly and I know how media stop caring about an artist when it reach the pinnacle of its career. If you ask me I’m afraid, I’m afraid of my future, I’m still learning. Now, before I leave I want to say this message to Rara,” the singer was caught by surprise. Her rival, the pony she was jealous this whole time, wanted to speak to her? “You’re the most extraordinaire artist I’ve ever seen. You’re passionate about your job, you know true friends are more valuable than any amount of money and, although you’re afraid as me, you don’t give up against those difficulties. In fact, I’m jealous of you because you realized those things at a young age, I didn’t care about them until much later. I guarantee you will be loved by ponies for many generations to come. I’m anxious to see your play, I hope to arrive just in time... I hope you’ve heard me... Thanks for inviting me.” “Thanks for coming Sapphire and we wish you the best of lucks. And thanks to you for tune in ‘Writings on the Wall’. See you next week.” “Attention please,” Discord’s voice was listened throughout the corridors. “This is the first call, first.” Rara turned off the radio and wrote as fast as she could a reply to Minuette on the same letter she gave to her, after finishing it and placed it in the envelope she headed to the main stage but not without a last duel between her and the Countess, chasing her down the corridors. “Retract at this moment. You don’t know what you’re doing.” “Yes I do. My friends trust me and I must trust them.” “This is the second call, second.” Rara turned to her with a purposeful, courageous and secure face. Coco was coming to her and hastened her pace, but in the wrong moment or maybe the appropriate one, she caught her discussing to the nothing. Without Rara paying attention to her Coco, unseen, witnessed everything. “You call those freaks ‘friends’? I knew you had low standards for making friends but this is pathetic. You barely meet them, they are pathetic.” “They are not. They are my friends.” “Really? First was a farmer, now a shame for nature, a designer obsessed with her name and a dentist pretending to be a psychologist?” Rara, satiated, broke out. “You don’t control my life, you can’t tell me what I have to do! Who cares about doing the things others want? It’s your passion, devotion and liking what matters. I liked being you, I enjoyed being you but I can’t take it anymore. It’s time to let you go. I feel sorry for you... because you’re alone... and I am not.” Rara gasped and wheezed hardly, the Countess returned to the shadows it belonged. The singer turned around to find Coco looking at her. Perhaps she knew what had happened, perhaps she could saw and heard the Countess but instead she said nothing, she just stayed there, startled. Rara, conscious about the events, approached her and gave her the letter. “If Minuette’s here delivered her this. It’s the last favor I ask.” “This is the third call, third call. Let’s start.” Rara went to the main stage and placed herself in the middle. The curtains of the stage opened, revealing the pop star dressed as a troubadour. The light that illuminated her was brighter than before. She could observed which ponies where there. Discord along with his friend, many critics from Manehattan, high society and royalty like Princess Cadance, Shining Armor and Princess Twilight who was with her friends. Among them was Applejack, her old friend. And at the front line, at the first row, was Minuette. She had achieved her dream, she was about to leave her mark. And so she began. “Everypony’s always quitting on me. My whole life... all the ponies I get to know... quit. I never do. I’m loyal. I stay. But they all leave me. Started with my dad... he quit on us when I was little and my mom quit on me even though she was still around. She quit caring and quit feeling anything. Everything I tried, every friend I made, quit on me in some way... I always felt like I failed them... and drove them away. But here... I finally thought I’d found a place where I could be a part of something. This time we’ve been together has been the best days of my life. Sounds pathetic, but it’s true. I’ve never been happier than I’ve been playing music with all of you. Coming here each day gives me something to live for, something to make me drag my lazy carcass out of bed. I feel so alive here, playing with all of you. And it’s more than just living... it’s the fact I found a place in this world. A place where I matter and I fit in. I don’t feel lost anymore.” But her efforts of getting rid of her worst enemy had taken a heavy toll on her. Mental stress, lack of sleep and lack of food had suffocated her, the former star had lost her majesty. She initially tumbled and everypony thought was part of the act but suddenly and abruptly she fainted. Everypony ran to her, to see if she was ok. But the truth was… she collapsed to never get up again. “For the best therapist in all of Equestria. Thanks for spending your time with me. And as for your last question here’s my answer: In peace and satisfied. I would rather die before the ponies I love most. Thanks for helping me, thanks for being my friend.”