//------------------------------// // Act 7: A Hearts and Hooves Special // Story: Friendship is Failure #18: If I Can't Love Her... // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// ACT SEVEN Cadance fluttered her way up to the royal box, sitting next to her husband, and the musicians began to play the soft music of the first song as Strings spoke out… “There comes a tale of passion, There comes a tale of love But also of deep darkness, Which no one ever thought of…” Then he began to sing as the curtain opened showing the scene of a quaint little village… Long, long ago, in little town of old, A mother had birthed a boy You’d think she jump and dance, sing with glee and skip and prance, over her little bundle of joy But the lad he was born with a problem Birth defects had disfigured his face A turned up nose, and just one eye His forehead was cruved and lumpy, oh my His mother took one look and though “What a disgrace!” The show began as the actors and singers began dancing and hoping about telling more of the story. The mother’s heart was not big enough to put up with her ugly son, whom she regaurded as “A freak of nature.” And fearing that this would damage her reputation and her steady life, she had toaken her son far form town and simply abandonded him in a basket on a desert mountain road. Whoever takes this child, it’s their problem now, How could I have birthed a freak with such a bad brow. That nose, his face, nothing but a big disgrace. He is no child of mine; no way! No how! Through Strings musical narrations, and then scenes from the actors, the story continued. The infant was fortunate to be adopted by a desert hermit who was passing by, and while he was inittally shocked by his face, the hermit took him to his camp within the desert and named him “Shame” in relation to how his face was a shame to him. The hermit rasied the boy well, giving him love and care, but Shame couldn’t bear to look at his reflection, at how hideous he looked, and resorted to covering his face with cloth like a mummy. His father began to teach him about Inner-Beauty, and how everyone was special in their own way, “…And as long as there is love, there will always be hope.” Then, one fateful day, the hermit’s camp was ransacked by a band of desert theives while Shame was out fetching water from an oasis. He returned and was devastated to find his home in ruin and his father dying in the sand. In his dying moments, the father told Shame to “…Believe in inner-beauty, and love… there will always be hope.” Heartbroken, and alone, Shame burried his father in the sand and then struck out across the desert in search of the so-called “Hope.” After wandering the desert for countless days and nights, he finally reached a promised land—a city bustling with a huge popoulace and golden oppurtunities for him to start over. Or so he thought… One look at his disfugred face, and the townspeople regaurded him as, “Freak!” “Monster!” “Whoever birthed you ought to be hanged!” To them, he was an irredemable disgrace, and they would not hear his pleas for help nor consider his feelings, and even resroted to pelting him with stones and fruit, shooing him off and out of town, and deep into a dark forest. It was there on the outskirts of the forest that Shame had come across an old abandonded castle, which had obviously been lying in disrepair for a good many years. Declaring the castle as his home, Shame had already given up hope of ever finding love and denounced it, promting him to assume the life of a bandit in order to survive! He would creep into town, in a makeshift costume from old rags he had found within his castle, and steal whatever he could get his hooves on. And any wanders crossing through the forest, unaware of his castle on the other end, were most unfortunate to have a runin with him, and he would steal their money, and whatever food they had on them. He would not adhere to their begs for mercy, as that would be showing signs of compassion, which lead back to love, and how the only loving parent was taken from him, and all the hope he was denied from. The more he grew, the more bitter and cynical he felt due to his isolation from the world, and eventually his remorse began to claw at him. He felt he had become as nasty, if not worse, than the poinies who shunned him, even if he only did it for survival, which only made him more than determined to hide behind a mask he had made, and remain sheltered from the cold world outside. Years, and years passed. In town, there was beautiful mare pony named Lily Bud, the daughter of a florist-- and true to her name. She was as lovely as any flower she sold, grew, with a long organe mane, a beautiful golden yellow coat, and her wings spread like flower petals. But her life was not as beautiful as many would think. Her mother had died when she was little, and she worked very hard to help her father manage their flower shop and maintain income. Worst of all, she was becoming of age to be courted, and since she was the prettiest mare in town, stallions of many kinds would lust for her boorishly and soley for her looks, which disgusted and outraged her. Her stuborness and constant rejections irked her father, as he practially was pressuing her to marry, preferably to someone rich and possibly good-looking to boost their money problems and keep them from falling into poverty. Still, Lily inisted that she wanted to marry someone out of love, who could look past her looks and see her as she wanted to be seen, as a caring, noble, and courageous young lady. …Sadly, she feared this would never be. Then one day, as Lily was picking flowers in a meadow outside of town, she was spotted by three surly ponies passing by, and they all thought was quite a catch, and lusted for her, promting her to fight them off to make a break for it. This wound her up wandering through the forest and getting lost, and just as aheavy storm broke out, she stumbled upon the castle of Shame, but she didn’t know this. Desperate for shelter she let herself in, which led her to be discovered by Shame, who scorned and balked at her for intruding into his home. She was terrbily frightened of this stranger, and didn’t know of his disfiguration because of his mask. He threatened her with her life to leave and never return, as well as never to mention his castle to any pony. Stricken with fear, Lily dashed off, rushing through the forest and made it back home, near petrified and skeptical if all that was real. She told no one of this, not even her father. Then one day, her father had announced that he had made a deal with the richest pony in town, and arranged her to marry the son, who was rather handome, but rude, concieted, and not a very caring creature, caring more for his own looks and to feed his own vulgaris ventures of hunting, wooing village girls, showing off his skills as a marksman, and that his only willing to take a wife was to mother children for him. Lily was outraged and vocally refused, but her father and the father of the bad pony would not hear of this. Lily was forced to flee from home to escape her terrible fate, which once again led her into the forest, and in her fleeing, she ran into that very stranger from the castle, who dropped in out of nowhere and atempted to rob her, only recognize her and expressed outrage! Lily tried to explain herself, when a fersome wildbeat attacked. Shame, using his incredbile skills he had developed overed the years slayed the creature and planned to make off with its remains for food, but durring the brawl he had sustained a small wound on his side. Lily offered to help him, to which Shame coldly rejected due to his loathing of compassion, but his injury was deeper than ever, and Lily insisted on helping him, and nursed his wound, bandaging it up. Shame didn’t know what to say. This was the first time any pony had given him kindness, though he still did not trust it and gruffly dragged wild-beast dinner off for his castle. Lily, though outraged with his rude behavior, still was actualy able to feel concern for him, and inistsed on following him back to the castle. Despite his protests and threatening to kill her, Shame found out that his pain form his wound was greater than any he had ever received, and he conceeded to letting this mare help him. Once back at the castle, Lily saw how dark and desolate the place was, and questioned him about how long he had been living like this, to which Shame wasn’t too ashamed to admit. Lily even asked if he’d remove his mask, to which Shame angrily insisted that no pony was permitted to see his face! The two didn’t really get off to any good starts, and Shame proved to be very difficult indeed, not willing to share his story, not showing too much thanks to the pony who saved him. Lily was rapidly losing her patience, but given her own experiences of hardship and forcing of hoof, she began to suspect this pony had it worse than she did, and she was still willing to confide in him and tell her why she ran away from home. Shame actually did find that horrible. What was coming over him? He found it harder to manitain outrage with this female, and whether it was a moment of insanity, or his his heart was awakening after many, many years, he allowed her to stay. Over time, Shame taught her about his life as a bandit-- how he would hunt for food, or rob those passing by, which Lily found rather harsh, which finally promted Shame to explain his reasons, but he still didn’t reveal his face to her, or even mention it. Lily began to feel sorry for the guy, and even angirer at the bigotry of her home town; feeling all the more determined never to return to it. Not even for her father… The two seemed to grow closer and closer to each other, and Shame was remembering what he had forgotten long ago; that with love there would always be hope, but he was still fearful is Lily saw him under his mask. Lily’s father was worried sick of his daughter being away for many weeks, and it soon changed into anger and hatred. He now saw her as a traitor in cheating him out of a chance at a great fortune. As for other ponies in town, whom had all been victims of Shame’s theivery in the forest, were making plans on getting even with him… …Planning to invade the forrest and flush him out of hiding, and the head of this mob was none other than the pony Lily’s father was trying to marry Lily off too. After rallying many of the towns ponies together, the mob had grown into a small army, and armed with pitchforks, torches, muskets, spears and axes, they all ventured into the forest. Eventually, they all discovered the castle, and Shame was forced to stand up on the battlements to adress the crowd. Lily came out on the battlements with him, which led them all to believe that Shame had kidnappped Lily, while only her father knew the truth that she had run away, and he was all the more furious with her, and no longer caring for her as a father. It was in vain that Lily tried to explain the reasons behind Shame’s theviery, her own towns people showed no interest, care or sympathy and regaurded him as a monster that ought to be killed, and Lily too for aligning herself with him, though she had not comitted any crimes. The mob marched forth to the gates of the castle, hammering and pounding their way to get in, while many of the pegasi simply flew over the walls, inclduing Lily’s father, who was forcefully trying to take her back and punish her severely for betraying him, while in reality it was he who betrayed her by forcing her into a rushed marriage for his own vulgaris reasons! Shame defended her and scolded the father for treating Lily so poorly, which made him regret his own poor treatment of her when they had first met. The father was suddenly backed up by several other mob members, including the pony he tried to marry Lily too. They all rushed aginast Shame at once, and as he fought them off, his mask was knocked loose exposing his hideous face. The fighters all stopped and gawked in horror at the very sight of him. Even Lily was shocked to discover the truth. Shame was panned by the villagers, and they were all the more determined to kill him, but Lily showed her kindness-- No…! Her compassion, or rather Love and defended Shame insisting that he had Inner-Beauty, and she denounced her former fellow villagers as “Heartless monsters!” with no compassion, understanding, or souls! From the skills she had learned from Shame, she helped him repel the mob as best as she could, but even two ponies weren’t enough to stop them all, especially when the boorish pony tried to hold Lily off from Shame and keep them apart. Shame, however, having had his fully awakened by Lily’s kindness, caring, and love she showed him-- even after seeing his face. The power of this awakened love sparked a great blow of strength in him, enough to break free from his captors and fight back with the strength of an army! In the midst of the panic, some of the villagers fled, but not before dropping their torches and setting fire to the castle. More and more of the villagers were forced to flee as the fire spread, even Lily’s father. But the only one who remained behind was the boorish pony, wanting to finish the score once and for all, and finish the couple, which wound up being his downfall as he perished in the fired that consumed the castle, while a rainstorm put out the flames so the fire would not spread. The couple, wounded, but not severely, escaped the burning castle and out into the open fields, far beyond the forest or the town. It was there the couple finally admitted their feelings to one another, and Lily expressed her full caring towards Shame, and that his looks didn’t turn her off, but it was his inner-beauty, which she helped him recognize, that helped her find someone who could see past her beauty, and love her for just as she was. With newfound love, and hope, the couple ventured forth, living a life of adventure, and they never forgot the power of the love that they discovered to keep them going.