//------------------------------// // Act 3 Scene 1: Travesty // Story: Bluebelle of the Ball, The Musical // by mr lovecolt //------------------------------// Bluebelle stood at the top of a cliff. The white castle of King Aeolus glistened in the distance. A gust of wind played with her hair, causing it to curl around her horn. “Bluebelle, get back here!” She turned towards the sound of the voice. “Coming, daddy.” The ground shook. She instinctively froze at the sound of something shrieking behind her. She saw her father’s horn glow and her mother’s wings unfurl, and then something slimy wrapped around her leg. Bluebelle was hurled straight up into the air. All she saw was the sky. Her body turned, and as she fell she saw it. Three petal-like lips opened to reveal a trio of black serpentine tongues and a series of jagged yellow teeth. “Daddy!” She screamed, but by the next moment the tongues had wrapped around her body. Her world went black. The only thing she could feel was a thick stickiness covering her body. She tried to move, but nothing she did could free her from the creature’s grasp. Bluebelle didn’t know for how long she was in the darkness. She heard the sound of her father’s magic blast just beneath her, and then another shriek from the monster that was about to devour her. Still wrapped in the sticky darkness, she felt herself fall once again. She heard a thud as body hit body and finally, the sound of shrieking growing faint. The tongues slowly slid off of her, and she could finally see again. As she looked down, she saw that the creature’s tongues had been blasted off. She ran to the edge of the cliff, where she found a few of her mother’s feathers. She looked over the edge and was able to make out the shape of the creature’s body as it lay splayed out against the desert rocks. She looked and looked, until finally, she watched in horror as the dead monster’s curled up tail slowly unwound, revealing the forms of her parents in its grasp. Sand particles clung to her fur. She reached up to brush it off, but the stickiness still remained. She used her hooves to brush harder and harder. “Bluebelle.” She looked around. “Mommy?” “Bluebelle.” She searched for the source of the sound and continued to brush against her fur. No matter how hard she tried, however, nothing would remove itself. “Bluebelle.” ***** “Bluebelle, stop!” She jolted upright and looked around the room, where her eyes immediately met the bright light that reflected off of the walls. As her eyes adjusted, she saw Luna standing before her with a bath sponge floating in her aural grasp. She felt something burn her skin and looked down. The water around her was starting to turn pink. The burning feeling came from her foreleg, and when she lifted it out of the water, she could see where a patch of fur right at her hoof had been scrubbed off, causing a small stream of blood to flow into the bathtub. Bluebelle jumped when she felt something drape over her withers, but calmed down when she realized that it was only her aunt’s leg. As she continued to stare down at her own hoof, she felt another burning sensation, this time around her eyes. The world around her bent and contorted as the tears started to flow. Next to her, Luna could only hold her and whisper into her ear. “Shh, everything’s going to be okay. I promise.” “W-who…” Bluebelle shivered but tried to will herself to stop. “Do w-we know… Do we know w-what happened?” She felt her aunt’s grip tighten for a split second, but when she looked up, Luna had conveniently turned her gaze away. “Aun… Auntie?” “Shh.” She heard Luna reply a little too calmly. “We will find the pony that did this. Once we do, we will go from there. All right?” Bluebelle kept her gaze upward on her as she finally looked back down. “All right?” For a moment, she could see something in Luna’s eyes, but for the first time, she couldn’t tell what it was. The expression was too soft to be anger, but too harsh to be sadness. Then she realized what those eyes were telling her. Guilt, Bluebelle thought, Aunt Luna feels guilty. “Auntie?” She felt the foreleg let go of her as she finally started to calm down. “What’s wrong?” “Bluebelle, you need to rest.” She said as she stood up and levitated a towel to the side of the tub. “I will be sure to protect your dreams tonight.” Bluebelle watched as she trotted to the door and then stopped. “In the near future, you are going to have an important decision to make.” she shuffled in the tub, but Luna didn’t move from her spot. “No matter what you do, I and my sister shall support your decision.” Before she could say anything more, Luna turned the corner and left the doorway to the bathroom so that Bluebelle could be alone. She tiptoed quietly through her suite and into The Wind Room, where Aeolus was crouched over a he transferred the last Anemoi into the crystal and set it on the podium. A tiny ping echoed through the room as he set it on the podium, and the two rulers remained still as the sound dissipated into nothingness. “She hasn’t done that in years.” Aeolus said as he glanced over at her from the corner of his eye. “Done what?” Aeolus looked over. Luna gasped upon realizing that she still held the blood-stained sponge in her magic. She closed her eyes and the implement evaporated into the aether. “A relapse is to be expected, under circumstances such as these.” “Circumstances, Your Highness?” Aeolus replied as he stood up. At full height, he was even taller than her sister, and so the fact that another pony towered over her made Luna’s heart speed up for a moment. “Without proper control, the Anemoi can cause typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes - do you know how lucky we are that one of your subjects wasn’t blown clear across Canterlot?” “King Aeolus, I assure you-” “Do you realize what would have happened had there actually been a casualty because of these so-called circumstances?” Aeolus stomped forward until he was right in front of her. “Your Highness, please, let us take this somewhere-” “Who did this?” Aeolus said as he raised his voice, forcing Luna to wince and take a step back. “Who did this to her? I know you know.” “This is a much more delicate situation than you think, Your Highness.” “Who did it?” He stomped with enough force to crack the tile beneath him. “One of the Elemental Bearers did this.” She replied, trying not to raise her voice too much. “Now you see why this is so delicate?” “Really?” He scoffed. “As if being an Elemental Bearer held your sister back when you-” Luna froze. She could feel the color drain from her face as the realization crossed Aeolus’ own. Behind her, she heard the sound of water as it rippled through the tub. She shook her head and walked slowly out of the room without a sound. In the main room, Celestia and Dusk Shine sat at the couch, talking quietly amongst themselves. The moment she stepped into the room, however, their conversation ended. The two looked up at Luna and froze. She couldn’t keep the emotions off of her face; Dusk Shine looked back at her, confused, but Celestia’s eyes widened when she saw her sister. She immediately got up. “Sister, what-” Luna shook her head again and immediately made her way to the door, but was stopped by Aeolus. “I am sorry. I should not have said that.” Though Luna’s gaze stayed fixed on the door handle, she could see Celestia’s muzzle turn down into a scowl from her periphery. “Princess Bluebelle is incredibly important to all of us.” All ponies remained still, the only movement in the room came from the two ethereal manes that swayed back and forth. “I am sorry.” “Was what you said not true?” She asked, still unable to turn around and face the others. “Sister.” Celestia said as she took a step near and reached out a hoof. “What did he-” Luna jerked away and pulled the door open, pausing just in time to see the look of hurt in her sister’s eyes. Dusk Shine, for his part, did his best to appear as small as possible. “Aeolus, what did you say to my sister?” “Tia, please. He is correct. If we are to discuss this, let us do it out of Bluebelle’s earshot.” Celestia nodded, and moments later, they had been teleported to the Hall of History. Even though it was now late in the evening, the moonlight still shone through the stained glass windows and cast light along the floor. “Equestria had just been freed from Discord’s reign, and the tribes were finally beginning to return to some semblance of normalcy. And then I let my pride get in the way.” Luna hung her head down. The ponies heard a faint sniffle. “After the Battle of Eternal Night,” Celestia continued where her sister left off. “The tribes were thrown back into disarray, as though Discord had never even left the throne.” Celestia paused for a moment to look at Aeolus, who looked on coldly. “The link to the elements being broken, I had no means to dissolve the left over chaos that had still taken hold in their hearts.” “This is an interesting history lesson, Your Highnesses - one of which I am familiar with.” Aeolus interrupted. “But what does this have to do with justice for the Emissary of the Winds?” “If anything happens to Elusive to sever him completely from the Element of Generosity, then our links to the other five elements disappear, as well.” Luna, Celestia, and Aeolus turned to Dusk Shine as he stared up at the window, as though they had been putting together a puzzle and he had found the final piece. “If they find out that the Elements of Harmony are no longer linked to anypony, then how long could it be before they turn back to their tribes once more?" "Sister, didn't you mention a meeting with one of the Canterlot ponies yesterday and this morning in which this topic came up?” “That’s what Fancy Pants meant when he wanted to get rid of the last traces of tribalism.” Celestia replied. “Maybe it wasn’t about unicorn attitudes towards the other tribes, but the other tribes’ attitudes towards unicorns.” “What are you talking about?” It was now Dusk Shine’s turn to ask the question. “Canterlot is a majority unicorn city." Luna added. "As you yourself have discovered, there are growing... communities... of ponies who don’t exactly have a high opinion when it comes to the overall worth of unicorns. All earth ponies see are conniving aristocrats. The pegasi and thestrals see only weakling ponies who can’t contribute anything to the surrounding environment.” “But the unicorns are part of the cycle of life." He countered. "The earth ponies grow the food, the pegasi control the weather with thestrals to assist them at night, and the unicorns control… oh dear.” “The Sun and Moon?” “There has to be a solution to this!” Dusk Shine shouted. “All we have to do is get justice for Bluebelle, without anypony else knowing that this was the work of Elusive, while at the same time, making sure that whatever we do does not separate us from the Elements.” The two alicorns noticed that Dusk Shine’s eye began to twitch. “A punishment that only he and Bluebelle know about. We can say to the press that it was some sort of accident. Yeah, an accident, that way, we can-” A pair of doors near Dusk Shine crashed open, and he yelped and dove behind a pillar. A familiar royal couple entered the hall and bowed. “Your Highnesses.” Shining Armor said. “Finally, we have been looking for you. We have a problem.” “And that would be?” Celestia asked. “The guards are amassing in the Grand Hall near the gates. For some reason, they have it in their heads that Elusive is responsible for the attacks.” “Captain Emeritus Shining Armor, call them off, have them dispersed.” “That’s the problem, Your Highness. They won’t listen.” Shining Armor fell onto his haunches. “They won’t listen to anything I say. It feels as though there is some spell.” “Cadance, why don’t you cast one of your spells over their hearts?” Dusk Shine asked. “I’ve seen you do it before. You’ve been able to cast a spell on an entire empire.” “You’re right, Dusk Shine.” She replied. “My magic is able to pierce through the fear in anypony’s heart.” She shook her head. “This is something different. It’s like trying to shoot through a combination of changeling goo and dark crystals.” The ponies all charged back through the doors that Shining Armor and Cadance ran through moments ago. “It’s happening again.” Celestia said as the group ran to the front of the castle. “It’s a smaller scale, but it already feels the same. We have to make this stop before it gets worse.” “How did they find out it was Elusive?” Dusk Shine asked. “Wait…” Cadance asked. “So it’s true?” “Now is not the time for a discussion.” Luna said. “How did they find out?” “Apparently, some mare told one of the guards that she saw Elusive go into the kitchen just before the cake was rolled out and was talking about having work to do.” “Who was the mare?” Aeolus asked. “According to the description?” Shining Armor replied. “It sounds like it was your date, brother.” The rest of the group stopped when they heard the sound of hooves as they screeched on the floor. They turned around and saw that the one who stopped had been Dusk Shine. “Little brother?” ***** Elusive walked down the corridor as quietly as possible. Just ahead of him was the Grand Hall. Even before he turned the corner, he heard the sound of hooves thundering through the room, accompanied by the sound of metal armor clashing together. He heard the sound of something snap behind him and instinctively ducked behind one of Luna’s banners, only to realize that he had been frightened by the sound of one of the torch fires. Still, he remained hidden beneath the relative safety of the banner and poked his head out of the other side to get a better look in the room ahead. The exit was right in front of him. Of course, it was blocked by numerous guards, of which Elusive could immediately tell were divided into two groups. In the middle of the group stood the majority of the guards - earth pony guards lined up along the floor, and pegasi and thestrals hovered just above them. What made him curious, however, was the fact that the unicorn contingent stood closer to the exit. All of their eyes looked the same, and Elusive shuddered at the fact that they had the same look that a certain lavender alicorn had given him earlier that evening. He took one last look around the room and pulled his head back behind the banner. I don’t get it, Elusive thought, everypony hates Bluebelle. She’s rude, stuck up, pretentious. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hooves and wings approaching and he pressed his body against the wall. The hoofsteps stopped, but the sound of beating wings continued. “So I told the recruit, ‘every time there is an incident here, you can be assured that a unicorn is behind it’.” One of the guards said. “I know. I joined the guard to protect The Royal Family and Equestria, not to listen to a bunch of horners complain about their so-called honor being tarnished by each other.” The other replied as the beating of wings slowed. “Don’t let them hear you say that word - you know how much sensitivity training you’d have to go through if one of them overheard you.” “As if they’d be able to take me any other way. The only reason they’re here is because of their horns. One misplaced axe swing in battle and they’d be useless.” Elusive tried to listen in on the rest of the conversation, but when he looked out, he saw the silhouette of something floating down from the ceiling. As his gaze shifted upwards, he discovered that the thing that was floating down was a spider inching closer and closer to his snout. He looked over and saw that the two guards were still standing too close for him to move away. “-need to be put in their place.” “Look at them over there, keeping with their own kind.” The spider continued to lower itself until it was just in front of him, and it took all of Elusive’s strength not to immediately scream and run back down the hall from which he came. For a moment, the spider’s eight eyes stared straight at Elusive, as though contemplating whether or not to finally land on him. “-heard he did it because she didn’t go out with him.” “Are we talking about the same Element Bearer? The one that looks like he’s a mare?” Elusive squinted his eyes at the remark. Normally, this would have been accompanied by a self-righteous flick of his mane in their direction, but he was already occupied with the need to keep himself as still as possible. The spider in front of him finally continued its descent and landed on his snout, which is when he felt its legs tickle his nostrils. He tried to snort as quietly as possible. “Did you hear that?” The spider continued to crawl along his snout. Elusive clenched his eyes shut and took a deep inhale. “It’s-” “Achoo!” The banner flew off of the wall and landed over the two guards, leaving Elusive standing in plain sight of the rest of the guards. The only ponies who moved were the ones currently trying to throw the banner of of them. Finally, a bat wing emerged from beneath the fabric, and then a head. His gaze was met with a cat-like eye and a fanged sneer. “It’s him!” All of the eyes turned to Elusive. He tried to back away but the wall stopped him. No, no, no, he thought. All of the eyes, no matter the shape or color, held the same gaze. They were supposed to laugh at her. Nopony likes her. Nopony likes her. All of the eyes were the same as Dusk Shine’s. Elusive closed his eyes to get rid of the sight, but all he could see were his as they bore into him when they stood in the ballroom. The ballroom… ballroom. Elusive heard something crack. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the room he had just visualized. Traces of moonlight seeped through the windows and cast his shadow against the wall. He looked around, but stopped when he felt his head swim as a result of the teleportation spell. The ballroom had now been cleared of party remnants; the only thing that remained were the now darkened lanterns that hung from the ceiling like dead stars. In front of him was the stage. The curtains ruffled for a moment and Elusive took a step back, ready to run. “Well, well, well. I have to give you a hoof.” A voice came from behind the curtain. Elusive held his breath. He now stood in front of a familiar pony. “You do like to play the long game, don’t you?” Fleur De Lis asked as she trotted across the stage towards him. “You were right. I should have waited.” She looked around the room until her eyes stopped just above her. Her horn glowed, and the object she was focused on hovered down in front of her. Elusive turned away when he saw what it was. “Now how did this knife get all the way up there, I wonder? It must have been quite a sight to see.” She climbed down the steps with such each that is looked as though she were floating. “They know it was me.” Elusive said as he turned to her. “You told them I did it.” “Well I had to give credit where credit is due. And I must say that you have quite the bit of credit coming to you, don’t you?” “Why are you still here?” “Oh, I just had a hunch.” She walked slowly across the room, her eyes and the knife she held catching what little light managed to creep into the room. “There was something about the way you said that phrase, ‘just you wait’ that made me realize you were planning... something.” Elusive took another step back as Fleur De Lis continued to walk towards him. Her horn glowed again, and Elusive heard a crash behind him. He turned just as one of the lanterns shattered next to him. He yelped and leapt out of the way, only to find that another lantern had fallen on his other side. “What are you doing?” He shouted. “I may not be able to get my name in the papers as Prince Dusk Shine’s consort. I can, however, be the mare who helped capture the terrorist who attacked a member of the Royal Family.” A smile made its way onto Fleur De Lis’ muzzle . Her horn glowed again, and another lantern fell to the floor, grazing the side of his head. He galloped backwards but stumbled on pieces of glass that now littered the floor. His head burned, and when he reached up to touch his mane, he felt something sticky. He withdrew his hoof and looked at it. B-blood? “Fleur, stop!” Elusive’s horn glowed, and he picked up the closest thing to him - a glass shard. “T-there has to be… be a way to undo, yes, undo, what has happened.” “Of course there is.” Fleur De Lis continued to smile. “I take you to the Royal Guard. They banish you or send you to the moon or Tartarus. I become a hero.” Fleur De Lis’s gaze turned towards the windows for just a moment. Elusive realized that she was imagined everything in her mind. He looked up to the ceiling. “My final show will be more than just modeling lingerie for Hoity Toity.” She laughed. “They’ll be there for me.” “As I if I would ever give you the satisfaction.” Fleur De Lis turned just in time to see Elusive’s horn stop glowing. He watched as the lanterns fell from the ceiling, crashing all around her and finally onto her head. He ran through the room and leaped onto the stage, separating the curtains just as he reached them so that he could run into the darkness. He stumbled around until he felt the wall. “What is happening here?” He asked himself. “What am I-aah!” He cried out as he fell through a trapdoor near the stage. The lever he had accidentally brushed up against moved back to its position, and the trapdoor closed once again. ***** Dusk Shine reached the Grand hall before the others and stopped at the sound of a whistle. In the center of the room stood the captain. The rest of the guard stood at attention. “Find him!” He commanded. “Yes, sir!” Dusk Shine tried to call out to the guards, but they either didn’t see him or, if they did, simply ignored him. The rest of his party arrived as the last of the guards disappeared behind the numerous halls. He turned around to face the group. “Look, Elusive couldn’t have gone that far. Even if he could teleport, he couldn’t go that far. He still has to be on the castle grounds.” He turned to Shining Armor. “Brother, take Cadance and King Aeolus to search the outside perimeter. Check the gardens and fan out to the gates. The three of us will search inside.” Cadance cringed as a few of the guards began to yell, their voices echoing through the halls. “Let’s hope we find him before the guards. We have to get everypony into a situation where we can calm them down.” “Dusk Shine, where are the rest of the Elements?” Celestia asked. “I ran into Applejack and Rainbow Blitz.” Shining Armor answered for him. “They’re with the civilians, trying to calm them down.” “I can only imagine that Butterscotch is in a catatonic state near them.” Dusk Shine closed his eyes and massaged his temples. “And Bubble Berry is, of course, detained.” “What!” Dusk Shine’s eyes shot open and his gaze fell onto his brother. “Why? This isn’t his fault.” “The dungeon is one of the first places I went to in order to get some answers. He turned himself in.” Shining Armor said matter-of-factly. “I saw him literally knock down a guard just so he could get to a jail cell. After that, he just sort of sat there and poked his hoof on the floor.” Dusk Shine growled. “There’s no time for this.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, change of plan. Cadance, go to the dungeon and please try to reason with him. Everypony else, move!” As Aeolus, Shining Armor, and Cadance ran off, he felt a hoof on his chin. He looked up and saw Celestia with a faint frown on her muzzle. “We must hurry.” She said, and the three of them began to gallop through the central corridor. I have never seen such fury in these ponies For now our words have fallen on deaf ears. So we can only pray to find him before they do so and make him pay. I fear In the distance, they saw a pair of guards turn a corner. Their voices carried behind them. This travesty! Travesty! We must find Elusive. Travesty! Travesty! Dusk Shine search the wings Luna you scan the halls And I’ll inspect the towers. Find him before we’re too late! This travesty! Travesty! All we seek is justice! Find him! Don’t let him escape! Luna closed her eyes and teleported to another wing of the castle. She heard the sound of thestral and pegasi wings beating above her. Their shadows stretched across the dark walls that were lit by torches. Something deep inside This darkness seems familiar It fills me with a terrifying dread. It’s empty and it’s cold. I’m fearing for his soul. We must find where the coward fled! This travesty! Travesty! We must find Elusive. Travesty! Travesty! Something isn’t right. But with all that I know The darkness pulls me closer. Find him before I’m too late. This travesty! Travesty! Deal the consequences! Find him! Justice must not wait! Travesty! Travesty! We must avenge Bluebelle! Travesty! Travesty! This search does not bode well. Travesty! Travesty! We must find Elusive! Find him! Punish his mistake! Dusk Shine turned a corner and ran into a dead end. He concentrated and imagined himself closer to Celestia. He appeared a moment later near the steps leading down into the lower levels of the castle. There’s nopony here. “Celestia!” Dusk Shine waved from across the hall. A moment later, Luna teleported into the room. The guards, they haven’t found him. "Sister, any luck?” Luna asked as she landed next to the others. They heard the sound of guards approaching, the torch light causing their armored shadows to reach out ahead of them. He shouldn’t have the right to even speak! We have searched the wings and halls But he has yet to be found Now we make him pay Princess I can hear the sound For his evil actions. Of the guards. We cannot wait. Now’s the time to prove we are not weak! Darkness now is all around! The three ran down the stairs. Find Elusive! Please don't let us be too late! He must be brought to Justice, for this Travesty! Travesty! “Treason! Traitor!” A guard yelled. “Find him!” Celestia shouted as she pointed towards another door. Travesty! Travesty! Where else could he have gone? Now how dare he refer Himself a Friendship Bearer? Find him before we’re too late! We vow to sun and moon That we will find him soon Find him! Punish his Even if we find him first What can he do to fix his Mis… take! Amidst their running, neither Dusk Shine nor Celestia noticed that Luna had stopped in her tracks and turned around. When they finally realized and started to look for her, they saw her floating off the ground and her eyes turning white. “ENOUGH!” Her royal voice pushed back the guards who were unlucky enough to have turned the corner and made it through the door into the corridor just as she grew tired of searching. Her horn glowed, and as the last guard was blown out of the way, she slammed the door shut. With the guard out of the way for now, Luna’s eyes finally returned to normal and she lowered back onto the ground. Unbeknownst to themselves, Dusk Shine and Celestia were holding their breath. Luna turned around, her barrel moved back and forth in heated breaths, but she finally calmed herself. She took a few steps forward, her eyes refusing to set at any point in the wall behind them. The two turned and saw three doors. “His mind is drifting out of consciousness.” Luna said with her eyes closed. “And he is down one of these corridors.” “Whoever finds him, we must immediately take him to the dungeon.” Celestia said as she faced the far right door. “We can deal with him there.” Dusk Shine opened the door to the left and galloped through. Celestia opened the door to the right, lit her horn, and walked with a much calmer gait than her former student. Luna simply took a deep breath and opened the door with her magic. She walked slowly into the darkness, but her eyes started to glow white once more. “Yes, we can deal with him in the dungeon.”