//------------------------------// // Truest Vision Of Art // Story: Scorching Day, Chilling Night // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// The cloaked figure entered the clearing that lead to the bridge that connected to the old Royal Palace ahead of the group. She saw them almost nearing the point of no return. This was it- her plan would be set into motion. She would break them here, and fling them into despair, with no hope of escaping. There would be nothing but the cold, hard truth of reality- not any of these nonsensical delusions about “friendship.” She would break them all- even that insufferable br- er, unicorn, Maestro. Then, they crossed the invisible threshold. She grinned. It was time. Her horn she pulled out a strange artifact that looked like an obsidian snowflake, and slung it over her neck like an amulet. She felt the ancient power fill her- changing her. It felt indescribably good, feeling the chill of the truth of reality go down her spine. She loved this feeling- the feeling of despair, acceptance of the truth. She lit her horn, but instead of her typical aura, it glowed black, deep as pitch. She encased herself in the aura, feeling it go throughout her entire being- this was the feeling of the Original King, the First Founder. Such awesome power could not truly be sustained by a mortal pony, not even one of her caliber. So, she only skimmed the surface of what the artifact could do. After all, delving into the fullest extent of the artifact’s power was only a last resort- no need to revive him this soon. That would be no fun. She then spread the magic throughout the entire area, coating it in darkness. She then heard the startled gasp of the group as they came face to face with their darkest fears, ones that were guaranteed to break them beyond repair. To break them beyond hope of saving. Even Maestro would be broken, and Equestria would be thrown into turmoil with nobody worthy of the Elements left to step up. It was a deliciously malicious plan. She then tuned into the group, just to hear their fears. What she heard satisfied her immensely. The first to submit was Thunder Blitz. It went something like this: “No! I’m still the best flier! You can’t take that from me and give it to some pegasus!” “Unfair? My Thunder Boom’s a part of me! I can’t not use it- It’s like asking a hummingbird to stop flapping its wings!” “I-! I won’t! You can’t make me! Please, listen!” “No! How could you!? I thought that you… were my friends…” After that sorry display, she finally broke, her eyes going distant. The second to go was Cherry Cobbler. This is how things went down: “You can’t! I won fair and square! You can’t lie to the public like this!” “So it’s because I’m made of crystal, is that it? I can’t do anything about that! It’s like asking the sun not to shine!” “I-! I won’t lie to gain favor with nobles! I still believe that honor can get you many places in life!” “But you’re my friends! How could you lie to me like this! I trusted you!” A single tear was shed, and her eyes lost their shine, marking that she was done. The third to discard it all was Crescendo Dream. Here’s how she broke: “Excuse me? That’s just plain rude! Have you no heart?” “You’re accusing me of hypnotizing my audience? That is uncouth! My music may move the soul, but there is nothing sinister behind it!” “What do you take me for, asking me to hurt somebody? I won’t set aside my morals just for a few coins.” “You’re my friends! How could you be so cruel? I’m sorry but… I can’t be associated with monsters!” Then, her eyes went dim, showing that it was over. The fourth to give in was Serenity. Let’s review what happened, shall we? “Taking from the poor? Have the nobles no equinity?” “What!? I would never use my perfumes like that! I would never cheat somepony out of a good product!” “You want me to WHAT? No, never! I am no thief, and I will make you reconsider trying to get me to act as such.” “My friends… are greedy thieves? No! I-I refuse to believe it! They… there must be… some kind of… misunderstanding…” Her eyes went near dead, signaling that she no longer cared. The fifth to surrender was Berry Punch. How did it go again? Ah, yes: “Huh? But eveypony seemed to enjoy it at the time… They were laughing, with enjoyment, not scorn!” “Hey! I only use spiked drinks to loosen ponies up a little! I would never do it out of spite!” “I will not! I cannot! No, never! My laughter is always with somepony, not at them!” “Stop! How could you laugh like that? At me? Aren’t we friends?” Her eyes seemed to drain of color, hinting that there was no fight left in her. The sixth to throw in the towel was not Maestro as the figure had hoped, but rather Starlight Glimmer. Oh well. It was still fun to watch: “Thunder? Why are you betraying me? I thought you would stand by me, no matter what!” “Cherry? Why did you lie to me! I thought I could rely on your word!” “Crescendo? What’s gotten into you? Why are you acting so rotten to me? I thought your compassion knew no bounds!” “Serenity? Why? Why did you refuse to be giving, like you usually are? Why are you suddenly a mizer!” “Berry? What’s with that laugh? You’re making fun of me? But I thought you liked humor that was with others, not against them!” “Maestro? Just… you kept so much from me. So many secrets… Why? The lies, the betrayal, the cruelty, the greed, the spite… was all that positivism just some mask? And why did you let me.. Give up?” And finally her eyes gloss over, telling of how she is just full of despair. As the cloaked figure turns to Maestro Spectrum, she expects quite the show. However, it’s not quite the show she expects. “Loyalty and devotion are core to a relationship, Chromatic. I would never abandon them.” “Truth and honor are a virtue, Cacophony. I’m honest when I say that I would never give them up.” “Kindness and compassion are paramount, Chromatic. I’ll be benevolent until the end of time.” “Generosity and charity are valuable, Cacophony. I’ll treasure them more than any amount of money.” “Laughter and humor are wonderful, Chromatic. They will fill me with joy until the end of my days.” “Magic and power connect us all, in more ways than the one that usually comes to mind, Cacophony. I will spread my unifying friendship until I reach all hearts.” “Hope and empowerment inspire people, CC. I will never cave into despair, no matter what darkness you throw my way.” his eyes shone brighter, a light that would not go out. His determination and stubbornness was impressive, she had to give him that. But how far would it go? She decided to meddle a little with the “script” and intervene. If an apparition wouldn’t break him, then perhaps a little nudge from reality would. She spoke, melding her voice into that of his fear, which she now saw was a dark, twisted mirror image of himself. “Look at your friends. They’ve given up hope. They no longer care about representing what they value. You will never get them back.” She lit the area enough so that he could see the sorry state his friends were in. She could almost hear something snap. Yes! Now he would-! However, the light in his eyes grew almost blindingly hot. The figure stepped back. How was this possible? How was he more hopeful and determined than before? How could her plan backfire like this? Maestro spoke. “I will never give up on my friends’ chances to live a happy life! I will never condemn them to despair! Begone, Chromatic Cacophony! I will save my friends!” With a blast of white-hot magic, he dispelled the dark mist, flinging the cloaked figure away. Maestro turned to his friends, who were still struggling to get back to their old selves. All they needed was a little tug in the right direction. He grinned. “HIT THE MUSIC!” All of the sudden, an invigorating synthorock tune erupted into existence, and Maestro began to sing. “I didn’t come this far just to turn back now; It’s time that you man up, I don’t care how; I won’t let you give up, I won’t let you give in; As long as I’m here, I’ll ensure that we win!” Gradually, the group lifted their heads up, and the soul of the music surged through them. Maestro’s words cut to Thunder’s core and caused her eyes to brim with hope. "You all have a burning fire in your soul; It’s time that you unleash it to reach our goal; I won’t let you hold back; It’s time to go on the attack!” As Thunder started to sway in time with the music, Cherry’s eyes brightened in realization of some great fact. “I know that you can soldier on; It’s why I urge you by sayin’ C’mon; So let me see the fire in your eyes; Perhaps one day you’ll touch the skies!” As Cherry started to tap out the rhythm with her hooves, Crescendo’s heart brimmed with a compelling belief. “I know that all seems quite hopeless and lost; But if we give in the world’ll suffer quite the cost; We have to rise up, we have to fight; In order to set our country right!” As Crescendo started to provide a backup melody with her wind chimes, Serenity started to smile despite herself. “It’s time to embrace your fire; To reach on ever higher; In this world, we’re required; To put down the darkly aspired!” As Serenity started to hum along, Berry cast aside her doubts completely. “We must roll with the punches to reach our goal; And we’ll fight with our very heart and soul; Otherwise the world will suffer the cost; And all will be for’er lost!” As Berry supplied backup vocals, Starlight finally lifted her head completely, and her despair abated. “So! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! It’s time for us to go! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! We’ll put on quite the show! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! We’ll defeat this threat to our hope! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! We’ll put them at the end of their rope! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! Show me that fire! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! And strive ever higher! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! We’ve got nothing to lose! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! And a Destiny to choose! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! Let’s get goin’! C’mon, C’mon, C’mon! And set the power flowin’! C’mon, all together, with me!” The group then walked through the darkness as they sang together. “We’re going to show our fire; And strive on, ever higher; There’s nothing for us to lose; And a Destiny to choose; We won’t give up, we won’t give in; And together, we will win!” Then seven cheered at the end, and Starlight looked to Maestro. “I’m sorry that we…” Maestro shook his head. “There’s no need for you to apologize- After all, despair mist is pretty effective stuff. I’m surprised that anyone knows the spell nowadays, though. It was lost after the Winter of the Windigoes.” Thunder raised an eyebrow. “Spell? So we’re dealing with somepony that deals in ancient magic?” Maestro nodded. “Yes. But, we can’t worry about that right now- we’ve a world to save.” The group nodded, and went to the old Royal Palace together.