Well gentlemen, I have decided to post this thread here, mostly due to sheer boredom, and the fact that I am curious as to what opinions that Luna's faithful devotees have on this thread topic, as to gain an additional perspective on how my idea is perceived. That, and I haven't gotten a reply from anyone from the Protect Celestia group in a while, seeing as how it has been mostly... Well, dead to be blunt in terms of forum activity. (Last I checked anyhow.)

The text below is a copypaste job from the original thread here.

I advise you check the link in question and review the comments that it has received there as to gain an additional viewpoint on this thread topic. As for additional reasons as to why I am posting it here, I am in the conceptual phases of planning out a story involving these two siblings relationship between each other post Luna's return to Equestria.

To clarify, I have always been rather curious as to what role the emotion of guilt plays between these two alicorns.

One such story does scratch the surface area of it, but nowhere enough to even leave me satisfied as an appetizer. http://www.fimfiction.net/story/135392/3/many-moons-ago/dust-and-shadows
The chapter here in question deals with an increasingly emotionally unstable Celestia obsessing over her own sister's banishment, desperately wishing to know how horribly her own kin has suffered at her own hooves.

I won't spoil it, but I would be curious as to your reactions to it as such.

Back on topic, the thread will might be modified in the future with additional details as to what I am going on about as more and more of you contribute your two cents to the matter at hand. Think of it as a constantly expanding horizon of new info.

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Well, considering that I have yet to find a thread for the following topic, I have decided to post my own little tidbit of rambling that are my interpretations and thoughts for a what if version of Celestia dealing with circumstances of the past. I do warn you, the following isn't based on anything from the show, mostly being an assembly of fanon that I have produced. The following is purely hypothetical speculation from the creator of this article, and is not referencing the show canon Celestia. With that said, I shall begin.

Depending upon your perception of Celestia, she can either appear to be a bigoted tyrant that oppresses the masses, or a benevolent ruler whose devotion to Equestria is unmatched.

Always wearing a smile of warmth and caring, Celestia almost radiates the emotions of kindness, compassion, and empathy.

But what if behind this regal mask, lies a being who is buried beneath an ocean of both guilt and sorrow? In particular, for "failing" to being a good sister to her younger sibling Luna.

Like I said, there isn't any evidence in the show to suggest that the canon version of Celestia feels any of these emotions. But upon the many interpretations of Celestia I have seen, the most interesting of which for me personally seems to be that of a vulnerable individual who forces her feelings to the back of her mind, bound by her devotion to her subjects and other species alike, having them hidden under lock and key by a regal gaze of compassion, even to the point of where her own sister is not aware of her suffering, so to speak.

So what if under some bizarre circumstance, Celestia becomes the victim of an enemy who specializes in psychological manipulation, say Nightmare Moon or any deity that is capable of kidnapping Celestia and/or sending her into a trace? What if they had the intent of breaking Celestia by forcing the events from her perceived failures to the forefront of her mind? A damn without maintenance can only hold for so long before disintegrating and releasing years of pent up emotions. An enemy who specializes in manipulating their victims dreams and what not could potentially lure Celestia into a weakened state of self loathing and despair, especially if said villain feeds off negative emotions that are generated by the princess.

One of the questions for me is this. How would those closest to her, especially her sister Luna, react to the advent of this new information coming to the forefront? I.E: Luna realizing just how much her sister feelings guilt, despair, and anger at herself for being unable to prevent Luna's fall to darkness?

Edit: Here is a video as an example.

And a comic to go with it.

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Additional Commentary For This Group

Essentially, I am curious as to what a Celestia who is not only is plagued by a sense of guilt, but has an active sense of self loathing and hatred for herself in the extreme, to the point beyond where she is beyond most any sense of reason. To be blunt, envisioning herself as nothing but a worthless tyrant who banished her own sister for her own selfish gains, all because of her ignorance for her younger sister. A guilt that not only devours her from within, but becomes part of who she is as a pony. An inferiority complex that has been honed by the millennium during the trials in which she has had to face alone, with every failure being weighted upon her shoulders.

I am talking about a Celestia who hates herself to the point of actively despising who she is as a pony, to the point of both her sun, reflection, and cutie mark giving rise to anger, anxiety, sorrow, and what not, and even subconsciously fostering a system of sister worship for Luna in order to compensate for her deeds.

Like the original thread has stated, I am curious as to what an enemy such as the likes of Nightmare Moon could probably do with this information. I am thinking along the lines of reducing Celestia to a whimpering foal, rendered dependent upon her own sisters affection to the point where even her psyche is not even left untouched. (This is under the assumption that Nightmare Moon is a separate entity from Luna herself.)

A foal that is vulnerable to the slightest criticism, to the point where she is even inspired to the point of indulging in self harm to take her mind of her intense emotional turmoil.

Essentially, Celestia's mind is warped into a role of reversal with her younger sister. As in being completely incapable of ruling Equestria with any degree of confidence, with her confidence directly tied to how well her sister views her, and her own perceptions of how well she is doing as a whole. Perhaps even to the point where Luna practically has to become Celestia's mother of all things, in more ways than one.

In that, I am also curious as to how Luna would react to such a situation.
Would it be with unsubdued horror? Anger at the ones who dared to lay a hoof on her older sister and send her into such a downward spiral? Shock as she realizes that she practically is forced into a role of motherhood for her older sister? And what about when she realizes just how deeply Celestia has been scarred? (Assuming Nightmare Moon or some other enemy floods Celestia with every conscious moment that Luna had to endure on the Moon, effectively shattering Celestia's willpower. )

Please, do give me your opinions as to what you think of the topic.

Hey I commented on the last post about this.

...you're presenting as a novelty something that is one of the most common tropes involving the princesses. They forgive each other, but they have a hard time forgiving themselves.
This really is a point around which a lot of stories revolve: the emotional baggage of guilt, need to appear strong while hiding the vulnerable, hurting inside, seeking medicine for own soul.

I have three stories where Celestia is the central character and all three touch this matter. Prince of Zebras - superficially healed wounds come back in full strength, and Celestia fights dearly not to lose Luna again. Overconfidence - Not Luna's problem specifically, but what it means to be a princess. To command lives of others and have them pay with their lives for your mistakes. And the recent Not Another Rapefic, where Celestia did deal with the guilt - in a manner that brought a lot of harm, which only now can be repaired. That's so much for what-if.

“[Luna], if you ever say you're not qualified to rule, I'll knock you so hard you're gonna see all the stars. If anything, you're far better at it than me.”
(...)
“Are you blaming yourself for Everfree again?”

“No, not this time. I’m blaming myself for abandoning you when you needed me the most. You forgave me, Luna, but I don't think I'll forgive myself, ever.”

“Celestia, what you said... I... I'm not good with words. The stars, seeing all of them...”

...what?

“If you keep blaming yourself for that... Your cutie mark, it will... fall off...”

I frowned.

“I mean...” she groaned, sighed and screwed her face. “I'll kick your flank so hard it will fall off!! Your cutie mark, that is!” Then she covered her face. “I'm hopeless!”

Oh! I neck-hugged my sister, laughing. “It wasn't so bad! I mean, it was, but it's a start!”

I think the princess guilt thing may have be beating a dead horse (pun obviously intended), just like the Changeling-In-Ponyville thing. At least as far as fanfiction goes.

How Luna would react? Well, I think it's one of those things like others have said. They've forgiven each other, but struggle with forgiving themselves.

Hmm... we still need a Luna icon, and a not-Trollestia Celestia icon.

If you read the comics, it is revealed that Luna herself was not fully in control of what happened during the Nightmare Moon incident. I won't give all the details away, but I'll tell you that she is taken over forces that attempt to use her powers to gain a foothold in the world. There is guilt involved, in a manner of speaking, but it is more of the kind where she feels horrible that she allowed herself to fall and caused problems for her sister and the ponies of Equestria. It's a quick moment, don't get me wrong, but it fits with her personality, her sister's caring nature, and the world as a whole.

My points:
1. The princess-guilt thing may have been done quite a bit already, but that doesn't mean it can't be done anymore. It can be done, and it can be done well. Don't let the fact that it's been done before stop you from pursuing it as a story.
2. I reject the comics as canon with the show. I doubt Chrysalis' return or Nightmarity will get any mention in the show, just b/c it would confuse the target audience who doesn't follow the comics. You are totally free to come up with your own interpretation of what the canon is regarding the origin of NMM. Just be ready to have it steamrolled when S4 comes around.
3. My opinion on NMM:

1. Nightmare Moon and Luna are one and the same. NMM is not a demon, otherworldly entity or whatever else have you.
2. Luna consciously and willingly transformed into Nightmare Moon. If this were not the case she would not have done it so easily during "Luna Eclipsed". I believe she did this to match Celestia physically, and to give her a more commanding presence than standard-size Luna.
3. During her first battle with Celestia (pre-Moon), NMM was sane and completely in control.
4. When NMM returned, she was very much insane. If you think about a thousand years alone on the Moon for a little while, you'll get this. This is why she had a firm grip on the villain ball during Friendship is Magic.
5. When NMM was blasted by the Elements of Harmony after her return, they restored her mental acuity, but also robbed her of the energy needed to maintain the form of NMM, thus restoring her to her biological base form of normal Luna. As time passed, she regained her strength and magical energy, allowing her to re-energize her mane (as we see in Luna Eclipsed).

And from that, I draw the conclusion that Nightmare Moon is simply an alternate form of Luna, ready and waiting to be accessed. If Luna ever stands in battle alongside (or against) Celestia, she will become NMM once more. Of course, Luna is always conveniently away when a villain needs beating (I was screaming her name when Twilight needed a mentor to train with during Magic Duel).

But don't even get me started on how Luna's apology was fake, eternal night was never the original plan, and Celestia revised history regarding this whole affair...

4. Regarding Celestia, I agree, she has a lot of guilt on her heart about what happened to Luna. And Nightmare Moon, Discord, or anypony else in on this fact would gladly exploit it, especially NMM, since it saps Celestia's will to fight and/or kill her. This is why NMM would win in a straight-up fight: she has the resolve to do what needs to be done to achieve victory. Celestia is a somewhat overbearing leader, yes, but not a sadistic/power-hungry tyrant. She believes she is always doing what is right for Equestria, but because she is essentially a god, there's nopony to check her if her good intentions go astray, save Luna/NMM. And the first time Luna tried to, NMM was the result. Of course, Celestia had the history books revised to maintain her ever-benevolent image, but while she could lie to the public, she couldn't lie to herself.

2174887>>2175666>>2180577

...you're presenting as a novelty something that is one of the most common tropes involving the princesses. They forgive each other, but they have a hard time forgiving themselves.

This really is a point around which a lot of stories revolve: the emotional baggage of guilt, need to appear strong while hiding the vulnerable, hurting inside, seeking medicine for own soul.

I think the princess guilt thing may have be beating a dead horse (pun obviously intended), just like the Changeling-In-Ponyville thing. At least as far as fanfiction goes.

My points:

1. The princess-guilt thing may have been done quite a bit already, but that doesn't mean it can't be done anymore. It can be done, and it can be done well. Don't let the fact that it's been done before stop you from pursuing it as a story.

2. I reject the comics as canon with the show. I doubt Chrysalis' return or Nightmarity will get any mention in the show, just b/c it would confuse the target audience who doesn't follow the comics. You are totally free to come up with your own interpretation of what the canon is regarding the origin of NMM. Just be ready to have it steamrolled when S4 comes around.

... Well damn me and my ideas to smithereens.

It appears that I failed to clarify more specifically on what my topic page is about, so I suppose the error is mine. Serves me right for not pruning my page for missing information and the like.
It is that or perhaps my mind is muddied to the point of failing to observe that something the likes of my idea has been beaten to death with a broken stick.

Either way, I apologize for the inconvenience gentlemen. That said, there still is the task of giving you a solid idea of what I have in mind. Whether I do so successfully remains to be seen, and I apologize once again in advance if I fail to write this comment with any degree of clarity.

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Anyhow, it has been made clear to me that the concept which I have presented has either been done to death, or the concept is similar enough to other ideas that have been explored to in stories to the point of being near redundant.

That being said however, it would also appear that I have failed to narrow down just exactly what the plot to be is about.

To be short and to the point, I am curious as to giving a little twist on plot element of guilt between the two sisters. Specifically, a scenario where Princess Celestia is kidnapped by an unknown entity who gains power through negative emotions such as despair, anger, sorrow, guilt and the like. This entity also specializes in using both dark magic and their keen knowledge of their own branch of pseudo psychology to torment their victims in such a way to potentially permanently shatter their resolve and spirit, both emotionally and mentally.

The scenario is as follows. A thousand pardons if I appear to read off like a broken record.

Unbeknownst to anyone but herself, Princess Celestia is suffering through one of her periodic relapses of psychological PTSD. For the past millennium, Celestia has been worn down by episodes of torment from her past, especially in failing her role as an older sister to Luna.

During the time since Luna's absence however, she was able to slowly able to develop and refine methods to cope with dealing with the many pains as sole ruler of Equestria, most especially the previously mentioned of act of banishing her sister. With time, her ability has matured to such a degree, that even the most astute and observant eyes are not able to decode her royal mask that she hides behind whenever these episodes hit her.

Be them justified or not though, no matter the logical reasoning against them, Celestia is unable to forgive herself for banishing her own sister, even when Luna has forgiven Celestia personally herself. Though the centuries have dulled the pain to a numb buzzing, the triumphant return of Princess Luna has rendered countless centuries of burying and forgetting her deeds for naught. By force of habit however, Celestia is easily able to to conceal her sufferings from all that are close to her, even from her own sister.

To alleviate this pain, if only temporarily, Celestia has taken up a practice that if Twilight were to know of it, would almost certainly send her into a complete panic attack. To say what her sister would think of it probably can be determined by a few logical deductions.

To be blunt, the solar diarch took in uncharacteristic practice of self harm, partly as a way to atone for "sins" and to relieve herself of her own anxiety by distracting herself by using pain when all other measure fail. Princess Celestia also does this to inflict "punishment" upon herself, as she has developed a hidden side that sometimes pops up every now and then, during which in this phase her contempt for herself comes to a heated level. Though the princess was able to squash this behavior early on during her solo reign, upon learning of her sister's own suffering during her time on the move, this form of coping came back with a bloody vengeance. (No matter how logical the argument that Celestia tries to tell herself otherwise.)

(This characteristic has been partly inspired by my own experiences when dealing with performance anxiety during my time in middle school, as I can attest to going through similar experiences as what I am describing here. Being that Celestia is one of my favorite characters, with a little of my own world building to boot, I have decided to include this trait as a radical departure of her usual interpretations of her character. If you are under the assumption that this trending dangerously near possession sue territory, I am aware that this may partly indeed prove to be partly to be the case.)

As one can imagine, this behavior is anything but healthy for the beloved diarch. But with pressure to maintain a stoic but compassionate demeanor for her people, as well as her own caring nature, she ultimately withholds informing anypony about her own doubts and feelings.

All of this would have remained as such, were it not for an opportunistic enemy.

Princess Celestia is kidnapped by an extremely powerful dark deity and forcibly powered down to her native earth pony form. (Your head canon and world building may vary on this.)

From there, the world as Celestia and her friends and family know it are forever altered from that point forth.

Over her lifetime, Princess Celestia has confronted many enemies, with many unique varieties and forms to deal with.

One thing that they all have in common however, was that they never managed to subdue Celestia to her core herself. The villain mentioned above shatters that record.

As who this villain is suppose to be, I am still in the process of formulating the right villain for the purpose of torturing and humbling the almighty sun diarch. What I CAN say however is that they are successful in destroying any sense of security that Celestia managed to secure over the centuries, her life coming to an utter train wreak in a matter of days.

To clarify: The reverting of Celestia to her natural born form is only the starting tip of the iceberg for a nightmare shall forever scar Celestia. The dark deity in question plunges into the very depths of Celestia's own mind, probing her for vulnerabilities to further exploit.

As said before, this dark deity is powered by the negative energy of their targets, mostly by harvesting emotions such as anger, sorrow, guilt, despair, horror, and the like. One idea I is that if I were to use Nightmare Moon as a shade spirit, I would have her gain physical manifestation and control over Celestia.

So what if under some bizarre circumstance, Celestia becomes the victim of an enemy who specializes in psychological manipulation, say Nightmare Moon or any deity that is capable of kidnapping Celestia and/or sending her into a trace? What if they had the intent of breaking Celestia by forcing the events from her perceived failures to the forefront of her mind? A damn without maintenance can only hold for so long before disintegrating and releasing years of pent up emotions. An enemy who specializes in manipulating their victims dreams and what not could potentially lure Celestia into a weakened state of self loathing and despair, especially if said villain feeds off negative emotions that are generated by the princess.

One of the questions for me is this. How would those closest to her, especially her sister Luna, react to the advent of this new information coming to the forefront? I.E: Luna realizing just how much her sister feelings guilt, despair, and anger at herself for being unable to prevent Luna's fall to darkness?

(Apologies that I am rambling here gentlemen. An unfortunate tendency on my part in trying to force a focus on the topic I wish to discuss.)

During my time in this fandom, I have seen how some Luna fans have show an active contempt for the "solar tyrant", with their head canons coming up with Celestia banishing her sister for her own gains. In essence, I wish to utilize that contempt and incorporate it into Celestia's character, with her own mind becoming diluted with thoughts of hatred for her own character. This gives the opportunity for an enemy the likes of Nightmare Moon to manipulate Celestia to such a degree, that she becomes a very submissive foal, to the point of when Luna finally rescues her own sister, she is forced to confront a forced role of reversal with her sister, with it being the lunar diarch's turn to comfort and care for her own sister, all the while dealing with her own troubles at the same time.
One of the reasons for this thread existing is that I am curious as to how you would think Luna would be able to cope with the fact that she is forced to care for a very shaken Celestia who has been reduced to a state of dependency vastly unlike her usual self.

Though you have told me that this concept has been done with several different spins, I am curious as to how circumstances such as this would play out.

I feel that there is powerful emotional potential for both sisters to bond with each other during their time of recovery, as well as for the tears to be shed as both sisters discover things that they never knew before about each other.

I am tempted to ramble on a bit further, but I wish for additional commentary before moving on how to write such a story. How should I go about it? What potential do I have with kind of plot?

Sounds like a terribly self-serving pointless indulgence in making Celestia suffer. Let's make an almighty overpowered enemy and fuck up Celestia.

If your story is to serve as a study of Luna forced to take the dominant position, the reader will be far too shocked with state and plight of Celestia to pay close attention to Luna's performance. It will feel like a pointless plot piece tacked on top of torture trollfic. Even your description disgusts me. I don't think you'll get many readers to have patience to reach the point where Celestia begins recovery, especially if you imply the damage is permanent - ESPECIALLY if you still struggle to come up with any reasonable motivation for the villain.

There's a ton of ways to study Celestia-Luna role reversal that could show Luna coping with being forced into dominant role - without breaking them both. In your given example I believe Luna would fully delegate rule over the country to some other entity (Twilight? - or just tell ponies to fuck themselves) while sharing her time in equal proportions between taking care of Celestia and making the villain mewl in desperate pleas for death.

tl;dr: disgusting trollfic.

2199001
Ahh, I see what you want...

First off, I really do like the idea, giving Celestia an enemy that can challenge her on the psychological level. What you have so far is a good basic outline for a story. As you develop it into something more, my suggestions:
1. If at all possible, don't use Discord. Even if you set it before his reform, it's cliché and too easy. Not to mention I don't think he's dark enough for your purposes.
2. I can't say much about NMM b/c I don't know what your headcanon is regarding her. I've explained mine, and for how much I've developed it and thought it out, I'm kind of locked into it, so I'm not much help with alternative interpretations.
3. This being said, I would suggest creating an original villain. One idea could be a mutated windigo (since they feed off hate, after all, including self-hate) intelligent enough to manipulate Celestia.
4. Making this story about the Celestia-Luna relationship exclusively means you have to get two other princesses and a heck of a lot of guards out of the picture. My suggestion: get them out in the wilderness, on some sort of annual retreat or something.
5. I can see this story becoming some serious nightmare fuel, and the tone will need to reflect that.

If you'd like, I'd certainly be up for collaborating with you on this. Just let me know.

2199098

Sounds like a terribly self-serving pointless indulgence in making Celestia suffer. Let's make an almighty overpowered enemy and fuck up Celestia.

If your story is to serve as a study of Luna forced to take the dominant position, the reader will be far too shocked with state and plight of Celestia to pay close attention to Luna's performance. It will feel like a pointless plot piece tacked on top of torture trollfic. Even your description disgusts me. I don't think you'll get many readers to have patience to reach the point where Celestia begins recovery, especially if you imply the damage is permanent - ESPECIALLY if you still struggle to come up with any reasonable motivation for the villain.

There's a ton of ways to study Celestia-Luna role reversal that could show Luna coping with being forced into dominant role - without breaking them both. In your given example I believe Luna would fully delegate rule over the country to some other entity (Twilight? - or just tell ponies to fuck themselves) while sharing her time in equal proportions between taking care of Celestia and making the villain mewl in desperate pleas for death.

tl;dr: disgusting trollfic.

... I have yet to find out how I should respond to this... Comment of yours.
What you are saying is that the premiss of the story I am planning to write is nothing but a hash bag filled with nothing but tactless dribble? How is it so? Is it not one of the points of story telling to evoke emotion? To dive into fantasies and out of reality? Is it a crime to give our own take as to how things go? Is it wrong to explore such concepts?

Believe me, if I truly wished to write a troll fic, I would have had Princess Celestia being raped by her own bloody student with Luna's horn! Yet I hold no interest in writing troll fics. Yet you deem me a heretic for even thinking about the concept.

Why do you think it so? I do not trend and drive a wedge into common courtesy. But you act as if i am slandering a real life person. Yet at their core, Celestia and Luna are fictional characters whom the many stories of lore are centered around. To me, such experiences such as I have describe can further empower these characters when they triumph over the many difficult obstacles that they will face in their journey to rejoining two halves of a heart into one.

I will admit, I am a writer that has little to offer in terms of quality, or anything even remotely deep philosophically wise. But I aim to be anything but shallow. Though my prose shall never amount to anything more than idle fantasy, is it wrong to express it?

How is the way that I proposed is inferior in any sense? Such a thing is subjective to debate.

2199129 I am pleased that my efforts to narrow down the topic itself haven't got to waste.
Though I still have much to present that is not currently present in this thread. Nowhere is my lack of a tight focus more prevalent than it is here. There is so much potential that brims with the inferno that wishes to over engulf a forest fire. Yet words do no justice to the concepts that I have tied to my image's eye.

Thus is the reason why the rather chaotic ramblings you see above are present. Stories such as Molded to Love and Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen inspire me to write. Stories about the interwoven relationship between the two sisters evoke a sense of awe that wishes to be free and looked upon in the world.

As for your bullet points...

1. I have no plans as of now to include Discord in whatsoever. So it is safe to assume if he even does appear, it will be in a minor role.

2. Locked in? Oh dear me. Hopefully this shall not prove problematic to my story's endeavors if it comes down you help with assisting with the story's development.

3. Hmm... I'll think about it.

4. I was planning to focus on the two characters anyhow. Shouldn't be a problem.

5. The problem here is how to actually pull it off.
What is considered Nightmare Fuel around here doesn't even phase me most of the time, so I will have trouble translating the emotions of fear and terror to the audience in such a way to make them feel empathetic. If you have any suggestion and/or know of anyone that knows how, do please speak up.

But you act as if i am slandering a real life person. Yet at their core, Celestia and Luna are fictional characters whom the many stories of lore are centered around.

Suspension of disbelief. Immersion.

Either you succeed as a writer, and the emotions of the reader flow freely, as if the characters were real life persons, the reader shares their feelings with impact no different than as if they lived for real, the logic tries to remind this is just a story, and fails as the feelings deny disbelief - or you fail as writer, the reader sees fake cardboard cutouts of the characters, never gets to feel for them, and rejects the image you paint as a poor fake.

If you succeed, you don't need any true nightmare fuel to get the reader agitated. You want to elicit real feelings, but you don't want to overdo it. If you manage to make the reader truly revolted, they will drop the story, period. Thumb down, I don't come here to torture myself reading something that makes me feel bad.

Now if you fail - escalating the levels of torture will make it grotesque. If you wanted something more ambitious than Twilight raping Celestia with severed Luna's horn, you're not really getting there. This will be a poor story that simply doesn't captivate the reader and adding worse tortures won't help.

How best to tell if you succeed or fail in building immersion? If you get immersed in your story yourself, while writing it. If you succeed, you won't want to add more nightmare fuel - you won't want to do this to yourself. You *feel* the characters are real and you don't *wish* to harm them more. If you fail, this will be a meaningless, useless self-indulgence, disgusting grotesque.

Now considering your flippant approach to seeing the fantasy characters as live beings, I can only assume you're aiming at the latter form of prose. Permanent mind damage is not something a mentally healthy person would wish upon another live person. You may imagine it as an element of mechanics of a story - a story you don't believe, a story you think false from moment one and won't ever allow yourself to get captivated and feel otherwise.

If you can't see them as live persons, neither will the reader, and so your story will be definitely on the poor end of the spectrum - grotesque, trollfics and crap. If you can aim for immersive, you'll just instinctively know how to limit the dose of cruelty.