Queen Sparkle is a really interesting character. Perhaps even the best one in the Trilogy; I mean, she's somehow transcended madness and loneliness over millions of years of existence, which is... tragic, but awesome.

It's really cool and thought-provoking, have to say.

But anyway, a certain passage really got my brain cells going. This one here:

“Oh, please. Right and wrong? You sound like Celestia, and just like her you’re too young to have figured out that there is no such thing. There are things that amuse me, and things that bore me. That’s the only meaningful distinction. Keeping Luna locked up and her mind addled wasn’t a stimulating use of her. Now, getting her to revert into Nightmare Moon? That was fun.”

“Why would she ever-”

“I knew the right buttons to press, it was easy. Especially in loops where Celestia didn’t survive. Once she falls again, though, wow,” says Princess Sparkle. “Matching wits against her in a decades-long chess match set against the backdrop of a slowly dying world? Absolutely exquisite. We probably spent fifty-five percent of our time in bed together, and fifty-five percent trying to kill each other.”

“That adds to a hundred and ten percent,” says Star Swirl.

Princess Sparkle grins. “We’re both excellent multitaskers.”

Did she torture Luna until she snapped? Did she simply wait until the right time to drop some choice words; namely, after Celestia's death? Or something else?

And that "decades-long chess game"... How do you think that would have played out?

Just wondering what people's theories on this are, if they have any.

1365887

Did she torture Luna until she snapped? Did she simply wait until the right time to drop some choice words; namely, after Celestia's death? Or something else?

Yes. When you literally have all the time in the world, the answer to every question becomes "all of the above."

1365894

Heh. Good point.

1365887
I figured it would be more of a psychological thing rather than physical torture. Celestia's dead, Canterlot's in flames from the changeling invasion, Twilight's just ascended to alicorn Princess status, and Luna has no idea that she's not the innocent little student any more so she underestimates her. I think Twilight could really do a number on her mind by playing on her survivor's guilt, 'oh if you hadn't held back your power maybe your sister wouldn't be dead, now we need to rebuild, desperate times call for desperate measures, show them all that you're a strong leader, morality is a luxury we don't have time for now,' that sort of thing.

Then the two of them rule together, the entire Kingdom is in turmoil menaced from all sides as other nations take advantage of Equestria's weakness, NMM goes ahead with the eternal night thing (or maybe something like eighteen hours of night and six of twilight). The two of them need every ally they can get and have to rule together, but they're both psychopaths and neither one of them is stupid enough to trust the other. So they maneuver around one another through political intrigue constantly seeking to gain the upper hoof.

All complicated by the fact that they're both attracted to one another physically, so the sex becomes just another weapon to use against one another.

NMM probably 'won' a lot more often in the beginning, seeing as how she has a lot more experience in this kind of thing, but eventually Twilight would know enough about the course of events that she'd become unstoppable. What does her victory state look like? Not even sure myself, but I assume it's total domination of her kingdom and her lover as the world rots away.

Horrible to live under, but for Twilight? A fun diversion for 10,000 years or so until she gets bored with it.

1366011

...Wow.

That sounds awesome. And incredibly complex, jeez.

Then again, nothing is simple when it comes to time loops, apparently.

1366041
There's probably enough potential material there for a whole other 'Reign of Queen Sparkle' story. In that story she's dangerously unpredictable and delusional, a scenario where she turns cold-and-calculating evil instead could be fun to write. Plus, there must be other things she tried. Want to learn about military tactics? What better way than to spark a war between your nation and another one for practice? Would a government-led genocide be feasibly possible? Why not do some experiments? How much magic can young foals be exposed to before it becomes fatal? Any interesting mutations? Let's find out! Who cares if they live in horrible agony, they'll all reset next loop anyway.

1365887 Theoretically, if you know what bothers someone or somepony, all you have to do is keep reminding them of it. Not all the time, but consistently, so that they end up dwelling on it, and feeling more than simply irritated. It doesn't have to be a "wipe-out" approach, either. Supposedly, Discord whispered a few choice words in Luna's ears some time before she became the Nightmare. All he did was choose the right moment.
And that is when they're despondent about something, or perhaps only a little blue. You don't need them wandering the passageways weeping.