3968377 Before I split this one up, it was going to be the second to last one. There's two fairly short ones left to go: One leading up to to Twi-prime's arrival, and one picking up right after she leaves from the vault.
Good grief... This is tragic really. I know its meant to be dark, but I can't help but hope for a mildly happy, or at least completely unsoulcrushing ending.
Twilight... please don't fall any further. And please don't reach the bottom, cause only then will you realize just how far you've fallen and it will destroy you.
3968395 What, hallucinatory Zombielestia isn't what you wanted to dream about tonight?
3968477 Keep in mind that really, the end of the story is Breaking Out from YCFF. But the end of this... not so much. I'm sure you can guess what the last four words in the story are going too be.
3968578 Oh, you better believe that's going to happen. It's what the last chapter after main Twilight tells her they're closing the loop is for.
3968623 I've developed a serious love/hate relationship with this fic. It's so horrible, but I just have to read it. I hope you have some mad skills to put an ending to this.
that part where celestia points out the...mistaken execution(s), that scenario seems vaguely familiar to me. can't remember where i've seen/heard of it before at all though. oh well, yay new chapter
If I were Luna I would play along for long enough to gain her trust, then backstab her if I think I have a chance of killing her. Of course that would reset the loop and subsequently only work once, but I wouldn't know that.
Eakin, if there is anything about this story that disappoints me, it's that the ride will have to end sometime soon. At the same time, I've been wholly satisfied with this work you've put together. It's the sort of wade-through-a graveyard-in-a-sewer-in-socks stuff that makes people bow their heads and wish it never happened - which it didn't, which is why it's also awesome because it's just a what if.
There was a phrase in AestheticBrony's "The Immortal Game" that I can't help but feel was the driving principle here.
"I can do evil too."
Twilight said that. And here, we see it.
The show must go on.
Getting Spike to rape Rarity? I don't think I've seen a more complete way to destroy Generosity. Maniac to the end.
Yesterday the executioner beheaded a pony that I would have sworn was the exact same stallion as one I’d laid eggs in a month ago.
Huh... is she going insane? (Well obviously, but, well...) Or what's happening here?
whenever I think I've reached the worst part
In one move I yank the slimy corpse of Spike, drained of blood with its rib cage torn open, out and hold it up for her to see.
............
“Trust me, he knows,” I call back to her over my shoulder. “I’m sure if he were still capable of higher thought he’d be happy to know that his first time was with the mare he’s always had a crush on. It’s not really my place to comment, but I do hope you’ll be a generous lover.”
..........................
you know, I never thought of Psychopathy Is Configurable as a bedtime story until now.
There isn't any door, and there certainly isn't a room behind that door, and since there's no room it would be ridiculous to believe that there could be anything to worry about inside a room that isn't there behind a door that doesn't exist.
I think I enjoy the fact that the narrator is so obviously flawed more than any other aspect of this story. I get a lot of enjoyment out of trying to figure out what's actually going on.
I like how Rarity's sundering the Element of Generosity could be seen as both generosity and selfishness, depending on one's point of view. She's protecting herself, but she's also giving Spike back his dignity. Of course, then we delve into zombie ethics, and that never ends well...
"Princess?" I manage to squeak. "Are you real? Am I imagining this?" "The answers to those questions are yes, and no. Not necessarily in that order however."
Posthumous Trollestia. I think that's a first.
I do love how Twilight's being haunted by her own conscience whenever she sees the corpse of a friend. Projecting her insecurities on Celestia makes total sense. She always believed that's what the princess thought, so now she's hearing it.
The changelings' greatest strength has become Twilight's greatest weakness: deception. She's reshaping her own mind, senses, and sanity, all to delude herself into thinking that everything is certainly fine. And watching her do it is wonderfully chilling.
In one move I yank the slimy corpse of Spike, drained of blood with its rib cage torn open, out and hold it up for her to see. "Does this look like a bluff to you?" The effect on Rarity is immediate. Her resolve vanishes and she spins away from me, but I follow her around the cage so she has to look. "What's the matter, Rarity? Upset that somepony else besides you found a way to take advantage of his heart?"
Bloody hell. FimFiction didn't tell me you had updated this.
I may or may not be a good idea to read it just before going to bed, but...oh, well.
At this point, Twilight has completely lost her sanity, wrapped inside her deception. How can I hate so much and feel so sorry for a character so much?
Luna, on the other hand...I knew she was in a very bad shape when Star Swirl found her...But I can't even imagine what he fell when he saw...that.
Jesus H... this chapter was superb, in a terrifying, gut wrenching, cringe-worthy way. Brilliant. I just adore how vividly you paint Twilight's fraying mind. Horrifying.
I came back to find the chapter where prime universe Twi and Star Swirl show up, etc., and only now do I catch that Spike stops moving as Twilight's magic cuts out. Damn that's good writing.
ETA: Right near the beginning of the very next chapter is this line:
I’ve always been a multitasker, so the idea of killing two birds with one stone followed by using said stone to bludgeon an empire into subjugation is a naturally appealing one.
6174618 Actually, it should be ectothermic. Endothermic animals are the ones that produce most of their own heat, and exothermic animals don't exist. Yes, endothermic means nearly the opposite when switching between biology and chemistry. Language is fun.
She raises her eyebrow. "You're my only student. Don't tell me you didn't know, deep down, that you weren't good enough? Wow, that's even more pathetic."
When I’m not dealing with military affairs or the political machinations of the few ponies who still show up to my court, I’m in the lab trying to figure out how to give my drones resistance to the arctic temperatures we’ll be invading through. I don’t mind that so much, I’ve always loved experimentation, and I have a wealth of subjects who are more than happy to volunteer. Just yesterday I managed to graft a freshly severed unicorn horn onto a drone and actually integrate our two species’ magical aptitudes together. It only had the chance to try out a few new types of spells before it expired, but just the proof of concept opens up a whole new world of possibilities that I could spend centuries teasing out. If there were only a few more hours in the day!
You know...now that Twilight is capable of controlling the heavenly spheres, she kind of CAN make there be more hours in the day. I wonder what will happen when she realizes this...
my theory for whats happening to twilight, is that she gave herself a dose of that truth believing venom by accident and made herself see things that arent real
The simplest solution is that she is insane. Notice that the hallucinations tell the truth and are good. This is the last of the good Twilight trying to assert herself. At times she totally looses her sanity, her memory fails. She is almost as crazy as Marjory Taylor Greene.
The simplest solution is that she is insane. Notice that the hallucinations tell the truth and are good. This is the last of the good Twilight trying to assert herself. At times she totally looses her sanity, her memory fails. She is almost as crazy as Marjory Taylor Greene.
There's something fitting about posting this right at midnight, give or take ten minutes.
...Well, Twilight now appears to be so far round the bend that she is in fact in orbit. :D
Damn.
How many chapters are left?
3968287
Thanks for posting this right before I was planning on sleeping. I appreciate it. Really.
3968377
Before I split this one up, it was going to be the second to last one. There's two fairly short ones left to go: One leading up to to Twi-prime's arrival, and one picking up right after she leaves from the vault.
Good grief... This is tragic really. I know its meant to be dark, but I can't help but hope for a mildly happy, or at least completely unsoulcrushing ending.
fc00.deviantart.net/fs4/i/2004/248/7/e/THOUGH_YOU_BROKE_MY_HEART____by_sthrnswetpea444.jpg
Twilight... please don't fall any further. And please don't reach the bottom, cause only then will you realize just how far you've fallen and it will destroy you.
So awesome to see this update. This story is disturbing on so many levels and yet I just can't stop reading it!
3968395
What, hallucinatory Zombielestia isn't what you wanted to dream about tonight?
3968477
Keep in mind that really, the end of the story is Breaking Out from YCFF. But the end of this... not so much. I'm sure you can guess what the last four words in the story are going too be.
3968578
Oh, you better believe that's going to happen. It's what the last chapter after main Twilight tells her they're closing the loop is for.
3968623
I've developed a serious love/hate relationship with this fic. It's so horrible, but I just have to read it. I hope you have some mad skills to put an ending to this.
that part where celestia points out the...mistaken execution(s), that scenario seems vaguely familiar to me. can't remember where i've seen/heard of it before at all though. oh well, yay new chapter
Well, that was just a hot mess (did I use that phrase right?).
So, let's see: Spike is dead , Rarity might as well be , and now Zombielestia
But then none of it was real.
I'm both lost and confused now.
Yep, now she's off the deep end's deep end.
If I were Luna I would play along for long enough to gain her trust, then backstab her if I think I have a chance of killing her. Of course that would reset the loop and subsequently only work once, but I wouldn't know that.
So, Little Twily is going nuts eh?
This is getting up there with Eyes Without A Face as one of the most marvelously abhorrent things I've read.
It's amazing how much the unreliable narration helps in keeping Queen Sparkle sympathetic.
Wow. I knew she was pretty crazy - Twilight's never been the most stable pony anyway, but now... Her mind's completely broken and she has no clue.
The truly broken ones almost never do. Until it's too late.
Eakin, if there is anything about this story that disappoints me, it's that the ride will have to end sometime soon. At the same time, I've been wholly satisfied with this work you've put together. It's the sort of wade-through-a graveyard-in-a-sewer-in-socks stuff that makes people bow their heads and wish it never happened - which it didn't, which is why it's also awesome because it's just a what if.
There was a phrase in AestheticBrony's "The Immortal Game" that I can't help but feel was the driving principle here.
"I can do evil too."
Twilight said that. And here, we see it.
The show must go on.
Getting Spike to rape Rarity? I don't think I've seen a more complete way to destroy Generosity. Maniac to the end.
3968623 Good, I hate stories where the ending is pre-determined.
>Discovers the "The Reign of Queen Twilight Sparkle" updated.
>Reads new chapter.
>Finishes chapter.
This is the darkest story ever. Man do I love dark stories.
A healthy dose of repressed memory and hallucinations, both auditory and visual, make great ingredients for an "insanity flavoured" cake.
There simply is not enough stories about gradual progression into madness due to following a dark path due to the best of intentions.
Yay, another chapter!
(Now to try getting through it without )
Huh... is she going insane? (Well obviously, but, well...) Or what's happening here?
whenever I think I've reached the worst part
............
..........................
you know, I never thought of Psychopathy Is Configurable as a bedtime story until now.
(Answer: Yep, she's going insane. -r.)
...
I think I enjoy the fact that the narrator is so obviously flawed more than any other aspect of this story. I get a lot of enjoyment out of trying to figure out what's actually going on.
I gotta say, fake rebellion was a surprise.
I like how Rarity's sundering the Element of Generosity could be seen as both generosity and selfishness, depending on one's point of view. She's protecting herself, but she's also giving Spike back his dignity. Of course, then we delve into zombie ethics, and that never ends well...
Posthumous Trollestia. I think that's a first.
I do love how Twilight's being haunted by her own conscience whenever she sees the corpse of a friend. Projecting her insecurities on Celestia makes total sense. She always believed that's what the princess thought, so now she's hearing it.
The changelings' greatest strength has become Twilight's greatest weakness: deception. She's reshaping her own mind, senses, and sanity, all to delude herself into thinking that everything is certainly fine. And watching her do it is wonderfully chilling.
I eagerly look forward to more.
I need art of this scene.
Bloody hell. FimFiction didn't tell me you had updated this.
I may or may not be a good idea to read it just before going to bed, but...oh, well.
At this point, Twilight has completely lost her sanity, wrapped inside her deception. How can I hate so much and feel so sorry for a character so much?
Luna, on the other hand...I knew she was in a very bad shape when Star Swirl found her...But I can't even imagine what he fell when he saw...that.
What happened to pinkie and dashie?
Or did i miss them?
4456315
They were back in chapter 3
… Creepy…
But I like it.
¡Queen Twilight Sparkle is a rapy genocidal maniac!
Jesus H... this chapter was superb, in a terrifying, gut wrenching, cringe-worthy way. Brilliant.
I just adore how vividly you paint Twilight's fraying mind. Horrifying.
One would think you had a taste of what Twilight is going through.
Props for expertly narrating a first person mind melt-down
I came back to find the chapter where prime universe Twi and Star Swirl show up, etc., and only now do I catch that Spike stops moving as Twilight's magic cuts out. Damn that's good writing.
ETA: Right near the beginning of the very next chapter is this line:
It felt apropos.
"Not a bad first line of defense against an army of exothermic bug monsters"
That should be endothermic - they need heat, they don't give it out.
Am i the only one that thinks it's realy sad to see twighlight go through this instead of it being dark?
6174618
Actually, it should be ectothermic. Endothermic animals are the ones that produce most of their own heat, and exothermic animals don't exist. Yes, endothermic means nearly the opposite when switching between biology and chemistry. Language is fun.
SHe's going a bit... Loopy.
StarSwirl? Confirmed that Twilight's going insane
You know...now that Twilight is capable of controlling the heavenly spheres, she kind of CAN make there be more hours in the day. I wonder what will happen when she realizes this...
my theory for whats happening to twilight, is that she gave herself a dose of that truth believing venom by accident
and made herself see things that arent real
like a more advanced form of twilighting
11170063
The simplest solution is that she is insane. Notice that the hallucinations tell the truth and are good. This is the last of the good Twilight trying to assert herself. At times she totally looses her sanity, her memory fails. She is almost as crazy as Marjory Taylor Greene.
11170063
The simplest solution is that she is insane. Notice that the hallucinations tell the truth and are good. This is the last of the good Twilight trying to assert herself. At times she totally looses her sanity, her memory fails. She is almost as crazy as Marjory Taylor Greene.