41 - Confrontation
Twilight took the bait. She landed in the ravine near the edge of the Everfree Forest. After glancing over the piles of books on the ground, she lifted her head and looked around.
“You’re late!” I stepped out from behind a tree and onto the clearing. “My anonymous letter said to meet me at the sunrise, and as you can see, the sun is already way over the mountains!” The moment I said it, a massive cloud covered the sun.
“Anonymous?” she smirked. “You signed it with ‘Sweetie Belle’ on the bottom. There was also your hoof print on it. As a matter of fact, your hoof prints were all over my foyer. There was even your face-print on the floor and beside it—your tushy-print, for some reason… Was all that really necessary? It took Spike the whole night to clean up the mess you made. And why do you keep picking fights with doors? What the flock is going on inside your head, Sweetie Belle?”
“Well… maybe it wasn’t so very much anonymous, but that still doesn’t explain why you kept me waiting!”
“In your ransom note, you wrote, ‘Meet me in the clearing.’ You didn’t specify which one, so I had to fly around, inspecting each of them.”
I bowed my head.
“Good thing you brought my books. If I hadn’t seen them, I would’ve passed this clearing and moved on to the next one on my list. Perhaps the part that talked about the exact location, got torn off… or burned off… or covered in mud… I hope that was mud…”
“Well, I didn’t really write down the location…” My eyebrows pressed together as I pounded a hoof against the ground in frustration. “But this is the biggest clearing around Ponyville; nopony could miss it!”
“Yes, but it’s not the closest one, Sweetie Belle. I was kind of hoping I’d find you in the one where you usually played with your Cutie Mark Crusaders friends.”
“Why would I be there?”
“I don’t know… It was just wishful thinking on my part it seems…”
I sighed. “You are alone, though, right? Or should I expect any of the real princesses and The Royal Army?” I raised my eyebrows as I sized her up across the piles of books between us.
“I’m alone, Sweetie Belle, just as you requested. Dealing with ponyville affairs is my obligation. I wouldn’t be able to call myself a princess if I couldn’t even take care of a runaway filly.”
“Is that how you see me? An insignificant little filly?”
“I never said that.”
“Well, I’m not! And I can prove it to you!”
“There’s nothing for you to prove…” She sighed. “This may be hard for you to believe, Sweetie Belle, but there are bigger things going on in Equestria than you running away. I came here because I still believe you can be reasoned with. This whole situation is partly my fault. I should‘ve seen your turmoil before, but I was too distracted to notice how troubled you really were. Changing the past again is too risky, so I’m here now to make amends for the future’s sake instead.”
“Good!” I smiled and relaxed my body. The anxiety I held through the morning dissipated a little. I felt confident with only Twilight on the opposite side. It would be way tougher for me if she brought the elements with her or even the ponies of legends. To her detriment, she came alone.
“I’ve cleared the whole schedule for today just for your sake, even though I was supposed to investigate a robbery at some rock farm. Who in their right mind would even want to steal rocks?” She raised a hoof to her muzzle. “No matter!” She cast the question to the ground. “The investigation of the crime will have to wait. I’m here to listen and learn what you’re going through. You weren’t always like this, Sweetie Belle. You can see that things are different from how they used to be, right? Do you remember when the changes started? Supposedly you haven’t come up with any new songs in a while. Your Cutie Mark Crusaders friends kept repeating that when I asked them about you after the Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon incident. I didn’t think much of the void in composition then, but I wonder if that could’ve been an early indication of a changed brain chemistry. I do hope that at least your adept singing hasn’t been impaired. When was the last time you sang anything?”
I blankly stared at her.
“You know, not being able to burst into a song could be a sign of a depression. If you don’t cure the mental disorder early on, it could afflict you for life.”
I facehooved. “You don’t get it Twilight. This isn’t about me. It’s all about you.” I pointed a hoof at her, accusingly.
“Talk to me, Sweetie Belle. Have I displeased you in any way? Excluding the instance when I tried to force a cure on you… And the time I used extra precision settings on my machine instead of the safe ones when I tested you for mana potential and... Um, well you know I’m your friend, right?”
“I was foalish to look up to you at some point. But my eyes are open now, and I see clearly. You plotted against me from the start, trying to lower my guard. When I trusted you most, you shoved your horn in my behind and betrayed me! Friends don’t do that! I’ve been my own friend since then. From that point on, I’m doing things my way!”
“Let me explain myself, Sweetie Belle. I didn’t doing anything out of spite. Please tell me you at least understand that.”
I waved a hoof at her in disregard. “It doesn’t even matter anymore. You’re here now. All is good. I’m really glad you came for your precious books.” I narrowed my eyes as I looked at her. I had imagined her coming nacked, but that was not the case and it had bothered me ever since she touched down.
She was dressed up in a tight black suit covering her entire body, hooves included. Only her head, wings and tail were free of the wrapping fabric.
A saddlebag was perched on her back. “You should have brought a wagon to carry all these books. Not that it would help you—”
“Drop the act, Sweetie Belle, you know I didn’t come here for the books.”
“You didn’t?”
“Of course not! Although, I do hope you took decent care of them.”
“Yes, I did fix a few.” I shrugged my shoulders.
She clenched her teeth and took a deep breath.
Without taking my eyes off her, I nudged a nearby tower of books. My mouth morphed into a smirky smile when I heard them crumple to the ground beside me.
She twitched and struck a hoof on the ground. Her eyebrows pressed together. “Neither of us is here to discuss books, so you best leave them out of this.” Her head cocked as she pointed at my flank with a forehoof. “I congratulate you on your cutie mark, Sweetie Belle,” she changed the subject. “It’s what you wanted for your birthday, and you seem to have gotten it a day early. You could be celebrating it with your friends in Ponyville, and yet, you haven’t even approached anypony. Why is that? I’m sure they’d be thrilled to hear about your cutie mark.”
“And how do you know I didn’t talk to anypony?”
“I secured a list of everypony in Ponyville from Pinkie Pie and asked each one of them.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It was quite a list, but repeated teleportation quickened up the process. My motivation was important enough to justify my invasion of their privacy. Celestia taught me that makes it okay. Most ponies weren’t keen on getting disturbed in their chambers, though, in some cases for good reasons. The things I saw….” She shook her head.
“You were interrogating ponies about me?” I snorted at her.
“I talked to them in case they’ve seen you. You have everypony worried. We wanted to help you, so we all did whatever we could to find you. Especially Spike. He hasn’t slept since your escape from the Happy Hill mental institution. The regret for breathing fire at you is eating him inside. He’ll be relieved to hear that you didn’t get burned.
“None of us knew if you were physically okay. When even Zecora hadn’t seen you, as she recited repeatedly, we got really worried. As far as I know, Spike was the last one to see you after you vanished from the hospital.”
“You mean the nut-house?”
“There’s no need to demean the institution, Sweetie Belle. Mental illnesses can be even more severe than the physical ones. There’s nothing wrong with seeking help when you need it. I’ve been there and nopony thinks I’m weird. They don’t!”
“You might need to seek some more treatments. It seems you mixed up the dates.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Either you think it’s Nightmare’s night or you actually believe yourself to be some kind of superhero. Either way, you’re pretty nutty.”
“Oh, you’re referring to my outfit.” She lifted a foreleg, wrapped in a tight, shiny fabric and observed it from different angles. “Your sister made it for me, which is weird because I never even asked for it. If I did, I’d tell her to make it less tight and itchy.” She scratched one hoof with the other. “I’m not sure why she keeps supplying everypony with these outfits. Perhaps she just wants to express her generous nature in this manner. Who knows? Whatever the case, I’m wearing this bodysuit for aerodynamics. It helps me fly faster. Besides that, it also offers some basic protection from scratches. So, no, I don’t presume to be a superhero. I am here to save you, nonetheless.”
“You came here to hurt me! I just know it! What do you have in your saddlebag, Twilight?”
Her eyes rolled to the side. “Just some—things…”
“Mind if I take a peek?” I charged my channels and launched them toward her bag to feel out its content.
“Yes, I do, actually, mind!” She lit up her horn and engulfed the bag with a magic annihilation barrier, breaking my channels that touched it. “You should respect other ponies’ property!”
“That’s rich, coming from a pony who wants to steal my horn. I guess the rules only work in one direction.”
“Listen, Sweetie Belle, I know what happened to you. Zecora told me that you stole a potion from her. I speculate that some corrupted tissue may have formed in your horn when you drank it, and it’s now messing with your brain. It would also explain why your horn is more reddish every time I see you.
“If either of you had told me about the problem sooner we could have fixed it then and we wouldn’t even be in this situation now.”
“And how exactly would you fix it?”
“These things are like infections. As long as you have corrupted tissue in your body, it’ll keep making you sick. Removing said part would stop the spreading of ill tissue.”
“You’d rip my horn out!”
“No! I’d never resort to doing something as horrendous as that if it can be helped... We’d employ a certified doctor to cut it off professionally, causing as minimal amount of damage as possible. We’d anesthetize you first, of course.
“We did the same with Gummy when he started to bite on ponies. He wasn’t called Gummy back then, you know. We fixed the problem, and he didn’t feel a thing.
“Same with Spike. He used to make a mess of every room by flapping his big spiky wings, but he became a happy, home trained dragon without them. Besides him, there weren’t any wingless dragons around, yet he didn’t miss the excess appendages since he never even inquired about them.”
“And now you wish to do the same to me?”
“With a slight difference. Spike got a new pair of wings after the molding. Unlike with dragon wings, losing a horn is permanent.”
“You want to take away my horn just so you can make me tame and cast me to the background, don’t you?”
“You don’t need to rely on magic to make your life meaningful, Sweetie Belle. You can do without it. Most ponies lack the ability to cast magic spells, and they manage to live just fine. Your horn has only brought you anguish and agony. Let us help you.”
“I’m not seeking your help and you aren’t offering any. Cutting off pieces of me is not called helping, no matter how you try to wrap it up all nice and sweet.”
“Okay, let’s just gently put down this hot horn cutting subject for now.” She forcefully smiled at me and laid the emptiness on the ground.
It wasn’t even worth faking a smile in response. Her joke hadn’t been funny the first time she had uttered it at the boulder training, and it certainly wasn’t funny in the grievous situation we were in.
“I have plan B set up since you clearly won’t play along with plan A. You want to come back home, Sweetie Belle. I know you do. We also want you to come back to Ponyville. Everypony misses you dearly.”
“Do you presume I brought you here so you can make me a mere Earth pony? You think I’ll just bow down my head and accept your tyranny, don’t you?”
“Look, if the reliable procedure scares you so, there’s also another way we can settle our differences. I believe I figured out why you’re being so stubborn and wouldn’t let us help you. You’re too attached to your horn and your instincts urge you to protect it, even if it’s bad for you. But I have a plan to fix it. How about we let you decide its fate all by yourself?” She slightly nodded at me. “We didn’t think you were responsible or objective enough to make the necessary decision. That’s why we tried to force the wellbeing onto you. Maybe we were wrong. Perhaps we should have at least given you an opportunity to make the right decision yourself.”
“What? Do you think I’m stupid? You wanted to cut off my horn a few moments ago, and now you’re telling me that it’s my decision. I won’t fall for it.”
“I’m being honest with you, Sweetie Belle. You can keep your horn for as long as you want to. I promise you, nopony will try to remove it unless you ask for it to be removed.”
“And why, in Tartarus, would I want to have it removed?”
“I’m not saying you would. But if say, you wanted to, we’d be willing to oblige. But only after you’d express explicit desire to have it removed.”
“You lie.”
“No, Sweetie Belle. It’s the absolute truth and there’s even more to it than that.”
I sighed. “Do tell…”
“You wanted to know what I have inside my saddlebag, right? Well, you can have one of the items. I’m giving you something very precious and you get to wear it for as long as you choose to. It’s yours.”
“What is mine?”
She charged her horn and telekinetically opened her saddlebag.
“I’m giving you this beautiful, magical necklace, Sweetie Belle.” She floated out a gray string tied to a casing with embedded gemstone. Slowly and gently, she laid it on the ground. Her magic flickered off as she looked forth at me. “And that’s not all. It comes with a special deal. Free of charge!”
From the ground at my hooves, I levitated up the ominous item. “What deal?”
“As long as you wear the necklace, nopony will try to cut off your horn. I give you my word.”
It was the same magic device I wanted to poke at Twilight’s basement. The one that wasn’t fit even for the worst of scum. I spread out the silver spring in the air so that I could see Twilight through the circle that the metal string formed. “I get it now, you weren’t lying after all…”
“That’s right, Sweetie Belle. Just put on the talisman. You keep both the necklace and your horn for as long as you have the desire for either. And if you ever express that you want to get rid of one or the other, we shall take both the necklace and your horn away. The choice will be one hundred percent yours to make.”
“I get it.” All I needed to do was bow before Twilight by putting my head through the circle and the Princess would be pleased with me. I puckered my forehead.
She nodded at me encouragingly, smiling with her teeth clenched.
“I understand, perfectly!”
She nodded maniacally.
I narrowed my eyebrows as I glared at her. “You really hate it, don’t you, Twilight?”
She stopped prancing about and raised both eyebrows. “Hate what?”
“Not having control over me. It’s eating you inside. You want to fix it. But have you considered that maybe I'm not the one who’s messed up?”
Her eyebrows lowered, wrinkles formed on her forehead. “I’m not going to lie to you, Sweetie Belle. You’re in big trouble.” She raised her voice. “If you don’t want to lose your horn, you’ll wear the inner flow disruption talisman, and you’ll wear it now!”
I instinctively took a step back. Being scolded by an adult was not my idea of fun. I wanted it to stop, and I knew exactly how to put an end to it. The opportunity stared me in the face. It taunted me.
“If you’re really determined to keep your horn, then perhaps you can withstand the side effects. Physiologically, they’re completely harmless, but they’ll make you feel as if you were really sick.
“The moment you put on the necklace, you’ll be empowered with everypony’s trustiness, and the choice regarding your horn will be completely on your side. No pony will try to cut it off unless you specifically ask for it to be removed. When—if you agree to the procedure, you’ll never have to wear the necklace again. Now quit stalling and put it on!”
“The Princess wants a bow from me.” I spread the necklace in a wider circle, levitating it closer to my head. “But she’s not getting it!”
I ripped the necklace apart with my magic. Pieces of the springy chain flew in all directions.
I launched charged narrow channels against the talisman. They pierced it before hitting the ground. Sparks surrounded me. The remains shoved into the earth. Smoke emanated from the shattered crystal.
“Sweetie Belle!” She crumpled on her behind, putting both forelegs on her head. “What have you done‽ You have no idea how much work I’ve put into its creation!”
A nagging feeling engulfed me. As if what I did was wrong, somehow. Or maybe I was forgetting something important?
I shook my head. With magic on my side, there wasn’t anything else that I needed. Something still felt off, though. Perhaps it was just the jitters. I was anxious to put an end to our encounter. That must have been it! “Tough luck, Twilight. Want to hear my proposal now?”
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Comment section minigames for the Confrontation chapter of the story Sweetie Belle Gains a Soul. Anypony can play them in this comment section of this story.
GAME 1
Does this story remind you of a song that you know? If yes, post it in the comments in the following format:
- Chapter of the story that this song is relevant to.
- A link or embedded Youtube video of it.
- Percentage of correlation (0% being an unrelated song, 100% being a song written exactly for this story).
- A reason why this song reminded you of this story or the excerpt of the lyrics.
Beth Crowley - Monster — Correlation: 65% (Lyrics)
I look the same - But I'm not fine - The Master of my own disguise
I'm turning into a monster - Right before your eyes
Nemesea - Lost Inside — Correlation: 60% (Lyrics)
Day by day — I grow stronger — I can feel — I can bear it — Even though I am lost — I'll find my way...my way
Lacuna Coil - Against You — Correlation: 55% ([url=]Lyrics)
As I am sick of lies, and i have no respect — You have failed — You're underestimating my surprise of agony and pain
Lacuna Coil - I Don't Believe in Tomorrow — Correlation: 50% (Lyrics)
The storm is raging now, 'cause I lost my faith in you
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - "The Electro Suite" — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
Mental torture, self-destroyer - Can't ignore the paranoia
Pulse is shaky, madness breaking - I can feel the darkness taking over
VOYAGER- Cross The Line — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
And we've crossed it here again — Out of no respect I throw you back into your little game
Disturbed - I'm Alive — Correlation: 50% ([url=]Lyrics)
I carry the gift that I have been blessed with — My soul is adrift in oceans of madness — Repairing the rift that you have created
Halestorm - Scream [Official Audio] — Correlation: 45% ([url=]Lyrics)
The Seeds in my head — Visions in red
Angels & Agony - Salvation — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
Hatred in my heart — Consumes my true nature
Apocalyptica - 'Path Vol. II' — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
What happened to you? — Still standing on my path
Battle Beast - Unholy Savior — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
I'm a shadow in the corner — Begging to be found — Suffering in silence — As the world spins round and round
Devin Townsend Project - Offer Your Light — Correlation:45% (Lyrics)
The way that you've found in your worry your fury — The way that you've found, Its alright
Myrath - Other Side — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
By this beast that you fed with every lie — Listen mark my word — You will feel the hurt —Watch my fury blurt
Disturbed - Indestructible — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
No explanation will matter after we begin — Unlock the dark destroyer that's buried within — My true vocation, and now my unfortunate friend — You will discover a war you're unable to win
Russell Allen & Jørn Lande - The Showdown — Correlation: 40% (Lyrics)
The final dark where we will meet — The rescue insight, is only you and me — This is the fight — The final war that will end it all — I will make things right — Are you ready, ready for the showdown!
Threat Note - Zombie on the lawn — Correlation: 40% (Lyrics)
There's a zombie on your lawn
Disturbed - Stricken — Correlation: 40% (Lyrics)
When the heart is cold, there's no hope, and we know — That I am crippled by all that you've done —
Into the abyss will I run
Edenbridge - Higher — Correlation: 40% (Lyrics)
Come and stay, make my day — Take away the gray —And set the wheels in motion
GAME 2
Record yourself reading this story aloud. Upload your mp3 to MLP: Audiobooks, for instance, and paste the link to your audio or video in the comments.
A reference to the Ponies of Legend from the Season # 7. We also have a reference to earlier in the story with robbery of the RockForm. When Twilight investigates, she will discover that she stole Holder's Boulder. You wrote this chapter before Season # 8 because it referenceTwilight having his wings cut off. Using a little detective-work, I figured out that you wrote this chapter in late 2017 or early 2018.
9717951
It's referenced even before. The life bound shield in Twilight's Castle was cast with Starswirl the Bearded's help.
Though, she probably won't write that in the official report.
There's a message here. I wanted to portray that morality comes from the one who's in charge. Creatures have an easier time judging others than themselves, and Twilight is no exception.
Indeed, the show kept ruining my novel, but I fixed it every time it got broken. Even in regards to Spike's wings:
It's all canon. Even things that have been written before, were fixed according to the newest canon. There's even Tempest Shadow mentioned in the early chapters that were written half a decade ago.
9718376
I remember when you asked for advice after Crusaders of the Lost Mark. I suggested that put a disclaimer on the story stating that it is canon-complaint upto the premiere of Season # 5. The end of Season # 5, the Cutie-Remark, gave to you an alternative —— ¡an Alternative Universe!
9718692 Indeed, making it canon only to a certain episode would fix the issue. But I didn't like that solution then, and I still wouldn't like it now. I want it to be compliant to every episode the show has to offer. I believe I solved it in my novel. The story is intended to take place right after the show ends for good. I better keep up with the newest episodes to make sure this is still the case.
11086710 I was actually afraid that readers wouldn't catch this irony. I'm glad you did.
...you idiots are infected with a tantabus.
11722886 The most successful diseases are the ones that go unnoticed.
The tentabus called Muse is on the loose. Only the depressed ponies are immune to it. They are the only healthy ponies left in Equestria since Clover the Clever infected them all with the warning song.