. . . . . . . . .
Curtain Rise!
Act V: Revenge
Princess Luna walked down a clean white tile corridor, accompanied by a pair of armed body guards. The smell of disinfectant was thick in the air. The entire building seemed to radiate an unpleasant feeling. Despite all her power and authority, Luna did not feel comfortable in this place. The Princess stopped in front of room 101 and looked through the barred window. She sighed, deeply saddened by the pitiful sight before her. Luna closed her eyes, and used a quick spell to put her two body guards to sleep. Then, she opened the door to the anti-magic room.
The purple Alicorn lay slumped against the far wall, her limbs and wings bound securely in an anti-magic straitjacket, with a power limiter on her horn. Her eyes were closed, and her head hung downward, showing off her completely messed up mane. She showed no response as Princess Luna approached her.
The Princess of the Night gave her a look of pity before saying, "Twilight Sparkle? Can you hear me?"
The younger Alicorn gave no sign of hearing the elder.
"I know you're awake," Luna said as her horn began to glow, "I can sense your consciousness. That means you can hear me. I understand if you don't want to talk right now. However, I must implore to listen and think about what I am about to say."
Twilight still showed no sign of movement, so Luna continued.
"The reason for your misfortune. . . for your denial. . .is a powerful magic. A magic not even Celestia could stand up against. It is a magic the seeps into the mind, and suggests things in the subconscious. The suggestions are so powerful that the mind clings to them and refuses to let go. They become a new truth, no matter how wrong they really are."
Luna narrowed her eyes and said, "I wish I could simply swoop down and strike this foe. However, physical attack will not be able to undo the damage done. This spell can only be lifted by entering the dreams of the pony who cast it, and draining their power from there. It's just a matter of time before I find that pony's dreamscape, and when I do, all of this will be an unpleasant memory. Those who rejected you will see the terrible error they made, and you will regain all the honor and respect you worked so hard to deserve."
Luna turned to leave, while saying, "Hope is not lost, Twilight Sparkle. I will stop this pony, I will make her pay, and you will be avenged."
Luna walked towards the door, but was stopped when a sound reached her ears.
She turned around fast to see that Twilight was chuckling to herself. Luna stared at Twilight in fear, worried that perhaps she was starting to have a break down. Twilight's head bopped up and down in a fast rhythm. It slowly lifted up, and Twilight's eyes opened suddenly to look straight at Luna. Twilight gave a said smile, and then came the words.
There is no such thing as revenge
You will not give as good as you got
There is no such thing as an eye for an eye
If you think you're the giver, you're not
"Twilight?" Luna asked.
There is no such thing as regret
There is no point in placing the blame
Hate destroys the one who hates
And everyone suffers the same
"What are you saying? This pony is to blame and must be stopped!"
What you see
Is not necessarily what you get
Eyes are the window to the soul
Take your judgements
And let them go
Luna blinked, "Let them go? You cannot be serious."
Twilight closed her eyes and nodded before continuing.
There is only love and respect
To thine own self be true
When you point the finger,
There are three fingers pointing back at you
"Nonsense! We must act, and act strongly!"
What you see
Is not necessarily what you get
Eyes are the window to the soul
Take your judgements
And let them go
"No! We must strike our enemy down!" Luna shouted back.
Let them go
"No!"
Let them go
"NO!"
Let them go
"NEVER!" Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice.
Twilight didn't seem phased by Luna's shouting. She merely sighed sadly and gave Luna the same pitiful look Luna had given her upon entering the room.
Recognize that God is alive in everyone
"Not in the pony that did this to you!"
Recognize that love lives in us all
"Not in the pony who bewitched Ponyville! Enough of this compassion and mercy and respect! We must bring our wrath down upon the vile creten who has done this! No mercy! We will bring her to her knees and force her to beg for mercy!"
Twilight looked Luna in the eyes. They were filled with rage, anger, and hate. Twilight closed her eyes and let her head hang down.
What you see
Is not necessarily what you get
Eyes are the window to the soul
Take your judgements
And let them go
"No, we can't let them get away with this!"
Let them go
"No!"
Let them go
"NO!"
Let them go
"ENOUGH!" Luna shouted, before turning and walking out the door. "You have given up, Twilight. You have become a fool. Or perhaps you really have become insane? Very well, it seems that I will have to come to your rescue. I hope you remember this, Twilight Sparkle."
The purple Alicorn continued singing, apparently unaware that Luna was left.
What you see
Is not necessarily what you get
Eyes are the window to the soul
Take your judgements
And let them go
Let them go
Let them go
Let them go. . .
. . . . .
"I knew you wouldn't understand, Luna. I feel sorry for you, because things are going to backfire on you. Everything is going to be just fine for me in the end. I'm going to get back everything I lost. . . I just have to wait 'till the end."
. . . . . .
"I'm not crazy. . .Starswirl was right. . .if you focus your inner magic through meditation. . . you can see visions of the future. . ."
Curtian!
I feel the song In the End will have a big role in this little prophecy.
I officially feel awesome.
3348826
My mistake, I meant the wedding scene. How did Gala end up in there? That's what you get for posting on one hour of sleep, I guess.
I wouldn't call things "joyous" right now, either. Sweetie has things falling into place like she wants so easily, and it's all so perfect in contrast to Twilight's handling of the situation, it's really lopsided. I tide myself over with thinking about how horrified and guilty Sweetie's going to feel once all this comes crashing down on her like a ton of bricks, up to and including he fact that Twilight is being treated like a dangerous maniac because of her mind magic, nevermind how angry the other ponies are sure to be.
Me, bitter? What name so?
3353926
It looks like I have been successful in what I set out to do. That's exactly what I want the readers to be thinking of. After all, the title is "Sweetie Belle's Descent Into Madness." Like any Shakespearean Tragedy, Sweetie Belle will be a Tragic Hero/Well Intentioned Extremist/Woobie Destroyer of Worlds whose plans will fall apart and actions will come back to bite her. It's only a matter of time. This fits with the Theme of Act V. Twilight knows that Sweetie Belle will meet her end due to her magic that lets her see the future. We know she will meet her end because we can read the title. It'll be Exactly What It Says On The Tin. So Twilight can we relax, and we can relax and enjoy the ride.
Luna, however, would represent a person who wants bring Sweetie Belle down now and can't enjoy the ride. However. . .well, I can't spoil it. Just wait and see. This story still has a while to go.
3354454
Also, Twilight is showing that she is the better pony by letting fate take its course and not wanting revenge like Sweetie Belle got on her, or Luna wants to get on Sweetie Belle.
I want to theorize that while Sweetie's spell obviously plants hypnotic suggestions in others' minds that practically override any conflicting convictions that they may have previously had, I'm getting the vibe that there's still a part of their subconscious mind that's crying Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! at them. If ponies speaking Sweetie's lines word-for-word wasn't a good giveaway, then an even better one would have to be Spike's unnaturally long pause in Act II when Sweetie asked him if he would miss being Twilight's assistant. He's shown to be devoted to Twilight to the point that to be no longer needed by her is one of his worst fears - and he was living that scenario without being capable of realizing it until Sweetie came along and became a replacement of sorts. "Take a letter" indeed... I wouldn't be surprised if he was screaming far beneath that song-induced-trance when she asked him that question.
I built this theory based off of a dream I once had where I was committing acts that I never would in the waking world: I went along with it like business as usual, not stopping at the time to consider the weight of my actions, but at the very back of my mind, there was something SO. UTTERLY. WRONG. about everything I was doing. I like to think that Sweetie's music-trances work the same way, in changing what a pony is thinking, but not who they are at their very core; overridden, but definitely not erased.
Have you looked at any songs by Nightwish? They might fit the tone of the story as things get darker.
Sad but true with Metallica might fit your story
3356350
Very nice! Very good indeed! That'll play a major role in Sweetie Belle's eventually downfall and descent in madness. Sweetie Belle has activated a time bomb.
3356591
It sure will! Good suggestion!
Just curious, how's Act VI going?
3361077
Ever seen Anastasia? It's a wanna-be Disney animated movie.
Wow, Twilight is a bigger bleeding heart than Shonen heroes. I bet if sombra began begging for his life, she'd forgive him on the spot and be shocked when he tries a back-stab.