Chapter 9 – A Pure Flower's Story
/watch?v=aFZ7bBaYpcw
Luna wiped her tears as the violinists down below played yet another sad song for the actors and performers on stage to dance to. The show had been going on for only half an hour so far, but already Luna had shed so many tears as she watched the story of this young mare play out before her. Such a sad telling this story was being portrayed as, but it's dark and sad feeling was undermined by the sheer cheerfulness and hopeful attitude of Izabella's thoughts as she acted out her own story on that stage.
Not once did she let the fact that she grew up alone break her down when other ponies would have curled up and cried tears of sadness. Each day she pretended would bring something better than the last one did, and even when the day was rainy and cloudy, with no sign of sunlight to be seen, she still saw it as a brand new day. She didn't let the knowledge that other ponies whispered about her parentage get her down; she ignored their mutterings and found a new joy in her life.
She found her true place in the performing arts at her Junior High School, where she spent much of her free time perfecting her acting, singing and dancing skills.
"My first love was found in the arts of the Junior High School of Fantasia's youth that I attended." She sang to them, the spotlight shining on her as she stood on a small raised platform above the other actors below her. "I did not know how I would feel about this love, for I had never felt true love nor did I ever express such love for anything in my life. Yet as I found myself frolic and play around the stage, I discovered my own meaning of love in the sounds of music and hoofsteps of my fellow performers."
On the stage a group of actors pretended to act out a play from her past, and a young pony garbed in pure white robes pretended to be a younger Izabella as she played a role in that performance. The smile upon the actresses face was nothing compared to the one Izabella herself portrayed as she looked to the audience and smiled to them, jumping down gracefully from the platform to stand next to her counterpart.
"I felt my fears and despairs float away on that simple stage in the freshest year of my life. For a brief moment in time I was no longer Izabella the parentless nothing that wandered the hall. In that brief play called Romeo and Juliet, I was the tragic lover Juliet Fimatta Arst Capulet. During my time on that stage, I could be another pony and forget who I was before, and nopony talked about my tragic background. Nopony had to know that my mother was not in the audience, nor did they have to know that my father would not attend. For those moments in time I was the happiest in all of Fantasia!"
She nodded to her double and her double left the stage, pretending to fade away into nothingness as the real Izabella now took the stage and continued the play her double was acting out. She smiled her pure innocent smile as she danced and performed the play on that stage, the rest of the actors continuing their roles as if the switch never happened.
"Behold my faithful audience, I am no longer Izabella Castrahoofa, I am Juliet Fimatta Arst Capulet!" She sang happily, pretending to stab herself with the fake dagger that her lover, Romeo Candore De Montegue stabbed himself with, and pretending to die next to her lover.
There was a brief pause as the song came to an end and all the actors slowly lay down on the ground one at a time while Izabella stood up. She turned to the audience and smiled that same smile once again, the look in her eyes telling the rest of this part of the story for her. Her words did not need to speak again, but still she used them anyway. "Yet those times only lasted so long, and as the curtains closed on the beautiful shows I took part in, I became Izabella Castrahoofa once again." She said as her double returned to take her place while she walked offstage.
/watch?v=r0YXt2nVMw4
Luna took the time in the brief pause to use her cloak to dab at her wet eyes yet again, while the orchestra was beginning to play a much gentler tune. It was just as she finished drying her eyes off that the main star once more stepped onto the stage through the curtains.
"Four years of school until the day I graduated, I did not waste a single day of that time." She called out as the curtains opened up, revealing that the stage had changed yet again to resemble the scenery Izabella was portraying. "The day I received my diploma I rose to the front and spoke to my former classmates, but as they met with their proud parents and family members, I found myself leaving earlier than they did. For indeed I was alone on that day, as the Performing Arts could not attend my own graduation."
Her double, dressed in school garbs and carrying a fake diploma walked onto the stage, smiling happily as she raised her award for all to see. Yet not a single pony was on stage besides her and the real Izabella. Still that didn't seem to deter the double, for she waved it around and showed it to everypony who would have listened and looked if they had been there.
"Being who I am, I did not shed a tear for my loneliness. For indeed I was never alone, within my heart held the beating drums of the many roles I played in the plays I took part in. Every single role was within my heart and each of them cheered and applauded me for my performances and achievements. Tis a grand day that day was, for I would leave my younger life behind in exchange for the future I knew was destined to be mine. A life in the arts and upon the stage, I need only stretch out my hoof and take it for my own!"
A group of actors garbed in business suits appeared on stage and walked toward Izabella's double as she turned to face them and pulled out what looked like a resume. Her double handed the resume and the degree to the ponies in business suits, a smile on her face as she did so, yet the ponies laughed and threw her resume back at her, not even glancing at her diploma before they turned and left.
"Yet despite the joy of my heart, and the hopefulness in my voice nopony wanted me in their art schools. For indeed the performing arts was not something that you could simply learn out of a book, and despite the roles I played in my school, it was not impressive enough to gain admittance nor a role in even the most minor of theatres or the most basic of schools."
Her double picked up the resume and diploma, shook her mane, put on her smile again and walked off stage as the curtains closed yet again. A minute later they opened up again, and the scenery had changed yet again from what it was to resemble an acting school. From both sides mares and stallions dressed to resemble students and teachers danced onto the stage, among them was Izabella's double as she danced at the back, barely noticeable unless you looked for that white dress she was wearing. Izabella herself walked onto the stage again, continuing to narrate her story in her beautiful voice while her double played out her part.
"Finally after a year of hard studying and many tests and exams, I finally found my place again in the performing arts. A minor school accepted me, because it was all I could afford with what meager riches I earned, for indeed my birth had been forced and unwanted. My father nowhere to be seen so as to pay for it, and my mother had long since died and was unavailable to help me attend it, so I and I alone paid my way into this small school. Yet I do not blame my parents, or indeed anypony for bringing me in the world, I found my place and that is all I need to know."
/watch?v=aFZ7bBaYpcw
"However it seemed that the reality of the world is nothing like the stories I portrayed on the stage." She sang, and the tone in her voice changed to that of a saddened voice. "Fairy tales and dreams never come true unless you sacrifice something or take advantage of something or somepony. While I tried to stay true to my heart and my teachings in the past, those around me cheated and schemed and got ahead of me. Mares took advantage of their looks and their bodies and pleased and pleasured their way ahead of me!"
Three mare actors pulled out pink and red glow sticks so that everypony would notice them immediately. Two of the mares were surrounded by actors garbed like students who pretended to adore and worship them for their beauty, while the third took an actor who was dressed as a professor and led him behind a fake stand of bushes and out of sight, but Luna saw that a jacket and dress were quickly thrown onto the stage, apparently their owners no longer needing them.
"Stallions cheated and took advantage of their friends, taking for granted the gifts they were given that I never seemed to ever have!" Izabella sang, and three of the stallion actors pulled out blue and green glow rods so they would be seen. The blue one pretended to push and bully a fellow actor into surrendering his homework. The green ones got test answers from others and quickly sped away the moment their friends turned their back, never to be seen on stage again.
"It seemed that I and I alone in all my time spent in that school, was alone in trying to keep true to the values and ideals that I so held dear to me." Izabella sang as she left the stage, allowing her double to continue dancing, with a book in one hoof and paper in another. "I wandered the halls year after year, resisting the urge to take the easiest road and quickest path to success. I failed classes that I deserved to fail, and worked hard in the ones that I barely passed, while others around me schemed and pleased their way to the top. I learned many lessons there and not just on the stage of dancing and singing, but in my heart and at the core of my soul!"
The stage curtains closed slowly again, and the double stood next to Izabella herself as they stood before the audience. "I learned to forgive, and let go of my sorrow." She sang as she held her doubles hoof. "I learned that my purity of spirit and purity of soul was what truly counted in this world of coin and lies. I learned to be happy for what I had and for what I could gain, not be sad for what I had lost, for indeed you can never lose what you never had!"
Her double smiled happily as she looked out at the audience, and the curtains parted just a little as two older ponies walked out, one a stallion and the other a mare. The stallion concealed his body with a large heavy cloak and his face was masked to hide his identity. The mare wore a grey dress with the insignia of a broken heart and looked like an older version of Izabella's double.
"I do not lament ever knowing my father, and I do not feel sorry for ever not knowing him." Her double sang happily as she looked at the stallion, who in turn looked at her. "He gave mother the necessary things to create me, by force indeed but without him I would not be! For those simple reasons I thank him for his part in creating my life."
The stallion nodded and turned away from her, so that his back was to her while she turned to look at her mother. "Mother never showed me true love and for that I am sorry, but I do not blame nor do I feel ashamed, she gave birth to me and for me I will always be grateful to her." The double sang cheerfully as she smiled at the mare. "She never wanted me to begin with, and though she raised me for no other reason than because she had to deal with me I still feel grateful for her giving me a roof for my early years. For those reasons alone I am in debt to my mother for giving me this life that I have."
The mare nodded at her and turned away to look at the opposite wall that the stallion was staring at, meanwhile Izabella's double backed up and went behind the curtains while Izabella herself took her double's spot to stand between the two ponies. "I have never known a mother's true love, nor have I ever seen the face of my father." She sang with that twinkle in her eyes capturing everypony's attention. "I am what I am, there is nothing wrong with me nor is there anything to be done about me. I have learned the most valuable lesson I could have ever learned in my life, and that is a very simple one for me to uphold. Let go of my sorrow, and let go of my anger at those whom I'll never know. So to all my adoring audience, I give you the same lesson I hope you may take long into your lives and teach those you will and do know in your lives. Learn to let go of your sorrows, learn to let go of the pains that others would have you bind to you, learn to let go of anger that would blind and burn your eyes to the truths of the world. This lesson I part to you, is a very simple one… learn… to let go."
The orchestra stopped playing and Izabella along with the two ponies still on stage bowed to the audience as they applauded so loudly that Luna had to cover her ears to protect them. "That was a wonderful show!" Luna shouted as the applause started to die down, but not by much. "I can't believe what a wonderful singer she is; her story does not do her justice Ace."
"I suppose so, but the show isn't over yet, this is merely a break in the show to give the actor's time to prepare for the second half, and allow the audience a chance to stretch and eat a small snack." Ace whispered in his usual grin. "So little Luna, shall we go and stretch our hooves and meander over to get a meal?"
"No thank you, I think I'll try to learn a little more about this mare we are looking for." Luna said, not exactly hungry and still wanting to try and discover something new about Kathermane Hoofburn. She just seemed very interesting to learn about, so while Ace went off to 'partake in filling his empty stomach' as he put it, she went to go find Guide again, or at least a Guide anyway.
She spent about five minutes wandering the hallways before she saw Izabella staring at a group of pictures on the hallway wall. She was staring at them with a mix of admiration, and if Luna was reading her right, deep respect and sadness. Why the star of such a magnificent performance was feeling sad confused her. If Luna was right in how such a big star should be feeling, she figured that with all the praise and adoration she was receiving this day, Izabella would have wanted to revel in it as much as possible, especially since today was her final performance.
Maybe she just wants some peace and quiet, or maybe she wants to talk to her predecessors. She found herself thinking as she contemplated asking her for more information about Kathermane. Most likely she wants to talk to her predecessors, like any mad mare might think. I probably should just let her be, she needs to collect her thoughts and be ready for the next half of her show. Ugh, listen to me, I'm talking to myself and actually seeing another pony as mad. Yet how do I know she's mad, she seems normal. Wait a second, is talking pictures of past ponies considered an act of madness? Maybe I should ask Ace about that later, for now I should just let her be.
Before Luna could walk away however, Izabella looked over at her and beckoned her over. "Come Miss, I could use some company during this halftime." She said sweetly as she turned to look at her fellow stars from the past again.
Luna walked over and stood next to her as she too looked at the pictures of the stars that have come and gone in this theatre. Luna looked at the many names labeled under each picture she saw, ticking them off in her mind as she wondered what they were all famous for. Bette Dame, Ingrid Bergmane, I wonder what made them so famous. She asked herself as Izabella continued to stare at the pictures as well. Each of these mares died so young… 25 years, 26 years, and 21 years old… what happened to these wonderful actors that causes them to die at such young ages?
"Do you ever wonder what the past would say if you could ever bring it to the present and talk to it?" She asked Luna as he looked over at other pictures with the same respect and admiration she showed for the ones she had looked at.
"Yes I do, many times a day I do without ever even realizing it." Luna responded.
She never found herself actually wondering what her past self would really say, but after hearing this actress admit that she was talking to the past and wishing they could talk back, she had to admit it to herself that she now wished she had started doing it herself. Oh how I wonder what my past self would think of my two guards Hawk and Owl. She thought. She'd probably say that the security would make me weak or look inferior to my sister, not that I truly feel that way. I'm happy for their eyes watching over me, and am eternally grateful for their service to me where others wouldn't have volunteered before out of fear. Those two were indeed the only ones… who really wanted to… act as my… guards…
Remembering and thinking about Hawk and Owl as well as her sister made Luna realize how lonely it was for her here in The Doctor's mind. Sure she was not in any true danger, for Ace was protecting her from those dangers and Ace was a part of The Doctor's mind, but she sorely missed the familiar presence of Hawk and Owl behind her. She missed Owl for his witty remarks and Hawk for his caring wisdom, and now that she thought about it she missed hearing them bicker about her safety constantly.
"I wonder how they would all think of me on this day, the last day of my performing career." She said mostly to herself as she started walking toward another section of the wall, taking only a few seconds before she stopped and resumed her staring at the pictures. "I am by far the oldest of all the stars that have passed through this great theatre, the oldest living star in the history of this wonderful theatre. I have often wondered how my final day would be played out, and here I am acting it out before the audience that has remained faithful and supportive of me throughout my entire life here. I wonder how they would think of me, what would they say to me, and how should I feel about my career coming to an end?"
"You shouldn't be so sorry, you've had a wonderful career and life here if your singing and dancing is anything to go by!" Luna said. "You're also still so young, you have a long life ahead of you, and I'm sure you'll meet a nice stallion and settle down with him. You could be a better mother then what your mother was, surely you don't think that just because this is your final day in the theatre it's your last day period."
Izabella smiled at these words but did not seem to notice what Luna was saying. "True my mother never did pay much attention to me, besides yelling at me and scorning me for whenever I made a mistake." She said cheerfully. "One thing I left out of my play was the numerous beatings she gave me for when I did wrong. Oh how the sting of her hooves and the numerous times she hit me still touch a part of my mind. I don't hate her, nor do I disapprove of her, I just forgive her and let go of my feelings toward her."
"She beat you?" Luna asked, appalled that any mother would do such a thing to a small filly. "Why would she do that, what could you have possibly done to deserve such things?"
"I don't know my memory of those times have all but faded into obscurity." She said as she continued to look at the pictures. "Mother probably did it because I reminded her of the stallion that took away her innocence and purity, as well as her dignity and respect for all males. In any case, as I said it doesn't matter to me now. I have let go of all my feelings for her, my father whom I do not know, and all of my feelings toward them. The only thing I feel now is gratitude toward them for what they have done for me."
"You feel nothing for them, not even the tiniest bit of love for your mother?" Luna asked quietly.
"Nope, I feel not a shred of love for either of them Miss Luna." Izabella said with her pure white smile.
Luna was taken aback; she didn't recall ever mentioning her name to this actress before. "How do you know my name?" She whispered.
"I know many things that you don't know Lunar Princess of Equestria." Izabella said cheerfully. "My friends in small places have told me of your mission to the theatre, they tell me that you are seeking to help him with recovering his dream, the true dream that the King is attempting to keep from you."
"Your little friends… you mean the toy ponies that have helped the guests find their seats?" Luna asked curiously.
Izabella nodded as she turned to look at the pictures on the wall again. "Don't worry, I feel no love for the King, nor do I feel compelled to aid you in your quest." She whispered. "I am not going to stop you or help you with what your trying to do. Though there is one thing I will tell you Luna, I really wish I were in your hooves right now. You get to spend your time with Ace, the ace to the King. Not a mare in all of Up wouldn't give there purity and even their eyes just to spend one night with Ace or to even be in his presence as you are now."
"Is he that popular?" Luna asked.
"You have no idea." She said as she turned and walked away, leaving Luna to wonder what kind of pony she was traveling in the company of.
No more than five minutes later, while she tried to locate one of the Guides, came the enthusiastic call of Dokt calling for her attention down the hallway to her right. "Hello there friend of Ace!" He called happily to her as he skipped merrily toward her, his outfit apparently changed to fit whatever role he was playing. "May I have just a few moments of your time?"
"I guess so; I can't seem to find one of those little toys to give me some more information about this amazing theatre." She said, remembering how Ace got their tickets by 'stroking his ego' as Dokt put it.
It seemed to work for Dokt, because he swelled with pride at those words. "Why thank you for being so interested in my lovely establishment, yes my little guides don't do this place justice." He said happily. "But don't worry, I'm not here to talk to you of such things little pony. I'm here to give you just a small warning of your friend or my friend as it is."
"You mean Ace don't you?" Luna asked, wondering what this friend of Ace wanted to say about him now.
"Indeed, I have a few words of advice that you should heed if you want to live longer." He said seriously, no longer sounding like his enthusiastic self. "Don't stay with him."
"What?" Luna asked quietly.
"You heard my little pony, don't stay with him." He said seriously. "There is a reason why Ace is ace to the King, and why he lives alone on the sixth level of Up. None who have stayed with him besides the King himself, have ever lived long enough to boast of their time with him. He has driven many to the brink of death, because of his madness. He may seem clear at times but that is because he is suppressing his madness and hiding it so well. He is a dangerous being, and there is a reason the King fears him so."
He looked at Luna with his one eye before he closed it, so that his blind eye was looking at her. "My left eye may be blinded to the world, but I can still see the subtle truths behind the veiled lies that ponies try to hide behind." He said to her as his eye shifted around to 'look' at her. "I can tell that you respect him, and even admire him. Be careful is all I say little pony, for he is hiding something that not even his closest friends can figure out. After all, the last time I tried to look at him with this eye, I was blinded for it."
"He… blinded you?" Luna asked, shocked that Ace would do such a thing, just because his friend LOOKED at him with his left eye.
"No he didn't blind me, though something happened that took the light out of my eye." He said, though his tone said otherwise. "He swears it wasn't his doing, yet he didn't attempt to placate me or prove otherwise as to why my eye cannot see anything. That is why I give you this little piece of advice, be with him if you want, use him to aid your quest, but don't stay with him for long. Lest you find yourself blinded because of his madness that is all the advice I have to offer, take it as you see fit."
He opened his right eye again and smiled his enthusiastic smile again. "Well off to the stage, the next half begins in five minutes, better get back to your seat little pony!" He said happily.
Dokt left Luna alone in the hallway of pictures, pausing only for a few moments every so often to straighten a picture or two, or to simply bow and admire a particular star. Luna decided to return to her seat with no new information and trying to figure out instead of how to deal with Ace. So many new thoughts coursed through her mind with these two opinions about him, one being deep admiration while the other was a warning. Was Ace a true ally, did he have an ulterior motive that she wasn't seeing, what is he capable of that she isn't aware of, and most importantly, did he mean her harm?
Hawk, Owl, where are you two when I need you most? She thought sadly as the door to her seat came into view.
She was alone here, so very alone when she thought about it. She wanted to talk to her two guards for advice, or to simply hear their voices inside her mind for even a BRIEF moment. She never realized how scared and insecure she was when those two weren't watching over her. She figured that she could last a day or even two without them, it wasn't as though she was under the threat of being attacked every day, but now that her two closest friends, not counting The Doctor or any of the Element Keepers, were gone she felt so very scared and alone for the first time in her life.
Wanting to calm herself down, she decided to let her madness once more speak to her, and let her mind wander and think of something for her to think about instead of trying to force herself to calm down. Her mind opened up like a book on its own, and from that book a memory started playing out in the back of her head, not in the way that she experienced The Doctor's memories, but in a way that she was privy to how the memory went.
She remembered a particular night where she never truly thanked her guards for their service to her. It was during the first year of her return to Gaia, during one particularly cold and foggy night before Nightmare Night happened. She had felt very thirsty and was going to the kitchens to get a drink, when a sudden sound actually frightened her and scared her. She never admitted it to anypony before, but that was the first time she was frightened at anything. Her two guards answered her silent pleas instantly and searched the entire floor from top to bottom until she was satisfied that there was nothing there. Then after she got her drink they personally escorted her back to hers and her sister's bedchamber, walking with her every step of the way to let her know she was safe. After that they patrolled the tower at her request the entire night until morning came. She never properly thanked them for doing that for her, sure she was still thinking as though it were a thousand years before but that is still no excuse for not thanking her guards for doing all that just because she got a little jumpy.
Hawk, Owl, I wish you were here with me. She whispered to herself as she opened the door and walked through to her seat in the box.
Ace was already back in his seat, although Luna couldn't tell if he ever really left or not. He was busy sucking on some kind of candy stick in his mouth to pay her any attention, or so she thought. The moment she took her seat he turned to look at her with an amused expression on his face which made her laugh a little. "There you go, finally got you to laugh!" He said happily as he swallowed the candy stick whole. "I was wondering if you were ever capable of laughing!"
"You are a piece of work I guess." Luna said, still unsure of what she should think of Ace.
"You guess, really Luna you do me no justice!" Ace said, pretending to clutch his heart as though he were in pain. "After all I've done for you; I thought you would be nicer to me. Oh the pain, oh the sorrow, oh how you wound me, oh woe is me!"
"Well I didn't learn anything new about Kathermane Hoofburn, but I did learn a little bit about Izabella." Luna said, wanting to ask something now that she thought about it. "Tell us Ace, and answer honestly, is it considered a state of madness to have no feelings of any love for anypony, not even for yourself?"
"Of course, that's a very common symptom of madness." Ace said in a matter of fact tone. "I'm guessing Izabella told you her story about how she feels no love or sorrow for anypony?"
Luna nodded in response and Ace grinned his usual all-knowing grin again, clearly indicating that he knew something that she did not. "Well what does this mean? That she lacks any emotions besides the ability to respect or let go?" Luna asked.
"Got the number right on the first try little Luna." He said happily as ponies started to take their seats down below. "Izabella isn't capable of feeling emotions of love and happiness, sorrow or despair, anger or regret. It's the only way she can survive given her background if you were paying attention. While others around her would have surrendered to sadness, her madness allowed her to rise and forget her pains and move on with her life."
"Madness can do that?" Luna asked as the sound of the audience down below became slightly louder as more took their seats.
"Of course, when you are mad you tend to let go of those feelings which drag you down or hurt you the most, no matter what shape or form they take." Ace said as he took his hat and started flipping it to amuse himself. "Take Izabella for example, she was born because her mother was brutally violated. Her mother did not want to raise her in the first place, and she has never known her father's face, how would you feel in that position. The only way she could overcome her sadness was to be happy all the time, to smile each day so that nopony would know of her sorrow. When her mother died and revealed the origins of her birth, the only way she could endure was to let go of her sadness and not hate her father for doing what he did, alas she couldn't surrender her sadness without losing her love."
"Without ever knowing true love though, she has no idea what it means to love or be loved, so she easily was able to sacrifice it without feeling any true loss. When she entered the performing arts school other mares used their bodies to get ahead, while she chose to slug it out and struggle down her path. She was already incapable of feeling sorry so the next thing her madness removed was her ability to feel anger, leaving only the ability to let go and keep on smiling. Now you understand yet another reason why you must tread lightly when you let your madness deepen?"
Luna nodded in understanding; it did seem to make sense when put that way. If she were in Izabella's position the only way she could prevent herself from curling up in a ball and crying her heart out was to let her madness remove those feelings. She never thought it possible, but seeing proof that one could actually use their madness to remove all emotional attachment, she had to admit that madness was indeed a scary prospect to understand. Losing your ability to express all but the blandest of emotions is a very chilling prospect for Luna to think about.
The last thing she ever wanted to do was feel no love in her own sister's hugs, not because Celestia didn't love her but because Luna couldn't feel that love. She would have thought some more about this new chapter of madness but the orchestra started playing again and everypony in the theatre had hushed down to listen and watch the next half of the show. The music was much more cheerful, and there was a sensation that something brand new and much happier was about to be portrayed on the stage that had been lacking since the performance began.
/watch?v=KNT3l_KT2nY
A spotlight shined in the center of the stage, and Izabella walked through the heavy curtains wearing her now trademark white dress. She looked out at the audience with that same innocent smile on her face as the curtains opened up to reveal the scene of the next half. The scene looked like a miniature stage of the theatre they were at, with small chairs and a platform to resemble the stage. Several actors dressed like theatre directors or like official ponies sat in the chairs, one of them was Dokt himself wearing the same outfit Luna had seen him last wearing.
"The stage opens on the second act of my story, and it is here that my journey in this great theatre begins." Izabella sang as her double and several other mares dressed in outfits lined up next to the platform, pretending to be nervous and afraid. "After I finished school I attempted to try out for a position as an actress in the Opera Phantom Theatre, the greatest theatre in all of Fantasia. Like so many others I had to first answer a written exam that only ten would ever pass each month. I was one of those ten, so I prayed that my luck would maintain itself. For the next part of my test was perhaps the hardest of all of them, telling why I should be considered for the position at the theatre."
One by one the mares who were lined up each walked up onto the platform and pretended to describe themselves. Without exception each of them seemed to have impressed the official ponies, except Dokt who merely shook his head once before waving them off the stage one at a time. Each actress left with a smile and apparently high hopes, except for Izabella's double who merely made her smile even wider as her turn approached.
"When it was my turn to stand before the direct of the Opera Phantom Theatre, my heart burst with anticipation, but at the same time expected to be dismissed as easily as the others before me." Izabella sang as her double walked up on stage. "When I stood before them, I could see in the eyes of the others who sat next to him, each of them I found out later had been paid off one way or another to give the others a good response. It was then that I worried that my chances here would be just like before in school, lost because I did not have what others have, and because I lacked the will to take advantage of that which others did. Yet, when I spoke to them, something happened that I never thought would."
Izabella's double started pretending to speak, first pointing at herself and pointing at her degree's that she had brought on stage. While the other official ponies next to Dokt pretended to shake or dismiss her words, Dokt listened and paid attention to everything she said. He gave one smile and nodded at her, before waving her off the stage as well.
"He listened to me, without any prior contact he actually listened to my words. The great director Dokt listened to not my body or my money, did not look at me for my eyes or my mane, but instead heard the words I spoke. Never before did I ever think that a pony would believe in such ideals as these simple ones that I held dear throughout my life. So I passed the first of his trials, and it was I and I alone who passed that test he put before us ten."
The other nine mares and the other actors besides Dokt and Izabella's double left the stage, dancing in pairs as the music changed.
/watch?v=WjLJN4XFoWE
"The next trial he put before me was a test of my voice and how I sang." Izabella sang as her double stood before Dokt on the platform. "He said sing not for me or for your career, but sing of your heart and of the purity of your soul, sing till your heart's content and do not stop until you have revealed and relaxed your soul! So I sang, and I sang long until I could no longer sing for my throat had become sore."
Her double pretended to sing while Dokt held his hooves together, and as her double sang his head swayed this way and that in time with her singing. She continued pretending to sing until she held her head down, holding her throat as if it were sore. Dokt smiled and clapped his hooves excitedly.
"The next of his trials tested my knowledge and skill in the art of the dance, he told me to dance with him and to not let him lead but to lead him in whatever dance eased my mind and soothed my soul." Izabella sang to the audience as Dokt climbed onto the stage and took her double in his hooves. "So I danced, I danced long into the day, for an hour I danced and continued to dance until my hooves were so sore from moving that I could not feel my legs move after I stopped. Even after I stopped they continued to burn as though they were still moving across the polished floor of the stage. For so long after my dance finished that I worried that perhaps I had gone too long, but no when it was finished and the dance was done, I had passed his test yet again with flying colors."
Izabella's double performed a dance with Dokt, she smiled her smile again as they danced back and forth on the platform. Dokt nodded in approval as he let her go after a while and bowed in respect to her.
"Alas one trial remained, and it was a single question he asked of me." Izabella sang to the audience as Dokt approached her double on stage, taking what looked like a contract from the folds of his clothes. "Would I surrender my ideals and purity of soul, to become the star of his show? My answer was simple and true to the word, I'd sooner sell my eyes and legs and voice then surrender my ideals and soul. My answer pleased him greatly and he said that was the right answer. His final words that day, were welcome to the show!"
Her double looked at the contract and shook her head while backing away slowly. Dokt responded with a smile as he threw the paper away, holding his hoof out for her double to shake. Her double smiled as she shook his hoof before backing away toward the edge of the stage.
"His trials over, I passed them all, and so it was that I myself became his newest star!" Izabella sang in joy as she walked over and took her doubles place as she walked off the stage. "I had hoped to become an actress here at the theatre, working alongside one of the great stars of the stage. Yet there I stood atop the pillar of all the other mares that had dreamed and pleased their way to the top. He told me that he watches every single performance in the history of the performing arts schools, looking for new talent to perform at his theatre. I was one of those he had been watching for many days gone by…"
"He said that the reason I and I alone passed his tests while others failed, was because I and I alone remained true to my ideals. I and I alone rejected that which others took advantage of, despite all that I endured and for all that I could have fallen for, I out of all the other candidates had the purest soul and purest of hearts. He called me his little white flower, the flower of his theatre, perhaps the greatest flower he ever had to perform on his stage. He said that the only reason any of his stars ever made it that far was because they maintained their purity of innocence, just like him."
Purity of innocence, so she's still… Luna thought as she glanced at Ace, wondering if he was paying attention to the performance as much as the rest of the audience was.
Ace noticed her glancing at him and nodded in response, clearly indicating that he knew what she was thinking. "Yep, she still is Luna." He whispered, nodding toward the stage again, indicating that she should return her attention to the stage which she did as the curtains closed momentarily while Dokt and Izabella continued to dance together on the stage.
"He took me under his hooves, and tutored me in the art of the dance." Izabella sang as the orchestra's music played in tune to their dancing. "My skills were modest at best, and my singing though pure was still only average to his. Yet for days he taught me, trained me, and showed me the ways of the dance and the art of the voice. We performed roles suited to master and apprentice, him the master and I the apprentice. When I made a mistake he did not point it out or attempt to correct me, instead he told me that I made a mistake and showed me how best to correct it myself. Never before did I ever have such a teacher as him, he was different from all the others who taught me."
Izabella pretended to dance and make mistakes, to which Dokt would shake his head and adjust her hooves or her positioning so that she could correct her own mistakes. Izabella would then perform the move correctly and together they would dance in time with both the music and each other. They acted as one individual, not needing to see what the other was doing to know that they were perfectly in time together.
"He was more than my mentor, he was more than any teacher was to me." Izabella sang as he smiled at her and stepped off stage to admire and let her dance alone. "He was like a father to me, a father that I never had nor ever will have. He didn't love me like a father or like a mother, but his respect and his approval of what I did was all I ever wanted from that moment forth. I learned everything I could from him; all I wanted from that moment on was to earn his admiration and respect. My greatest wish was to hear him sing of my praise and to proclaim to all of Fantasia someday, that I was his greatest star that he ever had walk through his theatre."
"For six months I trained under his eyes and under his hooves, and during that time I learned more about him than about any teacher I ever had before." She sang as she danced on the platform for him. "I learned that he too had a purity of heart, and a purity of innocence and that is why he is the way he is. He keeps it so that he can recognize the true potential in any of his stars; I thought that I was alone in the way I thought. Yet here was the proof that I was not, and that proof filled me with the strength to dance for all of Fantasia from that day on."
"Then after my training was complete, came the day of my first performance before the audience of Fantasia." Izabella sang as the chairs around Dokt started getting filled by the other actors of the theatre, pretending to be ordinary citizens of Fantasia. "I was worried as the seats filled before me, worried that all of my training under my mentor would leave me at the worst time. I was worried that my hooves would fail me and my mentor would be ashamed of me, proclaiming to all of Fantasia that he was sorry for ever letting them see such a failure that he had put before them. I was not afraid of failing myself or the audience before me; I was more worried that I would let down my mentor."
/watch?v=NguIpRFLM4M
"Yet as the orchestra started playing the music, and I felt myself let go of who I was before that moment, I remembered everything he had taught me." She sang to the audience as the orchestra started playing the most beautiful song Luna had ever heard in her life. "I was no longer Izabella Castrahoofa; I was the Pure White Flower of the Opera Phantom Theatre! The audience watched my first performance with the high standards that Dokt portrayed of me, and I surpassed all of his expectations with flying colors. For the first time and from that day onward I was his greatest star."
"Month after month, I performed the arts and played out the roles of his greatest star at the theatre's forefront. Night after night, show after show, every time I performed I was the star of his show!" She sang as more of the theatre's actors walked onto stage and sat down in the seats, some bringing their own to pretend to be the audience. "My fame grew but that was not what I cared for, it didn't matter to me if I had one single fan or a hundred thousand more. All that I wanted was to prove my worth to my mentor, the one stallion in all of Fantasia who had any honest faith in me! Each night I performed I looked to his face, to ask each time if his little flower, was putting on a good show."
Luna continued to watch Izabella dance on the stage, smiling that wonderful smile that she showed Luna when she first spoke to her to the audience. She smiled as well and felt proud to have attended this performance of hers. It was indeed a wonderful show to see, it showed so many values that she and her sister would have approved of. Yet still something was tugging at the back of her mind, in fact two thoughts that just kept on annoying her until she finally acknowledged them and listened to what they had to say.
Why would it matter how they thought if they maintained their 'purity of innocence' as they put it. She thought. Does keeping that affect how one thinks?
Wanting an immediate answer to her question she tapped her own teacher and asked him quietly. Ace heard her question and waited for a brief interval when the music was loudest to tell her his response. "Keeping your purity and losing it affect your mind in so many ways little Luna, why do you think my friend Dokt has kept his all his life?" He said to her. "When a mare becomes a mother she thinks so very differently than how she thought before. That is why they have to be careful when choosing their loved ones, for obvious reasons mind you. If they keep their purity that too changes how they think, for it provides them insights that not even Madness provides. Quite an interesting philosophy don't you think?"
"It truly changes your views it seems." Luna thought as she tried to return her attention to the stage again, but still her mind would not let one other detail go away.
Why does the height of a star's fame here mark the end of her career?
She contemplated what this meant, turning it over and over in her head, trying to solve it like a riddle that Ace had given her. Yet nothing came to mind that might explain this problem, so she endeavored to figure it out as the play continued on stage. Izabella continuing to dance before the audience as she sang of the many ponies she met in her career. Talking of famous actors and actresses from other theatres, ordinary ponies from the audience that she met before and after her shows that had become faithful and dedicated fans of hers, and even other directors from the other theatres that wished she were performing for them.
For twenty minutes she sang of her new life, time seemingly standing still for her as her dream had come true. She was finally freed of the chains that she had been bound by in school and as a young mare in her past. She was now respected and admired, loved and adored by everypony that attended her shows. She owed it all to Dokt, for giving her the chance she needed to prove her worth, and show just what she could do.
Suddenly the orchestra stopped playing and every actor turned to look up at where the spotlights were shining down on Izabella as she stood alone before the audience. A hush raced through the audience as the air suddenly felt excited at the anticipation of something exciting about to happen.
"What's going on?" Luna whispered silently as the stage performers, including Dokt, started backing away from Izabella.
Ace smiled eagerly as he glanced at Luna. "The Grand Finale of the show." He said simply. "It's the final act, of Izabella Castrahoofa."
"Hahahahahaha!" Somepony laughed eagerly as a shadow fell across the stage.
Luna had just enough time to see a heavily robed individual gliding onto the stage from high above, before he landed heavily in front of Izabella. He was wearing dark robes, concealed completely from head to hoof; his face was masked and atop his head a menacing hat with a red feather sticking out of it resided. A dark menacing aura surrounded him as he towered above Izabella almost twice her size. Luna actually found herself backing away in her seat, trying to put as much distance between her and that strange pony.
Just as he landed, the orchestra started playing a sinister piece to match the arrival of this strange individual.
/watch?v=_KnHSvbIZFQ
The stranger rose to his full height and took two steps toward Izabella, just as all the other actors started backing away to give him and Izabella space on the stage.
"My dearest flower, I've come for thee!" He sang through his mask, holding out a hoof that wore a boot to her. "Six years you've performed, on this my stage… time's come for you to pay… the price of a dream! Take my hoof now my dear; it's time to end, the life you have lived so far. It's the final act…"
Izabella backed away two steps, neither terrified nor alarmed at his arrival, but the twinkle in her eye vanished and her smile no longer was on her face. "Please not yet my friend, I've not finished my show." She sang in mock fear as she took his hoof. "This is not the way, I want it to end. I've done so much for you, please wait for now. I beg of you to spare me now, this fate I chose… I promise to go to you, just not right now."
The individual pulled her toward him and into a hug, rather forcefully Luna noticed, yet she did not attempt to resist him. "I know you are afraid, my dearest flower." He sang in a sad voice. "I know you fear the end, of this your life. Now though you turn from me, and beg for time… it's TIME for you to join your past… that waits outside."
"You are the Phantom of the Theatre!" Izabella sang.
"The phantom of the Theatre!" The rest of the cast sang in unison, holding their hooves out in respect and admiration for the large veiled being before them, who towered above all including Dokt.
"I ask you now my flower, answer me now!" He sang as he held a hoof out behind her, looking into her eyes through his mask his robes concealing something very long and large by the looks of it. "Was this the life you lived, was it worth it? For if you lie to me, I'll never forgive… the LOVE I gave to you my dear, upon this stage."
Izabella looked up into his eyes, and though Luna suddenly felt very afraid as an ominous feeling filled her every fiber, Izabella herself smiled in acceptance and joy. "Yes it was my friend, this life I lived." She sang. "Was worthy of the theatre!"
"It was worthy of the theatre!" The cast sang as the individual let the folds of his robes fall down, revealing a sharpened scythe that he was holding.
"Worthy of the theatre!" The audience sang.
"Worthy of the theatre!" Ace sang happily.
"Worthy of the theatre!" Luna sang as well, compelled to do so by forces unknown.
"Worthy… of… the… THEATRE!" He sang as he pulled back the scythe, and swung it forward toward Izabella's neck, severing both body and head… forevermore.
The curtains started closing as the audience screamed and applauded at the end of the show, throwing flowers and roses and other signs of congratulations onto the stage just before the curtains could finish hiding the stage from view. Yet Luna was horrified and was not applauding or screaming in approval as she saw from her perspective the pool of red at the remains of Izabella's hooves. "THEY MURDERED HER!" Luna screeched in horror as the curtains closed.
Ace however did not seem to notice what she had said as he too clapped his hooves in applause. "Bravo, bravo, arto artamela!" He shouted. "What's wrong Luna give them a clap or two, that was the finest show ever seen from the theatre!"
"Ace they murdered her, how can you stand there smiling at what just happened!" She yelled, appalled that he would like such a thing.
"Luna what did you expect would happen, I told you before that a star's final show here was the last day of her career." Ace said as everypony started rising from their seats, still applauding the end of the show. "This is how the theatre works, the star of the show becomes famous and at the end of her time here, she dies."
"You mean every single one of those pictures of past stars, each of them were Murdered?"
"Yes, they all knew what would happen if they became the star, but that's what they wanted." Ace said happily as the audience started leaving their seats to leave the theatre. "Don't feel sorry for what you just saw, this is what Izabella wanted from the start. She wanted to become a star here; it was one of her greatest dreams here. She didn't mind dying at the end, for she was so mad that fear no longer existed in her. Just look at how she died, with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Just how she answered the Phantom, her life here was truly worthy of the theatre."
Luna looked into Ace's eyes and then looked at the curtains to where Izabella died, wondering if madness was so wonderful that it allowed a pure, innocent, well respected and admired mare like Izabella to die so easily.
"Come now Luna, we have a grave to visit still." Ace said as he hopped out of his seat and opened the door for her to walk through.
Madness is a state of mind. She whispered in her mind, trying to remind herself that all of this wasn't real. Yet it was becoming increasingly harder by the minute, for everything seemed so real, and the ponies she me felt and looked so alive. Madness… is a state of mind.