Ch. 13: Open Up Your Eyes

Twilight had been winched up into the bowels of Tempest's ship. She tried to blast her way out of the cage, but her magic barely even scratched the bars. Then Tempest walked down to the cage, smiling cruelly.

"Aww, the 'Princess of Friendship'. With no friends," she said and chuckled. "And no way out."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Twilight. "You're a pony! Just like me." That obviously struck a nerve as Tempest struck the bars with her hooves and sent magic energy coursing through them from her horn.

"I'm nothing like you!" she growled. "I'm more than you'll ever be!"

Musical Number – Open Up Your Eyes

Tempest: It's time you learned a lesson
It's time that you understand
Don't ever count on anybody else
In this or any other land

I once hoped for friendship
To find a place among my kind
But those were the childish wishes
Of someone who was blind

Open Up Your Eyes…!
See the world from where I stand
Me, among the mighty
You, caged at my command

Open Up Your Eyes…!
Give up your sweet fantasy land
It's time to grow up and get wise
Come now, little one…
Open Up Your Eyes!

Then she used her power to show Twilight a flashback of her childhood, from when she still had her horn and she had two young friends. They were playing with a ball when it bounced into the Everfree Forest, into a blocked off cave. She was unsure of what to do, but her friends said she should go in. She scowled at them as she walked in. She found the ball, but she also found something bad: An Ursa Minor, the same one, in fact, that Twilight had handled when Trixie first came to Ponyville. It attacked her and shattered her horn.

We all start out the same
With simple naïve trust
Shielded from the many ways
That life's not fair or just

But then there comes a moment
A simple truth that you must face
If you depend on others
You'll never find your place.

She had to recover for a few weeks, and even when she did find her friends playing again, when she tried to use her magic, all she could muster were lightning bolts and sparks. So her friends abandoned her and found someone else to play with. After that, she ran away from her hometown and found herself working for the Storm King in the Badlands.

And as you take that first step
Upon a path, that's all your own
You see it all so clearly
The best way to survive is all alone

Open Up Your Eyes…!
See the world from where I stand
Me, among the mighty
You, caged at my command

Then she threw a switch on the side that started raising Twilight's cage up to the main deck, but then she stopped it for a moment with her hoof.

Open Up Your Eyes…!
And behold the faded light
It's time to grow up and get wise
Come now, little one,

Open Up Your Eyes!

Open Up Your Eyes…!

Twilight's eyes quickly adjusted to the light of the main deck, but when they did, she stared in awe and fear at their destination; what was left of Canterlot. Then Tempest walked up to the deck next to her.

"I'm so sorry you felt so alone," said Twilight.

"I saw the truth," said Tempest bitterly. "My 'friends' abandoned me when times got tough. Looks like I'm not the only one. Face it, Princess. Friendship has failed you, too."

"Friendship didn't fail me," said Twilight, tears coming to her eyes again. "I failed friendship."