Chapter Six
Chapter Six
*******
“Okay, that should be the last of it,” Twilight panted, wiping her brow. I’ve never used so much magic all at once, she breathed to herself.
“Ya forgot Fluttershy,” Applejack pointed out weakly. The orange mare was lying on her side, trying to recover from the splitting pain in her forehead.
“Oh, right, sorry,” Twilight sighed.
“You should take a breather,” Scootaloo suggested.
“Gladly,” Twilight said, walking over to the pale yellow pegasus who had fainted shortly after their encounter with Hate. “Right after I heal Fluttershy.”
“Hey, Celestia, can’t you do this magic?” Pinkie asked.
Celestia shook her head, chuckling. “I’ve never had any magical talent. What you saw before was Arrogance’s magic. Raising and setting the sun is just glorified telekinesis; I’m not very good at most other magic.”
“But you’re the sun goddess!” Rarity exclaimed. “You’re supposed to be the most powerful being in Equestria!”
Celestia shook her head. “Sorry, that’s just an old mare’s tale. I’m actually only about five thousand years old. Discord, with Vengeance ruling behind the scenes, reigned over Equestria before I overthrew them. Discord’s rule was chaotic and painful in the countryside, but in the cities it was a reign of complete and utter fear. My sister and I thought we put an end to it, but it’s looking like we haven’t.”
“Um, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeing Twilight’s mane start to fray and split at the ends, as it usually did when she was under extreme stress. Whatever she’s doing, she’s wearing out fast. “Take a break, okay?”
“We don’t have time to rest, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight breathed, flicking her tail anxiously as she worked more magic. “We have to get out of here, and quickly. There’s only so much air.”
She has a point, Dash thought. “Okay, so does anypony have a plan?”
Centime, who was curled up into a tight ball, mumbled something. Scootaloo, who was lying next to him, asked, “What’d you say, Centime?”
“The exit’s over there,” Centime mumbled, pointing to a wall opposite of himself.
“Huh?” Applejack asked. “How can ya tell?”
“The bad pony came from there, so it can’t be as tough as the other walls,” Centime explained, still tightly curled up.
Dash stood up to inspect the wall, tapping on it a few times. “It’s hollow,” she observed, surprised.
Celestia went up next to the wall Dash was by, reared up, and slammed on it with all her force. A series of cracks started to appear in the wall as it broke to pieces, revealing a long tunnel.
“Well whaddaya know,” Applejack chuckled. “Nice find, Cent.”
Centime didn’t respond. Scootaloo nudged him. “Hey, she said nice job.” He sniffled, but didn’t say another word.
He’s really scared, Scootaloo thought. With all that he’s been through, it must be tough. His life must have been hard, even before the war. I... I want to help him.
Pinkie nudged Fluttershy. “Wake up, silly,” the pink earth pony said with a small smile.
Fluttershy shifted, gradually waking up. However, before she opened her eyes, a tear fell down her cheek.
“Pinkie,” Fluttershy cried, “what are w-we going to do now?”
“Keep on keepin’ on,” Applejack said, shaking off her pains and standing up. “Ain’t nothin’ more we need ta do. Now that Twi’s given ya back yer strength, we’ll finally git outta this mess an’ go home.”
“B-But what if Hate c-comes b-b-back...” Fluttershy trailed off, sobbing hysterically. Pinkie bent down and held Fluttershy in her forelegs.
“We’ll fight him off this time, promise,” Pinkie said softly, solemnly. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
Fluttershy didn’t respond; she was too upset. She received the worst of it, Celestia observed. Hate’s always had a vendetta against Kindness, and unless she realizes her Potential, he’s going to keep torturing her.
Twilight sighed and flopped down onto her back, her magic thoroughly spent. “I need a nap,” she complained.
“We all need a nap, Twilight, and a good long one at that,” Olly muttered, adjusting the straps of his goggles absently. “The way I see it, though, the only nap we’re going to take by just sitting here is a dirt nap. We need to get Fluttershy and Centime back on their hooves and get the heck out of here.”
“I agree with Olly; it’s dirty, dank, and musty in here, and it’s starting to do a number on my pelt,” Rarity said, getting up and dusting herself off. “We shall either leave here with dignity or not at all.”
Scootaloo helped Sweetie Belle to her hooves. The unicorn teen hadn’t said anything since Hate’s rampage. She stared blankly at the floor, her movements clumsy and uncoordinated. I hate to see her like this, but I kind of feel the same way, Scootaloo sighed. I think she’ll be alright, though.
Scootaloo then focused her attention on Centime. “C’mon, Centime, we have to go.”
Centime didn’t answer. Scootaloo sighed. I guess it won’t be that easy. “Are you really just going to sit here the rest of your life? We both know how well that went last time.”
Again, Centime was unresponsive. When Scootaloo poked him, he flinched and grunted, curling up tighter and squeezing himself into the tiniest possible space.
The others were almost prepared to go. Twilight had shaken off her exhaustion and was starting to lead the group down the tunnels, though her eyes were half closed the entire time.
“Hurry, darling,” Rarity told Scootaloo, motioning toward the tunnel.
“I’m trying,” Scootaloo answered. She laid down close to Centime. “Listen, I’ll carry you the entire way through the tunnel and you can squeeze me as hard as you like, but you’ll have to get on my back first. Fair?”
Centime mumbled something and stretched his front legs to the ceiling, finally opening his eyes. “Carry me,” he pleaded softly.
“Um, Celestia?” Scootaloo asked, turning around.
“Yes?” Celestia asked.
“You said you could levitate stuff, right?” Scootaloo proposed.
Celestia walked over. “So he wants you to carry him, right? Wouldn’t it be better if I did?”
“No,” Centime said. “I want Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Whatever gets us out of here faster.”
Celestia’s horn glowed as she used moderate telekinesis to lift the pale green foal off of the dirty cave floor. Hovering about in midair, Centime flailed his limbs in panic. “Hey!” Celestia giggled a bit, but gently set Centime down on Scootaloo’s back. Scootaloo wobbled a bit at first, but gradually situated the foal on her back.
Centime looked up resentfully at Celestia. “Don’t do that!”
Celestia chuckled and went off to join the rest of the group. Centime settled himself on Scootaloo’s back, digging his head into her mane.
Ack, Scootaloo thought, shifting so that Centime wouldn’t choke her. She started to walk along with the rest of the group out of the tunnels.
Fluttershy was leaning heavily on Pinkie throughout the journey. The gentle mare was torn to pieces. How could anypony be so mean? Pinkie asked herself. Fluttershy’s so nice; she never did anything to Hate. So why does Hate want to hurt her?
Dash forged ahead, and Olly slowly caught up with her. “Hey, slow down,” he complained. He pointed back toward the rest of the group. “They’re falling behind.”
Dash shrugged, but didn’t slow down.
“Hey, what’s bothering you?” Olly asked.
“Nothing, leave me alone,” Dash answered, refusing to make eye contact.
“Well, let me get out my trusty phrasebook...” Olly muttered, using telekinesis to pull a misceleneous gardening tips book out of his disorganized saddlebags. He flipped to a random page and said. “In mare-speak, ‘leave me alone’ appears to mean, ‘something is definitely wrong, and any good friend would ask me what’s on my mind.’” Olly carefully placed the book back in his bags and added, “So, a penny for your thoughts? I don’t have anything on me, but I can pay you back later.”
Dash rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m just a little frustrated, okay? I keep trying to protect my friends, but I can’t even protect myself.”
Olly laughed a bit. “Yeah, I know the feeling. You think you feel useless. I can’t really do anything but sit around waiting for the end, maybe popping in at the right moment to throw a rock or two, at most. At least you try. You’re a warrior, and a good one, at that.”
“But what’s the use if I just throw myself into battle and can’t actually do anything?” Dash asked angrily. “Guilt, Hate, and Deception all have paralysis spells. What am I supposed to do about that?”
“Well, I would suggest you pick your battles. Remember, you went in head-first and without the support of your friends. Pinkie’s undone paralysis before,” Olly pointed out. “Anyway, we’ll be a lot more of a threat now that Twilight’s magical whatnot’s got us back on our hooves. From what I’ve gathered, the Elements of Harmony are really only any use when they work together.”
“...Yeah,” Dash admitted.
“So what I think you should do is stop worrying about it for the time being and focus on what needs to be done, getting out of this cave being the first item on the agenda,” Olly finished. “And you may be the number one Element of Loyalty, but just remember that you can’t be the number one ‘Everything in the World.’”
“Because that would be too easy,” Dash muttered.
Olly paused for a moment before saying, “Y’know what, Dash? You are absolutely right.”
Meanwhile, Scootaloo was having a lot of trouble keeping pace with Centime attached to her back, but the foal refused to budge despite the others offering to carry him.
He’s a little clingy, Centime, Celestia muttered to herself. I wonder where he’s from. I wonder if he’d talk about it. “Hey, Centime, where are you from, exactly?”
Centime shifted a bit to face Celestia. “Manehattan.”
Celestia whistled. “Wow, that’s a ways away. How did you get out in the wild all on your own?”
“I told you, the bad ponies took me,” Centime said, once again burying his face in Scootaloo’s mane.
Scootaloo wiped her brow. This is really tiring, she complained to herself. How much longer is this tunnel?
“Actually, Ah’m curious, too,” Applejack said. “What was life like back in Manehattan?”
Centime shifted. “Normal,” he said.
“What were yer parents like?” Applejack asked.
Centime didn’t answer. Maybe I stumbled on a tricky subject, Applejack thought. “Ya don’t have ta tell me if ya don’t wanna,” Applejack said.
“The first thing I remember,” Centime began, “Is seeing Mom smiling at me, and saying some things. My only other real memory before meeting you all... is seeing dad get taken away by bad ponies.”
“Centime... who are the bad ponies?” Celestia finally asked.
Centime wiped his eyes. “Anypony who works with the pony that took my mom away.”
Celestia paused for a moment, but gradually turned back to the path. I’m not sure what to make of him. I’m really not.
Rarity walked next to Sweetie Belle, who was still mute as she marched through the dim tunnels. “Are you alright, darling?”
Sweetie Belle didn’t answer. She just kept walking. She hasn’t said a word since her song, Rarity remarked worriedly. I wonder what’s going on in her head.
“Why am I still alive, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked suddenly.
“Um...? Why not?” Rarity laughed a bit.
“They could kill us all if they wanted to,” Sweetie Belle began with a total lack of emotion, “but we’re not useful to them like you are. Why have they kept us alive?”
Rarity sighed. “I... I don’t know, Sweetie Belle.”
“It’s because the Elements of Discord want to use us as punching bags,” Twilight sighed. “With your ability, Sweetie Belle, they can knock us down as many times as they like and we’ll just keep coming back for more. They can send us to the brink of death and know that we’ll be up and running an hour later.”
“That’s sick and cruel,” Dash muttered. We don’t mean anything to them...
“Why are they so mean to us?” Fluttershy asked. “They’re going out of their way to make us miserable, but why?”
“Because they’re ignorant and evil,” Celestia said firmly. “They’ve been trying to plunge Equestria into a state of chaos longer than even I know. For thousands of years, they terrorized Equestria, and I for one am tired of getting beat up by those bullies.”
Fluttershy nodded, but she still looked unsure.
There was a light at the end of the long series of looping tunnels. Twilight and Celestia surged ahead of the group and were the first ones out of the cave.
“Air!” Twilight moaned, collapsing onto the ground, her hooves sprawled out in front of her as she inhaled the sweet scent of nature. It was mid-afternoon, but surprisingly chilly. They were standing in an evergreen forest. Birds sang pleasant songs, and rushing water could be heard from nearby. Foggy mountains surrounded the area and the air was slightly thinner than at sea level.
“Where’re the others?” Celestia asked, turning around and gasping as she saw that the cave exit had vanished behind her and Twilight.
*******
“Pleasant day for a stroll, wouldn’t you say?” Deception began, casually strolling toward them. He was wearing a black fleece sweater. “The weather is nice and brisk, the sun is shining, the leaves have just began fall. Lovely.”
“Back off, Deception!” Celestia commanded. Twilight had leapt up and was standing in a battle stance next to Celestia.
“Well, I was only being polite, Celestia. I can understand if the concept is foreign to you,” Deception grinned. “I’m here to distribute information that you may find necessary for your little quest. That is, if you’ll hear me.”
Twilight glared at Deception. I know we shouldn’t trust her, but I’m curious about what she has to say...
“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” Deception smiled. “The first item on the agenda is that Zecora is absolutely correct in saying that I am somewhere in your group. The second article is that I am also standing in front of you. The third clue is that I, in fact, cannot be in two places at once, and the fourth and final little piece of information is that I am quite possibly lying to you and you aren’t noticing.”
Twilight’s head was spinning as she tried to process all this information. What? My mind is flying in a million directions at once...
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.
“I mean that I am in your group, yet not in your group,” Deception smirked. “You have a rat, but it isn’t who’s standing here. Or maybe it is. Maybe it’s both. Are you good at guessing games? For your sake, I hope you are.”
“What are you trying to tell us?” Twilight asked.
“Quite simple, really. How about we start with the basics. I’m not you, Twilight, I would assume that’s obvious,” Deception said, leaning in close to Twilight.
They shared a cold stare for a few moments before Deception continued. “I’m probably not Celestia, either, but then again, you never know. I’m neither Dash nor Pinkie Pie since they’ve already realized their Potential, and I can’t possibly be Scootaloo; no, she’s far too important. Far too important, as you will soon find out.”
“Okay...?” Twilight asked.
“Well, that means I’m probably either Rarity or Applejack. Perhaps I’m Olly or Sweetie Belle--who knows, maybe even Centime. Olly has no history, but Rarity is the only pony to intentionally take a life. Centime also has no history; you have no idea where he came from and what he has said may just be lies. Applejack could quite possibly be me because she’s done many an action that directly helps us, such as murdering Saphira,” Deception continued. “Of course, I may also just be making every single piece of information up just to turn you all against each other.”
Celestia gritted her teeth. No, not again.
“Then what are we supposed to do?” Twilight asked angrily.
“I’m quite glad you asked! You have two options. One, you can ignore me, and that would benefit you in the short term because you won’t waste time bickering amongst yourselves. However, I may just kill one of you later when you least expect it. Or, nothing at all will happen and you’ll be a tad lucky. You could also take what I say to heart and potentially root me out--but you’d leave yourselves open to attack from the rest of our forces, and I may not be there at all in the first place,” Deception explained. “You’re in quite a pickle, if I say so myself.”
The gears in Twilight’s head were turning so fast they nearly skidded to a halt. “There’s... nothing we can do, is there?”
“You’re a sharp one, I’ll give you that,” Deception laughed. “Either way, though, it will all go according to plan. I just thought you’d like to be in on this little game. After all, knowledge is power. And about that spell of yours: It’s completely useless. As you know, I can possess somepony without killing them. Ta!” he finished cheerfully before vanishing.
Celestia and Twilight stood there silently for a long time.
Perfect, Twilight muttered to herself. We’re out of one corner just to be pushed into another. And now, Celestia and I have to decide whether to tell the others. I’m not sure how they would react.
I was praying this wouldn’t happen, but it did, Celestia moaned to herself. This is Deception’s grand scheme, and no matter what happens, we’re going to end up working against ourselves. There’s nothing we can do.
The rest of the group ran up the side of the mountain and were excited to finally find their missing members, but they stopped cold when they saw Celestia and Twilight’s expressions.
“What in the hay happened here?” Applejack asked.
Twilight paused. “...Nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all.”
=====================================================================
[Note]: I do not own anything in this story that already belongs to someone else.
This story takes place BEFORE season two, but AFTER season one.
Please let me know if a link doesn’t work.
Illustration by Denial.
Stats
Page generated in 0.023 seconds
Total duration
980 users online
1,845,158 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
interesting. Deception always seems to confuse things, spreading doubt and fear as always.
edit: Also the only Pony Deception didn't mention in their little dose of trickery was Fluttershy...
edit2: a bit of an expansion of first line which was originally " Interesting. Deception always seems to confuse things"
Awesome picture.........oh, and a good chapter too
Damn it Deception, why are you so....deceiving?
One little hint of advice: I understand that the Elements of Discord are magical, etc, etc but you should try and find ways for them to be involved without just popping up out of nowhere. It tends to get rather repetitive and mundane is all. Instead, perhaps Twilight could summon one of them, or the group could sneak up on one by chance without them knowing. Just a couple of ideas.
Try and work on that but part from that, still a great story
Poor Fluttershy.
Scootaloo's too important!
So many questions.... I guess the first one would be: When did Pinkie undo paralysis? Fluttershy wasn't mentioned!
Run Fluttershy, run!
If Vengeance wants to posess someone, they need to be craving vengeance, yes? Does that go the same for Envy, Arrogance, Guilt, and Hate? I know Deception doesn't...
Great chapter! A hat-tip to the team!
Oh man, talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place. Deception is good at what he does, I'll give him that, he's even confused me.
Love the picture too. 
Deception's message is definitely going to keep me on edge for the next few chapters. Can't wait to read more! 
Waitaminute, Deception said he couldn't be in two places at once right? That means whomever he is posing as should've dissapeared along with Twilight and Celestia at the end, if that's correct then all they have to do is ask the rest who went missing: if none did, then Deception was full of s*** and they can keep going nice and dandy, if someone did, then it's that pony, either way Deception shot himself in the foot by telling them that if I'm right.
Either that or he's full of s*** and everything he said is a lie then no point in doing anything
MY BRAIN! IT HURTS!
Anyway, this was a good chapter! It started off like a little filler/cutscene chapter, but then Deception appears and makes my brains scrambled eggs.
I'm placing my bets right now. I don't think it's Centime, as that would be too obvious. Olly also seems too obvious because of the amnesia, Deception would just have an elaborate back story planned out. Now, if memory serves, we haven't seen any of Rarity's thoughts. That's why she's my first guess. My second is that the whole thing is BS. We'll have to see...
438290 Yes we have, in chapter 3 before and after finding Centime, but I'm thinking that unless the whole thing is BS he can just store his soul inside any pony without the host noticing and not make any changes in his/her personality/thoughts, if that's true, then any of them could be a time bomb and there would be no way to tell until it's too late.
First, sorry Mindblower (couldn't place Mr. or Ms. since I don't want to offend you or something). RL stuff got me this week and was AFK or AFC most of the time (well, the personal ones anyway), so I just read it right now. So, I hope you forgive me for that
Moving on, I wanted to try something different this time around, and comment as I read along. Not sure if I will continue doing it (mostly likely no), but here they are:
Centime is very observant. I like how it's usually the quite ones that observe these kinds of stuff. Hurt, but keeping his head strong when he needs to, Centime can play the most prominent role in this arc I presume.
....
Hmm.. it seems that my guess was partially correct. Hate is definitely want Fluttershy to bring out her Potential. That's good, because Fluttershy really need some backbone when situation calls for it. Sure, such quality made Discord mad enough to "cheat" in his game on S2E01, but being kind and humble to EVERYONE makes you an easy target for those who wants to hurt her. Wish Flutters could get her potential in a way when she was instructed by Iron Will, but not too much.
....
Seeing Centime X Scoots and Olly X Dash. I am not a fan of OC pairings, but I support the first one, because it sounds too cute. Not really digging Olly X Dash, though. Nevertheless, I will wait for steady development for these pairings (if intentional).
....
Sweeti-emo is... pretty depressing. Probably because she was force-fed those depression by Hate himself (or herself), so can't complain there. Also, I like how Twilight can be logical sometimes and say harsh but true words if needed.
....
Nice, a picture. More to come?
....
Guessing game. Oh, how I love/hate these. No matter how close I get, it's always not a cigar (wink wink). Anyway, let's see the rules:
1) Deception is somewhere in Mane 6 group or close. <- Probably close, because the conversation seemed to be taking place within the mind, instead of physically.
2) Deception cannot be in two places at once. <- Further reinforces the fact that Deception is not there physically, but mindjacking both ponies for some reason. I think it could be because Celestia and (tweaked) Twilight is the only ponies with active Magical abilities.
3) Deception is quite possibly lying to Mane 6. <- For namesake, duh.
4) Ponies who are not: Celestia, Twilight, Dash, Pinkie, Scoots <- Agreeing with Deception's reasoning but doubts for Scoots. It could be possible that Scoots is/will become host to one of the Elements of Discord.
5) Ponies who could be: Rarity, Applejack, Centime, Olly, Sweeti-emo <- Reasoning's OK, but it could be used to throw Twilestia (and the readers) off.
6) Ponies who are not mentioned: Fluttershy and others who are in the city. <- Fluttershy is not mentioned. I wonder why. Did her mind break already or is there something more?
That's all for now. I hope I can read right on time as usual next week.
deception is quite the trickster
he said that Zecora's prediction was true and when she made her prediction the only ones there were Celestia and the mane 6 meaning its one of them. But he also said he could be lying, so in reality it could be anypony or it could be nopony.
My head hurts
Gotta love the art ya got there. And of course, Deception being tricky as always.
Nice chapter!
Mind games, son, mind games.
Methinks Fluttershy is close to realizing her Potential. That's why Deception didn't mention her, perhaps?
Also, Deception mentioned that Scootaloo was meant for more important things. Vengeance seems the likeliest choice. After all, it is the only Element of Discord we have yet to see.
Idea. Deception took control of Zecora and was being honest when saying one of them wasn't really them, utterly confusing the shiet out of them.
What was just brought up by Deception could've also been completely true, scenario being that he's been inhabiting one of the ponies up until he decided to send a message. He'd still be being completely sincere...
I think I'm under-thinking this.
--edit--
Celestia shook her head. “None of the Elements of Discord can fully possess somepony without killing them."
Son of a... Okay, Zecora's dead. We've established that now. XD