• Member Since 14th Aug, 2011
  • offline last seen February 18th

Mindblower


"We are all born mad. Some remain so." -Estragon, Waiting for Godot

T

Sequel to Envy and Arrogance.

Sweeping changes are taking Equestria by the reins as the conflict between Harmony and Discord becomes more fully understood, and, at the same time, less clear than ever before. With nopony to count on but themselves, and sometimes not even that, the Elements of Harmony are forced to either punish the guilty or leave all they know at the mercy of Lady Luck as they go up against two of the most powerful entities in all the world.

(Cover image by HereticOfDune; illustrations by LingLiJing and Denial.)

Chapters (25)
Comments ( 509 )

New to this fandom and haven't read the first one yet, but its description sounds good, people sound excited, and the previous story seems to have a decent rating. I'll give them a shot. :twilightsmile:

After reading it I have one thing to say: FREAKING AMAZING! Just great and the best part was when you used Dementio's theme for Discord! Can't wait for chapter 2!

Thank you for inspiring me to put a soundtrack in Last Ditch! Enitrely different kid of story, but i'm glad that I saw Envy and Arrogance briefly.

I tracked and thumb'd this before it had 40 readers. /hipster

Time to read it, and time to make a random guess that somewhere near the end of this one, the cover image will make sense.
Similar to how the cover for E&A - some kind of evil-looking Rarity with the freaky shadow behind her - didn't make sense until near the end. Chapter 18 or 19, I believe. (NO SPOILERS FOH YOU.)
Thusly, in Chapter 18-19 of G&H, Fluttershy will kill them all...or something...maybe just burn Fillydephia to the ground... I don't know. But it will involve Fluttershy and it will involve flames.

Edit: Read it... saw your note at the bottom, I beg to differ. Now, with Discord's release, the story is occuring DURING the events of the season 2 premiere. That note there may need to be editted to something like "This story takes place AFTER season one but episode 3 of season 2 NEVER HAPPENED." Or something along those lines. Meh, not that big of a deal.

Hmm... I feel bad for the Mane 6 and Luna. They have to deal with impatient Celestia being so bitchy that Discord decided to give them a riddle they have zero chance of solving. And I don't mean the riddle about the "city deep in the sky." I'm refering to his remarks and who he said what to. He specifically called RARITY inadequate. He said that DASH would feel like she had zero control over the situation. He was closest to APPLEJACK when he said his line about "leaving the weak." And he was talking to FLUTTERSHY when he said his little bit about underestimating and villians.

Celestia - automatic "don't listen to him he's lying" reaction means she has something to hide. She also called Discord "weaker than Envy," yet a few moments later she says "don't underestimate" Deception (on the basis of Deception being only one pony).

I have more but I'll start sounding like I'm rooting for Discord if I keep talking. Even though I AM rooting for DisQord, because he's so villianously badass that EPIC is too small a word. *cough*CellyCanGoBuckHerself*cough*

You genius! :pinkiehappy:This is by far the best FIMfic I've ever read. The only thing missing is... Nothing. I will stick to it until the end of Guilt & Hate. And if you're crazy enough to write about the last elements of Discord... :rainbowkiss:

Haha, yes! It's out! :pinkiehappy:

Here's to the beginning of another amazing ride. :twilightsmile:

YES! this story/ series/ I don't know what to call it is magnificent! This is easily my favorite fanfic ever!! Keep up the spectacular work!:rainbowkiss:

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It's how I plan to spend most of tomorrow. :eeyup:

Edit: Never mind, I suppose I'll be doing it right now. My PS3 just died and I've nothing else to do.

So far this has been a solid first chapter. I'll admit I'm a bit apprehensive about Discord being on the loose; I'm not sure how well the story could function in a land of cardboard houses, instantaneous day/night transitions and chocolate rain. But I trust you to handle his presence tastefully, and I did rather like the music when he was around. As much as I love Kingdom Hearts, it's good to have some more variety to the soundtrack (though by all means this does not mean that I want the Kingdom Hearts music to stop). I also enjoyed the insertion of a piece of artwork into the narrative--something we haven't seen since the first chapters of Envy and Arrogance.

I'm a bit disappointed that Spike remains absent from the main events, and I hope he becomes more relevant than [completely pointless] later on. I did appreciate the scene at the end with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, as the CMC and Rainbow Dash are among my favorite characters.

In short, I look forward to more. If it isn't obvious now, you've won yourself a serial reader. Keep up the fantastic work; I'll be sure to pick and gripe at it as you go along, but just know it as a sign that I'm having fun! :pinkiehappy:

Im glad it out! cant wait for more :pinkiehappy:

Sad Fluttershy cover image ftw.

So... Siggy = Cid. Nice..

Are we going to expect more FF/KH characters ponified in the near future?

It feels like something's going to happen to either Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo. Dash's worries early in this chapter back this point, and Scootaloo's nonchalance toward the issue seems to be an attempt to tell the reader not to worry about it for now. Add to this the fact that Deception intentionally makes a target of Loyalty, and it feels like some heavy foreshadowing. Either that or it's a red herring. Both are fun, so I'm down with either route.

...Siggy? I'm unsure how I feel about this guy; not even sure if he's going to play more of a role than that brief conversation. Ah well, always fun to meet new characters regardless. Speaking of new characters, Guilt kicks ass. Seriously, I'm loving his power. Also, nice use of Seymour's music from FFX. I can't wait to see more of this guy.

Excellent chapter overall. I'm psyched to see what happens next. I'll end with what was probably the most beautiful description in this particular chapter:

Celestia shook her head, her sigh forming mist in the late autumn weather.

Mother of Celestia :O. I've got a bad feeling about this...that's no moon...it's a space station. :derpytongue2:Whut?
Anyway, awesome start:moustache: definitely will continue onward and stick till the end :twilightsmile:

Man, I really wish I had a laptop to listen to the music while I read...anyone wanna donate to the "Give A Laptop to AscendedWings" Foundation:pinkiecrazy: awesome chapter:moustache:

I agree wuth Keeria but to tell the truth im still on edge with olly there just not enough we know about him

334843

I know exactly what you mean. Believe me when I say that I don't trust Olly either. Not even a little. :trixieshiftleft:

Does anybody remember all the Elements of Discord? I know Envy, Arrogance, Deception, Guilt, Hate and... ?

Great chapter:pinkiehappy: My favourite fanfic of MLP: FIM:derpytongue2: Proabably gonna spend hours trying to find the last Element of Discord now, lol.

And was the "Super-speedy-Magic-squeezy" a pun on a machine name? :unsuresweetie:

337314
The last one would be Twilight's opposite, Vengeance, which is the one with the most raw power of them all (Deception is crafty, but Vengeance pretty much kills powerful stuff by looking at it), the only drawback is, it needs a host that is willing to host it, so putting 2 and 2 together, my guess is Deception is planning to break Dash but instead of killing her like she's done to many other Loyalty incarnations, she's going to make her want to be Vengeance's body, probably preventing the element from reincarnating (which is the main reason for them to not just outright kill the mane 6, they want to end the Harmony/Discord war entirely, killing them just makes the element reincarnate in another pony).

Obviously this is just wild speculation that could be completely wrong :derpytongue2:

341892 Ohhh! And if I recall correctly the opposites are like this:
Honesty~>Arrogance
Kindness~>Hate
Generosity~>Envy
Loyalty~>Deception
Laughter~>Guilt
Pretty sure but need to be about 20% more sure.:derpytongue2:

342006 "They had turned into the Elements of Discord: Envy, Arrogance, Deception, Guilt, Hate, and finally Vengeance."

So:
Honesty~>Arrogance
Kindness~>Hate
Generosity~>Envy
Loyalty~>Deception
Laughter~>Guilt
Magic~>Vengeance, the strongest one of all.

341892 This is my idea, I still think Scootaloo will be the one to take in Vengeance. If she hasn't already. Deception does indeed have it out to Loyalty, but remember what she likes. "However, Deception has recently taken a liking to breaking ponies’ hearts and killing them in the process" What would break Rainbow more, than seeing her adoptive little sister, personal #1 fan, and maybe even best friend she can fall onto for anything; Turn around and willingly let Vengeance take over her? Scootaloo would be a traitor, non-loyal, a spit in her face basicly. That is what I think will happen.

342794
Yeah, that's possible as well given the whole deal on Envy and Arrogance where she was pretty much allowed to survive on purpose just so that she bonded with Saphira. A couple of manipulation here and there could do the trick and make Scootaloo hate AJ enough for her to willingly become Vengeance.

Yeah, that sounds more likely now that I think about it. It's just the part of their plan that is supossed to be different this time what puzzles me, since doing what you said pretty much acomplishes nothing new in the grand scheme of things (at least from Discord's POV) as Loyalty is implied to have been killed prematurely every single time and Harmony still managing to win.

344612 Ah, but harmony has never won. They always ended in a draw. Think of it this way tho. Think of it as a game, The Elements are the players, Equestria is the game board, and Harmony/Discord are the teams. There are no rules in this game tho. There are no boundaries. Deception is the smartest of everyone, but she is tired of playing this game. To end it, who says Discord has to win? As is always pointed out, she is a traitor. What if she is a traitor to Discord as well.

I believe her master plan, the thing she is working towards to end the game, is to help Harmony win, in such a way that nopony would know it was cause of her. This might mean that to hide that she is a traitor, to keep them believing she is loyal, she has to kill loyalty. who knows, Maybe loyalty knew this, and willingly lets her? I believe she will be the biggest hero of all, taking the ultimate price of being hated by everyone for the greater good, even letting herself die in the end.

*Hopes is first*

Wow! Deception is a BEAST! But he's kinda annoying so that cancels it out. :derpytongue2:
Fluttershy has been seeming quite kind lately... I know this is early in this story, but Fluttershy might potentially find something out soon.:yay:
And Rarity's intuition seems odd... Oh well reasonable enough to me! :pinkiehappy:
As always, awesome chapter:raritywink: I'm really impatient so I can't wait till the next one.:applecry:

354357 Dang, man. You are pretty fast :D
'nyway, more plot development. Yay...

Somehow, the group being separated reminded me of Mane 6's first trial. Could be that Rarity's "intuition" comes from memories or something from first trial.

Also, Twilight forgetting stuff (which I should look up in previous chapters) reminded me of KH:CoM (especially when Twilight mentions "It's probably not important, so I guess I won't bother")

Also, furious Celestia is new, I guess. Are you planning to reconstruct Celestia's personality or was there some similarities between before and after the control?

354435 Lol, not fast, random!:pinkiehappy: I kinda guess I was bored and I remembered today was the day:yay: So I looked it up and thank Celestia it was there :rainbowlaugh:

WOOT! Another awesome chapter of Guilt and Hate! :rainbowkiss:
There's something about that new foal I find suspicious, Rarity and Fluttershy get separated and run into the foal after an encounter with Deception...It can't be a coincidence. :ajbemused: (skeptical AJ is skeptical)
It seems Rarity may be close to unlocking her potential. I can't wait for the next chapter!! :pinkiehappy:

354747
I'm definitely in agreement here, but hadn't picked up on Rarity being close to her Potential.

This was a great chapter! Discord was so funny and insane in this chapter!
I can't wait until the next one!

Hmm.... Guilt we have seen... Is this foal hate?! :rainbowderp:

Yay Chrono Cross music! :pinkiehappy:

354357
'Shy failed her test by giving in to her hate and allowing someone to die in front of her without making a move to help. She allowed someone who was begging for help to die. Illusion or not, she still gave in to her anger and her hate.
Hmm.... 'Shy gave in to her HATE. This is Guilt and HATE. I predict Negative-Potential, perhaps? Negivential?

354747
Rarity failed her test, if you remember. She might be getting close to the opposite of her Potential. Negivential... or something like that.

On a sidenote, in E&A, Rarity and AJ both murdered someone. They also both failed their tests. E&A are the opposites of Generosity and Honesty, which, strangely, have the initials G&H - the same as Guilt and Hate.
Of course, Hate is the opposite of Kindness, so perhaps we'll see Fluttershy kill someone who may or may not deserve it, hmm? (I vote for the latter.)

Grr. Loving it so far, though I am annoyed at how easily my little ponies get taken out. :fluttershyouch: and somehow I just don't trust Centime :rainbowhuh:. Meh, we'll find out in the next exciting installment of Guilt and Hate. HeeHee

359510 She was also being kind to her friend Dash. It is true she gave into her hate. That doesn't mean she isn't kind. She still does have potential. Even if Pinkie or Rainbow had forewarned her to be kind, the outcome would most likely be the same. I do see your point of view though. Failed test= Failed potential. But it wasn't stated that failing the test meant failing as an Element. It meant that they were more weak to their opposites.

359510
You've got a good point there. I think I'm just jumping to conclusions a little too soon. Especially with the new colt, considering Deception has been keeping me on the the edge of my seat.

A word on this chapter's theme choices: They were all by coincidence.
-Discord's theme will always be that track.
-I chose the song for the forest at the advice of an editor, Videocrazy, who also suggested I change the first song in the chapter (which I did before I published it)
-I added a scene right before I published this chapter, and it has a theme that, seemingly by fate, is directly related to the others.

The strange thing is, they all still fit. :pinkieshrug: Ah, well. Enjoy!:pinkiehappy:

A runaway! After him! Off with his non crippled leg! :pinkiecrazy:

Great chapter!
Methinks Centime is a little suspicious... Rarity may be right.

Discord, you troll! :twilightangry2: Well, no turning back now. :ajbemused: Can't wait for the next capter! :pinkiehappy:

Oh man this is gettin good I wonder what going to happen with sweetie it cant be good...damn grammar errors will be the end of me

More and more, I am surprised at the pace and the different moods that you are setting for each chapter. That's good by all means, but I don't want to be in a roller coaster of emotions when I am reading one chapter (not implying this chapter did that. Just a heads-up, I guess).

Background music is getting better each chapter as well and has more variety as the story goes on. On that note, really digging the Discord's theme (fits his personality well).

As for the story, I think somepony (or something) is blocking/intercepting the dream channel that Twilight goes through on purpose. Probably, Verba and/or Obsidian has/have a hand in this. Whatever it is, it might be related to Twilight's frequent cases of amnesia that we've observed so far. Also, hoping that Centime becomes an ally at the end. He is a broken (both mentally and physically) and distrustful of others, but that's natural for somepony who has gone through such trauma, so... Still thinking Scootaloo may turn sides at the end of this arc somehow.

Yay! I thought this was dead, turns out my click to track it never registered. Anywho, awesome chapter!

I'm annoyed that the ponies are too stupid to realize that Discord's actually helping them. He moved them from where they THOUGHT they had to go to where they ACTUALLY had to go. He's also likely responsible for teleporting Olly, Scoots, and Sweetie to the group.

Sure, getting stuck inside a rock or being teleported by Discord (seems to be a nauseating experience) isn't the most fun thing in the world, but can't you idiots let your hatred go long enough to realize he's on your side (at least partially).

If Centime is Deception, it would explain how he knows Discord...and why he hates Discord. "No, you're thinking of someone more ancient than me." Methinks Discord is talking about King Discord? If that's the case then Centime has to be one of the Elements of Discord. (TOO MANY DISCORDS!)
Sadly, people don't remember that ALL the Elements of Discord can possess people. Don't be so quick to blame the shapeshifter.

Holy Rainbow SHAT!:rainbowwild: Hate you crazy@ss b!tch! Not Spitfire!:pinkiegasp:

As always great job, a hat tip to you and your editors!:pinkiesmile:

Fluttershy FIND YOUR POTENTIAL!:flutterrage:

Cheers! :pinkiehappy:

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