//------------------------------// // Canto V: Descent Into Dishonesty and the Judgement of Applejack // Story: Twilight's Inferno: A Brony Comedy // by The Young and Free Dragon //------------------------------// TWILIGHT'S INFERNO BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON There is no greater wealth than family Hinder not thou his fated way; be sure Hindrance is vain; thus it is willed where will And power are one; enough; ask now no more.” ~Dante: The Divine Comedy 1: Hell, Canto 5, Lines 22-24 CANTO V: DESCENT INTO DISHONESTY AND THE JUDGEMENT OF APPLEJACK Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes in the heated air Her coat felt wet, surely from dripping sweat And her nose twitched at the smell of burning hair Her surroundings were minimal Undefined, simply fire and shackles And ponies being led around like criminals And as they reached the end of their path, a pony stood grinning, His large figure was nondescript and shimmering, Inviting those who to continue on, those who were freely sinning. “Who is this stallion, this mocker of these ponies?” Twilight asked, and then noticed a pair beside him, “And these foul creatures? Are they his cronies?” “He is known by the name of Ghosh, and his mocking is just, “Lucifer takes satisfaction in knowing, he is lying to the liars, “And if honest is his Hell, face it, he must.” “But he suffers not from any torture. If Hell this is, where is his pain?” Celestia levitated above him and pointed toward his back, Twilight approached and was met with the sight of a hideous blain. “This is his punishment, for he carries on his back, the lies to himself,” Celestia said, motioning to how the sore did pulse and glow, “Each lie he must live upon, becomes a heavier weight in upon itself.” “He appears only as a stallion, for he has no form, “His existence is a lie unto himself and others, “He only takes shape to those whom he may misinform.” “These creatures he too, thinks are his cronies, but in reality, “They are his children, deformed by his lies, so far, “They are unrecognizable, due to his unrealized brutality.” Twilight fell silent, unable to find words for this, And instead turned to where the sinners went, Her eyes following their path deeper into the abyss There she saw what became of them; As they were covered in glittering substances And their bodies weighed down by the phlegm Then they took a yoke into their mouths, to push As they walked through flaming foliage Wracked and scratched by the burning bush The yokes turned giant pistons, which churned vats Which then spilled more of the substances upon them And squealed and whined like a continuous loops on dats “This foul substance is a lie in pure form,” Celestia said, regarding them disdainfully. “Heavy and disgusting, like the acts they perform.” “I'll leave you to forge through this circle, and meet you at the end, Try to learn from these creatures, and recognize them, “And when you've finished, a call to me, do send.” And she faded away, leaving Twilight staring at the sinners. What was there to do, but to start walking? Nothing. Not a thing could be done to change suffering's beginners. So she did walk, trotting along a series of cracks It seemed perhaps the most logical choice. To travel behind those with turned-toward-her backs. She saw ponies whispering to themselves, and the words turned to mush, Which fell from their mouths and added to the disgusting scene Upon seeing this, some would close their mouths, eliciting a silent hush. Twilight Sparkle began to study each of the ponies, most were nondescript And some were vague memories in her mind, but every now and then, She did see one she knew, and her only silence was foul in the air of a crypt. Cheerilee imprisoned for feeding young children lies, Iron Will for false production and usage of ponies, Filthy Rich for his dishonest money ties All along this path the number grew higher So many ponies guilty of dishonesty among friendship All of their wishes dwelling on the side of dire Doomed, yes, doomed they were And as the path grew longer All sins became a blur A blur that grew harsher and harsher, worse and worse And their lies became a horrid song as they worked To cover the truth of themselves, with each passing verse At the end of the path, Twilight stopped dead In the middle of the crack was a slumped figure Seemingly weeping on a phlegm bed She approached and felt dread building in her heart This pony was the center of lying, fraud and facade She stepped onto the bed, threatening to come apart She seized the pony by the neck and looked into her face Her eyes beheld those of the past, ones that reflected her sins And the immense shock, against it, herself she could not brace She looked into desperate eyes, cold and black And yet there still burned friendship Inside the hollow soul of Applejack “Dear Celestia,” She murmured. “Twilight, mah maker,” “She told us you were comin' but I never quite believed it, “I thought for sure the liar must have been the baker.” “Pinkie Pie knows?” Twilight asked, but shook it away. It was time to judge Applejack. Pinkie's time would come So she fell silent, waiting for what Applejack would say. “My sins... I lied of this totality of disaster, “To mah friends, of all ponies, told them it would be alright, “Though I knew the end could only speed faster. “I kept mah silence up, even as they fell, “I couldn't let it end, not when I'd gone so far, “And in the end, that was my soul to sell.” “Judge me...” She murmured, though Twilight was already, Her eyes were alight with anger, surely this pony was to blame. She tightened her grip on Applejack, and her head she held steady. “Burn in Hell!” She cried, delivering a kick to her gut, She charged her glowing horn into her head Sealing the damnation with a monstrous cut She screamed, and caught fire, turning to ash Her flesh turning that of sweet apples and melting Leaving nothing but her skull that had been smashed The fire ended with the breach in the skull And Twilight drew Death's blade Dragging it along her horn, now quite dull She looked down at the skull and retrieved it from the ground Placing it in her saddle bag, safe keeping from its surroundings She looked to a pool of water ahead, where ponies floated; drowned. She approached the drowning pool and looked into it Reflected in it, was not her but ponies tossing themselves in Descending backwards into the water, abandoning all wisdom and wit Her instincts told her to proceed And so she did, falling as they did Not eager to see another desperate deed She sunk deeply into the water, neither warm nor cold Holding her breath, praying to Celestia, That she could handle the horrors she might next behold