//------------------------------// // The Dark Truth // Story: The Friendly Plague // by TheClownPrinceofCrime //------------------------------// Grogar and his gang entered into Gusty’s home within the ancient former city of Tambelon. Her home was a huge mansion that could fill up a whole town possibly. Once the villains entered, they gazed upon the design and appearance of her home. Even Grogar was impressed with her home texture. “Are any of you hungry? Even you look quite famished, Grogar.” Gusty remarked, smirking. Grogar grumbled under his breath. “I am! I haven’t eaten all day at all!” Cozy blurted. Her stomach can be heard growling. “I suppose a simple meal won’t bite. Magic isn’t the only thing I eat after all.” Tirek accepted. “I am much better off devouring love as it’s my main appetite, but I’ll take whatever you have nonetheless.” Chrysalis added nonchalantly. “I expect your delicacies to be fitting for a King such as myself!! It had better be worth it!” Sombra shouted. Joypath rushed in front of him with a beaming smile that rivals that of Pinkie Pie. “LEAVE IT ALL TO ME, GUYS!! You’ll all be blown away by the meals I’ll prepare! Wait and see!” she joyfully shouted. She then ran to the kitchen to prepare food for the villainous guests. Gusty, Sharpbeak, and Groundbreak Tusk chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Please, make yourselves at home. I know you’ll like it here.” Gusty said. “I would’ve enjoyed this much more if I were still emperor over this city and over Equestria.” Grogar muttered, scowling. “Oh, get a grip, old goat. I know you’ll enjoy this. You do have a taste for fashion, don’t you?” Gusty asked. “Yes...a dark and gloomy fashion that bears my name on it!” Grogar boasted. “(Sigh) Anyway, I...appreciate the kind hospitality and opportunity where we can discuss the current issue at our hooves. Do lead us to the dinning room, Gusty.” Grogar thanked although somewhat hesitantly. Rarely would Grogar thank an enemy for anything that was beneficial to him or anything out of mockery that suited his advantages, but seeing the stakes were dangerously high and had more hooves/claws at his reach for help, he had to at least try to play nice until they had successfully achieved their united purpose. The eight creatures entered the dining hall where a large table was in the center thereof. The villains sat on the left side of the table whereas the ancient heroes sat on the right side of it. Everyone, except Cozy, kept staring each other down as if to check the attitude and behavior of the other. While Joypath was cooking and baking, there was silence in the dining hall for several minutes. Deciding to take the initiative, Grogar broke the silence. “So then, Gusty, how has life been treating you during my absence here?” “Well, it has been a lot more peaceful ever since I and my unicorn warriors defeated you a millennia ago; however, for some reason, it hasn’t been the same for me anymore. I felt something...different ever since then.” Gusty answered. “What do you mean by that?” Grogar asked, raising an eyebrow. “What I mean is...my life hasn’t been as peaceful and serene like it was before you rose into power. After your defeat and banishment, I took your Bewitching Bell, which you’re now wearing, and hid in Mt. Everhoof as you know. But when I looked at your bell, something just hit me: I felt sadness, anger, and guilt. The emotional pain was so great I didn’t want to ever look upon your bell on my hooves ever again. So when I saw you and your lackeys here, a part of me was terrified and shocked at your return while the other part of me rejoiced to see you again.” Gusty explained. Grogar then looked even more puzzled as he was listening. “Guilt? Joy? Sadness? We are sworn enemies to each other! Why did you have those feelings after you defeated me?” At this point, Gusty started to shed a few tears from her eyes. She was trying to think of what appropriate words she should use to accurately describe her emotions. “Because I didn’t want to banish you. I wanted to show you the true way of life.” she replied. Grogar was taken back by her answer. Even the other villains gasped at what she said. “You didn’t want to banish me? Wait a minute...YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP?!” Grogar yelled in disbelief once the realization hit him. Gusty sadly nodded. At that moment, Joypath burst through the kitchen doors while holding all the meals on her back and head. “Dinner is served, everyone! Enjoy them all!” she said, smiling. She laid the meals at the table directly in front of each of them. She reserved the last one for herself and sat down with them. The Legion was honestly impressed with the attractive looks of their meals. Grogar had a plate of crackers with noodle soup; Chrysalis had toasted bread with a pink glowing magical jelly on top; Tirek had hay fries with buttermilk chicken burgers; Sombra had a plate of fried rice mixed with broccoli, shredded carrots, beets, sliced tomatoes, cauliflower, and onions; and Cozy Glow had an ice cream sundae. Gusty and Sharpbeak also had noodle soups but served with bread; Groundbreak had his soup with grass. Finally, Joypath served herself with orange-minted cupcakes and pizza. “My, my, my!! This delicacy is spectacular! A meal fit for a king indeed!” Sombra praised, enjoying his meal. “This spread tastes familiar...is this love?” Chrysalis asked Joypath. The hyena nodded in confirmation. “Splendid! This is as if I’m sucking love from ponies!” Joypath cringed at the last statement but was happy to see her enjoying the meal. “I LOVE THIS!! BEST SUNDAE EVER!!” Cozy shouted as she munched on the sundae. “How’s your meal, Tirek?” Joypath asked. “This is moderately good. This is honestly the first time I’m having this sort of food. I think I could have this again in the future; however, it’s not any better than devouring magic of course.” Tirek concluded. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it!” she said, grinning. “Once again, much thanks for your hospitality and care. But I still haven’t forgotten our earlier conversation, Gusty.” Grogar reminded. Gusty solemnly nodded in understanding. “Of course. As I was saying before, I never wanted to banish you in the first place. I truly desired to show you the error of your ways and point you to the path of righteousness. I also believe that every creature, including those that are evil, deserve a chance to change. No one should ever be disregarded without being given a chance at redemption.” Gusty resumed. “Do you honestly believe that I can be better?” Grogar asked. “You actually think that I can just forsake my plans of ruling Equestria and become a weak sycophant to those pontificating ponies?! NEVER!! Why should I change into someone who I never was? What is the point of repenting of my ways if I have spent over a million years in dominating Equestria as a tyrant with no remorse or intention of changing?” “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been evil! The truth is that no matter what you’ve done, you still have an opportunity to change for the better. Having a rivalry with you was never my greatest desire, Grogar. I only defeated you to show you how evil always fails you to the end.” Gusty argued. After taking a bite of a cracker with some noodles, Grogar continued with a scowl. “Oh really now? If you never wanted to fight me or be my arch nemesis, then why didn’t you ever speak to me about it?! Why banish me from Equestria without even extending a hoof to me? It seems like you’re contradicting yourself here.” he argued. “First, you said you didn’t want to banish me, which you did, and you said every creature should never be disregarded without being given a chance. BUT LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!! You did EXACTLY that!!” “BECAUSE I WAS FORCED TO!!” Gusty yelled in anger. Everyone stopped eating as they were startled by the sudden outburst. As soon as Grogar and Gusty looked at them, they immediately resumed eating their dinner, not wanting to bother them. The ancient rivals then faced each other again. “What do you mean by ‘forced to’? Forced by whom?” Grogar demanded. Gusty deeply inhaled as she was mentally preparing herself to explain the hardest truth she could ever bear. “Your brother.” she simply replied. This shocked Grogar completely. The cracker dropped back on his soup once his jaw hit the table. “My brother?! How?!” Grogar demanded. “Hear me out on this. It all started when you were the first emperor of Equestria. There, with my unicorn warriors, I was debating on what to do with you...until he showed up.” she said. FLASHBACK A MILLENNIA AGO Gusty and her warriors gathered around a palm tree under Mt. Everhoof. It was nightfall with the full moon shining high and bright in the night sky. “Brave warriors, time is extremely short. Grogar’s monsters are rampaging everywhere and killing everypony they come across! Plus, his Bewitching Bell is giving him more and more power every time he gains fear and terror from ponies! We have to do something!” Gusty alerted. “I say we destroy his bell and lock him up in Tartarus!” one of them suggested. “How about we strip him of his powers first before we cast him there? You all know how powerful he is!” another advised. The others nodded in agreement. “What do you say, Gusty? What should we do?” another warrior asked, concerned. Gusty was conflicted with what to do. She couldn’t decide which to follow since something in her head told her to do something different. “I honestly don’t know. I feel like I need to talk to him about what he’s doing. We’ve been close friends before since we were little. But right now, it feels...(crack)” a crack interrupted Gusty’s reply. Suddenly, the evil panther came out of the shadows with his purple eyes and red iris glowing in the dark. He wickedly chuckled as he approached them. They trembled at his presence. “Slash!! It’s you!!” Gusty cried. “Of course, my dear Gusty. It’s me indeed. I’m not here to kill you all but to offer a deal.” he said, smirking. “What deal?” Gusty demanded. “The deal is for you to banish my worthless brother out of Equestria once you defeat him. After that, I’ll take Equestria for myself. For a reward, I’ll give you positions of high honor in my future kingdom. And you, Gusty, will be my queen.” Slash offered. They were baffled at his proposal. “We don’t make deals with criminals like you!” Gusty defied, glaring. “That’s first. Second, I believe that Grogar needs to realize what’s he doing before he gets appropriately punished. And third, I will never be your queen!!” Slash frowned on her rejection. “Have it your way, Gusty. It’s either you banish him or...” he then raised his right paw before it ignited magical electricity and shot its bolt at one of her unicorn warriors. The warrior burst into blood and bones from the shot. “Get the picture?” Slash finished. “Slash, please...don’t do this.” she said, tears forming on her eyes. “Haha! ‘Oh please, Slash! Don’t vent your hate and anger on Grogar! No! Ahhhh!!’ How pathetic.” Slash mocked. “Grogar is a fool. He thinks that he can get away with taking every single bit of love and affection from my mother for himself whereas that love should have been given to me only!! I should be the Father of Monsters! I am the true heir of glory and victory in this world!! So you do your part, and I’ll do my part. Got it?!” he yelled angrily. Seeing she had no other option, she sadly nodded. After briefly mourning the loss of one of her warriors, she and her group left the area. Slash had another plan in mind. “Mother, you are in for a special occasion tomorrow morning.” he grinned. The next morning, deep within the panther cave, a female panther finished constructing an artifact shaped like a heart. She looked upon it with satisfaction. “At last, this talisman is ready for use! It has the ability to absorb the love and trust of any creature once a bond is formed between that creature and the holder of this item. It corrupts that love by blending it with the poisonous potion that can turn any creature into a monster. Together, that creature becomes a monster and is enslaved to the holder of the artifact due to the love and trust surrendered to him. I shall call it...the Friendly Plague!” she explained. “How fitting a name and item, mother.” a familiar voice spoke. She turned around to see her son Slash approach her menacingly. She was startled by his abrupt presence. “Slash? Aren’t you supposed to be hunting food for us? I have no need for your assistance.” she rudely dismissed. “I am in the middle of—ahhh!!” Slash bit her throat and threw her against a stone wall. He then punched and scratched her muzzle vehemently. “Stop!! What are you doing!?” “SHUT UP, Clawma! I won’t have you disrespect me again!! It’s time I take charge here!! I’m tired of you praising that pathetic excuse of a brother whom you adored over me!!! I AM THE ONLY SON WHO HAS MORE POTENTIAL THAN HE HAS!! You ruined my childhood!! You never loved me!!” he roared in full wrath. Clawma actually felt scared for her life and immediately started to regret everything she did to him. “Son—pl-please...forgive m-me...I didn’t m-me-mean to...” Clawma’s muzzle was met by Slash’s claws. “It is too late for sorry. You are no longer my mother.” he darkly spoke. He generated a magical dagger from his paw and stabbed her multiple times until she no longer breathed. Her blood stained the whole ground. He then grabbed the Friendly Plague and wrapped it around his neck like a necklace. “My time will come, Grogar. Soon, you will bow to my glory and superiority once you die.” Slash said before evilly laughing in triumph. FLASHBACK ENDED “That’s how it happened.” Gusty concluded. “My unicorn warriors were searching for some artifacts to help us defeat you until they discovered Clawma’s body. There were a few eagles on that panther cave that witnessed your mother’s murder. They told them that Slash was the killer. He took this talisman called the Friendly Plague and left the area.” Grogar’s wrath, shock, and sorrow knew no bounds. For the longest time, he was ignorant of the actual cause of his mother’s death until now. It was one thing to have a brother who always hated him out of jealousy, but to have a loved one murdered by that same individual was unbearable. Grogar got up from his seat without casting a look upon Gusty, any of the heroes, or his own lackeys. He trotted out of the dining room while silently sobbing and covering his face. The villains were confused as he passed by. “Umm, is Grogar okay?” Cozy asked. “I think it’s best if we don’t bother him.” Tirek said. “By the looks of it, something depressing must be on his mind.”