Chapter Eighteen
In the very top of an ancient, airy temple, there was a pedestal. On that pedestal, there was a black gem, a diamond. The chamber was aged and crumbling, the only lighting from luminescent runes that hung all along the walls.
A tremor shook the temple, and the gem glowed a bit before once again becoming inert.
That was the most important event in Equestria since the Dark Times.
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*******
The entire group, the entire Dreamscape, and what seemed like the entire world was stunned into a shocked silence and unbearable grief at the loss of a young life in a senseless action. Saphira was gone.
Lorey was lying near the dead teenager. He brushed her eyes closed. “When Stalliongrad was attacked by the Daymare, we had few options. The Daymare wouldn’t have allowed us both to live because of our family ties, but both of our abilities were useful. I lied and said that I had never seen her before, but to prove it, I had to do something I will never live down… I had to beat her. My… My own daughter, to save her life.” Lorey looked at Saphira wistfully, stroking her mane. “Sh-She’s had the most adorable stammer ever since.”
Celestia had fallen to her knees. “No, not Saphira; she was so close to finally being happy, only to have her life snatched away... Why?” she cried, tears falling down her face.
Fluttershy had fallen to pieces; she wouldn’t stop crying, even if she could. Her emotions were so jagged and harsh that she could no longer stay standing, so she collapsed on the surface of the tower in a fit of anguish.
“She never stopped loving me, though, no matter how cold I was to her,” Lorey continued, staring at his daughter. “She never quite understood why I had to do those things. Why she could never talk to me again. Why she couldn’t leave; why she couldn’t have friends like you, Scootaloo. She was envious of you, I’m sure, but never left because she didn’t want to a-abandon me.” He paused. “Maybe... No, not maybe. If only she had left me behind, this all could have been prevented.”
Scootaloo had fallen limply by the body of her friend. Apple Bloom was hard enough… she cried softly. Not Saphira, too! It’s not true! It’s not!
“I knew that this would happen if she stayed,” Lorey said. “I knew I would be staring at her like this one way or another. But when you came, Scootaloo, I had hope… Oh, I had hope. It was a wonderful feeling, that perhaps she might finally leave; that she might finally go and live the life she always deserved, always will deserve… but it wasn’t to be. It never was to be.” He kissed Saphira’s forehead. “Goodbye, my darling. I will be with you soon.”
His head turned slightly toward the group, but he remained sitting by his daughter. “I know trying to exact my revenge on you would be suicide, but I have no desire for revenge. ...Though I might receive it anyway,” he sighed. “I have been holding back a spirit for five years now, even before the invasion. You have destroyed my only reason to fight her off. So, I apologize, but this would happen whether I would like it to... or not.”
“Who are you fighting-” Fluttershy began, before Luna hurriedly stepped in front of her.
“No, Lorey, please don’t go,” Luna begged. “You cannot let her win!”
“I have one final wish, for all of you,” Lorey began, darkness beginning to swirl around his hooves. “Please, honor her as a warrior. She endured so much in her short life. Keep her memories alive in your hearts. Then, perhaps, I can die without regret.”
Twilight felt like she was going to throw up from misery, but she weakly nodded. “I… I promise.”
Lorey nodded. “Farewell.” he finally said. The darkness entered his body, swirling all around him.
*******
But he wasn’t Lorey anymore.
“Ah, a new body,” not-Lorey said, suddenly standing up. His slitted, swamp-green eyes glanced at each one of the shattered group that stood before him. “Always exciting to get a new one, you know. It’s like a… tingly feeling.”
“Leave, now,” Celestia commanded. Anger flared in her eyes harsher than Twilight had ever seen before.
“Oh, and how are you, Celestia? Haven’t aged a bit since I last saw you; you’re still as cute as a button. Perhaps we can visit the coffee shop on Fourth and catch up? I’m sure you have a lot to tell me since our last encounter,” the stallion said. His tone was as friendly as it was creepy.
Celestia stared furiously at the entity in front of her. “Bite me,” she hissed.
“Oh, how impolite!” the stallion remarked. “A Princess should know better, now shouldn’t she? But considering we’re simply the best of friends... perhaps I can overlook your poor manners.
“Who are you?” Dash asked.
“I’m glad you asked,” the stallion said, slinking toward Dash, who was thoroughly terrified by the new enemy standing in front of her. “You’ve probably already met me, though. You just didn’t know it. I have that effect on ponies, you know. They never remember my face, but they always remember my name.”
Dash’s eyes narrowed. “Wh-What do you mean?”
“Well, that’s my little secret,” the stallion giggled. “It would ruin the fun if I told you. This is all just a game, you realize. Pieces on a chessboard. And I do believe I just took out one of your rooks.”
“Answer my question,” Dash said.
“My name is something to be feared, Rainbow Dash; it must be presented as such,” the stallion said. “Because I will be breaking your heart in a year or two. Maybe less, if I play my cards right.”
What? Breaking my heart? Dash thought, inching away from the stallion.
“My name is something that you have already heard, but something that you will learn to loathe. And although I may not be the most powerful of the Elements of Discord, I am the most dangerous,” the stallion finished. “Care to take a guess?”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Deception!”
“Ah, we have a winner!” the stallion exclaimed. “I was wondering when you’d finally catch on. And do you know what else I have to show you?”
She glared at Deception.
“Not the life of the party, are you?” Deception asked, bemused. “Well, I’m not surprised; you do spend a lot of time falling for tricks.” He paused. “You have given me the body that I have been after for five years, but you know that already. Do you know why I have been after this body for such a long time?”
“Why?” Rarity asked.
“Because, I can do this...” Deception said, slowly turning around. But, as he turned around, his body slowly transitioned into being an exact copy of Rarity’s; mimicking her eyes, necklace, and all.
Rarity jumped back in panic. “That’s… that’s impossible!”
The fake Rarity’s blue eyes turned to dagger-like slits, and a dark shadow with red eyes hung over her body; the shadow of the original Deception. She smiled at Rarity, daintily raising her forehoof to her chest. “I am a shape-shifter now. I can look like anypony I want. I owe you a tremendous thanks, by the way, for presenting me with such a useful ability.”
Celestia gritted her teeth. “Go away. There is nothing else you can do here, not on your own.”
Deception’s eyes widened, and she reverted back to Lorey’s form. “Well, I’ve already accomplished my goals. Applejack was surprisingly easy to influence, though I didn’t quite need those results. Saphira should still be alive, if everything had gone according to plan. Elements, I have seen, quite like to interfere with plans.”
Applejack stared at Deception in shock. “That… that was you?! You made me k-kill...”
“Well, to an extent, but if you had any practice as an Element, you would have been able to easily resist my feeble influence. Such a shame; Saphira was a sweet little filly, as well. I’m very sad that you killed her, but I guess that some things just can’t be avoided,” Deception smiled sadly.
“Careful about listening to Deception,” Luna warned. “She is almost always dishonest if she accomplishes her goals.”
“Oh, I suppose,” Deception admitted. “Still… what if I were telling the truth? You would have no way of knowing, now would you?”
Celestia glared at the villain.
“I don’t think there’s anything left for me here,” Deception finished, looking around. “I just want you to know, Celestia, that I have far greater plans for each and every one of you.”
Deception turned to smoke and drifted off.
*******
“It’s over,” Celestia sighed. “We should head back to Fillydelphia.”
“But how can Ah?” Applejack murmured. “Ah… Ah don’t deserve ta live anymore… not after what Ah did.”
“We can worry about it later,” Celestia said. “The wounds of battle hurt more during peace. If we don’t leave now, we might stay here for the rest of our lives. We have to have hope, if nothing else, that things can get better from here. I’m sorry, but we have to go home.”
Scootaloo looked up, her tear-stained face hung low to the ground. “O-Okay…”
Celestia’s horn glowed with a warm magic, as did Saphira’s body. It levitated upward, the young mare being held in a magical embrace. Celestia spoke an ancient incantation. “She will remain young and beautiful forever.”
Luna spread her wings and glowed. Her booming voice addressed the ponies below as a gate opened in the square. “Ponies of Equestria, the battle is over. You may return home.”
There was a moderate amount of cheering from the crowd, but it ceased when they laid eyes on the heroes’ faces.
The battle is over, Twilight thought to herself. But this war, this war that we’ve been fighting for thousands of years, definitely isn’t. Luna hasn’t deliberately lied, but we aren’t safe just yet. But our wounds have to heal, Twilight thought, looking at her battered and broken group as they walked through the gate. We have to rest.
Twilight felt a sharp, stabbing pain in the back of her neck before the world was lost to her.
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[Note]: I do not own anything in this story that already belongs to someone else.
This entire storyline takes place BEFORE season two, but AFTER season one.
Sad chapter is sad.