Previous Chapters
Close
1: Enter the madness2,600 words
2: Way of the warrior1,662 words
3: Blinding Rage, Focused Calm1,286 words
4: Nightmares: Derelict1,681 words
5: Ripa 'Moramee: Hydra Slayer2,120 words
6: Ripa 'Moramee goes on a journey. Huzzah!2,253 words
7: Ripa Moramee storms the farm, and wins. Huzzah...3,751 words
8: Nothing can possbly go wrong!4,177 words
9: Rivalry4,107 words

9: Rivalry

The large group of ponies, plus one massive, leering sangheili, sat about the large dining table in relative silence for almost an hour, sipping away in unease at the tea the Arbiter prepared while each party thought hard on how exactly to break the silence that plagued them. Celestia sat opposite to the arbiter, who almost seemed to glare at her at some points in their silent meeting, but mostly kept his angry, predatory gaze at Trixie and Gilda, each of whom seemed to return his hateful stare with fearful gazes of their own. But at last, the silence could not be held any longer by any of them, save Ripa 'Moramee, and Celestia raised her head to speak, only to be interrupted by Applejack, who in a fit of impatience, slammed her hooves on the table, and glared angrily at the massive, heavily-built elite, who in turn returned the glare with one of his own, the fury of which caused everyone in the room to cringe in mild fear, as if the whole room would suddenly burst into flames from the arbiter's hate-filled gaze alone. But nonetheless, the orange earth pony spoke out despite the arbiter's glare, and she made sure to be loud, to remove any trace of fear in her voice.

"Alright, ya big lizard, You called us all here for some kind 'o reason, and mentioned ME specifically. Now, start explainin' yerself, before you get me angry. And trust me, you won't like me when I'm angry..." Applejack yelled at the massive, glaring sangheilli, ignoring the fact that, in his rage, absent-mindedly had crushed his teacup in his grip, causing porcelain shards to fly outwards onto the table, and invoking a quick retort from Princess Celestia, in an attempt to keep the alien calm, lest he do the same to their collective heads as he did to the unfortunate teacup he previously held so caringly.

"Applejack! Mind your manners!" Celestia tried to reprimand, but before she could finish, the arbiter raised a single hand in a gesture of silence, quieting all in the room once more, before at last speaking himself.

"No, your majesty... she speaks the truth." The Arbiter announced, and straightening his posture, the massive alien lowered his head a gesture of respect, and spoke again. "You see, your highness, I have dragged you all here, first and foremost, for a formal apology, and I intend to do just that before all else. Firstly, to the bird and pony I wrongfully held as slaves: I am sincerely sorry for how I treated you, and pray that you live out your remaining days in peace." Ripa 'Moramee said, causing Trixie and Gilda to drop their jaws in shock at what they just heard. The Arbiter... apologizing?! Absolutely unheard of! However, in their silence, Ripa took no break, and moved on to his next apology, a serious need to vomit boiling in his gut. But he hid his anger well, and to Celestia and Luna's adoration, the massive alien turned to look at the Mane Six, his eyes taking a look of sadness as he spoke; a feign, to be sure, but a very, very clever one.

"Now, Miss Sparkle, and friends, I apologize to you for our first meeting. I shouldn't have been so cross with you. I can only hope that you find it in your hearts to forgive me." Ripa 'Moramee apologized to the six, all but one of whom were absolutely shocked from the heartfelt nature of the elite's apology. However, Applejack simply scoffed at the words from the Arbiter's mouth, looking disinterestedly to the side as he spoke, to her friends' evident chagrin. Still, the Arbiter turned right to the irate cowmare, and with a look of sadness, but a malicious glint in his eyes and a trace of a smile on his lips, he spoke to her last, uttering his last, and most heartfelt apology to date.

"And at last, Miss Applejack, I most humbly apologize to you. I took your farm from you, committed violence upon your family. I do not expect to be forgiven for such treachery, but I only hope that my words and feelings of sorrow calm your heart. Please, my fair Applejack..." The Arbiter paused for dramatic effect, and continued; "Please accept my most sincerest apologies, and I pray you will understand my reasons for such an abhorrent act on my part." The Arbiter finished, causing all in the room, save the still-skeptical Applejack, to look on in shock.

"Reasons..? What reason reason could 'ya have had to try an' hurt mah sister?" Applejack accused, and the Arbiter lowered his head again, and began to implement the next stage of his perfectly evil plan.

"... I... believe it or not, my dear guests, I used to be... a soldier." The Arbiter began, his tone low and piteous, plucking at the heartstrings of five of the Mane Six and both of the Princesses.

"A soldier, you say? What manner of war did you fight, if I may ask?" Celestia asked curiously, and the Arbiter feigned a look of pain, and recited his slightly-fabricated version of the events of the war:

"Well... it all started many years ago. We, the benevolent Covenant, were on a mission of peace to spread our faith to the stars, and we'd already convinced many, many races to join us. However, our faith was quickly tested by a single race, one who'd sooner destroy our formerly-peaceful way of life than accept our way of thinking... They were the abhorrent humans, demons of no faith and infinite cruelty, and from the moment we met, they'd already prepared for war to wipe our humble religion from the galaxy." The Arbiter narrated, affixing the attention of all in the room, even Applejack, to his sordid story.

"... It started on a planet the humans called 'Harvest', when we first met these humans. They had seemed peaceful enough, and despite our caution, we extended our hands to them, offering them a place in our ranks, a place in which to worship the true gods, and to eventually achieve a place in heaven with us, through the Great Journey." Ripa 'Moramee paused, looking almost happy for a moment, before falling again into a face of sadness.
"But then, as we extended our hands, the humans then showed their true colors, and they attacked us without pity or relent, forcing us to destroy the planet they inhabited, before they destroyed us. But then, we realized that many planets were controlled by the humans, and we had just alerted them to our presence." the Arbiter concluded sadly, and when he looked around, it seemed that everyone, save Applejack, was tearing up, appalled by the human's 'treacherous' actions, and it made Ripa almost smile from sheer, malicious glee.

"Oh... we had no idea... I can only imagine what horrors you endured during that war! It must really be a burden on you..." The white pony, Rarity, Ripa believed her name to be, cried, and Ripa gave her a sad, wizened look in response, and finally spoke before anyone could put in their own two cents, to coin the human term.

"I did, my dear, I did endure much. The screams of my comrades still haunt my dreams to this day, and it makes me hate myself as an Arbiter and a soldier that I could not save them. I fear my violence may have been due to the stress of those memories." The Arbiter explained, evoking more tears from the present company, save for, of course, Applejack, who didn't seem to be buying a word of Ripa's story. The princesses, though, to the Arbiter's unending amusement, seemed to be eating it all up like good little grunts.

"Oh dear... we are so very sorry for your pain..." Celestia said, attempting to comfort the Arbiter, but he simply waived her off, responding as modestly as he could.

"It's not your fault, my dear Celestia, but the humans'. They were horrible monsters, bigger than your little ponies, and far more numerous." The Arbiter replied, and with a brief pause, he continued.

"The humans fought us at every turn in our war, destroying entire worlds, and defiling places and artifacts we held sacred, and one in particular almost killed me in single combat, using tactics most dishonorable, and even trying to shield himself with a female of his own species. And with their technology, they destroyed the very thing I had sworn to protect: A fleet of ships, our last hope for finally stopping the humans once and for all." The Arbiter finally explained, causing several ponies, still save one, to give their sincere condolences, most notable being Luna herself.

"Oh, dear! We... we had no idea you were under such duress... how ever did you survive, Arbiter?" Luna asked, her voice shaky with sorrow for the 'poor' elite and his 'slightly abridged' story. However, before he could respond, Applejack piped up, to the ire of the massive sangheilli, and retorted a copy of Luna's question, but with a darker tone.

"Yeah, ya split-lipped liar, how DID you survive that 'horrible' moment?" Applejack asked, and with a deep breath, to keep himself from simply disposing of everyone in the room, Ripa 'Moramee replied in kind, as calmly as he could muster toward the inferior pony he was now sneaking baleful glares at.

"Please, Luna, you may call me Ripa. I am no longer an Arbiter, seeing as I have no one to serve. As for how I survived, I do not know that. I assume there was a malfunction in the humans' own makeshift bomb, and instead of destroying me, it simply transported me here, to an unknown planet, to eke out my life in lonely exile, forever separated from my gods, prophets, and fellow worshippers of the great journey... a terrible, cruel fate, to be sure." The elite explained, 'forgetting' to mention his meeting with the odd deity known as Sheogorath, for obvious reasons. Still, despite his withholding of that information, his sob-story had the same desired effect: all the ponies (and one griffon) in the room, still except one orange nuisance, were on the verge of tears, and definitely under Ripa's complete, unbreakable control. Suddenly, from the mass of empathy, Applejack's voice rang out again, to dish out one last, unforeseen argument, to which Ripa could only sit and listen, silently cursing himself for not killing her when he had the chance.

"Alright, you big lizard, you're story's sad an' all that, I get it. But you went and left one thing out of your little fairy tale: Ya said these 'humans' are bigger than ponies, right? then how'dya explain yer grabbing an' threatening mah sister like that? 'Cuz as far as Ah can tell, she wasn't even as tall as yer ankles, let alone bigger than ME, an' you was treating her like you was about ta KILL her. How do ya plead to THAT, mister 'Ah'm-so-sad-'cuz-I'm-the-victim-here'?" Applejack objected, and though her friends looked at her with stern glares, they group said nothing, eager to hear the Elite's explanation of that odd moment in their meeting. However, the Arbiter was so sly and so slick, he thought up a lie, and he thought up one quick. So, maintaining an air of absolute control, Ripa looked to Applejack with a stern, but saddened look, and began part two of his story, surely the last he would have to say to this inbred peasant.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand my reasons, Applejack, but you must understand, it was surely justified. Yes, she was nothing like the humans in any sense of the word. However, she was akin to another threat, one that even the humans feared before I arrived here, and a menace that still haunts my dreams to this day. The menace I speak of... was none other than... the flood." The Arbiter explained, a face of pain and distance upon him, and Celestia blinked once, looking upon the elite in confusion, before asking him the million-dollar question.

"The... flood? What is that?" Celestia asked, and without a moment's pause, The Arbiter set upon his explanation, using wordcraft and voice to set the perfect atmosphere for his description of what could only be the single most disgusting, horrifying, blasphemous plague since the humans.

"The flood..." The Arbiter began, "Is a plague, a parasite like none other, a monstrous abomination with only one desire amongst the millions of tiny, beastly minds that form its conglomerate; to assimilate and devour all life in the known universe. The flood have varied forms that they employ upon their victims, but one form alone stood as the base for all others; the infection forms. They were small, yes, much like your sister, but had little regard for personal safety, and the inextinguishable desire to infest and destroy any they would latch their filthy, diseased appendages to." The Arbiter paused, saving a moment to catch his breath, and then he continued.

"As I said, though your sister may bear little resemblance to the parasite appearance-wise, I have seen far too many soldiers, both my own and human, infected and transformed into grotesque, rotting, corpse-like beasts by these abominations, and when your small, pale sister ran at me at such speed and with such abandon... I'm sorry, but I can only be thankful that you came when you did; only the gods know what might've happened if you hadn't." The Arbiter finished, and then, silence filled the room, even Applejack was too stunned to come up with any reaction to her verbal comeuppance by the massive, thuggish-looking elite. Finally, though, Celestia managed to find her voice, and with as much poise and grace as she could muster after hearing of such an aberration as The Flood, she stood up, and spoke at last, feeling utmost empathy and respect for the massive, sad elite.

"So... it is explained, then. Dear Arbiter... you must be so brave, as to have faced these awful things. The humans... the Flood... Even I doubt that my own willpower would have held up against such horrifying odds, against such terrible foes as what you have faced..." Celestia paused, taking a moment to collect herself, and at last, continued.

"I doubt that any apology from us would suffice in healing you of all those nightmares you must endure every single night... So, as the ultimate reparations for your pain, My sister and I have decided to let you stay with us in the castle for as long as you need, and we will give you any aid you would require from us, if it helps to cure you of your past as a soldier. What say you, most noble Ripa 'Moramee? Will you accept our friendship, in hopes of a better, more peaceful life?" Celestia finished, with Luna earnestly nodding in approval, and almost immediately, Applejack leaped up from her seat, and began to place her own input on the Princess' seemingly hasty decision.

"W-what!? Ya can't be serious! Ah understand he's got a sad story an' all, but he's a TRAINED KILLER, and no ammount o' 'friendship' is gonna change that one bit! Besides, Ah KNOW that he's lyin'! Snakes can shed their skin all they want, but that won't change the fact they still got venom! He doesn't need to be near a city in general, much less near you two!" Applejack pleaded, but Celestia raised her hoof, a look of peacefulness on her face, and she replied, letting the Arbiter cool down after the cowmare just accused him so brazenly.

"Applejack, I know that you do not trust the Arbiter, and you have every right not to. But really, if he wanted to kill us, he would have done so while we were in arm's reach of him, correct? Besides that, My sister and I are more than capable of defending ourselves from an attack from one soldier, as capable as he has proven himself to be. Besides, why would you still hate him, after all he has done to apologize to you?" Celestia asked, causing Applejack to seize up mid-argument, and forcing the arbiter to hold back a broad, hearty grin with the best of his abilities. The poor, gullible princess... how little she knew of what truly was going on, under her own nose, much less. Finally catching her words again, Applejack replied hastily, quickly killing Ripa's good mood with her idiotic southern drawl and girlish, pretentious voice.

"Have you been seein' the looks that dinosaur's been givin' me!? Half the times he looks at me he's got some glare, smile, leer, or some other combination of the three on his ugly mug, and that's when he ain't suckin' up to YOU all! How can y'all even THINK of trusting that big, ugly, lyin' brutish pile o' scales and muscles!?" Applejack yelled at the group, and with a bang, Celestia stood up, rising to her full height, to glare at the impudent cowmare with a look that likely would have killed her, if she hadn't been expecting it.

"Applejack! That is FAR out of line, especially from you! This extraterrestrial being has endured a WAR before he got here, fought on not one, but TWO fronts, and has endured horrors you would likely never see in your lifetime!" Celestia scolded, causing Applejack to shrink away from the princess's stare in discomfort, and to back the princess up, Twilight looked over to her friend, and spoke her mind.

"The princess is right, Applejack. I expected a little more tolerance from you; even if the alien is a bit... unnerving, he deserves the same amount of respect as any other Equestrian." Twilight chided, quickly followed by a remark from Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, the dude fought in a war, for cryin' out loud! give the veteran some respect, would ya?" the cyan pegasus said, causing Applejack's face to turn red under the scrutiny of all in the room, most notably Ripa himself, who seemed to be grinning a full-blown, predatory smile, like a colt who just passed the blame of stealing cookies from the jar onto his little sister, causing her blood to practically boil. Still Applejack sat in silence, saying nothing as the Princesses and the others scrutinized her, and before long, Celestia spoke again, her voice demanding and full of authority, almost impossible for Applejack to not heed and obey.

"Applejack, you will apologize to this poor being right now, for insulting him after he was forced to endure so much already!" Celestia commanded, further reddening Applejack's face in both restraint and embarrassment, and widening the Arbiter's smile, which he quickly dispelled once all eyes were on him. Still, with ill concealed contempt and resentment, Applejack took a deep breath, looking at the Arbiter with obvious anger and hate, right into his orange, snake-like eyes, and with a noticeable shake, she slowly apologized to the victorious elite, who was trying his hardest not to burst out into a victory laugh.

"... Aaahhhhm... Sssssorrrry... Fer accusin' you of lyin'..." Applejack hissed, looking hatefully into the Arbiter's murderous eyes, and with utmost calm, and a hint of sadness, Ripa looked up at the orange mare, and replied.

"I understand how hard this must be for you, my friend, and you are forgiven. After all... You have every reason to distrust me, do you not?" Ripa at last said, finishing his sentence with a trace of a smile, just enough that only Applejack could see it. And oh boy, she did. But still, Celestia smiled at the supposed burying of the hatchet, and Luna, with cheer in her voice, spoke up.

"Glorious! Well, since all that is cleared up, let us retire to Canterlot, to show our new guest his boarding for the night, hmm?" Luna piped, concealing the fact that she was far more eager to spend the night pestering Ripa with questions of his culture and home than actually let him sleep. However, as everyone got up to leave, Applejack spoke up, her tone not exactly pleasant, but at least devoid of the hatred it practically dripped with earlier.

"How 'bout ya'll head outside a bit? I got somethin' else I need to say to the Arbiter here in private." Applejack requested, but Celestia looked at the earth pony curiously, unwilling to leave the susceptible alien veteran with the clearly judgmental cowmare.

"Um, Applejack, I think..." Suddenly, Celestia was cut off mid-sentence by Ripa himself, who raised a hand to silence her, and spoke to ease her mind.

"It is alright, princess, I will be outside in only a moment." The Arbiter said, his voice calm, if a bit smug, though Celestia did not notice, and with a shrug, she and the others exited the farmhouse, leaving the elite and the earth pony alone, practically glaring daggers, guns, and nuclear warheads at eachother in silence, until Applejack, at last, spoke up, her hate-filled voice dripping with venom.

"Well, it looks like ya got everyone there fooled, but let me tell you somethin', you ugly son of a crocodile, you ain't got me or mah family fooled one bit. We already seen yer true colors already, ya beast, and I'll be waitin' for you to slip, just so I can watch you fall. You hear?" Applejack spat, causing the Arbiter to glare at her, though his glare quickly turned into a leering smile, and he brought his face close to Applejack's in a ill-concealed gesture of intimidation, and at last, spoke, his hot, musty breath filling Applejack's nose with each baleful, growling word he spoke.

"I would hear you... if only I could understand why you resist me still, and with so much earnest. It's over, inbred peasant, you lost. The princesses are wrapped around my finger, like the good little grunts they are. You are powerless to stop me, and if you try, gods help me I will not hesitate to lock you in my room, and bleed you every day and every night to spice my food with your vital essence and tears until you die of blood loss, malnutrition, and a broken heart." The Arbiter threatened, taking a quick breath before continuing.

"...And do you wish to know something else, scum? Before you ask, your princesses, your friends, and even your own family will not question your disappearance, because I have their hearts and minds in the palm of my hand, and whether they know it or not, in a few years or more, I will control this whole kingdom right from under their noses. You may THINK that you are a threat to me, little mammal, but to me, you are no more than a game, one that I will play with until bored, then throw away. Do YOU hear ME, pony?" The Arbiter finished his elaborate threat with a smile and puff of breath from his nostrils, and Applejack took a step back, undeterred, but no less unnerved at the Arbiter's absolute disregard for life and empathy, and replied with all the courage she could muster.

"I ain't scared o' you, split-lip. you wanna play, jerk? Then let the games begin." Applejack retorted, and The Arbiter stood back up, reaching his full height, and with a slight 'humph', he looked away from the earth pony mare, a calm look etched on his face, and after a brief pause, he replied.

"Indeed. I look forward to our next meeting, Applejack." Ripa spat, and without another word, the massive elite walked out the door, slamming it behind him, leaving Applejack alone, with only her thoughts for company... as well as her newfound fear of the Arbiter.

2,341 views

213

Previous Chapters

Comments ( 54 )

Arbitration - Uberdeathninja

Also LikedSimilarAuthor

Stats

FIMFiction

Follow & Support Us

Also Liked Similar Author