This story is a sequel to The Sin of Envy, or a Mother's Love
It is said that when a great sin is committed, the Devil comes calling. This time, the Devil has been drawn to Equestria and he calls himself Belial. The pure souls of the Equestrians are what he desires... but he is nothing if not a good sport.
He will give their heroes a chance to save them.
He offers the Mane 6 the chance to play a game. Each will be tested with a vision of the future. Some visions are truth. Some visions are lies.
If all see true, then Equestria is spared.
If even one fails... then all belongs to the King of Lies.
Cover art by the incomparable Swirling Line.
Chapters (8)
Huh... this is shorter than I expected, but it looks pretty cool all the same.
Am using this as the soundtrack.
4215129 Some tests are shorter than others.
...Not to put down all of that editing, but I thought Fluttershy was still pregnant with Scarlet at this point? And what's that about Belial being a "child" lying... no matter. Short, sad and sweet all at once.
Darn it, I thought this might be coming. Shoo Out The Clowns is going to be in full effect.
I have been enjoying this world you have built. There are some things that you have left unfinished, no?
...vive la appledash
Well, never let it be said that AJ isn't one to face reality.
Take another little piece of my heart, why don't you?
Right on, Twi!
I wonder if she had accepted, what would Applejack have done?
Aww!
As foreboding as so much of this was, this is a pretty good note on which to end.
4215239 Belial's child reference is explaining that mother's can see through lies in seconds. It's a gift.
Scarlet was a premature birth, as I was said once before. Hence Fluttershy's comment that she's growing beautifully. And her fear that she's pregnant again so soon.
as soon as I saw the name Beliar, I instantly thought of this guyplayerzblog.com/wp-content/br_gamepart3_1.png
this was a great story, you never disappoint!
Epiiiiiiiic!!!!
Good chapter, if a little short. I'm interested to see how it continues.
While I was reading this, I made Belial sound like Bhunivelze.
So we now have confirmation that it's Pinkie that's going to die. And according to Jade Ring, it's going to be sudden.
Just a little error to fix.
The story's getting really good. This was worth the wait. I'm glad it all came out at once.
Two trials left. How will they go, I wonder? Must read on.
To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this.
The fridge horror is strong with this one.
Old Scratch flat-out says AJ's soul is beyond his reach? I want to believe that of our heroes, but it almost seems too easy... and then, not only is AJ willing to damn herself to satisfy her curiosity, she proves willing to damn somepony else to satisfy it, and for revenge. I'm never going to deny that FD had it coming, or that Belial would have taken him anyway, but the effect on him is not the issue- the effect on AJ is. That "lad" did say that nursing hatred in one's heart is as bad as murder, after all.
Some years ago, there was a DC crossover, Underworld Unleashed, in which the resident devil figure, Neron, ultimately desired Captain Marvel's pure soul. Marvel ended up offering it to free everyone else Neron had imprisoned, and Neron couldn't touch it because of that very act of selflessness. AJ wanting to satisfy her curiosity is not exactly on that level to begin with, but it still rang a bell. Perhaps a fair bargain is just less effective than the good old slippery slope.
And if you wanna be profound
And you really gotta justify
Take a breath and look around
A lot of folks deserve to die
Belial, you got to do better than that.
Rarity already knows that she had sex with some stallion long time ago (we found out that is Sweetie's father, Crescendo). She also knows that as passionate, rewarding, and satisfying sex with Spike is, she will never bear a descendent straight from him. Rarity's already gotten over the issues with Crescendo, and she, him and Spike are all at good graces with each other.
Again, if his point was to make Rarity give up Spike for another, I have to say "swing and a miss". There is too much love between unicorn and dragon for something as trivial as biological children to tear them asunder. Besides, if Rarity wanted another kid, this time w/Spike as the father, they could easily adopt.
I forgot at first that "sin of envy" was part of the greater continuity, so I wondered about the actual implications of the visions on the characters.
I really liked the last chapter's optimism though. With all of the impending doom and gloom we've been seeing from the other stories, I wondered if you were writing yourself into a corner with predetermined outcomes, but here we have reason to believe that all is not set in stone as the king of lies says so.
Excellent work.
Why isn't this story more popular?
4242556 'Tis the curse of long continuities, I'm afraid...
This world, no, this series of fics is just...odd for me.
Don't get me wrong, its well written and you have well deserved your fans and the story you have built up is well worth the journey. What I mean, is that its odd to me on a personal level.
There are some things that I am cheering and loving (The CMC relationships, the future tense, the use of gods, ect. ect.)
While at the same time, there are things that make me growl in rage (Celestia's short term protrayl, Shining cheating on Cadence, the upcoming war,) its like, for everything that I find wonderful and enjoyable in these fics, there are things that make me take a step back and
. I guess a lot of it is coming from personal feelings towards the subject, feelings that I can put away long enough to enjoy the ride and see where you are going with each story.
4435752 That's all I ask, that you come along for the ride.
There is darkness and death and suffering on the way... but I promise you that it will all be worth it in the end.
I'm really Hoping that AJ is that queen. I'll cry if not!
I'm always happy to see another who realized Johnny lost at the end of his duel with the devil, and why.
4215258
It's Viva, i think
God, I love Pinkie Pie. But 'creatures such as yourself?' Huh? What is it that I'm missing?
This chapter legit made me cry.
I have a theory, and it might seem a bit out there, but hear me out. The queen in that vision is the Terra Queen, right? Terra is a Latin word for earth. As implied in 'Apple Family Secrets', Applejack is some kind of earth goddess. At the end of that story, she makes some plants grow, but I get the impression that she can do far more that. Also, Dash is the Element of Loyalty, and I can't see her leaving AJ like that. Conclusion: Applejack is the Terra Queen.
Dear Celestia...
I...
Good old pinkie
She'll never stop laughing
4971918 It's a mystery, one none of my readers have solved yet...
5157792 Oh my god it's you!! I am suuuch a huge fan! Your writing is just so fantastic. You are, without a doubt one of the best, if not the very best writer on this site. I hope you keep up the good work. There are so many mysteries in your stories that have yet to be solved, ones I must know.
5158554 You flatter me. Hope you're enjoying the ride.
That story in the beginning... That's Jesus, isn't it?
Your stories are the BEST written and the BEST ideas I've ever seen!
I am rather interested at the possibility of this nightmare being into a reality. What exactly caused Spike to leave Rarity? I guess I will never know. This is actually my favourite chapter in this story
6187013 If you're reading 'The Changelings Have a King,' you may find out sooner than you'd expect...
Aaa, the whole story was so...beautiful
Awesome work, Jade ^^
Given the hints you've dropped, all I can think of is that somewhere, Lucifer is laughing.
i like belial he seems cool
8199482
I don't. Not only do I hate the Devil on principle- I'm a Christian -but I hate him because he thinks he's the be-all-and-end-all.
He's not.
8287768
Well it helps i imagine him sounding like tony jay
Of course Pinkie remembers
this story is rough. sad at times, enraging at others, and overall just plain awesome. one of my favorite stories on here, done by my personal favorite author.
satan? izzat you?