Deception
As Applejack stepped through the portal, she found herself in a strange hedge maze. While she'd seen her fair share of hedge mazes - even helped grow a few - what threw her off about this one was that she couldn't see the sky despite the hedge stopping a few feet above her head and having no roof. The setup was rather unnerving. "This place gives me the creeps," she murmured under her breath. "Wish ah knew what the hay was goin' on..."
"Ask and you shall receive," a soft voice spoke from nearby.
Applejack let out a startled whinny as she leapt into the air. "Whoa nelly!" she cried out as she spun to the source of the voice, spying only an unassuming stallion in a cloak. "Who are you?" As she landed, she shifted into a fighting stance.
"I am here to act as your guide," the stallion replied. "Your trial has begun, and I am here to aid you."
Applejack snorted worriedly, but settled. "Wut trial?" she demanded pugnaciously.
"You were sent to recover something?" the stallion coached gently.
"...yeah, an artifact o' some sort," Applejack responded. "From some guy here who works fer Discord."
"The one you seek is named Boethiah," the stallion offered softly. "Boethiah has the artifact. Boethiah has created this trial for you. Follow me, and I will show you what I mean." Turning, the stallion made his way through the turns of the maze.
Applejack wasn't sure if she could trust the stallion, but she followed anyway. "What's yer name, anyway?" she demanded.
"I have had many," the stallion replied easily. "You may call me what you will."
Applejack grumbled under her breath, not liking being put off like that. However, any attempts at further conversation were forgotten as they reached a wide open space of the maze, several identical figures wandering about.
Each figure was tall and well muscled, with the exact same face and eyes. However, each was garbed differently, dressed as everything from a noble to a beggar and everything between, with a large prevalence of warriors. "W...what is this?" Applejack demanded in confusion.
"We are Boethiah, supplicant," one of the figures greeted, one dressed as a noble. "You have come for our artifact?" The figure offered a strangely configured shield.
"We are Boethiah, Mistress," one of the figures dressed as a servant offered meekly. "Have you come for our artifact, if it please you?" The figure offered a bow and arrow.
The greetings went on, with each figure claiming to be Boethiah, and each offering a different artifact. Backing up, Applejack turned to the stallion. "Ah...ah don't understand..." she murmured worriedly, her eyes darting back and forth. "W...wut am Ah supposed ta do?"
"There is only one Boethiah," the stallion explained. "Find the true Boethiah. Only the true Boethiah has the True Artifact you seek. All others are False, and will spell doom for yourself and your allies in Discord's game. You may use any means at your disposal to find the true Boethiah, but you may only take one artifact from this Realm. These are the rules, as laid down by Boethiah."
Applejack frowned. "How do ya know so much about this?" she demanded coldly.
"The rules of the game require a fair chance," the stallion responded. "Boethiah decided this was best handled by providing you with a guide to answer questions."
Applejack frowned. "So...you'll answer any questions I pose to you?"
"That is correct."
"Honestly?"
"As honestly as the trial and the will of Boethiah allows," the stallion clarified.
Applejack rubbed her head in frustration. "Just who the heck is this Boethiah guy, if he pulls horseapples like this?"
"Boethiah is the Daedric Prince of deceit, conspiracy, treachery, and sedition," the stallion explained.
Applejack sighed ruefully. "Guess that makes sense...I think." Pulling her hat off, she wiped her brow and looked around at her surroundings. "So...there gonna be anybody but these Bow-thigh fellas around?" she asked curiously.
The stallion gave a barely perceptible twitch. "All you will meet here is Boethiah," he responded.
"And where can ah find the real him?" Applejack asked, pouncing on what seemed to be the key.
"Wherever you go, you will find the True Boethiah," the stallion answered.
"What's a Daedric Prince?" Applejack asked carefully.
"Whatever they wish to be, whenever they wish to be," the stallion explained simply. "They are as gods as you might conceive them."
"Can a Daedric Prince divide its power and awareness?" Applejack instantly followed up.
The stallion hesitated.
A wide grin split Applejack's face. "Ah reckon ah just solved yer riddle...Boethiah."
"You believe me to be the True Boethiah?" the stallion inquired carefully.
"Nope!" Applejack quipped quickly. "Least, not entirely. Each o' these others referred ta themselves as 'we'. You referred ta 'Boethiah' by name always, never callin' 'em 'he', 'she', or e'en 'they'. Ya know ah'm good at spottin' lies, so you were careful never to tell one directly, e'en giving yourself a way to explain if you had to. But ya didn' answer when I asked about division." She gestured to the Boethiahs gathered around. "This whole place is the beehive called Boethiah. Each o' them are the bees, parts o' the whole. Ah need ta speak to the whole...which means ah need ta find the Queen Bee ta speak fer the hive."
The stallion was silent for a time. "You have unraveled one layer of the trial," he admitted. "But unless you find the Core Boethiah, the True Boethiah will not return."
"But ah already have," Applejack pointed out. "It's you...the one who seems most 'normal' ta me, and thus most out o' place here. The only one that acts different, when ya already said ah'll only meet Boethiah here. So you gotta be part o' Boethiah...the part not actin' like a puppet. Which means yer the part pullin' the strings."
Power swirled through the area, sucking everything to a central point, The other Boethiahs were sucked into the stallion as he slowly rose up, becoming his full self. "You are correct, on all counts," he confirmed, clapping his hands slowly together. "Discord said we should not underestimate any of you...but it seems we may all yet be guilty of that. I am Boethiah." Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a glowing gold katana. "And this is my artifact you seek, the Goldbrand. Whatever the outcome of Discord's game, it is yours now." As he released the blade, it flew over and strapped itself - sheath and all - to Applejack's back.
Applejack tipped her hat. "Pleasure meetin' ya, Boethiah. Sorry 'bout messin' up yer name earlier...but ah tweren't sure ya were you till ah saw ya twitch."
Boethiah actually smiled. "You have been an interesting opponent. Should we meet again, I won't go as easy on you."
"Looking forward to it!" Applejack called out as a portal opened up. Turning, she charged on through it with a shout of, "YEEE-HAWWW!"
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First. Bow-thigh.... pffff-
This one played out a lot more calmly than I had thought it might.
what through her off about this one
1. Threw.
Huh, this was a deceptively straightforward trial for AJ.
Good thing Boethiah isn't one to hedge their bets so easily.
If only it was so simple to divide and conquer Boethiah, if only.
Let's just hope AJ doesn't get her hat stolen by some black mass of smoky changelings.
7941884
I get that reference. Remix Apple Apple Apple?
Niiiiiiiice
certainly not what i expected from THIS trial
7941910 Yep.
For some reason I see those two hooking up.
7942043
I can ship it
7942062
ship it hard
7942062
FedEx or UPS?
Forgive my disbelief.
Choose wisely...
Clever girl...
Huh, neat. Well played, AJ. I'm surprised the Daedric Prince of deceit didn't try to do something trickier. Guess not.
A little short but much better than the fighting ones.
7942225 that's a silly question.
FedEx.
Clever chapter
didn't see that coming.
Nicely done, I can't wait to see what comes next, but I can just see AJ putting Goldbrand up on the mantle of the Apple Family home and only pulling it out when Flim and Flam first show up and try to cheat her family or for running off Timberwolves. But since she has a katana, is she going to be Samurai Applejack????
SHE JUST SOLVED THE RIDDLE IN MINUTES!
7942259
7942225
USPS
Samurai Applejack.
7942429 Yeah... more of the slightly jarring "ponies solve everything!" trope. Greatst ory nonetheless.
7942225 Canada Post
7943186 Ponies kind of do solve everything though.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
7943095 UPS is good, but nobody ships like FedEx.
7943733
USPS = United States Post Office
7944088
Fedex = Foul-ups and Errors in Delivery EXpected
AJ is OP. Plz nerf.
Good going though. And a nice, inconspicuous way of confirming your suspicions by intentionally mangling the name.
I like how the Daedra act here - the rules are set, and if victory is clear they don't try to wiggle out of giving the prize.
Now I don't know whether it's really out of respect, or, in case of some, to spite Discord
7944435
UPS= Unsuprising Piece of Shit.
Bow-thigh? That would be interesting to see
Brilliant problem-solving.
7944795
FTFY.