Truth or Forgiveness

Twilight and the others stared gaping at what Princess Celestia had asked of them. Rarity was the one who spoke out, though.

“Princess Celestia, no disrespect, but you truly want us to go to the most uninhabitable place in all of Equestria? Also while carrying an object of immense power that is currently awaiting self-destruction? It just screams danger!” Rarity protested.

“Yeah it does!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “This sounds awesome! I say we go, now!” Princess Celestia inwardly giggled at the mare’s enthusiasm. Then she addressed them all.

“I know that this is a highly dangerous mission, but I am confident that you will succeed. Being the bearers of the other Elements will also give you an additional barrier to the energy that is being output by this one.”

“I believe you are right, Princess,” said Twilight. “This is an Element of Harmony and we have a responsibility to see that it causes harm to nopony. It is our duty!”

Pinkie began to giggle. “She said ‘duty’!” Several of them glared at her for her outburst. “Sorry.”

“Ah for one think that Twi is right. We can’t let this blasted rock hurt somepony. Let’s just get to the Chasm and chuck it the bottom.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “NO! Whatever you do, do not do that!” They all reared back at the Princess’ tone. “I’m sorry for startling you, but if you were to simply throw it into the Chasm, it could explode when it reaches the bottom before you all got to a safe distance. Please, you must be careful with this Element. I don’t want any of you to get hurt either.”

“We’ll be careful, Princess. You can count on us!”

Several hours later, the six mares were on their way to the Grand Chasm. The only way there, however, was to trek through the Everfree Forest. So far, nothing had gone wrong. They thought that they had heard predators in the bushes, but none ever approached. Fluttershy was the most scared of the group, but not because of their location.

“T-twilight?” asked the shy mare. Twilight turned her head around, but continued walking.

“Yes, Fluttershy, is something wrong?”

“I-it’s just that, I don’t know anything about this ‘Grand Chasm’, so I’m a little worried.”

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so, Fluttershy? You see, the Grand Chasm is a massive gorge at the edge of Equestria. No ponies live there, however, because plants refuse to grow in the area. On the other side of the Chasm is the Samareian Desert, and the entire ravine itself is impenetrable rock. As such, no pony can live there. Its history is that of a place of banishment.” Twilight shuddered as she said that word. “Usually reserved for the greatest monsters of Equestria.”

“M-monsters?” asked Fluttershy with fear in her eyes. Twilight wave a dismissive hoof at her.

“Not to worry, Fluttershy! There is no way any of those creatures could survive in the harsh landscape of the Chasm. This mission may take some time, but the only danger would be falling into the Chasm.”

“O-oh. Ok.”

The rest of the way was silent as they trudged on the forest path. After another hours walk, they arrived at the Grand Chasm and they stared in awe at the sight before them. The Grand Chasm was well over a mile wide and when they leaned over the edge, none of them could see the bottom as it was shrouded in darkness. There was a group gulp as they lobbed a rock down there and never heard it hit the bottom. Twilight spoke up.

“O-okay girls; let’s get moving. The princess is counting on us.” They found a thin pathway that led into the gorge. They inched their way along until they found a wider path and they trotted further down. Some time passed and none of the girls ever spoke. Except Rarity.

“This dirt better wash out! All this trudging is going to ruin my beautiful coat!” After a while (a few minutes) Applejack had had enough.

“RARITY!! Enough with your whining! It’s not helping anypony and it’s just plain annoying!”

“Girls!” said Twilight. “Both of you need to stop arguing! You may start an avalanche for all we know!” As if on cue, a loud sound shook the six mares to the core.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

“That didn’t sound like an avalanche,” Rainbow pointed out. Heavy breathing then came from the cave that the girls were standing in front of. The six of them slowly turned around to a horrible sight. Standing well above the ponies was a massive Cyclops with large pointed teeth and a blood shot eye. It looked mad and roared in anger at them.

The six mares screamed and ran off down the path, the monster following and gaining on them.

“Run into the cave girls!!” screamed Twilight. A cave was coming up on their right and they turned right into it. They kept running and running until they saw light ahead. When they pulled into the light, they were confused beyond all understanding. They had somehow come out on the other side of the Grand Chasm!

“W-what?” asked Rainbow.

“How in tarnation did we get over here?” said Applejack.

Twilight was in bewilderment. “I-I don’t know!! That should not have been possible! I was hoping we would lose the Cyclops in the darkness and then run back out of the cave; not end up coming out of another cave all together!” A roar came from behind them as well as footsteps shaking the earth beneath them. “Let’s figure this out later! RUN!”

As one, they fled from the beast. Along the way, more and more creatures made themselves known through the massive gorge. Every time they lost the Cyclops, another monster would come from the caves and start chasing them, hoping to have ponies as its next meal. They ran for what felt like hours until they finally found a cave that was uninhabited and lost the great bear-like monster that had been after them for the past half hour. They sat on their haunches, trying to catch their breaths.

“W-what the hay, Twi?!” panted Rainbow. “I thought you said that nothing could live out here! If that’s so, then why are there monsters everywhere?!”

“I am inclined to agree with Rainbow Dash, dear,” said Rarity.

“We need to get out of here!” said Pinkie Pie. “I can’t throw anymore parties if I get eaten by monsters!! That is no fun!”

Before Twilight could even respond, another sound came from deeper in the cave. “Psst.”

They froze, fearing that there was another monster living in their ‘sanctuary’. When they looked, they saw a shadow in the darkness; a pony shadow. It was waving a hoof at them, beckoning for them to follow. “Come with me,” the voice whispered. “More are coming; they will be here soon. Now, if you want to live, then you will come with me.” The shadow turned and walked off into the darkness.

Twilight and her friends sat where they were, not knowing what they should do. “Should we do as it asked?” she asked her friends.

“What choice do we have, darling? Right now, that pony may be our only hope.”

“What if it’s a trap?!” said Rainbow. “This seems far too fishy.”

“I think we should!” beamed Pinkie. “That pony is willing to help us; wouldn’t hurt to just follow, right?”

After a moment, Twilight made a decision. “Right, let’s go!” They followed the pony into the darkness of the cave. The group of seven ponies came out another cave in the Chasm. The new pony looked left and right down the path, as if making sure nothing was in sight.

“It’s clear; let’s move. Quickly now!” She ran off down the path. She was clearly a mare because of her rounded body shape. Now that they were in the light, Twilight could see the pony much clearer. She had a tan colored coat and deep brown mane and tail and was clearly a unicorn due to the horn on her head. Her eyes were also a deep blue, but were solid and focused. They turned a corner and found themselves trapped by a giant boulder. “Hold on,” was all she said. She approached the boulder and put her forelegs on it. Applejack knew that it was futile.

“Ah don’t mean to be rude, partner, but there ain’t no way you can move that rock. It’s far too big.”

The mare only turned and gave the group a smirk. Then began to put pressure on the rock and with a small grunt of effort, the rock easily rolled away, revealing a hidden cave. Everypony was stunned at her ability to move the rock with very little effort. She turned to them, still smiling. “Inside, now! Night is coming and that is the worst time to be out in the canyon! Hurry!”

With suspicion in their eyes, everypony did as she asked and entered the cave. Their eyes widen in surprise at what they saw. It looked like a home. The back wall was clearly made from collapsed rocks, probably to keep monsters from enter the cave accidentally. All around them were trinkets and other knickknacks. There was a large couch, a chair, and a small kitchen; all looked as if they were molded from the earth itself. As they gawked, the mystery mare walked in and began to push the rock back into place. As it rolled back into place, the girls turned around to face her and realized that they were trapped. Twilight began to panic inside her mind.

“W-why did you put that rock in place?” she asked nervously.

“No monsters are allowed in my home,” she answered as she finished putting the boulder in place. “Whew! That was close. The worst ones come out after dark. Trust me, you do not want to be out there with them! That’s bad idea written all over it!” She chuckled to herself as she approached the kitchen. “Can I get you girls anything? I don’t have much, but I can easily make dinner for seven tonight.”

The six of them just stared at her. One moment, she was hard and serious, but now she was warm and welcoming. The mare noticed their looks and gave small laugh. “Oh, where are my manners. Perhaps introductions are in order, hm?”

Pinkie snapped out her trance and smiled. “Oh goody! I love meeting new ponies. My name is Pinkie Pie! These are my friends!” Pinkie walked around and pointed to each mare as she recited their names. “This is Rainbow Dash!”

“Fastest flyer in Equestria!” the cyan pegasus said proudly.

“She’s Rarity!”

“A pleasure, darling,” the white unicorn said nervously.

“And Fluttershy!”

*EEP* was all the yellow pegasus said as she hid behind Rainbow.

“This is Applejack!”

“Howdy, partner,” the orange earth pony said with a tip of her hat.

“And this the protégé of Princess Celestia herself, Twilight Sparkle!”

“It’s very nice to make your acquaintance. Would you be so kind as to tell us your name? We would like to know who it is that saved us,” said the purple unicorn.

“Oh, right. Sorry about that. Welcome to my home. The name’s Naruko. It is very nice to meet all of you.”