Solitude is Sorcery

Falsity bucked hard against his opponent's gut, sending him careening against a wall of drunken stallions that pushed the visibly beaten and bleeding stallion back into the fray.  Falsity wasted no time holding his hoof out straight to his left, catching his opponent's throat in Falsity's joint and slamming him into the ground, where the foe wiggled a little but stayed down.  Falsity climbed a top the provided chair and screamed like a griffon, pounding his chest.

Somepony removed the limp stallion and deposited a sum of bits into Falsity's waiting hoof, stuffing them in a provided bag.  Falsity stumbled over to his table and took a long drink from what looked like oil.  A few other stallions came by patted him on the back, and shared a laugh with him before they moved on, leaving him alone at the table.  This was Sweet Blood's Acre, a large barn with a few floors, a few rooms, a little food, more than a few mares, plenty of drink, and all the illegal stallion fights Ponyville could ask for.  Falsity was a dark purple earth pony, as they were the only ones who stood a chance in hoof-to-hoof, with short black mane and a tail.  It all had to be basically short as possible, because hair was a grip point.  If you found yourself in a grapple in Sweet Blood's Acre, you probably just lost your tax bits for the year.  Honestly, it wasn't much better for the winners.

"Falsity, you gotta go easier on the poor colts."

Falsity looked up towards the wall of the barn to behold Seclus, the tri-colored pony.  He was smirking at Falsity.

"He probably just lost his life savings."  Seclus finished.

Falsity shook his head at him.  "He knew what he was asking for.  Have a seat."

Seclus sat his rump in a chair opposite the table from Falsity.  That stallion made Seclus feel uncomfortable.  Was it a good idea to ever be comfortable around the element of deception?

"There has been a development.." Started Seclus.

"Oh, spare me your riddles, Seclus.  You know I don't care about sorcery and crap."

Seclus lifted his nose a little.  "The prince himself wants your participation."

Falsity gave Seclus a crooked look.  "Which one?"

"Both."

"Look, I just want to talk.  Meet me at the temple."

"Why's it always the temple?"

"Piety."

"Dunno what that is."

"Ill see you there, deception.  Bring your element."  Seclus got up to leave, and heard Falsity whisper.

"No."

Seclus left the barn, pushing his way past a pink and yellow mare who tried to rub flanks with him.  Falsity would show.  He always knew when the working class was lying to him.  Of course, so thought everypony else.

...

After tying up a few drinkers and putting his little sister, Applebloom, in charge of the place, Falsity left for the long walk to Ponyville after collecting the pitch black obsidian lance of deception, from its place in the basement.  He strapped it to his back.  Seclus had probably used profane sorcery as a mere means of transportation, but the grounded Falsity had no such luxury.  So he walked.  His head hurt from blows he had taken in the ring this morning, his hooves hurt from dishing out blows in the ring this morning, and he tasted blood, most likely collected during his bouts in the ring this morning.  He didn't know whose it was.  He looked around at the savannah that he had allowed the once green and lush valley of his family to become.  He told himself it was for the best.

Finally, he saw Ponyville on the distance, just as the afternoon sun reached it's peak.  He hurried into town, feeling much better all of a sudden.  As he passed through the center, on his way to the temple, he chanced a look down at the pit where everypony with a brain knew that Passion dealt illegal arms and armor.  He never knew how he got it, though.  Passion certainly couldn't work a forge, and he had few-

The thought stopped dead in it's tracks when Falsity got a whiff of the stench rising from Passion's den like a zombie.  He almost vomited then and there, if not for a sudden burst of speed and rush of fresh air.  He turned to face the monstrous pit, his skin crawling.  What in Equestria had happened down there?  Did passion finally...

With that, Falsity hurried into the tower temple.

...

Falisty entered the tower and first noticed the visibly shaken priestess.  He approached her slowly, and asked her "are you okay?"

She instantly relaxed when she saw him.  Deception had something of a reputation in Ponyville.  In fact, Mayor Gainer had even given him an award when he had diverted berserk bulls from leveling the town, despite the well-known fact that he had caused the stampede by gathering the bulls together for a tournament that the aforementioned bulls frowned upon.  He bore his element well, it seemed.

"Oh, nothing.  Just the good Lord Passion being himself.  Or more specifically, smelling like himself."  She wrinkled her nose.

"Mm.  I noticed on the way here.  Something must be done, soon, by somepony..."

She looked at him.  "Well, something subtle and peaceful..."

He nodded, then started for the stairs.  He didn't even need to ask her where Seclus had planned for the elements to meet.

As soon as he got there, he saw that only one other pony was there, and he smelled like death.  Harm Hide gave Falsity his best smile as the earth ponies took stances opposite the other around the empty table.  Harm Hide was impossibly relaxed and intent.  This could only go down one way.

"Greetings, Passion," Falsity broke the silence at last.  "You left quite the impression on the mare of piety below us."

"Ya know, its funny how often I hear that."  Hide snickered.

Falsity recoiled a little.  "Gross," he said.

"Gross is what you do to those foals,"  challenged Hide.

"Hide, we've been over this.  Its just a little hard work and carefully betting.  Teaches those foals a little character, cunning, and builds a little muscle.  Three things severely lacking in Ponyville, found in abundance around Blood's Acre.  Gross is what you try and teach the foals!"

Hide crept up to Falsity and breathed on his neck.  That's all it took, and Falsity reacted the only way he knew how.  He whirled on the ready stallion, batting aside the thrown punches, kicking the stallion in the gut, and seizing him around neck when he buckled over, and squeezing, causing Hide to wheeze in between laughs.  Falsity let the slime ball go, now completely smelling like filth himself.

"Hide, i'm going to kill you on of these days."

"That'll be the day!"  Choked Hide.

"Why do you set me off like that?  You know I can't help it."

Hide managed to stand back up.  "Because the element of deception is wasted on you.  You wield a lie like you do a hoof.  Clumsy, and just for fun.  Your lies are weak!  If you truly embodied deception, you would have told me you liked my breath on your neck.  It would have been creepy and unsettling, I would have  been humiliated, shown up, and probably never tried it again.  Instead, you attack me like your the element of asphyxiation.  Unless that would have been the truth?"

"Hide, it would take some kind of research team from Canterlot to explain everything wrong with what you just said."

They sat in silence for a long time.

...

"My fellow elements!  ...Thank you for coming."  Seclus started blathering about something or other, most likely his own ego, but Falsity was focused on the very agitated Harm Hide.  He skittered back and forth and stared intently at the blue orb before them all with utter fascination.  Once again,. Falsity knew it could only end in one way.

Finally, Hide cut off Seclus as he shouted "See you on the other side!" and vanished in a flash of blue light when he grabbed the thing.  He dropped it when he did, and in reflex, not wanting it to be broken, fearing the orb was fragile, he grabbed at it.

The world became a spinning palette of colors and he felt like he was surrounded by rushing water, lifting him up, spinning him around, before throwing him out like he had been launched, and landing on his flank in soft grass.  He opened his eyes and looked up at the bright, warm afternoon sun, the green, lush grass and fields around him, and the many apple trees in full maturity.

Bewildered, he wandered, not daring to try any of the fruit.  When was the last time they had fruit?  It had been hay on the dinner table.  Ever since...  Ever since...

He dropped the thought like the colt from this morning and focused on finding out where he was.  He managed to determine that the edge of the apple farm was not far from where he started.  He soon started hearing a loud crack as something bashed itself into the trunks of a nearby tree.  As he got closer, he could also make out a very familiar stallion's grunting sound in time with the loud crack.  But no, that couldn't be him.

Finally, Falsity called out "Hello?  Is anypony there?"

"E-yup!"

Falsity grumbled into the ground.  This had to be some kind of trick.  He curved around a tree, and sure enough, looking slightly bored, was Big Mac.  Falsity felt his eyes getting wet.

"Buh - Big Mac?"

"Eeyup."

Falsity charged forward, catching the now confused (yet still bored) stallion in a hug.  Falsity cried like a filly.

"I cant believe it..."  He managed to sob.

"Nope."

Falsity pulled away, face twisted with dirt and tears, big mac's sweat, and now rage.

"What in do you think your doing here?!  I buried you, you inconsiderate dolt!  I had to raise my little sister, our little sister, alone!  Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Big Mac looked very uncomfortable now, and he stepped back.  "Nope."  He blurted.

Falsity turned away.  "How did you survive?  Was this intentional?"

A thought occurred to Falsity and he planted a hoof in Big Mac's chest.  "Did you fake your death, coward?"

"Nope."

"Then what did you do?!"

Big Mac was silent.

A mare called, and Falsity's heart broke all over again.  That explains it.

"Big Mac!  Ya almost done?"  Falsity doubted himself now, that voice was familiar, twisted with an accent and much older, but he wondered...

An yellow coated, blonde maned mare with freckles and covered in sweat emerged from beyond the path, and rushed over enraged with what she saw.

"Big Mac!  This ain't no time for chit-chattin' with our friends!  We got work to do!  ...Who is this, anyway?"

Big Mac shrugged.  Falsity gave him a glare, then broke a smile wrapped Applejack in a big hug as well.  She looked like she had just seen Big Mac speak an entire sentence.

"Well, ain't he the affectionate one!"  She said, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Applebloom!"  He cried, "Your all grown up!"

"Um.."  But before she elaborate, he continued

"Did you die your mane?  It looks great!  And I love what you did with the Acre!  Why, I couldn't have done it better myself!  I mean, how is everything?  Pretty big change since I been gone, huh?"

He released Applejack and she cried "Granny Smith!"

Falsity felt his heart skip a beat again.  "Granny Smith is here?"

Applejack shot him a look and started to trot away, calling "Common, stranger!"

"Stranger?" He looked back at a strangely sad Big Mac, then he called after he easily caught up to her.  He was starting to get all kinds of crazy explanations as to his situation, but one stood out among the rest...

They approached the house he knew all too well.  "Please tell me you re-built the house sometime after I left..."

Applejack shook her head as she entered.  There, sitting in her chair, rocking like she had never left, was Granny Smith.

"Applejack?  You done already?"  She asked.  Falsity was starting to feel awfully emotionally drained.

"Granny, do we have any cousins comin' around anytime soon?  Maybe one uh the crazies?"

Falsity chuckled.

"Well, no dear, not for awhile, why do you ask?"

"Cause this 'ere stranger knows mah little sister and Big Mac somehow, but for the life ah me I can' place him.  He does look familiar though..."

"Applejack, I can tell yer right now that no immediate member of the Apple family is purple."

Applejack turned to him, and he stepped forward.

"Granny..."  He said.

"Ello, deary, what can Grany Smith do to you?"

"Granny, you told me a tale of how Ponyville was founded.."

"Ever-pony knows that story."  Applejack reasoned.

Falsity nodded.  "I know what has happened, Applebloom.  I'm sorry I showed up like this.  I'm leaving now."  He turned to leave.

"Mah name is Applejack."

Falsity looked at her.  "What?"

"I'm not Applebloom, she's upstairs.  Im her older sister, Applejack."

He smiled at her.  "My name is...uh, Savannah.  And I hope you have better luck raising her than I did.  If I may?  ...Don't put her in charge of anything.  Ever."

She gave him a warm smile.  "Look, I dunno what kind of apples you been eatin', but take care of yerself, ya hear?"

Falsity trotted back through the door, looked back once, and departed for Ponyville.