Author's Note
Note: This is set in Season 6.
Yet another Ancient Evil
A statue of a giant snake with raven wings, concealed deep within Everfree Forest, had remained dormant for a thousand years (because fate seemed to have an obsession with that specific number of years) since the being within it had been defeated and sealed away, intended for all time, by Princess Luna, former bearer of the Element of Honesty...until it began to crack and break apart with a menacing laugh.
Morning in Ponyville proceeded exactly as it normally would: mostly average with a few crazy an unusual things going on.
“Don't worry, Mayor Mare, Ah believe yah,” Applejack said, stomping towards town hall with the Mayor with serious purpose and obvious anger.
“Thank you, Applejack. I just pray that they'll take your word in my favor. It's not every day I get accused of embezzling, let alone by somepony who can convince so many ponies it's true. I don't even know why he's doing it, he's been one of my aides for years,” Mare replied, looking at wits end. “But shouldn't we get the Princess?”
“Only if we need tah. Her word would clear yah, but he'd still have some baggage on yah, if we prove 'em wrong, then you're off the hook for good,” the farmer replied.
Twilight, meanwhile, was sitting across town at an outdoor restaurant with Fluttershy, Angel sitting next to the shy pegasus.
“Come on, Fluttershy, I just want your opinion on this, I want it to get published,” the Alicorn said with a smile.
Fluttershy gave an eep. “O-Oh okay...” she said timidly, looking down at the writing her friend had given her to critique and give feedback. Twilight was a Princess and could get it published on a whim if she really wanted to, but, being the studious princess she was, she wanted to do things the right way.
Seated behind her was a young pegasus with purple fur and a yellow mane named Shrinking Violet. She wasn't focused on them, however, rather she was sharing a stare with white furred unicorn with blue mane and tail named Timid Dove from across the outdoor restaurant, both having their namesakes for their Cutie Marks. Both noticed the others' eyes on them and quickly averted their own with a blush, but found themselves taking quick looks back at the other. They did this every day, but it always ended the same.
The two both stood up at the same time, each heading for the same exit and almost running into each other.
“Um...sorry... I... I didn't mean to...” Timid Dove muttered, blushing bright pink and averting her eyes.
“Oh... it's fine... um... s-so...” muttered Shrinking Violet, matching his shade of pink as she looked away. The two simply stood there for several minutes in awkward silent.
“W-Well, see you later...” the stallion replied.
“You too...” With that, the two quickly dashing off.
Thus, they had little belief today would be any different.
Across town in their huge house, the Rich Family sat at the breakfast table. “So, honey, how's school going?” Filthy Rich asked his daughter.
“Much better since I stopped being such a high horse,” Diamond Tiara stated with a smile, waiting for her father to look away before shooting her mother a defiant glare.
“Well you're still not the Class President,” Spoiled Rich replied, likewise shooting her daughter a glare with an attempt to intimidate her when her husband wasn't looking.
To her frustration, her daughter's expression didn't change, if anything it got more defiant. “No, but my job's even more important now. I'm the chief of staff. Pipsqueek is a good idea colt, but has trouble figuring out how to make them work. That's where I come in: I make sure his ideas get done and work. We're a good team.”
“That's very good work, Diamond Tiara,” Filthy Rich replied with a proud smile. “A good business pony needs to know their weaknesses and know when others are better for the job than themselves.”
“Yes, but a proper lady doesn't play second fiddle to anypony,” Spoiled replied, aggressively stabbing her waffle with her fork.
“Well good thing I'm not a lady then,” the little filly shot back passive aggressively, doing the same to her own waffle.
The Rich Family patriarch looked back and forth between his family with a raised eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”
Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh was going about his day, bucking trees and carrying loads of apples.
It was Saturday, so Cheerilee had the day off and had decided to take a walk past Sweet Apple Acres... and couldn't help staring at Big Macintosh. She admitted, sometimes she did wonder if it was just a residual effect of the Love Poison, but she couldn't shake the fact she kept being drawn here. But she kept telling herself it was just that. It wasn't real. “Besides, it's not like he'd be interested anyway,” she muttered to herself before turning and preparing to talk away, only to see a gray furred mare standing at the fence, looking over somewhat distracted in Mac's direction.
“Oh, hello there...” Cheerilee said with an awkward smile.
Marble Pie gave an 'Eep!' and jumped several feet into the air before spinning around and staring at Cheerilee wide-eyed and panting.
“...My name is Miss Cheerilee, what's yours?” the teacher asked politely.
Pinkie's twin sister merely stared shyly.
Cheerilee merely stood there awkwardly for several moments. 'Somehow, I think she's shyer than Fluttershy.'' Cheerilee shifted on her hooves slightly. “So, what brings you here?”
A shadowy shape slithered across the ground towards the center of town and wrapped around the town hall's spire. The entity rose up, forming into a massive yellow scaled serpent with black raven wings and glowing red eyes. He glared down at the town with disdain and disgust, especially at Applejack, who he seemed to treat like a vampire would a cleric or priest. “Well, I see ponies are still being annoyingly clingy to the tyrannical chains of the truth. One of them even has embraced the power of Honesty like a lover...disgusting. It's time I cut their shackles and let them embrace the pure, freedom of lies, but of course ponies don't realize they're trapped if you don't show them outright. And the best way to do that is to take away what freedom they have. Then they will bow down and worship lstivý, the Master of Lies,” he hissed and swung his tail around, revealing a rattlesnake-like tip. He shook it with a fierce rattle, yellow energy crackling around it. He gave a chuckle before slamming it down, sending a shockwave of yellow energy over the town.
Applejack barged her way into the town hall to find the Royal Guard looking throughout the building with the stallion responsible standing smugly in the back. He was a brown furred Earth Pony with a white mane and tail in a business suit, his Cutie Mark a pile of papers. “Okay, everypony, Ah'm here now tah get tah the bottom of this.”
The Guards gave a salute. “Hello, Ms. Applejack. We were just investigating the embezzling charges against Mayor Mare. It's not looking very good, I will admit.”
Applejack might have been a normal farmer, but she was also part of Princess Twilight's court, and thus had at least some authority. She didn't want some big fancy title or castle or anything, but sometimes that came in handy.
“Mind if Ah have a chat with Mr. Paperwork over here?” the farmer asked. The guard nodded and allowed her walk up to talk to the accuser. “Okay, so mind telling meh what exactly is goin' on here?”
Paperwork chuckled. “Isn't it obvious? Mayor Mare here was embezzling money from the town. We've probably lost thousands to her by now.”
“And where's yer proof?”
lstivý's yellow energy wave washed over the room, everypony's eyes briefly flashing yellow.
“Well here's the paper trail I spent several months meticulously plantin-” Paperwork's eyes widened and he quickly covered his mouth. “That's not what I meant to say!”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “So it ain't the truth?”
“No! It is, but I was trying to lie!” the stallion replied, covering his mouth again. “What's going on?!”
Mayor Mare decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. “So why did you do it? This isn't like you! You've been one of my faithful aides for years!”
The stallion tried to say he didn't do it, but instead said “I'm not him! He's locked in the basement clos-”
Applejack filled in the gaps despite the stallion's attempt to keep his secrets and ran down stairs, pulled a pile of stuff out from in front of a closet. She swiftly kicked open...to find Paperwork hanging upside and very panicked in a green cocoon. She quickly ripped him down and dragged him upstairs before throwing him to the guards.
“So that means you're-”
The stallion snarled and shed his form in a blast of green fire to reveal a black armored Changeling who instantly hissed and tried to pounce on Applejack from behind. She'd naturally expected that, however, and bucked out with both hind legs directly into his chest. The Changeling was sent flying across the room into a wall where he was instantly set upon by the guards and held by the front legs with a magic suppressor slapped on his horn.
“Alright big guy, since you're bein' so honest right now, what's your game here?!” Applejack asked, getting in his face.
The Changeling snarled in fury. “I was going to send all those funds to the Queen for use in our infiltration plans! How?! How did you make me tell the truth?!”
Applejack cocked her head. “...That's a good question. What the hay happened?”
“So, Fluttershy, what did you think?” Twilight asked, sitting and watching Fluttershy expectantly as the mare read her story.
The pegasus looked up from the story and with hesitant eyes. “Well... Um...”
“Yes?” the lavender Alicorn asked, leaning closer as the yellow energy wave washed over.
“Well...I'm sorry, but your characters were one-dimensional and shallow, they need a lot more fleshing out. I didn't understand why Wild Charge came back to help them out at the climax, you got tied up in minor details that don't move the plot forward, and your main villain's backstory and motives made no sense at all,” Fluttershy replied...then covered her mouth. “Oh! I'm so sorry! I was thinking that but didn't want to say it!”
Twilight looked sad for a moment, but then gave a smile. “No, it's alright. I need help and wanted constructive criticism. If you hadn't told me that, I'd have sent a flawed story that needed a lot of work to a publisher...I've always loved books, but this is my first real attempt at actual fiction. Thank you.”
The shy pegasus blinked. “Oh okay...You're welcome. I still don't know what happened though, that's not what I was trying to say.”
Angel jumped up on the table and looked over the paper and gave an exaggerated gag, throwing it away.
Fluttershy growled and caught the papers. “Angel! This is Twilight's! It might be flawed, but she still worked really hard on it!” she yelled in response. “If I have to be truthful, I really don't like your bad behavior and wish you'd just treat ponies with more respect!”
The little bunny blinked, then looked down at his feet guilty and chattered something.
“You didn't know that upset me that much? Oh, it's okay. You're still my little bunny,” the shy pony said, hugging the little bunny.
Twilight smiled before giving a concerned look. “But what's going on? If you didn't mean to say it, why did you?”
Meanwhile, Shrinking Violet and Timid Dove both got up and prepared to leave, having their typical run in at the exit.
“Oh, hello, I run into you every day because I have a crush on you,” said the mare, before blushing so bright her entire head turned pink. “Eep!”
Timid Dove blinked. “Really? I was doing the same thing.”
The two stared at each other, both blushing heavily for several moments.
“Um...w-want to go on a date?” Violet finally asked.
Timid gave a shy smile. “I-I'd love to.”
Bon Bon blinked, watching the two walk off from her and Lyra's table. “What's going on?”
“Way to go you two!” Lyra called with a happy wave before noticing Bon Bon suddenly digging into her bags. “What's wrong?”
The mare pulled out a strange device and began adjusting a dial. She gave a gasp when it began rapidly clicking. “The entire town seems to be under a spell. This magic signature was on SMILE's records. I think I know what's going on,” she explained, looking over at Twilight. With this spell, she'd have to explain a lot more about her backstory than she'd like to. But if she didn't say it, then the town might be in big trouble. She got up and walked over to Twilight. “Princess, I've got something I need to tell you.”
Diamond Tiara heard her father's question, but as per usual prepared to simply say everything was fine. As she opened her mouth, the energy wave finally washed over them. “No! It's not okay! Mom hates me and wants me to be a stuck up, picture perfect, high and might, 'lady' that I don't want to be! I'm sick and tired of feeling like a little dress up doll she can mold into whatever she wants! If that's what a lady is, I don't want to be one! I don't want to be a stuck up snob! I want to be the pony I wanna be, and that's a good leader and friend!”
The room was silent for a few moments as Diamond Tiara panted, tears running down her cheeks. She hadn't meant to say that, but once she started it was like a bursting dam.
“Diamond, your mother isn't like that,” Filthy replied, obviously and understandably distressed and horrified his daughter thought that of his wife.
“Yes she is! Every time I so much as step out of line, she browbeats me back into it until I stopped taking it anymore!” the filly replied, not even trying to lie.
Spoiled stared for a few moments in silence. “She...she...she's right. Well, partly right. I don't hate her...but the rest is true.”
Filthy turned to look at her, looking hurt and angry. “What?”
The mare tried to make up a lie, but whatever power was over her wouldn't allow it. “Diamond, I don't hate you. I never have. I'm just scared those high and mighty Canterlot elite are looking down on us. I just wanted to make sure you succeeded and didn't get looked down on too... And I admit, maybe on some level I...I...I never had much control myself growing up and was bullied all the time for the name Spoiled Milk. So I guess maybe I-”
“-became a bully yourself?” Diamond asked, her rage cooling a little.
“...Yes. I'm sorry. I guess things haven't been as picturesque as you thought they were, Filthy.”
The patriarch of the family was silent for a few moments. “No, no they haven't. And I should have seen it a long time ago, but I just tried to keep thinking there weren't any problems. If I'd said something a long time ago this may have never gotten this bad,” he finally replied. “Well, for whatever reason we're having to be truthful right now, let's sit down and have a long overdo family talk, shall we?”
Marble tried to stay silent, but the yellow energy wave washed over them. “I'm here because I have a crush on Big Macintosh.”
Cheerilee and her both stared blankly at each other with bright blushing faces. “Oh... that's nice. I was just walking by because I have a crush on him too and can't help looking at him either.” The school teacher's eyes went wide as dinner plates. “What I meant to say was we once got put under Love Poison and I'm blaming that for my feelings instead of just accepting they're mine!”
“...I might be very distantly related to him and even thought I know we're so distantly related it doesn't matter I've been using that as an excuse not to talk to him.” Marble looked down at her hooves. “But if you're in love with him you should go ahead and ask, I'm too shy to ever talk to him.”
Cheerilee looked at her for a few seconds, knowing Fluttershy well enough to know how crippling that shyness could be. “How about this? We both agree to ask him to date us for a month, if he says yes then at the end we can let him decide? And we can decide for ourselves if it's real love or just infatuation?”
Pinkie's twin sister blinked in confusion and stared for a few moments. “Y-Yes...Thank you.”
The teacher gave a smile. “You're welcome.”
“Oh, and my name is Marble Pie, I'm Pinkie Pie's twin sister. Nice to meet you... I'm normally not this talkative but I can't stop saying what I'm thinking.”
“Then we'd best talk to Big Mac before whatever it is wears off, shall we?”
“Okay, so no pony in town can lie, kind of an improvement in mah opinion, but why?” Applejack asked, the Mane Six in town square.
“According to Bon Bon, it's an ancient evil spirit named lstivý, the Master of Lies, who Luna sealed away a thousand years ago,” Twilight replied, looking to the mare. Finding out she was a retired spy was quite the shocker, but the two were already formulating plans to better use her knowledge to protect the town.
“But why would the Master of Lies make everypony tell the truth?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.
Suddenly, a blast of yellow energy erupted in the sky and lstivý hovered above on his raven wings. “Because you dumb ponies were supposed to see how restraining and tiresome the truth is! Why aren't you miserable?! No kind lies! No easy falsehoods! How has it not driven you insane?!” he roared like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Because the truth ain't a tyrant! It's part of harmony! Yeah, maybe some ponies said some truths today they didn't want to say,” Applejack replied.
“It did ruin a surprise birthday party I was planning...” Pinkie Pie admitted, promising the give that colt an extra big birthday cake when this was over.
“And a socialite does need to hide her intentions from time to time,” Rarity continued, knowingly. “But here in Ponyville we're all friends and family, darling. We understand each other enough that all you did was force us to be honest with each other for the day.”
“I needed Fluttershy's critique, and she needed to admit to Angel his behavior hurt her,” Twilight explained, giving Fluttershy a reassuring smile. Bon Bon simply remained silent, but was happy her talents could be put to good use.
“Yes, you forced me and my family to admit we haven't been living healthily,” Filthy called out, him and his family standing proudly despite the monster looming above them.
“And make us be honest about our feelings,” Timid Dove announced, standing with a hoof around his new fillyfriend.
“And exposed a nefarious plot threatening me and Equestria!” Mayor Mare yelled, the guard well-aware they should let the heroes defeat the supervillain, but preparing to protect the civilians if need be.
“And made us admit our feelings for Big Mac!” Cheerilee announced, Big Mac standing next to her and Marble, blushing but smiling.
“See?! Looks like yah didn't understand what truth really is and-wait, what?!” Applejack asked, snapping over to look with eyes like dinner plates.
“Eeyup...” her big brother replied with a blush.
“You weren't supposed to like this! You're supposed to hate this! Stop enjoying this!” lstivý screamed in frustration and annoyance like a rage quitting colt.
“Wow, you sound more like a rage quitting kid than an ancient evil baddy,” Button Mash honestly pointed out, having seen plenty in his time as a gamer.
The Master of Lies' face turned a furious red. “Fine! No more Mr. Nice Master of Lies! If you won't embrace my gift, I'll force it on you!” he roared, beginning to charge up his tail...only for a pillar of rainbow light to go off and the Mane Six to fly up in their Rainbow Power forms.
“Yeah, thanks for the day of honesty, but that don't mean we're not gonna stop you,” Applejack replied with a smirk.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” lstivý screamed as the converging rainbow lights stuck him head on and plunged the world into light.
A few seconds later the petrified form of the villain fell to the ground with a thud as the Mane Six floated down softly and reverted back to their base form.
“Well, that's that...Guess everypony can lie again?” asked Applejack with a bittersweet tone.
“My mane is made of cotton candy!” Pinkie Pie yelled, then looked almost disappointed. “Yeah...kinda wish that one was actually true.”
“Shoot, was kinda hopin' that would be a long term thing...” the farmer said, kicking a rock. “Ah don't like ponies lyin' tah each other and themselves, maybe every once in awhile havin' tah tell the truth would be a good thing...”
Twilight listened closely to her friend and gave it thought. “...Mayor Mare?”
“Yes, Princess?” the older mare asked, walking over.
“Given this did help, perhaps having a day where the entire town is honest would be a good thing. I could reverse engineer lstivý's spell or we could just all try to be as honest as we can be.”
“I think that'd be a wonderful idea,” Mayor Mare replied, giving a smile. “Once I can get the proper paperwork done, today will be declared Honesty Day, and we will all do our best to live up to the spirit our dear Applejack represents!”
“...Thank you,” Applejack said with a smile.
Twilight gave a smile back. “No problem, we could all use a little honesty from time to time.”
The End.
