//------------------------------// // You Can Have It All! // Story: The Crass Menagerie // by Coyotek4 //------------------------------// Spike rubs his eyes as his focus shifts from one Rarity to the other. “Tell me I’m not seeing things.” “Okay, ‘you’re not seeing things’,” Pinkie cheerfully states, before adding “but seriously, you’re not seeing things.” “What are we seeing?” Fluttershy asks the others. Twilight responds: “I don’t know … I’ve never seen anything like this before.” “Yeah, well Ah’ve seen this version of Rarity before. Back when we all went campin’ ‘n Rarity took all mah gear.” Applejack turns to the true Rarity. “Huh … guess we were both right about what we saw.” “Then this could be related to Starlight’s field trip to the Tree of Harmony,” Twilight reasons, “but we still need more details, preferably from the students themselves.” “I don’t think we’re gonna get a straight answer from any of them right now,” Rainbow comments, turning from one student to the next. “That doesn’t mean we can’t try,” Starlight points out as she trots over to the changeling-turned-pony. “Ocellus, what happened when you and the others went in the cave?” “That cave is mine! I claimed it! No one else can go in there now!” the false Rarity defiantly states. “Ocellus, please, this isn’t you,” Starlight pleads. The changeling ignores her and turns back to the bookshelf, eyeing the various tomes upon the shelves. “Nice effort, counselor!” Sandbar calls out … “NOT!” Silverstream lets out another groan as she shakes her head, causing him to glare back at her. “Starlight, allow me a turn,” Rarity requests as she steps to the forefront. “So … you want it all, do you not?” The doppleganger turns back around to face the unicorn. “It’s all mine!” “Oh, it’s not all yours,” she replies with a sly grin, “but it can be.” Rarity’s comment draws the attention of the changeling. “You see, I have that which you desire: I do have ‘everything’. I have a thriving business, numerous possessions, power, prestige … I have what you want.” “I WANT!” the false Rarity gleefully shouts out. “Ah, but do you really have that desire? Many before you have wanted it all as well, but they were unwilling to do what it took to achieve that goal. Are you willing to do anything to have it all?” “IT’S ALL MINE! I’LL DO ANYTHING!!!” “You really want the secret to having it all?” “TELL ME!!!” “Very well. I have it all, because I give it all away.” … The false Rarity blinks. A slight twitch forms in her eye. “Way back before Twilight became the Princess of Friendship, she came to me as a humble newcomer to Ponyville, asking me to mend a simple dress. I decided then and there to create brand new gala dresses, for her and all my friends. Not because I had loftier goals. Not because I had ulterior motives. No, I did so because I wanted to. Because my friends mean that much to me. Because giving of my time and effort gave me a joy far beyond what you feel by clutching a simple rag.” The false Rarity looks down at Spike’s comic, which falls from her clutches and drops to the floor. “Now did I know I would catch the attention of a renowned fashion designer? Did I know that gesture would buckstart my pathway towards success? Did I know I would now have locations in Canterlot and Manehattan? NO. But that’s the thing about generosity; it pays back in ways you cannot possibly comprehend.” The false Rarity squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head in an effort to disbelieve, as the true Rarity continues to bear down upon her copycat wannabe. “And you know someone quite well who failed to heed this lesson … your former changeling queen, Chrysalis. All she wanted was to want, to have, to take. Forcing all your kind to scavenge the world for her own gain. And how was she defeated? By another, willing to give her exactly what she wanted, until it utterly broke her. And that’s the cloth you’re cut from, Ocellus. That’s who you are now. You’ve demonstrated time and again while at this school what you and all changelings are now capable of. So fight this pettiness and greed within you … come back to us …” The false Rarity strains and groans against her own body. In a flash, Ocellus reverts to her usual self, her eyelids squeezed tight as she struggles with the unseen force. Another flash, and the false Rarity reappears. More flashes occur as she reverts from one form to the other and back. She cries out in anguish as one final flash reverts her back to her old self, collapsing to the floor as a misty image floats above the changeling’s body … an image of the false Rarity, staring daggers at the true Rarity and her friends. “Curse You! Curse you all! It could have all been mine … everything could have been mine …” Her voice dissipates as the image breaks up into cloudy fragments before disappearing into nothingness. The professors all crowd around Ocellus. Moments later, the changeling opens her eyes, lifts her head, and looks around the room, still in a daze. “How did I get here?” she sheepishly asks. “It’s a long story, dearie,” Rarity comments. “And you tell it brilliantly,” Twilight adds as she embraces Rarity in thanks, before turning back to the changeling. “Ocellus, can you remember anything?” Ocellus nods. “I was on a field trip … all of us … we saw the Tree of Harmony. It was incredible,” she continues dreamily. “Yona still not impressed.” The yak’s comment causes Ocellus to look quizzically at her friend. “Something’s happened to your friends,” Twilight explains. “The same thing that happened to you. Now, can you recall any other details about your trip.” “We … we were all about to leave the cave, when Gallus spotted some colorful logs not far from the tree.” Applejack cocks her head. “Did you say ‘colorful logs’?” “Yeah, they were all sorts of bright colors … actually, they matched all your colors,” Ocellus says. “One was bright purple, just like headmare Twilight. And one was sky blue. And one was—” “If I may hazard a guess,” Rarity interrupts, “did you happen to pick up a white log?” “… I did. We all picked up a different log, and mine was white.” “What happened next?” Twilight asks. “I remember leaving the cave with the others. We started heading back to the stairs leading out of the valley … and then …” Ocellus looks up at the ceiling and back down to the floor. “And after that, I started to feel like I was in a dream. Like, I started losing control over my actions; I was like a doll with strings attached.” “A mareionette,” Rarity suggests. “I tried fighting back, but I just kept getting pushed further and further away, until all I could do was go along for the ride. But then I … we heard your story, and it seemed to break her. It gave me a chance to fight back, and then … then I woke up, and …” She again looks around the room. “And … here I am.” Refocused and resolute, Twilight turns to face her friends. “Spike, go down to the student quarters and bring Gallus back. The rest of you … we have some demons to purge.”