//------------------------------// // GENEROSITY // Story: Love . Sick // by KitsuneRisu //------------------------------// G E N E R O S I T Y She didn't know how long it had been since she started, but she knew that the end was in a place that she hadn't counted on being. Panic had caused her to dart around without thinking, and now with the chance to regain her senses, she found her options had severely limited themselves. She had stopped, in the middle of a dark area of forest. The sun had set a while ago, and all that was left were a few streaks of lightning to temporarily cast familiar shapes upon the scene around. She didn't feel like running. She didn't have the energy, the spirit, or the heart. She stood there, resigned to her fate. The thunder roared and lightning once again lit up the scene. Amidst the rain, tapping on leaves and branches, and the trees that eventually closed off all sight in a radius around her, was Twilight Sparkle, wet, cold, and miserable, standing in the middle of a patch of familiar blue plants. Her horn had stopped working a few minutes ago. Without magic, she now didn't even have the chance to make her way back using the tools she normally would have at her disposal. The poison joke laughed at her, and robbed her of her powers. Clinging to her ankles like tiny little hands reaching up through the ground just for a chance to stroke her luscious skin, they sapped of her the individuality that would be a most welcome ability in dire need. She waded through the patch, shivering, sniffing, alone. She was... scared. She looked up, drops of rain hitting her in the face and eye, running over the cut on her chin and washing her down to her soul. A few more steps were taken, in whichever direction, as Twilight proceeded carefully through the dense brush, stumbling over a rock or root whenever it happened to be just right to do so. "...light..." She froze. Her eyes widened. The skin on her back dropped ten degrees in temperature, as her hair prickled up and the wind died down. "...Tw...l...t..." Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. What was that. What was that? It came from behind her. Definitely. Maybe. All sounds faded away as she heard what appeared to be her name being called in the middle of nowhere. And then the roaring pour of water came back as her senses were regained. It was accompanied by a high pitched buzzing that Twilight knew was just in her head. It was the kind of warning that she gave herself when she knew that she just shouldn't be somewhere. "... ig..t..." She did not want to turn around. She closed her eyes, letting the water run down her body. A twig snapped. Audibly. Clearly. "Celestia... please..." she said to herself, barely over a whisper. "Help me... please..." "Twilight" the voice intoned. It was directly in her left ear. Twilight's eyes bolted open, but only saw it for a second. It was a figure. Dark. Illuminated by the moon. It had pallid skin, and was barely in the shape of a pony, but it was pony-ish at the very least. It stood there without moving, featureless, emotionless. It had no eyes. That was enough. Twilight took off from a standing start, her legs racing to keep up with her beating heart. It wasn't clear which one was moving at a faster pace. It was only that one split second of sight, that she caught it, and out of the corner of her vision, but whatever it was that she saw there that was calling her name, she let her imagination fill in the blanks. And usually that is the worst thing one can do in a situation like this. But the voice. There was no avoiding the voice. It wasn't male, it wasn't female. It wasn't anything she ever heard before. It sounded like the grating of carrots. It sounded like the purring of cats. It had that strange roughness to it, and a distinct warbling that sounded like someone trying to talk underwater. It clearly wasn't pony. It clearly wasn't real. That's right. It's not real. It's just that horrible poison joke, doing another nasty on her. She laughed, suddenly and harshly, as the thought of it ran through her head. Yes, nothing to worry about, nothing to wo... "Twilight" She turned so quickly that she ended up careening into a tree, hitting herself hard on the chest and knocking out whatever little breath she had left. It wasn't that running wasn't easy for her, but she really had nothing left to supply the oxygen that her entire body was screaming for. She wheezed, propping herself up on her front leg, body dangling in the back, trailing in the mud. Through dizzy eyes and blurred vision she saw that figure again. It was right in front of her this time, walking slowly toward her with spasmodic pacing. It was an uneven gait - one leg following after the other, but at random intervals, like a spider examining its surroundings. Somehow, it managed to stay upright, and even manage to catch up with Twilight with its slow saunter. "Twilight" it said again. Twilight didn't know if the word 'said' was appropriate. She strained to see, but the creature definitely did not open its mouth when it spoke. The voice came from it, but it didn't say it. She still swore it didn't have eyes. She struggled around the side of the tree, using her teeth, forelegs, whatever she had at her disposal to clamber around to the other side, where she could catch her breath. The thing behind her hit the tree. She could hear it. There was a slight clonk. And then... silence. It did not seem to be attempting to reach for her around it. And maybe it didn't want to, either. Twilight knew she was stuck, and perhaps this was part of the idea. She couldn't go left or right. It would be able to know. The only way to go was straight away from the tree in the opposite direction, leaving that horrible monstrosity behind her. Was it... a trap? She didn't have time to think. The waiting was destroying her as the seconds ticked by. It was a strange mystery. She didn't want to hear anything, but yet, she did. She didn't even know now if that thing was still there. Maybe it was in front of her now, waiting in the darkness. Maybe it was above her, waiting in the tree. "Twilight" The voice confirmed its location, and her plan of action. She took a few more final, rapid, deep breaths and pushed herself off the tree as hard as her aching legs could take her, and ran from the location deeper into the woods. Thunder crashed. Lightning roared. She ignored it. The ground around her hooves turned softer. No longer were there small rocks or boulders which defined the forest ground. It seemed to be a path now. Dirt and mud, it was a well-travelled path, cut out between orderly rows of trees. In fact, and Twilight had just noticed, the trees were much more sparse now. Spread out, and even, almost as if they were... Planted! She looked up in hope. Apples. Yes! Apples. Oh Celestia, thank you, thank you. She had brought her here, back to the farm. It was the farm, right? Definitely. Twilight peeked back over her shoulder. No one. That thing wasn't there. Oh thank goodness. Thank goodness. She slowed down a little bit. Still looking and peering around cautiously, but nothing immediately catching her attention. It was still very hard to see anyway. The farm was never really lit up that much at night. The sound of crickets protesting the weather became clearer, but that only meant that she was back in a familiar place. It was all going to be ok. It was all going to be ok. She jogged along the trees, not paying attention anymore to the ground in front of her because she knew Applejack didn't leave things out, especially not in the rain. That's why she never expected it when it hit her in the eye. She came skidding to a halt under a particularly tall tree, mud pushed up all over her body and face. The mud, seeping into her wound, reminded her again of the scratch she had. She coughed, muddy water filling her nose and mouth, assaulting her senses, and bringing her to look back at what she walked into. It was this long thick strand of... something. Twilight squished closer for a better view. Rope. That's all it was. It was tied around the trunk of the tree. Twilight reached up to touch it, just as one does when one is curious about something. The lightning lit up the bark. It had been tied over something. Something carved into the bark of the tree. She strained to read what it said, waiting for the moon to peek through the clouds and give her the opportunity. ApPleJack ♥ TwILiGht SparKlE was crudely carved into the tree with a jackknife. The rope had been tied in a way that it crossed out Applejack's name. Twilight's heart sank. It couldn't possibly be. It just couldn't. She stepped backward, her rear leg hitting what she later would find to be a wooden cart, toppled over backward and laying upside down in the soil. She was already crying as she trailed her eyes upward, following the rope to a branch, and following it down to the shadow of a corpse swinging gently on the end of a lasso. "No... No...!" Twilight wailed. "Why!? Why?! Applejack! No!" Her voice turned to breathy squeals as everything was sucked out of her from repeating that same mantra over and over for far too long. She dropped to her back, holding her hooves over her temples, as she stared up at the body. It looked serene. It looked happy. If it were any other day, she would look even better than normal. "This... is... not..." Twilight struggled against her choking sobs. "What... I... wanted!" The sheer ridiculousness of what she said just hit her. Of course, it wasn't what she wanted. None of this was what she wanted. Princess Celestia... this... magic. What was it? It was horrible. Every part of it. It was only two days ago but she now wondered what possessed her to eagerly tell the world of this forbidden relationship. "Twilight" Oh no... enough. Please. I beg you. Whatever is out there that still has some good left in them. Please let this not be what I think it is. Please. Dear Celestia. Dear Luna. Dear Powers That Be. Please. Please. The creature stood there, with the rope separating itself from where Twilight sat, throwing up over herself in the mud. It took a step forward, the rope pushing against its face as if it were not even there. The corpse above quavered with the pressure, heavy under the weight of water soaking into languished flesh. Twilight turned, struggled behind the cart, and started to run yet again. There was simply nothing else she wanted to do besides this. She wanted to run away from this all. From the horror and the nightmares. Yes, that's what this was. It was a nightmare. She was still asleep, in Applejack's barn, and she would wake up and that would be that and... "Twilight Sparkle! Over here!" This time she opened her eyes to something that gave her more than the calm of relief. At this point she would take anything. Especially Rarity. "Quick!" Rarity yelled, "Oh you poor darling! We've been looking for you forever! Hurry and get to the boutique!" Twilight fumbled toward the voice. It was Rarity, alright, standing there under her saddle-umbrella, a lantern being floated by her horn. It barely worked in the storm, but it guided well enough. She stood at the edge of the fence which separated the farm grounds from the path that led up to the barn, waving Twilight over. "I don't know what's been happening, darling, but it's been madness around here! Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and I have been looking for you ever since you disappeared yesterday and oh my, you do look dreadful! Come in out of the rain, quickly! You'll catch your death of cold!" Twilight was so happy to hear Rarity's long-winded speeches that she wished she could just listen to them forever. The nightmare was ending. At least by this account, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were doing alright. They raced to Carousel Boutique, Twilight shaking off most of the mud before entering. "Oh my dear, my poor dear," Rarity said, gathering up a bunch of fresh, clean towels. "You look absolutely terrible. What happened to you?" Twilight took some time to regain her senses. It was nice to be out of the rain, and especially nice to be in a warm, cosy place like Rarity's. The events of the past day still weighed heavily on her mind, but at least now she had the opportunity to settle down and let them sink in at their own pace. "It's just... I don't know where to begin," said Twilight. "It's impossible. Everything that happened... is impossible." "Take your time, while I get you some nice hot tea," said Rarity, gently pouring Twilight a fresh mug. The mug had flowers on it. Twilight ran everything through her head. she didn't even know what she should say. Applejack? That would be traumatizing. Rainbow Dash and the fact that half the town were members of some weird cult? No. Maybe not now. "There's some sort of thing in the forest," Twilight decided. "It's... like a weird... non-pony pony. And I think it's after me. It's been chasing me all night, and it keeps..." She shuddered. "Saying my name." "Oh?" said Rarity, her back turned to Twilight as she worked on the tea. "Yeah and in this really weird voice too, like almost mechanical..." "Well," came the reply. She should be more concerned. She really, really should be more concerned. "Rarity?" "I'm sorry I'm not perfect," huffed Rarity. "What?" "I know the voice is a bit strange, but it was the best I could do, and I think for a day's work it was quite good, wouldn't you agree?" she turned around with the cup of tea hovering beside her. Twilight gulped. Nothing went down. She had run dry ages ago. "Rarity... do... you know... that thing?" "Of course I do. I made her with my own two hooves!" She held them out for effect. They were bruised. Cuts lined Rarity's perfect white skin, and open sores scarred her flesh. "Theeeeese hooves!" "Rarity! What have... you been doing!?" The door behind Twilight slammed shut. In the full light of the boutique, she could now clearly see what had been chasing her. It was one of Rarity's mannequins; the ponies upon which she draped her fashions. This one had torn free from restraint and was now walking amongst their midst, like a flaccid mockery of life. Extensive work had been done to 'prepare' it. There were huge tears in its side, sewn-up cuts of various widths and thicknesses, and altogether it looked like a patchwork of cloth and stuffing. The worst part about it was that it had the same pale, white, flesh colouring of Rarity, and three diamonds stitched into either side of its flank. A faux mane and tail, purple in colour, hung off its back and rear, but entirely drenched now and falling down to the side like straggles of seaweed clutching to the side of a shipwreck. It didn't have any eyes. "It took me hours, darling, but I finally made it work," Rarity said. "You see, the key was using a real diaphragm to get it to speak, although it still sounds a bit like Opal, as you've no doubt heard. Poor dear, really. But I'll get a better one soon, I promise!" "How... why...!?" Twilight looked frantically around the room, spotting a soggy, wet sheet covering a tiny red lump hiding behind the dressing cupboard. "Mmmph, well I was thinking about the other day, darling," said Rarity, bringing over the tea as if nothing were the matter. The doll stood there by the door, silently. "Oh, gorgeous thing, don't you think so? Looks exactly like me," Rarity remarked, as the doll caught her eye. "Anyway, I was just thinking to myself, how unbelievably selfish it must be for me to want to call you my own, but show nothing for it." "Your... your own?" "why yeeeeees, darling, of course!" sang Rarity, her picture perfect hair bobbing as she nodded. "Now of course your announcement was just a challenge, I could see that as clear as everypony else, but how could I be so terribly self-centered not to be around you as much as I possibly can? "I know I can't compare with the others, definitely, I simply have so much work to do. So that's why I made her." She stroked the faux Rarity with a hoof, some of its skin peeling off like flaking scales. "She will be there when I cannot, and that way, I can be around you twenty-four hours a day!" she gleefully tittered. "Isn't it brilliant?" she asked. "Twilight" the doll 'said'. "Oh yes, I shall improve its vocabulary, as well. So much to do. So much!" She daintily flowed back to Twilight. "So, do you accept, then?" "A... accept what?" "My love of course! Silly little pony." She bipped Twilight on the nose. "Ugh, mud." She wiped off her hoof carefully on one of the stray cloths. "You see, between me and those other four yokels, there wasn't any competition, so I never really needed to say anything, of course. But now that Princess Celestia entered the picture, why! I needed to... mmph, step up my game, as they say, colloquially." "But... how... Rarity... how?" Twilight groaned, weakly. Knowing that Rarity was behind this strange monstrosity wasn't making things any better. In fact, seeing it in full view was perhaps more unnerving than it had been chasing her around in the forest. "Oh, it was the strangest thing! Ever since you mentioned your... attachment to Princess Celestia, I just sort of knew." She shrugged. "I knew I had that spell lying around in my horn somewhere, just waiting to come out. "But anyway! There's no problem!" Rarity concluded, clopping her hooves together. "Now we three will always be together. Forever!" "Forever" the doll intoned. "Oh look, it learnt a new word! Isn't that precious?" Rarity trilled. Twilight had been inching her way to the window ever since Rarity started her tirade. Now. While Rarity was distracted. Quickly. Out the window. Twilight noticed a small bolt of cloth, half-processed into a dress, that was sitting there on the table beside her. She knew she had to do what was necessary. She grabbed the shiny blue silk and rubbed it vigorously over her face, letting the mud, tears, sweat and fear soak into it. And then with a flick of her head she tossed it across the room, letting it hit the wall and slog down. "Oh my gosh, Rarity, your dress!" She yelled, and dived out the window head first into the bushes behind the boutique. The screams that came from within could not compare to anything that Twilight herself had made that night. The cold, raspy, death wail of a pony who had just had her very soul ripped out of her own chest paled in comparison. As Twilight ran off into the distance of the town square ahead, the shrieking kept up until it was too, finally drowned out by the noise of the rain and angry winds. And perhaps till this day, she is shrieking still.