//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door // by Jetfire2012 //------------------------------// Rarity's horn shimmered, and the teacup raised off its saucer to her lips. She sipped it daintily, relishing in the pleasantly warm spring day, the immaculate white tablecloth, the soft pink napkins and the gilded silverware. “May I trouble you for the scones?” a voice asked to her left. Turning, Rarity saw a young unicorn foal, her body still chubby with baby fat. Her white flanks were bare, and her deep blue eyes were large in her small head. Her violet mane and tail, however, were primly curled into great ringlets, almost too large for her small body. “Certainly,” Rarity said, using her magic to pass the flowery china plate. “Dearest, could you top me off? And do get me an orange slice, please,” said a voice to her right. Rarity looked and saw a unicorn much advanced in years. Her white coat seemed slightly faded, though it still shone in the sunlight. Her body showed that stretching gauntness that creeps up inevitably on creatures in old age. There were crow's feet around her deep blue eyes. Her mane was a slightly muted purple, as was her tail, and a long line of white ran through both. She wore crystal-framed pince-nez glasses, and a necklace of crystal around her neck. Her triple gemstone cutie mark was still bright on both flanks. “Oh, yes, of course,” Rarity said. Her horn shimmered again, lifting the tea kettle over to the old unicorn's cup and gently pouring the warm brown liquid; it steamed as it tumbled into her glass. “I believe I would like a sandwich, darling,” a voice in front of her said. Looking straight ahead, Rarity glanced across the table at a very large horse, her long legs and elegant torso requiring a much larger chair than the other three ponies. Her velvety white coat occasionally sparkled in gleams of blinding white. Her mane and tail were deep violet, and wound into several very long ringlets that shifted in the breeze, each time making a sound like the soft chiming of a bell. Her long, sharp horn rose high off her head, and beneath it, above her graceful snout, deep blue eyes glanced gently at Rarity, a single star burning far within the pupils. A pair of enormous butterfly wings, gossamer-thin and swathed all the colors of the rainbow, were folded along her sides. She wore a necklace of crystal with writing on it in a strange, flowing script. On each flank, a triangular arrangement of gemstones was placed, and transposed in the gemstones' midst was a violet starburst. “Here you are,” Rarity said, lifting the plate of cucumber sandwiches with her magic and passing it across the table. For a moment, the four ponies sat in comfortable silence, enjoying their tea. Then Rarity finished her cup, and lowered it. “If I may ask, who are you all?” The young foal set down her half-eaten scone. “I'm who you were.” The old mare set down her cup. “I'm who you will be.” “And you?” Rarity asked the great butterfly-winged unicorn. She set down her sandwich. “I'm what is within you.” “That's not terribly straightforward,” Rarity said. “Certainly not compared to Miss Past and Madam Future, here.” The winged unicorn smiled. “I'm them as well. I am what you were, what you are, and what you will be. I am your full flowering, darling- the actualization of your potential, to use Coltestotle's terminology.” “So I could be you,” Rarity said. “I'm the you that's most you. I'm what happens when what's inside you comes out.” “I don't understand,” Rarity murmured. “I do wish you would be clearer.” “If you want clarity, I suggest you look behind you,” the great winged unicorn said. Rarity turned in her chair. Something vast and shadowy rose up from the horizon. It was long, but broad- impossibly long and impossibly broad, filling the sky, blotting out the sun, its long neck ending in its huge head. Suddenly, it tumbled down at her- “Buwaah!” Rarity yelped as she came awake, sitting up in her futon. Fortunately, the crystal ceiling was just high enough to keep her from hitting her head. Her horn still tingled with all the magic in the air. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that it was just a dream. And what an interesting dream it had been. She turned her head to the left. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sound asleep, the former snoring gently, the latter curled up in her silk sheets. Wriggling out from her own covers, Rarity crawled gently to the curtain at the bower's entrance and peeked out from below it. The woods were still lit with the golden pinpoints high above, the brightness unchanged from hours before. The passage of time was not evident, but Rarity knew from her internal sense that dawn was still many hours away. Nevertheless, she felt oddly rested, not tired in the least. Perhaps it was the magic in the air- Twilight Sparkle had once told her that unicorns' magic circuits would send excess power they absorbed into a unicorn's mind and body, refreshing them both. Whatever the reason, while she could go back to sleep, she didn't feel she needed to. Careful to be quiet, she slid out of the bower, bracing her knees for the small drop to the ground. She couldn't explain her sudden wanderlust- she'd been doing plenty of journeying on this trip already, and didn't know why she wanted more. Nevertheless, she was compelled to explore where she could. The dream she had just had was also weighing on her mind. What had that last great shadow been? For that matter, what had the great winged unicorn been? Her past and future selves had been easy to understand, but the butterfly-winged horse defied her mind. What had she meant, she was Rarity's full flowering? She came to the edge of the sleeping area, and with some hesitance plunged into the trees, the golden light above ensuring she was not in the dark. The white unicorn felt a gentle tug of magic from her right, compelling her to turn and follow through great, tall oaks, their upper branches knitted together by the network of walkways she had seen the day before. Abruptly, the branches hung lower, forming another tunnel like the one that had led to Falalauria's tower. Rarity's horn pulsed, indicating great power was ahead. She lightened her hoofsteps, making as little noise as she could by the time she reached the tunnel's end. A great clearing, its roof high with towering branches, emerged, pale golden grass springing up around her hooves. She was not far from the shore of a moderately sized lake. Unlike the golden tinge of the surrounding foliage, the lake was a silent mirror of silver, seemingly unmoved by the general gilded ambiance. She could see magic rising from the water, wavering faintly like summer heat. There was a perimeter of brush and bushes around the trees just before the clearing. Rarity ducked off into it to her left, hiding herself from sight, and not a moment too soon, for on the far right shore of the lake, two deer emerged. Though both bore dull gray antlers on their heads, one, thinner and narrower, was clearly a doe, while the other, with more muscle and a squarer head, was clearly a buck. Rarity's eyes widened as she saw the doe wearing a basket around her flanks, and was even more surprised when a tiny, narrow head peaked out from the wicker rim. It was a fawn, very young, perhaps a few days old. The pair of older deer stopped at the lakeshore, and the doe's antlers shimmered. The basket was lifted off her side, set on the ground, and tipped gently over. The fawn crawled slowly out, and with a trembling in its tiny legs, it rose to its hooves. It took a few steps forward, full of apprehension, then tumbled over. She could see the doe's face fill with affection that could only be called maternal. Doe and buck turned at an angle to face close to her direction, and Rarity worried for a moment that they had seen her. Instead, her eyes widened again, for Falalauria emerged out of the trees, her antlers bare, a circlet of silver on her head. The mother and father bowed low at her approach, and the golden hind nodded her head in turn. The small gathering of deer paused for a few moments- except for the fawn, who tried to stand up again, then gave it up and looked intently at the enormous shape of the newcomer. Falalauria lowered her head, a smile curling her lips. She very gently nuzzled the little fawn, sniffing as she did. Then she raised her head, and spoke to the two parents; Rarity could not hear what she said, and she reasoned she wouldn't have been able to understand the words anyway. The doe and the buck then spoke, and both of them nodded. Then they turned and retreated more than a dozen paces. Falalauria turned to her left and took a few steps, bringing her to the water's edge. She lowered her head, stepped forward again, and tilted it, dunking her left antler in the lake. When she raised her head, the antler was drenched, dripping a cloud's worth of lake water. She turned back to the fawn and advanced slowly, until she was upon it, where she angled her wet antler over it. The tiny deer was drizzled by the falling drops of water. Falalauria walked in a small circle around the fawn, keeping her dripping antler over it, letting more and more water fall upon it until it was thoroughly drenched. When she reached the spot she had started from, she raised her head, and her left antler shimmered; in an instant it was dry. The golden hind then lowered her head to the wet fawn. Its wide, innocent eyes stared up into the dark night skies between her eyelids. It raised its tiny head and nuzzled her. She licked it on its left cheek, then on its right, and then she gently kissed the top of its bare head. It struck Rarity then that she had intruded upon something sacred and private. She felt she should leave, yet she didn't dare move for fear of making a sound. Falalauria raised her head again and spoke to the doe and the buck, who in turn advanced upon their child. The buck spoke for a moment, and the doe spoke next. The doe stepped up to the fawn, bent down, and licked it on its left cheek, then its right cheek, and then she kissed it on the head, just as Falalauria had done. Then it was the buck's turn, and he repeated the same lick, lick, kiss. Both parents looked to the golden hind. She nodded her great head. The white-tails bowed low in unison. When they rose, the mother's antlers shimmered faint orange, lifting the fawn off the ground and back into its basket, which then lifted up and back onto the mother's side. Falalauria turned from them and began to walk away. The buck and the doe turned to the right and headed back whence they had come, passing through the trees and out of sight. Falalauria was walking in Rarity's direction, and the white unicorn was doubly nervous now. Would Falalauria detect her? She had great magic, and of course there was her powerful Long Sight. She didn't want to upset Falalauria. Rarity quickly cast a cloaking spell, shimmering her body out of sight. She wasn't confident it would be enough to hide her, but if the golden hind wasn't actively looking for her, it might be sufficient. A melody wafted through her ears, and Rarity realized that Falalauria was singing, her beautiful voice chiming with music. She sang in the flowing language, the words spiraling from her lips into a graceful song that Rarity could not understand, but it made her heart ache. She could feel the sadness in it, a gently sinking gloom settling in her chest, making the night darker, her loneliness dearer, her worries sharper. She continued for a few minutes, slowly drawing closer to Rarity, her song gradually fading away. Then she began to sing another song in another language, a language choppier and with heavier syllables. Yet the song was just as sad, indeed, perhaps it was sadder, for the harder sounds of the other language made the dense intonations of this new song weigh even heavier on Rarity's heart. The white unicorn sniffed, then held her breath in nervousness- had Falalauria heard her? The golden hind gave no indication, walking ever closer. She turned at the bend in the clearing and continued to walk. The lake was as placid as ever. She got closer to Rarity, and the song in the choppy language faded away. After a moment's pause, she started another song, and this one surprised Rarity, because she could understand this one- it was sung in Equestrian, low and gentle: Gil-Galad was an Elken King, Of him the harpers sadly sing. The last whose realm was fair and free Between the Mountains and the Sea. His hooves were sharp, his antlers keen, His shining helm afar was seen. The countless stars of Heaven's field Were mirrored in his silver shield. But long ago he rode awa-aay, And where he dwelleth none can sa-aay. Into darkness fell his star In Annudûr where Shadows are. When Falalauria had finished this song, she was right in front of Rarity. She stopped walking and turned her head to the white unicorn, cloaked and hidden in the bushes. “Hello, Rarity.” Startled, Rarity dropped her cloak. Fidgeting for a moment, she then stepped out of the bushes, feeling guilty. “Forgive me, My Lady,” she said with a nod of her head. “I didn't mean to eavesdrop.” “I know you didn't,” said the golden hind, turning to face her in full. “I sensed your presence when I arrived.” “Oh!” Rarity said, feeling more ashamed; her ears flattened against her head. “I'm so sorry for intruding on that ceremony. I never intended to disturb you.” “My subjects were not aware of you, and that is what matters,” Falalauria said. “A baptism is not so delicate that an onlooker's presence nullifies it. I know the Dawn and Dusk ceremonies your foals go through in Equestria permit observers.” Having attended Sweetie Belle's Dawn and Dusk, Rarity knew this. If Falalauria did not mind, she wouldn't trouble herself about it, and she had other questions. “My Lady,” she began, “that song you were singing just now... it was beautiful.” “I think so,” Falalauria agreed. “So beautiful, though so sad, as well.” “Oh, yes,” Rarity agreed. “But I wondered... why was it in Equestrian, when your other songs were not?” “Because Luna wrote it, long ago,” the golden hind said, to Rarity's amazement. “She wrote it when she was still a student, taking music. It is a song of mourning, and the Elders approved of it greatly. That seems to be all we deer do in this present age,” she said with a sigh. “Mourn- weep for what we have lost. More than a thousand years since my instruction, I can still hear the Elders' insistent refrain. Mourn, they said. Mourn always, mourn forever, for the deerfolk were once the apex of the Earth, but we destroyed ourselves in greed and anger. We deserve always to mourn. And for my own part, I heard them- and I mourn.” Her starscape eyes regarded Rarity. “What do you think of that, Rarity?” “I...” Rarity began slowly. “I suppose I can't wrap my mind around it. We're taught very little about your war in Equestria- we know some things, to be sure, but not a great deal. If you're asking me how being told to mourn would set with me, however, I must admit, it would seem to get very tiring. Nopony can be sad forever, can they?” “The Elders certainly seemed to try,” Falalauria said. She turned and began to continue her walk around the shore of the lake. Rarity fell into step beside her. “Most of them are gone now. All the days I knew them, they were sad. How could they not be, having lived what they lived?” “How much do you know about the war, My Lady?” She tilted her head towards Rarity. “Some. I did not live through it- I was born long after it ended. I heard the tales of it from the Elders, though... and I Looked back into the past.” She sighed again. “From what I have come to know, it was terrible. There was such death and destruction, on a scale like nothing the world has seen since. Pray to Celestia, pray to Luna, pray to The Wills That Draw The World that ponydom never sees anything like it.” “It sounds simply dreadful,” Rarity agreed. “It was- and so I mourn,” Falalauria said. Then she straightened her head. “Yet my white-tails do not. I have not taught them to.” “Really?” Rarity asked. “Why not?” “It's as you said- no creature can live their whole life in sadness. The Elders could well be sad, because they were once happy, but I could not impress perpetual mourning upon my deer.” Falalauria's voice grew firmer. “The Elders saw us as a dying folk, withering away until in time there would be nothing left. And it is true that we have lost much- there is much to mourn over. But there is still life in us. The fawn you saw this night was one of several born this spring. If he does not come to harm, he will live for a century at least. The deer are not dead, no matter what the Elders thought, and I shall not have their despair finish what the war started. So my white-tails have not been taught to mourn. Instead, I have taught them to laugh.” Falalauria gave a small guffaw. “Well, perhaps not to laugh. We must maintain appearances. I have taught them to smile, though.” Rarity smiled. “That sounds like something my friend Pinkie Pie would say,” she said. “Though she would likely have started singing by this point.” A reminder flashed through her mind. “Speaking of, those other two songs, the ones not in Equestrian: I heard them in two different languages. I've heard two different languages all the time I have been here. What are they?” “The second song was sung in the native language of the white-tail deer,” Falalauria explained, “the language we have had since ancient times. We take our names in that language, even me.” She smiled. “I was so noisy as a fawn, my father told me I was forever cooing and babbling at those who approached me. So the first part of my name means 'speech' in native white-tail, or Cervóla. However, the language we use in conversation is Laewtil, which is the shared language of all the deerfolk. It was created to serve as a common tongue when the Six Species decided to unite into a single civilization. The elk invented it- they were always skilled at clever and intricate things. That was the language of the first song.” She suddenly craned her neck upwards, tilting her head to the right. “Pardon me for a moment.” She vanished on the spot. Rarity was left standing by the shore of the lake. It didn't surprise her that Falalauria could teleport as well- she was enormously powerful, after all. It was so convenient a skill, and the deer made it look so easy, far easier than it had seemed when Twilight Sparkle was trying to teach her. I still wish she hadn't bothered!, Rarity thought. Now that she had, however, Rarity could not but feel bound to learn the skill. It was a bit like Rainbow Dash's obligation to learn lightning, though certainly not as traumatically induced. Still, Twilight had tried to help her, Twilight had suffered in the attempt, and Rarity had a duty to complete what she had started. Falalauria appeared at that moment. “Forgive me,” she said, “I had to attend to something at my tower. The barrier across the Archback Mountains does not maintain itself.” She saw Rarity's forlorn look. “What's wrong?” “It's just...” Rarity sighed. “Your teleportation is so elegant and simple-looking. I don't know if you've ever seen a unicorn teleport, but it's accompanied by a tremendous cloud of magic and sparkles. Very gaudy, and while normally I wouldn't shy away from gaud, in this case it looks too pompous. I like your way much better, judged solely by appearances.” “You do, now?” Falalauria asked with raised brows. “Very much so!” The golden hind smiled. “Would you like to learn it?” Rarity gasped. “Learn it? Me? Oh, I would love to! But- can I? Isn't it deer magic?” “Magic is magic,” Falalauria said. “Any creature capable of learning spells can learn any spell from any species' folio. It's a matter of having enough power and enough skill. Some deer magic requires more power than the average unicorn could muster, but our teleportation spell is very low-power. As to skill, to learn our spell requires great attention to detail and a strong imagination. Have you those?” “Yes!” Rarity exclaimed, bursting with excitement. “Well, then,” said Falalauria, “I shall teach you here and now. It's not difficult once you have mastered the nuances. Tell me first: how do unicorns teleport? What are the mechanics of the spell? Do you know them?” “Well...” the white unicorn thought back to what Twilight had tried to teach her. “My friend Twilight Sparkle- you know about her already- said that unicorns teleport by picturing themselves in the place they want to go. They make a mental picture of the place, then a picture of themselves being there, and then they channel their magic.” “So it relies on imagery,” Falalauria said. “Our teleportation spell is grounded in sensation.” She stepped closer, towering right over Rarity. “To put ourselves in a different place, we deer don't think about what it looks like. We rather think about how it feels. We use our sense of touch to begin the spell; we imagine what the space around our new location will feel like on our skin and coat and hooves.” “I see!” Rarity said. “You must feel, not see,” Falalauria said with a smile. Her star-filled eyes blinked slowly. “I believe you can do it. Your life has suited you for this style of teleporting. You make dresses, yes?” “I do,” Rarity said proudly. “The finest, most fashionable couture in all of Equestria!” “Hmm, that was an elkish word just now,” Falalauria commented. “At any rate, you are familiar, not merely with the color of various fabrics, but with their texture, yes? With their feel and weight?” “Absolutely,” Rarity said, happiness spreading through her as it always did when she discussed her passion. “A proper designer must always know her fabrics by feel. One must be able to tell tweed from mohair from hopsack from linen from cashmere with one's eyes closed! In Neighples they have a saying: even a blind pony can dress well. I certainly think so.” “So you know how to touch things and learn about them,” Falalauria said. “You should be able to make mental notes of how things feel. That is the key to our style of teleportation.” Walking around Rarity, she lowered her head and spoke gently into her ear. “Instead of trying to picture your destination's appearance, imagine how it feels. Imagine how it will feel when you are in it- what the ground under your hooves will be like, what the space will feel like around you, what the air on your skin will feel like. You can even try to imagine how it will sound. Instead of picturing yourself appearing in the new place, imagine what it will feel like to already be there.” Rarity thought for a moment. It seemed straightforward enough. Could she do it? If it was as much like fabric-feeling as Falalauria suggested, she certainly could. “And after I do that, I just channel the magic through my horn?” “Through your horn, through your thoughts,” Falalauria said with a nod. “We can try it right now.” Rarity swallowed. “Do you think I'm ready?” “It is not a very complicated spell,” she said, “and all it really needs is practice. Start simply: teleport to the other shore of the lake,” she nodded forward, across the silvery surface of the water. “I'll go there and mark your destination.” Falalauria teleported across the lake, standing almost in a straight line from Rarity on the other side. “Teleport right next to me,” she said, her voice sounding like it was still in Rarity's ear. “Don't picture it- feel it. Imagine the grass beneath your hooves. Imagine the still night air against your skin. Imagine the soft silence in your ears.” Rarity slowly closed her eyes. She thought about the other side of the lake. She concentrated, but did not strain, letting the impressions come to her gently. The other side would be grassy, but perhaps a bit shorter growing. The dirt would be just slightly damper because of where Falalauria's baptismal water had splashed. It would be a bit softer. The night air would be gentle against her skin. From high above, the soft golden light would whisper against her white coat. The smell of the forest near there would be earthy and wild. “Now, let your magic flow through your feelings.” Rarity allowed her magic circuit to open, allowed power to flow into it from the world, out of it from her body. She let her mind fill with magic, let magic wash over her imaginings like the ocean on the beach. More magic flowed through her, concentrating in her horn and radiating into space. “Go.” Rarity gave her magic the tiniest of pushes. The world was quiet. It was as if nothing had happened. Her spirits fell. At least this time there hadn't been a messy explosion... “Well done, Rarity,” Falalauria's voice said in her ear. Then Rarity noticed the grass around her hooves didn't feel quite the same as it had moments ago. Her eyes snapped open. Falalauria was standing beside her. She looked across the lake, and saw the very spot she had stood moments ago. She looked down. She was on the other side. A smile slowly crept over Rarity's face, stretching into the most enormous of grins. She stamped her hooves on the ground in glee. “WAHAHA!!” she cried, jumping for joy. “I DID IT! I DID IT!! It wasn't hard at all!” She focused on the bank to her left. She imagined all sorts of feelings- the grass, the dirt, the light, the air, the sound. She kept her eyes open this time, and so there was a skip in the world around her, like a twitch passing over her vision, and then she was looking at another section of the forest, and she turned around to see Falalauria standing at an angle on the bank far to her right. “I did it!” She looked across the lake. It was farther across from this side than from the other set of banks. She concentrated, focused on the rush of sensations she imagined from the far bank. She channeled her magic- it didn't take much power at all!- and the world twitched around her once more, and she was standing on the opposite bank. She teleported back to Falalauria's side a moment later. “Twilight will be so proud of me!” Falalauria nodded. “You should be proud of yourself. You have achieved so much, Rarity. I've watched you.” Rarity looked intently up at the golden hind. “You were so unsure at the beginning, so hesitant at the start of your travels. I could not read your mind, so I could not see into your thoughts, but I knew that any creature who chose to enter willingly into such a perilous journey must be very brave, no matter what appearances showed. You have proven me correct.” Falalauria paused. Her night-sky eyes stared down at Rarity, and the white unicorn had the uncomfortable sensation that she was being looked inside of, similar to what she felt before Hammer Hoof, but far more intense, because she knew there was powerful magic scanning her. “Rarity,” Falalauria said, and the levity had vanished from her voice, “it is convenient that you found me this night. I knew you would come; I Saw it. Before I even knew of you, before I even perceived you and your friends journeying across Gildedale, I had a dream that you would come. Our paths, it seems, were fated to meet. Yet... I hesitate. I know what I ought to do, what I ought to say... but you have taken so many burdens upon yourself already. What I would say to you this night would add another, one I am reluctant to make you bear.” Rarity was startled by this. Falalauria had something to tell her? Something that would burden her? Her mind immediately flew to the others. Was it about them? Was it about Twilight Sparkle? It could be something that would help her, she thought, or perhaps one of the others. This idea played out across her mind and stuck there, and as it did her resolve hardened. “Is it something that would help my friends?” she asked. The golden hind did not answer immediately. “Yes,” she finally said. “Them, and perhaps many other creatures.” “Then tell me,” Rarity said, surprising herself with her lack of hesitation. “If it is a burden that others won't have to bear, tell me. I do not know if I'll be able to bear it... I'm not sure at all... but I must try.” “You say this without knowing a thing about what I would tell you,” Falalauria said. “It doesn't matter,” said the white unicorn. Her deep blue eyes wavered. “Or... it does matter,” she held her head up proudly, “but it shouldn't. I must strive for it not to matter. Tell me.” Falalauria smiled. “You are very strong and very brave, Rarity,” she said. “I should not have doubted you. What I said to you in the company of your friends before was not the truth.” “Regarding... what?” Rarity asked. “I do in fact know the gift bestowed by the Element of Generosity,” Falalauria told her. “I know it very well indeed.” “What is it?” Rarity asked. “It is a great and terrible gift,” Falalauria said slowly, “I say this from close experience.” “You have experience with the gift?” Rarity asked. Falalauria nodded slowly. “A great deal.” She watched Rarity stare at her for a moment. She knew it would come to the white unicorn. Sure enough, a few seconds later, her deep blue eyes bulged. Falalauria smiled sadly. “Yes: the Element of Generosity grants those aligned with it Long Sight- like the red deer. Like me.” She closed her eyes. “Congratulations, Rarity. May you not come to hate it.” “But...” Rarity began, clearly confused. “What on earth does your... sight beyond sight have to do with being generous? Wouldn't it make more sense if I had the gift of... I don't know... always being able to give things, no matter what?” “The truly generous are always able to give, even when they have no possessions or wealth,” Falalauria said. “They give of their time, they give of their talents, if they feel great love and see great need they even give their own lives. You know this, Rarity. You have been giving to ponies and creatures in need since the days when you had far less than you have now. You have never lacked for gifts to give, and you never will. What the generous need is the ability to discern who of those they meet are in need, and what those needs are. So the Element of Generosity grants them the ability to Look for what other creatures need. They can See in hidden places and across great distances, to find creatures that need their help. They can Look into a creature's past, to understand their experiences and the needs that arise from them. They can also Look into a creature's future, to see what needs they may someday have and prepare to meet them.” “I...” Rarity's mind was racing. “I'm not a seer! Twilight says-” “Twilight Sparkle does not know the full extent of the world's magic,” Falalauria said firmly. “I described my Sight to you, Rarity: how I see the choices and circumstances that will befall a creature or an object. Your own Sight is the same, at least I think it is. Moreover, you do have this gift. I have seen it in your life. How often do you perceive things that others miss? How often do you notice details that are, not only less than obvious, but nearly impossible to pick out by mere examination?” Falalauria inclined her head, her great antlers shimmering with magic. “How often have you known what your fellow ponies in Ponyville will need before they need it?” Rarity thought back across her memory. She had been giving to ponies since she was a foal... but now that she remembered, her gifts had not always been well-received, at least not at the time. This is because she had a tendency, starting when she was young, to give gifts that, while potentially useful, were not immediately so. Her recipients, whether they were her friends or strangers, would accept her gifts gladly, but say, 'Oh, Rarity, whenever shall I use this?' The answer would come days, weeks, months, even years later, but it would always come, and then those recipients would stop her in the street or even bang on her door, thanking her from the bottom of their hearts. And then there were her clothes! Her eyes widened further. She could always anticipate trends without fail, one, two, three, even four seasons ahead, and she was never wrong. Her loyal clients had learned to put their trust in her when she told them what they would be wearing more than a year ahead. They never asked how she knew. She never questioned how she knew. She simply knew. And when she looked at ponies, her mind would jump to where they had been, what they had been doing. She had chalked it up to her obsessive-compulsive attention to detail, and that was certainly part of it, but... “You begin to understand, don't you?” Falalauria said. “Your Sight is not fully like mine. You do not have my ability to sense the truth of things, so your visions of the future may never be as accurate. Still, even to see what might be is a powerful gift... powerful and terrible.” “But I can help other ponies!” Rarity said. “You've just said so! You know, I've been having dreams all this journey, and though they were nonsensical as dreams tend to be, there was always at least one element of them that made some sense, and it was a sense that wound up coming to pass days later!” “The stress of your journey has exercised your gift, just as it exercised Applejack's,” Falalauria said. “Moreover, you too have been drinking in the Shimmerwood's ambient magic, and it has boosted your gift's power.” “But I can exercise it more, right?” Rarity asked her. “I can make it stronger?” “If you choose,” Falalauria said. “As to how strong it could get... who can say? That is another thing, Rarity. While, in the past, there have been creatures who have strongly aligned with one of the Elements of Harmony, you and your friends are something new. There have never before been Bearers of the Elements: single creatures who fully embody each of the Elements and receive their gifts to an immeasurable extent. I cannot say how powerful your gift or any of your friends' gifts could become, and my Sight on the matter is dubious, the choices unclear. It may be that you will in time have Sight as accurate as mine... or even more so.” Her starscape eyes widened to their full size. “You may even be able to see the One True Future of all things, if such a Sight even exists.” Rarity's head was swimming. She could be an even more powerful Seer than Falalauria? And all her other friends had gifts from the Elements of Harmony? “You mentioned the gift was terrible as well,” she said, collecting herself. “What did you mean?” “Isn't that obvious?” Falalauria said. When she spoke next, her voice was soft: “You have the ability to Look into the future of every creature you meet. You can See the pain they will suffer. You can See their whole life before them. You can See how they might die, and you know that one of the ways you See will be accurate. You can Watch cities grow and fade and die. You can See whole families spread from a young couple and then wither into nothing. You can Watch the forests and the farmlands and even the mountains grow old. You can even See your own future.” Rarity's dread grew with each word. “Have you Seen your future, My Lady?” “I have,” Falalauria said. “I know almost certainly how I am going to die, and when it will be. And when I first learned it, it was every bit as terrible as you can imagine.” She turned to the right and began to walk around Rarity, eying her sidelong. “Knowing the future forces many horrible choices upon you. You are presented with opportunities to act, and you must weigh the futures you see as a result of each choice you make.” She stopped walking, and leveled a starscape eye at Rarity. “For example, I am deciding now whether or not I shall kill you- you and your friends.” Rarity's brain fuzzed out for a moment. She could manage only a very unladylike “Whu?” The stars grew in Falalauria's eyes, filling up the blackness until they shone blinding, empty white. “I have Seen what results from your journey to the Archback Mountains! I have Seen the Dark Thing you unleash! You will set in motion a chain of events that will destroy the Shimmerwood! A chain of events that will threaten millions of lives across the world!” White power swirled around her antlers. The golden pinpoints overhead turned white and began to flash in strobes; in the flickering, Rarity could see the branches of the trees begin to stretch out like horrible gnarled arms- reaching for her. With a shriek, she jumped back, tripping over her back legs and falling on her rump. Falalauria's voice was a powerful ringing that filled the whole of the air. “For the good of those millions- for the safety of the whole world!-I should annihilate you all right now! I could do it, too. It would be as nothing! Not even Rainbow Dash with her lightning could stand against me! My power rivals that of Celestia, and I am well-versed in Battle Magic!” Even the grass was reaching up to claw at Rarity. She shrieked. “Please!” she pleaded. “We don't mean any harm! We just want to save Twilight!” “But...” Rarity's hard-shut eye craned open. Falalauria's terrible face, aflame with power, began to grow dimmer. The strobing lights grew fainter and more regular. The tree limbs stopped stretching, began to withdraw. “But...” Falalauria's antlers lost their swirling white magic. Her eyes dimmed, the blinding light in them shrinking back into the tiny stars floating in the blackness. The lights overhead resumed their golden hue, and the tree branches pulled back to their original paths. “But... if I stop you here... if I halt your journey now, I know for a fact that Twilight Sparkle will die. And the millions of threatened lives I See are just that: threatened. I have yet to See any creature die as a result of your actions, though likely at least one will.” She lowered her head. She looked very sad, and for all her years, very young and unsure. “So you see, Rarity? I must weigh the possible deaths of millions against the certain death of one. The needs of the many against the needs of the few. The potential against the actual. That is what comes of Seeing what may be.” Rarity shakily got to her hooves. “My... My Lady,” she began, sounding as unsteady as she felt. “I...” she stopped. She paused. What can I say? She bit her lip. How can I say there's no such thing as destiny? I have a cutie mark, after a- that was it. “My Lady Falalauria,” she began, her voice growing more stable. “I... I'm not going to tell you that what you've seen may not come to pass. I believe there is a way things must go. It comes of being a pony, of growing up, finding your talent, and getting a cutie mark that reflects it. There are things that are meant to be.” Falalauria was looking at her intently. Rarity began to smile, small at first. “I recognize that, and I accept it. And if I choose to exercise the gift the Element of Generosity gave me, I shall see it all firsthand. So how can I go on living? How can I move in the world, knowing all my actions may be preordained?” Her smile grew broader. “I have faith, My Lady. I have faith in the goodness of things. I have faith that there is more in the world than evil and darkness. I have faith that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and all the other gods, including you, Madam Powerful-As-Celestia, follow a plan that leads to good, not ill. Now, from what you've said, it may be that even gods and those with godlike power need faith- so have faith, My Lady. You can see the future, and I know it can't be all ill. Have faith that the good you see is what will prevail. And if you need a thing to have faith in,” Rarity nodded her head, “why, have faith in me! Have faith in me, Rarity the unicorn! Have faith in my friends Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy! If the Elements of Harmony came to us, surely we are meant to work good in the world, so have faith that we can! Whatever ill befalls us, whatever harm crosses our path, we shall meet it. We shall stand for friendship and goodness with whatever meager power we have, and we shall not fail- in this, I have faith. If you can have faith in that as well... then you will let us go.” Her cutie mark gleamed. “I know you will let us go. I See it.” Falalauria stepped closer to her. There was something of a feral deer in her, wary and frightened. She stopped with her face inches from Rarity's. The white unicorn looked up at her, for once completely unafraid. Then Falalauria licked her on her right cheek. Then she licked her on her left. Then she kissed her on her forehead. “I shall have faith in you, Rarity,” she said. “You prove to me that my Sight is not perfect, however keen it is, because so often I have no idea what I'm looking for.” She smiled. “I shall let you go.” “Thank you, My Lady,” Rarity said, bowing low. “No, Rarity,” she replied, “thank you. You will be a great and wise Seer- indeed, you already are.” Her antlers shimmered, and a thick book bound in violet leather appeared floating in the air. “I wrote this book a century ago. It contains my own thoughts and experiences regarding the gift of Long Sight. I wrote it because I Saw in the future that I should write it, which puzzled me at the time. The red deer are all but extinct, and I could not think who else would make use of it. Now I see that I wrote it for you. It even bears your cutie mark.” Sure enough, there were three rhombus-cut crystals set into the book's front cover. “Take it, read it, draw what wisdom you can from it. Do not let it displace what is already in your heart, though.” Rarity used her own magic to take hold of the book. “I shall certainly do that, My Lady.” She nodded her head. “Now, if you don't mind, I should like to return to sleep.” “Of course, Rarity,” Falalauria said. “Pleasant dreams... and thank you, again. You have given me much to think about. That rarely happens.” “All in a night's work, I suppose,” the white unicorn said. “Good night, My Lady.” She was about to turn and go, but then she recalled her new skill- it seemed like ages had passed since she'd mastered it. She imagined the bare dirt under her hooves, imagined the still, shadowy air around the bower, imagined the way the wind curled around the great hanging crystal- and in a flicker, she was standing in front of the bower. Drawing back the curtain as silently as she could, she crawled up into the cozy space. Reaching up with her magic, she opened one of her saddlebags and slid Falalauria's book inside it. Then she squirmed over to her futon. Easing herself back into it, careful not to sprawl or muss the sheets, she cooed gently as she was perfectly in place. Drawing up the covers to her chin, she slowly closed her eyes. Her breathing grew slow and even. “So you see, now?” the great white horse said, sitting across the candlelit table. Her butterfly wings occasionally gleamed in the dim light; her coat sparkled, and her long horn twinkled. “I do see, yes,” Rarity said, taking a sip of her wine. “You're the Element of Generosity- or rather, you're me fully embodying the Element of Generosity.” “That's right,” Generosity said. “I am you if you were to be as generous as you could be.” “It sounds like an enormous amount of work,” Rarity admitted. “I don't know if I could ever live up to being pure Generosity in the flesh.” “It would be a great deal of work,” Generosity agreed. “It's quite possible you will never achieve a perfect embodiment of Generosity. Yet you should strive for it.” “I want to strive for it,” Rarity said. “I want it in a way I've never wanted anything else. Wait... that's not quite true. I want it in the same way I want to be closer to my friends. I suppose that's natural, since they're the other Elements, and we're meant to be together. Do they have embodiments like you within them, as well?” “Most likely,” the butterfly-winged unicorn said. “I can't speak for them, of course, since all I know is you.” “Hmmm,” Rarity paused, sipping her wine again. “Will I eventually look like you? Because I must say,” she appraised her table-mate, “you're simply marvelous.” “You may,” Generosity said. “You may look like simply a gracious and beautiful old unicorn one day. You may look like something else entirely. I can't say if you'll even be a pony by the time you're done, if you come this far. But even for you, the look isn't so terribly important. It's what you do.” “And now I've taken a step towards doing it,” the white unicorn said. “This gift you've given me, of Sight, is important. The gift isn't just a gift. It's a responsibility. It's meant to make me become Generosity more perfectly.” “That's it exactly,” said Generosity. “And you know, I think you're the first to get it, the first of your friends I mean. That means you're going to have to help them.” “I am Generosity, am I not?” Rarity said. “I must give whatever is needed, without hesitation.” Generosity smiled. “So you're going to do it, then? Do you think you can?” “I don't quite think,” Rarity said. She now looked exactly like Generosity. “I have faith.” In her sleep, Rarity smiled.