The Edge Of Harmony

by Alazak


CH9

Pearl had finally regained enough strength to move about her saviors home. The unicorns lived in a huge manor filled with a great deal of antiques that Pearl thought her father would just love. The halls were lined in extravagant wallpapers Rarity lived in such luxury at least half a dozen rooms stretched across three floors of a hollow empty home. She had followed Sweetie Belle past many open rooms, a small library filled with old tombs, a massive study filled with dresses that shimmered in all the glory that their maker bestowed upon them. Sweetie spoke lightly of many of the rooms they passed and Pearl couldn’t help but notice the lack of attendants or any other ponies. Sweetie Belle said there hasn’t been a servant pony in their home in quite some time. But everywhere Pearl looked not a speck of dust was found.

Finally they arrived to a dazzling patio in the back of Rarity’s manson. It was breathtaking the sizeable deck held at least a half-dozen tables that overlooking a grand garden filled with rows upon rows of flowers, master sculpted statues, and a wide variety of topeary.
“Tell me... Pearl was it... yes i believe, so what in Equestria were you doing out in the dark all alone in an alley?” Rarity sat at a glass patio table alone among the empty tables and sipped tea from a cup Pearl could only guess cost more bits than she had ever seen in her life. Pearl recognized her from the picture on Applejack’s wall, she didn’t seem to age at all barely a wrinkle on her entire body.
Pearl searched for everything she was worth to give rarity an answer that wasn’t, oh helped an Alicorn ghost meet his daughters and killed a dragon. “I’m here visiting a friend of my fathers.” she gave the most convincing smile as she lied to Rarity. It always left a bad taste in Pearl’s mouth to lie to anyone and usually felt very wrong but this time it felt necessary, making it taste worse.
“My I will have to say darling when Sweetie Belle brought you here you were covered in blood and we thought the worst, but it turns out none of it was yours.” Thats right Pearl thought back to Spikes death and all the blood must have got on her from that wound. Rarity was quick one but she still just sat there sipping her tea. “I would have to say it would have been a shame to mar such a beautiful white coat. So rare to see a white earth pony.” Not many ponies had mentioned the color of her coat with such interest.

“And I’m sure you noticed I own a great deal of things but something new has shown up in my house.” Pearl felt her stomach tighten, she remembered Beauty Gemstone and how sly she was, the silver tongued amethyst Pearl would call her sometimes.. “It’s a very strange object indeed. Tall, metal, sharp you wouldn’t happen to know what it is do you... Pearl was it... yes Pearl.” Pearl wondered if the Rarity she was seeing in front of her gingerly sipping her tea casually asking difficult questions was always like this? In The fall of Friendship Twilight raved about the twisting of beauty and how generosity collapsed in on itself, the pages wrinkled and warped from the endless tears they had soaked up.
“Its an antique, brought it from Manehatten to a friend of my fathers.”
“Oh my how I do love antiques. Did you know I’ve traveled almost all of Equestria. I’ve seen many things and did remarkable things in my youth.” another sip from her tea. “But I will have to say I’ve never seen anything quite like that thing.” Pearl felt Rarity’s words begining to cut her like a knife, Rarity’s gaze seemed to pierce right through Pearl. “And the strangest thing we found on you was this.” Rarity waved for her sister who waited by the patio doors with a wrapped bundle of books. Pearl never thought that she could get any whiter if she tried but even the darkest pony would be like a ghost with the color that drained from her face when she saw the Adventures of Twilight Sparkle and Friends along with the battered Fall of Friendship in Sweetie Belle’s hooves.
“I’m sorry Rarity..”
“That’s Miss Rarity if you please.”
“I’m so sorry Miss Rarity but I need to have you hoof over the Element of Generosity, please before he comes to take it.” Rarity just stared at Pearl not thinking much about what Pearl had just said as real. “Please Miss Rarity you don’t understand.” Rarity just set her tea down and took the larger of the two books from her sister.
“The Adventures of Twilight Sparkle and Friends, ah it’s been so long since I’ve laid eyes on this. Ah so many memories defiled by who we thought was our friend. I have a copy in my library you know, and it’s signed by Twilight and the girls.” Pearl didn’t like how smug Rarity sounded, The Adventures of Twilight Sparkle was a popular book ages ago and having a copy wasn’t very uncommon, and even few of her friends in grade school had a copy. “And now you’re telling me you’re here for the Element of Generosity. You’re a very peculiar pony... Pearl was it?” Sweetie Belle turned to leave the pair of ponies feeling the conversation making her uncomfortable but stopped suddenly.
“Rarity when did you bring that thing out here?” Sweetie Belle’s voice stammered as her eyes stared in disbelief of the object in front of her.
Pearl and Rarity both looked to what Sweetie Belle was talking about. There laying against the wall on the patio was Gallatais’ prison.
“To think I found it sport to let you try and convince Generosity to give you the key to stopping me. I can see now that this one has not only rejected my element but has become devoid of it.” Pearl sat up from her seat as Gallatais began to seep from his sword.
“And here he is the guest of honor, Gallatais Lord of the Alicorns.” Rarity brought her tea up and finished what was left. “Sister my cup has run dry would you be a dear and fetch me another?” Weary Sweetie Belle did as she was told and rushed off the patio to retrieve her sister another cup of tea.
“You are either very brave or very foalish, Generosity.” Gallatais swirled around the two ponies. “And I see you know who I am.”
“Yes It was yesterday while... Pearl?... yes, Pearl slept that the princess arrived to warn me about a ghost and his prisoner that would be coming for me.” Rarity looked to Pearl and Pearl felt a cold shiver run down her back. The princess came yesterday but that would mean Pearl was unconscious in her house when the princess arrived, why didn’t Rarity tell her about them? “She told me you would be coming for this.” Rarity produced a brilliant necklace from a box sitting on the table. It was so beautiful the necklace, its golden band with a radiant sapphire in the center matching her cutie mark.

“You are a brave pony Generosity, but I’m not here for trinkets.” Gallatais’ face materialized in front of Rarity’s with a slight smile across it. “Do you really think that the very essence of harmony would be just a mere fashion statement?” Gallatais pushed the golden necklace to the floor shattering it.

“Then what is it? Will you kill me also like you did to Spike to take what you want?” Rarity got into Gallatais face crushing the crystal diamond beneath her hoof. “Will you take me away from my sister just like you took Spike from the ones that loved him?” Pearl could feel the waiver in Rarity’s voice, The dragon did she have feelings for him?

“Do not be absurd pony I can feel your heart and it is as stone, love and joy, care, these words mean nothing to you. Yes I killed the dragon, but he died a hero his actions will be written the archives of antiquity for generations. Look at you now so willing to give up the Element of Generosity, why?”

“I have lived only for myself for so long ghost. I held no ill will toward Twilight and her book. But it did open my eyes that staying where I was was getting me nowhere.” Rarity sat back in her chair as her sister brought her another cup of tea. “I poured everything into my work over the last decade sacrificing everything,” Rarity looked to her sister, “and every one to make my dream come true. I had heard Twilight had locked herself up in the library but I didn’t care, my best friend martyred herself for an ideal. And I didn’t even bat an eye. Spike came to me to see if I could get Twilight out of her self pity, but I pushed him away.”

“And generosity collapsed in on itself, But I don’t understand why didn’t you tell the princess I was here?” Pearl put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder.

“Because I want it gone. Generosity, ha. every time I think back and see myself just giving and giving to my friends it hurt to look around myself now and see so much I’ve gained.” Gallatais settled and his smile became more sinister. “Even my own sister has had to suffer because of me.”

“She bears no mark of talent am I correct?” the three white ponies turned to Gallatais and then Pearl turned to Sweetie Belle who was shocked and stunned.

“That can’t be, to have gone through life not knowing your special place in the world but how.” Pearl was mystified she had never heard of such a thing. She remembered back to Applebloom telling her her best friends left one to follow her idol and the other taken in the night. “Oh Sweetie Belle I’m so sorry.” Pearl went to the crying unicorn and held her tight. It began to make since that she would wear a dress to cover her shame.

“Less like a sister more like a servant I see. How generous of you.” Gallatais once again began to swirl around Rarity. “You knew you had to be better than Magic because you thought you were better than her. So you ran from her and trampled anything that stood in the way of your dream, even the affection of the dragon.”

“Thats right ghost and I accomplished my dream I became so famous and rich.” Rarity stood from her seat. “The fashion world was tough but I was tougher, My sister made for the basis for my model and I used her to showcase my work. I killed the weak part of me and rose above the common crowd. Twilight was right, we had done so much for Equestria and they didn’t know who I, we, were. So if being generosity wasn’t getting me anywhere, I was going to be strong and I stepped on all the little ponies that stood in my way. Even the one whom I held highest in my heart walked away.”

“But in the end it cost you so many important things. Things like one dragons love, and the respect of a sister.” Gallatais was like a tornado around Rarity.

“A small price to pay for where I am now. Love, respect, in the end they meant nothing.” Rarity’s magic lashed out at the swirling smoke, knocking it away from her. “The only love that matters is the love of cold hard bits, and if my sister was too weak to find her own way in life all the fault falls on her back.” Rarity’s eyes were wild darting from side to side. “For so long I srounged the bottom of the socialite barrel in Ponyville, as much as I loved the simplicity that my hometown provided. it hindered my standing with in the elite which i so desired.” She spouted rants as she laughed still pushing away the encroaching smoke.

“The collapse of generosity has reached its peak, you were wise to keep me from my daughter so I may claim my prize.” Gallatais opened his spectral mouth wider than natural and a thin spike of ghostly energy pierced Rarity’s magical barrier and struck Raritys heart. Sweetie Belle struggled against Pearl’s grasp to run to her sister. “Rejoice for you will be freed of the burden that has burned away your very soul.” the teather began to glow a radiant blue as pulses of energy flowed from Rarity and into Gallatais’ form.

With a great burst of strength Sweetie Belle escaped Pearls grasp cring out and running to her sister, she threw her hooves around Rarity. “I’m sorry sister I don’t care about leaving Ponyville, I don’t care about not ever getting my cutie mark. As long as i’m with you that’s all that mattered to me.” Sweetie Belle cried out as she held Rarity, streams of tears were soaked up by her dress. Finally Gallatais finished with Rarity and her body went limp into her sisters embrace.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



“And thus Generosity has fallen to its master,” two winged figures watch the events unfold in the distance on Rarity’s manson roof. “soon little one you will have to face a painful truth, what you will have to sacrifice may be too much.” The taller of the two spread its wings wide and flew away.

“I don’t care, I’ll save her no matter what.” The smaller jumped out of sight.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



“It looks like after my sister recovers we may need a change of scenery,” Sweetie Belle slowly closed a door behind her. “I’m thinking it’s been far too long since we’ve been home. Our real home.” Pearl followed Sweetie Belle into the living room and sat at the table and began to drink some tea. “I can’t say I won’t miss all of this.” Sweetie Belle looked to all the trinkets and knick knacks. “My sister had lost sight of her work and began to stay in her room, but i kept silent. Over the years, I saw her slip further and further away from who she use to be. You know she really did love Spike.” Pearl had a flashback of the dragon champion falling to Galatais’ facade.

“But Spike told her it wasn’t meant to be, he had learned from Celestia that he would outlive her. She would grow old and die while he had only began his life.” Pearl felt a deep sadness for Rarity. “Over the years we saw less and less of him even though we lived practically next door. That’s when my sister started to see a age regression unicorn to preserve her looks for Spike.”

“I wanted him to always remember me just as I always was.” The two unicorns turned to see a weary Rarity leaning against the door frame. “He had grown up from the baby that always chased after my affection. To the most handsome dragon I had ever laid eyes on. It all seems a waste now that you killed him, you despicable ghost.” She stared past her sister and Pearl to the sword leaning against the wall.

“Celestia told me all about it when she was here. You tricked my love and killed him. Leave my home and never let me lay eyes upon you ever again.” sluggishly she turned and went to her room to rest. “And... Pearl... yes Pearl it was, I can feel you’re bound to him but you need to get out before tragedy strikes. And last but not least take this,” on the table a box opened revealing a copy of The Adventures of Twilight Sparkle. A pristine crisp copy sat before her. “of all my treasures this one holds a special place in my heart.” And then she vanished.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



“We have a lot of problems here captain,” a rough female voice called out to her boss as she looked around an empty room. “Rainbow Dash you’re doing it again. Lazing about when there’s work to be done.” An orange pegasus searched the solid cloud office for her boss, peaking around doors and looking under desks. “Oh well I guess I’ll tell the others Rainbow Flash has taken over the Wonderbolts and practice is off.” She gave a sly smile and held her paperwork heading toward the office door.

“You little rascal, you know how I hate that name.” A streak of cyan streaked from the ceiling and pinned her assistant to the wall. The orange pegasus came face to face with a perturbed Rainbow Dash. “Scootaloo, your such a flirty little filly.” Scootaloo gave a grin and closed her eyes as Rainbow’s expression changed. Her frown curled into a smile as she leaned in giving her prisoner a deep kiss. Scootaloo dropped the stack of paperwork and threw herself into the kiss wrapping her arms around Rainbow Dash.