An Uncommon Arrogance
Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
An Uncommon Arrogance
“Come on Nightie! You can do it!” Smog cheered.
“Okay, here goes.” Nightmare Moon charged her horn with power and cast the spell.
Lyra opened her eyes once the rather bright flash of light faded away. “Did it work?”
Smog looked down. “Huh, not bad. How do they fell?”
Nightmare lifted her front hooves, which had been turned into midnight black claws, similar in shape to Smog’s claws. “It feels really weird. Not bad weird, but not quite good weird either.”
“Ha! Trixie laughs in the face of weirdness!” Trixie eagerly took Lyra’s notebook in her magic. “Allow me to try it.” There was another flash of light, and Trixie had blue claws in the place of her hooves.
Lyra observed the change in both of her friends. “Looks like the spell changed your back hooves too. Ooh, ooh, see if you can stand like Smog does! That would be amazing!”
Nightmare frowned. “Our hooves are the only things that changed. I think we'd need to change more than that to be able to stand like Smog.” She watched Trixie struggle to walk like a biped only to fall flat on her face. “See?”
“Bah, where's your sense of adventure!” Lyra grinned as she tried the spell for herself. “Wow, they’re really flexible!” she said as she wiggled her new mint green claws. “A little rough and scaly though. Maybe if these were a little smoother?”
Smog raised an eyebrow. “But what would you call claws if you took out the claw part of them?”
“Ooh! Puppet show! Trixie has just had the most wonderful idea!” Trixie ran out of the library and back to her house. Considering she still had claws that she wasn’t used to while running, it was pretty impressive.
Nightmare rolled her eyes at Trixie's antics. “Right, I think that’s enough for today,” she said as she undid the spell with her magic, turning her claws back into hooves. Lyra sighed and did the same.
“Aw, but I wanted to thumb wrestle you,” Smog whined.
Nightmare blinked at him. “I don’t know what that is but we can try it some other time. It’s still a great spell.”
“Yep, and we can check that off the list too.” Smog made a tally mark on the list they had. “That’s 25 different types of tricks now.”
“And only tricks,” Nightmare grumbled. “If we are to defend Everfree from any possible future threats I shall need greater magic than mere tricks.”
Lyra picked her notebook back up and tossed it into her saddlebag. “At any rate, thanks for trying the spell out with me. I’ve always been interested in things like that!”
“What, transformation magic?” Smog asked.
Lyra’s gaze darted around the library before she answered him. “…Sure let’s go with that.”
“Have you considered talking with Chrysalis about it?” Nightmare suggested.
“Ooh, no I haven’t! That sounds like fun though! Thanks Nightie, thanks Smog! Bye!”
Nightmare grumbled as they watched Lyra happily skip out the library. “I envy the energy she has in the mornings.”
Smog rolled his eyes. “Ah, don’t worry about it.”
“Right. Well, let’s get back to hitting the books.”
Smog groaned. “Do we have to? I wouldn’t worry about any future threats either. We beat Eternal Twilight and the only ‘threat’ we’ve faced since then is Rainbow.”
Nightmare frowned as she glanced out one of the library windows. “Speaking of whom,” Nightmare said as she ran out of the library with Smog following behind. “Dash! What are you doing with my cloud?”
Rainbow Dash glared at Nightmare. “Your cloud? I don’t see your name on it.”
Nightmare's hoof stomped the ground. “Well it is!”
“Huh?” Rainbow looked at the cloud in her hooves and read the small message that had been magically written onto the cloud. “What, you’re renting this cloud? Uh, okay then.” She pushed the cloud back to the library and parked it outside the second story window. “Sorry.”
Nightmare sighed. “It’s okay. My bed’s been feeling a bit off so I wanted to try a cloud bed.”
Rainbow smiled. “Cool. How’s it feel then?”
“Well, I don’t know, I only got it today. Anyway, what have you and Gilda been up to?” Nightmare looked around the sky for Gilda but didn’t see her. “Where is she, for that matter?”
Rainbow shrugged. “I heard she wanted to meet some new arrival to Peaceville. Whoever it is, they’re setting up some kinda show in the middle of Town Square.” She said a quick goodbye and then flew off.
“Ooh! Snack time and a show!” Smog grinned as he quickly gathered up a small bag for gemstones. “Come on Nightie, let’s go check it out!” Nightmare shrugged, deciding it might be worth seeing, and followed to the show.
Halfway to the Town Square, they heard a voice. “Incoming!” somebody shouted before two ponies came zooming down the street. The filly that had shouted was an orange pegasus with a short purple mane and tail. Her buzzing wings were acting as a propeller for the scooter she was driving. The other filly was a white unicorn with a curly purple-to-pink mane and tail. She was sitting on the back of the scooter and keeping her eyes tightly shut in fear as she held onto the scooter with all her might.
The two ran right into Smog and carried him along on their scooter ride of doom. He shouted over the driver’s buzzing wings, “Scootaloo! Hit the brakes! Sweetie Belle, get her to stop! Seriously where’s the fire?”
The scooter braked hard, sending the dragon flying off the handle. “Didn’t you hear?” Sweetie Belle asked. “My sister’s back in town! She’s setting up in Town Square right now!”
Scootaloo smiled. “Sweetie has been telling me all about these amazing things that her sister can do!”
Sweetie’s horn sparked with magic. “Here take a look at this!” There was a crash and then a magazine zipped towards them, held in Sweetie’s telekinesis.
The magazine exchanged magical holds as Nightmare brought the item under her levitation. “Um, there’s a bit of glass on it.”
Sweetie winced. “Yeah, that might’ve been my bedroom window.” She smiled again and said, “Page 6, Article 2. Anyway, keep going Scoots! But slower this time!” She cheered as Scootaloo buzzed her wings again and the scooter went blasting off.
“Here, I got it,” Smog held his claws out. Nightmare gave him the magazine and he skimmed the article concerning Sweetie’s sister. “Let’s see here…talented young mare, unique skills...magician, fashion designer, seamstress…runs traveling fashion show and magic show, yadda, yadda.” He tossed the magazine aside and shrugged. “I dunno, she sounds okay. I'm not sure how she plans to mix fashion and magic and still keep it interesting, but who knows? What do you want to do?”
“I’d say it’s worth checking out,” Nightmare said as she picked up Smog, placed him on her back, spread her wings, and flew to see the show.
Nightmare and her friends arrived in Town Square to see what appeared to be a larger version of a mechanical horse from a carousel. The horse was marching around the square, drawing attention. Once the crowd reached a respectable size, the horse stopped and began flashing. With a few pops of magic, the horse magically transformed itself into a large stage.
From behind a purple curtain, a voice called out, “Come one and come all! Witness the most elegant and graceful magic you have ever seen! Look upon me Everfree! For I...am...RARITY!”
A white unicorn with a styled purple mane teleported onto the stage in burst of magic. The mare was wearing a blue dress with a purple cape draped over top as well as a small purple tiara.
The crowd gathered closer around the stage. “Wow, I like her crown,” Diamond Tiara said as she sat down to watch the show. Nightmare counted the rest of her friends there too, except for Chrysalis.
Rarity’s horn flashed and a yellow privacy screen with an image of her face appeared on one side of the stage. “I’ll need a volunteer for this first act please. Who would like to volunteer? Oh, thank you Miss!”
Nightmare turned around to see Lyra, who had used the spell to turn her front right hoof into a claw again. She had been holding it in the air and examining it, when Rarity called her. Presumably mistaking Lyra's fascination with her claw for permission to volunteer.
“Huh? What?” Lyra asked in confusion as Rarity levitated her on stage. She brought Lyra behind the privacy screen. There was a short struggle and then the screen was pulled away to reveal Lyra in a pretty yellow dress. Rarity eagerly shoved Lyra to the front of the stage where the other ponies could see it.
Discord titled his head to the side. “Am I the only one who heard power tools? I would understand how difficult it is to put clothes on a quadruped…okay, no I wouldn’t but…would power tools really be necessary?”
“Forget that!” Trixie glared at Rarity. “Trixie is wondering if she should challenge this Rarity to a magic duel. Nobody wants to see a fashion display when they came to see a magic show! This mare is not taking her act seriously!”
Gilda grinned. “Want me to grab Dash so we can trash the stage?”
“No that wouldn’t be fair,” Trixie sighed. “While Trixie is the greatest and most powerful unicorn in Peaceville, she won’t be selfish or deny a fellow magician’s time in the spotlight. For now, Trixie will sit and watch the show.”
“That’s very nice of you Trixie,” an orange earth pony with a blue mane said.
“Trixie thanks you, um…sorry who are you?” The colt’s eyes flashed green. “Chrysalis? Forgive Trixie for asking but why are you disguised as a colt?”
With a flash of magic, Chrysalis turned back into herself and shrugged. “Practice shape shifting.”
“Thank you Miss Lyra, that will be all,” Rarity said as she allowed Lyra to hop off the stage. “May I ask the audience to be quiet please?” she asked. “Thank you. Now ladies and gentle-creatures, watch in awe as the Fabulous and Magical Rarity performs the most spectacular feats of magic you have ever witnessed!” Magical flashes burst here and there from the stage.
Trixie was not impressed. “First the dress up game, now this. Trixie could preform such magic in her sleep! Such boasting should be reserved for only those who deserve it!”
Discord chuckled. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"
"True, the Great and Powerful Trixie boasts on occasion, but that is because she is a professional! This mare is an amateur!"
Rarity dropped the gems she had summoned with her magic. “Okay that is quite enough from you lot,” she said glaring at Trixie and the rest of Nightmare's friends. “Insulting me and ignoring my presentation is the pinnacle of rudeness.”
“Can you blame us?” Gilda flew over to Rarity and glared at her in midair. “Honestly, I was expecting awesome magical explosions and I ain't getting my money’s worth! So what makes you so awesome?”
“Quite simple darling,” Rarity said and raised her head high. “For it was I who vanquished a horrible herd of Windigos!” A blast of blue magic from Rarity’s horn flew above their heads and turned into fireworks. An image of tall, and ghostly white horses appeared. “For you see my friends, not long ago a herd of Windigos attacked a changeling hive not terribly far from this very town; and it was thanks to my splendid magic that I was able to defeat those brutes and send them back into the darkest corners of the Equestria forest!” An image of Rarity appeared in the air and zapped the image of the Windigo herd. First one then the other image disappeared from the air.
“A Windigo herd?” Sunset Shimmer frowned. “There’s no way you could have beaten an entire herd all by yourself, you liar!” She looked over to where Chrysalis was cowering behind her legs. “Relax bug queen, there's no Windigos about, and I wouldn’t let them get you even if there were.” Chrysalis gave her a shaky smile.
“Well thank goodness,” Discord said. “We wouldn’t want one of those freaky things freezing up my lava pool.” Other ponies in the crowd stared at him. “What?”
“You’re just jealous!” Sweetie shouted at the crowd. She smiled and pointed up to Rarity. “She beat a Windigo herd! My big sis is the most talented, and magical, and prettiest pony in all of Everfree!”
Smog glared at the unicorn filly. “How do you know she beat a Windigo herd, ya little brat?”
Nightmare’s magic caused a zipper to seal the dragon’s mouth shut. “Smog, don’t make a scene!” she hissed.
Trixie’s horn glowed with power. “If he won’t I will,” she whispered darkly as she got ready to show Rarity how great and powerful a true magician could be.
But the mare on stage was no longer paying attention to them. Rarity looked down at Sweetie and smiled. “Sweetie Belle! Oh how I have missed you my dear sister! Traveling the world for my work just isn’t as fun as spending time with you.”
Sweetie blushed. “Aw, I’m not that special compared to you.”
Rarity smiled and levitated her sister onto the stage. “Nonsense, I’d say you’re very special. Everyone, please give a round of applause for this brave filly who has volunteered for my next act!”
Trixie stopped in her tracks and quietly backed away from the stage, cancelling the spell.
“Next act? Sis I can’t, ” Sweetie gulped as she looked at the crowd.
“That’s quite alright Sweetie Belle. Stage fright is not unheard of. Another time then.” And Rarity was back to boasting. “Well then does anybody here think that they can hope to match my beautiful and elegant magical might? Citizens of Peaceville, I challenge you! Anything you can do, Rarity can do better!”
Discord and Chrysalis had both decided that they had seen enough and left, but other people in the crowd remained to challenge Rarity. Nightmare watched as Rarity conjured up far more crystals and gems than Sunset could hope to find during her challenge. She watched as Rainbow was caught in Rarity’s magic and trapped within her own rainbow tornado. Gilda managed to last the longest but even she was blown away once Rarity conjured up a strong wind to knock her out of the sky during her race challenge. But there was one member of Nightmare’s circle of friends left unaccounted for.
Curious, Nightmare teleported herself and Smog to the front yard of Trixie’s home and magic shop. They found her levitating a rope, making it twirl around. “Hey Trixie. Are you okay? You left kinda early.”
Trixie looked away from the rope and at Nightmare. “Trixie is fine. Trixie is simply practising her Rope Charmer trick.”
Smog cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me asking, why’d you let Rarity off the hook like that? You’re the best unicorn at magic in all of Peaceville. The only one better than you at magic is Nightmare. You could have crushed that snob!”
Trixie shook her head. “Oh Smog, so young and innocent. It is as Trixie said at the start of Rarity’s show. She is a fellow magician and boasting is part of the act, Trixie knows this. True, the mare wasn’t very nice to our friends, but we weren’t very nice to her either. Trixie was prepared to best Rarity in a magical duel, but Trixie saw the love she had for her sister,” she sighed. “Trixie often wishes she had a brother or sister too.”
Trixie shrugged. “Besides after defeating Eternal Twilight, the greatest symbol of magical might and terror on every Twilight Night…all other opponents don’t seem worthy of the effort for the Great and Powerful Trixie to beat.”
Nightmare nodded. “I’m proud of you Trixie. You’ve shown more patience and restraint than I thought you were capable of.”
Trixie smirked. “Oh, does the alicorn think she’s being clever? Perhaps now would be an ideal time to test your abilities to sense magic? Tell Trixie, what did you notice about Rarity’s act?”
Nightmare highlighted the points of the act that she had noticed. “Rarity’s magic appears to be only slightly more advanced than the average unicorn’s magic, while your magic is stronger and more flashy. Yet I could see the methods Rarity used to beat Sunset, Gilda, and Rainbow Dash in their challenges. Rarity uses precision and range to manipulate multiple objects and spells all at once. What she lacks in strength she makes up for in concentration and strategy.”
Trixie nodded. “Indeed. Plus, Rarity was honest in all her acts. For magicians such as I, there are two kinds of magic: unicorn magic and stage magic. Stage magic is the kind of magic that anyone can use with practice; the art of deception, yet it is deception meant to entertain and delight the audience. Trixie knew that, and that is the true reason she called Rarity an amateur. Simple flashy magic won't impress anyone as there are unicorns in almost every town. If Rarity was to use stage tricks on top of real magic, her act might someday hope to be half as impressive as the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Nightmare smiled at their shared logical reasoning. Smog just yawned and asked, “Do you ever get tired of talking like that?”
The rope Trixie was manipulating wrapped itself around Smog mouth, closing it tight again. “Never!” Trixie said with a giggle.
Later that day, Rarity was packing up her stage and the merchandise she had been selling after the show. Scootaloo and Sweetie ran up to her. “Hi Rarity! It was so cool to see you here today!”
“Why thank you Sweetie! As if I could pass up the chance to see you after my tour. Oh, just look at you Sweetie Belle, you’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. Why, you even lost your cutie mark! Oh, you’ve grown up so fast.” Rarity wiped away a happy tear her eyes made just for the sake of being dramatic.
“Yeah, yeah,” Scootaloo impatiently spoke up. “Anyway it’s great to meet you Miss Rarity! I’m Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle told me lots of stories about you but I never knew you beat off a couple of Windigos!”
“Why thank you darling.” With a tug of magic, Rarity stored away the rest of her dresses and unsold merchandise. “I’m quite happy to hear that someone other than my sister enjoyed my performance.” She stopped smiling and scowled. “Unlike those brutes from earlier. Oh, I suppose creatures like an alicorn and a draconequus might not be as impressed with my level of magic but I know that my magic is superior to any other unicorn’s magic in this dreary town. They had no right to interrupt my show!”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo agreed. “So what if they weren’t there when you beat those Windigos? I bet if more of those things showed up here, you’d beat them too. Oh, and if you had trouble – not saying you would but – you could get Rainbow Dash to help! She’s so cool, I heard she smacked that dragon thing in the face with a sonic rainboom!”
“Ooh! That’s a great idea!” Sweetie said as she ran off.
“Sweetie Belle? What idea? Where are you going?” Rarity called. “I had thought you would wish to see the presents I brought you? I even found time to craft you this beautiful dress! Though, it might be a size too small.”
“That’s okay, I’ll see you tomorrow first thing in the morning. Oh, show Scootaloo!” Sweetie shouted back to them before she ran out of sight.
“Wonderful.” Rarity smiled at Scootaloo. “Now darling, did you know that on top of being the kingdom’s most graceful showmare I am also a designer of dresses and accessories? I craft and sell the most exquisite dresses adorned with the finest gems. And I believe I have something back here that might be in your size. As my dearest sister’s friend, I shall even give you a discount.”
Scootaloo cringed. She was a proud tomboy and she hated most dresses and anything that was too girly. “Um, what’s that Sweetie Belle? Oh drat, I better catch up with her! Thanks anyway, see you later Miss Rarity!” Scootaloo buzzed her wings as fast as she could and chased after Sweetie. Eventually she caught up to her and carried Sweetie on her scooter until they reached their destination. The edge of the Equestria forest.
“You know, I’m surprised you ran in here before me,” Scootaloo said as she and Sweetie continued through the Equestria forest. They had been searching the forest for so long, Princess Twilight had already raised the moon. “Usually I’m running into danger and you’re telling me to be careful.”
“Yeah but I’m doing this for Rarity.” Sweetie said as she swatted away some branches. “She’s so much better at magic than anyone else around here and people need to know how cool she is.”
Personally, Scootaloo disagreed as she thought that Discord, Nightmare Moon, and Trixie were the more well known magic users in the area. And of course, no griffin was cooler than Gilda and nopony was more awesome than Rainbow Dash. Then again, none of them had ever beaten a Windigo herd.
“Okay, if you say so." She and Sweetie climbed off the scooter as they got close to a cave and went inside. "Now, you’ve told me the plan and I think I get it.” Scootaloo shivered as they walked through the entrance of the dark and icy cave. “Feels like we’re getting close too. But how are we gonna find a Windigo when I can’t even see my own hoof in front of my face?”
“Hold on.” Sweetie’s horn immediately lit up with magic, bathing the cave in light. And illuminating the previously invisible Windigos. The winter spirits shimmered into existence and glared at the two friends who would dare disturb their slumber. The Windigo herd gave an otherworldly howl, sounding like fearsome ghosts and howling wind at the same time. The two fillies screamed in terror and escaped the cave, trying to run faster than the wind. They climbed back on Scootaloo's scooter once more and hurried back to Peaceville, the Windigos chasing after them.
Outside of the Equestria forest, Smog was kicking a pebble across the road. “I don’t get it. Nightmare and Trixie could easily have beaten Rarity! But if they don't send her away, who knows how long that fake will be in town for?” As he thought about what to do next, he saw Sweetie and Scootaloo fly past him on that scooter of theirs. “Uh, hey guys. Where are ya going in such a rush?”
“Snow time to talk now!” Scootaloo called back to him.
“Snow time?” Smog asked. Then he heard the otherworldly howl and turned around to see the herd of spirits approaching Peaceville, covering the trees with ice as they flew.
Smog paled at the sight. “Mother of night,” he whimpered. He than ran back to the library screaming for Nightmare, Discord, ANYONE!
As Smog was running to Nightmare, Sweetie and Scootaloo reached the stage that was still set up in Town Square. Rarity had discarded her dress from the show and had previously decided to sleep under the stars in a large canopy bed. Sweetie and Scootaloo desperately began jumping on the bed and screaming in their attempt to wake Rarity up. Rarity woke up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Sweetie? Goodness Sweetie, what are you doing?”
At that moment, Rarity heard the howling Windigos as they flew straight at them. She screamed and fled from her stage, taking Scootaloo and Sweetie in her magic as she ran. Just in time too, as the bed and stage were both frozen by the Windigos icy magic.
“Big sis, you have to vanquish these Windigos!” Sweetie pleaded.
Scootaloo frantically nodded. “Yeah, like you said in your story. Sorry, I think they’re a little cranky that Sweetie woke them.”
Rarity gasped. “You two did what? Sweetie Belle! How could you be so irresponsible and foolish! Out of all the things that could happen this is the! Worst! Possible! Thing!”
As the two friends begged Rarity to defeat the Windigos, she charged her horn and wrapped multiple objects in her telekinesis, flinging them at the Windigos. But every object and every spell she cast passed right through the spirits. The Windigos began to fly over Peaceville in a circle as more buildings became covered in snow.
Meanwhile, Smog ran into the library shouting for Nightmare. The alicorn looked up at him and away from the changelings she had been talking to.
“Nightmare! There’s-”
“Windigo herd. Chrysalis just told me,” Nightmare said as she flew out of the library.
Smog paused and turned to look at Chrysalis and the other changelings that were in the library. “What? How did you know there were Windigos coming that quick?”
Chrysalis tried to comfort the changelings that were hiding under or behind the furniture. “Changelings feed of love. Windigos feed off hate. I’m not sure if it’s instincts or not but…Windigos are really scary for a changeling,” she whispered as she hugged Angle. “Angle here told me he sensed something horrible coming this way.”
Smog knelt next to Chrysalis. “Hey it’s okay. As long as I’m here, no Windigo is gonna get you.”
As the changelings and dragon huddled together, Nightmare and the rest of her friends arrived in Town Square, ready to fight off the Windigos. As soon as she saw Rarity and Sweetie, Nightmare knew who was responsible for this mess.
“Stand back, you fools!” Nightmare ordered them. “Alright guys, any idea on how to beat these things?” she asked as Sunset, Gilda, Rainbow, Trixie, and Discord formed a line beside her.
Discord watched the Windigos flying over the town and smiled. “I must say, at times like this, only one thing comes to mind!”
Gilda frowned at him. "You're not about to sing, are you?"
Discord cleared his throat and sang:
The Windigos glow white, they freeze everything in sight.
Can't see a hoof-print, or anything.
A village in desperation
And what help is the crystal king?
These spirits are howling like
Rainbow’s frozen heart inside.
She couldn’t fight it off
But my dear, you tried.
Rainbow glared at Discord as he sang. “Why are ya blaming me for this? I thought this was Rarity’s fault!”
“Hey!” Rarity protested.
“Quite simple Dashie,” Discord smiled. “I’m still a little cross with how you treated me when you arrived in town.”
Rainbow shivered as the wind picked up. “Like I already said, I’m sorry I was rude before. But how does that mean the Windigos are my fault?”
Discord shrugged. “Well when you put it like that my dear, I suppose you’re right. Back to singing!”
Let love flow! Let love grow!
We can’t hold these freaks back anymore!
Let the love inside you grow!
Let's send these things out the door!
If you’ve heard this parody before
Well, I don’t care!
Let their blizzard rage on!
At least they’re cooler than a giant blue bear!
“Stop singing Discord!” Sunset screamed at him. By now, the Windigo blizzard was becoming unbearable. Her hooves were already frozen to the ground and the ice was advancing up her body. “Now’s not the time!”
“Actually, it might be!” Nightmare smacked herself in the face for not realizing earlier. “Guys, remember how Hearth’s Warming Eve started? Windigos are beaten when a Fire of Friendship is present. Quick, everybody sing about how much you love each other!”
Discord grinned. “Does this mean that Hearth’s Warming comes twice this year?”
Gilda rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just quit acting goofy and help us!”
“Hooray!” Discord cheered. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Chrysalis and Smog were there too. “To arms my friends! Tonight we sing for GLORY!”
Everybody else wisely ignored Discord and began to sing:
The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns we can’t drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through
We all are, a circle of friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end
As they sang the Heart Carol, magic poured out of the horns of Nightmare, Sunset, Trixie, and Chrysalis. The magic formed a gigantic heart-shaped flame. Upon seeing the fire, the Windigos panicked and fled from Peaceville, retreating back into their cave.
“Wow, two songs in a row!" Discord cheered. "And just like that, everything turned out alright in the end!”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah, everything turned out just fine. Except that Peaceville is still covered in ice and I don’t know if we can use this Friendship Fire to thaw everything without also burning everything.”
“Um, guys. There’s one more thing,” Chrysalis said as she pointed a shaky hoof at one of the frozen trees, were something had become trapped in the branches.
Discord flew up to it. “Aw, poor guy.” A lone Windigo, much smaller than the other winter spirits was desperately trying to follow its herd, but it was barely flying at all. The spirit of chaos hugged the younger winter spirit. “Aw, did those nasty friends of yours leave you all alone? Why, you’re just a little spirit, you didn’t know any better, did you? Aw, who’s a cute little hate spirit?” He tickled the Windigo under the chin.
Nightmare’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Discord, step away from the Windigo. Even if it’s young, it’s dangerous.”
“I agree with Nightmare,” Chrysalis said as she smiled. “Now let’s hurry up and set that abomination on fire.”
“Um, I know you don’t like Windigos but isn’t that a little harsh?” a concerned Rainbow asked.
“Too late! I’m taking him home with me!” Discord blew a raspberry at the group and flew off with the Windigo before anyone could stop him.
“Eh, let Discord be weird. We won!” Gilda said as she and Rainbow high-fived.
“Yeah, I guess that was pretty fun,” Sunset said as her horn glowed. “Anyway, we’d better get to work thawing this snow.” Her magic began to slowly melt the ice.
“Hold on Sunset,” Nightmare said. “Thawing the snow can wait now that the Windigos are gone. Before we can clean up the town we need to deal with…where’d Rarity go?” The seven of them looked around to see that Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had all vanished.
Gilda growled. “Those little cowards! Don’t worry, me and Dash can drag them back here, no sweat!”
Trixie’s magic stopped Gilda before she could fly off. “Let them go. Perhaps some day Rarity will learn her lesson.” Trixie’s ears drooped. “Trixie remembers a time when she boasted far more than Rarity ever did. If I was in her shoes instead, the Great and Powerful Trixie might have caused an even bigger mess if she thought somebody had doubted her ability.”
"Hey, don't feel sad. Everything worked out okay, right?" Smog smiled and gave Trixie a quick hug. He then turned to face Nightmare. “Rarity can wait. Nightmare, we should probably inform King Sombra and Princess Twilight about what happened.” Nightmare nodded and waited for Smog to get the pen and paper to begin the message.
Just outside of Peaceville, Scootaloo waited patiently as Sweetie Belle said goodbye to her sister.
“It’s not fair!” Sweetie cried. “You just came back home, and now you’re being kicked out! For something that was my fault! I’m so sorry Rarity!”
Rarity dried the younger unicorn’s tears. “Don’t cry my dear sister. It’s for the best. While I’m not really getting kicked out, I cannot remain in this town. Ponies will forget about my skills with magic and only remember me as the girl who unleashed a Windigo herd on them. I can't live with such hatred directed at me. But Sweetie, promise me you won't be angry with yourself. And I promise you, I will return home.” She looked back at Peaceville and glared. “And I will have my revenge,” she muttered darkly.
Sweetie and Scootaloo spent another hour talking to Rarity, before Scootaloo walked the unhappy Sweetie back home. Rarity took everything that she had packed for her trip to the next town and left. Her old portable magical stage had been frozen and smashed during the Windigo attack, leaving her with few personal belongings.
As she walked and planned her revenge, Rarity was surprised to see her horn glow. The magic it was casting was similar to a gem-locating spell she had developed when she was younger. But this magic felt different. Nonetheless, her skill with finding gems had never steered her wrong before so she let her horn guide her to what would clearly be the next step in her destiny.
The spell brought her to a large boulder covered in vines and thorny roots. Rarity focused and blasted the rock apart to reveal numerous valuable gems and tiny crystals within the rock. If she sold some of the more uncommon crystals she found within the rock, it would provide her with enough money to last the rest of her trip. But on top of that, the boulder had been covering a hole in the ground. Curious, Rarity cautiously extended her magic as it felt around the inside of it. A book came floating out of the hole and towards her.
Rarity gathered up the gems and read the notes within the book. “The Research of Prince Sombra, hmm? Goodness, this tome must be ancient if it contains the research King Sombra conducted when he was still a young colt.” She sat down and began reading. Once she finished reading everything in the book, her lips formed into a sneaky smile.
“It seems as if the next step of my journey is clear to me now,” Rarity said to the sky. “The notes this book has provided me could only lead to a most generous gift. And though I leave Peaceville for now, I shall return dear Sweetie Belle. And I will make those fools pay for daring to come between us!”
"Be prepared Everfree! For Rarity's destiny is not over yet!"
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This is awesome on so many levels. At first I figured Rarity would be a poor alternate Trixie, but you really make her work, and that part at the end with Inspiration Manifestation subbing in for the Alicorn Amulet is awesome. So next chappie are we going to see Nightmare Moon and the gang try and drive out Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike from a mountain?
Nice touch, and d'aww, Discord's got a pet windigo! Or is it a windigo child? How sapient are they, I wonder?
Just remembered the other thing I forgot in my comment! They lose cutie marks! That's certainly something to think about!
4446566
Who is that?
I'm glad you like it. I should point out that the book Rarity finds tells her where to find the 'most generous' gift but not what that gift actually is. I've got a few ideas going for when she makes her return but I'll need to go over them again to see what works best. Thanks for checking my story out.
Also, Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike...I'm sorry, what?
4447993 That's Spike's full name from earlier generations. Also, how come Smog and not say, Garble? Though I do love Smog's smoke-themed powers.
4448023
Ah, okay then. Thanks for telling me. Don't worry, you'll see Garble eventually, but probably not where you're expecting him to be.
You are officially my favorite person!!! Last chapter you referenced Avatar, and this one you referenced Frozen!!!!!!
Anyways, this was really good. I half expected the book Rarity finds to be Inspiration Manifestation, but I guess not, whatevs. I really liked how you basically made a better version of Boast Busters. In the original, the mane six are portrayed as rude and immature, whereas the way you wrote it, no one was really in the wrong too much, and everyone acted much more mature!
Now Lyra is going to love that spell
I think the switch of the windigos with the Ursa is perfect.
Windigos feed of hate and conflict.
Why where windigos so close to Peaceville?
They were drawn near by the squabbling with Rarity.
So the punishment for their distrust and aggression came in far more literal.
"Look upon me, Everfree, for I am RARITY!"
Da hell? Losing your cutie mark makes you special? Weird.
Ha! Kill the windigo with fire, nice call chrysalis. I keep forgetting she's the fluttershy of this fic.
Losing... Cutie Mark makes you special?
Eh, not making sense, non, what-so-ever, I know that this is meant to show how strange the world is, but how can you lose a mark that signifies what you are meant to become in life, is it predicting the future? Babies don't have individual identities or skills yet to qualify for it.
I HATE/love the parody
did you mean 'get' your cutie mark? I'm confused
6506590
Wow, I am so deleting this comment. Just... wow.
Also, WOW I missed a lot. The last update for the story I saw was "Power". Sure, the next chapter was well over two years later, but I only just thought to check in again, well over two years after that.
8582395
Nope. Lost. By now im sure you realize how this is possible.