Ch. 6 - Generosity
The Monster in the Twilight
Generosity
“It ain’t right,” complained Scootaloo, bouncing a ball idly against the wall of the tree clubhouse. “She’s gone off somewhere to do homework again. Why can’t she ever do homework with us?”
“You do homework?” asked Sweetie Belle with a tilt to her head as she tried to imagine the words ‘study’ and ‘Scootaloo’ in the same sentence.
“Well, when I can. I’m busy a lot, since I’m always helping out at the shop and crusading with my friends.” Scootaloo gave up on the ball and trotted over to the clubhouse balcony to look out across Sweet Apple Acres and think out loud. “So, who does she do homework with, anyway?”
“I don’t know.” Sweetie Belle joined her fellow crusader on the balcony. “Who do you think? Diamond Tiara?”
“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon hate our guts.”
“Twist?”
“No, Twist’s sister lives over her candy shop. Apple Bloom would smell like candy when she got back from doing homework. You don’t think the reason she’s so secretive is because she’s over at a—” Scootaloo shuddered “—colt’s house, do you?”
“You mean like Featherweight? He’s not so bad, for a colt. But his whole house smells like photo developing fluid. Apple Bloom smells more like dirt and plants when she gets back from homeworking.” It was Sweetie Belle’s turn to shudder. “Rarity would dunk me in the tub and scrub me for hours if I came home like that.”
* * *
Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle a ride back to the Carousel Boutique, but without the additional presence of Apple Bloom, the extra speed she was able to squeeze out of the scooter just did not seem worth it. There was still an hour before she was supposed to be back at the machine shop to help Aunt Quick Fix clean up the tools and things before dinner. It did not leave much time for cutie mark searching, but plenty of time to travel out to Sweet Apple Acres and talk to Apple Bloom. She was looking forward to using her favorite path and setting a new solo speed record.
Five minutes later as she pulled herself out of a thorny bush by the roadside, all thoughts of setting a new speed record were gone from her mind, replaced with the possibility of getting a cutie mark in setting broken bones, perhaps. A quick inventory of limbs and pains showed nothing missing or bent in the wrong direction, except the back wheel of her scooter was even more twisted than before.
That’ll cut into my top speed something terrible. It’s a good thing I’ve been saving up my bits from what Auntie pays me for cleaning up the machine shop. What’s this?
A number of small hoofprints on what appeared to be a path to the side of the road caught her interest. It was a little out of the way, but Scootaloo carefully placed her hoof alongside one the other small hoofprints and checked carefully just in case. It was familiar, because there was a little nick in the side of the other print just like Apple Bloom had nicked her hoof falling off the wagon last week. After brief consideration of the small trail leading into the Everfree Forest, the young filly shook her head.
“Apple Bloom? What are you doing in the forest?” she whispered to herself, looking down the path before slinging the scooter over her shoulder and trotting confidently in pursuit of her friend.
* * *
The trail seemed to have been trod a great number of times by tiny hooves or Scootaloo would never have been able to follow it. Occasionally, in damp spots along the trail she would stop and try one of the techniques of tracking she had learned from the ‘Action, Danger Ranger’ series of books.
Stop.
Squint at the tracks.
Declare something about them.
So far, she determined that Apple Bloom liked to jump in mud puddles just like she did. There was a certain feeling about passing through the border of the Everfree Forest, a light tickle about the wings that gave warning about landing on any clouds to experienced pegasi, but to Scootaloo it just felt like an annoying itch.
Eventually, the well-trod trail ended, but not in a clearing or some interesting place filled with ancient ruins or hidden jungle temples. It just went straight up to a bush and vanished. A plain, ordinary, green bush. Scootaloo scratched her head and kicked over a nearby clump of blown leaves. This was a waste of time. A cautious nibble disproved the theory that it was an ice-cream bush, and a quick trip around the bush showed no other trails.
Only one way to find out if she’s in there.
Scootaloo shoved her head inside the bush and yelled, “Hey AppleBlooOOOHHHMYYYAARRRHHGG!!!!”
With a piercing scream, the filly launched backwards out of the bush, fleeing up the path in a panic-driven gallop that did not touch the ground for yards at a time. An explosive bang from behind accelerated her gait to dangerous levels, even for Scootaloo. Wings buzzing faster than she had ever flapped before, her hooves spraying dirt in all directions, she barely avoided colliding with trees and rocks until she fell out onto the main road, far away in a scramble of legs, panting so hard the world seemed to be fading in and out.
When Scootaloo had finally caught her breath and gotten a tentative grip on her panic, her eyes wanted to go in three directions. She could flee to Sweet Apple Acres and get Big Macintosh to go rescue Apple Bloom from having a book read to her by a monster. Or… No, wait.
She had seen a monster, there was no doubt of that. It certainly fit the ideal model of one, looking like it had been patched together from the bodies of dead ponies and given life by a crazed unicorn in a lightning storm. All the monster needed was to stagger down the main street of Ponyville, chasing little fillies to gobble up, and it would fit the example of every monster Scootaloo had seen in films perfectly.
She was not going to volunteer to be the chased filly. Not even with a movie contract.
The problem with that theory was the book that had been sitting between Apple Bloom and the monster. Reading a book while curled up on the ground was most definitely not monster behavior. None of the stories she had ever read had a monster in them who tortured their victims by reading to them, although it did sound a little bit scary, in particular if there was a test at the end. Then again, monsters had to have something to do when they were not stumbling through town, groaning and stomping in pursuit of little foals to gobble up. Maybe they had their own towns, and sent their own children to creepy schools where they learned to be properly scary monsters⁽*⁾ too. She shuddered at the thought of big monsters giving homework to little monsters; it was bad enough when Miss Cheerilee gave out homework.
(*) Possibly a school for ghouls in a land of perpetual Nightmare Night.
Scootaloo thought on the dilemma. This was starting to suspiciously resemble a story problem, except school never was interesting enough to have a problem like this. She could picture Miss Cheerilee at the front of the classroom.
Class, we are going to have a pop quiz. While traveling through a forest that you were not supposed to be in, you discover a horrible, scary monster reading a book with one of your friends. Do you:
A) Run away, screaming.
B) Scream, and run away.
C) Run away without screaming, saving your strength for running.
D) Freeze in terror.
She knew either A or B was the correct answer, but she always guessed wrong on tests. With this test, she would not get her usual F or D, but an E.A.T.E.N.
Another thought sprang to mind: What if it was a cookbook?! The monster could have been sitting down with Apple Bloom, trying to figure out just how to properly cook her.
Or it could have been a puzzle book, and she was making Apple Bloom solve a puzzle before she was released.
Or it could have been an appointment book, if the monster was really busy and needed to find a place on its schedule. ‘Consume small filly. Monday, 3:15-4:20’
The second problem was Apple Bloom, who had been lying quietly next to the monster, looking in the book, which was the first problem. If the problems started to resemble the Commutative Property, she was going to scream.
But then again, the monster might explain Apple Bloom’s sudden scholastic talents. Maybe instead of being captured by the monster, maybe she had captured the monster and was forcing it to do her homework. The sheer brilliance of the idea blinded her momentarily, until a second blinding flash of inspiration hit.
She was keeping her captive homework-writing monster a secret from us!
This was the ultimate betrayal of friendship. No greater criminal conspiracy could be considered. There was only one thing to do. Only one pony she could trust with this earth-shattering news.
Scootaloo put her scooter down on the road and began to drive at a suicidal pace.
In the small clearing inside the Everfree Forest, there lay half of a picture book sliced in two as if by some impossibly sharp razor. And on the pages remaining, small drops of blood began to appear, ever so slowly.
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FYI: Please don't worry. Applebloom is not seriously injured at the end of Chapter 6.
Yes
After reading: Well now, I am starting to see where you might be taking this story! New Element bearers is an interesting idea, and now we've been introduced to two of them (I think). So if Applebloom is Loyalty, Scoots is Generosity, maybe Zecora is kindness, considering that she has been helping Twi for a while now. As for the rest I have no idea as it seems like they will most likely be fillies in the crusaders class. The chapter may be a little on the short side but I'm still thrilled by what's happening. Keep up the good work!
Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?
2058859
i.qkme.me/356oye.jpg
2059149 I said she wasn't seriously injured, I didn't say nothing bad was going to happen to her. In fact, she is facing the Worst Possible Thing at the end of next chapter. dum-Dum-DUMMMM!!!
2059149 of course.
If Apple Bloom is injured at all...
I SWEAR I WILL RIP TWILIGHT'S BEATING HEART OUT OF HER CHEST WITH MY BARE HANDS AND FEED IT TO MY CATS! 
That is, unless someone gives me a Needler to avenge Apple Bloom with. 
First, I'd just like to say, I've declared a vendetta against Silent Bob, because he's a douche and doesn't write anything interesting.
Now, I quite like this. Did Mo--Twilight cut herself? That'd really suck, where's Applebloom gonna find bandaids in the middle of the forest?
2058859
I'm not entirely sure you understand the purpose of cliffhangers...
2058859 Not seriously injured you say
I guess being vaporised, disintegrated or flash cooked don't really could as seriously injured 
the plot thickens..
You tease us, sir, you tease us!
A million voices rise up and cry "MOAR!"
2059164
Library fine for the damaged book?
but i do worry, what if Scootaloo makes a bad decision? :O
Relevant
I just noticed that the last two chapters have been titled after the Elements... you're going to make the CMC, or at least Applebloom, wielders? That's... an interesting direction, I'll give you that. Though it makes me fearful of the permanence of Twilight's current mental health, being an adult who's BFFs are little kids. Nothing wrong with being friends with a child, of course, but I'm hoping more than one of the other wielders are closer to Twilight's age. I'm actually hoping at least one of the canon wielders makes it through, but I won't shed any tears if not, lol.
oh god rofl
Okay, that ending doesn't seem like anything particularly Element-wielder-y would come out of this. In fact, that's downright ominous.
Oh snap! Cliffhanger of the poor filly kind!
I sure hope all of them are going to be okay...
2059204
none of those result in blood. i'm guessing exploded
2059796 part of something got teleported.
2059527
...What the fuck? Why did that happen?
2059136
What's Sweetie Belle then?
Come on, you know that's where Scoot is going. And by what scale is Applebloom 'not badly injured'? Or that panic port hurt Twilight, again.
And now AB is trying to patch her up.
OTOH(oof) this would really be a gut punch to Celestia, not only is the filly she tried to kill the new Element of Magic, but while in hiding she gathers the rest of the bearers, half of them foals without even their Cutie Marks, while her hoof picked backups don't make it to the Castle?
Oh Celestia, CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ELEMENT BEARERS, YAH!
2058859 thank you for saying that but still, this can turn ugly really fast if applebloom doesn't try to act collected and twilight gets angry. Best case senario: twilight gets really sad that she hurt applebloom who, while a bit startled, realizes that it was a accident and forgives twilight. Twilight then either heals applebloom with magic or applebloom simply nuzzles twi when she is crying saying "sowwy, sowwy ples dot hat me" or something like that depending on how collected twilight is about it.
Worst case... Well, at least they won't need to buy a casket.
Ah, so Scootaloo inherits Dash's element of bitch.
2059837 Those may just be the names of the chapters, I was just guessing
2059860
Holy shit I get diabetus just imagining that!
2059873
Indeed.
Just read all the chaps in one go........
Awesome.... Just so Awesome......
and now...... waiting for more.....
Dang it scootaloo your suppose to by my favorite of the CMC, why did you have to go and scare twilight?
Awsome story and can't wait to see where this goes.
well... hot damn... Poor Twi and Apple Bloom... I hope both of them are alright but if that last line is any indication... no... one of them (maybe both) aren't alright... looking forward to the next update! Please please bring it out soon!
Sorry, but the title makes no sense for this chapter at all. It's neither about Rarity, nor Sweetie, and there's no generosity happening aside from Scoots giving Belle a ride home.
uh oh oh snap
and then Apple Bloom was forced to share her captive homework monster with her friends...
Scoots actually turning in completed homework causes Cheerilee to keel over from shock...
Sweetie coming home smelling like forest causes Rarity to keel over from shock (after pulling out her fainting couch and screaming about "the worst possible thing") ...
2059527
Whaaat
2059175
Zecora, the new element of Kindness.
2058859 Not seriously injured.
Sounds like somepony's going to have a bandage she'll have to explain. Combine that with Apple family honesty, and hilarity will likely ensue.
Also, go Scootaloo! All that adrenaline nearly got her airborne! Sure, the circumstances could've been better, but I'm always rooting for airborne Scoot.
WHy is this story called Generosity ?
2063014 I'm sure it will make sense after a few more chapters.
First the word "Bong" in a massive font and now you subtly throw 420 into this chapter. Call me a conspiracy theorist but I'm seeing some subliminal messages sir
2059829 But, as we all know, teleportation spells would instantly cauterize the wound.
Sweetie Belle has an otherworldly sense of smell. I also am wondering how the CMC is still around even though Twilight isn't. I mean, it is just like the Butterfly Effect: change a small thing in the past, and drastically alter the future.
Also, nice job breaking the cliff hanger by telling us Apple Bloom wasn't seriously injured.
3450843
While I do get where you're coming from with the whole Butterfly Effect theory, the fact is Twilight has had very little interaction with the CMC. In Call of the Cutie, the only interaction she has with Apple Bloom is when she tried to use her magic to make her mark appear, so Twilight's removal would only mean that she would enter the party a few minutes sooner. The only thing that would probably be greatly changed with her removal is Hearts and Hooves Day, which, tbh, would be for the better since they wouldn't have been able to get the book that held the love poison that they used on Mac and Cheerilee.
Bearer #2. Or I'm reading to much into things.
Scoots was awesome.
Story does not exist TT.....damn them ghouls and their sneaky ways
3788358 Darnit. That was a pretty good one too, in the same world as The Nightmare Before Nightmare Night. I'll have to update my story to reflect the link vanishing. Since I'm making an editing pass through it anyway due to EqD submission, it's one more thing to add to the list.
Okay that... that is BEAUTIFUL
Okay, I'm going to continue reading tomorrow. But I need to know:
1) This is pre-S1 right? Before the coming of Nightmare Moon?
2) Other than the CMC being founded, and Shining Armor and Cadance having a child. What else is different as of now?
3) What's Twilight's Special Talent? And does her sun thingie let her tap into the power of the sun like she did in her test?
Heh. The Dangers of the World seen through the eyes of a filly
Reminds me of Stewie from Family Guy, and his image of 'evil corporations'. "We put on the label that the shampoo doesn't sting in the eyes... but it still does! Muaahahahahaa!"
Did Twilight kill apple bloom? You can't tell, but I typed that really slowly.
Oooh, that might not be good. Of course, it could always be Monster who got hurt... right?
Also, your thing with the footnotes? Not working. At all.
Did Applebloom got hurt?