Alternate POV Series: DWW 2, Generosity 2

Alternate POV Series: Discord World War.  
Written by James Sylar (myself).
Translated by Drake Epsilon
Edited by Louis Badalament.
Idea original by Alex Warlorn.
MLP: FIM is owned by Hasbro (?).

Generosity's pebbles. Part 2.
v.2

*Unofficial Opening Song: Share The World by TVXQ*

++++Rarity++++

I needed a few minutes to quietly sit back and digest the large, hearty meal I’d just ate, before returning back to my hooves.  I don’t usually overindulge like this; it’s so easy for a girl to lose her shape if she’s not careful.

"M-Miss Belle?" Inkie asked, sweetly.

I turned around, hoping I wouldn’t find her offering me another plate of hotcakes.  She wasn't, that was a relief. However, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed...

I swear by Celestia's day and Luna's night, since the day all of Pinkie’s alter egos unified, her cooking skills reached such a high level of excellence, I often wondered why she was still the Cakes’ apprentice when she could be a chef of her own.  And her sisters were an even match in terms of culinary skill.  

"Miss Belle!" said Inkie again, and I returned to the here-and-now.  

"Yes, what's going on, dear?"

"Eh! W-well, Bella and I had a few rock and gem samples w-we just had lying around... and I, I mean, WE would like to know if you are interested in taking a look..."

"That sounds charming." I answered honestly, and her face lit up in delight.  “Where is it at?”

"Oh, a little place of ours." Added her twin sister with pride "The Pie Sisters’ Internationally Famous Weird Rocks and Gems Museum.  Just a few rooms over from where we are."

++++Pinkie++++

My sisters had invited us all to a guided tour of their special rock museum.  I wanted go with them, but I had already offered to wash the dishes.  And I had some other unfinished business, besides...

And so Trixie, Shy, Cruel and Rarity followed my sisters to their museum room.  AJ didn’t go because she had gone out to deliver food to Eureka and Night Gale. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Arrow have not returned yet, and Shadowfax seemed to have fallen asleep in a corner... but it could’ve just as easily been some kind of meditative focusing exercise.  Easy to confuse the two.

...Was that everypony?  Oh wait, no it wasn't!

Octavia preferred to stay with Vinyl, who still was trying to enchant her new magic fossil properly. It was Vinyl’s fifth try.   But then my ex-sister stood up and excused herself from the room, muttering something about stretching her legs.

++++Octavia++++

I breathed a sigh of relief.  It actually DID feel nice, stretching my legs, catching some air... and then I found myself face to face with Abigail Jaqueline.


“Howdy, sugarcube, what’re yah doing out here?”


“Me? I just was out for..." The excuse died in my mouth.  It felt impossible to say a lie while looking into Applejack’s eyes.  Maybe it had something to do with her being the Element of Honesty.
“I needed to get out of that house.  It gives me the strangest feeling of déjà vu, the longer I’m in it..."


"Ain’t this is your first time here, though?”

“Yes, that’s right.  Still, the déjà vu won’t go away.”

“Maybe you farmed rocks here in a previous life."  Applejack teased.

I couldn't help smiling back at her.  "Maybe I did..."


I let out a deep sigh.  It must have done me good: for some reason I felt like I had gotten rid of a heavy weight.


++++Pinkie++++

This was my chance. As soon as the door closed behind Octavia, I washed the rest of the dishes extremely fast (and without leaving stains!  Haste does NOT make waste when you're Pinkie Pie!), I took off the apron and went to where Vinyl was.



"I'm done!" she shouted, raising the fossil up high and jumping off her seat. "Eh? Pinkie, why are you laying on the ground?"

"No-nothing, I was just looking for something under the couch..." She helped me up and we started to talk, first just idle chitchat, but then I steered the conversation towards what I really wanted to talk about.

"Ehm, Vinyl, before I forget... I want to thank you for helping me get closer to Octavia.  Because of you, I was able to establish a stronger bond with her than I would have on my own.”

I don’t think I was explaining myself in the right words.   But then again, there was a lot of context I was leaving out.  

"Oh!" she said after a few moments. "You LIKE Tavie!"


"What?!" I fell to the ground again,   "Nononononono... No! It's not that what I meant!"

"Oh? It’s not? But you’d both look soooo CUTE together!" she said, finishing in a lovey-dovey squeak.  "...Though I’m not totally sure whether she swings that way or not... you'll have to ask her.  I promise I won’t intrude.”

“No, no, no!  It REALLY isn’t like THAT, Vinyl!”  

I made a big show of laughing -- which Vinyl joined in -- though inside I felt a little ill.  The very IDEA of entering a romantic relationship with somepony I can remember being SISTERS with... no THANKS!   And it STILL wasn’t the weirdest ‘ship people involved me in. (DiscoxPie, really? Who writes that nonsense?  Just because we commonly break the laws of physics... that's NOT good grounds to build love on!)  

“Really?”

“Really.  Elements of Harmony are all about the FRIENDSHIP, that’s why bonds are important.  You can have her as marefriend.”

“That’s kind of you, but Tavie and I are purely platonic.”  Vinyl said.  
 
"I like her, but more like... a sister. I met Octavia a long, long time ago, and we were very good friends then, so it hurt a little when she didn't recognize me..."

“I see.  But it’s strange.  I knew Tavie since we were little fillies, and I don’t remember seeing you at any point back then. Oh!  Maybe you meet her when she was a baby!”

“You could say that…” I said awkwardly.

“I bet you both were cute then… Tavie never lets me see her photo albums of when she was a baby…”

“Eh? You like babies? You don’t seem like that type of pony…”

“Of course I like babies, they’re so cute~” she cooed, finishing in that adoring squeak again.  It was really hard to believe that the pony in front of me and the famous nightclub DJ were one and the same.

“Yeah!”  I agreed.  “They’re fun to cuddle with!  I work at this bakery, and my bosses’ little foals are just the CUTEST little things...!"

Vinyl turned quiet and serious.  It was the first time I had ever seen her like this.  “Yeah, other ponies’ foals ARE fun to play with, aren’t they?  They always make me wish... but it’s like you said: I don’t seem the type, do I?  And I’m really not, when you get down to it.  I’m too irresponsible and foolish to have a foal of my own…”

Before I could say anything more, Octavia came back and Vinyl’s face shone again.

AJ was behind her, and we all sat to chat.  We discovered that Octavia had a cousin named Fiddlesticks, who was the step-daughter of one of Applejack’s uncles.  She was a skilled fiddler, and was frequently called upon to provide music during the Apple Family reunions. This cousin was also frequently mistaken for Octavia and vice-versa, since their physical shape and even their cutie marks were strikingly similar.

++++Rarity++++

Rustic and improvised though it was, the Pie twins’ museum truly was a tourist attraction.  All the gems were tagged and organized behind crystal display cases, better than a jewelry store.

Blinkie acted as tour guide, while Inkie just stood among our group of “tourists.”  There were all kinds of valuable gems and rocks to see; many of which were entirely new to me.  We also saw many bones and fossils, though none were like the one Vinyl had found.   Blinkie even showed us a new exhibit, where sample of minerals that the explorers had found were displayed.

"This one is called Phloginstone.  The reason we put it inside a jar of water is because when it comes in contact with regular air, it’ll catch fire spontaneously!   And this is another bit of Pragmatite, which prevents unicorns from using their magic."

I was levitating a cup of tea at that moment.  Perhaps the Pragmitite was too small a sample to have an effect on me.

Blinkie dragged her sister to the front, which seemed to embarrass her.   "And here we have Heliumcarvorite, which is very, very rare, so much so that this pebble is the only one we have.  Inkie sometimes uses it as a hairpin. It causes ponies who were born wingless to magically weigh a lot less... while pegasi and other creatures who are born WITH wings are suddenly much heavier...”

“Do you mean they get FATTER?”  I ask.

“No, no, not fatter.  Their physique’s the same.  Just that their bodies weigh more, often to the point where they can’t even fly."

The small blue stone was beautiful, even more so with the solid iron mounting it was set inside.

"And this..." said Blinkie after catching her breath "Is our crown jewel!"    

And she threw a curtain off, revealed a display case with one lone stone.  The stone was dark naturally reflective.  It was round and almost flat at a mirror.

"This was a meteorite that landed on our farm a couple of months ago!  It’s very mysterious!  Inkie watched it fall to earth from space... it crashed right next to her in fact!  Fortunately, she wasn’t hurt in any way."

“No, I wasn’t.”  Inkie agreed shyly.

Believe it or not, I had actually seen my share of meteorites before.  It comes naturally when you’re someone like me: a fashionista who sews jewelry into most of her dresses.  I found most meteorites to be rather brutish and unsightly bits of slag, noteworthy only for their extraterrestrial origins.  Not this.  This was beautiful.  Uncut, unpolished, but still as gorgeous as a diamond freshly freed from a quarry wall.  However, when I saw my face reflected back at me, I couldn't help remembering what I had lived through with... Tom.

"M-miss Belle, could it be you are interested in this meteorite?" asked Inkie, who surely noticed my interest despite that I was fighting (discreetly) against my inner selfishness.

"Of course I do, darling, it is a truly beautiful piece."

"T-then I will give it to you."

"WHAT?!" I almost choked on my own saliva.  "Darling, I can't.  This is too valuable for you to just give away!"

She smiled. "No, it's okay.  Y-you probably could use it to make something even more beautiful.  Here, it’ll only collect dust..."

I looked in every direction, trying to look for someone to tell me what to do. Blinkie just shrugged her shoulders, and unlocked the display case containing the meteorite.

How could this be?  Me, the holder of the Element of Generosity, should be the one who give.  Why, I should dress like Santa Hooves and deliver presents to all the fillies, visiting the elders in their nursing homes, and spend whole days with Sweetie to properly live up to my title.

"T-thank you..." was the only thing I could say. The Flutters came closer to me and hugged me. I was... crying?  Then I realized, that one who always has extended her generosity since we first arrived to the farm was the innocent Inkie Pie, while Blinkie just followed her carefree personality. Inkie must be the second holder of my element!  I was completely sure!

What did Shadowfax’s warning matter?!  This information was something I needed to share with Inkie Pie right away!   I wanted to see Inkie’s reaction!  I wanted to see HER element respond!

"Inkie, I..."

++++Rainbow++++

The golem’s rock-fist sailed at the surprised Twilight, but I managed to grab her and fly her out of the way!

...and fell immediately to the ground.

"W-what's going on? Why I can't fly right?!"  I made a second attempt, beating my wings, and it just failed completely. Lightning Arrow seemed to have the same problem.

Twilight stood and cast a spell at the golem, but the beam just rebounded off his body and disappeared.

"This is bad!”  Twilight exclaimed, watching a bird overhead drop like a brick.  “Rainbow Dash, Lightning Arrow... this golem is composed of Pragmatite and probably other minerals which prevent pegasi from flying!"

"What?!  Then that means we’ll have to brute-force it to death with superior numbers!”  I drew the dagger I’d gotten from Canterlot from where I kept it, under my wings.  To hold and manipulate objects with our prehensile feathers is an ability young pegasi develop since we are foals, but they cannot be compared with the dexterity of Minotaur fingers or Griffin talons.   I just held my dagger outward and charged the golem-beast. Maybe I couldn't fly, but I still could run very fast, which could increase the strength of my slashes!

“Dash!”  Twilight screamed.  “That’s the wrong kind of weapon!  You’re not going to stab a rock golem to death, any more than you could stab a brick w--!”

I scored a direct hit, but my blade bounced right off the beast’s rocky surface. I was propelled backwards and the golem barely seemed like receiving a scratch.

"DASH!!!" screamed Twilight, as the mass of rocks proceeded to fall over me.  I tried to scramble backwards to avoid it, but something pushed me FORWARD, between the creature’s legs.   It was Lightning, who’d saved me again with her strange impact power.

"T-thanks!"  I managed to say a little surprised "But... how...?"

"Maybe... maybe the pragmatite just blocks the unicorn magic, not the magic of pegasi or the earth ponies."  Twilight theorized, (because, when else is the best time for theorizing than while a golem’s out to squash you.)   "Think, Twilight, think... what’ll work?!  A sledgehammer?  A bomb?  The Elements?!”

“I like that last idea best!”  I call out.  

"Then we must fall back and regroup with everypony else!”  

I didn’t like turning tail, but I liked being pulverized even less!  But when we began to flee, the golem unleashed a shocking burst of speed, catching up with us in no time, and blocking our way.

"Impossible!  With the mass it has it shouldn't be able to move at that speed!!!" screamed Twilight, furious with the creature for not respecting the laws of physics.

"It is useless, we can’t run away from it..." growled Lightning.

Then an idea reached my head.   "But, you can still use YOUR ability, Lightning!  Push me up!"  

I could tell that neither Lightning nor Twilight had any clue what my plan was; but as I jumped in front of the golem, one of Lightning’s impulses pushed me up; I narrowly avoided its crippling fist.

"Higher, Lightning!  HIGHER!  As high as you can!" I screamed and suddenly I was accelerating towards the sky.  The continuous rush of impact after impact, hurt a little, but my body is way more durable than your average pegasus. Who do you think you are talking to?!

Finally, I’d reached a height where my wings no longer felt like lead.  I was too far up for the golem’s anti-flying power to affect me anymore.  

“That’s enough!”  I called down to Lightning, though I flew EVEN HIGHER, hoping that Twilight and Lightning could take care of themselves.  I needed just a little more time!!!

"Here I go! Stand back!!!" I screamed with all my strength.  From where I was, Twilight and Lightning were just two tiny spots, being pursued by a slightly bulkier blot: my target!

I dove downward.  Heaviness returned to my body when I was back in golem-range, making me plummet EVEN FASTER.  I broke the sound barrier and felt myself crash against rocks.

"Boom!"

++++Rarity++++

I was just about to speak to Inkie when a bright light shone from outside, blinding us for a couple of seconds.  We saw a sequence of multicolored flashes.  We all felt a shockwave shake the house… and I realized it. Twilight, Lightning and Rainbow hadn’t come back yet…  I galloped outside as quick as my hooves would let me, and there it was: a big polychromatic mushroom-shaped cloud.

“What… what is that thing…?” not even Octavia was able to hide her astonishment.

“That is… Rainbow Dash’s ultimate technique…” said Pinkie with a very serious tone of voice “Tactical Sonic Rainuke!”

“Her ultimate technique?!” Vinyl repeated  both surprised and amazed.

“Hey, Pinkie! Don’t go putting names on other ponies’ techniques! Though that sounded kind of cool…” snapped a familiar voice from behind us all. More specifically, a newly-made crater.  There lay Rainbow, lightly burned and bruised, but with nothing broke.

AJ helped Rainbow to get up, and stopped Pinkie from tackle-hugging her.

“What happened?” asked Fluttershy very worried, only to jump like a spooked cat when she heard the sound of a teleportation spell. Twilight and Lightning appeared before us.  Both of them were also burned and hurt, but no so much as Rainbow.

“We’re under attack!” said Twilight  “There was another golem, and one of those harlequins. Rainbow managed to destroy the golem, but I’m mostly sure that the harlequin survived.  And the worst thing of all is...“

Twilight’s words were interrupted by a tremor beneath our hooves, and when it ended, a new golem was standing behind us.  It had FOUR arms, and was covered with shining stones and gems.

“YOU HURT MY BABIES!!” screamed the thing on the golem’s head, glaring balefully at Rainbow Dash.

“-she will surely look for revenge…”

++++Rainbow++++

The harlequin stood imposingly over the four-armed golem’s rounded head. The color of her fur had stopped changing randomly, staying fixed on a grayish white. Part of her mask was broken, revealing a hateful expression focused on me.

"I’ll never forgive you!  Get them, Arms!" she screamed, as her golem dove at me.  

I tried to unsheathe my weapon, but when I reached it, I felt a pain in my chest that paralyzed me. It turned out that I had a fractured rib, nothing too serious (for me, at least) but at that time I was not in the best condition to fight.

Luckily, Cruel got it the way of the golem, wielding her wooden sword.

"I will not let you hurt my friends!"  She and her mother yelled bravely, while blocking a punch from the immense rocky enemy.  The hooves of the Flutters sank a bit on the ground, and soon she was being pushed by the brute force of the golem, but they seemed determined to not surrender.

The harlequin, however, saw an opportunity and jumped directly against me. We both took a few bumps, hitting the ground and then spinning in the air a couple of times. I ended up with my back on the ground.  She stood over me, preventing any escape attempt.

"Rainbow Dash!"  I barely heard the Flutters' shout after receiving the first punch. I tried to cover and block the harlequin's punches with my own hooves, but she was incredibly strong, despite how thin she looked.

I tried to remain awake, but I lost consciousness after the seventh hit to my head.