On the Contrary

by MidnightFog

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Slice of Life, Zecora, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1941

Rarity's search for a rare and beautiful emerald leads her to a lost and dangerous gem.

A special request from a Canterlot socialite leaves Rarity longing for a rare and beautiful gem. However, the gem can only be found in a particular area in the Everfree forest known as the Scorched Clearing.

As Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie set out in search of the gem, Fluttershy decides to stay at home, believing she'll do more harm than good. The team find the beautiful emeralds they seek but, unfortunately, they come across a little something extra that they weren't planning on finding.

As each of the friends begin to display strange and uncharacteristic behaviour, it is left to Fluttershy to work out what's happening and how to stop it. A visit to Zecora sets Fluttershy onto the right path. But, as shy and quiet as she is, and even with Zecora's offer of help, she finds it difficult to be the hero her friends need her to be.

Published 2012-07-04 17:34:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-04 17:34:02 UTC

Chapter 1: A Request for Rarity.

Chapter 1
A Request for Rarity

It was a beautiful, clear morning as the sun began to peek over the horizon. As it ascended the skies, its warm, golden rays caressed and illuminated the gentle, soft curves of Ponyville’s skyline. But, just as the rest of the town was slowly and sleepily awakening to another glorious day, Twilight Sparkle was already hard at work in her library. Her desk was hidden under piles of enormous, dusty tomes and screwed up parchment littered the floor at her hooves.

“No … that doesn’t go there, this does … and that certainly shouldn’t be there!” She muttered to herself as she filled a roll of parchment with archaic symbols and a curling, indecipherable script. “I could put that there and then this might fit here and … no … that’s silly. Come on, Sparkles, you can do better than this. Oh, wait, I’ve seen that symbol before it was in that-” a curt knock at the door interrupted her train of thought. “It’s open, come in.” The door opened and in trotted Rarity, as impeccably groomed and beautiful as always. As the door swung open, the sun’s rays poured into the room, making Twilight squint her eyes and furrow her brow, and making Rarity’s silhouette glow magnificently. Before any morning greetings could be exchanged, Rarity launched into an excited chattering.

“Good morning, Twilight. Sorry to call on you so early but I’ve just had the most wonderful news! I received a letter this morning from Lady Goldenhind herself, requesting my tailoring services for her daughter’s wedding! I can barely believe it, I mean, isn’t that just marvellous?!” She stopped to catch her breath and beamed at Twilight.

“Sounds fantastic, urm, who exactly is that? Lady Goldenmine?” Twilight usually found herself confused as to whom Rarity was referring; Rarity knew a lot of ponies and had heard of practically all of them.

“Honestly, Twilight, you’ve never heard of Lady Goldenhind?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow, “she’s a very well-to-do Canterlot socialite. I can’t believe she wants me to be involved with her daughter’s wedding, I mean, I know I’m reasonably respected as a designer here in Ponyville but, for her to request me personally, I’m just so … so … oh my, it’s just so exciting! She’s one of the founding members of the Canterlot Royal Fashion Academy, don’t you know, so it’s not like she’s short of designers to choose from.”

“Wow, that’s amazing, I’m so happy for you Rarity, and proud of you! I’m glad your talents are being appreciated!” Twilight chirped, giving her friend a generous smile.

“But, anyway, I’m here because I was hoping you might have a book I could consult; I’m currently working on the bride’s headdress and, well, it’s beautiful, of course, but it’s missing a certain something, a centrepiece gem. I have hundreds of gems, you see, but nothing with that certain … dazzle. They’re all too dull or too garish, too big or too small. I recall being here the other day and seeing that you had a gemstone reference guide. I was wondering, might I borrow it for a while? See if I can’t get a few ideas from it?” She was positively buzzing with excitement.

“I think I know which book you’re referring to but I’m afraid it belongs to Spike, not me, I’ll ask him for you. Spike, Spike!” A barely audible response emanated from the kitchen, “Spike, come in here a second!”

“Can’t it wait, Twilight? I’m trying to make myself some breakfast! Give me a minute!” Spike was clearly not in the mood today.

“I was just wondering if you still had that copy of Ruby Shine’s Field Guide to Precious Gems and Stones!”

“Urm, I do, but I’m currently using it for a little project, do you really need it now?!”

“It’s not for me, Spike; Rarity wants to know if she can borrow it.” And, with that, a small gasp came from the kitchen, followed by the sound of smashing plates and hurried footsteps. Spike rushed into the room and straight up the staircase, practically a blur. Coming back down the stairs faster than he went up, Spike stopped dead in front of Rarity, panting, and handed her the book.

“Here you go, Rarity, you can borrow it for as long as you want. Or you can keep it, yeah, keep it! Consider it a present from me!” he said, still out of breath.

“Oh, Spikey-wikey, you’re just the sweetest little darling! That’s so sweet of you but I won’t keep it, I just want a quick look through it” she kissed spike on the cheek and made her way over to the corner of the room, the book hovering next to her, where she carefully and demurely sat and began to read. Spike was still stood in the same spot, an enormous smile on his face and a faraway, dreamy look in his eyes. He was still clutching the cheek where rarity had kissed him. He sighed contentedly and slowly drifted back to the kitchen. Rolling her eyes with the slightest hint of a bemused smile playing across her face, Twilight looked back to her book.

“Oh, that’s- wait … no. Oh my, well that’s just darling. But, is mauve really in this season? I don’t think so. But I could change the dress, I suppose. But then I’d have to change everything … oh my.” Rarity continued to quietly think aloud in the corner.

“No … oh no … I’ll never get this finished in time. I … eugh!” But Twilight’s mutterings were once again interrupted, this time by a small squeak from the corner where Rarity was sitting. “Are you okay, Rarity?”

“Okay? I’m better than okay! I’ve found it; I’ve found the perfect gem! Oh my, yes, it’ll look just spectacular. It matches the dress perfectly, it matches the shoes and the necklace and … and … and well, everything!” Rarity’s excitement was getting more intense by the minute.

“What is it you’ve found?”

“The Mossfire emerald, an utterly gorgeous little specimen; a deep green emerald flecked with red and orange. It’s perfection!” She stopped and a slight frowned graced her brow “But there is a slight problem …” Twilight looked up and tilted her head with interest. “It’s the location …” Rarity continued, “they can only be found in one spot around here: the Everfree Forest. More specifically in a place called the Scorched Clearing. This book is rather old; do you suppose it’s still there?” Twilight frowned slightly and jumped up from her desk. She walked along each of her bookshelves, her eyes scanning the spine of each book.

“The Scorched Clearing … the Scorched Clearing, I know that name. How do I know that name? Where was I … I was reading something last week. What was it? Oh! I know, it was during Ponyville’s magical talent contest and I was reading about … a-ha!” She remarked as she spotted the book she was looking for. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she gestured towards a book on the middle shelf entitled Magical Mishaps: Cautionary Tales of Magic Gone Wrong. Rarity looked towards the tome but wasn’t sure what she was meant to be seeing. The book lifted itself from its place on the shelf and, surrounded by a pale pink glow, slowly descended and stopped, hovering in front of Twilight. She began turning the pages, looking each one up and down, searching for the right chapter.

“Here it is, the Scorched Clearing …” Looking at the page, she began to read, “… believed to have been created over six hundred years ago, the enormous crater is suspected to have been forged when an immense magical experiment went awry. Even though the source of the damage is officially unknown, evidence suggests that somepony was trying to infuse gemstones with raw magic; the area was known to have been a rich source of particularly fine emeralds at the time. Whilst the purpose of this is also unknown, the result was a fiery explosion that almost completely decimated the immediate area, leaving only scorched trees, rocks and earth. One of the less widely known consequences of the incident was the creation of a unique type of gemstone; a red-laced emerald known locally as a Mossfire or Ivyfire emerald.”

“Does it say where it is? Is it near? Or far?” Rarity was chattering excitedly again, “or do you think it’s too dangerous an idea to pursue? Oh dear, it is silly to go gallivanting around a dangerous forest for the sake of a stone, isn’t it?” The excitement in her voice had dissipated and she began to look somewhat deflated. The sight of her friend losing her eagerness caused Twilight’s heart to drop a little. She looked down at the page, and back up to Rarity, a look of determination forming on her face.

“Absolutely not,” she asserted, “I don’t think it’s too dangerous at all. We’ve done things much more risky than this and we’ve braved the Everfree Forest many times. The book places the clearing about a mile north-east of Zecora’s hut, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find, I mean, it’s a forest and we’re looking for a place with no trees, can’t be that difficult, right?” Rarity visibly perked up at the support of her friend.

“You mean you’ll come with me?” Rarity asked.

“Of course I will!” Twilight responded, “I wouldn’t let you do this on your own even if you wanted to! We’re going to find this clearing and get you your emeralds. You’ll finish your dress and Lady Goldenhooves will be thrilled.”

“Urm, Goldenhind, darling,” Rarity corrected.

“Oh, of course,” Twilight said, a small smile playing across her lips. “ Besides, this will take research and preparation! You know how I love research and preparation! I’ve got a lot of studying to do right now and Princess Celestia is expecting a report by five, but we could go tomorrow if you like?”

“Oh, Twilight, you’re so sweet. That’d be lovely, well, not quite lovely, you know, Everfree Forest and all that, but I’m glad you’ll be there with me! I’d better go and prepare myself, I suppose. I have the most adorable little shawl I’ve been keeping hidden away for a special occasion; beautiful shades of green and an incredibly durable fabric, perfect for a little stroll in a dangerous forest, wouldn’t you say?” And, with that, Rarity stood up and placed Spike’s book onto the table “Oh, Spikey, darling, I’m leaving now but thank you ever so much for letting me borrow your book. I’ll be sure to stitch you up a little something as a thank you,” she called into the other room where Spike was still standing, still entranced by the kiss he had received, “right, off I go. See you tomorrow, Twilight, and thanks again!”

“See you later, Rarity, I’ll do a little more research about the Scorched Clearing and the emeralds if I get a chance. See you tomorrow!” Closing the door, Twilight returned to her desk and once again buried herself in her book. “Oh, darn it, I can’t even remember what I was doing now. Oh well, I’ll have to start again.” She screwed up her parchment and let it drop to the floor with the rest and began her work anew, her mind, however, was still dwelling on the Scorched Clearing; whilst she was more than thrilled to be helping out her friends, she couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of preternatural foreboding.