The Rise and Fall of Chaos

Chapter 5 – Generosity Exploited

“You seem troubled.” “I felt something very odd. Very... familiar.” “Oh? Tell me my child, what was it?” “I haven't the slightest idea.”

Rarity awoke to the sound of light knocking on her front door. She groggily made her way down the stairs, faintly aware of a passing feeling of dread. By the time she opened the door, the feeling had faded completely.

“Oh, I'm sorry Rarity,” began Fluttershy, noticing Rarity in her robe, “I didn't mean to wake you. I'll just come back later...”

“It's quite alright, darling. Come on in.” Rarity said with a yawn.

“Okay!” Fluttershy said with a smile as she walked past Rarity. “I was wondering if you could look at some designs I drew up earlier.”

“Fluttershy! I didn't know you were into fashion designing! I mean, I knew you knew all about it, but you want to make your own designs now? Let me see!”

Fluttershy opened her bag and produced a stack of papers, all with various designs on them. Rarity quickly levitated them over to her table to get a closer look at them.

“Oh, these are... well...” Rarity didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings, but she had to be honest. “They look... nice. But...”

“You don't like them, do you?” Fluttershy asked, looking hurt.

“Well, they're alright, for a beginner. What I mean to say is, you're off to a great start but I don't feel these are quite ready yet.”

“Oh, I see...”

“Not to worry, darling! You can look at some of my designs for inspiration, I'm sure they'll help you get an idea of how to improve yours!”

With that, Rarity took some of her own designs and placed them in Fluttershy's bag along with hers.

“Believe me, you really are off to a great start, you just need that extra push to make something really incredible!” Rarity could see that Fluttershy still looked a bit hurt. “Are you okay, dear? I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean...”

“Oh no, it's okay.” Fluttershy quickly responded, trying her best to put on a smile. “I understand. I'll look over your designs later and try to... to get some inspiration.”

She turned and walked towards the door, her head slightly slumped.

“Here, let me get the door...” Rarity began, but stopped as Fluttershy opened the door and quickly walked out, closing it quietly behind her. “Oh, I do hope I didn't hurt the poor girl's feelings...”

***

After a week of not hearing from Fluttershy, Rarity began to get a bit worried. Try as she might, she just couldn't focus on finishing her latest fashion line, thoughts of Fluttershy constantly creeping into her head. She was too afraid to go to her house to check up on her, fearing she'd just get yelled at or that she'd be ignored. Fluttershy wasn't exactly known for her temper, but she could be very distant when feeling down, and sometimes she does have a tendency to lash out.

Rarity tried to push these thoughts from her mind, trying for what seemed like the thousandth time to get back to her work, but then there was a knock at her door. Hoping it was Fluttershy she quickly ran over and practically ripped the door from the hinges.

Standing outside the door was a unicorn dressed in what could only be described as regal attire. In front of him was a very official looking letter being held up by his magic. He looked Rarity over condescendingly before clearing his throat and reading aloud.

“You are hereby cordially invited to attend Miss Fluttershy's Fashion Show in Canterlot this evening. Enclosed please find two tickets, one for the train and one for the show. We hope to see you there.”

Before Rarity had a chance to say anything, the rude unicorn shoved the letter in her face, prompting her to grab it with her mouth. He quickly turned around and began walking toward a chariot being pulled by two royal guards.

“Well, how rude...” she remarked as she levitated the letter inside her house and closed the door.

“'Miss' Fluttershy? Fashion Show? What's this all about... how did she manage to host a fashion show in Canterlot of all places? She really must have improved her designs! That must be why I haven't seen her all week!” she said aloud, opening the letter and finding her tickets. “I must leave at once!”

***

Rarity arrived ten minutes before the show was about to begin. She hadn't expected to find many ponies attending, but when she stepped into the main showroom her jaw nearly hit the floor. There was a very large crowd of ponies from all over Equestria gathered around the runway, all waiting in eager anticipation for the show to begin. She looked around for any of her friends but could find none of them.

“Why would Fluttershy invite me, but not them? Surely she would want the rest of the girls here to see her designs... unless of course they weren't much better than the ones she showed me. Oh, what if they're not much better? That poor girl, she's going to be so heartbroken!”

Her train of thought was interrupted by the dimming of the showroom lights, followed by the sound of a needle being put to vinyl. Upbeat music filled the room as the announcer began to speak.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, it is my great pleasure to present to you, Miss Fluttershy's new fashion line: 'Vengeance Amicale!'”

“What? Why, that translates to...”

Before Rarity could finish her thought, the first model stepped out onto the runway, dressed unmistakably in one of her own designs. Not a single thing had been changed. A few more models came out, all wearing designs that Rarity had made herself, with nothing from Fluttershy's designs at all. It took every last ounce of strength Rarity had within her to keep from storming onto the runway and tearing the dresses to pieces.

“That double-crossing she-witch! I gave her those designs to study, not to steal! How could she have done this to me?!”

Rarity suffered through the rest of the show, waiting until it was over to make her way backstage to confront Fluttershy. Her fury nearly got the better of her when she saw Fluttershy sitting down, looking content as ever. Rarity quickly calmed herself and attempted to be civil.

“Fluttershy, dear, what in Equestria did you think you were doing? You stole my designs! They were supposed to help you improve your designs, not for you to blatantly rip off and present as your own!”

Fluttershy nonchalantly looked at Rarity and said only two words, but they might as well have been an entire novel full of pure hatred and spite, for the way they made Rarity feel.

“Your point?”

“My point?!” Rarity began to get visibly flustered. “My point is that you've betrayed me! You took every last shred of trust I've ever had for you and trampled all over it! How could you do this to me?!”

“Oh you're such a drama queen. You'll get over it eventually.”

It was at this point that Rarity's anger completely took over. She lunged at Fluttershy, but was stopped cold by two bodyguards.

“What would you like us to do with this, Miss Fluttershy?” one of them asked.

“Oh, just toss her outside. Try not to be too rough, though.”

The bodyguards dragged Rarity outside and threw her to the ground. She quickly got back up and nearly fainted when she saw the dirt covering her dress.

“Why, I've never been treated so rudely in my life!” she snapped at the bodyguards.

“You really are a drama queen, ain't ya?” laughed one of them as he was walking away. The other slammed the door shut.

Rarity growled in frustration. She had never seen Fluttershy acting this way before, it was almost as if she was possessed. She was determined to figure out what had happened to make her this way.

“I know, I'll ask the others if they've noticed anything odd about Fluttershy that would explain her rude behavior.”

***

Rarity found the rest of her friends at Twilight's house, helping her clean up a huge mess of books.

“Hey Rarity, come on in!” Twilight said happily. “We're just finishing up some cleaning. It's been yet another crazy weekend of studying!”

Rarity made her way inside, still looking flustered from her confrontation with Fluttershy.

“What's the matter, sugarcube? You look like you've spent the entire day rasslin with an angry alligator!” exclaimed Applejack.

“No, but I did have an... incident with Fluttershy. You girls haven't noticed anything strange about her recently, have you? She's acting awfully vicious today.”

The four ponies looked at each other briefly, then turned to Rarity and shook their heads.

“Why, what did she do?” asked Twilight.

“It's simply dreadful!” Rarity said, trying her best to maintain her composure. “Just last week she stopped by to show me some fashion designs she had drawn up, and she wanted my opinion on them. I told her they were a great start, but they needed more work. So, I gave her some of my design ideas to help her along, but she ended up stealing them! She put on a fashion show in Canterlot today, and she had used my designs! When I asked her why, she acted as if it was no big deal!”

“Oh, is that all?” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. The other girls joined her in a hearty laugh.

Rarity was flabbergasted.

“You're kidding, right? Please tell me this is some kind of joke. How can you sit there and act as if it's no big deal?!”

“Oh Rarity, ya really do make a fuss over everything, don't ya?” Applejack said with a laugh.

“Well I'm glad you can laugh about it! I, however, cannot! Fluttershy betrayed my trust by using my designs in her fashion show, and I quite frankly am going to have a very hard time forgiving her!”

“Oh please. You really are a drama queen!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“I'm sure she had a good reason for doing it. After all, you did say you didn't like her designs. Maybe she felt insulted.” offered Twilight.

“That doesn't give her the right to steal the designs I had worked so hard on!” Rarity screamed, her face turning beet red. “How would you feel, Twilight, if you had written a brilliant scientific study, but before you had a chance to publish it, someone stole it and sold it as their own?”

“It's not the same.” Twilight said calmly.

“How is it not the same?!” Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs. Her anger had reached the boiling point, and there was no turning back. “This is my life's work we're talking about here!”

“I still don't see what the big deal is.” Twilight said coldly. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Life's work... ha, you don't know what real work is. All ya do is sit in yer house makin' dresses all day. That ain't work.” said Applejack.

“She's got a point there.” Rainbow said.

Rarity was crushed, feeling more hurt than ever. “You know what? Fine. I can see how it is. From now on, I don't want to have anything to do with any of you. I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear from you, I don't even want to know that you exist! I want you out of my life, forever!”

Rarity turned and stormed out the door. Right before she slammed it, Pinkie Pie finally spoke up and said: “Okey dokey lokey!”

***

Back at her house, Rarity had begun to pack her things. She had no desire to live in Ponyville anymore, for she knew that it would mean she'd still have to deal with her ex-friends. It was practically impossible to avoid them. She knew that if she saw any of them again, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back.

“I wanted to help Fluttershy, and she threw it right back in my face. Element of Generosity? Ha! Not anymore. That is the last time I offer my help to anypony ever again! And as for the rest of them... oh they'd better hope I never see them again!”

Tears began to fill her eyes as she thought of how Fluttershy had betrayed her trust, and how the rest of the girls treated it as if it was no big deal. Rainbow Dash had even called her a drama queen. Applejack went so far as to insult her line of work, and what's worse was how the rest of them agreed with her.

“How could they be so heartless?”

Before long, Rarity had collapsed on the floor in a fit of sorrow, crying her eyes out. She remained there for several hours.

***

“She really is a drama queen.” Goatroth said mid-yawn. “Oh well, at least now she's out of the way. Not only has her generous spirit been broken, but she also has a deep hatred for her former friends. Wonderful!”

A sudden vague feeling washed over Goatroth. It was hard to place, but it's something he had felt once before, a long time ago.

“Remorse? No... that's nonsense...”

Yet, he couldn't deny it. Somewhere deep inside him, the feeling of remorse over all the things he had been doing had begun to take hold.

“Snap out of it, my child. I do not know where these feelings are coming from, but you must stop at once!” “But...” “I SAID STOP!”

Goatroth shook his head as if trying to bring himself out of a drunken stupor. He could feel something slipping, something deep inside. It was almost as if a great veil were being lifted, slowly, piece by piece. It was still too deep and too vague to have any real effect on him at this point, but it was enough to make him notice.

He began to notice the sound of footsteps from somewhere in the throne room.

“Who dares to enter my throne room? Reveal yourself at once!”

“More to the point, how did we not detect him?” “That's not important right now, focus!”

A small colt stepped out of the shadows, shaking with fright.

“I-I'm sorry, mister. I was just wondering if...” he quickly glanced at the six ponies frozen in place in the middle of the room “if I could umm, hang out with you. You're really cool!”

Goatroth put his head down and rested his hoof on his forehead, a look of contempt on his face.

“Child, you will immediately leave my throne room before I turn you into a pile of ashes.” he said nonchalantly.

When he raised his head and saw that the young pony was not leaving, he rose up from his throne and propelled himself forward at the colt at a blinding speed, stopping an inch from his face.

“I SAID LEAVE!”

The entire palace shook with Goatroth's anger. The colt immediately turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, screaming with fear.

“That's better. Children these days...”

His childhood years suddenly flashed before his eyes, and a great sadness began to wash over him.

“Enough! Snap out of it I said!”

He shook his head once more, and made his way over to his throne.

“What a day...”