AN: Thanks for reading!
The Seventh Element: The Element of Hope
Chapter 13
Hopeful Generosity
Lavender entered through the door looking about what appeared to be a boutique. A run down decrepit boutique.
"Rarity? Rarity are you here," Lavender asked as she stepped into the main room carefully looking for her friend. She found Rarity a mess of fabrics by her. All the colors ugly and tattered. Rarity herself looked to be a personification of mess herself. Her coat dull her mane and tail in disarray and limp. "Oh I've got to help her I've just got to." Lavender walked to her friend and stood next to her. "Rarity? Rarity are you okay? Can you hear me?" Lavender looked at her and saw the dark shadows under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in months. Does this place distort time? Lavender wondered or is it just perception? Lavender moved to touch Rarity and when her hoof was about to make contact Rarity released a loud anguish filled whale. Lavender jumped back a few feet in shock and watched worriedly as her friend threw herself on a torn up chase and wept.
"Lavender. Lavender I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me but its hopeless! How can I be generous anymore when its what drove you to what you are now," Rarity cried. The room around the two suddenly switched and Lavender stared in horror at herself and Rarity. But what caused the look of horror was the beautiful dress Rarity had remade her after her fall down the stairs. Lavender treasured the remade dress and had it hanging in her wardrobe. But this dress was a disaster the skirt in long strips of torn material the sleeves were falling off and there seemed to be some type of dried brown substance on it. The Lavender standing next to Rarity was colder looking like Demonica.
"What did you do," Lavender shouted at her doppelganger rushing at her only to run into an invisible wall her angry question unanswered.
"Did you really think I could ever care about this stupid excuse of a dress? Or you for that matter. I mean look at you. You look as horrid as this Shoppe," The Lavender double sneered at Rarity.
"I worked so hard on it for you. What happened to you? You were so nice before," Rarity told the double.
"I realized Demonica was right and friends hold me back. Now look at me I'm all powerful!"
"No! She is wrong I need friends like you Rarity! Always," The real Lavender shouted which caused Rarity to suddenly turn to her. Rarity stared at Lavender a long time neither saying a word.
"Lavender," Rarity's voice was soft in her asking scared that this Lavender was just a fake vision.
"Yes Rarity it's me. The real me." Lavender stepped forward to Rarity the barrier gone and turned to her sneering double. "This thing can never be me because this thing doesn't understand the gift that is friendship. The gift of generosity that you have shown me though our times together. The dress you made is an example of that and I treasure it always." Lavender picked up the dress and as she did it repaired itself becoming beautiful once more. "I treasure this dress not because it's beautiful but because it came from the most generous person I know. You should never give up being generous Rarity it'd be like giving up on who you are." Lavender's magic shot out at the double which turned it into a shadow minion of Demonica. Rarity stared disgusted at the thing.
"Lavender is right! I will not give up hope for generosity! I won't allow you to destroy my generous nature!" With that Rarity lit her horn with her magic and together the two unicorns blasted the creature away. Rarity threw her for legs around Lavender once the creature was gone and hugged her happily. Unknown to either girl their cutie marks and Rarity's bracelet glowed. Rarity's mark and bracelet purple and Lavender's mark a pink glow. As they hugged the room shifted once again only this time becoming a plain stone room with the wood door they had both entered through. "Well, darling what do we do now?" Rarity spoke as the two looked around the room.
"I don't know…" Lavender looked around the now barren room and spotted the door. "Go through the door?" Rarity nodded and the two unicorns walked to the door. Rarity opened it and stepped through. Once Rarity was out the door slammed shut behind her. The room Rarity was in was the one she and the other elements had first came to. As Rarity turned to ask Lavender what they should try to do now she saw that Lavender was not behind her and the door she had come out of had disappeared.
"Lavender?! Lavender?!" Rarity's frantic sounding calls just echoed about the room. Rarity realized she was once again alone in a room she could not escape by herself. But unlike the first time Rarity did not give up hope for her friends. She thought of all her friends and as she thought of Lavender and the dress she had made with the unicorn it filled her with hope to keep going and not give up on any of her friends. Unknown to Rarity her bracelet glowed purple. It popped off which cause Rarity to look at it and see it begin to glow brightly as the glow increased Rarity had to close her eyes from the brightness. When she opened them again before her was the element of generosity only the necklace was silver instead of gold. It placed itself around her neck warming her.
Meanwhile Lavender was pondering the wooden door Rarity had been able to leave from but she did not have the same ability it seemed. As she examined the door another appeared next to it. This door unlike the wooden one was a frosted glass like material so Lavender couldn't see into the room. Well, I guess I don't have a choice I'll go through this one since I can't go through the door Rarity went through Lavender Thought as she approached the frosted glass door. She opened it with her magic and entered the new room.
While Lavender was entering the new room and Rarity was receiving the element of generosity Demonica was pacing about in her private room.
"I wonder how the pathetic filly is doing," Demonica asked herself. "She's probably lost just like her friends!" Demonica laughed at the thought of the suffering of the ponies who wished to do away with her. Her laugh echoed about the chamber but it seemed less dark than it had been before. "Soon, soon I will be the only ruler of Equestria and everypony will love me the way my sister and the other Princesses of Harmony should have!" Her voice sounding angrier at the mentions of those she believed betrayed her. She turned her thoughts back to the thought of eveypony's soon to be supposed love of her and laughed gleefully. Unexpectedly Demonica's demeanor changed. She shifted into a different pony altogether. This pony did not have Demonica's crazed look or wild mane and tail. In Fact this pony seemed calm and collected. This pony was clearly Princess Star Dust at least a part of her trying to come out for she still Had Demonica's appearance just at a lesser extent. Star Dust looked about her confused wondering where she was. The last thing she remembered was going to her not so secret, secret room feeling as though none of the other Princesses of Harmony really cared for her not even her own sister. She looked at her books and saw one she had not seen before. Finding I odd there was a book she had not seen she pulled it from its spot opening the black covered book with dark purple writing. The next thing Star Dust knew was she was in this place.
"What? Where am I? What's going on? Dusk? Silver Swirl? Rose Wood? Light Bright? Celestia? Luna? Anypony..." Star Dust called out to her fellow Princess of Harmony but none appeared at her calls. Her voice was soft and gentle like the light of the stars. "Sister everypony please I don't know where I am or what happened. I realize now that I always had your love Dusk."
"Do shut up will you? Pathetic pony," An angry cruel voice that sounded like hers called out. Star Dust looked about frantically.
"Whose there?" Star Dust glanced to the left and saw a mirror.
"Why I am of course," Demonica said as she glared at Star Dust.
"Who… What are you? Why do you look like me?"
"Because you pathetic filly I am you. Now anyway. You opened my book and allowed me to enter you and I won't be leaving anytime soon! No you my dear princess are going to continue to help me take over Equestria!" Star Dust stared shocked and in that moment Demonica took control of her once again. Demonica walked to a glowing crystal ball and looked into its cloudy surface. "Show me the Elements of Harmony," Demonica saw all but Rarity still trapped and suffering in her shadow worlds. "Well, little Lavender thinks she can stop me? Let's see how far the pathetic little pony gets."
AN: Please read and review