Picture Perfect Pony Zero: Mothering Bell

by ReifuTD

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Sex, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, Photo Finish, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Original Character, Rarity
Length: 17657

This story is based off of the Fatal Frame/Project Zero series. Rarity volunteers to take Camera Obscura to Photo Finish’s home.As she explores the manner the white unicorn finds that she has a mysterious connection to the haunted house

This story is based off of the Fatal Frame/Project Zero series.

After hearing that Twilight Sparkle was commissioned to repair a Camera Obscura by Photo Finish, Rarity volunteers to take Camera Obscura to Photo Finish’s home located near a town called Laurenville at the base of Mount Faust. Once she arrives, Rarity finds Photo Finish’s home abandoned and full of ghosts and demons. As she explores the manner the white unicorn finds that she has a mysterious connection to the haunted home.

Notes: If like this story I’d suggest checking out Fallout: Equestria-Silent Ponyville. It’s like reading 12 Picture Perfect Pony Zeros back to back.

I actually started writing Mothering Bell before Fo:E-Silent Ponyville. But well reading Fallout: Equestria Littlepip reminded of James form Silent Hill and I came up with a cool concept to go with that so I halted Mothering Bell to work on Fo:E-Silent Ponyville. But Didn’t want to leave Mothering Bell unfinished. I also have plans for another Picture Perfect Pony Zero story.

Published 2013-11-05 18:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-11 18:55:53 UTC

Chapter: 0- Commission

Rarity stood at the steps of the manner. She was there to deliver the Camera Obscura to Photo Finish. When she heard from Twilight that the antic looking camera thing was for Photo Finish’s collection Rarity jumped at the chance to meet the fashion pony again. It was a good chance for her to gain some alone time with the mare.

Twilight was commissioned to repair the anticish camera device and make sure the spells on it were still actively strong if not then recast them. Very few ponies could do this and Twilight was one of them.

All of this was for a cash donation to the library which was made by Photo Finish of course. But Twilight was happy for the challenge.

“This should work in theory,” Twilight had said after finishing the thing she called Camera Obscura, “It should allow anyone to see hidden sprits when looking through it. Not that I believe in ghost mind you,” Twilight continues to explain, “When taking a photo of said sprit or the demonic equivalent thereof, It will draw energy from said being. The amount of energy taken away depends on the quality of the magic film paper used and how long the shutter remains open.”

“Yes, yes,” Rarity nods her head wanting to get going.

“Photo Finish told me if she didn’t pick this up send it to her summer home at the base of Mount Faust near Laurenville.” Twilight tells the marshmallow pony.

Rarity perks up at this, “I’d be happy to personally deliver this for you darling.”

“I don’t know what about your business?” Twilight points out.

“Oh I can take a weekend for this hon with the Summer Sun coming up,” Rarity tells Twilight, “So Ah, How do I find this place?”

“I don’t know ask the locals when you get there?” Twilight replied.

Rarity took the Camera Obscura and headed home to make the right dress for the occasion. It wasn’t a formal party so she didn’t need to be flashy. This was business and she had to look professional. Rarity puts a black plushed saddle on the back of a manikin putting the leather side up. This acted as the back of the shirt as she stitched together black and gray pin striped fabric. Then she adds a brilliant red skirt to the back end.

After finishing her work, Rarity went to bed for the night to rest up for the trip she’ll take tomorrow. In the morning she ate breakfast with her little sister Sweetie Belle. Then she got dressed, Putting on a white and frilly silk shirt then the pinstriped saddle shirt she made last night.

Before buttoning up, Rarity tied a red ribbon bow around the caller of her under shirt and places a ruby brooch in the center of the bow. Finally she drapes saddle bags over her back witch held the Camera Obscura and other travel supplies.

So now she stood on the stoop of Photo Finish’s home the structure of witch had to be at least a hundred years old.

Rarity was about to knock on the door when she spotted a notice.
_

Notice

All construction workers check in around back,
New, construction on the bell tower as stopped until given the archaeologist’s okay.

_

Rarity knocks on the door. There was no answer and she knocks again, still no answer. She didn’t want to intrude by opening the door. But she also had to get in. There could be workers out back that could let her in.

The unicorn pony looked up at the clouding sky. Even if Photo Finish wasn’t here she could wait for her inside and out of the rain.

As she walked around the building the sky grew dark. Rarity started to feel the hits of a few random drops on her coat.

Once entering the back yard the mare discovered that the building was U shaped. The first wall was three stories tall. The other two sides were one story with three story towers at the end. This side of the wall was under construction and the center yard was under construction as well. A pit was dug out in the middle and a pile of chard wood lay beside it. But no one was around for Rarity to talk to.

On her way to the back porch, Rarity looked down into the pit. Inside was a half berried bell four meters tall with a large crack down the middle. The design of the bell had what looked to be a twenty point stag in the shadow of the sun.

As she was looking at the bell, just before the lighting struck. She could swear she could hear breathing coming from the brass dome. After the lighting strike, After she turned back Rarity could hear the breathing grow louder.

The loose soil blows across the ground as some invisible thing walks up out of the pit. The mare freezed out of fear, She tense as the breathing hits the hair of her mane. The image of something sucking up her scent comes to her mind.

Fear tingles down Rarity's spine. She bolts and screams when something pokes her sensitive area at the center of her rear.

The white pony crashed past the doorway screaming. In her hurry, she lost her footing on the kitchen’s tiled floor. All four legs slip from under her. The pony’s head hits the floor chin first.

Chapter: 1- Generosity

“Mother Belle! Mother Belle!” Rarity heard a young foal’s voice. She could feel her body shake from side to side as she gained consciousness.

“The horned stallion is hurting you!”

Rarity suddenly jumped fully awake. She looked up just in time to see the grey head of a twenty point stag sink into the shadows. The pony instinctively reaches for the Camera Obscura with her unicorn magic. The camera’s bulb illuminated down the hallway but nothing else with each flash. Photo paper falls to the floor with each click.

“It’s okay,” The voice came from Rarity’s side.

She swiftly turns toward the sound taking more pictures. Within each flash of light a small foal could be seen.

“Ow! Ow! OW! You’re hurting me! Hurting me! Mother stop!”

And with a crying sobbing wail the young pony was gone.

Rarity stood there in shock, her brain trying to process what she just seen and coming to the conclusion it was just her imagination she hoped. It had to be, After all she was hit in the head.

In the silence Rarity could hear disapproving whispers of foals or what she could think to be whispers. The unicorn got to her feet wincing in pain as she moves her back legs. Her loins were in stinging pain.

“I must have pulled a groin muscle in the fall,” Rarity tells her self.

She limps out of the room, “Photo Finish!” The unicorn calls out entering into the next room, “Anypony!”

“You hurt our friend,”

Rarity turns around as she hears the little filly’s voice only to see nothing. The mare looks down at the Camera Obscura noticing a yellow light fading away.

“This place is simply dreadful,” She remarks sighing to herself. She was hoping for a little one on one time with Photo Finish but now she just wants to leave.

The room the pony was in looked to be Photo Finish’s studio. On one wall there was a work desk. Hoping to keep her mind off the dismal atmosphere and out of curiosity Rarity starts looking through it. Even if it was unlady like.

On the face of the desk there was a tape recorder with a tape inside laying on a book and a few sticky notes with writing.
_
Sticky Note #1

Work men’s office to be placed in west wing’s tower. The old Superior Gem Room.
_
Sticky Note #2

Ready guest room for historian. The one located behind my room. The one next to that will be my assistant’s room.
_

Rarity looks down at the book. It was about something call EVPs. Picking up the recorder in her hoof she started it.

“Arranging privet photo shoot next Thursday,(noise) Remember to call construction company to repair the old burnt bell tower and fix the abandoned wings of the house.”

The unicorn thought she heard something and rewinds the tape. Between the words she could hear “Where’s my baby,” Was being shrieked by a mare.

The white unicorn shivers at the voice. A weeping starts to echo in the room. Rarity takes out the Camera Obscura walking out into the center of the room. The camera’s light turns on as she walked out into the room the light grew brighter. The pony points it at the floor where the light was brightest. The picture paper comes out the end.

“Where’s my baby,” A voice shrieks and fades away.

Rarity takes the paper from the camera and puts it on the desk as a loud thunk came from up stairs. With her sensitive horse ear she could hear what could almost be more foals whispering as she walked up the stairs to check out the noise.

“That was other mother,” One of the none voices said.

“We should let her kill the fake Mother Belle,” Said another.

“Eek!” Rarity squeals as she sees the set of bloody hoof prints at the top of the stairs. They were leading from a room, down the hall and to the third floor stair case. It looked like the pony that made these prints had three legs.

Well wearing an uncomfortable nervous grin of discuss on her face that Rainbow Dash would have found hilarious. Rarity tip hoofs around the blood as she enters into the room the blood prints came from.

The room was some kind of nursery. A recently remodeled one at that with a crib and toys. Blood stained the carpet in the middle of the floor.

It took Rarity a moment to register the sight. But she remembered hearing that Photo Finish gave birth to a foal last year. It made her feel uneasy with an idea of an infant foal around here. More uneasy that there’s an infant foal that could be somewhere and it was quiet too quiet.

At that moment she heard a baby crying. Rarity rushed for the third floor stair case where the noise came from. Suddenly the stair case door shuts blocking her entrance.

She embarrassly smacks her snout against the door. As Rarity holds her nose she could hear the lock of the door click. The laughter of foals could be heard on the other side as well as the crying infant.

“Is someone in there?” Rarity called out.

“She is not too bright is she?” A filly remarks giggling.

“Is someone hurt? Who’s crying,” Rarity asked concerned.

“We all are hurting,” A young colt answers, “One of us is hurt pretty bad.”

“Then let me in dearie and I’ll help,” The mare told them.

“You are never coming in without the key and you’ll never find it,” The filly snaps, “You’re one of the bad mares and the stag only sniffs out the bad mares.”

Rarity got frustrated and bucks the door with her hind legs. She then yelps because her sore loins shot in pain.

“Go away!” The voice on the other side cries, “The only way this door is opening is if you use the key!”

“I got to get up there those filly’s they can’t possibly last long if hurt,” Rarity mutters to herself, “ I guess, I’ll have to find the key then. What are filly’s doing here anyway? Photo Finish must have had more children then I realized.” Then she sighed, “Since I’m up here I should check her room first.”

Rarity enters the bed room next to the nursery. Inside was an extra large black and pink bed. A cassette tape lay in the middle of the bed. Thinking it would be useful and remembering the player down stairs, Rarity put it in her bag. Across from the bed was a desk with a journal.
_

Entry 1

This place always had a ghostly aural around it. But I was never scared of it until last night. Not until the breathing. I think it has something to do with the large bell found in the sinkhole where the old bell tower burned down.
_

Entry 2

There is an archaeologist I’m acquainted with by the name of Sir Soul Dirt. He has been known to dabble in the supernatural. I fear the thing entering into my room at night may not be a normal sprit.
_

Entry 3

I did what Soul Dirt suggested. After listening to the recording I’m greatly disturbed. Soul Dirt and I were discussing using a rare Camera Obscura against this thing. But as Summer Sun approaches this thing seems to get stronger. Tomorrow we must try the summon and sealing spell without the Camera Obscura. If we wait I fear it will be too late.
_

A thud from down stairs startles Rarity. She could hear the breathing coming up the stairs. The marshmallow mare pokes her head out the door just enough to see part of the leg and chest of the stag. Enough to see its neck lower and sniff the floor.

The final doubt of the events that have happened to the mare down stairs shattered, she had to hide. The only place was under the bed.

Rarity took the Camera Obscura out of her saddle bag and put whatever she thought she would need in her pockets. Then she tosses the bag on top of the bed and crawls under.

The door pushed open, the pony first seen the snout of the stag. She held the Camera Obscura in front of her with her unicorn magic.

Rarity had the feeling that the camera’s effectiveness against this monster would be minable but it was better than nothing. The hooves enter the room. The path of sniffs head over to the bed. The stag places its hoof on the bed and it creeks and groans.

(I have to get out of here,) Rarity’s heart thumped in a panic.

She just noticed that under the bed was bright. Looking around she found a vent big enough for her hobbit horse sized body. The unicorn pulled out the grate and slipped through.

When she got to her hooves, Rarity heard the bed flip over and crash. The stag sticks its nose through the hole of the vent. It pulls away, after an eerie quiet moment the wall was hit hard shaking, knocking books off the shelf and crooking portraits. Then there was another impact. With a giving up snort the stag walks out of the room.

The mare sighs taking a quick look around. If she remembered the notes correctly this should be Sir Soul Dirt’s room. Good place to at least pick up some more information.

Rarity groans to herself, she was starting to feel like Twilight. At this point she really wished she didn’t take the lavender pony’s place.

Rarity looks through some papers on the desk.
_

Soul Dirt Note 1

I finally get to examine the sight at Mount Faust. I have been wanting to go back there for a while. The mount was named after the goddess alicorn said to be the mother of magic and knowledge. She was once said to make her home on top of the mountain. She would observe and write the events of the world.
A pony lord who lived at the base of the mountain wanted her knowledge and tricked the goddess into meeting him. He beheaded the goddess. The head was kept by the lord. But the body was turned into a laurel tree. Thus the goddess became known as the Lauren Faust.
_

Soul Dirt Note 2

I looked at the bell in the sinkhole. If I remember right it was called the Mothering Bell. I think it’s connected to one of the old cults of this mountain.
A fascinating combo, The bell is a representation of female symbology. The bell symbolizes the womb. The Stag symbolized male vitality. I must quarry the locals at Laurenville for deeper meaning of this artifact.
_

Soul Dirt Note 3

There are three monsters here, I have also identified several ghosts. But three of the oldest I discovered I would call true monsters.

First the three legged Dullahan, A headless horse. This one is a pegasus and all of her skin gone. The creature seems to be attracted to Photo Finish’s child.
The second monster is the Mini Stag, a young foal tied up in a sack with horns and legs sticking out of holes. This thing is full of loneliness and rage. I believe this was some poor pony done up to resemble the third monster the Stag it’s self witch I will go into more detail later.
These three are stronger than normal spirits and would take more than the Camera Obscura’s power alone to defeat them. They must be weakened first.
_

Soul Dirt Notes 4

There three ways to get rid of high powered sprits,

Find a way to calm down the sprit through finding the source of its rage.

Weaken by tricking the sprit to step in a pentacle. They can also be summoned into one. Most of the time the strong sprits will escape. This is why we must have the Camera Obscura.

The Camera Obscura, Normal shots won’t work on strong sprits. What is needed are multiple Zero Shots. Zero Shots can be performed by holding the camera on the target for an extended period of time and letting the sprit come in close before taking the picture. Most sprits will dissipate. Strong ones will take two or three shots like this.
_

Rarity sees another note under a brass music box drum.
_

Soul Dirt Note 5

Finally found one of the music box barrels. There are four in all. I know this because there are four devices each in a corner of the house where these barrels go. These devices seem to be on some kind of clock timer. I’m guessing this is so all the music boxes can go off at once. Why I don’t know yet. The devices need three things to get running again.

Most importantly they need to be cleaned to run.

They need to be set to the same time.

The barrels that go in them.

From what I heard the mare that used to own this place Superior Gem and her sister Mother Belle was very interested in the bell tower and these music boxes. At this moment Mother Belle’s old office is securely locked. But one of the workers told me he has a pick gun that will unlock any door.
_

“Well I know where I have to go now,” Rarity remarks putting the barrel in her pocket.

There seemed to be nothing else of interest in the room at the moment. So the mare decided to head out into the hall.

“Can you help save her and her son?”

Rarity heard a male’s voice from down at the end of the hall. She turns to look only to see nothing. Rarity was about to turn away when she heard a flump. A leather sack with thick patchy stitches rolls out into the hallway.

“Mommy!” A voice cries out from the bag fallowed by weeping.

Rarity had to pull back her instinct to run away and slowly approached the bag. Suddenly it rises, twelve points of a set of antlers poke out of the bag as it rips. A rotted lower jaw is revealed. One eye peers out of a hole.

The unicorn took a gasps as the thing makes a loud shriek. The Camera Obscura flashes making the Mini Stag shrivel back. Rarity turns and runs, The Mini Stag charges after her. She slides out of the way as the thing spears the wall. Rarity parried firing the Camera Obscura again. The Mini Stag gives one last roar and fades away.

Rarity leaped down stairs, The stress had aggravated her pulled hind muscles. She found herself back in the kitchen. A pile of photos lay on the floor.

Rarity picks them up and looks through. First few had a ghostly foal screaming. Not unexpected, Then some blank photos. But the last photo had something on it. A ghostly stallion in a pin stripe suit and pencil mustache.

“Mother Belle,”

The white mare turns around, A hard kiss is placed on her lips. There was the stallion from the photo. Rarity was stunned, Then she snapped out of it when the stallion’s free hoof probed between her butt crack.

“Oh no! Rarity jumps away, pulling her ears back and dropping her tail.

“Stay away from my bum!” She snapped firing the Camera Obscura.

The stallion yells out in pain shaking violently. When he calms down, The white mare noticed the ghostly stallion had five scratches over his left side of his face as if somepony’s horse shoe dug it’s nails into him.

“You’re not Mother Belle are you?” The stallion gives a sad look as blood runs down his face.

Rarity backs out of the room. When the door shuts, She heard a mare’s voice yell.

“You where with my sister again weren’t you!” She shrieks “She been trying to take you away from me!”

“No, I swear!” The stallion shouts back.

“Shut up!”

Thwack-ing!

A hard thud hits the floor.

Thwack-ing! Thwack-ing!

Heavy breathing, then a pause fallowed by the sound of a body being drug.

“I told you to stay out of my gems, you little thief!” A ghost mare appears startling Rarity.

This caused Rarity to scream a little. Half by the ghost’s sudden appearance and half by her resemblance to an adult Sweetie Belle.

She got a good look at the spectral mare’s cutie mark. Some kind of large gem original color indeterminate. It gave Rarity a good idea of what the mare’s name was. But it didn’t matter.

“Beg pardon I think you are mistaken, I am no thief.” Rarity told the specter as she backed away defensively.

“Give it back to me you mule!” The mare lunge at Rarity. As she dodges and fired the Camera Obscura.

Rarity’s butt bumps a stereo. The song “Picture Perfect Pony” starts playing. The ghostly mare was now gone.

Her nerves had reached their limit. Rarity runs for the front door. Once outside she bursts down the road.

It was the quiet sob that made her turn around. The mare looks up at the third floor window. It was her element of generosity that made her turn around and head back. She cursed this under her breath for she knows it meant giving of one’s self for a stranger.

Chapter: 2- Superior

Heavy breathing,
Photo Finish stirs in her sleep.
“Sleep,” A whispery voice
Few more breaths,
“I am, your god, you must give yourself to me,”
More breathing fallowed by hard grunts,

Rarity shivers and shuts off the recorder. She puts the recorder in her pocket and picks up the pictures she had taken earlier now developed. The pony sees what looks to be a disembodied head.

Voices echo up from below.

“Humble Home, dear, you must put her behind you,” A female voice gently speaks.

“I can’t forget about her,” A male voice said, it sounded like the voice Rarity had heard when she walked out of Soul Dirt’s room.

Removing the floor’s rug, the mare found a trap door. She pulls on the handle catching it with her hoof. Many cob webs reluctantly stretched themselves and brake.

“This is not healthy, what about our children,” The female voice tells the buck from below.

The voices stopped, Rarity gave an uneasy look down the hole. “It’s going to take more then mysterious voices to get me to go down this dirty pit.” She shut the door.

“Very well then,” Rarity says out loud. What she just saw made the white mare feel dirty. “Now, What do I need to do?”

She remembers the pick gun and started thinking in her head again. “I should check out the construction area and their office in the west wing.”

Rarity started to walk out of the room.

“You look so much like my daughter,”

A female voice cause the unicorn to stop and give a curious look. Nothing jumped at her so she walked out the back door.

It was raining now, The mare was kept dry under the back deck. A trail of hoof prints was leading from the deck to a grove of laurel trees. The rain washed the tracks away before her eyes.

The light of the Camera Obscura turns on. Rarity turned in time to take a photo of a stallion wearing a yellow helmet. He groans and fades away. This ghost made her feel off, But the unicorn shook this feeling and entered the west wing hallway.

Most of the rooms in this area were under construction. Doors missing and some rooms even walls. Rarity frowns when she saw that the floor was wet and covered in fresh muddy hoof prints.

The sound of children talking could be heard coming from one of the large rooms. The room seemed to emanate a bright light. The Camera Obscura vibrated like mad as the light and sound put Rarity in a trance. She slowly walks into the room.

For a moment Rarity was blinded by the brightness. The room was alive with young foals. Two dozen at least, all sitting at long tables eating meals. They talked and laughed with one another.

“Mother Belle! Mother Belle!” A crying unicorn foal runs up to the white mare.

“W-what is it dearie,” Rarity said in a tone both compelled and confused.

“My toy broke again,” The foal sniffled, “Can you do that mending spell?”

The foal showed Rarity a wooden toy with wheels. One of the wheels had broken in half. Rarity casts the thing in her magic. The spell allowed her to see the fibers of the wood in her mind like she can see the fibers of cloth. She elegantly stitches the two pieces together.

“Thanks Mother Belle,” The foal smiles and takes off to play with the others.

Feeling light headed from the use of complex magic, Rarity takes a few steps back into the hall. In the flash of light the room had changed to a normal empty room under construction.

“What’s up with the mask?” A voice catches Rarity’s attention.

The mare hears one of the disembodied voices. Voices she was disturbingly used to by now.

“Found this thing hanging on the shrine past the grove, did you bring it?” Another voice replied.

“Boss caught me with it, Thought I was going to do something fishy. Surely if you explain to him.”

“Great, He’s over seeing other projects only comes in every other day,”

Rarity moved farther down the hallway. As she walked she heard a thwack and the crack of bone.

“Arrrah!”

The moan made her look down at the Camera Obscura for its warning light as she spun around. Rarity instinctively took a picture of the specter. It was another helmeted pony who quickly faded away. Rarity turns back around and walks into the office.

When she entered the office Rarity gasped. A dead brown stallion lay over a desk. Blood had flown from his skull which seemed smashed open. Tools have been scattered. A note lay next to the body.
_

Boss note dated three days ago

Found one of the workers with a lock picking tool. He says it’s for one of the people living at the home. I’ll lock it in the floor safe for now where I keep my tool kit.
_

Boss note dated week ago

Found the combination to the safe in the other bed room. Still haven’t found the secret in side. But I found a barrel thing for music boxes. I gave it to the archaeologist pony.
_

Boss’s notes two weeks ago

Well digging out the sink hole out back with the dredger we hit some kind of bell. Photo Finish ordered us to dig it out. She was disappointed to see it cracked. Then ordered us not to touch it until someone checks it out.
_

After reading, Rarity could hear the sound of a filly screaming.

“Please! Superior Gem let me out!

Rarity looks under the desk fallowing the sound to find to her horror a floor safe.

“I wasn’t thinking dirty thoughts!” the little voice calls through the safe, “That happens when I was sleeping.”

“It happens because you were sleeping, because the Stag sees naughty little fillies in the middle of the night!” Superior Gem's appears snapping at the girl. She didn't seem to notice Rarity at all.

Rarity felt her concern for the safe filly settles as she realized she was most likely a ghost as well. Thankful for not being the center of attention of the ghost mare, Rarity sneaks out of the room.

She could only find stairs going to the second floor. This didn’t make sense to her since she knew there was a third floor in this tower.

After an inspection of the ceiling, the unicorn sees a panel with a latch. Content with finding the panel she decides to check out the bed room first.

Superior Gem’s room had a large double bed. A dresser with a mirror and a closet that made Rarity wish this mare was a customer of her bootee. She found a wire hook in the closet.

Over on the bed sat a couple of journals with bent pages that made it look like someone has been reading them.
_

Superior Gem Journal Entry 1

I sometimes wonder why I put up with that girl. Then I remember the money. I keep her locked in that room at night. I let her outside for the day. The less I see of her the better.
I hope something bad happens to her like falling in the creak like that foal did. I’m so glad I got rid of those orphans. As for my little friend up stairs I might have to take out the gem again.
_

Superior Gem Journal Entry 2

The police finally let me go. It took them forever. It’s not like it’s my fault the fire happened. At least not directly. I shall be cautious in using the gem in the future.
The police is still looking for my husband or should I say exhusband. I hid the body in my father’s secret place. The smell never rose up from there before and should not be an issue this time.
Unfortunately my sister gotten herself pregnant. I assume it’s my husband's. With all those damn kids around and she still had to knock herself up.
_

Superior Gem Journal Entry 3

I sometimes wonder if it is I controlling it or is it controlling me?

I was away from home at the time the day the accident happened. The property and fortune went to Mother Belle. But Belle is a shut in with no social skills so I returned home to help the poor girl.
My misery started when Mother Belle convinced me to take in that foal. Sure I like the attention and the tax write off. My mistake was letting her bring in more. Well at least I met Black Thorn out of this ordeal.
_

Rarity grabs the hook with her mouth. She walks back out and pulls the third floor stair case down.

“Stop your cr…, wait what was that sound,” Superior Gem stops her ranting.

Rarity not wishing to engage the crazed mare slips up the stairs.

Behind her at the window was a stallion dressed in priestly robes a heart and house cutie mark on his rump. He was looking out the window then turns to Rarity. He gives the mare a gentle smile. Then motions her to look out the window.

A pony walks out from behind the grove of laurel trees. But this pony was living, Rarity could see his brown coat and he was wearing a wooden stag mask.

“Beware,”

Rarity was startled to find the stallion gone. She sighs and looks around the room. It was obviously a young female’s room. Her eyes first fell to a dollhouse with classic My Little Human dolls. Again documents were out in the open.

Rarity didn’t like seeing that other ponies were doing stuff before her. It made her feel behind and it reminded her of that masked pony she saw outside.
_

Little Filly’s Journal 1

I saw her use it again. That magic jewel that seems to entrances anypony who looks into it. Superior Gem used it to convince some poor derping couple to take the last foal that was living here besides me. Why do I have to be special and stay living here with that witch. Cross my hooves she doesn’t read this.
_

Little Filly’s Journal 2

The witch locked me in the safe again. I can’t help it what my wee wee does well I’m sleeping. Superior Gem is so mean. I’ll get the last laugh. That dead stallion told me how to get in the second safe hidden beneath the first. He even showed me the piece of paper he hid in his pocket. It should still be with the body. With both numbers I can…
(Page Ripped)
_

As Rarity reads the sun sets and the room grew dark. Rarity absent mindedly had lit her horn so she could see under its soft glow. The loud thump from down stairs catches Rarity’s attention.

“What are you doing sneaking around here,” Superior Gem’s voice snaps startling the living mare.

Rarity turns around,

“Ah, it’s you the thief,” Superior Gem pause turns her eyes away as she was trying to remember something, “Not…Not my sister, you’re not the mare who’s not my sister. Never my sister, but you look so much like her.” Superior Gem gets and angry look on her face, “Doesn’t matter you’d be dead soon and I’ll get what’s mine back.”

The Camera Obscura fires, Superior Gem shrieks and flails as if she was blinded. Rarity rushes down stairs. Superior Gem goes to fallow her but backs away when Rarity holds up the Camera Obscura and points it at her.

“Watch your back filly,” Superior Gem snaps jumping out of the way.

Rarity noticed the trail of blood on the floor. Looking into the office, the dead pony body was gone. She takes a few cautious steps into the room. The safe was unhinged but still shut.

The unicorn removes the lid with her magic. She noticed her horn was itching, It reminded Rarity of the feeling she gets when a large amount of gems were nearby.

She didn’t find gems. The safe had been ran sacked, All that she found was a tool box and some old papers. One was a birth certificate.
_

Date (illegible)
Name: Southern Belle
Mother: Mother Belle
Father: Unknown
_

Rarity stood in shock. Southern Belle was her mother’s name. As strange and impossible as it sounds it appears her mother grew up in this house.

Chapter: 3- Mother

The white mare took a moment to get her head together.

“Okay,” She sighs, “I still need a key to get into the attic floor. I haven’t explored the east wing yet.”

Thump!

Rarity freezes, the unicorn glances down at the Camera Obscura. The yellow light was on.

“What are you doing in my office!” A male voice shouts.

Rarity spins around and takes a picture of the bloody ghost. The stallion cries out in pain and fades away.

After recovering the mare walks back out into the hall. As she walked down the hall the masked pony was walking up from the other direction.

Rarity readies to fire the Camera Obscura. The masked pony stops to look at her as it passed. The marshmallow mare flashed him.

The masked pony unaffected remarks, “I see you have the Camera Obscura.”

“You’re not a ghost?” Rarity said in shock.

Suddenly the masked pony flicks his neck. A sharp pain shoots up into Rarity’s shoulder. She looks down to see a knife being pulled out of her flesh. Rarity instinctively seals her wound with mending magic.

“Leave her alone!” A female voice shouts.

The masked pony was tossed into the wall by a ghostly unicorn mare with clouds for a cutie mark.

“You touched me?” The masked pony says in shock.

“You think I’m afraid of you!” The ghost mare snaps, “I know you’re not him. The priest never leaves the shrine.”

“You must be Smilie Cloud?” The masked pony remarks, “Humble Home’s wife.” The mask pony takes another look at Rarity. “I see the resemblance. Perhaps I should let her live.”

The masked pony walks away and the ghost mare disappears. Rarity booked it out of there. She went into the main house stopping in the kitchen.

“Eww,” A child’s voice whispers. “Blood, blood, bloody blood. We get cut when games we play. We get cut when games we play.”

“Children!” Rarity calls out.

“Quiet she heard you,” A colt’s voice snaps.

“I want to go back to my room,” The filly whines.

In the commotion Rarity's wound had ripped it's self open and started bleeding again. She unbuttoned her blouse to get a better look at her open wound.

Using her sowing magic, Rarity breaks a piece of thread from her dress. She hardens the thread to a needle point and slips it through her cut flesh. Soon she finishes the stitch and breaks the excess thread off.

A cleaning spell removes the blood from her clothes and coat because a lady must keep clean. Her body was sweaty and exhausted, so she took the chance to ransack Photo Finish’s fridge drinking from a bottle of orange juice to recover her body fluids. Rarity even ate some leftovers before setting out again.

The pony cautiously steps out onto the deck. It was still raining. She ducks into a corner as the masked pony walks out of the east wing and walks back down to the grove of laurel trees.

Once the coast was clear, the mare ducks into the east wing. It was build a lot like the west wing, But with the walls still standing.

“Fake Mother Belle won’t go away, you’re with us now you will scream and you will cry,” A filly’s voice echoes through the halls.

“Gipsy!” A colt snaps.

“Shut up or help me!” The ghost filly snaps back.

“Okay, please don’t get mad,” The colt’s voice fades.

“You don’t have to do this dearies,” Rarity calls out.

A door behind Rarity slams causing the pony to turn around. She slowly walks over to the door and creeks it open.

The room was empty of visible ponies. There was a series of bunt beds. The room appeared to have been for young fillies once, she could still see their toys out in the open.

Rarity spots a piece of journal paper.
_

Filly’s Journal 1

Tonight is my first staying here. I have been feeling a little uneasy because I’ve been told it’s the murder house. But I have nowhere else to be since- I rather forget about it.
Mother Belle is very nice and kind. Superior Gem seems like a scary mare. I don’t think she likes kids I see it in her smile that lies. The other children seem nice though.
_

Filly’s Journal 2

This morning I found out I had made a sticky wet spot in the middle of the bed. One of the fillies tease me about a stag touching me in the middle of the night.
I've done this before but it's the first time I heard of a stag making me do it. There's a stupid story about bat ponies that touch boys in the middle of the night. This is most likely along the same line.
Outside there is a bell tower. Beyond that is a grove of trees the ponies say is magical. The seeds from one of these trees can somehow grow a child. Not sure how that works, but that’s what I been told.
Past that a shrine, but we are not allow to go into that. I don't even think we can. There’s some kind of magic around it.
_

Filly’s Journal 3

I got my cutie mark today. It’s a helmet. Perfect for Gipsy Danger. I got it jumping off the tire into the creek. I love folding in my wings and letting myself fall. They say diving into the water like that is dangerous but I could do it all day.
_

Filly’s Journal 4

I think I saw it, The Stag sniffing around. This wasn’t the only time that I seen strange things. I’m more scared of the guy in the mask. I have seen him through the windows of the shrine. Then there’s the infant in the sack.
I’ve been feeling funny the colts seem cuter. One of the girls told me I was in estrus. It’s what happens to a filly every few weeks in the spring and summer once they get their cutie mark. They say estrus draws the Stag.
_

The light on the Camera Obscura lights up. Rarity looks through the shutter. She spins around the room but sees nothing.

A drop of water causes Rarity’s ear to twitch. She looks up at the ceiling to see it was leaking. The light fades.

There was a sudden loud thrump and a dragging sound. Rarity rushes out to the hall to see a specter pegasus filly dragging a sack by a rope with her teeth.

Rarity lifts the Camera Obscura.

“Shit!” The ghost filly drops the rope and dashes away making the unicorn miss.

The sack rises into the Mini Stag. Rarity readies the Camera Obscura. The foal charges at the unicorn. She fires, The creature thrashes from the zero shot. The horn rips Rarity’s dress as she was knocked back against the wall.

The mare reloads and does another zero shot. The monstrous foal retreats by slipping through the wall. Rarity fallows but the room was empty.

This appeared to had been once sleeping quarters for young colts. On a dresser lay a page of a colt's journal.
_

Colt’s Journal

I got to see Mother Belle's special bell room. It was on the top floor of the tower.
She told me this was one of three secret rooms on the highest floors of the building.
I have seen her hanging one of these bells at the laurel grove and pray. Many of the mares who visit us do that. I think it has to do with the stories they say about this place.
_

A thump and a creek behind her causes Rarity to turn around. She clicks a quick picture. The photo had a young unicorn hanging from the rafters by a bed sheet.

Rarity walks up to the area and the light on the Camera Obscura turns on. It was brightest looking at a wall.

The picture showed a magic aurora around a piece of trim. Rarity removes the trim and pulls out a rolled up piece of paper.
_

Note

I couldn’t save them. The others didn’t see what I saw. But I seen it take them under. No pony else seen what I see. I’m can’t be here. I’m too old for hope.
_

The light on the Camera Obscura turns on. Rarity takes the time to search for the source. She had removed the camera from her eyes for a moment.

All she could hear before the sheet wraps around her neck was a ghostly flap of pegasus wings. The fabric tightens up against Rarity’s throat. She found herself being yanked off the ground with a wing flap.

Rarity’s back slams into the top bunk of a bed. She drops the Camera Obscura as her neck pulls back to see a smiling filly.

The unicorn’s eyes water as she struggles. Her horn glows as she casts a spell on the sheet. The fabric rips allowing her to fall to the floor.

Rarity hacks and coughs as she tries to breathe. The filly makes a low monstrous growl.

“Gipsy no!” A ghostly unicorn colt shouts.

“She hurt Nessalot, she lies looking like Mother Belle,” Gipsy growls her eyes turning red.

“Gipsy you’re changing,” The colt cries.

“I feel stronger then ever,” Gipsy had a demon echo in her voice. Water starts dripping around her.

“Yes, I do too,” The colt nods his head, “It’s the Summer Sun and the things that stallion is doing.”

“Leave!” Gipsy snaps.

“I have no choice then,” The colt casts the ghostly pegasus in his magic.

“What are you doing!” Gipsy roars “Let me go! Let me go!”

“Miss use the camera,” The colt pleased with tears to Rarity.

Rarity picks up the Camera Obscura with her magic.

“No! No! No!” Gipsy cries with tears that made the whole room cry, “I don’t want to disappear! I don’t want to disappear! I don’t want to die! Not again! What if there’s no me this time!”

Rarity sighs with emotion.

“Do it!” The colt shouts struggling to hold the filly down.

Rarity takes a picture. The fillies screams as part of it’s being is ripped away.

“Please, I’ll be a good girl!” Gipsy cried.

Rarity takes another picture.

“M-Mother Belle please don’t hurt me! I-I love you!”

Rarity termers, she was finding herself unable to press the trigger.

“The Stag is coming! It’s in love with you!” Gipsy sobs.

Before Rarity takes the final picture. Gipsy breaks away from the colt’s hold knocking him back. She disappears from the room.

Welling from the emotional tension of the moment, Rarity drops to her knees crying.

“I’m sorry,” The colt sobs.

“It’s okay dearie,” Rarity tells the colt.

“Could you do me?” The colt asks.

“What?” Rarity was surprised by this proposition.

“I don’t want to be around anymore,” The colt answers, “I’m kind of good now but when the Summer Sun is over my mind will leave me.”

“Well, I suppose,” Rarity aims the Camera Obscura. She performs a Zero Shot on the foal.

“Be careful, the headless mother is still watching the infant,” The colt said as he gently disappears.

Rarity walks back out into the hall.

“Ack!” Rarity screams as the breath hits her face. She panics and falls over. Something steps over her. The most Rarity saw was a leg. She turns around to see the butt end of the Stag disappearing.

The mare winces in pain as she stands up. She had landed on her butt causing her loin pain to flare up.

Finally the white mare reaches the door at the end of the hall. The one that should be Mother Belle’s office. This door was built a few feet farther out then Superior Gem’s office, this put the stair way behind the door.

Rarity found the door was unlocked. Giving the dust marks this was recently. Also by the dust marks some pony ransack the area.

An odd circle of dust caused Rarity to take the music box barrel and place it in the dust void. They matched up meaning there was once a barrel there. She puts her barrel back into her pocket and keeps looking around.

Rarity opens a drawer to find a notebook. Somepony had came before her and dog eared certain places.
_

Mother Belle Entry 1

It was like a legend. How Superior Gem found that fish with her gem finding magic. She fought the thing to death. My sister broke her arm. But the gem she took from the fish was so beautiful.
Mother was so mad, father was just pretending to be mad. He was really proud that Gem could vanquish such a beast. But he had to take the gem away from her to make mother happy.
My sister only went back to the creek once. She ran away crying saying the fish wanted revenge.
_

Mother Belle Entry 2

Father told me they made the music boxes for calling the Goddess Lauren. Some stallion that died a long time ago called Lord Cesar Stag had it made.

The bell was made to call the hell spawn that sprang from the Goddess Lauren’s head once it was cut off.
As the legend says the Stag seeks out females to hold its life. Well Goddess Lauren’s body is said to have become the grove of trees that many of the people from the village below pray to.
The seeds never grow anything. Some believe that if a most deserving and good soul takes a seed and performs the ritual it will allow them to have a child with almost anyone or thing they want. But deserving ponies are a rarity.
_

Mother Belle Entry 3

Superior Gem has become estranged with mother and father lately. They just wrote her out of the will. I don’t like that but if it’s their wishes.
I still sometime see father doing that thing late at night. These are the days mother is out of town on her weather research.
_

Mother Belle Entry 4

After mother and father died in the sky chariot accident. I have been feeling like I should start a family.
I, like my sister before me set out into the world to find myself. I had a boyfriend in Manehatten. We agreed if I became pregnant he would come back home with me. Nothing happened so sadly we parted ways.
Later I found out I couldn’t have children of my own. Ironic considering that that grove contains a dead fertility goddess. Then again I never prayed to her.
I decided to open an orphanage. I contacted Mr. Black Thorn about that brown foal. Hopefully others will come.
_

Rarity finds Mother Belle’s set of keys under the journal. Looking at these keys she came to the conclusion they are for the locks for the doors of the household. Hopefully they still worked for the attic.

A ring of a bell from up stairs draws Rarity’s attention. She walks up the stairway.

“No, No, please get off of me,” The female voice cries out as Rarity walks by the bed room.

“If you don’t then I’ll tell your sister about us,” A male voice replies.

"There is no us," The female snaps.

“You know how she is," The male points out, "I'm as broke as snails but she'll sue you for all your money and kick you out of your own house."

“I…don’t want to loose the house,” Mother Belle whines.

Rarity had gently pushed the door open with her hoof. What she seen was a ghost that looked like her but with a bell cutie mark and the ghost of Black Thorn.

“Then take the position,” Black Thorn orders.

Mother Belle with a helpless look on her face sticks her front hooves on the back of the bed. She lifts her tail out of the way and the ghostly stallion penetrates the mare in coitus. Mother Belle hinds her face and starts weeping quietly.

Rarity gulps, she was unsure what to do. They were ghosts, this was rape and she felt like she was standing not just on her grave but her mother’s. That interfering in these events would break some kind of sacred law of the cosmos. In the end she moves on.

The attic floor had a collection of bells sitting on various tables and shelves. The music box device looked like it was recently repaired. A farther inspection showed the barrel been installed and the clock set.

“Okay, somepony been fixing this thing?” Rarity remarks.

“My goddess you do look like me,” A voice behind Rarity causes the unicorn to turn around. She sees Mother Belle.

The ghost pony gives Rarity a smile. Mother Belle steps forward and touches Rarity's horn with her own.

Rarity sees a vision of Mother Belle standing on top of a bell tower in the middle of a wind storm with thunder and lightning in the sky above. The large bell swayed in the wind making loud dongs.

“Get down from there you bitch!” Black Thorn screams over the roaring winds. His face was scratched up and bleeding.

“I will not keep quiet anymore!” Mother Belle screams.

“Fine, I’ll burn you down,” Black Thorn runs for the shed.

As she saw the stallion take off, Mother Belle felt legs go over her shoulders. The Stag was on top of her. He was still on top of her when the tower caught on fire. Still on top of her when fire consumed her body. Still on top of her when the tower collapsed.

When Mother Belle regained consciousness the bell had crushed her hind legs. She could hear and feel the Stag roaring and charging in rage. He banged and thud against the inside walls of the bell witch her hind legs was trapped under.

Black Thorn looks down at Mother Belle. She could see his blurry form of him through her blood covered eyes. Blood was leaking from her horn and down her face.

“Help! Help!” Mother Belle is hurt!” A colt’s voice cries.

The large bell starts to shift and sink in the wet soil. This freed Mother Belle’s legs as the foals pulls her chard body out of the way.

The mare looses consciousness. She never woke up again.

Chapter: 4- Photo

Rarity shakes the visions off. She was still in the bell room.

“Okay,” The mare speaks out loud to regain her thoughts. “I have a set of keys so I can try the attic now. But I should double check this room before I leave.”

Inspecting the music box machine, to her shock Rarity finds one of Soul Dirt’s notes next to the pick gun. The unicorn puts the pick gun in her pocket. She reads the note.
_

Soul Dirt’s Note 6

The Stag is a powerful beast. Some would call it a demigod.
The Stag was once Lauren Faust's head. Losing the ability to make life IE being removed from the womb of the lower body. It turned into a mindless male creature that would force its life giving on others.
The bell tower that once stood out back was to summon the Stag for a sexual sacrifice which seemed to occur every ten years. After the intercourse the Stag would later watch over its mate or mates until mating season was over. Then would fall to sleep again.
The bell in the bell tower became known as the Mothering Bell. They would ring it every ten years to wake the Stag from its slumber early and near the end of mating season.
If uninterrupted the Stag would have otherwise waken every twelve years. Waking it early and near the end of mating season was the way of the cult limiting the damage caused by the Stag.
I believe it’s possible to get rid of the Stag demon by reuniting it with the body of the goddess Lauren Faust. Many things need to happen for this to pass.
First and second, the prep, One must free the body from the laurel grove. Second repair the music towers to call the body to the foyer. Third the Mothering Bell must me rung to summon the Stag. This can be done by hitting the bell on the side with a blunt object.
_

Rarity turns to head back down the stairs. As she passed the bed room door she hears it creek. First her ears flicked because of the noise then flipped back from the voice calling out.

“Oh, Mother Belle,” Black Thorn playfully calls out. He takes a moment to look at the mare's butt then looks up at the back of her head. “Don’t throw your ears back at me!” He snaps, “Now get your pretty little ass over here.”

Rarity grits her teeth. “Pretty little ass?” She looks at her camera and gets a wicked smile. “Okay you want my ass?”

“Yes, come in here,” Black Thorn snaps.

Rarity turns around allowing the stallion to see her from the front. He freezes at the sight of her.

“M-Mother Belle is that Gem’s ruby?” Black Thorn points at Rarity’s broach.

“This old thing?” Rarity looks down at the gem on her chest then gives the male a set of bed room eyes. “What if it is? Does it turn you on?”

“Hell yes,” Black Thorn smirks as Rarity walks into the bed room.

“Take the position,” Black Thorn order slapping the mare on the butt with his cold hooves.

Rarity puts her forehooves on the bed. Black Thorn sniffs around her rear. The mare clamps her tail down like a vice.

“What gives bitch!” Black Thorn snaps trying to pry the mare’s tail spine aside.

“My undercarriage is longing for attention,” Rarity moans in a cat like voice.

“Very well then,” Black Thorn smiles lowering his head to between the mare’s legs.

Rarity fires a Zero Shot on the stallion. He shrieks and disappears. The mare found herself doing an unlady like snort and kicked at the ground were Black Thorn disappeared unable to hold back her satisfaction.

As she walked down the hall a number of ghost mares appeared. Rarity readied the Camera Obscura. But the mares just gave her a pony salute and faded off.

When she passed by the filly’s sleeping quarters, the Camera Obscura ticked. The was also the giggling of children from the room.

Rarity peers in to see that a bunch of toys have been moved into a circle. She clicks a photo that revealed a bunch of small children playing.

Rarity made her way back to the main part of the house. The kitchen was now covered in blood making the mare tippy hoof over to the stair case.

She rushed up to the attic door and found that Mother Belle's keys unlocked it. The sounds of the crying infant could be heard as Rarity opened the door. The unicorn rushes up the stairs. It took her a moment to see the bloody bundle on the floor.

Before she could make a move for it, something rams into her. Rarity recovers to see the deskinned body of a headless pegasus. The pegasus had one of her hooves missing.

Rarity lifts the Camera Obscura. The Dullahan takes to the air. It gets behind her and puts it’s hoof on the white mare’s back. Rarity screams as she felt the life drain from her body.

The unicorn mare kicks free of the wight causing herself to trip and tumble down stairs. The Camera Obscura slides down the hall stopping a few feet in front of her. As Rarity got up picking up the device as she did so, the door slams behind her.

“Well that was a failure,” Rarity brushes off her dress.

“Hehehe, Loser,” Gipsy’s voice comes from behind Rarity startling the pony. The mare spins around Camera Obscura at the ready.

After a moment of nothing, Rarity sighs and puts her thoughts together. “Didn’t Soul Dirt's notes say there were other ways to weaken these things? Come to think of it my exploration of this area was cut short.”

Rarity walks down the hall and tries to open the first door she found. The door was locked and with a newer lock so Mother Belle’s keys wouldn’t work on this one. Rarity uses the pick gun on the lock instead.

The room appeared to belong to one of Photo Finishes assistances. A cork broad was up on the wall with a note and some news paper clippings. The clippings appeared to be copies of originals.
_

Rosa Rose note

Given the strange goings ons here I decided to put together a collage of notable events I could find related to the house and the ponies that lived within it. I came across other events but those are more connected to Laurenville then this house. I’m keeping them in my safety deposit box at the New Laurenville Bank to reduce my clutter here.
_

Clipping from the Lauren Leader marked 35 years ago

Stag Home manor was found abandoned yesterday. At the time the only residents of the manor was Superior Gem and Southern Belle. Both of which disappeared without a trace.
_

Clipping from the Lauren Leader marked 45 years ago

Mother Belle died today giving birth to a unicorn. As you may remember the mare known as Mother Belle was put in a magical coma after suffering from third degree burns over most of her body in a fire at her home known as Stag Home manor. This accident also crushed her legs witch had to be amputated later.
It wasn’t until much later that it was discovered that Mother Belle was pregnant. Many think that a Black Thorn who was married to Mother Belle’s sister Superior Gem might have been the father. This was due to his sudden disappearance after the news of the pregnancy came out.
_

Clipping from the Lauren Leader marked 60 years ago

Smilie Cloud and Humble Home died today after a chariot drove by Smilie Cloud herself fell out of the sky. Fall was labeled driver error.
As you may know, Smilie Cloud was the weather pegasus in charge of the Mount Faust area. Humble Home is the heir to the Lauren Faust shrine. He was also put on trial for the murder of his family but was acquitted by Equestria’s highest court.
_

Clipping from the Lauren Leader marked 85 years ago

The pony known as Humble Home is put on trial today. He is accused of killing his entire family during a ritual at the Lauren Faust shrine.
At this point the Lauren Leader would like to note that many of the members of the senior staff of this paper was ordered to step down by Lauren Leader's parent company Equestrian Press due to their acts of slander and bias and was replace by ponies hoofed picked by Equestrian Press themselves. We who are in charge now hope to bring you a more fare and unbias reporting.
As you may have heard for years the ritual sacrifices been going on at the Mount Faust shrine. It appeared that one of the sacrifices named Flyfoot was the lover to Humble Home. Unable to allow her killers to be unpunished he turned violent on his kin.
_

After reading, the light of the Camera Obscura turns on. The device starts vibrating and the light grew brighter.

The room had changed to somepony else’s room. It was a young colt’s room. He was hiding under a blanket with a pegasus. The pegasus was at that age where she wasn’t quite a mare but she wasn’t a filly either.

“Could you read the story again?” The colt snuggled up against the pegasus with the pink feathers cutie mark.

“Okay, once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria.” The pegasus reads from a book. “There was a very magical unicorn that wished to have a piece of the silver river that appears in the sky every nigh-”

The colt suddenly kisses her on the lips.

“Humble what are you doing?” The pegasus pushes the colt away.

“Flyfoot please,” The colt looks at the young mare wide eyed.

Flyfoot pauses for a moment then hesitantly kisses the colt back.

The room turns back to normal and Rarity shakes her head to shake off her vision.

She leaves Rosa Rose’s room. The next door was also locked and had to be opened with the pick gun.

The room smelt of flowers and had many foreign artifacts.

“Help me,” A mare’s voice calls out.

Rarity flinches and looks around. She spots a piece of paper on the bed.
_

Emiko’s Journal

This mountain area reminds me of my homeland of Nipponi. From what I heard the ponies that founded this area are from that part of the world. You can’t tell anymore by looking at them but one can sense it though.
Speaking of I was curious about that shrine in the back and left to explore. It appears to be locked tight. Soul Dirt says that the doors are talisman locked. The key had been long lost.
_

Rarity walked to the next room. Again this had to be unlocked. She gasped at the sight of the bloody bodies.

Photo Finish, a pink pony and yellow Nipponi lay on the floor. All of them looked like they were turned inside out soaking in their own blood. Rarity had to dash out into the hall to throw up.

A ghostly figure of a pink pony sat crying trapped in a glowing pentacle. A dry dirty rag was at her feet.

“W-what happen here?” Rarity asks the specter.

“Blood, blood everywhere,” Rosa Rose cries.

“Sweetie, look at me what happened?” Rarity demands.

“I-I was doing something,” Rosa Rose stares off. “Do you know who I am? I can’t remember it's hard to remember.”

“Rosa Rose,” Rarity answers, “It’s me Rarity, we met when Photo Finish came to Ponyville.”

“Oh, Ponyville nice,” Rosa Rose pauses, “I th-think.” The pink mare points at the body of herself on the ground. “Who is that, I recognize everyone else but I don’t know who she is.”

“That’s no one dearie,” Rarity scoots herself to cut the body from the view of the ghost pony.

“The unicorn said it would work,” Rosa Rose sobs, “Oh, Celestria, the blood the pain. He said if we summoned the child we could trap both it and mother.”

Rarity looks at the rag on the floor. “The Mini Stag and the Dullahan”

“The Stag himself then came,” Rosa Rose snuffles, “He called himself our god. My goddess, I think he raped me," Rosa Rose starts crying, "All of us he had his way with all of us! After that beast was done he said he couldn't risk letting us live. So much blood.”

“It’s going to be fine,” Rarity told the pony.

“No, it’s not, I know something’s wrong with me,” Rosa Rose snaps.

“I think I can end your pain,” Rarity adds.

“Please do,” Rosa Rose begs.

Rarity takes her picture with the Camera Obscura. The pony spirit disappears. The Camera Obscura’s light turned on over the bodies of Photo Finish and Emiko. She takes a picture of them. Ghostly images of the respective ponies appeared in the photos.

A book titled the “Summoning the Dead” was on the floor witch Rarity picks up. It explained a series of spells that could help call certain spirits. Something that most unicorns could perform with help. Rarity thought maybe she could cast it by herself.

A piece of paper was between the pages.
_

Soul Dirt’s notes 7

I have identified the name of the ghost I’ve called the Dullahan is really a pegasus named Flyfoot.
I believe they chosen pegasus specificly so that when they behead them that the body would match up with the headless body of Lauren Faust.
The only way the Dullahan to be put truly to rest is to reunite her with her head and child. My research showed that the head was most likely sealed away in the shrine.
Too bad I can’t get in there. After some time after his trial was over Humble Home used his magic to seal the shrine keeping all the spirits within. Maybe if I had more time I could find the talisman key.
I have to make do with summoning the child and the body. The body appears to have inherent mothering instincts. Hopefully that is enough.
_

“So, it appears I should check this shrine out,” Rarity remarks after reading the note. “Twilight taught me some things, I might be able to do something.”

Rarity heads back down stairs.

“Please stay away,” The marshmallow unicorn heard and caught a glance of Humble Home as she walks down stairs. But the ghost was gone.

Rarity walks over to the back door. She puts her hoof on the door.

“You’re making a mistake,” A female voice whispers as Rarity steps outside.

Chapter: 5 - Caesar

The deep crystal black and twinkling night sky peered through the gray clouds.

Rarity inspected the laurel grove. It seemed from time to time ponies would walk onto the property and tie ribbons and bells to the braches.

When she had approached the laurel grove, Rarity thought she saw the ghostly specter of Rainbow Dash who simply looked at her and faded off. This had to be impossible since she was sure Rainbow Dash was alive.

A blue bell catches the mare’s attention. She looked down at the Camera Obscura noticing the bell made the light turn on. She takes a picture. After a moment and image of Mother Belle appeared in the photo.

Rarity looks in the bell’s dome. A red laurel seed was inside. There were a few other bells and they too had seeds. This must be part of the tradition the mare concluded.

A patch of laurel branches makes a strange movement. Rarity takes a few steps forward to investigate when the Stag steps out of the grove.

Rarity was startled and lifts the Camera Obscura with her magic. Before she could react, the Stag unleashes a wail with tears streaming from its eyes.

The sadness puts Rarity into shock. The creature was allowed to walk back to the bell in the sink hole.

“As scary and intimidating that creature is, it's sad,” Rarity says to herself, “He’s just another victim in all this.

Child’s laughter makes Rarity’s ears twitch.

“Gipsy is that you?” Rarity calls out fallowing the tree line.

The mare’s hoof sinks into some soft rain soaked dirt. It hits something hard. When she pulled her leg out to the mare’s dismay the mud went up to her sleeve.

Rarity had a sinking feeling and checks the light on the Camera Obscura. It was on and she takes a picture. It developed into an image of a construction worker.

As she stood there a gust of wind blows by. The creaking groan of a rope gets the mare’s ear.

In the starlight she could see a tire swing tied to an old dead tree. The tire swing was swaying over a deep drop. By the swing a small foal was crying. As she approached she realized this was a colt. Rarity recognized it as the one she accidently shot.

“Sweetie are you okay?” The white unicorn calls out walking closer to the little thing.

“It hurts, it hurts, Mother did I do something to make you mad at me?” The colt sniffled.

“Oh honey no that was an accident,” Rarity tries to hug the foal only to pass through it.

“Get away from him!” In the moment of shock, Gipsy swings around on the tire and knocks it into Rarity’s back. The mare falls over into a dried creek bed.

“Fuc-oofff!” Rarity’s moment of almost cursing was interrupted by the ground. She stands up spiting peat soil from her lips.

Gipsy lands behind Rarity. “What happened to all the water,” The ghost foal scratched her head. “I remember this thing having water this high.” She points at the lip of the ledge. The ghost looks at a large rock sticking out of the ground and she zones off for a moment. “It was so much fun.” The filly mumbles as blood leaks from under her mane.

The glow Gipsy emanated was seeming to fade.

Rarity smirks, “You seem to be on your last leg.” The pony lifts the Camera Obscura.

“Fine my goal is done,” Gipsy smiles as Rarity fires the camera.

She was waiting for the light to fade as the ghost faded. Only it did not.

Rarity dodges something large and ghostly that tried to attack her from behind. The thing swings around allowing Rarity to get a look at a large ghostly catfish that could swallow a grown pony whole.

Before Rarity could react by firing the Camera Obscura, the fish lunges at her. Rarity found herself lifted off the ground as the ghostly fish swallowed her.

The mare hits the ground with a thud, as she fell through the fish. Wounds on her bare flank bleeds from where the fish teeth dug into her flesh.

Frustrated the fish creature attempts to swallow Rarity again. It managed to hold her before letting Rarity fall through landing on her back.

Rarity fumbles with the Camera Obscura as the fish moves in again. She accidently gives the thing a Zero Shot. The fish thing shrieks and roars.

Taking the chance Rarity rolls off her back. The fish recovers and goes at her again.

“Stay back you cur!” Rarity shouts making another Zero Shot. The creature thrashed and knocks into her.

Rarity stumbles back and reloads the camera. Then she dashes forward a few steps giving the catfish another Zero Shot.

The ghostly monster fades and disappears. The light on the Camera Obscura finally turns off.

Rarity looks up at the wall of the dried up ditch. She saw tree roots hanging like vines. The pony cringes at the thought of having to climb up at.

The roots creaked and Rarity grunted under her own weight as she pulled her self up the side of the wall. She felt like a mountain goat and many of her muscles were in pain but she made it.

The foal was still crying when Rarity reached the top. Rarity takes her makeup mirror out of her pocket and start straightening her hair.

“Mother Belle, I don’t feel well,” The colt sobbed as Rarity fiddled with her mane. “I don’t think I felt well for a long time. Mother Belle is there something wrong with me?”

“Yes sweetie you’re very ill,” Rarity answers.

“I can’t feel anything, what I do feel is a memory, I-I can’t control,” The colt cries.

“I can make it all go away,” Rarity tells the specter holding up the Camera Obscura.

“No!” The colt snaps, “It hurts like before I came to live with you.” The colt mumbles off, “Like what daddy…”

“I don’t think it hurts if I get you all at once,” Rarity assures the specter.

“I’ve heard that before!” The colt snaps, “He said it would feel better.”

The colt runs off.

“Honey!” Rarity cries out but it was too late. Then she mutters, “I can’t blame him, there are few things I would compare to loosing parts of your soul by force.”

The shrine was a decent sized building. One floor with an exception of the small gazebo on the roof. It was covered in faded red colored wood with two large gate like doors. Rope was wrapped around the handles holding them shut.

As she approached the shrine, Rarity felt a strong vibration. This time it wasn’t coming from the Camera Obscura but the red gem broach.

The gem makes a red flash. A blue aurora appears around the shrine and quickly disappears. The rope was undone by a simple unweaving spell casted by Rarity. It caused the thing to fall into a pile of strands.

The doors creaked open. The change in air pressure caused a stir of wind that kicked up dust.

Rarity made a lady like sneeze and removed her handkerchief from her vest pocket to cover her muzzle. She could see cob webs everywhere.

“Hello!” Rarity calls out to loosen her nerves.

To her dismay, glowing eyes open up and stared back at her. Cold icy breath hits the back of Rarity’s neck. The Stag puts his lips to her ears and whispers. “I am your God.”

Rarity’s heart makes a loud thrump. It skips a beat as the ghostly ponies jump and grab her. Rarity whinnies and neighs as she drops the Camera Obscura. Her hooves lose their footing as she is drag into the shrine.

Rarity lashes out with her magic. As her aurora hits the ghost she would pick up parts of jumbled memories. In the end this disorientated the mare making her unable to fight anymore.

The Stag gets off of the pegasus mare. They were under the bell tower with the mare tied up to one of the posts. She had one of her fore hooves missing and had to lean against the tower.

The pegasus sobs and cries. Rarity recognized her as Flyfoot All the ponies watched her get violated by the beast. A young Humble Home cries in to his father’s side.

Time passes, the mare very pregnant screams and neighs as ponies pulls on a bridle strapped to her face. They forced her head down on a block.

“Father please!” Humble home cries.

“Someone must do this, It cannot breed,” The stallion in the stag mask raises a large blade in his teeth. He swings the blade down. The mare’s neck snaps and the blade slices through.

With a smaller blade the unicorn stallion cuts into the mare’s stomach. He pulls a crying foal out. It was still alive and abnormally large and appeared to be growing.

They deskinned the mare and wrap the crying foal into a sack made from her still wet hide.

Before sealing the bag, they nail stag horns on the top of the foal’s head. The foal stopped crying when the nails went through his skull. His movements became shaky and twitchy.

They tossed the foal into the ground near the laurel grove and started burying him.

When Rarity became aware of herself, she had a bridle strapped to her face. Ghost ponies pulled at her reins dragging her to a bloody block of wood in the middle of the shrine.

Rarity screams and neighs as she tries to kick away. They forced her head to lay on the block. The ghost stallion in a stag mask raises a large blade.

Through her tears and panic, Rarity spots something in the windowceil. It was a music box barrel. She takes it up into her magic and attempts to throw it at one of the ghosts. It just bounces around the room.

“Father no!” Humble Home rushes in between the mask ghost and Rarity.

“Humble?” The mask ghost said in shock. Then is tone changed. “The murderer returns.”

“You call me the murderer that's rich,” Humble Home snorts walking back words into Rarity’s horn.

There was an image of a young Humble Home spiking the mead with poison powder. Later he watched as all the members of his family and cult choked and died. Afterwards he takes a wooden box and stores it under the main house.

“I loved her, she was like a second mother to me and more,” Humble Home’s voice brings Rarity back to her strange reality. “I watched you give her to that beast. You imprisoned her and I watched that thing grow inside her, you killing her and ripping that thing out of her.”

“Oh this is some bullshit,” A voice snaps.

Everyone turns to the Stag who was walking into the room.

“This whole time you been killing my vassals!” The Stag walks over to Rarity and Humble Home.

The pelt of the Stag starts to sag. The antlers slide to the side and falls ripping the skin off like a mask. An earth stallion was underneath.

“Y-you was a pony this whole time?” Humble Home said in shock.

“Lord Caesar Stag,” The ghost in the stag mask points out.

“I beheaded the Goddess Lauren,” Caesar Stag boasted, “I drank the blood from her neck hole. The head became one with my soul.”

The pony lord turn to look at the two ghosts that help restrained Rarity to the block. He walks up to them and with an inhale he sucks up the two specters’s energy.

Rarity finds herself freed.

“Leave mare,” Caesar Stag snaps at Rarity.

The mare rushes out the doors hooves kicking something on the way out. The shrine doors slams behind her. The screams of the undead could faintly be heard.

Rarity spots the music box barrel on the ground next to the Camera Obscura. She sticks the barrel into her pocket with the other one and picks up the camera.

The light on the Camera Obscura turns on and it starts to vibrate a little.

“Hello dearie,” Caesar Stag sneaks up behind Rarity causing her to spin around.

She fires some Zero Shots at the beast. The thing flinched and winced but stood its ground waiting for her to finish.

“What do you want from me you devil!” Rarity shouts.

“My devil’s smile in the face of every colt and filly,” Caesar Stag whispers before fading away.

Chapter: 6 – Rarity

It was the smell of smoke that broke Rarity from her shock. She didn’t know how long she stood there. But it couldn’t have been longer then few of a few minutes.

Ash flakes floats by Rarity’s face. They tickled her nose and nostrils. She could see a orange glow up ahead from the laurel grove.

The first thought that popped into her head was “The grove was on fire”. Her second thought was of the bell for some deep unknown reason.

Rarity rushes at a run for the flaming grove. She frantically searched through the flames. The Camera Obscura vibrated like mad. Rarity thought the flames took the forms of moaning mares. She thought they took the form of hope burning away.

The image of the ghostly Rainbow Dash appears before her.

“Mother Bell it’s over here!” The ghost calls out.

Rarity fallows the ghost pony until she spots the blue bell. She reached out for it with her magic. The burnt stick broke with the bell attached when Rarity’s magic failed her.

The mare had to dash closer to the flames then she would have liked, grab the hot and smoldering stick with her mouth and spat the thing away from the fire where she could stomp it out with her hooves.

“That bell must mean something to you,” A male voice speaks from behind Rarity.

The mare spins around to see the stallion in the stag mask. The living one not the one from the shrine who's dead possibly twice over.

Rarity takes a defensive stance readying to fight or flight.

“I have no interest in hurting you now,” The stallion told the unicorn mare, “The Camera Obscura is more effective at exercising the spirits around here than I ever thought it would be. Most of them appears to be gone.”

Rarity takes the bell up with her magic. She puts it into her pocket as she runs into the manor.

“Urgh!” Superior Gem huffed as she scrubs the blood off the floor. “Got to clean before the children wakes up!”

The ghostly mare fades away before Rarity could make a snap shot.

The unicorn mare finally opens the hatch in the floor. The prebroken spider webs sway in the air.

Rarity’s hooves creaked the wooden steps as she put her weight on them. She gasps at the sight of the mummy. The mummy made the Camera Obscura’s light turn on. She takes a picture.

In the photo a little glow appeared over the dead pony’s pocket. Rarity grimaces as she checks the dusty corpse’s body. She takes a piece of paper with the numbers 3514 written on it.

The Camera Obscura’s light turns on again. She waited for Rarity to see her before speaking.

“If you want to know everything use those numbers to open the real safe.” Smilie Cloud answers before she disappears.

Rarity knew what she was talking about. But that was something at had to wait for later.

To see the room the unicorn lit her horn. It flickered a little bit. The evening has been taking a toll on her magic and she hoped it will hold out.

It was a green colored box the size a little larger then a pony’s head. Rarity didn’t want to look inside and didn’t need to. All she needed to do was to take it up stairs.

She puts the Camera Obscura in her pocket so she could take the box up into her magic and walked up out of the cellar. The creature must have been attracted to the head or something.

Rarity had to drop the box and pull out the Camera Obscura from her pocket. She dodges the Mini Stag’s antlers and fires the Camera Obscura causing the thing to flinch.

She slowly walks over to the box stepping backwards as to keep her facing the Mini Stag monster. Rarity kicks the box across the room and toward the stairs with her back hoof.

Her flinch in movement caused the Mini Stag to lunge at her again. Rarity hits the thing with a Zero Shot. Allowing her to dash for the stairs taking the box’s cobwebbed covered handle in her mouth. Once the Mini Stag recovered, it runs up stairs to chase Rarity.

In the mean time, Rarity reached the pentacle room. She spat the box into the pentacle circle her mouth full of the cotton like material. The mare opens the summoning book.

The Mini Stag thuds against the door. Rarity attempts the cast the spell but with her magical exhaustion and the noise of the thumping door her first try fails with a flicker of her horn. The second try was more successful with her horn giving off a blue spark.

The Dullahan appears in the circle. It bumped it’s headless neck against the box sensing what’s inside. Rarity realized she had to flip the latch on the box with her magic.

When the Dullahan’s head pulls out it was of a beautiful mare. Her flesh returned to her body. Even the color of the mare’s pelt (yellow) could be seen.

“My baby, have you seen my baby?” The mare asks.

“Over here hon,” Rarity opens the door allowing the Mini Stag to rush into the room.

The Mini Stag freezes at the sight of the yellow mare. The three legged mare walks up to the Mini Stag and nuzzles it with her muzzle.

“Mommy?” The thing spoke up as it turned into light and adsorbs into the mare.

The mare herself turns into a dried mummy and falls to the floor with a thump.

The attic now free, Rarity walks up stairs. The cries of the infant could be heard. The light of the Camera Obscura turns on as she walks up to the crying infant the light thumping with each step like her heart beat.

“Oh no!” Rarity gasped as she took the infant’s body into her magic. It was dead, the body long cold. It’s undead spirit continued to cry.

Rarity takes the Zero Shot of the infant which caused the crying to stop. It took a moment for Rarity to compose herself.

“This ends tonight!” She grits between her teeth. “What ever it is, I need to do to end this madness I will do it. This horror needs to be removed from the world.”

Rarity looks at that music box device. There were two of them in this room. The attic it’s self extend from one side of the house to another with machines in both corners. Both appeared to be in working order.

She remembered Soul Dirt’s note about how to get rid of the Stag. The being she now knew as Caesar Stag the pony lord who killed the goddess Faust. The bastard behind all of this horror. That plan was better than nothing.

Rarity puts the music box barrel in the device with a click. The same was for the other device. She checked the times on the devices clocks with her pocket watch. They said the same time but she reset her watch to be more in sync with the devices.

“One more barrel left to find,” Rarity remarks looking at her pocket watch. “I only have two hours before the Summer Sun starts.”

With nothing else to do Rarity heads back to Superior Gem’s office. She heard the voices of children as she walked down the west wing hall. These were random voices of the past and she didn’t have time to investigate.

Rarity walks to the safe. It still made her horn itch.

She opens the hinge of the safe. She grabs the panel in the back that only a unicorn could hold in her magic. Underneath was a number panel.

She pushed the numbers with her magic. It took a couple of tries before the device clicks. The door swings out letting loose an earthy smell.

Rarity takes a breath and attempts to slide into the small hole. It was a tight fit and made the mare feel fat but she got through.

Her horn light reflected off the crystals. They were light blue in color. Warms crawled over the gems. Spinning them and making them bigger.

At the end of the cavern she could see a skeletal corpse of a unicorn trapped in the blue gems. From the bits of mane and dress Rarity could tell it was a mare. It was Superior Gem.

This cavern must have once extended farther out but it appeared to have had collapsed. Rarity thought of the sink hole out the back of the manor where the bell tower used to be.

Rarity takes a picture of Superior Gem’s corpse.

“What are you doing in my farm!” Superior Gem shouts appearing behind the white pony.

Rarity steps out of the way and the ghostly mare was stunned a little bit at the sight of her own body. Then enraged, she suddenly leaps at Rarity.

The specter was stabbed by her horn. Memories flows into Rarity’s brain causing her to lose track of reality.

At the time there was still a tunnel. An exit was near where the bell tower had collapsed the ceiling in. The small filly was stealing gems when Superior Gem found her.

The filly froze from its institutionalized fear. Superior Gem spots the red glimmer of the ruby colored broach.

“Thief!” Superior Gem shouts tossing the small foal into the wall with her magic. “I raised you and you repaid me like this.”

The filly curled in a ball sobbing in pain.

“What do you have to say for yourself,” Superior Gem snaps.

“I hate you!” The filly shouts as she cries, “I want to be free!”

“Shut it!” Superior Gem kicks the poor creature in the mouth causing her lip to bleed.

“You’re my bitch, you do as I say,” Superior Gem shouts at the filly.

A long cracking groan came from a wood beam. The filly rolls out of the way as the ground caved in.

“Daughter stop!” Smilie Cloud shouts.

“Mother?” Superior Gem gets off of Rarity.”Y-You’re dead!”

“You are too sweetie,” Smilie Cloud answers.

“No, no no!” Superior Gem shouts.

Rarity holds up the Camera Obscura. Smilie Cloud seen this and nods her head. Rarity does a Zero Shot. Superior Gem screams as she fades away.

Afterwards when Rarity looked away, Smilie Cloud was gone. A glimmer catched Rarity’s eye.

It was a music box barrel. Rarity puts it into her pocket and crawls out of the cavern back through the safe hole. She picks up the tools and headed up to the tower to fix the music box device.

The orange glow of the burning laurel grove flickered in through the window. Dull gray ash could be seen falling in front of the black ground of the sky.

Rarity walks over to the music machine. She takes it apart, she knew how clocks worked. Rarity learned how to maintain her own clocks and watch just like she learned to maintain her own sewing machine.

The last thing the mare did was set the time on the machine’s clock by looking at the clock on her pocket watch. Satisfied she put her watch away. Then the tools back into their box and headed back down stairs.

The outside was snowing ash heavily as Rarity walks up to the Mothering Bell with one of Photo Finish’s croquet mallets in her magic. She floats it into her teeth and with a great swing of her head she hits the bell. It rang loudly, she pulls her head back again and let’s loose another ring. Then a third ring.

Final Chapter- Lauren

Rarity was one of the few ponies that could appreciate the beauty of the image before her. The spectral Stag standing proudly with the ash falling around him. He was a horrifying sadistic creature but the sight was still beautifully cereal.

“My, you do know what that bell was made for?” Caesar Stag remarks smugly. “Are you giving yourself to me girl?”

“Oh a lady doesn’t give out on a first date,” Rarity remarks nervously her eyes darting at the burning grove then back to the Stag.

“Who says this is our first date?” Caesar Stag smirks.

“Wha?” Rarity reacts.

In the back ground she sees the sky redden as the sun rises above the building. Then the towers chime their music as the sky turns it’s azure blue.

Caesar Stag starts laughing. “Well well, I haven’t heard that sound in years. I don’t know what you think you are doing setting that thing off.”

Suddenly the Stag’s eyes widen as the ash changes direction and starts flowing toward the bell. He looks over at the burning laurel grove.

“No! It can’t be! The seal? It’s broken!” The Stag shouts.

The ash whirls forming into the shape of a tall headless female with wings. She was proportional to a large alicorn in size.

The pelt and flesh of Caesar Stag starts to melt and fly off in globs toward the headless alicorn.

“No this isn’t happening!” Caesar Stag shouts as his ghostly flesh mask peels off his face. “I am a god!”

“No you are not!” The Alicorn snaps as her head reforms.

Weakened Caesar Stag falls to his knees his stag body completely gone leaving him in his earth pony state.

“This ends now you monster,” Rarity takes a Zero Shot. The stallion screams as he fades away.

“Thank you my child,” Lauren says as she walks up to Rarity.

“Thank you ma'lady,” Rarity blushed.

“But I have one last bit of evil to exorcize,” Lauren puts her muzzle to Rarity’s muzzle.

Rarity felt a stinging pain in her gut and her loins burned. The unicorn cries out in pain as blood trickles down her leg fallowed by a bloody lump of flesh.

Rarity turns to look at the bloody object. Her heart sinks.

“That’s…” The mare stutters.

Clop!

Clop!

Clop!

The masked stallion was stomping his foot on the deck in an act of slow applause.

“Who is this stallion?” Lauren asks.

“He help free you, but I don’t trust him. He tried to kill me when we first met.” Rarity tells Lauren.

“I see, you wish to have my power don’t you?” Lauren snaps.

The stallion removes his mask revealing a middle aged brown unicorn.

“My name is Soul Dirt,” He tells the mares. “Years ago I was an orphan raised by Mother Belle. I grew up on legends of this area and that was the reason I became a para archeologist. I was lucky to find out that Photo Finish was looking for somepony to investigate her home. You see I’m becoming an old pony. If Caesar Stag could become immortal so can I.”

“I won’t allow you to trick me like the Lord Caesar Stag did,” Lauren said puffing up her wings to make herself look bigger.

“I’ll have to settle for second best,” Soul Dirt takes the flesh lump up with his magic.

“Stop!” Lauren shouts.

He slings shots the thing into his mouth. With a few bites the stallion swallows the lump of flesh.

“Madam, what’s going on?” Rarity makes a grossed out look.

“The cells of that thing holds the Stag’s, no my power. Even a fraction of in a unicorn, amplifying it’s powers.”

Soul Dirt’s body let’s out the loud crack of bones. The old pony screams out in pain as his body starts to grow. Horns grew from his head. His hooves turns into three toed claws. Wings come out from his back.

Soul Dirt stops growing at thirty stories. He towered over the manor with his body smashing into the side and shattering walls.

“Oh, my,” Rarity takes a few steps back.

Lauren turns to Rarity. “I’m sorry to ask this of you but my power is still too weak to fight such a creature.”

“What!” Rarity reacts.

Lauren turns into light and merges into Rarity’s body. The unicorn becomes taller with wings. The Camera Obscura glows with power.

Rarity takes off to the air. She flies around the monster witch roared at her a beam of energy firing at the glowing white mare.

The alicorn ducks the beam flying under the stag like monster. As she came out the other side Rarity flips on her back and takes a picture with her super charged Camera Obscura.

The stag monster roars as an after image of it is sucked into the camera device. He replied by swinging his thick tail.

Rarity flips back around and dodges the tail that smashes into the east wing of the manor decimating it. Rarity turns toward the stag monster’s bow and fires another snap shot.

The monster roars and fires its breath down at Rarity. She flies closer to the creature’s chest. A clawed leg tried to swat her but only nicking the tail.

The third shot was made as Rarity flew upwards. She fired it into the stag monster's eye.

The stag monster looks up at Rarity as she takes up to the sky. The beast spread his wings and took to the sky.

Rarity looks behind her as the giant monster chased after her. She gulps sweating from her nerves and flapped her wings to gain speed.

The stag monster shoots a blast of energy. With a bend of her wing, the blast missed Rarity only knocking loose a few feathers.

Rarity turns and fires at the monster hitting its starboard side. The monster flinched started to float off then catch himself.

This gave Rarity a chance to fire another shot causing the monster to drift closer to the ground. It recovers and fired a blast of energy.

Rarity had turned back around and the stag monster turned to fallow. She takes her third shot and the monster came crashing to the ground.

It slid into Photo Finish’s mansion. The entire building was wiped out into a pile of splinters.

The stag monster was coughing up blood when Rarity landed nearby. It shrinks with every cough of blood until becoming the size of a normal stallion his body a deformed monster.

Alicorn Rarity walks up to the twitching body of Soul Dirt.

“Ack! I guess I failed, Ack ack arrack!!!” Soul Dirt hacks up a hard chunk of flesh. “Finish me.”

With a cold look on her face Rarity speaks. “No that would be too easy.” She could hear sirens coming. “Besides they have to punish somepony. I’d rather have it not be me.”

Ambulance and police ponies start pulling up. They watched as Lauren’s spirit leaves Rarity’s body turning the mare back to her normal state. The alicorn goddess waves to the unicorn as she floats up to the sky.

One of the ponies sees Soul Dirt laying on the ground. “My goddess get him on the bus!” He shouts.

“Miss are you okay?” An officer asks.

“Oh, yes,” Rarity nods her head, “I’m feeling a little weak. That stallion you need to place him under arrest.”

“Arrest what for?” The officer replied.

“Murder, attempted murder, destruction, turning yourself into a beast can’t be legal dear.”

“Um, yes, Then can you come with me?” the officer tells the mare

“In a minute,” Rarity answers looking out into the valley.

After everything she gone through, Rarity takes a deep breath. She looks out at the sky line with the sun in the sky. The wind blows through her main as she reflects on life.

Bonus- Firefly and Posy

“Hey, Fluttershy take a pose,” Rainbow Dash picks up the Camera Obscura.

“Rainbow please don’t its-,” Fluttershy starts to say but was cut off when Rainbow Dash suddenly takes Fluttershy’s picture.

They yellow pegasus does a jerking flinch. Then suddenly she gives the cutest little sneeze. Fluttershy sniffles and rubs her foreankle against her itchy nose.

Rainbow takes out the developing photo and had just put it on the table when Twilight shrieked.

“Rainbow Dash put that down now that’s not a toy!” The lavender unicorn snaps.

“Oh, I ain’t hurting nothing,” Rainbow Dash puts the camera device down on the table. “I thought you were done with that thing by the way Twilight?”

“I was,” Twilight blushed, “It was kind of returned.” Twilight takes the Camera Obscura up in her magic. “It put Rarity on quite the adventure. I’m locking it away for now.”

Fluttershy sways a little. “T-Twilight? Mind if I lay down a little?”

“Sure you can have the reading couch over there,” Twilight answers as she walks away.

Rainbow Dash looks at the now developed photo on the table. “Shy, did I ever tell you that you take the most adorable pictures?” The mare teased.

Fluttershy blushed, “You can be such a meanie Firefly.” She walks over to the couch and lays down.

Rainbow Dash squints at the photo. “Wait? I think that stupid camera of Twilight’s is busted. Fluttershy? You have no wings? And your cutie mark looks like flowers? Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash turns to see her friend zonked out over the couch.

Fluttershy found herself sitting at a dinner table in a grand hall. She felt strange, like she was in a body she wasn’t used to having. But still it felt right.

It took the yellow pony a minute to realize that she had no wings. But wasn’t scared or shocked by this revelation it felt right somehow.

She recognized the pony sitting at the head of the table as her father. She knows that he wasn’t but Fluttershy couldn’t deny that he was her father.

A smug looking pegasus puts a glass of cider down next to Fluttershy. She was purple with a blue mane. The look on the pegasus’s face reminds Fluttershy of Rainbow Dash. She had her own glass and Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice the sword at her side.

“Oh I couldn’t,” Fluttershy replied pushing the glass away with her hoof.

“Loosen up Posy,” The pegasus that Fluttershy knew somehow as Firefly tells the yellow earth pony. A somber tone goes into her voice. “After what happened to Mother Bell I think you need a little chemical cheering.”

“She was a good friend,” Posy sighs, then gets a sly smile on her face. After eyeing the room she whispers in Firefly’s ears. “Perhaps we can do another form of chemical cheering.”

“You are starting to make me wish I never took that step with you,” Firefly smiles.

“Father, may I retire to my room?” Posy speaks up over the crowd.

“Yes dear,” The stallion answers.

“I’ll escort ma’lady,” Firefly adds.

Posy and Firefly walks down the hall and makes a turn at Posy’s bed chambers. The yellow earth pony closes her door and flips the lock. She didn’t miss a beat in putting her lips on the purple pegasus’s mouth.

“Hold it nelly,” Firefly pushes back the earth mare. “I like the enthusiasm but let me remove my barding first before bedding me.”

“Oh hurry, My body longs for you, every second without your touch makes me ill,” Posy moans trying to sound romantic.

“Well you need more restraint, if your father suspects I defiled you he’ll geld me with his hoof. My balls are in my tummy so I’m sure that would kill me.” Firefly remarks dropping her barding and Posy knocks her onto the bed. She lays on her back exposing her undercarriage to the earth pony.

“Speaking of tummy,” Posy smirks before rutting her muzzle into the pegasus’s udders.

Firefly moans in pleasure, then gasps. “Come over here babe.”

Posy craws up over Firefly’s body and the purple mare kisses her deeply. The two of them roll to the side. From there everything blurs into events of sex and orgasm.

Sometime later Posy, Futtershy found herself laying on top of her sheets slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. Her wetness felt cool in the open air. Firefly was missing from her side. She must have zonked out with her eyes open.

A sound catches Fluttershy’s attention. A pony crying out? She gets to her feet and notices that Firefly’s sword was missing from her floor. If the pegasus had gotten up to use the toilet or grab food she wouldn’t have taken her weapon.

Fluttershy opens the bed room door and gasps. The walls and floor were covered in blood. The pony walks down the hall passing the bloody corpse of a pony sliced with a weapon.

The earth pony makes it out into the dining hall. She sees Firefly no Rainbow Dash covered in blood. Dead ponies lay at her feet and she laughs manically as she pulls her sword out of a pony.

The pegasus turns to Fluttershy with wide crazed eyes. “I did this for you!”