My Little Pony: Friendship is Lost

What would you say if I asked for your thoughts on Fairy Tales? Would you say they are friendly, winged children tending to the plants and animals of the forest? Would the image of 7 singing dwarves come to mind? How about the tale of a shining knight coming to rescue a damsel in distress from the clutches of an evil dragon? Yes, that is the modern Disney interpretation of fairies, but few people know the truth of their origins. The true terror that Fairy Tales once sparked in the hearts of men and women, and why even today there exists superstitious towns and villages living on the outskirts of society.

I'd like to tell you a more accurate fairy tale, one that may not have such a happy ending. It's the story of a young girl who gets to live in a world of magical talking ponies!

"Heather, you're going to be late for school!" came the agitated shout of a concerned father. The one known as Heather groaned as she was in the middle of watching a recorded episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Why did the show have to come on so early in the mornings, anyways?

"I'm coming, dad!" She called back, flipping off the TV in her room and grabbing the last pieces of today's outfit. Slipping her shoes and book bag on and preparing to head out to the bus stop.

Heather was 16 years old and well into high school. She'd graduate in 2 years and then would have to think about what to do with her future from there. She was pretty, at least as far as she had been told. Having shoulder length, brown hair that curled at the ends, light Caucasian skin, and bright green eyes. She stood at 5'5 in height, weighing a nice 135 lbs.

Her outfit today consisted of a short, violet skirt and matching tank top. Her sneakers were pristine navy blue, having just bought them yesterday when her old pair were faded and worn. Her book bag was the same blue as her shoes, matching the outfit.

"Aren't you a little old for ponies?" her father asked when Heather passed by him on her way out the door.

"You don't understand, dad!" Heather called back before hurrying out the door as the bus was arriving at the end of the driveway to pick her up. Her dad just rolled his eyes and went back to his business. He had the day off from work, and he was determined to enjoy it by lazing about the house!

The bus ride was fast, Heather's was the second to last house they had to stop off before they were finished picking the kids up for school. Then it was just a 10 minute drive to reach campus, not even enough time to really socialize. Not that it mattered, her best friend  was part of another bus route, so she had to wait for them to arrive at school before they could interact with each other.

She sat  near the front of the bus, waiting by a window seat for the ride to be over, resting her head back and peering out the side to the passing sights. There was a slight reflection on the polished glass, showing a faint image of herself.

As she stared at it lazily, the bus passed under a patch of tree branches that caused the light to fade and the reflection to vanish. When the light came back, she was startled to see the reflection was not her own! It was the face of a goat with a long, protruding fang and two unnatural horns growing from its heat. The eyes were bright yellow with red irises, and the mouth was pulled back into a sinister grin.

"Gah!" she yelped, but as she blinked in disbelief, the reflection was back to normal. Some of the other kids who had been interacting with each other stared at her in confusion, to which she laughed nervously and sat back down in her seat.

She could have sworn the face just then had been Discord's, a villain from the show she had been watching just moments before. But something was off about him, she hadn't gotten a good look before her outburst.

"I'm just watching the show too much." she said, rubbing her face. Heather didn't have anymore problems waiting for the bus to arrive, where she quickly got off and began looking around for her friend who usually appeared by now. Sure enough, she heard the call and turned around to see the one she had been waiting for.

"Hey there, Heather!" said James, a young boy around her age. James and Heather had been friends since middle school, and despite rumors to the contrary, they were not dating.

James had wavy black hair which he kept short, reaching to about the middle of his ears. His skin was a darker Caucasian than hers as he got out in the sun more often than Heather did. He had hit a growth spurt last year and was now 6'0 tall, weighing around 160 lbs. He was dressed in a pair of faded black jeans, a dark green T-shirt, and black sneakers with green accents. Oddly enough, he wasn't carrying his bookbag today.

"Hey, James." Heather replied as they began to head towards the campus, the other students bustling around them. Today seemed to be having a few odd incidents, like the reflection, and James not carrying his supplies.

"By the way, I've got something to show you before class." James said, catching Heather's attention. Students were usually given about 10 minutes to get to class after the bus dropped them off, ensuring the crowded halls were suitably emptied before the lessons started.

"Don't worry, we've got plenty of time!" he promised, beckoning her to follow him. After a moving at a brisk pace, she realized that he was leading her to the drama club where the schools held their plays. James had joined the club earlier this year, and they'd held 3 plays so far.

"What's this about?" Heather asked, clearly intrigued, "Some new show you guys are putting together?" she didn't know what James could possibly want to show her that couldn't wait until later, but she was yet again surprised when they walked past the actual stage room and stopped at the supply closet.

"Its a new prop we've been working on." he explained, "I've spent weeks trying to build it. Some vandals almost destroyed it twice by now, so I just can't wait any longer to show it off. Too risky." James pulled a spare key from his pocket and unlocked the supply doors, leading into the room of props and special effects, motioning for her to follow him inside.

When Heather did, she was greeted to an astonishing sight. There, in the center of the room with lights shining upon it was a magnificent mirror with a lens that seemed to be fashioned out of violet tinted class, giving it a crystalline appearance. The mirror had coiling vines wrapping around the sides and floor, blooming with thorny flowers. As the light struck the mirror just right, it produced a glimmering shine across its surface.

"It's beautiful!" Heather exclaimed, "It looks so real. How did you make this?" she took a step closer and looked into the mirror to see her reflection.

"Oh, I had to use a lot of magic." James answered, causing them both to laugh, "Creating a portal to another dimension is hard work. Powers are too weak in the human world." James added, continuing to laugh. Heather on the other hand, was quite surprised by his comment.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, turning to look at him and gasping in shock at what she saw. She fell back against the prop and yelped painfully as the thorny vines cut into her arms and legs. These weren't plastic vines, they were real brambles!

James' eyes had become bright yellow with red irises, and he was slowly approaching her with his arms outstretched as he continued talking.

"James isn't here anymore. He got taken away by master the first time we built the mirror, and now he wants you too!" the yellow eyed creature said. Heather looked back to the mirror to see the reflection she had seen previously on the bus, that of Discord, only now she got a better look!

The face in the mirror was, indeed, the image of Discord, but it was not the cartoony image that had appeared on her favorite cartoon show. It was a freakish amalgamation depicting a bearded pony's head, a pronged antler as one horn growing from its heat, and a misshapen, curvy horn growing beside it to form a pair. A razor sharp fang hung out over its mouth as the monster grinned disgustingly wide, showing off all the teeth it possessed.

"Wha-!?" Heather screamed as a limb shot out of the mirror, making it ripple like water. The limb was the foreleg of a lion, and its claws hooked themselves into her shoulder, dragging her over the brambles as they cut and shredded her clothing. Heather tried to fight back, but between the thorns raking her legs, and the claws buried in her shoulder, she was in too much pain to think straight. Again, this wasn't some cartoonish lion's paw, but the actual leg of a lion, with very real claws!

"She's all yours, master!" the James look-alike said proudly before Heather was pulled through the mirror. Seconds afterward, Heather stepped back out, or at least another copy of her. It had the same yellow and red eyes that James now had. With a quick blink, her eyes took on the color they were supposed to have.

"Welcome to the human world." James said, "I hope you studied her close enough, master won't be pleased if you give yourself away."

Heather, the real one, was still kicking and screaming as best she could. The sound of tearing fabric could be heard as thorn covered briars grabbed and ripped at her body. Unfortunately she had dressed lightly, so the brambles also cut into her flesh, drawing blood.

Heather looked back to see she was being dragged through a thorn patch by the realistic looking Discord. An eagle's claw formed one arm, a flexible, serpentine body with a dragon's tail, and the legs of two hoofed animals. None of it was cartoony or endearing, it was a monstrous hybrid of so many animals.

The dragging seemed to take ours, and Heather's clothing was tattered beyond recognition. Her skirt had been completely discarded, leaving only her white cotton panties, and her tank top hung in shredded ribbons.

However the truly terrifying part was Heather noticed a change happening to her. Every time the thorns pricked her body, more and more of her mind began to slip away. It started with non important memories, being subtle at first, but by the time she noticed what was going on, it was too late. She was starting to forget whole chapters of her life. First with days, then weeks, months, and eventually whole years began to slip away.

"Here we are, my little pony." The monstrous Discord  said as they finally emerged on the other side of the impossibly long bramble patch. Heather was released to find that her body was no longer her own.

She had no human limbs, but her face had extended into that of an equine's, a pony's to be specific. She could not stand on two legs, forced to get on all fours. Her hands and feet being replaced by hooves. Her coat was the same color as her namesake, a shade of heather with a brown mane and tail.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot your cutie mark." Discord said, as a cattle brand appeared clutched between his eagle talon. The tip of it glowed red hot, a sign that it was ready. "Now just hold still, I have to get both flanks evenly marked!" he ordered.

End of Chapter 1