"Over one hundred years ago , up in the great palace in Canterlot, there lived to great princesses. The eldest sister of the Sun, Celestia, was known for her acts of kindness and her habit of being loyal and regal. Her young sister of the Moon, Luna, sat and marinated in her shadow, forever harboring an envy for recognition that her sister seemed to hoard. Every day, Luna would go to her room and do nothing more than cry. She would cry for hours in front of a mysterious artifact, The Alicorn Mirror. This mirror was said to absorb all of Luna's sadness and hatred, containing it and keeping it hidden away to relieve the tension of its master. However, its efforts were futile. The sister of the Moon lashed out, turning into a spawn of darkness and hatred that the mirror was supposed to withheld. The mirror held the reflection of a broken, saddened Luna forever... As well as an evil and wrath incarnated one. After Celestia had banished Luna, who at the time was known as Nightmare Moon, many had inspected the lunar princesses room to see what could have set the rebellious princess off. They soon discovered the mirror. They also discovered that anypony who looked into it would be hunted and eventually killed by the very hatred and sadness they hold within them. It was then that Starswirl The Bearded took it upon himself to hide the mirror away to protect the kingdoms last remaining princess. No one knows where the great wizard hid the mirror but it is cautioned to never go looking for it. Those who do will experience a Hell greater than life itself. "
"Geez, Twilight..." Spike said, shivering underneath the purple alicorn's tail. " Do you think that the mirror really existed...?"
" I can't say for sure, Spike." Twilight replied, shutting the nearly emasculated book she levitated before her with her pink-ish magic. Using her telekinesis abilities, she placed the book back on the rotting wood of the old shelves on the bookcase. The pair had come here to do some extra research of the Old Sister Castle that Twilight and her friends had some to a long while ago and discovered this book. Twilight couldn't place a hoof on why the book stood out to her. It looked burnt and most of the pages were gone. It seemed like someone was trying to hide this secret...
" I know one thing. We are never saying anything about the Alicorn Mirror to ANYONE. The last thing we need is ponies disappearing."
" Right. My mouth is zipped shut! Snapped tight! Caged closed! Glued-"
" I get it, Spike!" Twilight glared at him yet smiled, acknowledging his effort to get some attention. The purple alicorn raised a hoof to cover her mouth as she yawned, blinking her eyes lazily a few times.
" Well, Spike. Let's go home. We've done enough searching tonight." The purple dragon beside her nodded, leaping onto the alicorn's back and holding on tight as she trotted home. However, the princess felt a need to go back and read that book again. It was calling to her for some reason. Luckily, she was able to ignore it's calls, continuing to trot back home with the sleepy dragon on her back.
" Five, four, three, two, one! Ready er not, here ah come!!" Rang out a young filly's voice. The voice belonged to the tcool pony Applebloom. The red-maned filly glanced around for her friend, scanning the feild in front of a forest just outside of Ponyvile. The Everfree forest. Fortunately for her, her friend Scootaloo, a pegasi filly with extremely small wings, was an easy find. Her violet tail poked out just behind a boulder close to the forest.
" Ah see ya, Scoot." Applebloom called out.
"Oh yea!? Just where am I!?!" The pegasi called back.
" Her behind the boulder. Ah can see yer tail. " Applebloom stated, looking unenthusiastic. Her orange-furred friend stepped out, grimacing.
" Dangit! How do you do that?" The pegasi said with a whine in her tone. Applebloom face-hoofed.
" Nevermind. Now, ya wanna help me find Sweetie Belle? With two of us, she can't possibly stay hidden forever!" Applebloom said with a smile.
" Haha, yea! We'll find her like a bone finds a dog! Er... Wait..." Scootaloo gave a quizzical look, her tan friend shaking her head.
"C'mom, Scoot." Applebloom said, trotting a bit towards the Everfree.
The two fillies spent minutes looking for their unicorn friend, searching in thetreess, under rocks, in holes and even in the grass. The white filly often found good hiding places and usually caused Applebloom and Scootaloo to give up. The two girls sighed, glancing at each other. They easily understood each other and turned to call out for Sweetie Belle, admitting their defeat. However, no matter how long they called, the received no answer. The girls started to worry. Applebloom didn't give her friends time to run off and hide in town or even in Fluttershy's cottage. Which could only mean one thing...
Sweetie was in the Everfree...
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The cave was dark and cold. There were spikes of stone all around, on the floor and on the ceiling. However, it didn't scare the young Sweetie Belle. Well, it didn't scare her much. Sure, the silence was only broken by a rather chilling water drip but, hey, what could go wrong? The white unicorn glanced at the entrance, giving a giggle.
"They'll never find me in here!" She exclaimed happily. She turned back to the darkness of the cave, something catching her eye. A very faint light... Maybe it was something cool like an old weapon, an old jewel, or maybe a thing like a... A fork! Yes, a fork!! She excitedly trotted for it, the tempting light. The thought of giving her big sister Rarity a cool doo-dad excited her to the core.
Excited her so much that she smashed into a cold, hard surface.
She shook her head, trying to focus on the thing she smashed into.
"Huh?" Her voice echoed.
In front of her was an old mirror. On the sides, wings extended, as if the mirror was to fly. On the top, a unicorn head with a flowy mane and tears running down it's cheeks. Why was the mirror sad? Sweetie then caught sight of her reflection. It looked the same. However, for some reason, she suddenly felt sad looking at herself. Then... Angry... As if something had made her so mad, she'd buck the mirror. Oh, how much did she-
"Sweetie! Sweetie Belle!!" She heard her name called.
She turned her head to look at the entrance, her friends standing there.
"Sweetie Belle, it's almost dark! We gotta go home!! " Applebloom called. Sweetie nodded, turning quickly and dashing after her friends.
Giggles rang out in the cave...
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" Yer tellin' me that ya started gettin' mad by looking at her reflection?" Applebloom asked her unicorn friend.
" Yea. It was weird... I just wanted to... To... " Sweetie couldn't finish.
" ... Gah! Sweetie, your nose!!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Puzzled, the unicorn raised her hoof to cover her nose then pull it away to look down. Blood. Her nose was bleeding.
" AAAHHHHH! IM GONNA DIIEEEEE!!!"
" YELLIN' WON'T HELP YA NONE."
Giggling. Giggling.
" Sweetie... "
The mirror began to ripple.
" Sweetie Belle... "
A protruding hoof extended.
" Sweetie Belle...!"
Out came the bloody, scratched face of a unicorn...
" SWEETIE!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!"
