I should be coming back now, it's getting late.
I was pretty happy about what I got, in the forest. I went in the Everfree Forest to collect some special gems we could only find in the forest, and I found quite a bit of them ! I had the blue glowing stones in my bag and they were gorgeous ! I was sure they would look lovely on my new dress !
But the sky was getting darker, and I had to be at home soon so I had to come back to Ponyville. There was just a bit of a problem :
I had no idea where I was !
I was pretty sure I had to go forward... but there wasn't any path ! I started to fear a little bit, because of all the ponies vanishing these last days. There was a lot of disappearing going on these last days, and a lot of scary stories were told about the forest. I never believed in these stories, but now I was lost, and my heart was beating a little faster than usual.
I followed the path I found the most familiar, but every path was the same to me... I felt like I was going even deeper in the forest. I sent a flare with my horn, to warn ponies in town that I was lost, but I felt like I was too far for anyone to see it.
I finally arrived in a clearing, in the middle of it, was a grave, the grass was dry, . The sky above was purple : night time was approaching quickly. I stopped and sat down on the ground, desperate. There was no way I could come back, the Forest was a giant dangerous maze and I was really deep in it.
I was lost, and it was getting darker and darker, in no time I wouldn't be able to see anything, and I would probably walk on that disgusting mud and I would take to risk of dirtying up my magnificent mane, and it would be horrible ! The single thought of being alone at night was driving me crazy !
I looked around, to see if there was any other path than the one I was coming from, but I couldn't even see any path, not even the one I came from, as if the trees were moving... So I decided I would stay in this clearing for the night. Hopefully I would be able to find my way back tomorrow morning.
Using my magic, I was able to give a shape to anything, and so I made a bed from the wood of the trees around, the bedsheets were made of leaves. It wasn't the prettiest of beds, nor the most comfortable, but it'll do the job ! I slipped into my temporary bed, and closed my eyes...
The howling of a wolf woke me up. I groaned and turned around to go back to sleep, but I had trouble moving the sheets. I took a look to the sides on the bed, and I saw black vines, crawling on the bedsheets. I jumped out of the bed and lighted up my horn, so I could see. The vines had heads, and were more like animals, their dribbling mouths had hundreds of sharp teeth, their eyes were glowing, their skin was black.
The vines were eating my bed ! If I had stayed there, I would have been torn apart and digested by that plant ! I went back, going away from these vines, and I bumped on the grave in the middle of the clearing. I looked at the grave, but it seemed very old, and I couldn't read anything.
I looked around to see I was surrounded by these vines. My heart was pumping really hard, there was no way I could get out of this! I turned around and saw a path coming out of the clearing. I ran to follow it, but a vine grabbed my leg. I fell on the ground. I had not the time to come to my senses, I was tied up to this creature, my four legs were attached by its tentacles, it head was crawling on the ground. It leant on me, the drool coming from its evil grin fell on my face, its eyes were filled with rage and envy, this thing was going to eat me.
I summoned a knife and cut off its head, which fell on me and rolled on the ground, inanimate. Well, that was close ! I saw the other vines crawling, approaching me, I had to leave this place ! I went to the path I saw earlier, it was weird that I had not seen it before, I was sure I had checked everywhere before I went to bed ! It wasn't a long walk till I began to hear them. A few voices talking, laughing, singing; there was a party out there ! I had to be close to a house or a village !
It wasn't long until I found where were these voices coming from. The path was leading to a mansion, and just the sight of it was breathtaking. The large building was made of stone and wood, and it looked like it could fall apart at any moment. The ivy climbing on the walls seemed to be the only thing holding the structure, since about every stone pillar was broken or about to break. I went to the porch and knocked at the door, the laughs went quieter inside.
The door opened and revealed a tall stallion with a long blue mane. He spoke with a deep soft voice :
“Good evening, my dear. What brings you here, so late at night ?”, I was abashed by his manners, it was like he lived in the past !
“Hum... I'm sorry, but I am lost, and I am looking for hospitality.”
“Yes, I see ! We will welcome you with pleasure, the forest is dangerous at night !”
“I know... I've experience that ! I will never thank you enough !”
He invited me to enter, and so I stepped into the mansion. It was nothing like I had expected, while the outside of the mansion seemed ready to fall apart at any moment, the inside of the mansion was simply gorgeous ! The first room I entered was a hall, a deep red carpet was laid on the ebony floor. At the end of the room was a magnificent grandfather's clock, reading 11:55 PM...
“Do you need something, my dear ?”, said a little filly's voice behind me.
“Hum... no, thank you very much...”
“Do you fancy drinking something ? Maybe some tea ?”, said a foal's voice, similar to the first one.
“Do you want to punish me ?”, a mare dressed as a maid just came.
“Well... no !”
Everypony was running around me, offering me different kinds of food and clothes, and in less than a minute, I was dressed, sitting with the householders on the same table. The householder took the floor :
“Calm down, my friends, our host just came. You're going to confuse her ! Let's begin by introducing ourselves ! What is your name, my dear ?”
“My name is Rarity !”
“Enchanté !”, he said with a perfect French accent...
This night was surely going to be special.
They were 7 to live together in this house. The one who welcomed me was named Kamui Gakupo. When he introduced himself I was a little bit perturbed, his name was different than anyone's I've ever met ! The householders were named Kaito and Meiko, their daughter was named Megurine Luka. The two little voices I heard were two twin dolls, named Len and Rin Kagamine, and the Maid that made that weird offer to punish her when I came was named Gumi.
They told me they were living in this mansion for a long time, and since they produce their own food, they don't leave the mansion, and that is the reason they're all so close together! Sometimes they decide to prepare a great dinner, in which they eat a lot and make merry for the whole night ! And I came right in the middle of one of them !
“I am truly sorry that you came so late in the night, we already began the dinner, hopefully you don't mind having a little less to enjoy than we had in the beginning!”, said Kaito.
“You don't have to apologize, I'm the one who must be sorry, I shouldn't even be here, I'm sort of an uninvited guest.”
His apologies about the lack of food were... exaggerated. I entered the dining room, and the amount of food on the table was unbelievable. There were all sorts of dishes from all around the world. A glowing cooked turkey was in the middle of the giant table, twinkling with the light of the candles. Dried fruits were sitting all around it. There were French Fries (“Actually, they're not French, they're Belgian”, corrected Meiko), there was smoked salmon, some sushis, some caviar, some foie gras... There was everything we could hope to find for a great banquet !
“Go on, take a seat, my dear !”, Kaito offered me a seat in front of the fireplace, “you'll be fine here, and the fire will dry your soaked mane, you must have been chilling, out in the forest !”
“It wasn't the best night I had, I have to admit”
“Well, let's see if we can make it so !”, he said, smiling.
It was probably the best night of my life, and definitely the last night I've enjoyed since that day. I don't really remember when it degenerated. I think it was when we had the dessert, it had a weird taste to it, I'm sure it is responsible for everything that happened after that. I don't know how much time we passed eating, but it sure was a long time.
“Before we begin the festivities, I'd say we have some dessert !”, proposed Kaito.
The maid went and came back with a chocolate cake. The giant cake was covered in whipped cream, the black icing was shining. Strawberries and cherries were placed here and there on the cake, giving a lot of colour to it.
She put the cake on the table and took a knife. She sliced the cake in eight parts, deep purple liquid was leaking from the slices... She gave a slice to each of us and joined us.
“If this night wasn't the best you had, then this will certainly do the trick !”, said Gakupo with a grin on his face...
“Miss Rarity ?”, asked Rin, “you told us a lot about your friends, but what about you ? What do you do in Ponyville ?”
“Well...”, I planted my spoon into the cake, “my main job is to make dresses for everypony, I have a boutique for my dresses, and sell them for a living. I'm also a part of the Harmony Council, the instance created after Twilight defeated Tirek. So my job is also to protect Equestria, and to spread friendship all over the continent.”, I took a bite of the cake.
The cake was delicious, the feeling of it going down my throat was giving me chills.
“So you seem to be a pretty important person, where you live”, commented Kaito.
“I don't know...”, I took another bite, I chilled again, ”I don't feel like I'm more important than anyone !”
“You're so modest !”, Meiko was smiling, “Has there been any major problems these last months ? We're not really aware of what happens !”, I took another bite, the room seemed a lot larger, strangely.
“Well, Tirek attacked us a few weeks ago, and before this, some Vampire Fruit Bats invaded the Apple orchard.”, I had eaten about a quarter of my slice, and the room seemed to be moving... “Discord has given us a lot of trouble over the past few months, but now he is supposed to be reformed, so things are going a lot smoother now !”
Even though I already knew the cake was doing something weird to me, it was so tasty I couldn't resist to take a more, and more, until I finished it.
Everypony around the table looked gorgeous, and right now I wasn't wanting more than just passing the entire night with Gakupo... he was so handsome... His eyes were stunning, his beautiful mane was giving him the look of a strong warrior from another time. My heart was pumping really hard... was this love ?
“Oh My Beloved... let's dance together !”, I heard myself saying this as I jumped on Gakupo... what was I doing ?
“Haha... calm down, darling. It's okay, the cake is having effect on you !”, his voice was sooo soft !
“But I want to dance with you !”, I hugged him really hard.
“We... will... Just... let me go...”
“Oh... sorry !”, I released him, he took a long breath.
I had no control on both my body and my feelings anymore, but the sensation of complete freedom I had was simply wonderful ! Kaito laughed...
“Your proposition sound good to me, let's dance, and let's make merry.”
These last words, “make merry” were repeating in my head, over and over. I had not the time to realize what was happening to me, and I was already on the dance floor, in another room, in the arms of my sweet and beloved Kamui Gakupo. A romantic song was playing. I stared him in the eyes, they were sparkling...
“Make merry...”
The music suddenly changed, for something with a livelier beat. Something with saxo... something merry...
One, Two, Three, Four...
The saxophone started, my legs started shaking. I got a glimpse of Gakupo, he was smiling, and took me in his arms... We could dance like this for hours!
The floor was waving, the lights were changing of colour, my hooves were knocking the floor...
The sound of my hooves on the wooden floor was dull, giving rhythm to the music. In my head were still stuck the words Kaito said...
Let's make merry !
I was in his arms, my legs were shaking, I went back a bit, and hit a little table with nothing on it but a glass. It slowly tilted, and eventually fell on the floor. Once on the floor it exploded, its shattered pieces went everywhere on the floor, each broken glass was shining under the lights of the candles.
Everypony stopped, staring the little pieces of the glass sliding on the floor. “Aargh !”
I suddenly felt something was compressing my chest, preventing me to breathe. I fell on the floor, panting. Everybody seemed to undertake the same thing as I did...
I turned around, and struggled to get up, I couldn't really stand on my legs. The shattered pieces of glass were moving towards everypony in the room, except me. They were torn apart by the glass I broke, their blood was tainting the floor in red. Their screams. I heard Kaito, panting, warning me...
“Miss Rarity, you need to get out of this room !”
“Why ?.. What's happening ?
“There's no time to explain... Get Out !”, his eyes were begging me when he fell.
I was crawling to get out of the room. The broken glass was cutting my skin, my blood was leaking everywhere, I was soaked in blood, mine or not. The door was just a few feet away, but it seemed to be miles. I still had a lot of trouble to breathe, my chest was compressed by an invisible force.
I was at the feet of the door. I tried to use my magic to open the door, but I was all out of magic power. I had to climb the door, leaning on the moulding of the walls. The door and my hooves were slippery, because of the blood.
I finally got out of the room, I was in the hall. I struggled to got up, and to open the front door and leave this place... There was only one thing : it was still night out there, and I could still see the vines in the garden. I turned back to face the grandfather's clock. My heart almost stopped. The clock was still ticking, but it was still reading 11:55...
The time had stopped.
I had no hope of getting out of here... I was trapped in this endless night, with these weird people still getting torn apart by the glass I broke. I was trapped with them...
They're responsible !...
They have to pay.
