The Night Mare Societyby lunabronyChaptersThe Tale of the Fastest FlierThe Tale of the Last GuardianThe Tale of the Pretty PonyThe Tale of the Fastest FlierApple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo sat together around a roaring campfire. It was the weekend, and none of them had school the following day. Apple Bloom had a drawstring pouch dangling from around her neck, and Sweetie Belle wore saddlebags full of junk food. Scootaloo sat next to a squirming, hooded figure. All three of them, while they liked to think that they were deep in the woods were nopony could ever find them, were in fact barely a quarter mile from Applejack's farm. The farm itself was not visible through the trees, but they could probably be heard if called. Scootaloo reached over to the potato sack that had been thrown over the hooded figures head, and yanked it off. Coughing, the familiar filly glared at Apple Bloom. "What's the big idea, cuz? You itchin' fer a fight or somethin'?" "You ain't part of the club yet, Babs," Apple Bloom said. "We gotta protect trade secrets." Babs rolled her eyes. "Jeez. I come to visit for a couple weekends and you guys got me bein' hauled around the woods like a common creep. How the heck many clubs you guys got, anyway? Seems kinda desperate." Scootaloo shrugged. "We got the Crusaders, we got this, the Rainbow Dash Club... Sweetie Belle tried to start a ponies in socks club but she kept distracting the colts at school and it got shut down real fast." Apple Bloom coughed. "We gonna do this or sit around all night?" Scootaloo nodded. "Just hang tight, Babs, stay quiet and watch how it's done. It's my turn tonight." She reached over for the drawstring bag that Apple Bloom wore around her neck, containing powder Zecora had given them. "Is this gonna be another Rainbow Dash story again?" Sweetie Belle asked. "No!" Scootaloo snapped. "...Yes," she admitted reluctantly, and drew powder from the bag. She threw a good amount of it into the fire, and the fire blazed a bright shade of green. "Submitted for the approval of the Night Mare Society... I call this story... The Tale of the Fastest Flier." Rainbow Dash stumbled out of bed early on Friday afternoon, which for her meant it was well past noon. She yawned and stretched, pumping her wings up and down several times. She didn't always sleep that late, but she was tired from a long previous day of being awesome. Friday was her day off, which meant she didn't have any clouds to corral or flight simulations to run. "What to do, though? I have so many options..." Rainbow mused to herself. "It's been a while since I've pulled any pranks on Pinkie..." her eyes lit up. "I should totally replace all her frosting with colored Crisco!" She laughed. "Oh man, her face is gonna be priceless when she finds out." Rainbow dipped out of her house and closed the door, darting down to ground level and landing with hardly any thought. Folding her wings, Rainbow Dash began to walk down the street towards the Bakery in the distance. She had a sort of 'swag' to her walk, for lack of a more appropriate word, a cocky sort of sway with her head raised that looked as if she thought she was the greatest thing since peanut butter toast. Although, in defense, peanut butter toast was pretty great. She headed down the main road, eyes flicking in both directions for anyone that might want an autograph or something, and then stopped. There was a dark store on the side of the road that she'd never seen before, filled with rusty looking trinkets that looked like they'd been pulled out of the garbage. More importantly, there was a painting of HER in the window, watercolors by the look of it, on sale for ten bits. "Well, at least they have good taste," she muttered, and yanked open the door, setting off a bell overhead. She grinned, and entered. "Yo?" She called. No answer. Rainbow Dash entered slowly, looking around. It looked like a cross between a magic shop, an apothecary, and a demonic nightmare. Vials of ingredients lined one shelf, brightly painted animal skulls along another. In between on the floor was everything from cabinets and dressers to dreamcatchers and strange, tribal clothing. There still didn't appear to be anypony here. Grunting with boredom and slight discomfort, Rainbow turned to leave. She ran straight into a large zebra stallion, who's ears were filled with at least a dozen piercings. "Where you going!?" "Agh!" She staggered backwards. The zebra grinned. "See anything you like?" "...Not really," Rainbow admitted. "Nothing looks... you know, cool enough." "Cool, huh?" he scratched his chin with a hoof. "I got something." He led her back to the counter, and she followed hesitantly. He reached under and pulled out a bright rock covered in vibrant, rainbow colors, that looked wildly out of place in this dark, musty store. "Whoa! That's more like it! How much?" "Fifty bits." "What?! For that old thing?" Rainbow Dash looked shocked. "No way, dude." "This old thing," the zebra said, "grants one wish to whoever owns it." "No kidding?" Rainbow asked. "Tell you what, how about I give you an autographed picture of me for it? That's gotta be worth something." "...No," the zebra said slowly. "Fifty bits." "Alright, alright." Rainbow Dash sighed, and pulled a bulging pouch out of hammerspace. She always carried it with her, but it wasn't convenient to actually physically have it on her unless it was needed. "If this doesn't work, I'm coming after you, dude." Although this was Equestria, which had no shortage of weird things, and she trusted him. The exchange was flawless. She handed over the money, he handed over the colored rock." "Good doing business with you," he said with a sly grin. "Take it home, rub it, and make your wish. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Rainbow Dash left the creepy shop, and did exactly that. She took the rock back home, and rubbed it vigorously. "I wish I was the fastest pegasus in Equestria!" She announced. She was already top of the line, but there were still some, like the Wonderbolts, who could outperform her if they really tried. And that just wouldn't do. The rock burst into an array of light, the ropes of colors peeling off the rock like stickers. The bands of red and blue and yellow and green swirled around her with such ferocity that she had to close her eyes to keep from being blinded. She must have passed out at some point, because when she opened her eyes again, she was laying on the floor. She had a headache, and the rock was lying in front of her. No longer colored, it was just a featureless gray stone. Kind of ugly, really. Rainbow Dash picked it up and hurled it out the window, not wanting anything more to do with the stupid thing. The memory of her wish came back to her, and she snapped her eyes open. She bolted for the track where she practiced at, and began to make her rounds, wings flapping and eyes narrowed with concentration. She reached such an incredible speed that she could almost feel the Rainboom forming behind her, and slowed down at that point before she could break something. Her eyes darted to the wingpower station, wanting to see how far she'd surpassed her usual record of 16.5. "....17? 17?!" She shrieked. That was totally lame! She'd barely gotten any faster at all! "Ugh, I'm gonna kill that zebra," she muttered, starting to march her way back down the main road to yell at him. But as she did, she noticed a curious thing. While the streets were busy as they usually were, everypony was staring at her. Okay, well, that wasn't all that unusual, she was awesome and was used to attention like that, but in Ponyville? They all knew who she was, she didn't typically get that attention at home. "Yeah?" She asked, turning her attention to a young couple who hadn't taken their eyes off her. "Rainbow Dash?" the stallion asked hesitantly. "Yeah?" She asked again, sounding slightly nervous this time. "What did you..." "What did I what? Spit it out." She felt a sharp pain from behind her, and cried out. She spun around to find a small crowd had gathered, and was pulling at her wings. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back off!" She exclaimed. "...You have wings," one of them said. "Duh," Rainbow looked confused. "You know wings are forbidden here. Flight is unnatural." Okay, that was weird. She slowly glanced around, and noticed something unsettling. She saw a plentiful amount of earth ponies and unicorns, but not a single pegasus. "Right..." Rainbow said slowly. "Guess I forgot," she lied. She backed away slowly, mind racing. Wait, Fluttershy! Fluttershy would get her out of this! She took to the sky, and heard a loud gasp of horror from the crowd as she lifted off the ground. She darted away from them and bolted straight for Fluttershy's cottage, where she landed and pounded on the door. Fluttershy opened it, or at least, a pony who looked like Fluttershy. Her friend had no wings to speak of. None at all. "Fluttershy! Your wings!" She exclaimed. "Where..." The former pegasus gazed at Rainbow Dash with confusion. "My what?" "You're a pegasus!" "Don't be ridiculous," Fluttershy said. "You know wings are outlawed. Pegasi aren't allowed to-" she began, then seemed to notice Rainbow Dash for the first time. "Where did you get those?" She asked, in the tone of a teacher who'd just confiscated a comic book during Chemistry. "I've always had them! So have you!" Rainbow's voice was sounding panicky now. "That's nonsense," Fluttershy said. "And I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn you in. You know the rules. There hasn't been a pegasus in Equestria in two hundred years. Flight is unnatural." Rainbow Dash gulped and moved backwards, only to back right into the crowd which had gathered behind her. The crowd snatched and tore at her wings and mane, trying to hold her down. and Rainbow Dash thrashed and squirmed free, shooting up into the air. The earth ponies could not reach her now, but the unicorns were firing up their horns, trying to grab her with lassos of magic. Rainbow Dash bolted out of town, twirling and evading the magical snares, and slowly realized a horrible conclusion. If she was the only pony she could fly... she was faster. She was faster than all of them. As the world's only pegasus was driven out of town, a small bell tinkled nearby as the door of a shop opened. A zebra stepped out, smirking softly to himself, and reached down to pick up the colored rainbow rock that had landed near the door. He brought it back inside, shut the door, and slowly twisted the sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED. "The end," Scootaloo finished, and the rest of the fillies stared at her from around the fire. The flames had died down to embers, and Babs was pale. "That's really messed up," she said slowly. "That's the point," Sweetie Belle said cheerfully. "If you become a full member, you can tell stories too. If you can scare us, you're in, but we all have to vote on it. If we don't think you're good enough, you hit the streets, kid." "I am totally good enough! And don't call me kid, I'm older than you!" "Well then, prove it," Apple Bloom said. "But there's no more time for tonight. Maybe we'll give you a shot sometime," she said, standing up. "For now, I declare this meeting of the Night Mare Society closed." She dumped a bucket of water onto the dying fire, extinguishing the embers with a violent hiss and cloud of steam, plunging all of them into darkness. The Tale of the Last Guardian"I still don't get why this is necessary," Babs Seed was saying. She was having Deja Vu and it was not a pleasant feeling. Potato sack over her head, she was being led to the location of the campfire that had been used the night before when Scootaloo told her story of a wish gone terribly wrong. Sweetie Belle was already sitting there, stoking the fire so it wasn't left unattended. "Because you're not a full member yet," Apple Bloom said, and led her to the fire. "Our meeting location is secret." "It's not very secret, cuz," Babs said dryly. "We're less than five minutes from your house. Probably the big haystack and the old barn." "Nuh uh!" Apple Bloom protested, making a rapid slashing motion across her throat as she did so. Scootaloo quickly dashed across and placed branches across the path, blocking the view of the haystack that could be seen from the trail. They sat down, four in a circle, and Apple Bloom removed the sack from Babs' head. The filly's mane fell down into her eyes, and she blew it away with an annoyed puff. "You know the rules," Scootaloo said. "You tell a story, and if we all like it, you're in. But we ALL have to like it." "Yeah, whatever," Babs grinned. "I got a good one, though." Apple Bloom nodded at Sweetie Belle, who reached into the pouch they carried and threw a cluster of powder into the fire. Babs continued. "Submitted fer the approval of the Night Mare Society... I call this story...the Tale of the Last Guardian. Whoooooooooo!" She made spooky ghost noises. Applejack slowly drew her cart up the long, dirt pathway that reached away from town and over the hill. She normally preferred not being out his late, especially out in the suburbs like this, or was this technically the boondocks now? Either way, she had a delivery to make, and darn it all, she was going to make it. The cart behind her that she was attached to was filled with ripe red apples that clattered and bounced as she pulled the cart over the hill, and the mare gasped as she crested the curve. Down below at the bottom of the hill, a huge, sprawling mansion lay forgotten and neglected, overgrown by weeds and corrupted to falling shutters and peeling paint. An even bigger lawn surrounded it, one which most certainly would have been glorious had it been cared for properly. Applejack frowned. "Well that ain't right..." She said slowly, and checked the address on the delivery. She was about twenty miles from Ponyville, and it'd taken her all afternoon to get here. The sun was going down, and she really didn't want to be here, of all places, after dark. But this certainly didn't look like the residence of someone who'd purchased thirty bits worth of apples. She pulled the cart forward for another few feet, before it got stuck. She pulled again, harder this time, straining against the harness, and there was an unfortunate CRACK as something snapped. She unhooked herself and turned to look, only to find an axle snapped off from the wheel. The cart wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. "Well that just makes me madder'n a rattler in a pickle barrel," she complained, and unhitched herself from the cart. She approached the mansion, staring at the closed door and rusted knocker for a long moment. "Well this can't possibly end well," she said slowly. Still, thirty bits. It'd be enough to get the roof of the equipment shed fixed... she raised a hoof and pounded the knocker on the door. The door, instead of standing firm, swung open. "...Well that ain't good," she said slowly, but entered into the main lobby. "Hello?" She called, her voice echoing. "Ah've got a delivery!" No answer. Applejack stepped further into the front hallway, and the door swung shut behind her. She narrowed her eyes. "It's gonna be locked now, ain't it," she said, before trying the handle. The door didn't move. "Of course." Moving further into the house, the country pony shivered despite herself. The fading light caused long shadows from pretty much everything, and what little furniture was left was draped in ghastly white sheets. She turned and moved slowly down the side hallway towards the kitchen, glancing at several faded pictures on the walls. They depicted black and white photos of ponies she'd never seen before, and didn't expect to. One of them fell off the wall and shattered on the floor as she passed it, and Applejack cried out despite herself, staggering backwards with such force that she slammed into the wall and broke bits of plaster from the peeling paint. Heart racing, she entered the kitchen. "Just a house... just a stupid hou-" she began, and her words were cut off as she stuffed a hoof in her mouth to stifle a gag. A pie had been left on the dark counter, vegetables and fruits on the table. How long they been here? Weeks, months? Impossible to say, for they were rotted to sludge, and filled with squirming white bugs that she didn't want to look at for even a second. "Perfectly good food coulda fed somepony fer a week," she mumbled disapprovingly, and entered into a large room that appeared to be a living area of some kind. Through the back windows, it was fading to twilight now but she could see the overgrown lawn, hanging pots filled with dead flowers, and a garden surrounded by a staked off fence. The garden had a long pole sticking out of the ground in the center of it, which had presumably held a scarecrow at one point, but there was no evidence of one now. There was a back door that led outside, and she tried it, hoping she could just circle around to the front of the house. But when she swung it open, the doorway had been filled and cemented by a solid wall of bricks. Almost like somepony WANTED to keep her in here. "Or somethin' else out..." she muttered to herself. "Naw, girl, stop it. Yer workin' yerself up over nothin'." She shook her head and turned the corner towards the front of the house, and gave a terrified shriek. The scarecrow was leaning against one of the front windows, its plaid shirt torn and fluttering in the wind, its wild eyes staring directly at her. That hadn't been there before, had it? When she first arrived? Maybe she'd missed it... Heart racing, Applejack slowly approached the window. It was just an ugly scarecrow, nothing else. It didn't blink, didn't breathe, didn't move. "Odd place fer that," she mused, but gradually began to calm herself down again. "It's just a stupid old house, nothin' else," she said, and passed by the window. She was back in the front of the mansion again. There were stairs leading to a second floor, and she attempted to climb them, but the roof had caved in and the top landing was completely cluttered with plaster, beams and debris. It was almost a shame, really, this house would have been so nice at one point. "Ain't goin' that way," she said. She turned around, still on the stairs, and screamed again, this time the loudest of all. The scarecrow was at the bottom of the stairs, straw sticking out of its clothes and neck and legs, wooden arms reaching out towards her. She didn't know how in the world it was possible, she'd only been on the stairs less than two minutes, but there it was. And she was trapped. "Only one way down," Applejack said, and narrowed her eyes. "Git outta mah way y'lousy vermin!" She charged down the stairs, mane whipping behind her, feeling its branchy hands close over her flank and tail as she passed it. "Well ah never, ain't just a scarecrow, s'a perv one at that!" She huffed. Its dirty fingers dug into her tail, trying to haul her backwards, and she lashed out with her back legs, sending it crashing backwards. She noted the window that it had previously been stationed outside was now wide open, but she would never fit through it. Applejack turned and watched in growing horror as the scarecrow seemed to animate itself right before her eyes, picking itself up, straw fluttering in the air from the force of her kick... and began to run towards her, arms outstretched. "...Whoop, time t'go!" She wasted no time, and ran away from the awful, ugly thing, hearing its rustling movements behind her. She charged around the corner to the kitchen, picking up the bowl of rotted fruit in one hoof, and hurling it at the scarecrow. Sludge and maggots coated it now, and the scarecrow screeched with pain and hate. She made it back to the front door, turning her back towards it and kicking out with her back legs as hard as she could as if it were an apple tree. The wood splintered and broke under her kicks. One kick, two kicks! The scarecrow rounded the corner, hissing with rage, and lunged towards her just as the third and fourth kick broke the front door down and sent it smashing against the ground. Applejack raced out of the house less than a second before the ugly creature reached at her and swiped for her tail, its dirty fingers coming so close she could feel the rush of air as it swiped. She ran right past the apple cart and away from the awful house, not looking back but hearing her attacker screech with rage. The next morning, Applejack returned to the house with Blue Blood, the local constable. She had told him her story and could tell he thought she was crazy, and she was determined to prove it. The cart she had left was still here, the apples untouched. The front door she had destroyed was back in its frame in one piece, as neatly as you please, and stood ajar, opening easily when given a nudge. Inside the house, there were no shattered windows, no bowls of rotted fruit, only an ominous empty pole standing up in the garden. The constable noted the broken picture on the floor and the dent in the wall opposite from where she'd fallen. "I think it's a very distinct possibility that you fell and hit your head, Miss Jack," he said patiently. "It's Applejack, and ah did not!" She protested. "It was real, ah tell ya! Ah ain't crazy! Ah ain't!" The constable slowly led her back out of the house, the mare firmly babbling that she was absolutely certain about what she'd seen, what she'd experienced, and even as he led her out, she had the unmistakable sensation of being watched from somewhere deep in the shadows. She turned around only once, saw a flash of movement near the back windows, and then there was nothing. She began to think that maybe she was crazy until she stepped through the front door out into the morning light. Something crunched under hoof and she looked down. The front porch was littered with bits of straw. Babs blew her hair out of her face again, and sat on her side of the dying fire, looking smug. Sweetie Belle nodded to Scootaloo, who took the potato sack and placed it over Bab's head again, obscuring her view. "Aw, man, I hate this thing," Babs complained. "We vote," Apple Bloom said. "Do we let her in?" Babs listened intently, but heard nothing. Sweetie Belle nodded, and looked at Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded, and looked at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom nodded, and removed the sack from her cousin's head. The whole process had taken less than a minute. "You're in," Apple Bloom said brightly. "Welcome to the club." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cheered, and Apple Bloom handed Babs a bucket of water. "New member does the honors," she said. Babs looked touched, and took the bucket, pouring it into the fire, extinguishing the flames in a hissing cloud of steam and casting the four into starlit darkness. "Until next time... I declare this meeting of The Night Mare Society closed." The Tale of the Pretty PonyA week after the last story had been told, all four fillies once again sat around a blazing, flickering campfire. It was Saturday once more, tomorrow was Sunday, and on Monday Babs would be returning home to the city. There was still time for two more stories, however, and the four were going to take full advantage of it. "Alright, tonight we-" Apple Bloom began. "Hey, wait!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, and the other three turned to look at her with shocked surprise. Interruptions were nearly unheard of, and Apple Bloom even recoiled slightly. "It was my turn tonight!" "Yeah, well..." Scootaloo began. "What?" "Well, it's like... you're cute, you know?" None of them wanted to tell her that while her company was more than welcome, her participation was in question. She was the cute one who brought snacks, surely she didn't have it in her to be... you know... scary. "Well, nothing!" Sweetie insisted. "It's my turn, and I'm gonna take it!" Babs and Apple Bloom exchanged a glance, but Apple Bloom sighed and made a 'go on' gesture with her hoof. "Alright, if y'insist," she said. The other three settled back, the dim possibility of tonight being a waste of time in the backs of their minds, but none of them daring to say this out loud. Sweetie Belle harumphed, and threw a sprinkling of powder into the fire. The flames roared instantly, and sprang up in all sorts of mystical colors. "You all don't think I can do this, I can tell. But let's see how you feel after... The Tale of the Pretty Pony." The door of the shop sprang open as a customer entered, hitting the bell overhead and causing a lovely little jingling sound. The zebra behind the counter looked up as a beautiful mare entered, and quickly spat into his hoof to slick his striped mane back as she turned to close the door again. "Good morning, darling," Rarity chimed, turning to face the innocently smiling zebra. The shop was filled with all sorts of dangerously exotic looking things, the shelves lined with trinkets and the walls lined with powders and masks. She gave a disgusted look of revulsion as she had to step past a silently screaming skull to approach the counter itself. "I was wondering if you might be able to help me." The zebra just grinned wider, his gaze was unsettling somehow and Rarity took a step back. "Of course, young lady. Helping is what I do. What do you need?" "I need a new mirror for over my work room, the one I have is just so... boring," she said. "I need something that screams 'Summer Sales!' The one I have now is... blase,* if you'll pardon my French." "I have just the thing!" The zebra announced, and retired to the back. Rarity waited impatiently for a few minutes until he returned, pulling a large covered object, rectangular in shape with a dirty cloth draped over it. He swept the cloth off with a flourish, and Rarity gasped. The mirror was magnificent, various sparkling jewels inset around it's frame of all sorts of colors. She almost dreaded how much something like this would cost. "It's magnifique!" she cried. "I'll take it!" Then, in a lower, hesitant tone. "How much is it?" "Ten bits," the zebra said, and Rarity blinked. Had she heard that correctly? "Ten?" she repeated. "Ten." Rarity pulled out twenty bits and laid them on the counter. "I'll double that and I'm still ripping you off for such a gorgeous piece," she said. "And I won't take no for an answer!" Her horn alighted, and the mirror levitated off the floor, floating carefully behind her as she left the shop. "Thank you, thank you!" The zebra frowned as she left. "A word of caution, madam, whatever you do, don't you dare-" The door slammed. "...break it..." Rarity took the mirror home, and within the hour it was set up, installed in the wall in her workshop where she could use the reflective surface to her advantage, and examine carefully every side of her designs, front and back, as she worked. As she bent down to pick up a roll of fabric from the floor, she did not notice that the reflection did NOT bend down, in fact, Reflection Rarity just smiled grimly, watching its counterpart, that smile fading as Rarity stood up again, completely unsure as to why there were shivers running down her back. Glancing in the mirror, Rarity waved once, and the reflection responded in kind. She shrugged, chalking up her paranoia to overworking, and set the roll of fabric on the table. There were no further complications for the next few hours as she worked, the fabric gradually and skillfully taking on the appearance of a formal dress. By the time Rarity was approximately three fourths finished with the outfit, sweat was pouring down her face and dripping from her chin, and her hooves ached with cramps. However a client was coming to pick up the dress two days from now, and everything had to be perfect. Rarity happened to glance up into the mirror, and was startled to see Sweetie Belle standing silently in the doorway behind her, watching her big sister work. "Sweetie! I didn't hear you-" she began, whirling around. "-come in..." The doorway was completely empty. Rarity frowned. "Alright, enough's enough. That's enough work for today, I'm losing my mind." She stood from where she'd been working, glancing into the mirror once more, but of course Sweetie Belle wasn't there. She turned off the light and exited the work room, although if she had turned around, she just might have seen Reflection Rarity still standing by the worktable, watching her leave with a menacing smile on her face. Unusually for Rarity, she did not sleep well that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, unable to shake the overpowering feeling that she was being watched. She got up in the middle of the night, sliding into fluffy pink slippers, and slowly peering her head out into the hallway as if she was a stranger in a hotel. There was nopony there, of course, and a quick peek into Sweetie Belle's room confirmed that the young one was properly asleep.** There was little else to do, and Rarity made her way down to the first floor of the Boutique. The usual sounds of night life were active all around her, the subtle creaks of the shop settling and the summer crickets outside in the pale moonlight. There was still something wrong, but she couldn't put a hoof on exactly what it was. Finally, Rarity entered the workroom, and was confronted by her own reflection staring back at her from the mirror. It was wearing the dress that she had worked so hard on the day before, although it had been completed to perfection, as impossible as it was, and fitted snugly against the mare's body even though it had not been designed to her measurements. "You're up late, darling," Reflection Rarity said. Rarity, who had known for some time now that something was wrong but been unable to pinpoint it, gave a little cry and stumbled backwards. "Who... who are you?!" "I'm you," Reflection Rarity said. "Isn't it obvious?" "But you can't be..." "But I am. Come closer." Rarity stayed where she was for a moment, then very slowly inched forward. She didn't like this situation at all, but realistically the reflection appeared to be contained. "I need your help," her reflection said. "Have you perhaps noticed that lately you have been hit by road blocks and mental absences? When you know you want to work but just can't bring yourself to actually do it? I am a materialization of your trapped creativity, locked deep away. If you want to do your best work, all you have to do is let me out." "I don't think I can..." Rarity began. "Of course you can. I'm not really even here. It's symbolism. Unlock your creativity, dear. Just break the mirror, I'll do the rest, and you'll be making designs you never even dreamed of. You'll gain worldwide fame, attention, and all well deserved!" Rarity's heart was beating rapidly now, that did all sound well and good, of course. She picked up a paperweight from the desk, frowning. Could it really be that easy? "That's it, darling, you got it!" Rarity, although she was hesitant, was the generous type, and couldn't stand the thought of part of herself being locked away in some horrible fashion. She flung the paperweight, it sailed through the air and cracked the mirror, sending spiderwebs of fractured glass up through the pane. Reflection Rarity cackled with delight, and leaped through the glass, landing with a clopping thunk outside the mirror. Reflection Rarity lit up her horn at once, a bright green laser of light shooting towards her counterpart. Rarity was caught off guard, and barely had time to fire back her own spell, the two lasers from the two horns coming to meet in the middle with a violent burst of light. "You didn't think it was that easy, did you?" Reflection Rarity grinned. "I've been trapped in that despicable mirror realm for years now, watching you have all the fun, obeying your every move... I'm done being your slave!" Her horn blazed even stronger, and Rarity felt herself being pushed backwards, despite fighting back with all her strength. "You can't!" Rarity argued. "My sister! My career!" "Oh, I'll take care of them, don't you worry." The door behind Rarity slammed shut, and she was horrified to see that the mirror had cryptically changed positions... it was no longer on the workshop wall, but on the back of the door! "Be good, Rarity. And maybe, just maybe, I'll come back to let you out." Reflection Rarity lunged forward with her powerful beam of light shooting from her horn, and Rarity was cast backwards into what felt like a freezing cold pool of ice. She shivered violently, then opened her eyes, staring at Reflection Rarity through a thick pane of glass. A glance behind her saw a horrifying thing. Not the workshop room that she might have expected to see behind her, but an eternal void of thick fog that stretched into infinity. A realm which contained absolutely nothing. "No!" Rarity screamed, pounding on the glass with her hooves. Reflection Rarity just cocked a grin, unable to hear a thing. She placed a taunting hoof behind her ear, shrugging. She made a note to take the mirror back to the pawn shop tomorrow. Her horn lit up with a powerful spell, and the pane of glass repaired itself, spiderweb cracks dissolving into a single, solid, unblemished sheet. Then she picked up a long curtain, and threw it over the glass, blocking the view of the silently screaming mare on the other side. A mare who, as far as she was concerned, could continue screaming and begging for all eternity. Pleading for help that would never come. Rarity sighed contentedly, as Sweetie Belle called from down the hall. "Rarity, is that you? What's all the noise?" "Coming!" Rarity called, and left the workshop, closing the door behind her. Sweetie Belle had a smug look on her face, and a look that was well deserved judging by the shocked look of horror on her friends faces. Scootaloo's mouth was hanging open. "I, uh... I gotta go home," Scootaloo said slowly. "I think I left... the oven on... or something..." she made a run for it, interestingly heading not in the direction of her own house, but in the direction of Rainbow Dash's most recent cloud. Perhaps somepony needed a bit of comforting. "Any questions?" Sweetie asked, and the two country cousins shook their heads immediately. "Then I declare this meeting of The Night Mare Society closed," Sweetie announced, and as she poured water on the fire, the flames went out with a hiss and a thick billowing of smoke and steam. Author's Note *This word requires an accent over the 'e' AND I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT *JonTron ECH noises* **Yes I know Faust has said Sweetie Belle does not live at the Boutique but she's there for now. Deal with it.
The Tale of the Fastest FlierApple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo sat together around a roaring campfire. It was the weekend, and none of them had school the following day. Apple Bloom had a drawstring pouch dangling from around her neck, and Sweetie Belle wore saddlebags full of junk food. Scootaloo sat next to a squirming, hooded figure. All three of them, while they liked to think that they were deep in the woods were nopony could ever find them, were in fact barely a quarter mile from Applejack's farm. The farm itself was not visible through the trees, but they could probably be heard if called. Scootaloo reached over to the potato sack that had been thrown over the hooded figures head, and yanked it off. Coughing, the familiar filly glared at Apple Bloom. "What's the big idea, cuz? You itchin' fer a fight or somethin'?" "You ain't part of the club yet, Babs," Apple Bloom said. "We gotta protect trade secrets." Babs rolled her eyes. "Jeez. I come to visit for a couple weekends and you guys got me bein' hauled around the woods like a common creep. How the heck many clubs you guys got, anyway? Seems kinda desperate." Scootaloo shrugged. "We got the Crusaders, we got this, the Rainbow Dash Club... Sweetie Belle tried to start a ponies in socks club but she kept distracting the colts at school and it got shut down real fast." Apple Bloom coughed. "We gonna do this or sit around all night?" Scootaloo nodded. "Just hang tight, Babs, stay quiet and watch how it's done. It's my turn tonight." She reached over for the drawstring bag that Apple Bloom wore around her neck, containing powder Zecora had given them. "Is this gonna be another Rainbow Dash story again?" Sweetie Belle asked. "No!" Scootaloo snapped. "...Yes," she admitted reluctantly, and drew powder from the bag. She threw a good amount of it into the fire, and the fire blazed a bright shade of green. "Submitted for the approval of the Night Mare Society... I call this story... The Tale of the Fastest Flier." Rainbow Dash stumbled out of bed early on Friday afternoon, which for her meant it was well past noon. She yawned and stretched, pumping her wings up and down several times. She didn't always sleep that late, but she was tired from a long previous day of being awesome. Friday was her day off, which meant she didn't have any clouds to corral or flight simulations to run. "What to do, though? I have so many options..." Rainbow mused to herself. "It's been a while since I've pulled any pranks on Pinkie..." her eyes lit up. "I should totally replace all her frosting with colored Crisco!" She laughed. "Oh man, her face is gonna be priceless when she finds out." Rainbow dipped out of her house and closed the door, darting down to ground level and landing with hardly any thought. Folding her wings, Rainbow Dash began to walk down the street towards the Bakery in the distance. She had a sort of 'swag' to her walk, for lack of a more appropriate word, a cocky sort of sway with her head raised that looked as if she thought she was the greatest thing since peanut butter toast. Although, in defense, peanut butter toast was pretty great. She headed down the main road, eyes flicking in both directions for anyone that might want an autograph or something, and then stopped. There was a dark store on the side of the road that she'd never seen before, filled with rusty looking trinkets that looked like they'd been pulled out of the garbage. More importantly, there was a painting of HER in the window, watercolors by the look of it, on sale for ten bits. "Well, at least they have good taste," she muttered, and yanked open the door, setting off a bell overhead. She grinned, and entered. "Yo?" She called. No answer. Rainbow Dash entered slowly, looking around. It looked like a cross between a magic shop, an apothecary, and a demonic nightmare. Vials of ingredients lined one shelf, brightly painted animal skulls along another. In between on the floor was everything from cabinets and dressers to dreamcatchers and strange, tribal clothing. There still didn't appear to be anypony here. Grunting with boredom and slight discomfort, Rainbow turned to leave. She ran straight into a large zebra stallion, who's ears were filled with at least a dozen piercings. "Where you going!?" "Agh!" She staggered backwards. The zebra grinned. "See anything you like?" "...Not really," Rainbow admitted. "Nothing looks... you know, cool enough." "Cool, huh?" he scratched his chin with a hoof. "I got something." He led her back to the counter, and she followed hesitantly. He reached under and pulled out a bright rock covered in vibrant, rainbow colors, that looked wildly out of place in this dark, musty store. "Whoa! That's more like it! How much?" "Fifty bits." "What?! For that old thing?" Rainbow Dash looked shocked. "No way, dude." "This old thing," the zebra said, "grants one wish to whoever owns it." "No kidding?" Rainbow asked. "Tell you what, how about I give you an autographed picture of me for it? That's gotta be worth something." "...No," the zebra said slowly. "Fifty bits." "Alright, alright." Rainbow Dash sighed, and pulled a bulging pouch out of hammerspace. She always carried it with her, but it wasn't convenient to actually physically have it on her unless it was needed. "If this doesn't work, I'm coming after you, dude." Although this was Equestria, which had no shortage of weird things, and she trusted him. The exchange was flawless. She handed over the money, he handed over the colored rock." "Good doing business with you," he said with a sly grin. "Take it home, rub it, and make your wish. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Rainbow Dash left the creepy shop, and did exactly that. She took the rock back home, and rubbed it vigorously. "I wish I was the fastest pegasus in Equestria!" She announced. She was already top of the line, but there were still some, like the Wonderbolts, who could outperform her if they really tried. And that just wouldn't do. The rock burst into an array of light, the ropes of colors peeling off the rock like stickers. The bands of red and blue and yellow and green swirled around her with such ferocity that she had to close her eyes to keep from being blinded. She must have passed out at some point, because when she opened her eyes again, she was laying on the floor. She had a headache, and the rock was lying in front of her. No longer colored, it was just a featureless gray stone. Kind of ugly, really. Rainbow Dash picked it up and hurled it out the window, not wanting anything more to do with the stupid thing. The memory of her wish came back to her, and she snapped her eyes open. She bolted for the track where she practiced at, and began to make her rounds, wings flapping and eyes narrowed with concentration. She reached such an incredible speed that she could almost feel the Rainboom forming behind her, and slowed down at that point before she could break something. Her eyes darted to the wingpower station, wanting to see how far she'd surpassed her usual record of 16.5. "....17? 17?!" She shrieked. That was totally lame! She'd barely gotten any faster at all! "Ugh, I'm gonna kill that zebra," she muttered, starting to march her way back down the main road to yell at him. But as she did, she noticed a curious thing. While the streets were busy as they usually were, everypony was staring at her. Okay, well, that wasn't all that unusual, she was awesome and was used to attention like that, but in Ponyville? They all knew who she was, she didn't typically get that attention at home. "Yeah?" She asked, turning her attention to a young couple who hadn't taken their eyes off her. "Rainbow Dash?" the stallion asked hesitantly. "Yeah?" She asked again, sounding slightly nervous this time. "What did you..." "What did I what? Spit it out." She felt a sharp pain from behind her, and cried out. She spun around to find a small crowd had gathered, and was pulling at her wings. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back off!" She exclaimed. "...You have wings," one of them said. "Duh," Rainbow looked confused. "You know wings are forbidden here. Flight is unnatural." Okay, that was weird. She slowly glanced around, and noticed something unsettling. She saw a plentiful amount of earth ponies and unicorns, but not a single pegasus. "Right..." Rainbow said slowly. "Guess I forgot," she lied. She backed away slowly, mind racing. Wait, Fluttershy! Fluttershy would get her out of this! She took to the sky, and heard a loud gasp of horror from the crowd as she lifted off the ground. She darted away from them and bolted straight for Fluttershy's cottage, where she landed and pounded on the door. Fluttershy opened it, or at least, a pony who looked like Fluttershy. Her friend had no wings to speak of. None at all. "Fluttershy! Your wings!" She exclaimed. "Where..." The former pegasus gazed at Rainbow Dash with confusion. "My what?" "You're a pegasus!" "Don't be ridiculous," Fluttershy said. "You know wings are outlawed. Pegasi aren't allowed to-" she began, then seemed to notice Rainbow Dash for the first time. "Where did you get those?" She asked, in the tone of a teacher who'd just confiscated a comic book during Chemistry. "I've always had them! So have you!" Rainbow's voice was sounding panicky now. "That's nonsense," Fluttershy said. "And I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn you in. You know the rules. There hasn't been a pegasus in Equestria in two hundred years. Flight is unnatural." Rainbow Dash gulped and moved backwards, only to back right into the crowd which had gathered behind her. The crowd snatched and tore at her wings and mane, trying to hold her down. and Rainbow Dash thrashed and squirmed free, shooting up into the air. The earth ponies could not reach her now, but the unicorns were firing up their horns, trying to grab her with lassos of magic. Rainbow Dash bolted out of town, twirling and evading the magical snares, and slowly realized a horrible conclusion. If she was the only pony she could fly... she was faster. She was faster than all of them. As the world's only pegasus was driven out of town, a small bell tinkled nearby as the door of a shop opened. A zebra stepped out, smirking softly to himself, and reached down to pick up the colored rainbow rock that had landed near the door. He brought it back inside, shut the door, and slowly twisted the sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED. "The end," Scootaloo finished, and the rest of the fillies stared at her from around the fire. The flames had died down to embers, and Babs was pale. "That's really messed up," she said slowly. "That's the point," Sweetie Belle said cheerfully. "If you become a full member, you can tell stories too. If you can scare us, you're in, but we all have to vote on it. If we don't think you're good enough, you hit the streets, kid." "I am totally good enough! And don't call me kid, I'm older than you!" "Well then, prove it," Apple Bloom said. "But there's no more time for tonight. Maybe we'll give you a shot sometime," she said, standing up. "For now, I declare this meeting of the Night Mare Society closed." She dumped a bucket of water onto the dying fire, extinguishing the embers with a violent hiss and cloud of steam, plunging all of them into darkness.
The Tale of the Last Guardian"I still don't get why this is necessary," Babs Seed was saying. She was having Deja Vu and it was not a pleasant feeling. Potato sack over her head, she was being led to the location of the campfire that had been used the night before when Scootaloo told her story of a wish gone terribly wrong. Sweetie Belle was already sitting there, stoking the fire so it wasn't left unattended. "Because you're not a full member yet," Apple Bloom said, and led her to the fire. "Our meeting location is secret." "It's not very secret, cuz," Babs said dryly. "We're less than five minutes from your house. Probably the big haystack and the old barn." "Nuh uh!" Apple Bloom protested, making a rapid slashing motion across her throat as she did so. Scootaloo quickly dashed across and placed branches across the path, blocking the view of the haystack that could be seen from the trail. They sat down, four in a circle, and Apple Bloom removed the sack from Babs' head. The filly's mane fell down into her eyes, and she blew it away with an annoyed puff. "You know the rules," Scootaloo said. "You tell a story, and if we all like it, you're in. But we ALL have to like it." "Yeah, whatever," Babs grinned. "I got a good one, though." Apple Bloom nodded at Sweetie Belle, who reached into the pouch they carried and threw a cluster of powder into the fire. Babs continued. "Submitted fer the approval of the Night Mare Society... I call this story...the Tale of the Last Guardian. Whoooooooooo!" She made spooky ghost noises. Applejack slowly drew her cart up the long, dirt pathway that reached away from town and over the hill. She normally preferred not being out his late, especially out in the suburbs like this, or was this technically the boondocks now? Either way, she had a delivery to make, and darn it all, she was going to make it. The cart behind her that she was attached to was filled with ripe red apples that clattered and bounced as she pulled the cart over the hill, and the mare gasped as she crested the curve. Down below at the bottom of the hill, a huge, sprawling mansion lay forgotten and neglected, overgrown by weeds and corrupted to falling shutters and peeling paint. An even bigger lawn surrounded it, one which most certainly would have been glorious had it been cared for properly. Applejack frowned. "Well that ain't right..." She said slowly, and checked the address on the delivery. She was about twenty miles from Ponyville, and it'd taken her all afternoon to get here. The sun was going down, and she really didn't want to be here, of all places, after dark. But this certainly didn't look like the residence of someone who'd purchased thirty bits worth of apples. She pulled the cart forward for another few feet, before it got stuck. She pulled again, harder this time, straining against the harness, and there was an unfortunate CRACK as something snapped. She unhooked herself and turned to look, only to find an axle snapped off from the wheel. The cart wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. "Well that just makes me madder'n a rattler in a pickle barrel," she complained, and unhitched herself from the cart. She approached the mansion, staring at the closed door and rusted knocker for a long moment. "Well this can't possibly end well," she said slowly. Still, thirty bits. It'd be enough to get the roof of the equipment shed fixed... she raised a hoof and pounded the knocker on the door. The door, instead of standing firm, swung open. "...Well that ain't good," she said slowly, but entered into the main lobby. "Hello?" She called, her voice echoing. "Ah've got a delivery!" No answer. Applejack stepped further into the front hallway, and the door swung shut behind her. She narrowed her eyes. "It's gonna be locked now, ain't it," she said, before trying the handle. The door didn't move. "Of course." Moving further into the house, the country pony shivered despite herself. The fading light caused long shadows from pretty much everything, and what little furniture was left was draped in ghastly white sheets. She turned and moved slowly down the side hallway towards the kitchen, glancing at several faded pictures on the walls. They depicted black and white photos of ponies she'd never seen before, and didn't expect to. One of them fell off the wall and shattered on the floor as she passed it, and Applejack cried out despite herself, staggering backwards with such force that she slammed into the wall and broke bits of plaster from the peeling paint. Heart racing, she entered the kitchen. "Just a house... just a stupid hou-" she began, and her words were cut off as she stuffed a hoof in her mouth to stifle a gag. A pie had been left on the dark counter, vegetables and fruits on the table. How long they been here? Weeks, months? Impossible to say, for they were rotted to sludge, and filled with squirming white bugs that she didn't want to look at for even a second. "Perfectly good food coulda fed somepony fer a week," she mumbled disapprovingly, and entered into a large room that appeared to be a living area of some kind. Through the back windows, it was fading to twilight now but she could see the overgrown lawn, hanging pots filled with dead flowers, and a garden surrounded by a staked off fence. The garden had a long pole sticking out of the ground in the center of it, which had presumably held a scarecrow at one point, but there was no evidence of one now. There was a back door that led outside, and she tried it, hoping she could just circle around to the front of the house. But when she swung it open, the doorway had been filled and cemented by a solid wall of bricks. Almost like somepony WANTED to keep her in here. "Or somethin' else out..." she muttered to herself. "Naw, girl, stop it. Yer workin' yerself up over nothin'." She shook her head and turned the corner towards the front of the house, and gave a terrified shriek. The scarecrow was leaning against one of the front windows, its plaid shirt torn and fluttering in the wind, its wild eyes staring directly at her. That hadn't been there before, had it? When she first arrived? Maybe she'd missed it... Heart racing, Applejack slowly approached the window. It was just an ugly scarecrow, nothing else. It didn't blink, didn't breathe, didn't move. "Odd place fer that," she mused, but gradually began to calm herself down again. "It's just a stupid old house, nothin' else," she said, and passed by the window. She was back in the front of the mansion again. There were stairs leading to a second floor, and she attempted to climb them, but the roof had caved in and the top landing was completely cluttered with plaster, beams and debris. It was almost a shame, really, this house would have been so nice at one point. "Ain't goin' that way," she said. She turned around, still on the stairs, and screamed again, this time the loudest of all. The scarecrow was at the bottom of the stairs, straw sticking out of its clothes and neck and legs, wooden arms reaching out towards her. She didn't know how in the world it was possible, she'd only been on the stairs less than two minutes, but there it was. And she was trapped. "Only one way down," Applejack said, and narrowed her eyes. "Git outta mah way y'lousy vermin!" She charged down the stairs, mane whipping behind her, feeling its branchy hands close over her flank and tail as she passed it. "Well ah never, ain't just a scarecrow, s'a perv one at that!" She huffed. Its dirty fingers dug into her tail, trying to haul her backwards, and she lashed out with her back legs, sending it crashing backwards. She noted the window that it had previously been stationed outside was now wide open, but she would never fit through it. Applejack turned and watched in growing horror as the scarecrow seemed to animate itself right before her eyes, picking itself up, straw fluttering in the air from the force of her kick... and began to run towards her, arms outstretched. "...Whoop, time t'go!" She wasted no time, and ran away from the awful, ugly thing, hearing its rustling movements behind her. She charged around the corner to the kitchen, picking up the bowl of rotted fruit in one hoof, and hurling it at the scarecrow. Sludge and maggots coated it now, and the scarecrow screeched with pain and hate. She made it back to the front door, turning her back towards it and kicking out with her back legs as hard as she could as if it were an apple tree. The wood splintered and broke under her kicks. One kick, two kicks! The scarecrow rounded the corner, hissing with rage, and lunged towards her just as the third and fourth kick broke the front door down and sent it smashing against the ground. Applejack raced out of the house less than a second before the ugly creature reached at her and swiped for her tail, its dirty fingers coming so close she could feel the rush of air as it swiped. She ran right past the apple cart and away from the awful house, not looking back but hearing her attacker screech with rage. The next morning, Applejack returned to the house with Blue Blood, the local constable. She had told him her story and could tell he thought she was crazy, and she was determined to prove it. The cart she had left was still here, the apples untouched. The front door she had destroyed was back in its frame in one piece, as neatly as you please, and stood ajar, opening easily when given a nudge. Inside the house, there were no shattered windows, no bowls of rotted fruit, only an ominous empty pole standing up in the garden. The constable noted the broken picture on the floor and the dent in the wall opposite from where she'd fallen. "I think it's a very distinct possibility that you fell and hit your head, Miss Jack," he said patiently. "It's Applejack, and ah did not!" She protested. "It was real, ah tell ya! Ah ain't crazy! Ah ain't!" The constable slowly led her back out of the house, the mare firmly babbling that she was absolutely certain about what she'd seen, what she'd experienced, and even as he led her out, she had the unmistakable sensation of being watched from somewhere deep in the shadows. She turned around only once, saw a flash of movement near the back windows, and then there was nothing. She began to think that maybe she was crazy until she stepped through the front door out into the morning light. Something crunched under hoof and she looked down. The front porch was littered with bits of straw. Babs blew her hair out of her face again, and sat on her side of the dying fire, looking smug. Sweetie Belle nodded to Scootaloo, who took the potato sack and placed it over Bab's head again, obscuring her view. "Aw, man, I hate this thing," Babs complained. "We vote," Apple Bloom said. "Do we let her in?" Babs listened intently, but heard nothing. Sweetie Belle nodded, and looked at Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded, and looked at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom nodded, and removed the sack from her cousin's head. The whole process had taken less than a minute. "You're in," Apple Bloom said brightly. "Welcome to the club." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cheered, and Apple Bloom handed Babs a bucket of water. "New member does the honors," she said. Babs looked touched, and took the bucket, pouring it into the fire, extinguishing the flames in a hissing cloud of steam and casting the four into starlit darkness. "Until next time... I declare this meeting of The Night Mare Society closed."
The Tale of the Pretty PonyA week after the last story had been told, all four fillies once again sat around a blazing, flickering campfire. It was Saturday once more, tomorrow was Sunday, and on Monday Babs would be returning home to the city. There was still time for two more stories, however, and the four were going to take full advantage of it. "Alright, tonight we-" Apple Bloom began. "Hey, wait!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, and the other three turned to look at her with shocked surprise. Interruptions were nearly unheard of, and Apple Bloom even recoiled slightly. "It was my turn tonight!" "Yeah, well..." Scootaloo began. "What?" "Well, it's like... you're cute, you know?" None of them wanted to tell her that while her company was more than welcome, her participation was in question. She was the cute one who brought snacks, surely she didn't have it in her to be... you know... scary. "Well, nothing!" Sweetie insisted. "It's my turn, and I'm gonna take it!" Babs and Apple Bloom exchanged a glance, but Apple Bloom sighed and made a 'go on' gesture with her hoof. "Alright, if y'insist," she said. The other three settled back, the dim possibility of tonight being a waste of time in the backs of their minds, but none of them daring to say this out loud. Sweetie Belle harumphed, and threw a sprinkling of powder into the fire. The flames roared instantly, and sprang up in all sorts of mystical colors. "You all don't think I can do this, I can tell. But let's see how you feel after... The Tale of the Pretty Pony." The door of the shop sprang open as a customer entered, hitting the bell overhead and causing a lovely little jingling sound. The zebra behind the counter looked up as a beautiful mare entered, and quickly spat into his hoof to slick his striped mane back as she turned to close the door again. "Good morning, darling," Rarity chimed, turning to face the innocently smiling zebra. The shop was filled with all sorts of dangerously exotic looking things, the shelves lined with trinkets and the walls lined with powders and masks. She gave a disgusted look of revulsion as she had to step past a silently screaming skull to approach the counter itself. "I was wondering if you might be able to help me." The zebra just grinned wider, his gaze was unsettling somehow and Rarity took a step back. "Of course, young lady. Helping is what I do. What do you need?" "I need a new mirror for over my work room, the one I have is just so... boring," she said. "I need something that screams 'Summer Sales!' The one I have now is... blase,* if you'll pardon my French." "I have just the thing!" The zebra announced, and retired to the back. Rarity waited impatiently for a few minutes until he returned, pulling a large covered object, rectangular in shape with a dirty cloth draped over it. He swept the cloth off with a flourish, and Rarity gasped. The mirror was magnificent, various sparkling jewels inset around it's frame of all sorts of colors. She almost dreaded how much something like this would cost. "It's magnifique!" she cried. "I'll take it!" Then, in a lower, hesitant tone. "How much is it?" "Ten bits," the zebra said, and Rarity blinked. Had she heard that correctly? "Ten?" she repeated. "Ten." Rarity pulled out twenty bits and laid them on the counter. "I'll double that and I'm still ripping you off for such a gorgeous piece," she said. "And I won't take no for an answer!" Her horn alighted, and the mirror levitated off the floor, floating carefully behind her as she left the shop. "Thank you, thank you!" The zebra frowned as she left. "A word of caution, madam, whatever you do, don't you dare-" The door slammed. "...break it..." Rarity took the mirror home, and within the hour it was set up, installed in the wall in her workshop where she could use the reflective surface to her advantage, and examine carefully every side of her designs, front and back, as she worked. As she bent down to pick up a roll of fabric from the floor, she did not notice that the reflection did NOT bend down, in fact, Reflection Rarity just smiled grimly, watching its counterpart, that smile fading as Rarity stood up again, completely unsure as to why there were shivers running down her back. Glancing in the mirror, Rarity waved once, and the reflection responded in kind. She shrugged, chalking up her paranoia to overworking, and set the roll of fabric on the table. There were no further complications for the next few hours as she worked, the fabric gradually and skillfully taking on the appearance of a formal dress. By the time Rarity was approximately three fourths finished with the outfit, sweat was pouring down her face and dripping from her chin, and her hooves ached with cramps. However a client was coming to pick up the dress two days from now, and everything had to be perfect. Rarity happened to glance up into the mirror, and was startled to see Sweetie Belle standing silently in the doorway behind her, watching her big sister work. "Sweetie! I didn't hear you-" she began, whirling around. "-come in..." The doorway was completely empty. Rarity frowned. "Alright, enough's enough. That's enough work for today, I'm losing my mind." She stood from where she'd been working, glancing into the mirror once more, but of course Sweetie Belle wasn't there. She turned off the light and exited the work room, although if she had turned around, she just might have seen Reflection Rarity still standing by the worktable, watching her leave with a menacing smile on her face. Unusually for Rarity, she did not sleep well that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, unable to shake the overpowering feeling that she was being watched. She got up in the middle of the night, sliding into fluffy pink slippers, and slowly peering her head out into the hallway as if she was a stranger in a hotel. There was nopony there, of course, and a quick peek into Sweetie Belle's room confirmed that the young one was properly asleep.** There was little else to do, and Rarity made her way down to the first floor of the Boutique. The usual sounds of night life were active all around her, the subtle creaks of the shop settling and the summer crickets outside in the pale moonlight. There was still something wrong, but she couldn't put a hoof on exactly what it was. Finally, Rarity entered the workroom, and was confronted by her own reflection staring back at her from the mirror. It was wearing the dress that she had worked so hard on the day before, although it had been completed to perfection, as impossible as it was, and fitted snugly against the mare's body even though it had not been designed to her measurements. "You're up late, darling," Reflection Rarity said. Rarity, who had known for some time now that something was wrong but been unable to pinpoint it, gave a little cry and stumbled backwards. "Who... who are you?!" "I'm you," Reflection Rarity said. "Isn't it obvious?" "But you can't be..." "But I am. Come closer." Rarity stayed where she was for a moment, then very slowly inched forward. She didn't like this situation at all, but realistically the reflection appeared to be contained. "I need your help," her reflection said. "Have you perhaps noticed that lately you have been hit by road blocks and mental absences? When you know you want to work but just can't bring yourself to actually do it? I am a materialization of your trapped creativity, locked deep away. If you want to do your best work, all you have to do is let me out." "I don't think I can..." Rarity began. "Of course you can. I'm not really even here. It's symbolism. Unlock your creativity, dear. Just break the mirror, I'll do the rest, and you'll be making designs you never even dreamed of. You'll gain worldwide fame, attention, and all well deserved!" Rarity's heart was beating rapidly now, that did all sound well and good, of course. She picked up a paperweight from the desk, frowning. Could it really be that easy? "That's it, darling, you got it!" Rarity, although she was hesitant, was the generous type, and couldn't stand the thought of part of herself being locked away in some horrible fashion. She flung the paperweight, it sailed through the air and cracked the mirror, sending spiderwebs of fractured glass up through the pane. Reflection Rarity cackled with delight, and leaped through the glass, landing with a clopping thunk outside the mirror. Reflection Rarity lit up her horn at once, a bright green laser of light shooting towards her counterpart. Rarity was caught off guard, and barely had time to fire back her own spell, the two lasers from the two horns coming to meet in the middle with a violent burst of light. "You didn't think it was that easy, did you?" Reflection Rarity grinned. "I've been trapped in that despicable mirror realm for years now, watching you have all the fun, obeying your every move... I'm done being your slave!" Her horn blazed even stronger, and Rarity felt herself being pushed backwards, despite fighting back with all her strength. "You can't!" Rarity argued. "My sister! My career!" "Oh, I'll take care of them, don't you worry." The door behind Rarity slammed shut, and she was horrified to see that the mirror had cryptically changed positions... it was no longer on the workshop wall, but on the back of the door! "Be good, Rarity. And maybe, just maybe, I'll come back to let you out." Reflection Rarity lunged forward with her powerful beam of light shooting from her horn, and Rarity was cast backwards into what felt like a freezing cold pool of ice. She shivered violently, then opened her eyes, staring at Reflection Rarity through a thick pane of glass. A glance behind her saw a horrifying thing. Not the workshop room that she might have expected to see behind her, but an eternal void of thick fog that stretched into infinity. A realm which contained absolutely nothing. "No!" Rarity screamed, pounding on the glass with her hooves. Reflection Rarity just cocked a grin, unable to hear a thing. She placed a taunting hoof behind her ear, shrugging. She made a note to take the mirror back to the pawn shop tomorrow. Her horn lit up with a powerful spell, and the pane of glass repaired itself, spiderweb cracks dissolving into a single, solid, unblemished sheet. Then she picked up a long curtain, and threw it over the glass, blocking the view of the silently screaming mare on the other side. A mare who, as far as she was concerned, could continue screaming and begging for all eternity. Pleading for help that would never come. Rarity sighed contentedly, as Sweetie Belle called from down the hall. "Rarity, is that you? What's all the noise?" "Coming!" Rarity called, and left the workshop, closing the door behind her. Sweetie Belle had a smug look on her face, and a look that was well deserved judging by the shocked look of horror on her friends faces. Scootaloo's mouth was hanging open. "I, uh... I gotta go home," Scootaloo said slowly. "I think I left... the oven on... or something..." she made a run for it, interestingly heading not in the direction of her own house, but in the direction of Rainbow Dash's most recent cloud. Perhaps somepony needed a bit of comforting. "Any questions?" Sweetie asked, and the two country cousins shook their heads immediately. "Then I declare this meeting of The Night Mare Society closed," Sweetie announced, and as she poured water on the fire, the flames went out with a hiss and a thick billowing of smoke and steam. Author's Note *This word requires an accent over the 'e' AND I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT *JonTron ECH noises* **Yes I know Faust has said Sweetie Belle does not live at the Boutique but she's there for now. Deal with it.
