The Universe's Plaything

by Rare Twinkie

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Trenderhoof, Rarity, Horror, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack
Length: 5170

Rarity learns her place in the universe. "Am I truly destined to be tortured for the rest of my life? I've never done anything that deserved such torment..."

Rarity doesn't understand what she did to deserve this. Yes, she has messed up before. Everypony has. And no, she isn't perfect. Nopony is, after all. Even so, she hasn't done anything to deserve something as horrible as this. "Why must you all torture me so? I haven't told my friends about you, just as I promised! I promise I'll do whatever you want! Just..just leave me be! Please!"

A counter-fic to Alex Warlorn's Rarity Learns to Mind Her Own Business.

Cover art: http://mit-boy.deviantart.com/art/Rarity-crying-526494940

Published 2015-07-28 02:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-07-28 02:10:01 UTC

The Universe's Plaything

The Universe's Plaything
A Counter-fic to Alex Warlorn's fic, Rarity Learns to Mind Her Own Business
By Rare Twinkie

Rarity trotted back to Carousel Boutique in a business-like manner, her saddlebags stuffed to the brim with feathers, ribbons, exquisite designer fabric and glittering gems. During her time in the spa, she had been hit with a burst of inspiration for a new dress design, one that would have all the ponies in Canterlot panting over one. Smirking to herself, she allowed herself to be caught up in the dreams of receiving recognition, awards, and fame across all of Equestria, adored by all.

She walked up to the front doors of her boutique, using her magic to open the doors, and made her way inside. She saw Sweetie Belle’s knapsack sitting in the corner of the room, and set her bags down on the table, making her way through the shop to find her.

“Sweetie Belle? I’m back!” she called as she walked upstairs to her inspiration room. Sweetie Belle loved to work in her room, sewing dresses like her big sister and playing with her makeup. Rarity had to admit that, even though Sweetie’s dresses needed more than a little work, she was glad that she was taking after her. It was a feeling that made her happy to be her sister.

As soon as she stepped into the inspiration room, she was confronted with a horrible sight. The whole room looked as though a hurricane of blades had swept the place and ripped the whole thing to shreds. Her gems, her silks, her ribbons...everything was destroyed beyond repair. Rarity's heart slammed against her chest as she thought of the expenses to replace everything in this room.

"Rarity? Are you okay?" Sweetie Belle's voice filled Rarity's ears then, and the unicorn turned around to face her little sister, who looked concerned. "I heard you shouting and-holy moly, what happened in here?!" Her eyes widened as she looked at the damage done to the inspiration room.

Rarity opened her mouth to ask her that question, but what came out instead was a shrill, angry voice that sounded nothing like her own: "You know exactly what happened, Sweetie Belle! Don't you dare try to feign innocence!"

Sweetie Belle jumped backwards, sweating bullets as her sister came towards her. Rarity's glare could have sent the demons in Tartarus running in fear. "R-Rarity...I don't know what happened to your room, honest!"

"You probably did this as a form of revenge, didn't you?! You were jealous that I stole the spotlight from you again, just like you accused me of doing so for your sixth birthday! Well, let me tell you something, Sweetie Belle: you won't get away with things like this in MY house!" Rarity roared. Her face was bright red with anger. "I want you out of the house this instant, or else I'll beat you again; this time to the point where you can't sit for a week!"

At this point, Sweetie Belle was crying. Big, fat tears rolled down her delicate face and splashed on the floor. The sight of her little sister crying only angered Rarity more; she could only think of punishing her sister horribly for what she had done to her room. She'd give her something to cry about, alright.

"R-Rarity, you've got to believe me," Sweetie sniffled. "I-I'd never do anything to your designs..."

"As if I should believe that! Go and gather your things, Sweetie Belle, now. Or you're going to regret it, dearly," Rarity growled. Her tone was as cold and chilly as a midwinter's night.

Desperate, Sweetie attempted to appeal to her sister, to prove her innocence. She grasped Rarity's left hoof, her eyes wider than saucers. "Rarity, please..."

That was the last straw for Rarity. With a vicious snarl, she yanked her hoof back and struck her sister hard across the face. There was a loud crack, and then Sweetie collapsed to her haunches, holding her cheek and sobbing uncontrollably. Rarity felt no guilt for her actions; only grim satisfaction.

"I told you you would pay dearly, Sweetie," she said. "Get your things. I'll see you to the door."

With a sad nod, Sweetie got up from the floor and trudged sadly to her room. Before leaving, she turned to face her sister. "You know...a lot of ponies say you're a horrible pony, that you're cruel underneath that really polite, ladylike mask. I didn't want to believe it, because I thought I knew you, Rarity. I knew you would never do things like hurt your own sister. But..." Sweetie's eyes grew moist again, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "I guess I didn't know you as well as I thought."

With that, she disappeared through the door.

The raging anger that Rarity had been feeling a few moments ago disappeared just as soon as it had come. She stared at her hoof, which was red from the slap she'd given Sweetie Belle. She put her good hoof to her mouth in a horrified gasp, her eyes watering with tears as she realized what she'd done. Her sister's words replayed through her mind like a broken record player, especially the last thing she'd said before she left her room.

"I guess I didn't know you as well as I thought."

"Oh, Sweetie Belle! What have I done?!" Rarity cried.

"You know exactly what you did, Rarity."

Every hair on Rarity's coat rose at the familiar accented voice. She turned, slowly, to see the one pony she hoped wouldn't have seen that.

Standing in the behind her was Applejack, who looked ready to buck her into the walls. Standing next to her was a very familiar face, one she had dreamed about her whole life, one she had tried desperately to impress during his time in Ponyville. With one hoof laid over Applejack's back, Trenderhoof gave a concerned look at Sweetie Belle's room, his purple eyes filled with sympathy. He didn't even look at Rarity.

"Applejack! And...Trenderhoof?" Rarity stared, shocked at what she was seeing. The last time Trenderhoof had come to town, Applejack had made it abundantly clear that she didn't want Trenderhoof as a suitor, that she was uninterested in romance. So what were they doing here, walking as though they were marefriend and coltfriend?

"I came to ask you to do a new design for one of my friends, a colt who's considering moving to Ponyville," Trenderhoof said. He finally turned to face Rarity, and his eyes held nothing but contempt. "I guess I'll have to find someone else."

"Y-You don't have to do that!" Rarity pleaded. "I can get everything in order, Trenderhoof! Just...just let me prove myself!"

"Prove what? That you're not a bully who torments her sister for something she didn't do?" Trenderhoof snapped. "I'm not going to let someone like that work for my friend...or become my marefriend."

Rarity felt as though she'd been hit with a brick. "W-What?"

"Face it, Rarity. I don't love you, and after what you just did, I never will. You're a nagging opportunist who loves to force her ways onto others and bully the weak. Who in their right mind would want that as their marefriend?" Trenderhoof said.

"Trenderhoof, that's not who I am! Honest I'm not!" Rarity pleaded.

"Applejack on the other hand," Trenderhoof said, looking over at the farmpony lovingly, "is kind, strong, honest about her feelings, and more of a lady than you can ever hope to be. I heard of that crazy stunt you pulled in order to win my affection."

Rarity paled. "Y-You did?"

"How couldn't I? Applejack wasted no time in telling me about it. You tried to play the part of a country bumpkin in order to win my heart. To make it short, let's just say your attempt was...quite cliche," Trenderhoof said. "But when Applejack turned and used your lifestyle against you, she ended up being the exact type of lady that you could only dream of being. She's superior to you in everything, even in beauty."

Rarity backed away from the stallion, his words hitting her everywhere. Everything she had thought about that stunt, everything she had thought about 'Applejewel' afterwards...Trenderhoof had said it all. It seemed as if the whole world were against her, as if some invisible, cruel force was trying to bring her down...

An invisible force...

At those words, she knew just who was responsible for this. She then turned to the one pony who could possibly listen to her, who could probably understand..."Applejack," she started. "You know me. You know I would never do things like this."

"Do I? You once told me that I knew you better than you knew yourself," Applejack retorted. "I guess I was stupid to believe that."

"No, darling, what I meant was true," she said. "You know that I love Sweetie Belle more than anything...and what I had just done to her...that wasn't me who did that. Something came over me."

Applejack snorted. "Yeah, right. That's completely believable."

"No! I'm telling you, Applejack, something horrible is making me do these things!" she cried.

Applejack wanted to roll her eyes, but seeing the horrified look in her friend's eyes made her stop. Her anger gave way to curiosity at this. Perhaps she should listen to the unicorn...just this once.

"Let's say I believe you. What kind of all-horrible force is making you do things like hurtin' your own kin?"

"Do you remember when I told you about...the eyes, Applejack?"

One of Applejack's eyes narrowed in concern. "The eyes?" she repeated, her tone full of doubt.

"Yes. They watch my every move, punishing me for being myself," Rarity said. "They make me a prisoner in my own body while 'I' do horrible things to those I love. They toy with me, seeing how far I can go without snapping. And even when I do what my friends want so they can be happy, to please them, I still end up being punished!"

"Right," Applejack replied.

"If I told you half of the things that these...these monsters made me do, you would have nightmares, Applejack," Rarity explained. "They find new ways to turn something I hold dear into something wrong. And the opposite would be just as true. Please tell me you understand, Applejack!"

"Okay, Rarity, now you're startin' to freak me out," Applejack said, backing away.

"But Applejack-"

"Don't come near her," Trenderhoof interrupted, putting out a hoof to stop her. He attempted to keep a steady gaze, but one could see that he was trembling as well. "Can't you see that you're frightening her?"

"Both of you, please, believe me!" Rarity cried, attempting to grasp one of their hooves, only for Trenderhoof to slap it away roughly, almost sending her into the wall. She could feel them starting to close in around her, their stares menacing. Beads of sweat trickled down her face as she tried to think up another way she could convince them that these monsters were real, that they were torturing her over and over day after day...but the only thing that came out of her throat was, "Please...just believe me. I'll do anything..."

As she had her head buried in her hooves, she didn't see Applejack's or Trenderhoof's expressions turn into cruel, smug ones.

"Anything?" they asked simultaneously.

Rarity felt ice wash over her coat. Their voices sounded nothing like themselves...they sounded just like them. She looked up at them, and immediately wished she hadn't. Terror seized her heart and almost forced the air out of her lungs.

Both ponies looked as though they'd had their very skin peeled off of them, leaving skeletons standing before her. Yellow abysses locked eyes with Rarity, set in hollow, empty sockets. The unicorn hurriedly scrambled away, and the defaced forms of her best friend and former crush came closer, their teeth pulled into cruel grins.

No wonder Applejack and Trenderhoof had seem more hostile to her than usual...they were controlling them like puppets as well, using them as their mouthpieces to once again bring her down. She had been tortured enough by those horrible monsters to recognize when they were using her friends against her...and she had fallen for it hook, line and sinker. They had even played on her desperation to be heard...how could she have been so stupid?

"Oh, Rarity," 'Applejack' spoke, gently lifting up her chin with her decaying hoof, "when will you learn to keep your mouth shut? Every time you speak, it makes it all the worse for you."

"And you know that you're not supposed to tell anybody about us," 'Trenderhoof' added. "You know the punishment for doing so, right?"

Rarity could barely say anything through her sobs, which shook her whole body. 'Applejack' smirked towards 'Trenderhoof'.

"We haven't even done anything to her yet and she's already starting to cry," she said.

"Trust me...what we're going to do will make what she did to her poor 'sister' seem like nothing," 'Trenderhoof' replied. "Sweetie? Could you come here, please?"

The doors to Sweetie Belle's bedroom opened up, and the small filly walked out, also nothing more than a skeleton of her former self. Her eyes were glowing green, and in her telekinetic grip was a club, its spikes covered with old blood.

They surrounded her in a three-point circle, withdrawing their own weapons of choice with sadistic smiles; 'Trenderhoof' with a mace, and 'Applejack' with a metal chain. She suddenly wished that she could use their new Rainbow Powers to vaporize these monsters, to send them into the depths of Tartarus like they had done to Tirek. But she knew that would never happen. They couldn't be destroyed. They couldn't be healed of their evil with something like the Elements of Harmony.

And they couldn't be sent away. They would always return, torturing her over and over just for being herself.

'Sweetie' grinned. "Don't worry, Rarity," she said. "It'll be over soon...as soon as we've made our point, that is."

Rarity got no word out before 'Sweetie' brought the club down on her backside, followed by her other tormentors. Rarity screamed in agony as they continued their brutal beating, tearing open her back and bloodying her pristine coat and mane. All around her, she could hear the other eyes laughing at her torment, and a few of them, in the guises of her friends, joined in. One of them, dressed as Rainbow Dash, straddled her down and landed blow after blow on her face, busting her lips and blackening her eyes. Another, in the guise of Twilight, shot dark bolts at her. These bolts set every part of her body on fire from the inside, which made her writhe with agony.

The eyes were clearly enjoying themselves. "You will submit to us, Rarity," they crooned. "You will learn your place!"

One of the eyes, disguised as Fluttershy, laughed cruelly as they kicked her to the other side of the wall. "So, what are you going to do now, Rarity?" 'she' asked.

In a surprising move of defiance, Rarity slowly stumbled to her hooves, glaring at the monster dressed as her dear friend with one good eye.

"I will not, under any circumstances, allow you to torture me any further, you beasts!" she snarled.

An uproar of mocking laughter surrounded her. 'Fluttershy's' mouth curled into something that wasn't a smile.

"Trenderhoof, I think Rarity needs a lesson in obedience," she said.

"Indeed. She needs to be reminded of the punishment she receives for defying us." 'Trenderhoof' turned towards the door. "Step outside, Rarity, and see your destiny."

Doing her best to not look at the eyes, Rarity complied with his request, heading for the doors to Carousel Boutique. Using her magic, she opened the doors.

Chaos greeted her. Everyone and everything in Ponyville looked nothing like its original state. Ponies were suffering horribly; two were conjoined in the hip. Some were destroying buildings, laughing madly as they did so. The most gruesome, however, were the ponies killing and eating each other, tearing into their fellow ponies like wild animals. All around her, horrified screams resounded through the town.

"Wha...what could be causing this?!" she cried.

"You should be asking who could be causing this," 'Trenderhoof' corrected. "Take a look over there, at Town Hall."

Rarity looked over to see the source of all this madness...and saw herself.

She stood there, her coat, mane and eyes as grey as stone, and her expression as cold as ice. Her face was set into a cruel smile as she used her magic to warp ponies' minds, her aura covering them with a sheen of blue light. Turning towards the trees, she used her magic to forcibly yank several mares towards her, all of them attempting to escape but having no such luck. With an evil laugh, she turned her attention on all five of them, her eyes glowing blue with power.

"Darlings, you are absolutely going to adore the changes I have in store for you!" she said. "All of you will be the way I want you to be. I don't care if you loathe it with every fiber of your beings...you're going to cause chaos for everyone and everything in Equestria , and you are going to love it!"

Her friends shouted out their protests, but they proved futile. In a matter of seconds, her magic had coated their minds completely. They were no longer the unique, bubbly mares that she had known and loved for years: they were now all just as crazed as her, their expressions just as cold and twisted as hers.

"Now go, my friends! Fulfill our Master's will to the letter: chaos and disorder for EVERYPONY!"

Her friends needed no second bidding. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were off first, while Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie ran towards the outskirts of Ponyville, clearly intending to make their way to Canterlot, to Manehatten, to Phillydelphia...

A malicious laugh came from the shadows, and she turned to see Discord appear in a flash of light. His smile was approving as he surveyed the damage that Rarity had caused.

"Well done, Rarity," he praised. "You follow up on your word fast."

"But of course," the discorded Rarity replied, flipping her mane. "I told you they'd be easy to get on your side. It took a little longer than expected, but I hope you're pleased with the results."

"Indeed I am. You are a most faithful servant," Discord said, stroking Rarity's chin. "Come along now; it's time to give the rest of Equestria a full dose of chaos!"

The two disappeared, leaving Ponyville in ruins.

Rarity backed away from the sight, her pupils the size of thumbtacks. "No...no! This is all wrong! I would never do that to my friends! And I would never serve Discord!"

'Trenderhoof' laughed, and so did the other eyes. Their laughter surrounded her and filled her ears, no matter how many times she tried to cover her ears to block them.

"Stop laughing at me! All of you!" she screamed. "STOP TORTURING ME!"

Her cries fell on deaf ears. Their laughter eventually became louder than Rarity's screams of protest. Hoarse and driven to tears, she fell to the ground, sobbing. She buried her face into the ground, attempting to block out the sights of the citizens attacking each other, eating other...

Just then, 'Trenderhoof' held up a hoof, which was caked in blood that was not his own. "Stop. That's enough for now," she said.

The other eyes, groaning, pulled away from their victim, who lay on the ground a sobbing, bloody mess. He walked up to her and lifted up her chin, looking into her reddened eyes.

"Leave...leave me be," she gasped out. Her throat was scraped raw and pitiful. "I won't do it again, I promise. Just...just leave me be!"

"It seems you've learned your lesson," he cooed, right before planting his lips on hers. Rarity had to resist the urge to twist away. His very touch tasted like death itself. After he pulled away he said, "We'll be back for you soon, Rarity. And you had better not try to tell anybody about what's happened or you'll get even worse than this."

"Worse?! How could you make something even worse than this?!" Rarity demanded, incredulous.

"Remember the time when you woke up at the end of the world?" 'Trenderhoof' asked. "Well, I've made a few improvements, and I know that you'll absolutely love them!"

Rarity paled. "Oh, no...please, anything but that!" she pleaded hoarsely. "I'll do whatever you want!"

"That's the spirit." With a nod of his head, 'Trenderhoof' motioned to the eyes, and they turned away from her, phasing out.

He was just about to do the same when he heard Rarity ask weakly, "Why?"

He stopped, but didn't turn around to look at her. "Why what? Be specific, Rarity. Isn't that what you always tell your friends?"

"Why...why do you torture me so? What have I done that deserved so much torment from you all?" she asked.

He could practically see her lips quivering and hear the sob in her voice in his mind, and he chuckled. "Why, my dear," he said, "isn't it obvious? We don't like you. In fact, we despise you. We take great pleasure in watching you fail to achieve your dreams, being humiliated and being shown up by other ponies. Face it. You're no lady like you try to convince others that you are. You're nothing but a middle-class pony with upper-class dreams.

"But more importantly, you're our little toy. The universe's plaything, if you will. And Rarity, no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, you will fail. That is your destiny." With that, he phased through the wall, laughing all the way back.
*
Rarity awoke with a start, finding that it was morning. She looked around her room, and saw the populace of Ponyville going about their normal business. Nopony was brainwashing anypony else. Nopony was causing harmful destruction. Nopony had turned into cannibals.

Best of all, she wasn't in service of an evil, horrific version of Discord, brainwashing her friends into causing chaos for everyone in Ponyville.

Rarity sighed, relieved. "It was nothing more than a nightmare," she said. "Nothing to worry about. I can finally go about my daily life and-"

A cold chill washed over her back, and she heard the familiar, watery voice of the eyes whisper into her mind: "You'll never go about your normal life the same way again. You are at our beck and call, Rarity. Never forget that."

Rarity was still sitting upright in bed, her eyes wide with horror and her coat slick with sweat, when Sweetie Belle burst into her room, a tray of eggs on her back. "Rarity, I made you breakfast and-" She stopped short, seeing her sister's horrified expression. "Rarity? What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Rarity blinked, and turned towards her little sister with a sheepish smile. "I-I'm alright, Sweetie. I just remembered that I had to do something for an extremely important client, and I was worried that I didn't have the right materials," she lied. She couldn't tell the truth about the eyes to anyone, especially to her sister. "But I'm fine. Really. I'll eat my breakfast downstairs and then I'll walk you to school. Alright?"

If Sweetie Belle was still suspicious, she didn't show it. "Okay! I'll go get my saddle bag," she said, and soon left, being careful to not spill the eggs or milk she had on her back. The door slowly closed shut behind her.

And when she was sure she was alone, sure that Sweetie Belle or none of the eyes would come back for her again, Rarity buried her face in her hooves, and finally let the tears fall.

"So, darlings, what do you think of my entry?" Rarity asked.

Twilight set the neat stacks of paper down on her desk, her eyes wide with surprise. She looked at Rarity, and then at the stack, not believing that her friend had written something so...dark. She looked around at her friends, who were gathered at the table alongside her, and saw that they were also thinking the same thing. Rainbow Dash's eyes were the size of thumbtacks, while Pinkie sat in her chair, looking slightly confused. Fluttershy was cowering in her chair, shaking like a leaf in a gale, while Applejack looked concerned.

"Well, uh...it's interesting. I'll give you that," Twilight replied finally. "There's a lot of detail involved in the story, especially where the ponies get discorded."

"I'm just glad there wasn't any detail with the ponies eating each other," Fluttershy said. She shivered visibly. "I don't think I want any details about that."

Rarity's bright smile slipped when she saw her friends' uneasy expressions. Had she scared them too much with the darker details? "What's the matter? Was it too dark?"

"Well...we're kind of confused, Rarity. I mean, you hardly if ever enjoy horror stories," Twilight noted. "This definitely sounds like something you'd use to scare other ponies with."

"Yeah. Why did you have me and Trenderhoof torturin' you, on top of Sweetie Belle and the rest of us?" Applejack asked. "We'd never do that to you."

Rarity looked down at her hooves, her ears flattened against her skull. "You wouldn't understand, Applejack."

"I'm sure I would if ya just tell me, Rarity," Applejack replied.

Rarity looked into her friends' eyes, and saw the same sentiment in their eyes. Normally, secrets like this she could hide from her friends, but there was only so much lying she could do in a day. Swallowing heavily, she looked at Applejack, feeling that she deserved to know firsthand.

"You remember what happened with Trenderhoof, right? Well...after that, I felt as though the world were against me. It was as if everything I did was destined to fail. I couldn't be myself without having some horrible disaster happening to me. From what happened to Trenderhoof, to the unfortunate incident with the 'Inspiration Manifestation' spellbook...it seemed as though I'd been hit with a losing streak. I felt as though everyone was watching my every move," Rarity explained.

"Is that what those freaky eyes were supposed to be?" Rainbow asked. "All the people who messed with you in the past?"

Rarity nodded. "I originally poured out these feelings in my private diary, as I didn't want to share them with you. When I first wrote them down, I thought I was half mad, and I was afraid none of you would understand," she continued. "I wasn't even going to write this as a story, until Sweetie Belle gave me a flyer for a writing contest and said that I should enter it. And then I realized that I had to share this, first with you all, and then with the rest of the world."

"I didn't know you wrote in your spare time," Twilight said.

"It's really more of a hobby than anything," Rarity admitted, "but I have written a few stories in the past and I've shared them with my family before. Sweetie Belle in particular likes them a lot. Most of my stories have a lot of romance in them, but this is the first time I've actually written something dark. I completed the whole thing in one night, actually. I actually had to wonder if something was wrong with me after I wrote it."

"I see." Twilight looked up at Rarity, who still looked slightly uneasy. "Rarity, you're not a plaything for anything or anybody. You're a mare who can handle herself, and knows how to get back up after you fall."

"Even so...I've received a lot of harsh words. Many ponies have told me that I'm a hypocrite, and that I'm only good at making other ponies like me," Rarity said.

"Rarity, ponies like you not because you're going around making them like you," Fluttershy explained. "Rather, I think ponies like you because you're a good and hard-working pony to the core."

"Plus, I think the ponies that say you're a middle-class pony with upper-class dreams are spoutin' out a whole lot of hooey," Applejack added. "I don't think you're a hypocrite at all."

"Besides, being a hypocrite means having high ideals and not living up to them at all. You have high ideals and are at least trying to live up to them," Twilight said. "Nopony's perfect, Rarity. But even when you do mess up, at least you're learning from your mistakes and do better the next time."

Rarity's face broke into a smile, a real one this time. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. She hurriedly pulled out a hankie from her bag and wiped her eyes. "Oh, darlings...those are the nicest things that anypony's ever said to me! I-I don't know why I thought you all wouldn't understand!" she said. "You all are the best friends I could ever ask for."

"Aww!" Pinkie and Fluttershy went over to Rarity and gave her a hug. Soon, Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight got down from their chairs, and went to join them, hugging Rarity from behind.

After breaking up the hug, Rarity asked, "So, is there anything that needs to be edited in the story, Twilight?"

"Well, from what I can see, everything looks fine. I'll just go through it and do some edits," Twilight replied. "I think you'll win this competition for sure."

"They'd be out of their minds not to pick her!" Rainbow replied.

"Oh, now, you're all flattering me," Rarity said, blushing.

"Just one thing, though," Fluttershy started.

"What's that, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

"Um...can you warn me the next time you write a scary story, Rarity? I think I might have nightmares after this," Fluttershy said.

"Don't you worry, Fluttershy," Rarity answered confidently. "After this, I'm not writing any more scary stories."

Author's Note

Several months ago, I happened upon Alex Warlorn's other fics, and "Rarity Learns to Mind Her Own Business" really got to me. After getting his permission, I came up with the idea for a counter-fic for his story, which he actually said that he wanted.

So, yeah, this story actually turned out to be a horror story that Rarity wrote for a writer's contest, although it was originally a diary entry where she expressed her feelings about how certain situations (the Trenderhoof incident, her fight with Sweetie Belle, and her fight with Applejack) weren't going her way. I personally see the eyes as the people who love to attack and hate on Rarity for being herself. I used two parts of Alex's story in this story: the part where the eyes turn her into a servant of Discord before he was reformed, and I brought up the part where she woke up to the apocalypse. All in all, I kind of had fun writing this story.

I hope you enjoy it, Alex! :pinkiehappy:

~Rare Twinkie