Beauty is Only Skin Deep

by HollywoodGold

Rating: mature
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rarity, Horror, Sweetie Belle
Length: 2620

(Cover image is not my art, I do not take claim to the work!) As everypony knows, Rarity is obsessed with her good looks and beauty. But just how far is she willing to go to be the prettiest mare in PonyVille?

Rarity is the prettiest pony in town. She makes sure that remains so. When a threat to her status as the perfect pony arises, what will she do to ensure that she stays at the highest level of perfection?

This was inspired by GrimDark readings organized by TheLostNarrator on Youtube, and also the many MLP horror stories. I just picked a character that was interesting to me and my imagination took it from there. This story contains gore, so reader discretion is advised.

Published 2016-01-05 11:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-01-05 11:00:01 UTC

Beauty is Only Skin Deep

It was a sunny day in PonyVille. Fillies crafted flower chains out in the meadows and young colts ran from fillies who crushed on them. Rarity lay on a blue checkered picnic blanket at the park, keeping close watch as her little sister, Sweetie Belle, played with her friends. The young white filly was filled with joy, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gotten their cutie marks about two years ago. Although they had gotten their marks, they were children nonetheless, and acted so.

A sparkling blue aura surrounded Rarity's saddlebag as she opened it and withdrew a mirror and a makeup pallet. She looked into the silver mirror, pursing her lips as she fluttered her eyelashes.

"I am simply stunning!" The purple-maned unicorn smiled to herself as she gazed at her reflection.
She touched up on her blue eye shadow, her signature color, and applied a few thick coats of mascara. She put her makeup away and brought out two brushes and a comb. She ran a rectangular brush through her mane and tail with her magic, and then meticulously combed her hair out until her hair was completely smoothed out from the slight ruffling that the breeze had caused. Rarity then used a cylinder-shaped brush to perfect her royal purple locks.

Rarity looked down at her white hooves and noticed that they were slightly less glossy than usual. She decided to check in at the spa and get a hoof polishing, so she rolled up her blanket and packed everything into her saddlebag. The beautiful mare began to trot off to the salon, but Sweetie Belle ran up to her side, yelling at her to wait up.

"You forgot about me, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle said in her innocent voice. The young filly had grown used to Rarity not paying attention to her, and although her older sister had claimed to be proud of her when she had received her cutie mark, the mare tended to be more caught up in her appearance and fashion work to pay much mind to her.

"Oh, um..." Rarity frowned, stopping in her tracks. "Why don't you come along with me, Sweetie Belle? I'm getting my hooves polished." The mare resumed walking.

"Cool!" Sweetie Belle perked. "Can I get a spa treatment, too? I want to be as pretty as you someday!"
Rarity let out a barely audible scoff, as she told herself that nopony could be nearly as beautiful as her, even her own sister.

"Don't be silly, Sweetie Belle," the mare said sharply. "You look fine as you are."

"I know..." The filly grinned. "My colt-friend tells me all the time. But I still look up to y-"

"Since when did you have a colt-friend, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity questioned snidely.

"He asked me out a few months ago... His name is Button Mash, and he's very sweet. We were friends for a long time, and he said he liked me for a while now! He finally got the courage to ask me to be his mare-friend. Anyways, even though he calls be beautiful all the time, I kinda want to impress him!"

"Oh... How... Charming..." Rarity gritted her teeth in jealousy. She should not have been so jealous of a mere filly. But how could her younger sister possibly have a colt-friend, when she was nowhere near as beautiful and important as Rarity?! She held back a lashing remark as she thought of this. Nopony had asked to be her colt-friend (or mare-friend, for that matter) for years! She'd only had crushes before, but no serious relationships.

The two siblings arrived at the salon, where they were greeted courteously. Rarity requested a little extra treatment than she usually would get, because she needed to reassure herself that she was the most glamorous pony in her town, and possibly in all of Equestria! After the two hours of vigorous cleansing and moisture routines, Rarity walked out of the sauna, feeling very refreshed. She noticed that Sweetie Belle was looking at a wall of cosmetics.

"Rarity, can I get some eye shadow and mascara?" Sweetie Belle pleaded. "I want to look special for Button Mash since Hearts and Hooves Day is in a week! Maybe he'll take me somewhere..."
Rarity stiffened. "No, Sweetie Belle. You don't need to put on makeup to look pretty. You look fine, really. Don't be ridiculous. Come now, darling... We best be heading home."

With a disappointed look from her younger sister, Rarity exited the Spa and began the route to her Boutique and living quarters. She heard a purr when she walked through the door, and Opalesence entwined herself around Rarity's legs. The white mare smiled and pat her cat on the head. She then retired to her bedroom, where she stood in front of her vanity set.

"You're beautiful, Rarity," she told herself. "Nobody is as perfect as you are."
That night, Rarity had trouble sleeping. She kept thinking about Sweetie Belle and how... flawless she seemed. The filly was kind, had a wonderful singing voice, was considerably pretty, and had a colt-friend. Rarity growled.

"No. She's not as good as you. She's just your little sister, and the reason she looks up to you is because she knows that I'm perfect! Right...?"
Rarity thought about how ironic it was that she represented the Element of Generosity, yet she only really cared about herself. She only donated to charity and helped other ponies for her reputation. The best ponies were talented. She had talent, and was well-known for her fashion designing. Beauty... She had that, of course. She obviously knew that. And also, the best people were kind. Rarity was not truly kind, yet Sweetie Belle was.

"What if she becomes more beautiful then I am? What if she becomes the perfect one, and replaces me?" Rarity drove herself insane with this thought. She lifted the sheets and blankets and crawled out of her bed, walking into her sister's room. She stared at Sweetie Belle for a moment, her eye twitching with jealousy as she watched the calm and silent filly sleep. She hovered a hoof over Sweetie Belle for a second, debating with herself on whether she should do what she was about to. She finally decided that it didn't really matter either way.

Rarity tapped Sweetie Belle's shoulder with her hoof, shaking the young pony awake.

"Rarity...?" Sweetie Belle moaned with a yawn.

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity whispered, "Do you consider yourself... pretty?"

"I suppose..." Sweetie Belle replied drowsily. "But beauty is only skin deep. It's the heart that counts. That's why ponies like us are always kind, because that's what really matters."
Rarity rolled her eyes, but Sweetie Belle couldn't see through the dark. Her little sister was so innocent, so fair. So... perfect! It agitated Rarity to the point of pure hatred for her sister. She didn't want to be overshadowed by some school-filly!

The next morning, Rarity had an idea. She would poison Sweetie Belle. She didn't want to kill her, no, that would be too much of a hassle. But she would make sure that she went to the hospital for a while.... Sick ponies didn't usually look so beautiful, and if Sweetie Belle was sick and in the hospital, she wouldn't be able to sing for some time. So, Rarity began to stir some oatmeal on the stove, pouring in sugar. She knew that

Sweetie Belle loved sweets, so she probably wouldn't mind the strong sugary taste. Plus, the smell and taste would mask the other ingredients. Rarity poured in bleach from under the sink, and tossed in some pills that were stored in a cabinet in her bedroom. She also made some pancakes, where she mixed in insecticide that she used on her lawn. Once she had prepared the dangerous meal, she called her sister down to eat, and the filly hopped downstairs to join her at the table. Rarity had poured some orange juice for Sweetie Belle and herself, and she didn't bother adding anything to it.

"Mmmm, pancakes and oatmeal! Yummy!" Sweetie Belle licked her lips. She lifted a spoon with her magic and brought it to her lips. Then, her face soured.

"Um, I'm not hungry anymore... This smells weird. It isn't too bad, but it doesn't smell like food...." Sweetie Belle shook her head in confusion.

"Come on, darling, don't be silly! I added some vanilla to the oatmeal and pancakes for flavor... maybe that's it?" Rarity tried to persuade her sister into eating the concoction. She wanted her sister out of the way. After all, she had sabotaged others before. For example, a few years back when Fluttershy had gotten the opportunity to be Photo Finish's model, Rarity got so jealous that when she had said she had put it behind her, she was lying. And the next night, while Fluttershy was sleeping, Rarity had cut jagged clumps from the pegasus's mane and tail.

She had reasoned that she didn't need extensions anyway, and it would grow back.
But this was a whole other thing. A nagging voice in the back of Rarity's mind always reminded her that she had to be on top, had to be the best, had to be... perfect. Sweetie Belle was in the way of that philosophy.

"I don't want to eat it..." Sweetie Belle protested.

"Please, Sweetie Belle! Just eat it! I spent my time and work for your food... It's delicious! I promise..."

"Then why don't you eat some, too?" Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow as she asked the question, suspicion underlying her tone.

"I took some medicine this morning, Sweetie Belle. I can't eat for two hours after I take it." Rarity stated. This was true. She did take a pill. But she had forgotten it this morning after all of her malicious planning.

"Can I just skip breakfast and go to Apple Bloom's?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"NO! Just. Eat!" Rarity yelled. She was growing extremely impatient. She had gone mad. Utterly crazed. She wanted this flawless filly gone!

"No! You can't make me!" Sweetie Belle screamed, pushing the plate away.

"I can make you! I'm your sister! Now eat, for Celestia's sake!" Rarity retorted, using her blue magic to force Sweetie Belle's mouth open. But her sister was a unicorn, too, and had her own magic. Terror seeped into Sweetie Belle's wide green eyes as she struggled to push her sister away with her weaker magic.

"Leave me alone! Please, Rarity! Leave... me... alone!" Sweetie Belle began to sob.

"The only way I'd leave you alone is if you had nothing, sister! And clearly, you have everything. I want that, don't you see? I'm the perfect one, not you! With your 'Beauty is only skin deep' nonsense!"

"I'm sorry! I can't help it... It's the way I am!" Sweetie Belle gasped as Rarity neared her, a snarl on her face.

"Eat your food, and then I'll let you go," Rarity whispered, stopping in front of her younger sister. A placid look washed over her face as she tried to control her anger.

"I don't trust you!" Sweetie Belle cried. "Now get away from me! And stay away!"
The filly turned around and began to run for the door. Rarity held the door shut with her magic. Sweetie Belle screamed in horror as Rarity approached her, a pair of scissors from her boutique surrounded in blue aura and floating just in front of Sweetie Belle's throat. The filly was terrified. She tried pushing her sister away, but then Rarity did something that caused the filly do drop to the floor in pain. Rarity jabbed the scissors into Sweetie Belle's horn, digging into flesh with the blades. With jagged cuts, Rarity slowly ripped her sister's horn right off of her forehead. Blood gushed out.

"NO!!!" Sweetie Belle screamed. "STOP! PLEASE!"

Rarity smiled. "Not so pretty anymore, are we? Those eyes... they're so bright, even when flooded with tears. Must be what mesmerizes your little colt-friend so much... Let's do something about that, shall we?"

"No... Please... I'll stay out of your way, I promise!" The smaller white filly begged.

"I've taken this way too far, haven't I?" Rarity frowned. "If I let you live now, you'll just tell someone and get me into serious trouble."

"Rarity... I'm your sister! I thought you loved me..."

"Sweetie Belle, I did love you. But you just keep growing into a better pony than me! I can't have that... I have to be the perfect one! ME! ONLY ME! Not you... You're ugly! UGLY! Not pretty anymore, like me!"

With that, the scissors were stabbed into Sweetie Belle's left eye, in and out, in and out, until there was nothing left but a bloody mess. The process was repeated with the left eye. Sweetie Belle screamed in pain and horror. She would cry, but she had no eyes from with to expel tears from anymore. Rarity slit the filly's throat, ending the loud and high-pitched noises emitting from the young pony's vocal chords.

"You did have quite the vocal range..." Rarity sneered. "But this song was getting annoying."
Rarity needed a break. She decided she would clean up the mess later. She turned to go and work on a project to ease her mind, but she heard a knock on the door. She turned back around and looked outside her window. It was Apple Bloom. The red-haired filly was smiling on the porch.
Rarity opened the door slightly. "What do you want?!" She snapped at the younger pony.

"I was wondering if Sweetie Belle could play..." The filly said in her country accent.

"She can't right now, sorry..." Rarity grimaced. That was when Apple Bloom noticed a few specks of blood across Rarity's face. Immediately, Apple Bloom had a suspicion.

"What did you do to her?!" The yellow pony yelled.

"We were just messing around, darling... I was doing her makeup and hair... the scissors gave her a tiny cut." Rarity lied.

"Blood don't spray out from a 'tiny cut'! Tell me the truth, Rarity!" Apple Bloom insisted.

"Why don't you come in and see, then?" Rarity smiled. She was getting tired of this arguing. She just wanted peace. Plus, if she could kill her own sister, surely she could manage this little brat as well. Apple Bloom stepped in with a nervous gait. She gasped as the smell of blood filled her nose.

"What have you done?!" Apple Bloom screamed. She heard the door slam and lock behind her.

"You have lovely red hair, darling..." Rarity smiled eerily, a pair of bloody scissors floating in front of her, encased in a blue aura.

"How about we give it a little trim? I love making others beautiful... Not as pretty as me, of course! No, no, no! But what does it matter anyways? Beauty is only skin deep, am I right? Scissors certainly go skin deep... Found that out just now... Anyways, what kind of style were you wanting? Perhaps just a little off the top?" A loud laugh escaped the insane white unicorn's throat as Apple Bloom backed against the wall.

Rarity strolled through the park, seeing Scootaloo on her scooter and some other ponies playing as well. Rarity hummed a little tune as she set down her picnic blanket and observed the other ponies. She noticed a mare she'd not seen before. Her coat was white as snow, just like hers. And her mane was long and luscious, a deep crimson the color of blood. She was stunning. But not as beautiful as Rarity, of course. Nopony was as beautiful as Rarity. She made sure of that.

Author's Note