Possession, Proposition, Proposal
Rarity floated along. No, that wasn’t the right word for it, she didn’t float. There was nothing beneath her to buoy her up, nor was there anything around her. She didn’t float, she didn’t glide, she didn’t fall. She merely was. In fact the last thing she ever felt was that tree branch piercing her stomach and lung. The last thing she thought was about how horrible her mane looked, with her own blood dripping from her mouth and running down her cheek to splash on her well maintained mane. The last thing she regretted was that she would never see her friends again. The last thing she saw was Fluttershy, Rainbow, Twilight, and Princess Luna running after Applejack, the mare that had kicked her into the tree branch.
The first thing she did see when she opened her sapphire eyes was darkness. The first thing she felt was weightlessness. The first thing she thought was that she should be dead.
“Rarity.”
The voice, gentle and calm, warm as a summer’s day and welcoming as an old friend, came from behind her. She couldn’t feel her body but she wanted to turn around, her brain tried to fire off synapses, but she could only look straight ahead. Or maybe she did turn around and there was nothing behind her, it was hard to tell when you’re enveloped by darkness.
“Rarity.” The voice came again and this time her mouth fell open in surprise and awe as the familiar form of a pure white Alicorn emerged out of the darkness. Her hair lay flat around her head and body and, devoid of her regalia, Princess Celestia looked…normal. It was odd to think that, but that was the only way Rarity could think to describe her. “Yes, I suppose it is odd for a princess like myself to look like this.”
Rarity blinked.
“Yes, Rarity, I did read your mind,” Celestia replied. “And yes, you are dead. My sister reported seeing you slam into a tree, a branch piercing your lung.” She chuckled at Rarity’s next thought. “No, you’re not as good as hiding illusions from an Alicorn as you think you are. I’m sure Twilight didn’t see, Applejack probably helped in that regard, but my sister and I have a very keen interest in the Element Bearers.”
Celestia nodded to Rarity’s thought.
“You’re in what ponies call Limbo. Most ponies pass on to Elysia pretty quickly but you, having died in the Everfree Forest, don’t. However, unlike Fluttershy who’s soul found her way into her Element, you came here. It it probably due to the chaos magic in the Forest, Discord might tell me more, if I could stand to have him lecture me. And as for the reason I can read your mind, it’s because I’m the Grim Reaper.” A smile. “I know, a bit funny when you think about it. The benevolent princess, ruler of the sun and the day, also the very being that escorts souls to the next life. Well, I raise the sun and I set the sun, so it makes sense that I should be there when life sets as well, don’t you think?”
She clapped her front hooves together. “Now then, it’s time we get on with business. Don’t worry,” she replied, seeing the look of horror on Rarity’s face, “it’s all informal. In fact, the business doesn’t really need to take place. You’re an Element Bearer, and your life was cut short, so when it comes to sending you back there’s no choice at all. You’ll return, but you’ll need to return to your body if you want to live again. The only question is where do you want to return to?”
Rarity thought for a few minutes, then she wondered if time had any hold here.
Celestia laughed. “No, take as long as you want. The thing about spirits is that they don’t count time like mortals do.”
Rarity nodded, then her thoughts roamed over all the parts of Equestria that she could return to. Not that many of the places would do her any good, being dead and all, but there could be some benefit to it. Then she thought about Sweetie Belle. What would she say when she found out her sister was dead?
“Oh, I’ll let you tell her all about it.”
Rarity looked up at Celestia in surprise and, before she could say or think anything, her whole world vanished in a flash of white. She reappeared in front of a familiar store, one she knew as well as she knew her own coat. Carousel Boutique stood dark in the dim light of the predawn morning. She glanced up at a dark, second story window, a window that she knew should hold her sleeping sister behind it. She tossed her mane and reached under the mat for her spare key, as her key along with her saddlebags were probably with her body. She gasped in surprise and stumbled backward as her hoof passed through the mat and into the ground beyond. It was like pushing through pudding, offering little resistance but she could feel it there.
She stared down at, and through, her hoof, and to the grass that grew around her home. Well, if that was how it was going to be when she was a ghost, then she’ll make the most of it. She stepped forward and pushed her muzzle through her door. She shuddered as she did, feeling the slight tingle of an magically infused building. If this was how it felt entering her own home, infused as it were with both her and Sweetie Belle’s magical imprint, she couldn’t even imagine how entering Twilight’s castle would be.
She finally pushed her whole body through, flipping her tail as the tingling sensation faded, and looked around. Just as it should be, the Boutique was dark and curtains drawn. She looked up at the ceiling, then shook her head. Even though she was a ghost, she didn’t need to be floating through the ceiling and floor of any place she wanted, especially her own home. Instead she turned her attention to the stairs. She moved over to it, then looked down at her hoof again. She shuddered at the thought of gliding through the floor and not up the stairs, then focused on walking up the stairs. She blinked as she felt her body move forward like she was walking, only to look down and see that her hooves never touched the ground. She kind of floated up the stairs, not making a sound.
Now if she was anything like Rainbow Dash, she knew that she would be in a prime position for countless pranks against her friends and others of Ponyville, but she was not even the slightest bit like her…even though scaring Dash would be interesting. She shook her head as she arrived on the second floor, that would be something to worry about later if she couldn’t get back to her body. She didn’t even know if there was a time limit, though Celestia didn’t mention anything of the sort.
She scanned the dark hallway, quickly identifying her own room. The door was shut and no light peeked out from below it. Her inspiration room sat at the end of the hallway, while Sweetie’s room was across from her own. She glided toward Sweetie’s room, then took a breath before pushing her muzzle through the closed door. She closed her eyes as her face passed through the door and didn’t open them until she felt the tingling stop at the tip of her tail. She smiled to herself, she was getting a hang of being a ghost. Then she smacked her face with a hoof. Nopony should ever get used to being a ghost, it just wasn’t natural.
She looked around the room, her eyes finally falling onto the disparagingly empty bed, forcing her to release a sigh and shake her head. If Sweetie Belle wasn’t in her bed, then where was she? Her mind ran through the previous day, or at least the last day of her life, remembering the conversations she’d had before focusing on the last one she had with her sister. Sweetie had only mentioned that she would be off playing with her friends and Spike and would be home before it got dark. Maybe she was sleeping over at Scoot’s or Apple Bloom’s? Rarity huffed, if she was, she was going to get a lecture as soon as she got home…assuming Sweetie Belle could hear Rarity. Oh this was all so unfortunate being a ghost!
Rarity turned from Sweetie’s bed and passed through the door, stepping out into the hall. Her eyes stared at the door across the hall, maybe she’ll take a look in there. Sweetie did have the small habit of sleeping with her sister if she got lonely. It was worth a shot, then she could go out and look for her if Rarity couldn’t find her. So, with a quick breath, she pushed through her own door and into her bedroom.
For the most part her bedroom was the same as when she’d left it last. Her mirror was set up and makeup and combs placed in the same spots as usual, even her curtains were closed in just the right way, wide enough to cast a single beam of sunlight onto the bed, but not wide enough to make the room too bright in the morning. It was the single beam of sunlight that shone across her bed and Rarity couldn’t help but smile and whimper at the adorable sight meeting her.
Sweetie Belle lay in Rarity’s bed, her mane had lost most of its curls but the ends flipped up slightly, while the rest of it fell straight around the sleeping filly. Her side rose and fell softly, while her horn sparked slightly with soft green magic. Her eyes, hidden under eyelids and long and curly eyelashes, twitched slightly, betraying a gentle dream. Rarity glided closer to her sleeping sister, reminding herself that she didn’t need to be quiet and that she probably couldn’t make noise even if she tried. She watched her sister, smiling. Sweetie Belle was cute when she slept, her breathing making short squeaking noises as it left her slightly parted lips. She reached up to brush a stray strand of mane out of her sister’s face when her hoof graced Sweetie’s horn.
She gasped as she saw a scene of Sweetie and a young colt that she recognized as one that frequented the arcades in the square, a brown coated colt with a helicopter beanie on top of his dark sandy mane. She pulled her hoof back in surprise, then yelped as Sweetie stirred and groaned. She danced from hoof to hoof as she looked for someplace to hide, fearing she’d get caught after looking in on her sister’s dreams. Finally she spied her closet and without thinking she dove through the doors and hid inside a few of her clothes, her ears perked for any noise beyond.
“Rarity?” the soft, half awake voice of her sister found its way to her ears and she gasped, covering her mouth with both hooves, then she pushed her head out of the closet. Sweetie sat up on Rarity’s bed, the bed sheet draped around her waist and hip while her mane fell around her shoulders and face, framing her body with strands of pink and purple. Her pale green eyes blinked wearily as she looked around the room and Rarity could see a hint of moisture at the corner of each eye. Sweetie Belle sniffed as she saw that nopony was in the room with her, then scooted back against the headboard and pulled the blankets around her, before starting to gently sob into them.
Rarity pulled her head back in surprise. Here Sweetie Belle was sleeping in her bed, something she didn’t do unless she was really worried or scared, and was crying. Had she heard what had happened to her sister? Gently, slowly, Rarity pushed through the closet doors and out into the room. She moved over to the bed and slid up onto it, the mattress not even pressing in. She reached over and touched her sister’s hoof gently. Sweetie gasped and pulled her hoof under the sheets as she looked right at Rarity. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds before Sweetie sniffled again, a tear running down her nose and falling onto the bed, and laid her head back down.
Rarity whimpered as she thought about the situation the two sisters were in. Sweetie was distraught, probably not knowing what had happened to her sister, and expecting to wake up next to her, while Rarity couldn’t even let Sweetie know she was here. Rarity looked down at her hooves, she had touched Sweetie’s horn and had seen inside her head, could it work again now that she was awake? She shook her head. The first time had been an accident, now that Sweetie Belle was awake touching her horn with a hoof would be uncomfortable. But there was something that wouldn’t be.
She slid over to her sister so that she sat in front of Sweetie Belle, then leaned forward until her horn touched her sister’s. Sweetie Belle gasped as her eyes went wide, jerking her head up. “Rarity!?” she asked, then blinked as she stared right at Rarity. She shook her head. “I’m probably still dreaming.” She looked over at Rarity’s alarm clock, then threw the sheet off her and pushed herself off the headboard. And right through Rarity. Rarity could feel the shudder that flew through her sister, almost like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on her, and Sweetie threw herself backward, rubbing her legs and chest. “What was that?” she whispered. “I thought I saw Rarity for a split second, then she vanished.”
Rarity stood up and scooted closer until she pressed the tip of her horn again against Sweetie’s. This time Sweetie couldn’t pull back, she was right against the headboard, but she could gasp in surprise. “Rarity?” she asked quietly.
“You can see me?” Rarity asked, holding her breath.
“Yes, but…” Sweetie tilted her head to the side and contact was lost, making her gasp in surprise as, to her eyes, Rarity vanished. “Rarity!” she called, reaching a hoof out and passing it right through Rarity’s chest. She yelped and shivered, but didn’t pull it back. “Rarity? Are you still here? Are you still in front of me?” She yelped again as she felt something chilly touch her horn and Rarity appeared in front of her, Rarity’s hoof reaching up and touching her horn, while her own hoof was pressed right into Rarity’s chest.
“I’m still here, Sweetie,” Rarity replied.
“How? What?” Sweetie Belle asked, then gasped and stared down at her hoof. “My hoof! It’s in your chest? How is this possible? I’m sorry, I’ll go get the medical kit!” She pulled her hoof out, then tried to untangle herself from the sheet but only managed to tumble off the bed in a mess of sheet, mane, and embarrassed filly.
Rarity couldn’t help it. She let out a chuckle, then a laugh at the sight, climbing off the bed and onto the floor. She leaned down and pressed her horn against Sweetie’s. “I’m fine, dear,” she stated, gesturing to her chest. “Well, at least as well as I can be, being a ghost.”
Sweetie yelped again and struggled to free herself. “I’m sorry!” she cried, tears running down her cheeks and splashing onto the floor. “I’ll be a better sister! I’ll work harder at school! I won’t do any crazy crusading adventures any more! I’ll even pay more attention to my sister and let her work when she needs to! Please, just stop haunting me!”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
Sweetie stopped struggling and stared up at Rarity. “You mean, you’re not a creepy ghost that’s haunting me to make me be good?” she asked.
“Creepy?” Rarity gasped in shock. “Most certainly not! I’m not creepy in the slightest. I’m your sister, dear.”
Sweetie narrowed her eyes at the ghost. “How do I know that you’re not some other ghost that wants to possess me and make me do horrible things to Button?”
“Button?” Rarity asked, then she thought back to the brief moment of Sweetie’s dream she’d caught and a smile crossed her face. “Of course not, though you might want to be more forceful, colts tend to be oblivious to an attractive mare’s attention and intentions. And as to your question, you cut up my golden fabric that I had created for Sapphire Shores and used it to make your crusaders capes.”
Sweetie Belle gasped and she smiled as widely as she could before untangling and launching herself at her sister. Only to pass through her and slam into the wall behind her, earning a burst of pain. She rubbed her muzzle and turned around, only to see Rarity gone. She felt the chill on her horn and Rarity reappeared in front of her, their horns touching.
“Shall we not do that again?” she asked, and Sweetie Belle nodded, Rarity flickering into and out of existence as her horn touched and moved from Rarity’s tip. She frowned at the view.
“Isn’t there some way that we didn’t have to keep still when we talk? It doesn’t seem very efficient,” Sweetie Belle asked and Rarity vanished from sight as she leaned back to think. If Rarity was a ghost, and she could pass through walls and, she thought with a chuckle, her sister, maybe there was a way they could talk but get things done at the same time. “Rarity?” she asked, then felt the cold on her horn.
“Hold still, I am going to try something,” Rarity stated as she flickered into sight, then vanished. Sweetie Belle held still, even holding her breath, as she waited to see what Rarity was going to do. It was then that she felt a blanket of ice cold air press into her side and move deeper, chilling her to the bone. She started to shudder and shiver as the cold moved deeper into her, and up through her body. First it was just her right side, then it crept into her back and cheek, causing her coat to stand on end. She gasped and felt her chest contract, expelling her breath in a blast of vapor, as if she stood in a freezer, as her head grew lightheaded and she felt almost ready to faint. Her flank shuddered as the cold invaded her entire body and her breath came in quick bursts, exiting her lungs in vaporous clouds. Finally she collapsed to the ground as a groan escaped her lips and her view faded to black.
The next thing she knew was that she was standing in front of a mirror, the same mirror in Rarity’s room, but that something felt off. Her body turned this way and that as she held a comb in her magic, running it through her slightly wet mane and teasing it into her normal, curly form. A soft humming came from her lips as she put down the comb and picked up one of Rarity’s makeup kits. Except it wasn’t her in control. She tried to drop the kit, only for her magic to not respond. It was then that she looked closer at her own reflection. Her eyes, normally pale green, were a sparkling sapphire blue, the same blue that her sister had.
Rarity? She thought and her body paused it’s humming and nodded. How is this possible?
“Well, I figured since I was a ghost I might try possessing you. It only seemed like the next step. I could walk through things, and ponies, and so I might have the ability of possession.” Sweetie Belle watched her mouth move and heard her voice, but she wasn’t in control.
So, how long will this last?
“I don’t know, but I’m going to try getting back to my body, then you can have yours back,” Rarity, in Sweetie’s voice, replied.
Just until you get back to your body, huh. But where’s that? I didn’t even know you’d died, so it’s probably not in Ponyville or it would have been discovered pretty quickly.
“On that point, you’re right,” Rarity replied. “We were in the Everfree Forest when it happened.” A shudder ran through their body as Rarity remembered feeling the branch pierce her body.
The Everfree Forest!? Even in their head Sweetie Belle managed to have her trademark squeak halfway through that sentence.
“Yes. Everypony except Pinkie Pie was there and so they all know. Now, let’s get going, I don’t know how long I have in your body or what it’ll do, but I want to get back to my body as soon as possible.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the door bell ringing. Sweetie Belle gasped and would have put her hooves in front of her mouth if she could. I forgot! she cried. Button was coming over to pick me up! He wanted to spend the day with me. Rarity, I need my body back!
“Oh?” Sweetie Belle didn’t like the way Rarity said that and she stared to panic. “Are you telling me that you want your body back when your coltfriend is coming to pick you up for a day on the town?”
Yes, please! Let me handle this!
Rarity cocked an eyebrow. “You’ve been going out with this colt for…several months, and nothing’s happened.” She huffed, then continued, “well I guess I’ll have to help you two out.” With that she put on a quick layer of makeup before standing up and heading out of the room, then downstairs”
Rarity! No!
“Darling, if you keep yelling in my, excuse me our, mind, then I won’t be able to do my best.” Rarity stepped over to the door, her hooves clopping on the floor, before opening it to see the colt in question. Button Mash stood there, his eyes darting about and his whole demeanor radiated nervousness and uncertainty. His beanie had been replaced with a baseball cap and he had his saddlebags slung over his back. He clutched a bouquet of hyacinths, a flower that made Rarity grin. Maybe he wasn’t as lost as she had thought.
Button started in surprise when the door opened and he blinked, his mouth slightly open.”H-hey Sweetie Belle,” he said, then he looked down at the bouquet. He held it out for her. “These are for you, I hope you love them.”
Rarity smiled, the blush on his cheeks was absolutely adorable. “Thank you,” she stated, wrapping the flowers in Sweetie’s magic, “They’re absolutely beautiful. And hyacinths? Lady-like appeal, where did you learn that?” She turned around to put the flowers in some water, swishing her tail a few times. She stopped and glanced back at Button, who’s mouth had dropped wider. “Do come in, I’ll put these in some water.”
Button nodded, then stepped into the room and closed the door. He watched her move into the kitchen, returning a minute later sans flowers. He rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “My mother told me hyacinths were the best flower for a fillyf—” he fell silent with a squeak, then looked away. “You look beautiful.”
Rarity smiled as Sweetie gasped and mentally blushed hard enough to confuse her face with a tomato. “Thank you, Button,” Rarity replied. “What do you have in store for me today?”
Button shifted from hoof to hoof. “Well,” he muttered, “I thought we could go to my house to play a few games for the day, then go to dinner at a fancy restaurant and spend the evening under the stars.”
Rarity smiled slyly at the colt as she strolled right past him close enough for her coat to press against his own. As she passed him on her way to the door she flipped her tail up, flicking him on his nose.
Rarity! Stop being rude!
“On the contrary, Sweetie,” Rarity whispered to herself as she stepped up to the door and stood to one side, then looked back at Button. “It’s exactly what he needs.”
What do you mean?
Rarity watched Button and smiled as the gears in his head finally snapped into place. His face went from shock to surprise and a goofy grin broke his lips. He nodded to himself, then glanced at her before hurrying forward to hold open the door for her.
What was that? I’ve never seen him look at me like that.
Rarity smirked, then walked out the door as Button followed her, pulling the door closed. She slid the mat to one side and pulled out the spare key, then locked the door. At the same time, she cast a slight illusion and silence spell around her mouth. Nothing too powerful, just enough to silence any whispered conversations that she’d have with Sweetie Belle. She stowed the key back under the mat and turned to Button, following him side by side through town. “That, Sweetie Belle, was what Applejack and Pinkie Pie told me was a indication to a colt that a mare wants to be more than just friends, but it’s only implied to Earth Ponies. Pegasus Ponies perform what they call ‘feather marking’ where they caress the tips of their wings against their romantic interest’s cutie mark. Unicorn Ponies rub their horn against the other’s, splitting off a small spark of magic and sending it into their interest’s mana pool. The trick with the tail flip is that if it’s done to the other two races then it’s seen as…well, lewd.”
Inside their head, Sweetie Belle nodded. So what you just did is tell Button that I wanted to be his fillyfriend? she asked.
“Simply put, yes,” Rarity replied in a whisper. She glanced over at Button as they walked, occasionally pressing up against his side and making him freeze for a second. This poor colt had it bad, yet Sweetie Belle hadn’t realized it. Today was going to be fun.
: : :
“Thank you, Twilight.”
The voice that came from the normally energetic party pony was…dead. Empty. Devoid of emotion. Twilight couldn’t help but worry about her friend. Pinkie Pie stood there in the door, looking hollow. Her eyes were vacant and her mane was flat, hanging like a wet curtain. Even her smile was missing. “I’m sorry I had to tell you this, Pinkie,” she said, pulling her friend into a hug, a hug that wasn’t returned as Pinkie stood there like a statue. “But I wanted to tell you before anypony else found out.” She held Pinkie a little longer, then released her. They stood there for a few minutes before Twilight left but not before asking if there was anything she could do.
“No. There’s nothing you can do. Rarity’s dead and she’s not coming back.” Pinkie tilted her head downward, throwing her face into shadows.
“I’m sorry again. I wish I could have helped her,” Twilight replied, rubbing Pinkie’s shoulder with a hoof. “But please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I don’t want to lose another friend.”
Pinkie nodded slowly before closing the door. The last thing Twilight heard from her before the door shut was, “I never wanted to lose a friend in the first place.”
Twilight sighed, tears welling up in her eyes, and she drew a ragged breath. This was only the first of two times she would have to relate the story. She felt a leathery wing drape across her withers and she looked up to see one of her Thestral guards standing next to her, his wing extended over her. She sniffled again, then rubbed her cheek against his. “Thanks, but this won’t be the only time I’ll have to tell this story. I need to go see Sweetie Belle, she deserves to know what happened to her sister.” With that, she pulled away from the Thestral, then stood up straight and turned toward Carousel Boutique, walking with a purpose.
However, if she had just turned around and faced the town hall she would have caught sight of a curly, purple and pink tail slipping into a house and vanishing from sight.
: : :
Pinkie moved, zombie-like, through the empty store front and behind the counter. Mrs. Cake poked her head out from the kitchen. “Is everything okay, dear?” she asked.
“No,” Pinkie stated. “I don’t feel well. I’m going upstairs to lie down. I’ll come down when I’m feeling better. I don’t want to be disturbed.” She moved up the stairs, each step taken slowly as her empty eyes stared down at the ground in front of her. She made it to the second floor and into her room, closing the door with a click before throwing herself onto her bed. Usually the bouncy mattress would have brought even the smallest of smiles to her face, but not today. She didn’t know if she would ever be happy again, after hearing and seeing what had happened to her friends.
She rolled onto her back and snatched the pillow from behind her head, holding it close to her chest. Applejack was a Timberwolf, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were…she shuddered at the next word…vamponies. And now Rarity was dead, her body discovered in the Everfree Forest and brought to Twilight’s castle where it was awaiting proper burial rights. Why did everything have to change? Why did her friends have to change? Each one of them was going to move on, leave her. Was it so bad that she wanted them all to stay with her forever?
“Oh Pinkie,” a low, haunting whisper echoed through her room and found its way into her ear. Pinkie’s eyes grew wide at the breaking of her silence and she shot up in bed, looking around. Her eyes darted from corner to corner, scanning the room. The door remained closed, just the way she’d left it. There hadn’t been anypony in the room that she’d seen, and nopony could have come in after she’d closed the door. “Check the mirror.”
Pinkie shivered at the sound of the voice as she slowly turned her head toward the mirror. She stared at it, but couldn’t see anything wrong with the room behind her. Even her reflection looked fine. Her flat mane, her empty and soulless eyes, even the small fang poking out from her upper lip was nor—. Pinkie let out a strangled gurgle as her reflection tilted its head and smiled, revealing two fangs jutting down from her upper teeth.
“W-who are you?” Pinkie asked. She glanced around for something to hold up against the reflection’s piercing gaze.
“Me?” the reflection replied. “Why, I’m just the side of you that doesn’t have inhibitions. You want some way to keep all your friends together and I’ve come up with a way to do that.”
“What do you mean?” Pinkie scooted back against the headboard, holding her pillow in front of her and ready to throw it at the mirror reflection.
“Well,” the reflection tilted its head the other way, resting its chin on a hoof, “it’s like this. I know how to make sure your friends never leave your side. Even Rarity won’t leave. The only problem is that how you are now won’t help me, or you. You see, in order for my plan to work I need full control over your body. So all you need to do to have your wish is to…just…grant…me…access.”
Pinkie dropped the pillow and slowly slid off the bed, dropping all four hooves to the ground. She moved over to the mirror until she stood right in front of it. “You’re sure this will ensure that my friends will stay by my side for all eternity? Not even death will separate us?”
Her reflection nodded. “Not even death will separate you.”
“Then I give you full permission to use my body.”
If it were possible, the reflection’s smile grew wider and Pinkie’s eyes went wide as her reflection’s eyes flickered with orange flames. The area around Pinkie sparked and burst into flames as the fire burned a circle around her, marring the floor with its orange and red tongues. The reflection raised a hoof and Pinkie found her body doing the same. She could only look on with shock as the reflection pressed her hoof against the mirror’s surface while Pinkie’s body copied her, then she felt something moving into her body, something hot but oily, almost like burning cooking oil. She felt the burning sensation flow up her leg and she tried to pull her hoof away from the mirror, but couldn’t even get it to budge. She tried screaming but, while her mouth would open, no sound would come out. She watched as her reflection stepped through the mirror, its eyes burning like the circle around her, fire flickering in its pupils. She tried to twist her head as the oily, burning feeling flowed into her neck and body, making her feel as if she’d just fallen into a pot of scalding water or decided to dance in front of a fire-breathing dragon.
Her reflection drew closer and closer to her face, both her and her reflection’s eyes staring into each other’s until all Pinkie could see was nothing but two, flickering, orange flames as the burning sensation reached her flank and crept down her legs and into her tail. It was so hot that she wouldn’t be surprised if her tail burst into fire and she prayed that there was some way to cool herself off from this raging inferno inside her.
Until everything went black and she passed out.
: : :
Evening had fallen and Rarity, in Sweetie Belle’s body, and Button Mash made their way to one of the fancy restaurants located in Ponyville. It wasn’t anything like the ones in Canterlot, but it was fancy enough for the town. It had awnings spread out over the windows to protect the patrons from the setting sun and the gentle hum of fans blowing above the crowd kept the room cool even in the dead of summer, thanks to the cooling charms placed on them by several Unicorn Ponies.
Button Mash had on a simple tuxedo, one that Sweetie Belle noted had been hanging in his closet for the past three weeks but she’d never seen him wear, and a single red rose tucked into his lapel. He fidgeted in his seat, occasionally glancing up at Rarity, who wore a dazzling pale green dress that would have matched Sweetie’s eyes had she been in charge of her body. But right now, it didn’t so much clash as it did made her eyes stand out. A few weeks ago Sweetie Belle had asked to have her ears pierced and, as a gift for getting her cutie mark, Rarity had agreed. So Rarity wore small, emerald shields carved to look like Sweetie’s cutie mark that hung on small, silver chains from her ears that made them turn and sparkle in the light.
“Um,” Rarity’s attention was drawn back to the blushing Button across from her, “uh, Sweetie Belle, um, you look, well, really cute tonight.”
“Why thank you, Button,” Rarity replied, reaching across the table to touch hooves. “You clean up rather nicely yourself.”
Button gasped at the contact and made to move away, but then swallowed and rested his hoof next to her own. His other hoof drifted down, below the tablecloth, and Rarity had her assumptions as to what the colt was locating. “Um, Sweetie Belle, well, um,” he muttered, “this was a lot easier in front of the mirror.”
“What is it, Button?” Rarity stood up and slid her chair closer to Button’s.
“Um, well,” he started to say, then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and this time Rarity had to smile. Determination burned in those eyes as he released the breath, then he began again. “Sweetie Bell, we’ve been friends for a long time, almost a year, and each day has been a gift from Celestia herself when I can spend it with you. I love having you over to play video games with and I’m glad that you’ve enjoyed them as well.
“The past year we’ve been growing closer together and we’ve even dated for a few months now. Each time I see you I get this fluttering in my chest and it only gets stronger when I’m close to you. We’ve had fun and I’ve even enjoyed the times when you’ve dragged me to your sister’s shop to dress me up in all kinds of different clothes. Those have been some of my favorite moments, when I get to see you smile and laugh.” Rarity saw Button reach into a pocket in his tux and she smiled at him, her mind almost ready to explode with what was going to happen tonight.
“And that’s why I feel like it’s time to take the next step.” He pulled his hoof out of his pocket and Rarity almost squee’d with joy at the sight of a small, black leather box. “Sweetie Belle, would you—”
Button Mash didn’t get any farther before the entire front of the store blew inward, throwing shards of glass and wood into the crowd. Rarity shot up from her seat to see and hear ponies screaming in pain from both wounds of the body and heart. She scanned the area, spying dozens of ponies wounded and bleeding on the floor and tables, while several were crumpled into piles and laying on the floor with large shards of the store front embedded into their side or head. Her eyes grew wide at the sight and she almost lost what was left over from her lunch. She gazed out into the night, hoping to see what it was that had caused the blast.
She caught sight of a single figure walking calmly toward the store, the night turning orange as the pony unfurled two, orange, flaming wings while they held a long, burning red whip in the air above them. They stepped across the threshold of the store, the sound of glass tinkling under their feet, and Rarity saw that flames licked up and down the pony’s hooves and legs while their mane both hung down like a wet curtain and curled upward as the ends turned into flames. Now that the figure was out of the night, Rarity could now see the pony was a mare. Her eyes, flickering, blue flames danced as she looked around at the various ponies screaming and crying in pain. Some of the ponies had started dragging the wounded out of the rubble and away from danger. Finally the figure’s eyes settled on Rarity’s, sending a shiver down the white mare’s spine.
“There you are,” the mare smiled, revealing two fangs and a mouth of sharp teeth. “Do you want to play with your good friend, Pinkie Pie?”
Rarity’s mouth fell open. “Pinkie?” she whispered, her eyes wide.
The mare raised a hoof, coated in fire, and dipped it in a pool of blood that had formed around a fallen pony. She raised it to her muzzle and a forked tongue flicked out and lapped up the blood, making the mare smile. “You mortals always have the best tasting blood when it’s been laced with fear and shock.” Her eyes glanced around at the carnage surrounding her and she flapped her wings, sending embers into, and onto, the crowd and surrounding tables. The embers caught fire and licked at the clothes and tablecloths, causing the ponies around them and wearing them to scream in terror and flee into the night, those that had caught on fire rolled around on the ground or jumped into a nearby fountain. She stepped forward, the flames on her hooves licking the ground and turning the glass into molten piles of silicone.
Then a figure dressed in red and wearing a scabbard stepped in front of Rarity. She staggered back in surprise, then shock at the sight of the two toned, brown mane that she recognized so well. The mare paused, then smiled. “Oh, so you’ve got quite an interesting talent,” she said.
Button Mash smirked, then stood up and drew a bow and arrow. He pulled the bowstring taut and Rarity could see a faint, blue aura coming off the tip before he released the arrow. The mare raised an eyebrow before flicking her whip downward, only to barely miss the arrow as it shot past the whip and struck one wing, freezing it solid. She barely had time to register the attack before another arrow hit her other wing, freezing that one solid as well. The combined weight of the ice forced the mare to the ground in a grunt of pain and surprise, when a chunk of the store dropped from the ceiling and landed on a wing, shattering it and causing the mare to scream out in pain and her eyes to open wide at the shock. Button shot another arrow, this time one with no aura, at the other wing. It slammed into it and shattered the wing as blood splattered from the wounds on the mare’s shoulders. She cried out in terror and pain, then scrambled backward, away from Button and into the night.
The momentary pause allowed Button to turn around and help Rarity to her feet, also allowing her to look at him. He was dressed in a fire red tunic, with chainmail underneath, and had on him a quiver at his side while a sapphire blue handle poked out of the scabbard on his back. He smiled at her, then hugged her. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispered in her ear.
“I’m glad you’re safe as well,” Rarity replied, “but where did you get all this stuff?”
Button scratched his head with a hoof, his other still holding onto the bow. “Well, this is the reason I play so many video games,” he replied.
“My cutie mark allows me to form any item from a game I’ve played into real life. I’ll have to tell you the story some time.”
Rarity nodded, then turned her attention to the flaming mare outside the store. She had retreated to the middle of the open area and Rarity could see the faint glow of Twilight’s magic holding her down on the ground. The mare’s cries of helplessness and frustration echoing through the night sky. Rarity moved to step over the rubble and help her friend when she was stopped by a hoof on her own. She looked back to see Button holding her back.
“What do you think you’re doing, Sweetie?” he asked. His voice wasn’t demanding or firm, but calm and loving. Rarity smiled, if that question he never finished ended how she thought it would, Sweetie would be a very lucky mare.
“I’m going to help my friends,” Rarity replied, pulling away from Button and hurrying into the night.
Twilight held the struggling mare against the ground, her horn glowing softly, as Rarity stepped closer. She looked around, seeing many wounded ponies trying to save others who had more, lethal wounds, until she saw Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack standing back, partly obscured by the darkness. The shadows moved occasionally and she could almost make out the shapes of a dozen or so Thestrals hanging back, teeth bared and wings spread, in case they were needed. She moved next to Twilight, who glanced down at her with a look of surprise, then turned her attention to the mare.
The mare, who had called herself Pinkie, struggled against the firm grasp of Twilight’s magic, screaming profanities into the night and trying to lash out with her hooves. Her eyes burned bright, almost obscuring the blueness of her friend’s eyes with their fiery orange.
“Now, tell me what you are doing out of Tartarus,” demanded Twilight.
“Go take your cane and f—”
The mare didn’t get to finish that word before Twilight summoned a sparkling, purple whip and lashed it out at the mare’s stomach. The whip formed a burning slash across her barrel and elicited a scream of pain from her.
“I will ask you again, what are you doing outside of Tartarus.”
“Pinkie,” the mare gasped through the pain, “your friend Pinkie called me.”
“Wrong.” Another lash across her barrel. “Pinkie doesn’t have a horn. Only Unicorn Ponies can use summoning circles.”
The mare let out a bloodcurdling scream as the whip struck her barrel again. “It’s true!” she cried.
“And why should we believe a demon?” Twilight asked. “Your kind are known for their lies.”
“I swear it! On my tail and horns!” the demon replied.
Twilight nodded. “Very well, on your tail and horns,” she stated. “How did you come to possess Pinkie?” She held the whip up, the tip barely above the mare’s muzzle. The mare, no demon, watched the tip flick back and forth, coming a hair’s distance from her nose.
“She wanted to make sure all her friends stayed the same. She didn’t want to lose them, like she’d lost Rarity.”
Rarity gasped, then screamed, “Pinkie! I’m not lost! I’m here!”
The cry made everypony stare at her, Twilight’s eyes growing wide. “Rarity?” she asked quietly.
Rarity nodded, then explained, “yes, it’s me. I died in the Forest and was met by Celestia who told me that I would get to return to you all. I just need to get to my body, then I can live again.”
Twilight thought for a few seconds, mulling this information over in her head. “If it is you, Rarity, then maybe you can help Pinkie,” she stated. “Demon possession obscures or blocks the host’s mind from reaching out and communicating with us. But as a ghost you might be able to reach out to her. Help her understand that we’re not going anywhere. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Rarity nodded, stepping forward toward the frozen demon. She bent down and pressed her horn against the demon’s forehead, where a horn would be, then closed her eyes and focused on pushing herself out of Sweetie Belle and into the demon. As she did, she felt her body go from being warm, to cold, to hot. Her control of Sweetie’s body diminished as she flowed and pushed her way into the demon and hopefully into Pinkie. It didn’t take as long as when she possessed Sweetie Belle before she finally felt the last of herself become enveloped by the heat. She shuddered and pushed her way through what felt like a sea of flame, searching for her friend.
She found Pinkie, or rather Pinkie’s consciousness, on a small island in the middle of the flaming ocean, curled into a ball and crying. Her tears evaporated as soon as they fell from her face and she hiccuped ever so often. “Pinkie,” Rarity said, floating close to her. Her name made Pinkie start and look up. She gasped and wrapped Rarity into a hug, squeezing tight. She was thankful she was a ghost, else she would be sure that Pinkie would have broken a few of her ribs.
“Rarity,” Pinkie cried, “Rarity.”
“Pinkie, what happened?” Rarity asked, running a hoof through the crying mare’s mane.
“I had just found out you had died,” Pinkie gasped, sniffling as she spoke. “I had gone upstairs to my bedroom. I wished you, no all my friends hadn’t changed. I wanted everything to go back to the way it was. You all were slipping away from me, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were Vamponies, while Applejack had turned into a Timberwolf. You had just died, and so it was just me that hadn’t changed from the very first time we’d all met Twilight.”
“Darling,” Rarity stated, smiling at her friend as she tilted Pinkie’s muzzle up so that the two could look at each other’s eyes. “Of course we’ll change. That’s the way life is. Fashion changes from season to season, so do friends. What’s really important is to embrace the change. Enjoy it and welcome it. There should never be a reason to reject change, even the bad kind. And besides, now that Twilight’s an Alicorn, and the Princess of Friendship and Magic, she’ll find a way to keep us all together. You’re not the only pony with a wish to stay together, silly.”
Pinkie sniffled, then wiped her nose on Rarity’s chest fluff, making the white Unicorn shudder. “You mean it?” Pinkie asked.
“Of course,” Rarity replied, smiling. “Twilight told me herself that she’d do everything she could to keep our friendship alive.” Pinkie nodded and smiled back, a faint one but still a smile. “Now then,” Rarity continued, looking up and around, “if my memory serves me right, you’ve got a demon possessing you.” Pinkie nodded again. “And in order for that to happen, you would’ve needed to give them permission.” Another nod. “And then one way to make the demon leave is to simply cast it out.”
“But how?” Pinkie asked. “I thought only priestesses of Celestia could do that, and I’m not one.”
Rarity thought for a minutes, the crackling of the flames around them somehow helping her focus. Then she smiled. “I believe hearing Twilight lecture about why the priestesses could cast out demons. It was because they were calling upon the power of the sun. She also stated that exorcisms were more effective after she had banished her sister to the moon. Twilight guessed that it was because of the infusion of Elemental magic from the Elements of Harmony that did it. Perhaps that’s something we could try? Focus on your element and will the demon out.”
Pinkie nodded, then asked, “but how will that fix the problem of everypony eventually passing on?
Rarity chuckled. “Well, darling, I’m a ghost and I’ve been outside my body for a day. I’ve kind of gotten used to the idea of being able to float around and possess ponies, as long as they want me to. And Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are Vamponies, so they’ll be immortal so long as they keep getting blood. As for Applejack, I’m fairly certain she’s immortal as well, seeing as Timberwolves come from the Everfree Forest, and the Forest itself is fed by Discord’s magic, or so I remember Fluttershy telling me during one spa date. Twilight? Well, she’s an Alicorn, and tied to the Element of Magic at that. So all we have to do is find a way to make you immortal and then we’ll all be together forever.”
Pinkie paused and thought about that, then a smile split her face so wide that Rarity couldn’t help but smile back. “I think I’ve got just the thing!” Pinkie replied, then closed her eyes and scrunched up her face. Rarity stepped back and watched as her friend started to glow with a bright, blue light. It grew brighter and brighter until it rivaled the sun, then expanded outward. Wherever the light touched, the flames vanished until the entire area was filled with a soft, blue light.
Rarity turned back to her friend and saw that Pinkie was floating above the ground, illuminated and covered with a sky blue aura. Her face was smiling and her eyes twinkling as the two mares stared at each other, then Pinkie nodded and shot off into the distance. Rarity smiled at the antics of her friend, then closed her eyes and focused on leaving Pinkie’s body. She was sure that Pinkie had things covered now.
: : :
Back in the outside world, Twilight and the others along with Sweetie Belle watched Pinkie’s body shudder as the demon screamed as if she’d been dipped in acid. Twilight noticed a small, blue light appearing at the demon’s collarbone, then grow brighter until it entirely enveloped the demon, causing most of the onlookers to look away. When it dimmed and vanished, the demon lay still, the flames on her hooves vanishing. Finally she twitched and Twilight held her whip up high. The demon opened her eyes and blinked, smiling up at the group of ponies. Twilight smiled down at the bright blue eyed friend she’d grown to like. Twilight’s horn dimmed and the whip and restraints disappeared before Twilight scooped Pinkie into a hug, her face splitting into a smile.
“Hi everypony!” Pinkie cried from the middle of the hug. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course we did, you silly pony,” Twilight stated, setting her down. “Now where did you ever get the thought that we were ever going to leave you alone?”
Pinkie chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. She turned to look at her other three friends, shuddering slightly at the sight of the leathery bat wings on her Pegasus friends. She trotted over and gave Applejack a hug, then turned to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. A spark of fear flashed in her eyes, then she shook her head and held out her arms. Both Pegasus ponies returned the hug, only feeling Pinkie stiffen for a second then relax. She released the two of them, then turned back to the clearing, looking around. “Rarity?” she asked.
“Right here, darling.”
Pinkie looked over at Sweetie Belle, who now had sapphire blue eyes, then rushed over and scooped the young mare into a hug, eliciting a squeak from her. Rarity returned the hug, running her hoof through Pinkie’s mane. Then something poked out of Pinkie’s tail that made Rarity blink in surprise. When Pinkie set her down Rarity moved to her friend’s tail and started to brush aside the poofy locks until she found something. She grabbed it with a hoof and pulled it out into the moonlight.
A long, thin, red tail with a slight point sat in her hoof, twitching slightly as she held it, and Rarity couldn’t help but give it a tug. Pinkie yelped in surprise and pain at the tug and spun around, the tail long enough that she could touch her nose with it. She stared at Rarity, smiling, as two, small horns poked up through her mane as Rarity watched, slack jawed and wide eyed.
“How did this happen?” Rarity asked, awed and surprised.
“Well, how else did you think I was going to live forever?” Pinkie replied, twitching the thin tail out of Rarity’s grasp.
Twilight could only shake her head and smile at the revelation. She had done a magical scan when Pinkie was hugging their friends, so she was certain that the demon had been exorcised, whether it had been banished back to Tartarus or destroyed she couldn’t say. But what she did know was that the happy, bouncing, demon tailed and horned pony was her friend Pinkie Pie, regardless of how little sense it was that Pinkie was now a full demon. But was she bound to this plane, or Tartarus? Twilight’s eyes lit up at the thought of studying a demon’s physiology, something that most Unicorns hadn’t dreamed of, and even fewer had managed to contact a demon let alone study it.
However, that left one more concern: Rarity. As far as Twilight knew, Rarity was a ghost inhabiting Sweetie’s body. She wasn’t sure what kind of side effects that would cause on a pony, especially one Sweetie Belle’s age, but what she needed to find was a way for Rarity to manifest so that they could all see her, but that she didn’t need a body. If she wanted to stay as a ghost, that is. She shook her head, logging that away for a future discussion, then interrupted her friends and informed them that they had a lot of things to do before they could fully celebrate, the first being getting the store back together and all the ponies healed. The others agreed and they all pitched in, finally finishing several hours later.
: : :
Two days later, after the mortal ponies had gotten sleep and were well rested, the girls all met back at Twilight’s castle. Rarity, of course was bounding with as much energy as Pinkie herself, having witnessed Button Mash proposing to Sweetie Belle the day before. She couldn’t stop talking about the ideas running through her head, like what kind of dress Sweetie would wear, how she could get some decent material for a tux for Button, as well as some way to give them a wedding present. Twilight had just shaken her head at her friend’s antics, though she couldn’t help but be a little excited and nervous herself. Unless something changed, Sweetie Belle’s and Button Mash’s wedding would be the first one she would preside and perform.
Twilight turned her attention to the scroll in front of her, listing the damages that had been caused to pony and property. Most were covered by her treasury, while the Cakes and Pinkie herself had offered to help out. But when it came to the dead, that was where Rarity had given of herself. She had told Twilight to get the bodies ready and healed and she would be back from Canterlot within the day. That evening Twilight had received word that every pony that had died in the demon attack on the cafe had been brought back to life almost simultaneously. Many called it a miracle, but Twilight knew that it had something to do with Rarity, her body, and Princess Celestia.
She had been watching over Rarity’s body, wondering when Rarity would return to it, when the body had crystallized, then burst into thousands of little shards of blue crystal before shooting out the window and vanishing into the sky. She had been so shocked about it that she hadn’t moved from that spot until Rarity had come in, inhabiting Sweetie Belle’s body, which now sported a simple, gold ring around its horn with a pale green gem embedded in the center of it. Rarity had explained the situation, informing her that she had given up her body and any chance that she’d come back to life so that those that had lost their life would be restored.
Twilight watched each of her friends chatting and sharing stories with each other and she couldn’t help but smile. Each of her friends were hers. Each one would never feel the touch of death again. Her mind roamed back over the past two and a half weeks. She’d never believe that in more than two week’s time all of her friends would be changed and immortal, even if Celestia herself had told her.
But then it brought up another problem. Twilight raised a hoof to her neck, where a small scar still sat buried underneath her fur. The scar where Rainbow Dash had thrown a stone through her neck to get Tasty Treats off her, letting her get away. She could remember the pain as she felt her own heart pump blood out through the wound and onto the ground. It had scared her, terrified her to think that one, well-placed wound could end her life. It was something she would need to look into. She needed to find her own way to become immortal. A way that wouldn’t require an exterior force or power. A way that would keep her as she is, happy.
She sighed and slid a scroll over, marking down her concern, before teleporting the scroll into her library and out of her mind. Then she turned her attention back to her friends. She needed to find a way to become immortal, but right now she would enjoy the time she had with her friends.
Author's Note
Here you all are, the sequel to Vampire Night 2, this time BEFORE Halloween. I hope you all enjoy this one, as this basically wraps up what I've got planned. No, that doesn't mean that I'll be ending it here. Twilight asked a good question and I'm going to answer it. The only question is how will I answer it. Ah well, I've got another year to think about that.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride! As always, read and review. It helps out a lot. Thanks!
