Sweetie Belle stood at the front door of the Mash household, knocking her hoof against the door, she patiently waited for a response. She still felt a bit guilty about teasing Button after their class’s trip to the art show the other day, so she figured she’d pay him a visit. Looking down at a basket of blueberry muffins she’d brought with her she smiled, she knew they were his favorite, and Sweetie had even picked up a few extra ones for his mom and dad. Just as she lifted her hoof to give the door another whack, it swung open. Mrs. Mash looked down at her with a weak smile.

“Good morning Sweetie, come by to visit Button I suppose?” Mrs. Mash asked.

“Yes ma’am, is that alright?” Sweetie asked politely.

“Of course, maybe seeing you will do him some good,” Button’s mom said, opening the door further and trotting inside, letting the snow white filly follow behind her.

“Is he alright?” Sweetie inquired, something about her tone made Sweetie feel anxious.

“I’m sure it’s fine, he just got a little excited last night is all. Woke me and his father up, then went ranting and raving about some nightmare involving a demon or something, that’s all I was able to get out of him. He’s upstairs in his room, probably playing one of his games, you know where it is. Just remember to leave the door open,” she said, strolling into the living room, leaving Sweetie to see herself upstairs.

“Thanks Mrs. Mash. Oh! I brought these muffins for you guys, I’ll set them in the kitchen,” Sweetie blurted out, nearly forgetting the baked goods as she dwelled on what Button’s mom had just said. It couldn’t be a coincidence, the fact that Button had freaked out at the art show yesterday, then had a second incident later that evening. It troubled her as she trotted to the kitchen and deposited the basket of muffins on the counter. Turning around she headed towards the stairs, and Button’s room. Briskly climbing the stairs to his room Sweetie gave his bedroom door a few taps. She could hear movement coming from inside and what sounded like 8-bit music.

“Button, it’s Sweetie Belle, I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said remorsefully. “I grabbed us some muffins from Sugar Cube Corner, come on out and grab one. They’re blueberry!”

The mention of blueberry muffins elicited a musical jingle, and the game music paused. The door clicked open, and Button’s face appeared. Sweetie Belle took a step back, the colt looked awful. His mane and coat were greasy, his eyes bloodshot with dark circles beneath them.

“A...Are you ok?” Sweetie stammered.

“Oh, ya know, a demon horse thing is trying to kill me but, besides that, I’m just peachy,” Button cynically replied, lethargically retreating back into his room. Plopping down in front of his TV, the colt retrieved his controller, unpausing his game.

“Button…” Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure how to handle what he’d said. She knew that something had rattled him at the exhibit yesterday but she couldn’t have possibly known it would have been that bad. “Ok,” she said, trotting over and sitting beside him, “what happened exactly.”

“I...it came back, whatever the heck that thing was it came back and got in my room,” he murmured. “I don’t know how, but it got inside and got in my bed when I was asleep. I...it did unspeakable things Sweetie,” he continued, his eyes glazing over as he recalled the terrifying events from the night before.

“What did it do?” Sweetie whispered, almost afraid to ask.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” he replied, the TV screen brilliantly flashing ‘GAME OVER’ as his character had died while he’d lost focus. “I was gonna go see if Princess Twilight knew anything about that painting, or if she could help somehow. She’s the Princess of friendship, and a bookworm, so I thought it’d be as good a place to start as anywhere.”

“You mind if I come?” Sweetie Belle asked, giving him a supportive smile, which he returned.

“Yea, sure. It doesn’t seem to show itself when other ponies are around anyway,” Button said as he stood, stretching his legs. He paused, looking around in confusion before craning his neck down to his side, giving himself a cautionary sniff. “Let me hop in the shower to clean up first,” he groaned, “I’d really rather not go see the princess smelling like butt.”

Sweetie Belle giggled, “Go ahead, I’ll wait right here.” She sat on the floor at the foot of his bed, picking up his joy-boy to entertain herself, as the colt trotted off down the hall to shower. The filly still wasn’t sure exactly what was going on with her friend, but she knew Twilight would be able to help. The Princess was probably the smartest pony she’d ever met, and even if she didn’t know what was going on with Button she probably knew of a book which might hold some valuable insight to the situation. Sweetie fidgeted in place, getting comfortable as she flicked the portable console on, but something caught her eye. It looked like an extremely long black hair, just laying on the carpeted floor. The white filly reached down, plucking the strand from floor and examining it. If it was a hair it certainly wasn’t Button’s, his mother’s, or his fathers considering it was jet black.

While Sweetie Belle idled in his room, Button jumped into the shower, enjoying the warm and refreshing water as it cascaded over his brown coat. Squeezing a generous portion of shampoo into his mane, he worked up a thick lather, closing his eyes as he cleaned his face and head. It didn’t take him too long to get himself washed up and rinsed off. Stepping out of the shower Button toweled off in front of the bathroom mirror. Finishing up he leaned forward, running the damp cloth across the foggy mirror’s surface so he could comb his mane. ‘Gotta look at least half decent if I’m gonna go pester Twilight,’ he thought to himself.

Button ran the towel across the mirror, and immediately froze. Standing just behind him, in the reflection, was the mare, the same sickeningly white creature which had tormented him the night before. Whirling in place the colt only found the empty restroom, the shower head lazily dripping to the basin below. He could have sworn she was right behind him, turning back to face the mirror, Button looked up to his reflection and was met with the spooky pony staring directly back at him. She just stood there, occupying the place where his reflection should have been, her mop of black mane draped over her face as her head tilted slightly to the side.

They just stood, looking at each other, an inscrutable nightmare and a colt paralysed with fear. Both remained motionless, the only thing Button could hear was his heart thundering in his chest. She raised a hoof slowly on the opposite side of the pane, pressing it against the invisible surface. Button’s eyes went wide as he watched her limb start to slip through the mirror, silently reaching towards him. Just before the ghastly creature could reach him he bolted, sprinting through the bathroom door and into the hallway.

Sweetie Belle jumped as Button burst into the room, slamming the door behind him and throwing his weight against it. “Button?” she asked, getting to her hooves, “What the hay?”

“It’s in the bathroom! Started coming out of the mirror!” he replied, panting as he braced himself against the door. “We gotta get out of here!”

A thunderous blow shook the door. “Button Mash! Open this door right now mister!” Mrs. Mash angrily shouted.

Button and Sweetie Belle looked at each other for a second. “Mom?” Button called, eliciting another series of knocks against the door.

“I swear to Celestia, if you don’t open that door this minute you’re grounded for a month!” Button’s mom irately replied.

“Open it you dummy!” Sweetie hissed.

Hesitantly Button turned, opening the door a crack and peering out to see his mother, who looked exceptionally irritated. “Y...yea?” he asked meekly.

Mrs. Mash pushed her way into the room, looking around suspiciously before her gaze settled on the little white filly. “You ok dear?” the older mare asked.

“I’m fine, Button was just telling me a scary story!” Sweetie responded, trying her best to disarm the situation.

“Uh huh,” Mrs. Mash murmured, clearly skeptical. “You know the policy mister,” she flatly stated, turning to face her son, “door stays open when a young lady is over.”

“Uh, right mom. Sorry,” Button replied, hanging his head apologetically. “It won’t happen again.”

“Hmph, let’s hope not,” Mrs. Mash coldly said, swinging towards the door and stomping back out into the hallway.

Sweetie Belle waited until she was gone, then moved to Button’s side and patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s get goin.”

“So...you believe me?” Button asked, his voice full of uncertainty.

“Well,” Sweetie said, holding up her hoof which held the long strand of black hair she’d found earlier, “I’m not sure but it can’t hurt to be on the safe side.”

Button shuddered as he looked down at the hair. It was the first concrete evidence he had that the thing was real. “Alright,” he stated, steeling his resolve, and heading to the door, “time to go.” The two left Button’s room, trotting down the hallway and past the bathroom. The colt sped up as he crossed past the lavatory, anxiously looking inside as he moved by the doorway. “Mom, Sweetie and I are gonna go out for a bit, I’ll be home before dinner,” Button shouted as he reached the front door, opening it and allowing his friend to walk into the sunny day outside.

“That’s fine dear, just mind your p’s and q’s,” Mrs. Mash responded from within the kitchen, presumably having descended on the muffins Sweetie had brought.

The colt followed Sweetie, pulling the door closed behind him before he trotted off after the filly. Fortunately they didn’t have far to travel to reach Twilight’s castle. The two went along in relative silence, only speaking if addressed by one of the townsfolk as they trotted along. Button felt awful, tense and exhausted at the same time, as he made his way through town. He wasn’t even sure how long it had taken them, but he soon found himself looking up at the crystalline tree that was Twilight Sparkle’s castle.

Sweetie Belle trotted up to the door, pounding it with her hoof and listening as the sound of the impacts echoed through the cavernous interior. “Hopefully someone’s home,” Sweetie mumbled to herself, taking a step back and waiting for someone to respond.

With a yawn, Button leaned against one of the banisters flanking the stairs which lead up to the castle’s doorway. A light breeze caressed him as he rested, and one of the scant handful of clouds dotting the sunny sky drifted overhead, covering the ponies in light shadow. The colt barely registered as Sweetie pounded on the door again, his consciousness quickly slipping as he nodded off.

The breeze suddenly grew chill, and the weak shadow darkened, causing Button to open his eyes. Looking around, he realized he was no longer at the foot of the Princess’s castle, but in a small glade surrounded by trees. “No, no no no no no,” he pleaded aloud, turning in place and spying a small cobblestone well in the middle of the clearing in which he found himself. He screwed his eyes shut, praying to Luna to release him from this nightmare. The breeze stopped, the dim light of twilight darkened to pitch darkness, and a severe feeling of vertigo overtook him. Button almost felt like he was no longer standing, the sensation of something hard pressed against his back adding to his confusion. Fearfully he opened his eyes, unsure of what to expect, and found something utterly perplexing. A dark ring like object surrounded by stark white, almost as if it were an eclipse, but it just looked odd. The ring seemed fleshy, and the white backdrop upon which it sat almost looked like fur. A feeling of dread settled upon him, almost like he were witnessing something forbidden. Button gulped as the view seemed to magnify, encroaching upon him until he closed his eyes, desperate to escape.

“Oh, hey Sweetie Belle!” Starlight Glimmer said, opening the door of the castle and looking down at the filly, her words rousing the snoozing colt beside her with a start. “And, oh shoot, what was it again? Don’t tell me,” Starlight tapped her hoof to her chin in thought, as she looked at the brown colt, “Button something?”

“Mash,” he groaned, getting up, “Button Mash.”

“Is Twilight in? We’ve got something we need to talk to her about,” Sweetie asked.

“Well, no, she’s out on some friendship mission, but I’d be happy to help,” Starlight replied, looking between the two of them. “So what’s the problem?”

“Can we go inside to discuss this? I’d really rather not do it out here,” Button grumbled, the odd vision he’d just had preoccupying his thoughts.

“Oh, of course, come on in,” Starlight chirped, stepping aside before leading the two to a small lounge. “So, what’s the problem exactly?”

Button recounted the events which had transpired since visiting the art gallery, the ghastly mare he’d seen in the painting, and how she’d accosted him twice. Starlight Glimmer listened attentively, occasionally asking for details. The colt relayed the strange vision he’d had when he dozed off outside, as utterly perplexing as it was in contrast to the horrific encounters which had preceded it.

“Well,” Starlight commented, standing as she began to pace, “it could be a non-corporeal entity that’s linked to that painting. We could always send Princess Luna a message to ensure that it’s not a figment of your imagination which is manifesting as a symptom of early onset dementia.”

“I think it’s real,” Sweetie Belle chimed in, producing the lone black hair she’d retrieved from Button’s room.

“Oh ho!” Starlight uttered, trotting over to inspect the thin filament. Levitating it, she looked it over, scrutinizing it as if trying to tease a hidden secret from it. “Well, we could always use the malum mirror. If there’s any sort of curse or hex on you it’ll be sure to draw it out, then we can handle it,” she said, trotting away from the fillies.

“The what mirror?” Button asked, suddenly apprehensive at the thought of invoking the malicious creature which haunted him.

“It’ll be fine. If something should show itself I’ll exorcise the spirit or, at worst, contain it until Twilight gets back. Don’t worry,” Starlight said over her shoulder, as she trotted off.

“Starlight knows what she’s doin,” Sweetie said, attempting to assuage Button’s anxiety as he fidgeted nervously. “Heck she helped take down Chrysalis that one time so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

Button nodded, although his friends words did little to console him. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, lounging about as they waited for Starlight Glimmer to return, before they heard a squeaking noise coming from the hallway.

“Alrighty,” Starlight said, entering the room while magically pushing a large, canvas draped, object. “So,” she continued, levitating the cloth from the construct, “here it is!” A huge crystalline prism sat atop a wheeled wooden dolly. The ‘mirror’ appeared to be a gemstone monolith, easily twice as tall as an average pony. It almost looked like it were made of some type of opal, the three main facets of the tower refracting images of the room with an eerie undulating multi-colored radiance. “Ok Button, just stand in front of the mirror and it should show any dark magic that’s been attached to you. If there is anything I’ll just hit you with the appropriate counterspell or purification enchantment, which should do the trick.”

The colt timidly walked over, standing before the prismatic mirror as Starlight Glimmer and Sweetie Belle stood back. Looking into the mirrored surface Button was only met with his reflection, small lights seemed to dance in front and behind him as he gazed at himself. “I don’t see anything,” he said, looking back to the lavender unicorn who starred past him with an expression of concern. Turning back to the mirror, Button witnessed a pallid hoof pressed against the inner surface of the mirror, extending from a forelimb under the reflection’s termination.

Button, Starlight, and Sweetie all watched as the sinister mare crept into view, standing on the opposite side of the crystal, directly in front of the colt. The white mare raised her hoof, tapping it against the invisible surface while transfixed on Button.

Starlight Glimmer’s horn violently flared to life, a brilliant blue aura enveloping Button as he watched the ghastly creature within the artifact. The lavender mare winced, shunting more power into her spell as she attempted to undo whatever malign curse afflicted the lad. The horror, however, didn’t seem to be affected in the slightest, continuing to tap the mirror’s surface with increasing force.

“Uh...um, I don’t t...think this is working,” Button stammered, taking a step backward.

As if in response the ghastly mare reared on her hind legs, pressing both forehooves against the barrier. Leaning forward, the mare’s face began to pass through the mirror and towards button. She exhaled, and a frigid sensation fell over the room. Sweetie Belle screamed, watching as more and more of the creature emerged. A tangle of the supernatural mare’s mane shot forward, ensnaring Button’s hind hooves in a bramble of slick hair, causing the colt to yell in horror.

“Oh no you don’t,” Starlight Glimmer shouted, blasting the fel creature with a barrage of incandescent magical bolts. Her jaw dropped as she watched them simply dissolve upon contacting the nightmare. “T...That’s not possible!” she stuttered, renewing her sorcerous onslaught, although to little effect.

Button cried as he felt himself being drawn toward the mirror, pulled by the prehensile mane of the horrific pony. Falling onto his back he scrambled, desperately clawing at the floor as he was dragged towards the mirror and the nightmare within.

“Button!” Sweetie yelled, dashing forward to grab the colt’s forelimb in an attempt to reel him back to the safety of the room.

The action did not go unnoticed, the ghastly mare turned her attention to the white filly desperately attempting to rescue her friend. She flickered, disappearing from standing at the mirror’s edge and reappearing directly in front of Sweetie Belle. Standing over Button’s face, her muzzle mere inches from Sweetie’s own, she cocked her head to the side, a deep scowl creasing her lips. “Mine,” she whispered, in a cold and ethereal tone. Another rope of hair whipped from her mane, throwing the filly across the room. The mare’s tail snaked across the floor with lightning speed, constricting around Starlight Glimmer’s throat. With a tug she slammed the unicorn to the floor, interrupting her efforts to combat the monster, before tossing her like a ragdoll into the hallway.

Button watched, stupefied beyond comprehension as his friends were ruthlessly neutralized. He looked up, his attention drawn by a sickening cracking noise. The mare’s neck popped and snapped, twisting to an unnatural angle as she peered down at him with a rictus grin.

“Mine,” she cooed possessively, the maddening voids that were her eyes boring into him.

With horror he saw her shift her stance, looking from the mare’s face to her posterior as it descended upon him. “No, oh Celestia no!!!” he cried. The darkened anus and glistening vulva of the horror inexorably sunk down towards his face. The sudden realization hit him like a sack of bricks. The vision he’d had outside the castle, he knew exactly what it was now. “It’s her ponut!” Button screamed, the darkened ring pressing down on his muzzle, “Dear Celestia it’s her poMMMPH!!!” his words were cut short as his snout was buried in the nightmare’s grundle.

The horror wiggled her hips triumphantly atop the colt’s face. She looked back to the mirror as her hair began to pull her, and her prey, back towards the glossy surface.

Sweetie Belle groaned. Her head throbbed, and her vision swam, from impacting the wall. Looking up she got one last glimpse of the nightmare, Button in tow, as they slipped through the mirror. “Button!” she yelled, drunkenly getting up and staggering towards the malum mirror. Sweetie’s cry crew the monster’s attention just as it passed through the surface of the artifact, a wicked grin on its face as it looked up at her.

With that final flash of predatory delight from the horror the mirror shattered, crumbling into a million pieces across the polished floor of the lounge. Button was gone, kidnapped by the nightmare and brought to who knows where. Sweetie shakily stood, staggering off to get Starlight and hoping the mare was ok. All she knew was they needed to get her friend back and fast.

Author's Note

Oh no! What will happen to our intrepid hero?!? Stay tuned for the continued horror that is The Rim!!!

Hope you guys, and gals, like the new chapter! Editing done by my good buddy Hidden Secret

May go back and do a few small edits or corrections on this chapter. I'm trying to do a one shot in 3 hours and I wanted to get this published this afternoon!