Author's Note

My previous chapter's post was sadly lacking in detail and cohesion. This updated chapter aims to fix that issue.

Rarity's Encounter (Updated)

"Aha!, that is the last piece of the puzzle." I had been working on this enchantment for the better part of the week, and finally succeeded in enchanting this mirror. The goal: To create a window to the soul. Well, to be able to show the user of the mirror an image of their soul.

But I digress, I finally succeeded in altering a spell from the feared Black Book to be able to enchant a mirror with it without costing a single portion of any soul. So I grabbed one of my hand mirrors, and decided to enchant the mirror with this spell. I wanted to see the condition of my soul before continuing my work with the black book.

What I saw in this mirror was appalling and quite frighting. Although what I saw was among what I consider the Worst Possible Things, I am obligated to detail what I saw in this notebook, so that I can read it when I need to and remember why I will never work with the black book again.

So, I picked up the mirror and touched it with my magic, activating the latent magic inside. Inside of the reflection, I saw a warped version of my boutique. Not just any of my multiple boutiques, but my original one, Carousel Boutique. The curtains were tattered and torn. The floor had several rust colored stains on the blue patterned carpet. It was dark and smelled of blood. I not only saw the boutique, but was free to move about in the building. I could feel the walls, the floor. I even accidentally stepped in one of the stains on the floor and found that it was not rust, but blood, and it stained my white coat red to just above my right forehoof. I was scared, as I was not supposed to be able to interact with what was within the mirror. I wandered around my boutique taking in the horrors surrounding my vision, and then I took a look inside my showroom.

As my eyes darted about the dark room, I noticed boards up in all of the windows, letting in small amounts of light filter into the room in a specific manner. I followed one of the lights with my eyes, soon reaching the end of it and finding it illuminating a ponykin. The ponykin had blood drawing on its flank. After my eyes finally adjusted, I found the drawing to be a perfect rendition of Fluttershy's cutie mark, save it being monochromatic red. Following the other lights, I found ponykins correspondingly decorated for each of my other friends: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash, and finally an empty ponykin stand. I looked around for the last of my six ponykin that would have been in the room but could not find it. I did not dare move closer to the other ponykin of my friends. I . . . I was afraid to.

I kept looking around for the last ponykin in other places in the boutique, but could not find it. I ended up checking the last place it could be, my idea room. If I attempted to say that I was scared, I would be grossly understating my emotional state. I opened the door to the idea room, and found a ponykin with a malformed decrepit old mare behind it, drawing on its flank. That was when I discovered the puddle of blood underneath the ponykin, actively dripping from the mare's body. On the side of the body I could see, it was a ponykin with . . . well, my cutie mark.

I quietly asked of the mare what she was doing. As soon as I did so, she threw the ponykin copy of me into the corner and stared directly into my eyes. Her eyes were blood-shot, leaking even more blood through her tear ducts, the blood dripping onto the floor. Her body was heavily misshapen, bones appearing to bend at awkward angles, as if the flesh had shrunk on her to the point where her bones were larger than the other parts of her body. On her flank was my cutie-mark.

"I am doing what you demanded of me. You broke me apart and forced me into crude marble statues of your friends with no regard to my health or well being. I am forced to pretend to be your friends, even to their own faces because you could not handle them breaking your friendship apart. Oh, by the way, this project of yours is failing. They are still drifting apart as we speak. You deemed it necessary to lie directly to their faces and tell them that you commissioned the finest craftsmanship to craft an illusion of each of your friend's core nature, when that is truly your own soul attempting to please your own selfish wishes."

Seeing that I was going to interrupt, " Do not interrupt me, Rarity," it spat, spewing my name with disgust.

"The only reason why I am not killing you right here and now to end my torture is that Harmony made me a deal. In exchange for my dealing the pain your decision forced upon me, you have lost your connection to your element. From now on, you will need to win the hearts of others by your own works, not your nature. Others will see you as you truly are: a devious mastermind who has control over every form of propaganda and advertising. That was the deal. We have one additional demand of you, however. You must get this mirror to be used by each of your friends, as your final punishment for breaking your sacred bond with the elements."

At that, the being shoved me out of the mirror domain and knocked the mirror out of my hand. I did what any reasonable pony would do at that point. I fainted.

When I came to, about an hour later, based on the clock near my bed, I thought it was a dream, at least until I looked down and saw the blood staining my right forehoof.

I guess I need to get started on my task before that thing changes its mind.