The day had been perfect so far, Rarity had planned a quiet and relaxing morning at the spa, which no doubt the three girls had enjoyed greatly, Applejack had been in charge of choosing the place for lunch, which although it was not a big surprise, since she had taken them to the food area of the mall itself, the company and laughter were not long in coming.
Applejack and Twilight were devouring without much qualms a couple of big juicy burgers while Rarity had ordered a small cheese salad, which she consumed with elegance and poise.
“I have to admit it Applejack...” began Twilight with her mouth full ”These burgers are really worth it...”
“I told you, a well hidden gem Are you sure you don't want to try them Rarity?” asked the farm girl as she grabbed a fry.
“Oh no thanks dear, I appreciate your bold suggestion for lunch but I prefer less... heavy food if you know what I mean, meat is never good for the figure, all that fat will go to your hips sooner or later.”
“Well, I respect that, still, I think you're missing out...”
The three friends continued chatting and laughing for quite a while, gradually mid-morning gave way to afternoon and the food on the table became just three empty trays, it had certainly been a hearty meal and they all felt more than satisfied even Twilight couldn't help but let out a small burp as she took the last sip from her glass of soda.
“Uh that was good, this without a doubt is the best quality time we've had together” exclaimed Applejack rubbing her stomach complacently.
“Well it's not over yet...” said Twilight catching the attention of her two friends who looked at her slightly confused ”As you know it's up to me to close this meeting on a high note by choosing what we do next.”
“Oh...well, yes that's true dear but, I thought you said you didn't have any ideas about it...”
“Yeah well, let's just say I decided to make it a surprise..” said Twilight letting out a chuckle.
“Uwe well, I'd be lying if I said you didn't have my attention What is it, where are we going?” said the farm girl genuinely excited.
“Are we going shopping? Are we going out partying?” continued Rarity joining in the excitement.
“It's something much better...” said the bespectacled girl unable to help but form a big smile on her face as her friends looked at her expectantly at all the possibilities.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Ta-da!” Twilight exclaimed gesturing exaggeratedly towards an old and somewhat dilapidated building, waiting for her friends' reaction.
Applejack and Rarity's mouths dropped open, though not for the right reasons, they both inspected the facade of the apparent establishment, it looked quite old, not old enough to be ruins but enough to be able to tell that it hadn't been properly maintained in a long time, it was made of opaque brick with a riveted wooden facade, in the front it had a huge and dirty window that allowed to hardly see its interior, full of shelves and objects of all kinds, randomly piled up, the small entrance door also made of glass exhibited a small “Open” sign hanging inside.
“Hey, Twilight...” said Applejack finally very confused ”What is this place?”
“It's the best stocked antique store in town!” exclaimed Twilight still excited as if she thought those words would be enough to clear up all her friends' doubts.
“So ...what exactly are we doing here?” asked Rarity even more confused.
At that moment Twilight seemed to finally realize the confusion, noticing that the reactions on her friends' faces were not what she expected.
“Uh...well, it's because I thought we could spend the afternoon here, rummaging through antiques...you know, to...buy...” Twilight lowered her head for a moment, perhaps she had gotten a little too excited, planning something she wasn't sure her friends would enjoy, feeling stupid and somewhat embarrassed “Although well...if you'd rather do something else that's fine...”
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, knowing they were both thinking the same thing, Twilight had brought them here in good faith believing it would actually be something fun, and after all they had already had their time deciding what to do for the day, they could handle a couple of hours of unexciting searching, and who knows maybe if it turned out to be something fun.
“Don't worry Twilight...” said Applejack approaching her and placing a hand on her shoulder ”If this is what you planned for us we'll accept it.”
“Yes, no need to change plans, besides from here I can see a very elegant chandelier that will look divine in my living room...” Rarity also came closer and gave her own sincere smile to her friend.
Twilight felt better immediately, maybe it wasn't what her friends were expecting but she was happy that they were willing to spend that quality time with her, even though the activity to be carried out wasn't entirely to her liking, finally the three friends opened the door and entered the tent.
It wasn't strange for the girls to notice that the inside smelled like a mixture of humidity with dust, making the air heavy and hard to breathe, Rarity couldn't help but cough at the sudden change in the atmosphere and Applejack covered her nose to avoid a sneeze.
“Isn't it amazing?” asked Twilight excitedly ”The smell, the atmosphere, oh it's the perfect place...”
At that moment the girl's friends wondered if perhaps Twilight had no sense of smell, more their thoughts were interrupted when a raucous laughter that made them startle, only to turn around and find an old man behind a large wooden counter, his laughter slowly turned into a heavy and torturous cough forcing him to take out an inhaler and use it, silencing his cough and breathing normally again.
“Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare the, I just got excited, I hadn't had customers in a long time...” the old man walked away from the counter, approaching the girls and shaking Twilight's hand ”What a treat what a huge treat go ahead, see what you want everything is on sale, twenty, no, fifty percent off anything you want...”
The old man was certainly strange, but he also seemed extremely enthusiastic, an enthusiasm that Twilight seemed to share greatly, reciprocating the old man's gesture.
“Wow thank you very much, I assure you we will take a lot of things...”
“I hope it won't be that many...” whispered Applejack to Rarity thinking about the stability of her wallet.
“Oh wonderful wonderful, please feel free to explore the whole store, I'm sure you'll find everything in my little collection...”
And so they did, they wandered into the untidy aisles, making their way through piles and piles of miscellaneous items, Twilight led the way, letting out squeals of excitement every time she found something that interested her, while her friends did their best to endure the increasingly pungent stench, despite this they tried to be part of the excitement, Applejack had found an old bronze statuette in the shape of an oak tree while Rarity had gotten the chandelier in conjunction with a pearl necklace.
The deeper into the store they went the more difficult it was to keep moving, the piles of objects became a carpet that covered almost the entire floor, the shelves gradually became more and more filled with objects to the point where they covered much of the aisle space, creating a sort of tunnel through which it was increasingly difficult to make their way, forcing them to make a line with Twilight at the head followed by Rarity and finally Applejack to the end.
“Hey...” began Applejack sounding nervous ”Don't you think it's a good time to go back now?”
“Are you all right dear?” asked Rarity noticing how Applejack was starting to hyperventilate behind her.
“Yeah, yeah, it's just, I don't like that we're losing more and more room to move...”
“Oh, I didn't know you were scared of confined spaces...”
“They don't scare me, they just...make me uncomfortable...” Applejack paused “It's just...when I was a kid I used to play hide and seek with Big Mac, and one time I hid in the barn inside one of the juice packing boxes, but to my bad luck just then my dad was stocking the boxes full, so he placed one over the empty box I was hiding in, leaving me trapped...”
“Good grief dear, that sounds horrible...”
“It was, it was two days before they realized where I was...I was left alone for two days locked up is absolute darkness and then a stint in the hospital because of my stupid idea...so you'll understand why this is starting to make me uncomfortable...”
“Sure Applejack, you're right, this is a good time to stop...Twilight dear, I think we've had enough, we should get back...” started Rarity but was interrupted by Twilight's voice which sounded muffled as she had beaten them to it.
“Come! You have to see this...”
With no other choice the two girls advanced until they reached an open space between shelves, a space almost perfectly circular, almost as if it were a forest clearing, the piles of objects crowded around the edges maintaining an almost impossible controlled chaos.
Applejack exiting the narrow artificial tunnel took a heavy breath catching her breath while Rarity admired the small space noticing Twilight crouched in one of the stacks.
“Twilight? What did you find?” asked Rarity unable to avoid coughing a little, the scent of confinement had reached a limit that made it almost unbearable, added to the little light that managed to reach where they were had turned this pleasant time of friends into something extremely uncomfortable to bear.
The moment she heard Rarity's voice Twilight turned around revealing the reason for her excitement, in her hands she held a small wooden chest, this one had strange engravings polished in oxidized silver and a lock that seemed to be melted and deformed, it was an extravagant ornament but not at all stood out in a good way among the piles of rusty and dusty junk, so Rarity could not understand why she was so enthusiastic.
“Uh...it's a...chest?”
This time Twilight was quick to notice the confusion and quickly held out the chest to her friend who stumbled to take it, the moment the musty wood touched the soft skin of her fingers a wave of shiver ran up and down her body, it was a strange sensation but not unknown to her, it was magic, flowing from the box to her and back, Rarity stared at Twilight with an expression between surprise and disbelief to which the bespectacled girl responded by dedicating a wide smile.
“Isn't it great, you felt it didn't you?”
“But...how? It's a magic box here? It came from Equestria? How did a magic object from Equestria end up here?”
“I don't think it came from Equestria, the flow of magic is different...” Twilight took the box in her hands again, looking it up and down “Whatever it is its power is contained, cushioned, the box itself is not the magical object if not what's inside...”
“And you want to open it?” asked Applejack finally approaching.
“I'd like to, but there doesn't seem to be any way without breaking it, we'd have to buy it first and see what I can do at home...”
“Let me check, maybe I can fix it...”
The moment Applejack took the box in her hands she felt her own burst of magic coursing through her body, but this time something was different, the moment the wave of shivers went down her arms to her hands and back to the box it began to shake violently, the sudden movement made the farm girl instinctively let go of the box, it fell to the ground with a thud where it continued to shake and shiver.
“AHG what the hell!” Applejack exclaimed with her eyes fixed on the box.
“Applejack what did you do?” asked Rarity in shock as she noticed how the box seemed to almost jump off the ground from the increasingly intense movements.
“I didn't do anything! I just touched it for a second and then...”
“Girls wait!” exclaimed Twilight suddenly observing the almost hypnotic dance that made the silver hinges rattle and the old wood creak.
The picturesque spectacle lasted only a couple of seconds more before the lock and all the silver ornaments shot out of the box, like little projectiles in all directions, luckily due to the curvature of the mimes none caused any damage when hitting the girls and the next second the box simply stopped moving, remaining perfectly still being now just wood, they all stood in silence for a moment watching the box, expectant in case some other strange thing happened.
“I...I guess now that we broke it we should pay for it...” finally said Rarity with some disappointment in her voice.
“Well, I guess since we're here it won't matter if we see what's inside...” Twilight spoke almost as a whisper.
The three friends exchanged glances for a second, debating whether it was right to give in to curiosity, and finally they all crouched around the box, watching it carefully without touching it, as if they were little girls and afraid of doing the wrong thing.
“So Rarity what are you waiting for? Open it...” Applejack said.
“What! Oh no dear I'm not the one interested the honor should go to Twilight.”
“But Applejack was the one who blew it up, it's only fair that she should be the one to open it...”
The stares and accusations lasted another long moment until finally it was Twilight who managed to get emboldened enough, slowly she reached her hand closer, holding the lid firmly and taking a deep breath, in her mind a million scenarios about the possible contents of the house, each one thrilling her even more, a gentle tug and the box was open, and then all curiosity and anticipation went to waste as the inside revealed its contents.
Resting at the bottom of the box was a very small silver mirror, accompanied by a small wooden brush worn and stained with old paint, both items were wrapped in a very prominent ball of thick, grayish fur, silence in the face of disappointment reigned for a long moment, until Applejack thunderously cleared her throat.
“Well...that, that was definitely not what I expected...”
“I didn't either...” began Rarity ”I thought you said this was magic...”
“It was supposed to be, you felt it...unless the only magical thing had been the box and not the contents, and if that's true when we opened the box we spotted all its magical energy...” Twilight began, conjecturing as she pulled the brush from inside the box, watching and trying to feel some of the previous shaking, but to no avail.
“Well, I still think it was interesting, but I think I've had enough scavenger hunt for one day...” said Rarity resting her eyes on the small mirror ”Although well, we won't say it wasn't fruitful...”
Just as the girl was about to take the mirror from inside the box, Applejack stepped forward and took it in her hands, holding it up and admiring it.
“Hey! That was mine!” exclaimed the dressmaker.
“Sorry Rarity, I took it first, you're not the only one who likes shiny things, Applebloom is going to love this...”
“So what, you expect me to keep all that nasty dirty hair, that's not fair!”
“It's not hair...” interrupted Twilight.
“What?”
“It's fur from some animal, probably a canine...”
Twilight spoke still keeping her eyes on the brush, oblivious to the fact that the type of hair inside the box was the least of Rarity's concern, who, in a sudden moment of anger, reached into the chest, grabbing a good handful of the fur inside and throwing it in a small ball towards her friend's face, who seemed to finally break the staring contest she was having with that old brush.
“Ahem I think, it's a good time to retire now...” said Rarity wiping the hairs that had stuck to her hand on her clothes.
“I, I agree with Rarity, it got late and I should be back home in time for dinner...” continued Applejack as she put away the small mirror under her hats.
“Yeah I guess they're right...it was fun and at least I'll get to keep the box as a souvenir.”
The three friends started back down the tunnel of things, starting their torturous advance towards the front of the store and back into more breathable air, they advanced again, very carefully and very slowly, for a moment it seemed to all of them that the return was taking much longer than it was supposed to, but soon that thought started to become a certainty, no matter how far they advanced the path wasn't clearing, on the contrary it seemed that the tunnel was getting narrower and narrower.
“What the hell?” asked Applejack trying to ignore her growing discomfort ”Was the store always this big? Or was I not paying attention?”
“I don't know, maybe we lost track and didn't realize how big it really was, although it definitely looked smaller from the outside...” said Twilight who was leading the way and trying to glimpse some notion of direction or light ahead.
“Or I don't know, but I'm sick of this place, I can't stand the smell anymore and the humidity is fluffing up my hair” exclaimed Rarity, annoyed at the end of the line, waving her arms to try to get a little more space.
At one point she turned partially looking over her shoulder and for an instant she thought she saw something moving behind them, confused she turned completely around trying to check if she hadn't imagined it, but there was nothing, just a pile of accumulated and moldy garbage, even so Rarity couldn't help but feel a shiver run through her, the same shiver she felt when she first touched the box, she did her best to ignore the sensation and move on.
Another long moment passed and the tunnel showed no sign of ending, now the three friends began to worry, feeling the weight of the place on them and having to stop at times as the amount of things around them had reached such a point that they could barely move forward.
“Okay this doesn't make sense, according to the time we've been walking we should have surpassed two hundred meters ten minutes ago...” began Twilight trying to say trying to push things away with her arms.
“Two hundred meters, that's absurd!” Applejack exclaimed starting to hyperventilate “No way this place is that big! What the hell is going on Twilight!”
“I don't know...something weird is going on and I know we shouldn't do it but screw it, Applejack use your strength, break the shelves, get us out of here!”
“I thought you'd never ask me...”
Applejack concentrated, leaning against one end of the tunnel and preparing to unleash a punch with all her strength, one second and the next she released it, the roar was incredible, it shook everything around her and in the distance you could hear hundreds of things fall, but still the tunnel wall didn't move, the two friends were baffled.
“But what...?” began Applejack ‘I don't understand, I hit it with all my strength...Twilight can't you get us out with your magic?’ the farmer's voice was getting more and more anxious.
“Give me just a second...” said Twilight trying to concentrate, but at that moment Rarity's voice made her turn around.
“Girls...” the dressmaker's voice sounded breathless, she had her eyes fixed on the back of the tunnel.
It took Applejack and Twilight a moment to turn in on themselves so they could see over their friend,trying to find the reason for her interruption and then they too lost their breath.
It was barely visible in the distance of the tunnel, partially hidden behind a bag of golf clubs but it was recognizable, a face, a face staring back at them, its skin was snow white, its eyes huge, beyond any strange parameters the girls had ever become accustomed to, and a huge grin from ear to ear, the face seemed to float in the middle of the tunnel, if it had a body it was not visible and its lips were moving frantically, it seemed to be talking but no words were audible to the trio of friends.
“Twilight...” said Applejack almost as a gasp.
The bespectacled girl understood instantly, she tried to put all her concentration back into a spell to get out of there but she couldn't look away from the face in the distance, it was grotesque and despite not moving Twilight couldn't help but feel a horrible foreboding more and more intensely, and almost without realizing it, she found herself staring at the thing's lips, trying to deduce what it was saying.
“Twilight!!!” Applejack shouted in a desperate tone as she pulled Rarity as far away from the direction she was facing as possible, her dressmaker friend seemed to be in the same state as Twilight, staring and not responding or reacting to the farm girl's words.
Twilight was trying to understand, she was trying her best, for a moment she thought it was just mindless movements, but, the more she saw the more she denoted the unspoken words, to the point that she began to repeat them aloud, like a muffled whisper.
“See you connoisseurs, for it is the box my home, and in it dwells I, hungry and desirous, the time elapsed and my objects redeemed, be it well served the love with which I have polished them...”
“Twilight! Twilight! What's the matter with you! What the hell are you talking about!” Applejack shook Twilight from her shoulders trying to get her to react but her friend's eyes remained fixed even as the farm girl stood in front of her.
“Well now a new power has helped me and from my slumber I have awakened, new friends to play with and a new cycle begin...” Twilight continued to read the lips of the face, seeming to match the speed of the apparent speech, eyes wide as saucers and trembling uncontrollably “See then may you enjoy my gifts for with much love I have made them, may you live a good and long life and may you find my fantasies avid, for that is my work I am the maker and will always be the great inventor.... “The girl felt that she was unable to catch her breath, now she could no longer stop, to the horror of the three girls they could feel how the tunnel seemed to shake and tremble around them, more and more and without stopping, closing in on them to an unbearable point.
And once that last was said the face vanished and suddenly the whole tunnel stopped, returning to its original state and allowing them all to finally breathe.
“What the fuck!” Applejack asked once she had caught her breath, coughing and clearing her throat, she searched for Twilight's gaze, finally finding it behind a blanket of horror “Twilight are you okay...?”
“...Yeah...yeah I'm fine...” replied Twilight, feeling her throat dry.
“What the fuck was that!”
“I don't know...I think, the box did have something in it...”
“Did it?! It's gone?!”
“I...I'm not sure...I can't feel anything anymore, any magical residue...”
Applejack looked around, up and down the tunnel, she felt a great relief as she noticed that she was already able to see the ceiling of the tent she could have even sworn she was able to hear the sound outside, believing that whatever it was it was finally over, she braced herself, she didn't want to be in that damn tent anymore, but that's when she noticed that Rarity wasn't beside her, she shook her head from side to side, believing that she wasn't disoriented, but no, it was the right direction and her friend was nowhere to be seen.
“Rarity? Rarity?! Where are you?!” She frantically advanced down the tunnel, checking the ground in case she had tripped and pushing aside the objects blocking her view, slowly moving away from Twilight.
“Applejack wait!” Twilight tried to follow her friend through the tunnel but no matter how much effort she put in she couldn't break through as easily, she could hear her friend's screams getting further and further away from her until they were completely lost in the distance, Twilight had to stop to catch her breath already being unable to even hear the sound of the tunnel squeaking and creaking from her friend's passing ”Applejack..!” She tried to call out but there was no answer.
Now the chills running through her body seemed to crush her, forcing her to crouch down on the dirty floor panting heavily, sweat was running down her face and she could feel her heart pounding uncontrollably, something was wrong, something was terribly wrong, she had to find her friends and get them out of there, using all her willpower she raised her head with the intention of getting up, but this action was stopped in its tracks when the white smiling face appeared right in front of her. Twilight couldn't help but let out a shriek of terror at this, feeling her legs and arms tremble uncontrollably as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
The gloomy exchange of glances lasted only a moment before the face moved its mouth again, only this time its voice came through loud and clear, a voice that made Twilight's heart stop for a second, a voice so sinister and with so much mocking malice that the girl never thought possible, and, as she listened to the face's last words, she felt the ground beneath her feet disappear and begin to fall uncontrollably.
“And with this I let the world take my power for the three new souls to take their part, good journey I wish you and a sincere thank you, farewell to you the toymaker and may my gifts be well over lifted.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rarity felt herself falling, suddenly everything around her had turned to darkness, the falling feeling stopped almost as quickly as it came and the next second the girl fell into a huge puddle of what was undoubtedly mud, the dirt covered her completely, every fold of her clothing, every strand of her hair, even the inside of her mouth.
Inevitably she felt immediately disgusted, pulling herself up as best she could from the mud only to lose her balance and fall this time flat on her face, feeling the wetness and stickiness of the fluid, finally managing to crawl out of the puddle onto what appeared to be grass and weeds.
Finally feeling herself in a dry place Rarity tried to wipe the mud off her face only barely managing to clear her vision, she was in a panic, turning her head quickly trying to figure out what had happened.
She was no longer surrounded by the piercing darkness of a moment ago, still her surroundings were extremely shadowed, the few silhouettes that could be seen around her finally denoted that the girl seemed to be, somehow impossibly, in the middle of a forest.
Rarity rubbed her eyes again, trying to dispel the delirium she thought she was in, getting up from the ground and taking a couple of disoriented steps as little by little the sounds of nature become more present, birds in the distance, the wind moving the treetops, insects fluttering around her, this was very real.
“But what...?” he began to say, feeling the mud on his body begin to dry and form an unpleasant crust to the touch.
She quickly began to shake it off feeling the disgust, but his efforts were almost to no avail, peeling the top layer off halfway.
“Twilight! Applejack!” she shouted in search of her friends, but there was no response at all, Rarity didn't know what to do, she couldn't even begin to process what was in front of her How was that possible, if just a second ago she was in the store, she was in the store trapped with her friends, trying to get to the exit and then...then nothing, she didn't remember anything after that What had happened?.
She was just beginning to make her way through the tangle of thoughts when a new sound was present, this was, like the others, a sound associated with the environment in which she found herself, but this one, unlike the others, was the omen of something very bad.
A howl, shrill and prolonged, so much so that it was impossible for the girl to discern from which direction it came from, but it certainly chilled her to the bone, suddenly panic was present, in her mind there was no room for anything else, neither a desperate search for logic, nor reasoning for a detailed plan, even more so when more and more howls became present, the cacophony of a pack that, finally, Rarity noticed was coming in her direction.
She ran, ran as fast as she could, disoriented and confused the only thing she could think of was to get as far away as possible from that place, wherever it was, sooner than later she had to take off her shoes at full speed as they prevent her from running properly, soon the sound of growls and distant footsteps became present which made her feel even more afraid, but the fear gave way to another sensation.
She didn't know how long she had been running but it had been a long time, so long that exhaustion became inevitably present, she could feel her body faint with every step she took and even worse, she could feel her stomach screaming for food, but she couldn't stop, she knew that if she did the pack that was chasing her would devour her, she could feel her feet bruised and wounded afraid to look down to determine the state they were in, gritting her teeth as she felt all the rocks and branches lying on the forest floor.
Finally and without being able to help it, Rarity fell to the ground and the undergrowth, she struggled with all her strength to get up and continue her survival race but it was useless, tiredness and hunger had finished with her, she was not even able to lift her face from the ground, only being able to cry and sob in panic while she heard the predators inevitably approaching.
She could not believe that this was how her life was going to end, lost for no reason in a meaningless forest. Why? If only she could regain her strength, she was sure that a single bite would be enough to continue, she did not want to die, she did not want to die here.
It was at that moment when she realized, just a meter in front of her there was a small squirrel, undoubtedly dying, its stomach was slashed and its entrails had slipped on the ground, leaving a small trail behind it and staining the dark earth red, it was breathing barely and had a lost look, waving its front paws as if it wanted to cling to anything to continue crawling.
A fleeting thought passed through Rarity's mind, an idea driven by survival instinct, it would be so simple and so she could continue, she tried to push the abominable thought away, she would not stoop so low, she was not worth it, she was a lady, but the reverberating howls brought her back to her angered state of terror, now it sounded as if the herd was only a few feet away, there was no room for hesitation, she wanted to live, she had to live.
Stretching her hand forward, she grabbed the squirrel with a firm grip, the little creature jerked slightly trying to defend itself, but it was in vain, Rarity brought her hand close to her face being able to feel the unpleasant stench of exposed intestines, once again doubt invaded her, it was madness, there was no way, but in that second the girl could feel a breath hitting the back of her neck, followed by a growl accompanied by a couple of drops of a thick saliva.
She didn't have the courage to turn around, instead she viciously bit down on the squirrel which screeched and writhed in its last breath as the girl tore off a large chunk of flesh and forced it down her throat.
She could feel the taste of blood invading her senses, the slimy, lumpy sensation filled her mouth and ran up and down her body, a shock of adrenaline that made her leap forward, but it was too late, the moment she was lifted off the ground a huge fanged jaw closed over her shoulder, biting down and causing her overwhelming pain.
Rarity screamed horribly as she felt her skin and muscles tearing, being knocked backwards and forcing her to finally see what perugiated her, a pack of wolves snarled and drooled around her, looming over her, right over her head and still clinging to her shoulder was a wolf much larger than the others, its huge yellow eyes were fixed on hers all the while its jaw was closing tighter and tighter, until a horrible crunching sound caused the girl to suck all the air she had left in her lungs, hanging limply from her shattered shoulder she could barely feel how the pack began to move at high speed, taking her with it, and the next second, everything went black.
She no longer knew how much time had passed, there was nothing to serve as an indicator to measure it, she could only feel the cold rock beneath her and the smell of the corpses around her.
She did not know why the pack had put her there, in what she supposed was a cave, nor did she know why she had not been devoured, it did not make sense, but it did not matter either.
The wolves fed her, or at least she thought so, since the flow of fresh corpses had not stopped since she got there, although she could not see them it was obvious that the bodies were all kinds of animals, from squirrels to bears, bodies that she was forced to consume, because of hunger and fear of dying, little by little she got used to the taste of raw meat, resigning herself to the tasteless sensation and hoping with all her strength not to die of intoxication.
The more time passed the stranger she felt, soon the cold stopped being a problem, Rarity assumed it was due to getting used to the perpetual environment of the cavern or maybe because of the accumulation of biological remains, then the pain of her wound disappeared, frightened by the possibility that it had finally become gangrenous, waiting for the pain of her dead arm, but it never came, she was able to recover her mobility little by little and finally her eyes adapted to the darkness, allowing her to orient herself and finally appreciate her surroundings, trapped at the bottom of a huge vertical tunnel, one from which she could not see the exit.
Everything became routine, she prowled back and forth for hours until new food was thrown down the tunnel, food that she now devoured viciously and with an ever increasing appetite, and then continued to prowl until sleep overtook her.
Finally one day Rarity felt strong enough to try to climb up the tunnel, feeling a renewed vigor she clung with all her strength to the rock, her new claws allowed her to climb and her new musculature helped her to stay firm in all the curves and turns of the ascent, the higher she climbed the more the familiar smells of the forest reached her ears and nose, she could also hear the collective roar of the pack, seeming for a second like a celebration, the grunts and howls almost sounded like songs and the rhythmic rumbling of the footsteps seemed like music, finally over the last turn of the tunnel and her eyes finally came the glimmer of the darkness of the forest, a darkness that, compared to that of the cave, was almost like the glow of the sun.
With a last push she finally managed to slip away to freedom, and the huge pack barked and rejoiced around her, as she rose from the ground suddenly the silhouettes around her, once imposing, now shrank under her gaze, Rarity looked over her head, towards the huge dark forest dismayed and confused, she no longer remembered why she had been locked in that cave for so long, she had not realized how much she had missed her old forest, that fresh air.
At that moment in front of her the figure of the huge black wolf with yellow eyes was present, posing right in front of her and looking her in the eyes, she was reflected in the bright yellow of them, denoting his snow-white fur and his bright eyes of sapphire glow, the exchange of looks did not last much longer when the black wolf bowed to her, bending down to almost touch the ground and exposing his neck.
Rarity didn't hesitate much longer, she opened her huge jaw and in one move ripped off the wolf's head, tasting its blood and flesh with intricate respect, once done the whole pack proceeded to devour the wolf's body, every part until it was just a pile of dry bones.
It was a glorious feast, a communion of strength welcoming the she-wolf, the most beautiful and the new leader of the hunt.
Rarity felt as free as she had not felt in a long time, feeling the howl of the wind calling her, so much time had been lost and the forest demanded a new hunt, no matter how long it took, she would lead the pack and bring them a new prey.
The white she-wolf howled with all her might being imitated by her entourage who put their sounds before all the others before unleashing the violent torrent, the river of fur that advanced like an arrow through the trees, tracking, stalking and searching, all under the watchful eye of the white face, which watched over the treetops, swaying in the wind and smiling enormously.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Applejack recognized the place instantly, she was very surprised for a moment, not understanding how she had arrived at the mall again, but little by little her instinct began to tell her that something was wrong, terribly wrong, the first thing she noticed out of place was the fact that the whole place seemed abandoned, completely empty and no lights on in sight, The next thing he noticed was that everything was strangely dark, as if suddenly the world around him had turned gray, he tried to rub his eyes believing that this was due to the inexplicable tiredness he felt but no, everything around him seemed to have gone dark.
She tried to remember how she had gotten there if only a moment ago she was with her friends in the store, she stood still for a long moment searching in her turbulent memories without finding any answer, but there was one thing she was completely sure of, her friends were in danger and she could not abandon them, she had to go back to the store and do what was necessary to get them out of there, She quickly arranged her hat and headed towards the exit of the mall, at a hurried pace while trying to ignore the strange feeling in her gut which made her feel dizzy and extremely disoriented, so much so that she had to hit her head a couple of times when she realized that she had strayed from the path leading to the exit without realizing it.
Applejack wasn't sure if she was going the right way but she decided to pick a direction and walk in a straight line hoping that it would lead her to the exit, the feeling of discomfort was becoming more and more present along with strange thoughts like the feeling of being watched or the crazy idea that suddenly the mall looked bigger than it was supposed to, it was at that moment when a bright flash was caught by her peripheral vision, she turned her head only to notice that, at the bottom of one of the long aisles, turning a corner emanated a very bright light that broke completely with the monotonous gray landscape, this immediately activated the farmer's alerts who for a moment thought that it would be best to move away from whatever that was but on the other hand thought that it could be the indicator of an exit she was looking for, in the end opting to take the detour cautiously.
The closer she got to the strange light, the more things began to make themselves present, like a catchy rhythm of a song that Applejack vaguely remembered, which became stronger the closer she got to the source of the light, Soon the growing bustle was joined by voices, they were cheerful and effusive voices which seemed to gossip and let out sporadic giggles and murmurs that she was still unable to understand, she turned a final corner and before her unfolded a spectacle.
A perfectly lit hallway full of garish and bright colors, stores in perfect condition and people strolling to and fro, Applejack watched in bewilderment as well-dressed girls with incredible hairstyles came and went from one side to the other, entering stores, shopping, all under an aura of glamour so delicate that the farmer thought for a moment it would make Rarity throw up, yet she felt relieved, she had found more people which meant her problem was closer to being solved, she just had to ask them for the way out, ignoring the tingling in the back of her head she stepped forward and walked down the hallway.
Several hairdressers open as well as clothing stores and beauty salons, as she walked she couldn't help but notice the strident way all the girls were dressed, elegant dresses, garish and even somewhat provocative outfits, heavy make-up and long nails with complex designs, although she couldn't recognize any of the faces that passed by her without paying attention to her, no matter how hard she tried the features were fuzzy, still she did her best to clear her throat as best she could and taking a step towards a couple walking hand in hand carrying many bags from different stores she exclaimed.
“Excuse me, hi, sorry I think I'm lost, can anyone tell me where the exit to the mall is?”
Her request seemed to fall on deaf ears as the two girls continued to move forward without even looking at her, exchanging words that also escaped the farmer, this was very strange to Applejack who froze at the apparent lack of respect, everything around her was so enthusiastic, so cheerful, the girl felt a shiver before turning around and watching the couple walk away, she swallowed saliva as she felt her stomach churning, suddenly everything around her seemed brighter and her lack of balance more prominent, something was wrong, she couldn't stop repeating it, but at the same time she couldn't stop thinking about her friends, she had to help them, help them get out of wherever they were, she had to get back to where she was before, where she was before wherever she was, she wasn't going to let these rude girls stop her, she would get answers.
Standing firm again and shaking her head to clear her thoughts she spoke firmly and as a shout only worthy of her.
“The Exit! I'm looking for the exit, tell me where it is!”
Again there was no answer, everyone around her continued acting as if she wasn't there, Applejack's nerves were starting to reach their limit, but even though her attitude was starting to fill with rage and anger deep down she could feel her body begging her to get out of there as fast as possible, unable to stand it anymore the girl turned, walked towards one of the figures walking around her and grabbed her by the shoulders forcing her to face her while screaming, this time with her anger palpable.
“Aren't you listening to me!!! stop pretending you can't see me!!! where's the damn exit...?!!!!”
But her outburst was interrupted when she came face to face with the girl she was holding, she thought the reason she didn't recognize the faces was due to her discomfort but it was at that moment she realized the real reason, the face of the girl she was holding was strange, if it hadn't been a completely insane thought at the time Applejack would have sworn it was like seeing a painted face on a poorly achieved attempt at a face, the sheen of makeup disguised from a distance a compressed, wrinkled face on a pasty, shiny surface, as if it were burnt plastic.
Applejack immediately turned away at the image and the girl she was holding fell to the ground with a dry clatter as if she were a rag doll, the girl's heart thudded against her chest, her breathing had become shallow, she felt uncontrollable nausea and vomited uncontrollably coughing loudly, it took her a moment to realize that everything around her suddenly went silent, She looked up to find that each and every one of the things that had been walking carelessly around her had remained perfectly still as statues in their positions although each and every one of the heads were turned in her direction, she could see all those twisted faces that despite being completely devoid of eyes seemed to be staring at her.
The glow surrounding her now was so annoying that Applejack was forced to squint, her body suddenly felt heavy and sticky, sweat covered her completely as her fear and confusion swirled over her, before she could even react or do anything else the most unpleasant cracking sound she had ever heard froze her blood, she could barely turn her eyes to see the figure she had previously knocked down begin to shake violently, struggling to get back to her feet as unintelligible mutterings from the other figures began to become more and more present, words like “ugly” or “stinky” seemed to echo in her ears, Applejack tried to say something at this but only a faint hiss came from her lips, she shuddered as the figure finally managed to stand on her stiletto heels resuming a movement more akin to a person shaking out their fancy clothes in an attempt to remove any possible dirt from the floor as a completely clear and squeaky voice let out a chuckle before clearing its throat.
“There's no need to be rude, it's obvious that our new friend is uncomfortable. And how could she not be? I mean, have you seen her? With an outfit and a complexion this disgusting, anyone would be upset, she's just asking for our help...” the figure walked, taking only a couple of steps in Applejack's direction ”Isn't that right little one?”
Applejack didn't know what to do, she didn't understand anything What was this place, what were these things, what was she doing there, how did she get there, what was she doing before she got there, she was terribly confused, in the midst of all that confusion she knew she had to find a way out, maybe these girls could help her, maybe they knew how to get out, maybe.
“So girl, would you let us help you?” the faceless thing in front of her asked again.
“Y...ys...yes...” she answered quietly finally.
Just at the instant that word came out of her mouth Applejack felt a tug, suddenly a dozen hands grabbed her back roughly, instinctively the farmer tried to pull free but the force applied on her was as strong as that of a hydraulic press, recovering a little of her reasoning Applejack realized what kind of situation she was in, she began to put all her strength into trying to free herself, she couldn't see what was holding her but she still threw kicks and punches in the air in an attempt to push it away, but all her efforts were useless.
Taken by force the cold arms dragged her towards one of the tents as the music thundered and joy returned to the atmosphere a joy the farmer did not share, screaming and shaking even without being able to free herself, it was then that the voice came back seeming to whisper in her ear.
“Oh don't worry, we know that living day to day life lacking style and glamour can be very painful, but don't worry, we promised to help you and we will, first and foremost we need to make sure you have everything in place we would appreciate it if you would stay still so we can make it easier but we understand it can be a somewhat stressful process, still don't forget, you are among friends.”
She was held over a backrest, the chair was perfectly adorned and perfectly equipped for conventional beauty treatments, Applejack could feel the cold metal as she tried to control her breathing the laughter, the murmuring and the lack of space around her was getting on her nerves, still she did her best to endure it, she had to keep her mind clear, fight the haze of confusion that clung to her,,,, but she had to protest inevitably when she felt from hands ripping her clothes off.
“Hey! Hey! DON'T TOUCH ME!”
Her complaint was interrupted when one of the figures unexpectedly jumped up and sat on her lap improving the grip and allowing the rest of the hands to continue with their work, the farmer was forced again to look at one of those things face to face being horrified again since this one unlike the previous one did retain a minimum of recognizable human features, Applejack could appreciate closely how every part of her body seemed perfectly contoured, Her skin, although cold to the touch was pink and shiny but all that symmetry and apparent perfection was broken when she reached the face which in this case possessed a huge pearly teeth smile that did not stop laughing, she had never seen in all her life whiter and more perfect teeth, she felt exposed not being able to avoid blushing when she felt the pressing looks, it was then that a soft touch was present on her cheek.
“Shhh shhh don't worry cutie, let the ugly go, we'll make you perfect...”
With her other hand the figure plucked the hat from her head, Applejack startled in an attempt to retrieve it but again it was useless.
“Oh...what have we here?”
The farm girl watched as the thing held up the silver mirror, looking at it closely, at which point Applejack finally got a hold of herself, finding enough strength to lower her voice and let out a quiet plea.
“Please...I shouldn't be here, I need to get out of here...”
The thing then turned towards her and for an instant all figures went still, even the grip on her seemed to loosen her, but any possible hope she might have had was instantly dashed.
“Oh honey but how can you say that? Do you see this?” The thing brought the mirror slightly closer to the farmer's face ”This is unmistakable proof that this is exactly where you belong.”
And with that said the nightmare went crazy, the figures stretched Applejack on the chair, exposing her completely and separating each of her limbs, then her body was trapped inside what seemed to be parts of a mannequin, little by little pieces of cold and pale plastic was placed over her body, obviously the girl protested, screamed and screamed without stopping while she felt how little by little she lost all mobility sealed in a plastic shell from the neck down, Then under an aura of excitement she was dragged out and taken to another place, where things played with her hair over and over again, cutting and painting until the farm girl's lank blonde hair turned into a giggling, extravagant mix of orange and pink, this in combination with a neck brace made Applejack scream as she now had lost all mobility in her neck.
The next place was a clothing store where the girl was tried on a myriad of outfits, again in a desperate cloud of giggles and comments about how pretty she looked, suffocating her and making it impossible for her to hold back the tears as her mind kept spinning more and more desperately, in the end it was a bright pink dress with a knee length V-neckline with a belt, pink high heels, gold bracelets, a white scarf the outfit of choice, praised and applauded by the monstrous onlookers only to have her face completely covered with makeup so heavy that she almost felt as if she was being placed in a white scarf, a white scarf the chosen outfit, praised and applauded by the monstrous female spectators only to later completely cover her face with makeup so heavy that it almost felt as if they were putting a layer of cement on her, in the end she was barely able to move her face, to keep protesting and screaming had become a very complicated task, even so she kept refusing to give up the last glimmer of fight she had left.
Once again the figure he had knocked down returned to his now very reduced field of vision while the others around him kept clapping their hands in jubilation, however the avalanche of insults and screams seemed to be very annoying, although by this point they were nothing more than meaningless screams fed by the dread of the slow and degrading loss of his faculties. But again, none of that mattered, nothing stopped the thing from advancing at a slow pace, holding something shiny in its hands that Applejack was unable to make out, at least not until it got close enough to her face to notice that it was a sort of denture, with absurdly white, sparkling teeth.
“We know how difficult it is to express happiness when receiving the big change we are waiting for all our lives, sometimes the enthusiasm can overcome us and we can become a little foul-mouthed, but there is no need to worry since we have been given the tools to overcome ourselves and become our best version .... “ very slowly the thing pressed the denture against Applejack's lips, who kept silent for the first time, perhaps guessing the intentions, but in her current state she didn't make much force to overcome it, a slight push and her mouth was completely filled by the denture, pressing her tongue against her palate and immobilizing the completely “Now please, let's all welcome our new friend, may her future time with us be pleasant and give her our best wishes for her to complete her transformation.”
The applause increased, even a few sobs were audible if it wasn't for the utter inconceivability of the situation it would have even been an emotional moment, but for Applejack there was no worse nightmare, she tried to use her tongue to pull the denture out of the inside of her mouth but it wouldn't move at all, completely fixed in some inexplicable way, she tried to speak, to resume her hecatomb of screaming telling the thing to go fuck itself, that she didn't give a shit about its filth and that she wanted to be released right then and there, but, also inexplicably, out of her mouth came a high-pitched and extremely effusive voice.
“Oh it's wonderful, thank you all so much!” before the farmer could process the words that had left her throat she was forced to speak again, something made her provide air to whatever was stealing her words ‘Please help me, I want to be perfect like you, help me be perfect’ from outside teeth forced a gleaming white smile on her.
This was answered by a video followed by a celebration from all the things around them, they took Applejack in their arms with a gentleness that contrasted terribly with the strength they had shown they had, they carried her out of the bright hallway, back to the dull gray of before, inside one of the stores, Applejack could see how the inside of it was completely empty except for what at first she thought were coffins, but sooner rather than later she realized what they really were, it was strange, A bad dream made on purpose, she couldn't even begin to understand it, the reason for all this, but she couldn't remember anything about where she was before or what she was doing, she couldn't remember anything but this place, a new failed scream tried to come out when she was laid down on a huge thin cardboard box, her stiff and cold body now rested inert while little by little the figures withdrew, leaving at the end the first of them all, she stared at Applejack's terrified eyes for a long time before speaking again.
“Don't worry honey, as soon as you're ready you'll be back with us, just trust the process and let it all happen...” the thing then pulled out the silver mirror again and left Applejack's sight for a moment, only to return and show her that it had been placed attached to what was undoubtedly the lid of the box ”I'll leave this here so you can see how little by little you become perfect, I hope to see you soon honey, I'm anxious to meet you.”
“Likewise, my dear... “ replied the girl's new voice, and without further ado the box closed completely, leaving her in total darkness while she cried uncontrollably, right in front of her face was the mirror which reflected her face distorted and modified to the most extreme limit, Applejack was no longer certain of anything, All she knew was lost and now the only thing she knew was what was in front of her, the only thing she knew was that she hated with all her soul the place where she was at that very moment, she wanted to go back, back to the brightness and the music, back to the laughter and the chatter, but that would have to wait, for a while, for a long time she would have to wait, alone in the darkness, unaware of the fact that the huge smiling face was watching her, standing next to her box.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight was in a small room, so small that she had to stand upright to fit properly, curiously the room was extremely tall, so tall that even looking up it was impossible to see the ceiling of it, on each and every wall, covering every inch, there were canvases of all sizes and types, each one was a different painting, some were landscapes, others beautiful portraits and some others were just still lifes, right in front of her was the only canvas that had no painting on it, the only one that was completely white.
Twilight had stood perfectly still since she got there, she didn't know how long ago, but she remembered perfectly conscious, she remembered the antique store, she remembered the chest, her missing friends, she also remembered the face, that horrible face, whatever was going on had to be responsible. Could that be what was hiding inside the box? It was most likely. Had her friends also been trapped by the thing? Surely there would be a way to escape from this? Maybe.
It didn't take her long to realize what the face wanted her to do, because the moment she reached that place she felt something thin between her fingers, she didn't need to see it to know it was the brush, this added to the huge blank canvas made things too predictable, so she decided to stay perfectly still without doing anything at all.
She stayed like that for a long time hoping that it would annoy whatever she and her friends woke up to, but there was no noticeable effect, just silence, absolute silence, even despite the amount of time Twilight didn't feel tired, or hungry, or thirsty, she couldn't feel anything, a couple of times she tried to let go of the brush, dropping it on the ground, but the next second it reappeared between her fingers, she realized that if she wanted to get out of there she would have to take a more active role.
“Hey!” he exclaimed to nowhere ‘Are you there?’ there was no response.
Twilight then noticed something in one of the paintings in front of her, she turned her head a little to see another and then another, and another, realizing that, in each and every one of the paintings, somewhere was the image of a face, whether it was a shadow under a tree or a mole on a face, it was there, it was watching her, the girl thought about it for a moment, she had to find a way to solve this, she was sure she could do it.
She felt the answers might be in the paintings so she took a closer look at them, she could find patterns, like the fact that no matter what type of painting there was a person painted on it, only one always, most had their faces turned away or covered by some element of the painting, the few whose face was visible had a full smile with their eyes fixed on the viewer, a smile so wide it almost seemed forced.
This sent a shiver down Twilight's spine, it was unpleasant and the discomfort she felt being there increased by the second, still, she stood her ground, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself as best she could, she would not indulge whatever it was, but her mettle was tested, when an endless number of different voices echoed and made the room tremble.
It sounded as if it were a party, fuzzy conversations, exclamations of joy, but mostly laughter, they laughed and enjoyed themselves in an invisible feast that Twilight refused to appreciate, keeping her eyes tightly shut, soon one voice rose above all the others, a grotesque and guttural one, but at the same time it spoke with a jovial and charismatic tone.
“Well, well, once again we have reached the end of our scuffle, a good show we have had and very well we have all eaten, we thank our new acquisitions who delivered amidst shouts and requests, now just to conclude we must add the souvenir to bring it all to the end...!”
The voice seemed to rise up and down the room, drifting so far away that Twilight could barely hear it to subsequently come so close that she could have sworn the source was right next to her.
“As always the great honor of remembrance falls on the shoulders of the first in the box, the finder and thus the one who fits the best, with her act finally able to depart, her soul and that of her friends to prevail and coexist....!”
Despite the strangeness of his words Twilight analyzed what he was saying Would there really be a way out of here? Maybe this was all temporary enjoyment for the thing and it would let them go once it had what it wanted.
“Let's give it a big round of applause to inspire it to create, maybe then it can finally get started, a beautiful painting to add to the collection, so we can all together call this meeting to a close!”
A raucous applause shook the room even more, frantic cheering that made Twilight's head thunder, stunning the, soon all was silent again
and the horrible voice whispered in her ear, its words were foul and nasty, a pitiful, sadistic tone that made the girl nauseous.
“Paint for my little star, add a new painting and this will all be over, add your pain to my collection and we can call it a day...”
Twilight couldn't lie to herself she was terrified, she didn't understand this thing, nor its motives, nor the extent of its power, not even what it was exactly, and that filled her with fear, she saw no other way out, she didn't know if she could trust its words but she had no other options, it was either that or stay in this room locked up forever.
Without knowing very well why she slowly raised her hand and placed the tip of the brush on the canvas, for a second she thought that her hand moved by itself and would create an abomination fruit of the power of the thing, but no, her hand was still, completely under her control, finally she gathered the courage to open her eyes and realize that her timid movement caused a single black spot on the canvas, it took her a long moment to verify that, indeed, she was in control of her actions, now she had control of her actions, now she was in control of her actions, now she was in control of her actions, now she was in control of the thing, now she was in control of her actions, now she was in control of her actions, now she was in control of her actions, she was not sure, she was not even someone very skilled in that art, even so she did the best she could, she began to move the brush trying to imitate one of the landscapes that were in her field of vision, finally managing to get the quite recognizable silhouette of a tree, which, to her disbelief, seemed to begin to sway slightly, as if a faint breeze was shaking its leaves.
She could not believe it, it was not possible and yet she had it in front of her, for a second she was enraptured by the result of her own work when an idea crossed her mind, maybe she could use this to her advantage, if everything she painted came to life then maybe she could paint something that would help her.
She painted the silhouette of a butterfly, imagining it as a pink butterfly and little by little the black ink changed color until it became the beautiful insect which began to flutter all over the canvas, then she painted the silhouette of a small train and imagined it red and so it came to life and began to move forward drawing small clouds from her chimney, she tried a few more times, a puppy, a car, a boat, with each drawing she made the applause and cheering became more and more present, finally she began to paint a fairly large rectangle, covering almost the entire center of the canvas, as she completed the shape Twilight did not imagine its color, but what she wanted it to be, and the next second, a door became perfectly visible, it was made of simple wood, the design was not what Twilight cared about, but where it led to, she had imagined a way out.
Seeing it she felt a pang of hope, if her hypothesis was correct, she could use that door to leave, she reached out her hand to try to grab the handle but inevitably could only feel the rough canvas, she had not considered this, she could not even feel the fresh paint, it was as if, whatever the brush was doing, it was beyond what she could touch.
She thought and thought for a long moment, she had to find a way, then an idea came to her, somewhat absurd but right now she didn't have many more, again she moved her hand again, slowly trying to achieve the most exact silhouette possible, imagining what exactly she wanted and finally, before her there was a silhouette of herself, slowly taking color until it became an opaque reflection, one that didn't take long to lay eyes on her, she didn't notice that, before this, all the bustle of the room suddenly fell away.
“Listen to me...!” she exclaimed loudly ”I need you to open the door!” She convulsed her words with exaggerated gestures, just in case her painting couldn't hear her, pointing to the door that still lay in the center of the canvas.
Supintura looked confused for a second, looking around and seeming to be startled by the rest of the crude drawings, only to look straight back at her, it seemed that if she could see her after all, resting her eyes on the closed door and walking towards it, seeming to walk away and finally grabbing the handle, it turned effortlessly and the door finally opened, to Twilight's relief and surprise on the other side she could see the front of the antique store, it was the exit, now there was only one last question left to solve it.
“Hey, I need you to help me, I need to get into the canvas so I can get out!”
Her painting remained on its back, watching the exit carefully, as if trying to understand its workings, it circled around the door a couple of times before finally turning and walking back to the front of the canvas, but Twilight couldn't help but feel worried, as the closer her painting got the more she could notice how it was smiling broadly, the same smile that the other people in the other paintings had, this worry grew even more when her own self stood in front of her on the other side of the canvas, its gaze fixed on hers.
“Hey...” he spoke with fear in his voice ”You...can you hear me?”
The painting did not respond, he simply reached into one of his pockets and pulled out the same brush that Twilight was holding, with extreme delicacy he lifted it up to place it in front of her face, admiring it enormously while Twilight felt her body tense up, her reflection twisted then proceeded to take a couple of steps away and began to make gestures with his hand as if he were painting, For a second Twilight didn't understand it as no new silhouette appeared on the canvas, later she understood what was really happening as in the corner of her eye suddenly everything was filled with black, the reduced space became completely claustrophobic as on both sides of Twilight two huge black silhouettes, blotches that compressed her tightly, the pressure on her made her drop the brush which, this time, didn't return to her hand.
Quickly both silhouettes shrunk acquiring color until they became a deformed reflection, of Rarity and Applejack, badly done, their bodies and faces looked like wet paper, even so it was more than evident the huge smile on the face of both, Twilight screamed but nothing else she could do, there was nowhere to run both monsters rose far above her head while the applause became present again, this time even louder than before.
“DaRlInG” said the thing with Rarity's face in a distorted voice.
“ApPlEs” said the silhouette of Applejack in the same voice.
Twilight was short of breath, she could feel her bones creaking under the pressure of the two monstrosities threatening to take over the tiny space, her breathing was becoming increasingly ragged and her vision blurring with each passing second, still she could see her smiling reflection stand right in front of her on the canvas, to her absolute terror the twilight on the canvas seemed to begin to writhe in a horrible way, she could see her joints twisting completely, her ribs piercing through her skin, her legs snapped and seemed to stretch along with her arms, black inky blood gushed out covering every inch of her body, dripping very slowly looking almost like a huge sticky cloth, the smile of her reflection remained smiling with a frozen expression as her neck turned over and over on itself while the poor girl cried without being able to utter a sound.
All around her the hubbub and merriment seemed to fade as her eardrums gave way under the enormous weight, the room seemed to spin as her balance was taken from her, she gritted her teeth trying to hold back the nausea but at some point they broke, the pain she felt was so overwhelming that Twilight herself found it strange to realize that no matter how much time passed she seemed to be unable to lose consciousness or ultimately die, something she could not understand and it made her much more maddened than just being there.
Finally there was something different, the poor girl could feel something besides the weight on herself, she felt it in her mouth, as if something was filling it and forcing its way through her bloody gums, she looked up as best she could feeling her vertebrae crunch horribly noticing how the creatures with the face of her friends rested their huge empty eyes on her while they used one of their hands to hold the inside of her mouth from both sides, she could taste the ashes and wet wood in combination with her own blood as the two huge fingers dug into each of her cheeks, they pulled her forward forcing her to look at the canvas again, and there it was, before her, the whole canvas had turned completely black except for the huge white, smiling face right in the center.
The smile was bigger than ever, reflecting a joy and an emotion beyond anything, Twilight could no longer feel her heart beating, nor the desperate trembling of her lungs in search of air, she could no longer feel anything, her mind seemed to wander, drifting away from wherever she was, through her mind went memories that were not hers, she saw many faces, faces deformed in impossible ways and frozen in perpetual smiles, one after another, memories as old as the world itself, as old as the beginning of all things, for an instant Twilight saw herself as overwhelming as the world itself, as old as the beginning of all things, for an instant Twilight saw herself as overwhelming as the beginning of all things, faces distorted in impossible ways and frozen in perpetual smiles, one after another, memories as old as the world itself, as old as the beginning of all things, for an instant Twilight was so overwhelmed and lost in these memories that she could barely hear the whisper in the back of her mind.
“Smile.”
And in that instant the twisted Applejack and the hideous Rarity pulled at the corners of the girl's lips in unison, tearing her skin and separating it from her muscles, deforming her expression until at last her face became a vivid reflection of the one before her with the pale skin devoid of any circulation, the eyes with pupils so dilated that they only let her see a deep black and the huge smile, a perpetual smile that would accompany her for the rest of eternity.
“Hello? Hello!” The old man checked one by one the aisles of his store in search of the three girls, hours had passed since they ventured to explore his little store and none had returned to the counter, not even to ask about the price of something, the old man waited patiently, not wanting to seem desperate, but the more time passed the more he missed them.
He checked up and down, one, two, three aisles, nothing, a hundred steps to the back of his establishment and a hundred steps back, he did not understand, maybe he had fallen asleep at some point and had not noticed that the girls had left, that seemed to him the most rude, but he could not find another explanation, finally and after having checked a third time the old man, resigned, returned to the front of the store, it had become very late and had to close to go home, curiously when returning to his counter he noticed something strange.
On the old wood, right in the only place that was not covered by his antiques, rested a small wooden box, adorned with silver ornaments, the old man was perplexed by this, he did not remember that box being there before, curious he took the box between his hands, noticing a couple of things, firstly, the design was certainly strange, very irregular to the eye, and secondly, not to as the lock of the box seemed to be completely melted, apparently making it impossible to open.
For a moment the thought crossed his mind that the three girls might have left him the curious object, perhaps as a compensation, perhaps the girls did not want to be rude, perhaps an emergency arose and they had to leave.
Be that as it may the old man found the small souvenir pleasant, he let out a sigh, taking from behind his counter his case, hat and a small bag, preparing to leave, putting the box in his bag and heading out the door, letting out a slight cough as he locked it.
After that he simply put on his hat and started walking, thinking about how sad he felt that his business was not prolific as it once was, maybe it was a good time to retire, yes, a good time, after all, young people today are no longer interested in antiques.
