One Year Later

Twilight as per usual was sorting through one of her older shelves and levitating the books of said shelf in a massive rotating dome glancing at the titles then pointing at the spot she wished for the book to rest.  The book then would slide quickly into place and she would rinse and repeat the procedure.  As she continued to levitate the books a knock broke her concentration causing her wings to flare in slight annoyance.  She opened the door but smiled at the sight of the mail mare clutching her houses mail.

“Hi Derpy, anything good for me this time?”

Derpy nodded with a smile, “Not to many bills from what I’ve seen.”

Twilight went to grab the stack of letters but stopped short when a flyer dropped from it and onto the ground.  Both mares stared with utter shock and pained looks appeared.  The flyer displayed the latest tour schedule for “The Ash Bringers”.

Twilight shook her head, “Unbelievable.  They have the gull to tour around here again after…”

Derpy placed a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder, “She would've wanted us to forget about them and move on.”

Twilight sighed, “I know it’s just…ever since that night when she went with Sweetie I've always wondered how such a thing like that could happen to Rarity.  Both of them didn't deserve what they got,” the feeling of tears welled up at the remembrance of that solemn day a year ago; “worse yet the killers were never found.”

Derpy smiled softly, “Don’t worry Twilight, wherever they are now I have a feeling they’ll get what they deserve when the time comes.”

Twilight nodded, “I suppose your right.”

Derpy glanced around, “I just realized.  Where’s Spike?”

Twilight smiled as she wiped away the tears, “Playing with the girls.  Later tonight they’re going to go pay their respects.”

Derpy nodded and soon took to the sky.

The following hours were passed in relative normalcy.  Ponies walked around and casually chatted about times long passed in their lives.  Many ponies however would grow silent whenever they passed Carousel Boutique.  The building stood with boarded windows and a locked door, turning the once magnificent and welcoming building into a monument of respect as well as remembrance to the previous occupant.  Nopony bought the building out of an unspoken respect for Rarity when she lived there happily toiling some days away.  On the days when she and Fluttershy would go to the spa, the shy Pegasus and her friends would always leave a single flower on the doorstep.  One such friend was Spike the dragon who stood somberly before the building.  He sighed as he walked past it toward Ponyville cemetery.  Waiting for him there was Applebloom and Scootaloo with flowers clutched in their hands.  All three individuals approached a section of the cemetery that possessed two grave stones, one read ‘Sweetie Belle’, the other beside it had the depiction of the Element of Generosity upon it’s cold stone with ‘Rarity’ below it.

Applebloom and Scootaloo placed their flowers upon the marker.

Applebloom bent down, “Hey Sweetie, you’ll never guess what happened today.  Scoots and I tried your rappelling idea.”

Scootaloo clutched her shoulder, “Went as well as you would have expected.”

Both girls shared a laugh but then fell silent as Scootaloo sniffled slightly, “We miss you, every day.”

Applebloom nodded sadly as both girls stood up and looked at Spike who stood before Rarity’s grave in silence.  He glanced at them and gave a small smile and ushered them to go on ahead.

Spike knelt down and placed a single red rose upon the earth as the far off sound of thunder echoed, “Rarity,” tears began to drip from his eyes, “Every day that you’re gone…it’s just so hard to forget about you.  You were funny, smart, and beautiful.  Why did this have to happen to such a kind mare like you?”

He then punched the ground in sadness, “IT’S NOT FAIR!”

Spike knelt there for close to an hour as raindrops began to hit his scales gently at first.  But soon it developed into an unrelenting torrent.  Spike noticed that the sun had long since set and he sighed and stood.  He stopped when he noticed a lone crow perched on Rarity’s grave stone.  It tilted its head at him which he mirrored.  The bird then cawed and flapped its wings causing the dragon to back up slightly.  The dragon cast one more sorrowful glance at the grave and bolted for home as the crow hopped onto the moistening soil.

*

Her eyes were tired and sore from not being used.  She groaned as an annoying sound entered her ears which to her surprised flicked around trying to trace its source.  The sound grew in volume to the point where her eye lids, after a year of being shut, snapped open.  The scream that echoed through the confined space she was in was one of absolute terror and agony.  Her body screamed to move as she punched the roof in front of her eyes.  Darkness literally bled in around her as she continued to claw her way up.  The hated substance she knew all too well entered her mouth and stung her eyes as she continued her climb.  Eventually her hand pierced the surface and grabbed the grass, yes grass that’s what it was; she hadn’t felt it in a while.  She heaved with all her might and her upper torso emerged.  Her violet mane destroyed by dirt and unkempt and her once magnificent white coat stained.  The clothes she wore were black and slightly tattered due to her escape from her underground prison.  With one last mighty heave she pulled herself fully from the muddy hole and onto the ground.  She looked to the heavens and screamed as she inhaled her first breath of fresh air.  The rain water began to wash away the grime as she stood on unsteady feet; she quickly hobbled to a nearby lamp post and braced herself as her sense of balance returned to her.  A lone crow landed above her and cawed, Rarity cringed away from it.  She shrunk closer to the ground as her eyes scanned the area.  She had to get back to the Boutique, to clear her head, to find Sweetie Belle.

Rarity unsteadily sprinted from the dark place and onto the dark streets.  The crow overhead seeming to guide her movements as she continued her trek through the familiar yet darkened streets, she took care to avoid open windows.  She soon found herself once more at her front doorstep and opened it.  When she opened the door she paid no mind to the sound of a breaking door jam and shattering wood.  She slammed the door shut behind her and gazed at the now cobweb infested area she once called her boutique.  Somberly did she walk the darkened halls and discarded the clothes she wore until she wore nothing.  She stopped and took notice of a photo lying under a box; she plucked it from its nest and gazed at it.  It showed her with crossed arms and an unamused expression in her finest nightly attire for a night out and beside her, wearing a rocker t-shirt was Sweetie Belle.  Though she would have looked at the photo more, her head was soon split in absolute pain as a flash entered her vision.

“C’mon Rarity were going to be late!”

Rarity huffed, “I already said that I would take you to this…rock and roll band show so the least you could do is allow me time to look presentable.”

Sweetie Belle entered the room and snapped a photo, “SURPRISE!  Now I have proof that you’re going to a concert!”

Rarity rolled her eyes.

Rarity fell to the ground and writhed in agony.  She stood and rushed upstairs and threw open Sweetie Belles room door and fell on the floor.  Her sudden impact followed by silence was interrupted by the sound of rustling feathers and the feeling of something being deposited into her hand.  More visions flooded her head.

A unicorn stallion with a lime green coat wearing a choker and a leather trench coat smiled at Rarity, “Well aren’t you just the sweetest thing here.”

Rarity snubbed him off, “No offense sir but you’re not my type, as the saying goes.”

The unicorn glared at Rarity.

Rarity stood and glanced at the concert ticket with her name on it clutched in her hand,  She held her head in agony a the visions returned.

The lime unicorn waved a bloody knife in front of her face, “Terror time missy.”

Laughs followed as a scream reached her ears.  She felt a stabbing pain enter her abdomen and she fell and saw red.

Rarity snapped out of her trance and found herself in her bedroom.  She screamed in rage and punched a nearby mirror shattering it into pieces.  No pain registered her as she glanced at her fist in absolute shock.  The nasty gashes and wounds bled slightly, but closed up and healed in a flash.  Rarity blinked and looked at herself in the cracked mirror.  She walked away from it and entered her shower.  She washed the rest of the filth and grime from her body and mane and walked out.  Her mane air dried as she went about her business of gathering whatever items she could find in Sweetie’s room and built a sort of shrine in front of her vanity stand.  The picture was placed upon the mirror as she ran a finger along it.  She narrowed her eyes as the vision of the stallion entered her mind once more.  She stood and walked to her closet.  She threw the doors open and searched through it until she found what she was looking for.  She pulled on a pair of black jeans and fastened them shut.  She then pulled on a long-sleeved black shirt that fit her form snugly.  She then grabbed a black leather corset that was in a box on the floor of her closet and tied it tight around her torso.  Her mane now dry fell in a slightly curly cascade.  She sat before her mirror and glanced over at the pile of pictures she managed to grab and raised an eyebrow, there was a picture of her and the girls at a carnival event and she was holding a mask with a black and white color scheme that resembled a drama mask.  

She glanced at her mirror and pulled out some white face paint that she nabbed from Sweetie’s room and began to cover her face with it.  When that was finished she painted her nails black and then pulled out some black lipstick and eyeliner.  She first applied the lipstick to her lips then outlined her eyes in black giving them a more sinister and powerful presence.  She then popped the eyeliner pen and dragged it vertically down both her eyes.  When she was finished, a pair of pencil thick lines went vertically down from the top of her head and passed through her eyes ending just a few inches below her lower eye lids.  She then took the eyeliner pen and made one line come out from the corners of her mouth giving her a sort of sinister smile.  She then tied on a pair of black knee high heeled boots.

When she finished, Rarity stood up and walked to the highest window as the crow landed on her shoulder.  If anypony had been on the streets that night and bothered to look up at said window, they would have seen a pony that looked like a mime straight from the pits of Tartarus. Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Terror Time Estimated time remaining: 5 Minutes