9 months earlier
“Now approaching Ponyville station!” shouted the conductor as the train slowly arrived at the snowy little town. Pulling up to the town, the ponies got off the train, barely any of them looked happy but one mare stood out from the rest, her misery outweighing all those around her.
Rarity had spent the entire month of January in Canterlot doing what little she could to help with the disaster Hellfire had caused. Eventually though, Luna had insisted that she should go home and spend some time with her love ones.
As she walked out onto the platforms of the train station she saw her parents and sister rushing up to her. She never thought she would be so happy to see their tacky shirts and out of date outfits. “Hello mother, father.”
“Oh my poor baby!” her mother cried, immediately grabbing her daughter in a bear hug. “It’s okay, mama’s here honey, everything is going to be alright.”
“Thank you mother,” said Rarity. “I glad to see you too.”
“Honey, if you need to cry no pony will blame you dear,” her mother said as she started to tear up. “I’ll cry with you if it makes you more comfortable.”
“I’m fine, mother,” she said. “I think I’m all cried out anyways.”
“Now there’s no need to be so strong around family,” Rarity’s father said. “You don’t have to pretend that you’re alright.”
“I am not all right,” Rarity said, “I’ve been crying all month, I think I ran out of tears to shed a few days ago.”
“My little girl’s so brave…” whimpered her father, joining in on the hug. “I have no idea what you could possibly be feeling, but if me or your mother can do anything for you, you just need to ask, angel.”
“Thank you father, but I think I’ll be okay, I just need to be around family.”
“Well, your father and I will stay as long as you want us to,” her mother said. “Magnum took a few weeks off work given the circumstances, and your mama’s not going anywhere.”
“Thank you, everypony, really,” smiled Rarity.
“Rarity…” asked Sweetie Belle. “Is it true that they’re all really dead?”
The white mare sighed. “Yes Sweetie Belle, they’re gone.”
“Do you miss them?” the little filly asked.
“Of course I do!” gasped Rarity. “I miss them every day.”
“You don’t look like you do.”
“Sweetie Belle!” barked her father. “Don’t be so insensitive, your sister is in a great deal of emotional pain and she needs the love and support of her family right now.”
“You’re right daddy,” sulked Sweetie Belle. “I’m sorry Rarity. At least you still have us! Right?”
“Of course Sweetie,” smiled Rarity, her sister joining the family hug. “And I’ll always will.”
The family stood there outside the train station, hugging their daughter that had lost so much so quickly. They could only hope that they could push past this as a family, and that maybe someday, Rarity would find peace again.
It was a pity that that could never happen, not as long as Rarity knew what she knew, and how one day, she would have to confront what she knew, and face the wrath of her own demons.
*****
“Is it just me or is it getting chillier?” muttered Rarity as she tightened up her cloak, the cold fabric clinging to her natural coat.
“Mistress, I cannot feel anything, but I assume you are cold?” Frostbite asked he floated up ahead a little. The blizzard had recently picked up within the tundra of bones and Rarity was having trouble fighting against the wind. “We should be nearing the Mirror Caves.”
“Another pleasant landmark, I assume?” the mare said sarcastically, stopping as a gust of wind sent chills down her body. “Well, as long as it’s warmer than out here.”
“Warmer, yes…” sighed the shade, “To feel warm again, or even this hellish cold. I miss being able to feel Miss Rarity, what I would give or do to have my body back.”
“I’d gladly trade with you,” the unicorn shivered. “Anything to get out of this storm.”
The ghost-dragon laughed. “You don’t appreciate your fleshy form Mistress, I was the same way when I was alive. I thought my body was indestructible… we know now that was a lie.”
“Aren’t you an ice dragon?”
“Glacier dragon but essentially the same thing.”
“Then wouldn’t that make you immune to all the cold?”
“Miss Rarity, remember how you found me?” Frostbite asked.
“Point taken…” she mumbled. “Is that it up ahead?” In the middle of the bony canyon was a large wall that contrasted with the frozen corpses of the Boneyard. It was a cave made of finely cut ice and it seemed rather polished despite the current blizzard that was roaring. Staring into its walls was almost like looking into a mirror, and it hurt Rarity’s eyes as the pure white snow reflected of its walls.
“Here we are, the Mirror Caves,” said the frost dragon, drifting towards its entrance. “Shall we enter?”
“Not much of a choice is there?” asked Rarity, the two of them stepping out of the cold boneyard and into the reflective cavern. “We’ll at least it’s warmer in here…”
“I would not know, Miss Rarity,” said Frostbite.
The walls of the cave were similar to the ones outside. Every crystal surface was polished to perfection; it was like walking down a house of mirrors as the mare’s and the shade’s image were reflected upon the interior of the cave. Some were warped to make certain parts of their bodies look bigger or smaller and for the first time since they had entered this underworld, Rarity the slightest bit happy.
“It’s like a funhouse!” she smiled, her cheek pinched and cramp. It had been awhile since she had a reason to grin. “I’ve always loved looking in mirrors.”
“There is no ‘fun’ in this house I’m afraid,” said the spirit. “And these walls are not like that of a funhouse.”
“Still, I feel better,” she said. “Less afraid. I may as even go as far to say I am… happy.”
“Were you not happy before, Mistress?”
“Heavens no,” sighed Rarity, her smile dropping. “I was beyond miserable.”
“Then savour your happiness, for I fear that like everything in the Mirror Cave, it will be short lived.”
“You can be quite bleak sometimes, Frostbite,” said Rarity.
“I mean no offense, it is just that this world… and this cave. It reeks of something most… sweet?”
“Is… is that cupcakes?” asked the white mare.
“I… I believe so.”
“Why do we smell cup—oh dear…” gulped Rarity as they continued down the hall, the aroma of sweet smelling treats getting stronger and stronger. As they turned the corner, Rarity’s worse fears came true.
“Would you like more tea, Issac?”
There was a large long table set up in what looked like a dining hall within the cave. The cracked walls reflected into each other, giving the illusion never ending walls and passages. On the dining table, large platters of blue-frosted cupcakes were spread out on the table as well as blue-frosted cake, and blue-frosted donuts, and blue frosted scones. Everything was covered in the strange pale blue frosting. Sitting around the long dining table were about a dozen different ponies. They all looked like statues; the only sign that they were living was the small raise in their chest and the puff of chilled air that blew through their noses as they breathed. They all seemed pale and colourless, their colourful coats faded from the cold and snow.
The most peculiar thing was their eyes. Everypony’s eyes were a pale, light icy blue. Their irises had engulfed most of the eye and their pupils were gone, just a cold glassy stare as each pony at the table sat there, as if they were frozen.
At the very end of the table was the only moving figure, a pink-coated pony with a puffy pink mane. Pinkie Pie was pouring tea for a maroon red unicorn when she noticed her new guests.
“Rarity?” she asked.
“Pinkie Pie!”
“Rarity!” gasped the pink mare happily, springing up from her seat and flying over the long table, landing right next to her friend. “You made it! I’m so happy to see you!” she cried, pulling the white unicorn in for a bear hug.
Rarity panicked at first, thinking that Pinkie would attack her like Fluttershy had, but instead it was just a normal hug. The pink mare’s coat didn’t seem so cold, definitely warmer than hers was. Rarity had realized that she was in no real danger so she returned the hug. It was almost unreal, she had never thought she would ever hug any of her friends again, and a stray tear ran down her face.
“I missed you Pinkie Pie,” the unicorn sobbed, “I missed all of you! Your craziness, your randomness, your parties…”
“Aww, don’t be such a frownie brownie Rare,” Pinkie said. “We don’t have those here! All we have is what’s on the table! Want to try one?”
“Maybe later,” Rarity said.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll have one later, dear.”
“Pinkie promise?” the pink mare asked.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Rarity said, as she did the pinkie promise hoof gestures, crossing her heart and almost jabbing her eye out.
“Great!” beamed Pinkie, hopping back over to the table. “Oh! You have to meet my new friends! This pony’s name is Blemish! He’s really nice! And over there is Mr Cloud, be careful with him, he’s crazy. Bunsen is that purple pegasus at the end with the glasses. And sitting next me over there is Issac! Well his name isn’t actually Issac; it’s some really long and complicated name, so I call him Issac for short! He used to think it was annoying, but now he doesn’t seem to care anymore. Oh and over there is Chain Re—“
“I’m sure that they are all wonderful ponies darling,” interrupted Rarity. “But perhaps we can get acquainted later. I fear that I’m a little busy at the moment. You see I need to get to the other side of this cave. Do you know the way out?”
“Well duh!” laughed Pinkie. “I know every tunnel and passage in this cave! I could lead you out here easy peasy!”
“Really? Pinkie Pie that’s wonderful!” the white mare said enthusiastically. “Lead the way.”
“Ah-uh-uh!” teased Pinkie, “First we have to finish the party!”
“Oh… well I guess we could—“
“Ahem,” coughed Frostbite, “As much as we would enjoy this get together, Miss Rarity and I need to be off,” he looked at Rarity. “We’re in a hurry.”
“Whoa!” the wide-eyed Pinkie gasped. “I didn’t even see him there! Where did you get a ghost dragon? Can I walk through him? Is it weird if I do? Well is it? Is it? Is it?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that, but Frostbite is right, we need to get out of this cave,” said Rarity. “So if you would be so kind and show us the way out that would be just lovely.”
“Hold the phone!” yelled Pinkie, grabbing Rarity by the hoof. “First we have to have the party, then we’ll go out of the cave.”
“I thought we agreed to do this later.”
“No, you said you’d try a cupcake later. Speaking of, it’s later now!”
“A bit later, I umm… ate recently,” lied Rarity.
“Okie dokie loki!” the pink mare beamed, dragging Rarity to a free chair at the end of the table between a ghostly grey pegasus and a blonde earth pony. “Now let’s get this party started!”
Frostbite floated next to Rarity. “Miss Rarity, what are you doing?”
“Entertaining her,” she whispered. “We’ll play along until she gets bored, then she leads of out of the Mirror Caves.”
“And are you aware of the frozen ponies that attend this party?”
“Yes, I’ve been wondering about that,” Rarity said, looking at the blonde stallion sitting next to her. “Pinkie dear, are the rest of the guest alright? They look sort of… un-lively.”
“Oh they’re fine! Don’t worry about it! That will ruin all the fun!” laughed Pinkie Pie, as she grabbed a knife and cut herself a piece of cake. “Would you like another slice of cake Mr Foam?”
The yellow and blue unicorn sitting next to her slowly nodded his lifeless head. Pinkie placed the cake into his open mouth as he slowly chewed, his jaw movement was jerky and stiff, every chew sounding like breaking ice. Slivery saliva dripped down his mouth, freezing in the cold, not that he seemed to notice.
“Are you sure you don’t want a cupcake? They’re really good!”
“I’ll have one later, I pinkie promised, remember?” said Rarity. “So… this is a fun party.”
“Sure is! I almost as good as the one I had yesterday!” smiled Pinkie, cutting up more cake and handing them down the table. “But what about you Rarity? It’s been awhile since we talked last time, almost three hundred and sixty-five days!”
“It has, hasn’t it?” she said. “I’ve been better, to be honest. The year hasn’t been well for me.”
“That’s no fun!” mumbled Pinkie, grabbing a blue-frosted cupcake from the tray. “You should have a cupcake! They always cheer me up when I’m down.”
“Later, dear.”
“But it is later!”
“Then not right now.”
“Are you sure you’re going to eat one, because these are all starting to sound like… excuses!”
“I assure I am doing no such thing!” puffed Rarity. “A lady doesn’t lie.”
“Then eat the cupcake.”
“A lady also doesn’t force herself to eat when she’s not hungry.”
“Just a little nibble,” begged Pinkie. “Please?”
“Why do you want me to eat this cupcake so badly?”
“It’s just that they’re really good, and I want your opinion on them. C’mon, can’t you do this for a friend?”
“Tell you what Pinkie, take us out of the cave and I’ll try a dozen cupcakes,” suggested Rarity.
“Tell you what Rarity, eat that cupcake and I’ll take you out of the cave now.”
*cough-cough*
Both ponies turned to the sound of the coughing. A purple pegasus was the source of the noise as she kept hacking away. She started to cough up blue frosting, the goo drooling down her face as the colour started to return in her eyes.
As if she had just woken up from a nightmare, the violet pegesi screamed looking around where she was.
“W-w-w-where am I?” she asked. “What happened to me?!”
“Oh, great, a party-pooper…” sighed Pinkie, “Hold on, one second.”
“N-no! Stay away from me!” gasped the pegasus. “No more cake, no more cake!”
“Nonsense!” smiled the pink mare, stuffing a cupcake into the purple pony’s mouth. “What’s a party with cake...? Then it’s just dinner.”
The mouth of the pegasus was stuffed full of cake and she was forced to swallow. Soon her eyes became pale blue and haunting again and she resumed her zombified state, continuing to chew on the cake that was in her mouth.
“I hate it when that happens,” mumbled the pink mare. “So about that cupcake…”
“What did you do to her?!” demanded Rarity. “What’s in these cupcakes?”
“I don’t know,” shrugged Pinkie. “But the big scary fire pony gave me these cupcakes and said to keep feeding them all the ponies that passed through here.”
“And you listened to him?!”
“He did ask very nicely, he even said please, so he can’t be that bad.”
“But he killed you! He killed all of you!” screamed Rarity.
“So?”
“So?!” growled. “He’s a bad stallion—or whatever he is. He killed you Pinkie, took you away from everypony that cared about you.”
“But all my friends are here!” smiled Pinkie. “And that’s all I ever needed. Besides, Hellfire said that no pony was really that upset about me being gone.”
“That’s not true!” cried Rarity. “I missed you, I missed all of you!”
“Well…”
“And so do your parents, and the Cakes! Pinkie, life is miserable without you!”
“My parents?” asked Pinkie Pie. “You saw my parents?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes Pinkie, I did.”
“How are they? And the Cakes, are they okay?”
“They are… given the circumstances.”
“Do… do they miss me?”
“Of course they do.”
“How do you know?”
Rarity looked to the ground and sighed. “Because I was there...”
*****
8 months earlier…
Ring-ding!
“Hello there,” called Mrs Cakes from the back kitchen. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
“Take your time…”
“Wait, is that you Rarity?” she asked, rushing into the front of the store. “Oh my, it is you! Dear, I thought you were still in Canterlot.”
“Hello Mrs Cakes,” said Rarity, smiling weakly as she walked into the bakery. “I trust you are well?”
“As well as I can be,” the older mare sighed. “It’s been so quiet recently, nothing bad has happened to the shop, it’s been clean for almost three months… and I hate every second of it.”
“I miss her too,” said Rarity. “But you’ll move on, right?”
“I suppose with time, but we’ll always want things to be like they were before,” Mrs Cakes said. “I’d give anything to have my sweet Pinkie Pie back.”
Rarity cringed at that last sentence. “But she wasn’t even your real daughter; she just lived and worked at the bakery.”
“She was, but she was so much more than that. Sometimes I knock over a bag of sugar or spill a container of milk, just to pretend it was another mess Pinkie made. Not that she was messy, but it makes me feel better.”
“She had an impact on us all,” agreed Rarity. “How are the twins? They must be almost teenagers by now.”
“Ten years old,” sniffed, Mrs Cakes. “They still ask when their Aunt Pinkie is coming home.”
“You haven’t told them that she’s… you know, dead?”
“I couldn’t bear to see the look in their eyes!” cried the pony baker. “It was hard enough on me to tell her she was just leaving for a bit. I couldn’t make myself tell them the whole truth.”
“You know they will have to find out eventually, right?” asked Rarity.
“I know, I know… but let’s let them be children for a little longer. Anyways, look at me, talking away when you have been so patient and quiet. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Yes, I was wondering if I could get a caramel chocolate fudge lava cake with extra dark chocolate and coconut sprinkles and cherries.”
“Of course dear, you give me a minute and I’ll have your treat ready in a moment.”
“Thank you,” smiled Rarity as she waited for her order to finish. It had been too long since she had left her home. Both of her parents had been living in her spare bedroom and had been taking care of her like she was a new born foal. At first she didn’t mind; it was nice to feel loved again, but it had been over a month and they treated her like she was mental patient, and that any little thing could set her off. If she were to even show the slightest change in emotions she would be bombarded with a million apologizes and lead to her room where her parents insisted that she took a nap. In fact she had been sleeping a lot more recently and the days have all started to mesh together in a meaningless web of lost time and motivation.
But she tried to be productive, doing anything to keep her mind off of December. She had attempted to make some new dresses even though business had started to go down. Everypony seemed to be afraid of her, like saying hello to her in the street would set her on a psychotic rampage over her traumatic experience. It was a little sad that Mrs Cake had been the first pony to talk to her in over a month.
“Here’s your cake dear, that will be three bits,” said Mrs Cakes, handing a small bag to the unicorn.
“Only three bits?” Rarity asked. “I remember it being more expensive. Did you change the prices?”
“For you we did,” said Mrs Cakes. “We can imagine what you’re going through right now and it’s the least we can do.”
Rarity frowned. “I insist that I pay full price.”
“There’s no need dear, three bits is all you need to pay.”
“Why does everypony treat me like this!” the white mare growled. “I’m not crazy! I’m not special, I just want life to go back to the way it was but everypony insist on treating me like I have a bomb strapped to my chest!”
“Rarity, please calm down!”
“Don’t tell me to be calm you fat old hag! How can you even pretend to know what I’m going through? Were you there Cup Cake? Did you have to watch them die?!” she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a large bag of bits. “I will pay full price for this cake, and you will never offer me any sort of charity again because if you do I will lose it!”
Rarity grabbed the bag with the cake in it and ran through the door, a trail of fresh tears pouring down her face.
*****
“Oh my…” said Pinkie.
“Oh my is right, Pinkie,” said Rarity, wiping a tear off her face. “I regret what I said to her every day, but the worst thing was that I could never bring myself to apologize to her.”
“You never saw her again?” asked the pink mare.
The unicorn shook her head. “I never went back to Sugarcube Corner, though I heard that she eventually told Pound and Pumpkin about what really happened to you. They cried, of course.”
“They really do miss me...”
“We all do.”
“Oh Rarity!” cried Pinkie, digging her face in the shoulder of her friend. “What have I done?”
“There, there Pinkie Pie, everything will be alright,” said Rarity, comforting her friend.
“I’ve been so mean. Hellfire told me that if I killed you I could go back to the Cakes, but I don’t want to anymore!”
“And why’s that?”
“Because you need to apologize to her!” said Pinkie Pie. “Hellfire told me about your choice, and I was mad at first that you didn’t choose me, but now I realized that you had it just as bad as anyone of us. So as soon as you save Spike I want you to tell the Cakes that you’re sorry. Got that?”
“I… I don’t know what to say…”
“Say you will,” smiled Pinkie. “Say that you will get out of here and you and Spike will be happy.”
Water started to build up around the mare’s eyes as she hugged her friend. “Thank you Pinkie, thank you so much.”
“No problem, happy to help a friend,” said Pinkie Pie. “Now let’s get you out of here.”
Pinkie walked up to one of the mirrored walls of the cave, placing a hoof on the surface. She slowly started to draw circles on the wall, dragging her hoof until there was a click.
“There you go!” she smiled as she swung the wall open.
“That’s it?” asked Rarity. “That’s how we get out of here?”
“Yeppers!”
“Seems kind of… Oh, never mind,” shrugged Rarity as she started to walk towards the newly formed door. “Goodbye Pinkie Pie, I’m going to miss you.”
“Same here… oh and Rarity.”
“Yes Pinkie?”
“Can you tell the Cakes that I miss them? And that Aunt Pinkie loves her little Pound and Pumpkin Cake?”
Rarity smiled. “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.”
“That’s not a Pinkie promise.”
“No… it’s just a promise,” she said, before she and the dragon ghost stepped through the door, and out of the Mirror Cave.