The Toy Museum

by MrNelg

The Next Morning...

The first thing Sweetie was conscious of was the sound of light rain. The second thing was that she was laying in a bed. Slowly, she cracked open her eyes and stared at the wooden beams that criss-crossed the ceiling above her. Her neck ached when she turned her head to the side. Water was streaming down the window, distorting and warping the outside world. She sighed and raised her right foreleg so that she could touch her forehead.

Or at least she tried. Her limbs were bandaged and splinted, and she could smell the acrid odour of disinfectant. Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. What had…

Her eyes went wide as events from the morning returned like a bolt from the blue and she sat up. She gave a strangled cry of pain as her body protested the sudden movement, forcing her back down.

“Sweetie?” She recognised Rarity's voice. “You're awake? Oh thank Celestia!”

“What...?” Sweetie began when a hoof gently touched her head.

“Shhh,” Rarity cooed. “Don't talk, and please, don't try to move. The doctor says you need to rest as much as you can.”

“Doctor...?” She asked, confused.

“You're in the Fillydelphia General Hospital,” Rarity said, stroking her sister’s mane tenderly. “The hotel staff found you collapsed in the lobby, bleeding with cuts and bruises. Mum and Dad were worried sick,” she said. Her strokes paused as her hoof trembled slightly. “So was I.” Rarity looked Sweetie in the eye. “We got you here as fast as we could.”

Sweetie closed her eyes. The hotel lobby? She couldn’t remember anything after that… that alleyway. Her mind was just a blank. Considering she leapt out of a second story window, she was quite amazed that she even made it that far.

“I suppose I owe you an ex...?” Sweetie started when Rarity hushed, a sad smile on her lips.

“Later, Sweetie,” she whispered gently. “You can tell us and the doctors when you're feeling much better.” She gave a weary sigh. Sweetie would have to tell them what happened, eventually. Moreover, the authorities needed to know what was in that building.

“Thank you, big sis.” Sweetie Belle smiled at her big sister gratefully as Rarity withdrew her hoof.

“I feel horrible about yesterday after seeing you in this state. The way I behaved… I am so sorry Sweetie - I was just so furious at having travelled all that way through all that… that junk for nothing!” She paused, ears drooping as she looked at the ground. She fidgeted in
her chair, shooting a quick glance at Sweetie before looking away again.

“It's okay,” Sweetie purred reassuringly, enjoying the attention despite herself. “In fact...”

Rarity cut her off. “In fact, I felt so bad about insulting your interests, calling them all germ and dust-infested, I had to make it up to you somehow. So, I went out to get you a little gift.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Sweetie saw something being placed upon the bedside table with an audible thunk. “You shouldn’t...” Sweetie was struck dumb as Rarity kissed her just below the horn. When was the last time she did that? Between the dresses, fashion shows, celebrities… Sweetie knew she shouldn’t be so glad, but her heart warmed nevertheless.

Rarity paused, as if unsure what to do. Then she glanced at the clock on the wall. “Don't forget, I'm the element of generosity, not the element of crankiness.” She winked at Sweetie, getting up from her chair jerkily. “I need to go see our parents now, and let them know you're awake. We'll be back as soon as we can. In the meantime, you get some rest.” Sweetie watched the way she walked. From the way her limbs trembled, she was the one who needed some rest.

Rarity turned out the lights, plunging the room into darkness, broken only by the faint light outside the window and the cracks around the door, which hesitated in closing. “You want to know something funny, Sweetie?” Rarity said. “You really were right all along about that old museum. I'm so glad my conscience forced me to go back there for another look. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found your little gift.”

Sweetie froze, sudden paralysis overcoming her as she flapped her mouth in vain trying to call out. No, it could not be. No sound came out, and the door clicked shut with terrible finality.

Alone in her room, desperate hope forced her to turn her head. It was hard to make it out, but there was no mistaking that familiar white coat, that purple and pink mane and tail.

Worst of all was that cheerful, never-ending rictus grin.

THE END

Author's Note:

A newer ending. I didn't like the old one, and considering that it was too close to Alma for my liking. Special thanks goes to ACloestBroney for the advice and help.

Comments

[The Nightmare has Come]

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

[Flying Fantasy Horse]

[thegamerator10]

[mlpshippingismagic]

gr8 job! The sweetie bell doll makes me think of coraline...

[Discordfangal]

That dolls gonna kill poor Sweetie in her sleep...And then it's gonna move onto the rest of the household...And then it's gonna move across the rest of Equestria, finding it's way into little fillies hearts and killing them...

What was the original ending anyway?

[MrNelg]

5730881 Sorry for the late reply, been busy. As for your question: Maybe... I wanted to have the ending rather ambiguous to add to the horror. I prefer to try and make the reader afraid when it comes to horror stories, as I've found that the majority of stories that have the ending flat out sad or grim tends to fall flat, because the ending IS the horror aspect of the story. And that's it. With this story, I wanted to create something that would not only scare the reader, but give them something that they could keep coming back to, time and time again. With sad endings, you only tend to read them once, and that's it.

Is Sweetie going to escape or dose a much more sinister fate await her? I want the reader to come up with their own ideas.

[Gadgetphile]

Now with 100% Less errors

Ehh. You may need to brush up on your math skills. If I'm not mistaken "100% less errors" means there shouldn't be anyone left.

[Zubric]

5730881 Etiher that or absorb sweetie soul in her sleep and she be forever trapped in that doll. Esh now I got Chucky in my head.

Anyway this was a great story, spooky and i could jsut feel the atmpher as I read it. Greatly enjoyed it.

[GutiuSerenade]

Heya! Great story, and wonderfully creepy! I put an audio play together for this fic just in time for the holidays. I know it's not a Christmas story by any means, but hey toys and dolls fit the motif rather nicely to me. :P It's complete with two lovely talented VAs, music and SFX, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it! ^_^

[MrNelg]

6752232 Oh my God... Wow! I am so going over to your channel to listen to this. Thanks again for doing this, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Also, keep an eye on your own MLP figurines. Just because you want to play with them, dosen't mean that they won't want to play with you.

[Autum Breeze]

6753315 yeah, i've listened to the reading and i'll say exactly what i said there.

Holy crap, that was creepy as hell.

The ending is both terrifying when you think of it from the first perspective, but... i'm wondering if the doll honestly just wanted Sweetie Belle to own it. I mean, it never injured Sweetie, did it. She knocked it's head off, which would've given it reason to them open it's mouth to show teeth like the other puppets, but it didn't. it kept smiling. I think what's going on is one of two things.

1. the darker version, the dolls are a foreshadow, learning young ponies into the museum, then taking their souls.

2, the one i prefer to think of, the dolls were all designed at random and the spirits within them are waiting for a filly or colt that looks like them to get near the building. if they sense it, the magic of the place let's them be glimpsed by said filly or colt in the hopes it will bring the foal inside and into the workshop, where they'll be collected and cared for forever, which is why so many of the filly and colt dolls looked sad, because they still were waiting for their foal and why sweetie's doll was always smiling, because she'd found hers. As for the other dolls and toys.... i'd say they're spirits are either corrupted from being left alone in that building for so long, or they were just responding to the fact that Sweetie knocked one of the dolls over and they felt it meant danger, so were fighting back.

Of course, that's just a theory (A Pony Theory).

Yeah, i know. I'm never making that pun again

Edit: Yo, fellow Aussie.

[MrNelg]

7027426 Hey Autum Breeze.

Glad to see another Aussie here. As for your question, well, I wanted the ending to be ambiguous for a reason. Would Sweetie survive? Would she lose her soul? Or would your second theory come to pass? When writing horror, it's often best not to completely remove the curtain to show the full monster behind it, giving the audience only a glimpse. This fuels peoples imagination and heightens the experience, because mysteries lose all their appeal the instant you explain them. Your second theory is interesting, and I will tell you this...

The stilt like shadow that was the master of the museum actually had a name. When I was working on the story, I always refereed to it as, 'the Toy Maker.'

[PresentPerfect]

Not bad. Dolls are always creepy. :D

[MrNelg]

7391971 Thanks Mate. The idea for this story was a play on two factors. One, the 'Girls love Dolls trope,' and the FIM fandom with the whole Pony Toys looking like dolls. Just remember to keep an eye on your own MLP figurines.

[Godiswithus3]

One of two of the most common way to end a horror story. Ambiguity, not knowing if the character is gonna survive or not. *shivers* Moving dolls are creepy as f*ck. Well written cautionary tale. Thumbs up.

[Merula]

....where the hell is the Foundation when you need them?

[Legioner8]

8252872
They ran out of Class D personal.