______*Ponyville, Equestria, 1:01 PM.*______
It was another beautiful day in Ponyville, the water from the rain the previous night glistened on the blades of grass, the gentle breeze made the grass and leaves blow in the wind, the white clouds drifted peacefully in the sky, the cool air made the bright glow of the sun not as taxing on the body.
The people of Ponyville went about their lives happily and busily, and one mare in particular made her way back to her shop from the market, she had soft white fur, a long and styled purple mane and tail, her eyes were dark blue and she was a unicorn, she hummed a happy tune to herself as she walked.
This mare was called Rarity, and she owned a fashion shop called Carousel Boutique, she had aspirations to become a famous designer and was very skilled at making a suit or dress that fit her client perfectly, of course this did lead to some issues from time to time, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.
Now, newer residents to Ponyville would assume that Rarity lived at her shop because of the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, but in truth, she lived in a larger and more mysterious building.
Rarity soon passed by her home and she gave it a glance, the walls were made of thick and sturdy oak wood that had been painted to a slightly redder shade, the building was large, at least a third of an acre in length, the second story of the home had four rooms, while the first floor had six rooms.
To those that lived in Ponyville long enough, the home was widely believed to be cursed, it had been like this for four or more generations, but no matter what Rarity said, the belief remained, and so she decided to stop trying to convince them.
Rarity walked to her shop and entered, it still had the faint vanilla scent from earlier and she took a short breath.
Heading to the sewing room upstairs, Rarity used her magic to open the door and put everything away without even looking, in mere seconds, the cloths and fabrics went onto shelves in the correct order, and the sewing thread was placed into a small drawer.
Once everything was put away, Rarity walked out of the sewing room and headed downstairs when she heard the door open. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chiq, unique, and mangifique." She greeted professionally. [1]
______*later that day, 9:00 PM*______
Rarity entered her home and closed the door behind her, she turned on the light, revealing her living room, it had a comfy gray couch, and a matching sofa next to it, there was a coffee table in front of the couch, a maple end table in the corner between the two, the carpet was light blue and the curtains were dark gray.
Rarity yawned and walked to the kitchen to grab something to eat before going upstairs, she opened her refrigerator and pulled out some leftover salad and a sandwich in a bag, it wasn't much, but it would have to do, after a few minutes, the food was gone and cleaned up afterwards.
She walked to the small hallway between the dining room and the family room, she then headed upstairs after turning off the lights, she made her way up the stairs carefully and soon reached the upstairs, the room that connected the four rooms was small with no decorations, there were four doors though, one door led to Rarity's room, another led a guest room, the third door led to an office that her grandfather used.
Then there was the fourth door, Rarity simply looked at it, her grandfather was always paranoid of this room, it got so bad that he wouldn't go upstairs anymore, so they moved him downstairs along with his office supplies, the door was locked, but Rarity had the key nearby on a small table, the door was just a plain wooden door with nothing special about it, other than the strange painted crow on the door, her grandfather always told her to stay out of the room, and to never go in.
Rarity just shook her head and walked to her room, too tired to care right now, she entered her room and closed the door.
Her room was of course the master bedroom, the walls had been painted a soft blue, it had a double bed with lavender sheets and blankets, the pillows were the same color as well, there was a small vanity mirror sitting on a table next to a moderately sized desk, there was a bookshelf holding Rarity's personal books, there was a large window door that led to a small balcony, the curtains were black, in complete contrast to the rest of the room.
There was also a door to the master bathroom, she walked into her bathroom and headed for the shower, it wasn't anything special, but it had the bath or shower function and that was good enough.
Turning on the water, Rarity stepped inside the shower and began to wash off her makeup and clean her mane up, her hair fell down her head and face, and the makeup washed away after a little work.
A few minutes later and Rarity stepped out of the shower, she looked very different without her makeup and her mane styled, but she wasn't concerned about that as she grabbed a towel and dried herself off quickly.
She used her magic and set the towel in the laundry basket, she then to walked to her bed and got under the covers, she rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes.
______*the next day, 8:00 AM*______
Rarity opened her eyes sleepily and with a quiet groan as she shifted in bed, she blinked a few times before getting out of bed begrudgingly. 'I may be closed for today, but that's no excuse to lay around.' She thought as she walked to her bathroom.
After five or seven minutes, Rarity walked out of her bathroom and headed for the door to leave her room.
She walked out of her room and walked downstairs, then she walked to her kitchen and started to make some breakfast, the kitchen had a double sink, an oven and refrigerator, multiple cabinets, and the walls were gray.
After a few minutes, Rarity had just started to plate her food, which was simply eggs and toast, when a knock came at the front door, she blinked and looked over with curiosity. 'No one ever comes here.' She thought to herself.
Rarity walked to the door and unlocked it, she opened the door and saw three ponies she wasn't expecting, her parents and her little sister.
Her father was a white unicorn stallion with a brown mustache, mane and tail, his cutie mark was that of three footballs, he had blue eyes, his name was Hondo Flanks, but he was called Magnum far more often, he often wore a straw hat on his head.
Her mother was a pink unicorn mare with a mane and tail that were two shades of purple, her cutie mark was that of three cookies, one of which had a bite mark and crumbs, her eyes were also blue and she wore two golden earrings and a yellow ascot, her name was Cookie Crumbles, or Betty Bouffant.
And then there was Sweetie Belle, she was a unicorn filly with white fur, and a purple and pink mane and tail, she had no cutie mark yet, her eyes were a pale green.
Rarity was honestly surprised, she hadn't been expecting them at all today, but she had an idea of what they wanted. "Mom, dad?.....I wasn't expecting you, how are you?" She asked.
Magnum smiled. "We're doing alright, we were planning on going to Fillydelphia, but we heard the summer sun celebration was coming up, and that it was here in Ponyville, so we decided to come and stay in town for it." He explained.
Rarity nodded In understanding. "I see, well, I there are two open bedrooms here, it will at least save you the trouble of finding a hotel that isn't booked." She offered.
It was true, Rarity had heard about this event, and that whenever it happened the motels and hotels were always comepletely booked.
Betty smiled and walked up, she gave Rarity a hug. "Thank you, your too generous you know that?" She said.
Rarity chuckled a little. "Your family, it's the least I can do." She pulled out of the hug and let them all inside. "Do you remember where the spare rooms are?" She asked.
Magnum nodded. "Yea, do you mind if we take the room down here Sweetie Belle?" He asked as he looked at his younger daughter.
Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Uh.....no?" She replied.
Rarity walked to the kitchen and took her breakfast to the dining room to eat, the dining room had dark brown wooden walls that were personally carved, the table was large enough for eight to sit and eat, she was soon followed by Sweetie Belle who looked up at her.
It was awkward silence for a few moments until Rarity spoke. "Is.....something wrong?" She asked.
Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No, it's just that...you look a lot different when you don't style your mane." She stated.
Rarity nodded. "I suppose I do, why don't you go and check out the upstairs guest room? you always want to see it when you come over." She asked.
Sweetie Belle nodded and headed to the stairs, allowing Rarity to eat in silence.
______*upstairs*______
Sweetie Belle walked around, she had always been curious about the upstairs rooms, but she never really had a chance to explore them, she had seen Rarity's room once before, and doubted that her big sister changed it, she walked into one of the rooms and looked around, there was a desk, a few bookshelves and a few file cabinets, the walls were a cozy brown, it didn't take a genius to know that this room was an office mixed with a small library.
Sweetie Belle walked to the next room and opened it, there was a simple wooden dresser, an end table, a bed and a small desk, the walls were a plain white, and there was a single window with gray curtains, she walked out of the room.
She then walked to the last door, it was different from the others as it had a crow painted onto it, the door was also locked, but Sweetie Belle never knew why, Rarity never said anything after all.
"It is curious isn't it?" Rarity's voice said as it came closer.
Sweetie Belle looked and saw her sister walking over. "All the years I've lived here, and I've never been inside." Rarity stated.
"Why not?" The younger unicorn asked.
Rarity looked at her sister. "Because of our grandfather, he told me to never open this door, but he never told me why." She replied.
Sweetie Belle watched as Rarity looked to the small table in the room, she used her magic and a single key floated over, it was small and made of brass, Rarity looked at her sister again. "Want to see what's inside?" She asked.
The filly nodded eagerly and Rarity took a breath and put the key into the keyhole. "Let's see what our grandfather didn't want us to see." She said as she turned the key.
The door clicked and Rarity pulled the key out, she then pushed the door open gently, to the surprise of the sisters, there was a line of salt that got moved at the bottom of the door. "That's......odd." Rarity noted.
The sisters entered the room and looked around, the room was comepletely empty aside from salt lining the edges of the entire room. "What's with the salt?" Sweetie Belle asked out of curiosity.
"I'm not sure, but there isn't anything here, that's disappointing." Rarity said as she walked out.
Sweetie Belle took one last look around. "Yea, I guess your right." She said before walking out.