Hardy had heard Fluttershy mention that she was going to the spa with a friend. He was curious about who she was talking about. Sweetie Belle had told him that she had an older sister named Rarity.
“Who are you going to the spa with tomorrow, Fluttershy?” He asked while walking beside Fluttershy, he had seen the Ponyville Day Spa, but never had been inside it. From what he had heard from Fluttershy, it seemed relaxing and the two spa ponies work hard to help their clients relax.
“Her name is Rarity, she’s a good friend of mine, she works at Carousel Boutique, she lives there with Sweetie Belle. Rarity is a fashionista and seamstress.” Explained Fluttershy.
The two ponies made their way to Carousel Boutique, he wondered if Sweetie Belle was home or not. It had been a while since their last visit. Fluttershy also wanted to introduce Sparkling to Rarity, she thought they might get along quite well. Some time had passed and they saw the boutique, Sparkling thought it looked amazing. The two doors had diamond shaped windows, and the flag on top danced gracefully in the breeze. Fluttershy knocked on the door and was greeted by an white mare with a stylish purple mane and tail, her cutie mark was three diamonds, and they suited her blue eyes.
“Hello, Fluttershy it is nice to see you on this gorgeous day.” The mare said cheerfully.
“It certianly is a nice day, Rarity, I hope I’m not interupting your work.” Replied Fluttershy.
“It’s quite alright, Fluttershy. I had just finished and was getting some fresh air.” Said Rarity reassuringly, she then noticed Fluttershy had brought a visitor.
"And who's your new friend, his eyes are like rubies" She asked as she gazed in to Hardy's red eyes.
“Hello, my name is Hardy.” Hardy said.
“My name is Rarity, Ponyville’s fashionista and seamstress." Rarity explained.
“Do you know if Sweetie Belle’s home, Rarity?” Asked Hardy.
“Sweetie Belle’s with her friends. I asked her to run along and find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, I wanted to give her something to keep her busy while I work, I didn’t want her to be bored. I’ll tell her you stopped by and said hello. She’ll certianly be happy to hear that." Explained Rarity.
“Speaking of stopping by, would you like to come in and have a look at my dresses?” Asked Rarity. She wanted to let him see what she had made. He wasn’t into fancy stuff, but he wanted to admire the time and effort Rarity put into each dress she made.
“Sure, Rarity. I’d like to see your dresses.” Hardy said. Rarity led Fluttershy and Hardy into her boutique. The room was full of cream colored mannequins displaying various dresses and clothing. The dresses seemed to be adorned with multiple jewlery.
“I think they’re amazing, Rarity. You worked hard on each and every one of these dresses.” Hardy said. Rarity was glad that Hardy thought her displays were amazing.
“Why, thank you, darling. I appreciate your compliment very much.” She was happy that Hardy liked her work. Fluttershy also had admired Rarity’s dresses as well, all six of her friends had been to the Grand Galloping Gala and Rarity had offered to make dresses for all of them.
Rarity had left to pick up Sweetie Belle because she had finished her work. Hardy saw a mannequin that stood out from the rest. It was white and had stitches all over its body, the most noticeable and disturbing part is that it was headless. It also seemed to be standing upright even without the stand attached to it. This sent a chill up his back and Fluttershy noticed this.
“Hardy i-is everything okay? You seem to be looking at one of the mannequins in a horrified way.” Asked Fluttershy. Hardy knew mannequins were inanimate objects, but it seemed that one of them was facing directly towards him. He shook his head, he assumed he was hallucinating again. When he looked back up, it was just a normal mannequin.
"Yes, Fluttershy. I'm fine, just hallucinating again." He replied. Fluttershy knew that hallucinations were normal from time to time. However, it could be serious if it happens frequently.
"You seem tired, Hardy. I want you to head home and take a nap, you probably didn't sleep well last night. I'll let Rarity and Sweetie Belle know that you were a little tired." Fluttershy said with a motherly sense. She was worried about him, he seemed to have not been feeling well. Hardy nodded and headed out of Carousel Boutique and headed home.
Hardy was walking towards the main part of Ponyville when he saw a little filly crawling away from him. The filly did so at limping speed. It looked like there was flesh over top where the eyes should be, the front legs were attached along its back by flesh, the back legs seemed to scoot along dragging the creature away. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head and when he looked back, there was nothing there.
Hardy thought he was losing his mind, he picked up the pace a little. He then seemed to catch sight of a nurse. It wore a pink jacket and a matching hat with a red cross in the center it also had same pink shoes and white socks covering the two hind legs. What was off about the nurse is that it had no mane, bandages covering up the face, and a muzzle where the mouth should be. However, the most disturbing feature is that its pink jacket was stained with blood.
Hardy rubbed his eyes and shook his head again and once again, there was nothing there when he looked back. He had his wits scared out of him, he teleported into his room and panted heavily. Once he caught his breath, he went downstairs to tell his mother.