State of Lincoln
Perry's Bay
Little Hong Kong
Silken Thread Tailors
6:33 AM
Rarity clumsily reached out of the shower stall after shutting off the water, grasping a thin towel before closing herself back inside. After a few moments, she slowly stepped out, hanging the soaked towel back on the rack. Lighting up her horn, she pulled her purple coveralls from the hanger on the door, lazily slipping her legs into the sleaves before tugging the zipper up to her neck. Turning her attention to the mirror, she used a washcloth to clean the fog from the glass, frowning deeply at what she saw.
Her mane was thin and flat, with white roots just starting to peak from her scalp. Grumbling, she began to run a brush through her hair, straightening it out and working it into a bun. Setting it back down, she tried to ignore the bags under her red, irritated eyes. After applying some blush and eyeliner from the dollar shop, the former fashionista slipped on a pair of cheap rose-colored glasses from the cupboard covering her eyes.
"Sweetie Belle, if you want breakfast, you better wake up..." Rarity spoke as she pushed her way out of the small bathroom to the studio apartment. In the far corner, a solitary mattress rested in the sparse room, where a pile of knitted blankets sat. She gently poked the wool mound, making her way over, feeling something stir within.
Sweetie slowly dug herself out from the blankets, brushing her mane from her eyes. "Mmmmf, what's for breakfast?" She rolled herself off the mattress.
Rarity trotted over to the improvised cooking nook, pulling out some malt-o-meal. Sweetie looked disappointed as she started to pour a jug of water into a pan on a rusty butane stove, taking a few tries to get the flame lit. "It will be a moment..." She watched the water in the pot.
"Can't I have the oatmeal with dinosaur eggs?" Sweetie gave a pleading expression to her elder sister.
"You ate the last packages yesterday." Rarity said as she started to pour the powder into the bubbling water.
"What about Dyno-Bites?" Sweetie frowned.
"We're... out of those too." Rarity kept her eyes to the pot avoiding the urge to look over at the splinted bread box where she stashed the sugary cereal.
The filly just nodded her head dejectedly, making her way to a stained folding table nearby. Rarity sighed, thankful her younger sister didn't press further as she started to pour the thick off-white goop into two bowls, adding just a little brown sugar to each. Grabbing them in her magic, she brought them over to the table and sat down opposite too her sister. Dipping her spoon into the malt, she started to stir in the sugar before taking a bite.
Sweetie, meanwhile, just lazily stirred her spoon in the bowl with her hoof. Hearing her sister clear her throat, she quickly started to shovel the barely sweetened slop into her maw. She tried to avoid making a face while eating, obviously missing her usual breakfasts. But Dyno Bites, Eggo Waffles, and Trix Yogurt weren't the healthiest options.
Glancing at the cheap wall clock, Rarity pushed herself up from the table after dusting off her coveralls. "I'm going to go to work, be good at school, Sweetie..." The older mare smiled gently at her younger sister and washed their plastic dishes.
The filly just hummed but nodded her head. "I'll try, I guess..." Sweetie stood up from her seat, yawning a bit.
Rarity gave her a gentle smile watching her grab her colorful patchwork bag. "Do you have your homework, lunch money, notebooks, and pencil box?" She looked serious.
Sweetie unzipped her bag and looked. "Uhhhh..."
Rarity rolled her eyes as she dug into her uniform, pulling out $5 from her pocket. "Please try to get a few of the healthy options for lunch." She ruffled her younger sister's lengthened mane.
Sweetie just nodded her head as she slipped the money into a hidden pocket in her book bag before slipping it back on. "Ok..."
The two of them made their way to the door and slipped out, making their way down the narrow stairs, finding themselves surrounded by an odd mix of washing machines, ironing boards, and hanging fabrics. Pulling a key ring from her pocket, Rarity unlocked the back door, kissing her baby sister on the head before letting her slip out. She stood by the exit, her sensitive ears listening, eventually letting out a sigh once her sister's hoof falls were gone.
Stepping away from the door, she glanced at the cubby above a mechanical time clock. Standing on her back hooves, she grabbed the binder and flipped through it, smiling, seeing that the schedules were greyed out for today. Biting her lip, she set the booklet back onto the wall as she made her way back to the apartment. Sighing gently, she made her way back up the stairs to the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her.
Biting her lip, she glanced around the room before making her way to the bathroom. Opening the cupboard under the sink, she started to jimmy the false bottom revealing a cigarette box. Pulling it out, she slipped off her uniform before laying down in the shower. Grasping the zipper in her magic, she slowly opened it staring at the contents.
A neat little bag of what seemed to be clear plastic eppy pens stared back at her, each filled with a mysterious red fluid. Using her magic to levitate one of the strange vessels, she was arguing with herself, biting her lip until it bled as tears began to leak out the side of her eyes. Flicking off the plastic cap, she looked at the tiny needle that just barely peeked out of the button. She took a deep breath and held her breath before turning her head to the side.
"I-I just... need to remember..." The white mare sniffed as she jammed the syringe into her neck, plunging the drug into her veins before tossing it aside.
Slipping down onto the cheap plastic floor, she shivered as the drugs burned through her veins and into her brain. Her eyes dilated before rolling back into her head, before convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped her breath slow and rhythmic as if she was sleeping, though her eyes raced under her eyelids. A faint smile began to form on her lips as she began to dream of better days long past.
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State of Lincoln
Perry's Bay
Little Hong Kong
Anna May Wong Elementary
8:16 AM
Sweetie Belle sat at the back of the bus holding her bag close, attempting to look as small as possible to avoid any attention. Sadly that was easier said than done, considering she was the only pony on the bus. Humans and non-humans all around her chatted while giving the filly a wide birth. Many of the seats had three or more students squished together to avoid sitting next to her, still being ignored was better than the usual bullying.
Glancing out the window, she saw the school approach; the building was three stories tall and was made of bright red brick, giving it a more vintage feel. Felling the bus pull to a stop against the curb, she carefully peeked out from behind the seat in front of her watching the students mill out. Once the last few made their way off, she quickly scamped down the aisle, trying to ignore the unfriendly look of the driver.
Sweetie kept her eyes to the ground as she made her way through the school's heavy doors. The hallways weren't much better, though, as the students around her avoided her at all costs. Keeping her eyes down, she focused on getting to class, turning into one of the rooms where pristine new desks waited. Looking at the front of the room with longing, she shook her head, making her way to the far corner, slumping into her desk just before the other children began to enter and take their seats. But unlike the bus, some had no choice but to sit next to her; many shoved and pushed. Attempting to get desks away from her, eventually, they would settle down as the teacher's heavy shoes could be heard against the tile floors.
None of the students around would even grace the filly with so much as a passing glance. They were sitting at the edge of their seats as if expecting her to attack at any moment. Thankfully she didn't have much time to think about it as a tall elderly Twiawanese man made his way into the classroom. He wore a worn but well-maintained two-piece suit, deep frown lines, and wrinkles covered his face, with round gold-rimmed glasses resting on his crooked nose. His heavy footfalls echoed through the classroom before he stopped before the whiteboard.
Setting a heavy briefcase down on his desk, he cleared his throat; Sweetie swore she could see dust coming out of his mouth before he spoke in a faintly accented voice. "Take out a piece of blank notebook paper; you will have 5 minutes to write an essay about what you did last weekend." His grave eyes gazed over the classroom. "No less than a paragraph, spelling and grammatical errors will be marked down..." He raised his hand, watching the clock, waiting for the minute hand to hit 12. "Begin..."
The frantic scribbling of pencils followed, many of the filly's classmates freezing up as their minds drew a blank on what to write. Those writing would often go back and erase half of their work, panicking as they tried to decide what punctuation they needed to use. Sweetie, meanwhile, seemed rather bored as she wrote, even limited to using her mouth; she was miles ahead of those around her. While her weekend wasn't much to write about, she knew how to do well in these little tests.
If you panicked, you already failed, write what you know, but if you wanted full credit, you needed to use advanced words from the spelling tests. She focused on writing about the trip they took to Clemens Park, repressing the urge to call it White Tail Woods. Even with the new trees, the park was one of the few places the filly felt truly at peace. As she wrote, she made sure to use words like greensward and burdeon to ensure she got full credit.
As she dotted the period to finish the second paragraph, Mr. Tao bellowed harshly. "Pencils down."
Sweetie did so without a second thought; still, others tried to sneakily add more to their papers, thinking they would get it past him. Walking around the classroom, he collected each student's work, occasionally making a point to tear cheater's papers in half. All while giving a look that made the offender shrink into their desk before moving on. When he approached her desk, she just avoided eye contact, kept her eyes forward, and hooves on her desk. Pretending she didn't feel his eyes burning a hole into her head, holding her breath.
He glanced at her paper before moving back to the front of the classroom. Setting the tests on his desk before beginning to write on the whiteboard. "Pull out your Math Workbooks." He commanded.
Sweetie quickly pulled it out, along with her notebook. Math wasn't her favorite subject for a myriad of reasons, it was boring, hard, and it always felt like it took forever. Still, she fought the urge to daydream as she followed the teacher's work on the board, attempting to make sense of it as they began polynomials.
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Rarity hummed cheerily as she daintily nicked a few stitches in Mr. Riches suit, the entrepreneurial stallion having enjoyed a few too many sweets over Hearths Warming. As she did the dull alteration, she couldn't help but imagine doing something more interesting like making a new dress for the Galla or perhaps designing something for Fleur de Lis. As she let her mind wander, she heard a faint tearing sound that pulled her back.
Looking down, she couldn't help but chastise herself for letting the seam ripper pierce the fabric. Carefully pulling it out, she brought the hole close to her face looking closely, making a faint tsk sound; she absentmindedly began threading a needle. Once primed, the seamstress carefully sealed the tear with the cloud thread, making the mistake nearly invisible. Taking one last careful look, she set the suit down on her table to look out the window.
The sun had just reached its peak outside, shining brightly over Ponyville. With the sounds of the market just barely muffled through the glass windows, with numerous local ponies milling about. Taking a deep breath, she worked herself to her hooves and stretched, afterward making her way out of her shop. Slipping past some decorative curtains to her living area, where her kitchen hid from prying eyes.
Clicking her tongue, Rarity opened the cupboards, looking through the stock. Looking at various jars of preserves, she licked her lips before looking around the room for prying eyes. Grabbing a box of "diet" oatcakes in her magic, she carefully pulled out a glass canister filled with Zap Apple Jam. "Perfect, and withou-"
"I knew we had some left!" The familiar squeaky voice of her little sister squealed.
Resisting the urge to face hoof herself for getting caught with her hidden supply. "I suppose you want some too, Sweetie?" She turned her head, seeing the filly peeking out from her hiding place behind the wall curtains. "Shouldn't you still be in school?" Rarity raised an eyebrow as she spread the jam over some rolls.
"We were let out early because of the apprenticeships..." She mumbled, looking down as she kicked her forehoof.
"I see; still having some trouble finding the right niche, dear?" Rarity levitated the prepared rolls to the small table.
Sweetie nodded, climbing up to her chair before collapsing her face into the dark stained table. "Mhm...I thought it got easier after getting a cutie mark...."
Rarity sided, shaking her head. "I wish it did; finding a way to apply it to paying work can be harder for some at times..." She took a bite of her roll, resisting the urge to moan at the wonderful taste. "Have you thought about career counseling?..."
"That's what we did all day!" Sweetie looked unamused as she began to nibble at her snack.
"No, no, I mean becoming a career counselor?" Rarity offered as she wiped the crumbs from her muzzle.
"That was the first thing I thought of..."
"Oh?"
"Aquamarine got it first, and it's her mom, so..."
"Ah." Rarity understood plenty. "Likely doesn't want any competition in town for her daughter... we could try looking... outside of Ponyville?"
"But... But..." Sweetie frowned. "That means I'd have to leave..."
Rarity looked at her sympathetically. "I know it's not ideal, but Pinkie, Fluttershy, and myself left home for our apprenticeships..." She reached out a hoof and gently grasped her sisters. "It's not so bad, and it's a great growing experience; who knows, maybe it will just be the next town over?"
Sweetie just nodded her head sadly as she took a bigger bite of her roll. "I guess..." She looked a bit more hopeful.
Rarity was about to say something else as she got up from her chair, but just as the words began to form, she began to choke. Grasping her throat, she struggled for air as she collapsed from her chair, like drowning before she started to spasm. But instead of hitting the floor, she watched as it fell away to an inky black void. The mare desperately tried to scream, only for her head to hit something solid.
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State of Lincoln
Perry's Bay
Little Hong Kong
Silken Thread Tailors
9:35 AM
Rarity opened her eyes to a very different world, gazing up at the tacky golden ceiling of her boss's business. A vile taste of vomit filled her mouth, with the sticky bile trailing down her muzzle. Raising her hoof, she gently wiped it away; rolling herself off her back, she laid there for a while. An unreadable expression on her face as she turned her head; she saw the slightly crushed plastic trash bin.
Rubbing the back of her head, she winced, feeling a small cut. Mumbling, she pulled her hoof away, looking at the mess she had made. An empty jar of dye had spilled over the floor, along with what seemed to be raw cotton. Slowly a look of horror began to form on her face as she stumbled over to the partially crushed trash bin before retching the bright purple dye and bits of cotton into the bucket. Shuttering as she hugged it close to her with her forelegs, it was hard to know how long she sat there.
Struggling to breathe as she heaved, she turned her shaking head to the nearby wall clock, staring at the hands. Her drug-induced hazy mind worked to make sense of the hands. "....9:37? No, no, it should have lasted longer..." She shakenly worked to her hooves, stumbling to the maintenance closet.
Rarity leaned against the slop sink, waiting for the room to stop spinning. She kept her eyes screwed shut, clumsily reaching for the faucet, turning on the water before dunker her head under. Feeling the cold water rush through her shortened mane, eventually turning to the side as she began to drink, desperately trying to get the disgusting taste from her mouth. Taking another mouthful, swished it around before spitting it back out, hesitantly looking up into the mirror.
What stared back was a far cry from her memories of days long past; her makeup had begun to run down her cheeks. Eyes were bloodshot, with deep backs being revealed under her white blush. Splashing her face once more with some water before mumbling to herself. "Best clean my mess..."
The mare grabbed the mop bucket and started to fill it with cleaner, humming to herself faintly as she watched the off yellow container fill. Shutting off the hose and dragged it to the mess she left before she started to clean silently. She is trying to keep her mind focused on the work instead of her growing concerns. Once the last of her vomit was cleaned, the mare grabbed the trash and carried it to the back door, slowly opening it and peaking out before making her way to the dumpster. Opening the lid, she tossed the bag in and slammed it shut, slipping back into the shop.
She took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to the improvised studio apartment, wanting to clean herself off. Making her way through the sparse room, she stumbled into the bathroom, pulling off her coveralls and collapsing into the shower, wrenching the knob as cold water poured over her. Rarity didn't bother with any grace or decorum, instead content to sprawl as she felt the water slowly heat up. Eventually, opening her eyes to watch the water flow down the drain. Snorting her mane from her nose, blinking slowly as she rolled over onto her back. Signing as the heated water soothed the aches that always followed her little... recreational hobby.
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State of Lincoln
Perry's Bay
Little Hong Kong
Anna May Wong Elementary
10:21 AM
Sweetie Belle stared at the clock as the second hand seemed to move at a crawl; the rest of the class was still finishing their readings. Looking back at her paper, she read over the questions carefully, ensuring that she answered everything to the best of her ability while avoiding any mistakes. As she finished the last question, Mr. Tao cleared his throat, tapping his desk almost robotically; students stood from their desks and began to march. A pile of papers quickly formed on his desk, the teacher looking sternly.
"You may leave for a recess." He announced to the class just as Sweetie Belle set her paper down, avoiding eye contact as she made her way outside. The trot to the playground was hampered by the veritable zoo of bodies. Keeping close to the walls as countless species shoved their way to the fields, slipping out the double doors. She looked longingly at the busy playground equipment as she picked up her pace to a quiet corner of the grounds. Far away from the unfriendly looks of the teachers and the unwelcomed stares of her fellow students.
A faint smile formed on her face seeing the flowers through the chainlink fence. The meadow on the other side was so peaceful looking, but one thing that she could never get tired of looking at was the Aura Poisies. Despite their name, they were actually weeds, something she never thought twice about as she played with her friends, carelessly trampling over them. Sniffing, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to enjoy their familiar scent. Fuzzy memories of better days long past began to rise to the surface of her mind, but just as something began to take shape, something grabbed her mane and shoved her down into the mud. Squealing, she found her mouth filled with dirt; just as she started to try and stand back up, a swift kick knocked her back down.
"Hey, look, it's true, unicorns can drill into the ground!" The gruff voice of Animosity chuckled.
Sweetie Belle guardedly raised her eyes to see the Storm Creature looking down at her. His face was covered with a black iron mask that his blue eyes glowed through while dressed in simple dark blue shorts and a collared shirt. "Hey, Animo..." She quickly lowered her eyes away from his, knowing better than maintaining eye contact with him.
He snorted in response, unimpressed by her reaction, grabbing her neck and shoving her against the fence. "What's wrong? Don't you want to play?" He growled as two human boys peaked out from behind, both seeming to stare in the distance.
Sweetie Belle just stared blankly at them, shrugging her shoulders. This only seemed to further anger the Storm Creature, who started to put more pressure on her. The two others pulled out some newspapers, oddly rolling them up tightly. The filly looked confused at what they were up to before Animo smirked.
"We had a special homework assignment today, bring some old newspapers... we had to write about whatever was in them... but did you know you can make clubs out of them?" He twisted her mane, the poor filly groaning in pain as her hair pulled out her scalp.
The two boys finished fastening their weapons as Amino stretched out his lanky arm, making room for them as he held her against the fence. Sweetie's eyes widened as they began to swing, aiming right for her sides, the clubs having a surprising amount of force, despite their flimsy appearing construction. Before she could yelp, Amino pulled his hand from her mane, pulling out a few strands along with it, clamping her muzzle shut.
The two boys took turns beating her sides; just as her body flinched from contact, the other would follow, giving her no respite. Despite her best efforts, tears were barely held at bay, while Amino stared deep into her green eyes with his icy stare. Her muffled screams brought little sympathy from her assailants. If anything, it only seemed to make them angrier; Amino started to crush her muzzle with his giant paw and twisting it while the two others worked their whole bodies into the swing.
"We're gonna play Rambling Rock Lockup." He stared at her with pure hate, while Sweetie Belle felt a pit grow in her stomach. "Guess who's gonna be taking the beating this time, pony?..." He spat in her face before punching her in the stomach.
"P-Please..." She whimpered through his hand.
His face went blank, seeming to freeze as he processed what she said. "My mom said that too... and then the royal guard ripped off my dad's claws!" He raised his free paw smacking her to the ground. "They made me watch you whorse!" He slammed his foot into her face.
Sweetie screamed as her foot continued to slam into her head before it finally stopped. "My brothers have a lot to say, too, you know..." He eventually took a step back as the two pasty twins stepped forward, glaring down at her.
They just seemed to stare at her emotionlessly as they both loomed over. Finally, one of them spoke, eye twitching while his hand tensed around his improvised club. "H-Honey B-Buns... S-says....." He visibly struggled to form the words while the other twin swung his leg right into her jaw. "H-Hello...."
The poor filly felt her tooth chip from the impact.
"Tell your sister to go back to the rez, or better yet, walk into traffic; you're not wanted here!" Amino turned, leaving with the two boys heading back towards the school.
Sweetie Belle her breath, waiting for them to leave before she finally began to sob, the pain from the vicious beating finally too much to take. She cried into the mud, curling up into a ball, heaving as she felt the welts and bruise ultimately form. It had all happened so fast her body was finally catching up to what happened. Eventually, vomiting into the mud from the pain, struggling to catch her breath. The bell would eventually ring as herds of students slowly headed back to the main building. She didn't bother; even if she could stop crying, she couldn't get her legs to move.
Eventually, the playground fell silent, except for the faint footfalls of someone approaching. Expecting the worst, she curls herself into a much tighter ball screwing her eyes shut. Eventually, she heard them stop behind her; she bit her lip, waiting for something to happen. Her sensitive ears listened, waiting for insults, while she braced herself for another kick. But it never came; whoever it was just stood there; after a few moments, she felt a jacket slowly draped over her before they ran off. Reaching up, she felt the sweatshirt, struggling to sit up as she pulled it around herself. Looking back in the distance, she tried to make out the figure who had run back across the field back to the school, but they were already too far away.
Sniffing, she struggled to her hooves, licking her teeth, feeling a new chip on her molars as she sat there glancing back to the fence. Watching the flowers slowly sway in the wind, closing her eyes, she attempted to will the faint memories back. Tears flowed down her face as the memories refused to come back, the bitter reality she lived in overpowering days past.
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State of Lincoln
Perry's Bay
Dockside
11:28 AM
Rarity glanced around as she slowly made her way down a dirty alley, nervous that someone would see her. She trotted like she was on eggshells as she approached the bright red door hidden near the back behind the overflowing dumpsters and piles of junk. Raising a shaking hoof, she froze, staring at the door arguing with herself under muttered breaths. Swallowing her doubts, she knocked on the metal door, a slit opened two beady eyes looked down at the white mare.
"Yes?..." A gruff voice asked.
"I-I'm here for... Valentino..." She struggled to steady her voice.
"Ah, run out of Rewind again?" The voice chuckled.
"S-Something like that..." She sighed as she heard the door's deadbolts being unlocked, eventually revealing a hulking Fishfolk staring at her, stuffed into a grey double-breasted suit. The shark-like creature looked over her like a piece of meat before motioning her inside. Closing the door behind her, he kneeled down and behand to search her, his slimy mitts making her gag. Once he was satisfied, she wasn't wearing a wire or packing heat; he stood up and grunted, nodding his head to the red carpet leading deeper into the building.
Had this been any other place or time, she would be criticizing the decor that surrounded her. It was like taking a step back into a fever dream of the 1980s, the bright reds and clashing patterns; just looking it hurt her eyes, following the velvet carpet past patrons dressed in gaudy outfits and enforcers watching her, almost daring her to slip up. Eventually, she approached a large open area where patrons watched sultry ponies dance on various stages to sounds of an era long past.
Meanwhile, a man who seemed to be out of another time rested to the opposite of where she stood. A long, rich brown overcoat hung over his grey pattered suit and blue tie, which hugged his wiry frame. Short greying hair swept to the side; at the same time, she couldn't be sure with his pitch-black aviators; but she swore she could feel his gaze on her. Adjusting himself in his seat, he whispered into the ear of vaguely familiar white unicorns pierced ear which seemed to be dressed in a punk aesthetic. Her black dyed mane spiked to hell and back with enough product to make a nose bleed, while her eyes remained hidden behind black round frame glasses. Rarity felt so out of place, but she refused to take a step forward unless she was beckoned; she had learned the hard way. Eventually, the strange mare raised her hoof, motioning her to come forward with her foreleg, her black leather jacket creaking.
Rarity held her breath again and trotted forward until the punk mare motioned her to stop a few feet away. She wasn't sure how long she stood under their gaze but eventually, the older man began to smile a twisted grin. "Well, well, if it isn't the fashionista, come to grace us with her presence. Come to get a taste of the past again, rock candy?"
Rarity couldn't resist snorting, already at her limit with the garish styles and music around her. "I'm here because my last purchase... was defective, Val." Her mouth moved faster than her brain.
Valentino stared at her with a muted expression before he began to chuckle. "What makes you think it was defective pony?" He bared his pearly white teeth and golden fang.
"I-It's lasting less and less, I'm paying you more than a quarter of my earnings, and it barely lasts two hours! It used to last more than half the day!" She stuttered, but the splitting headache, music, and stress were pushing her desperation.
Valentino just tilted his head to the side, smirking. "Oh honey, come closer; I'm gonna tell you a secret..." He slowly curled his finger, motioning her closer.
Rarity glanced around before slowly approaching until she was right before him. Reaching down, he tenderly stroked her cheek; she couldn't help but shudder from his touch. The punk mare to his left looked visibly agitated as the corners of her mouth twitched, suppressing her jealousy. Before Rarity could react, he roughly grabbed her ear and dragged her onto his lap, leaning down to whisper into her ear. "What you enjoyed was the trial version!" He tossed her back down to the floor, laughing cruelly.
"What you thought a few hundred bucks was enough for the primo stuff?" He covered his mouth with his hand struggling to hold in the laughter. "Sure, your first hit is on me, but every hit after that is just a discounted trial; eventually, it just stops working until you pay up for the good stuff."
"W-what...." Rarity stared up at him in horror. "T-Then I'll buy the primo Rewind! I don't care what it costs!"
"That will just be... 15 hundred." He loomed over her from his chair.
"F-fifteen... Hundred..... per case?" She swallowed, feeling her throat go dry.
"...Per hit." The mare to his right finally spoke with a faint lisp from her lip piercing.
"I-I can't pay that m-much!" Rarity began to panic, feeling her already erratic heartbeat worsen.
"Well, isn't that a shame... you such a wonderful customer..." Valentino said sarcastically while the punk mare stifled a laugh.
"S-Surely, we can come to some kind of agreement! T-there must be something I can do!" Rarity began to panic, struggling to keep herself calm.
"Certainly, my... employees get a steep discount, isn't that right, Fleur?" He tenderly stroked the pony's cheek, to which she seemed to savor, leaning into his hand before slowly pulling away and lighting up her horn and grasping her glasses. Pulling them off, she revealed her eyes; what was once pale violet had become as red as the Rewind.
"Don't worry, after a while, you learn to just lean back and remember the good old days." She smiled unhinged, though, at the corners of her eyes. Rarity was sure she could see tears as she began to back up in horror, her eyes darting around the room. Seeing various mares and stallions with the same bizarre eye color entertained the guests as they drank, danced, and took the same poison as the entertainers. A few were even led down a hallway lined with rooms while the patrons mumbled in a drug-induced haze.
Valentine rested his head in his hand, leaning against the armrest of his chair. "We could start you on the pole after a little training, who knows, maybe you'll have your own VIP room, just like Fleur here." He stroked her chin.
Rarities face went white, knowing precisely what he was implying. "N-no..."
Fleur levitated a syringe, slowly swaying her flanks as she slowly approached. "No? Really, are you sure~. You never know where the next trip down memory lane will take you~. It could just be another slow day at the boutique, or maybe the day you opened in Canterlot." She stared into her eyes. "Who wants to live in this miserable time? Can you really say there's anything worth sticking around for?" The tears were finally flowing down her cheeks as she laughed. "If you keep at it, eventually you get to see your loved ones again!"
"Fleur s-stop this isn't you! What has he done to you?!" Rarity stared at the unhinged mare as she continued to close the gap between them.
"He gave me my husband back! Maybe this will bring your parents back too!" She slammed the needle into Rarities neck before she could react.
Rarity gasped, feeling the red liquid burn through her veins, clucking her neck as she stumbled on her hooves. "N-No....no...." She started to hyperventilate before she collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head.
Fleur just stared down at the unconscious mare. "Back to past, you go~." She hummed gently with a sad smile. "Maybe sometime we can take the trip together... relive that garden party again..."
Valentino cleared his throat, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Place her with the other new hires in the basement, then come back to my office."
Nodding her head, she worked Rarity onto her back, slipping behind some curtains to a heavy industrial-looking door. She pulled out a key from her mane and twisted it into the lock. The door opened to a dark concrete stairwell; carefully making her way down, reaching the basement, the thick smell of bile and sickness filled her nose. Fleur could just make out a few of the new hires stumbling around in the darkness.
"Here, sweetie come to mommy~" A blonde maned and pink-coated mare seemed to be stumbling through the darkness, seeming to follow an unseen ghost.
"Don't worry, Millie, you'll get her eventually..." Fleur watched her longingly as the poor mare stumbled around the room, occasionally tripping over unconscious or delirious ponies.
Taking Rarity to a relatively clean corner, she carefully set her down. Nuzzling her cheek tenderly before whispering into her ear. "Sweet memories, dear...." She turned and made her way out, leaving them all in darkness and their own pasts.
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State of Lincoln
Perry's Bay
Little Hong Kong
Anna May Wong Elementary
12:16 PM
Sweetie sniffled as she curled up on the small bed as the nurse applied hydrogen peroxide to her cuts. While the filly was thankful, she knew better than to assume it was for any reason besides her job. Once the last of her cuts were cleaned, the nurse slid backward on her chair and cleared her throat. The filly just instantly looked up, having to struggle against her own instincts.
"Now, school policy requires I ask how this happened." The tanned-skinned woman asked as she pulled out a clipboard and a pen.
Sweetie was about to blurt it out but bit down. "I took a tumble on the playground...." Telling on the bullies didn't work; three chipped teeth taught her that.
The nurse didn't seem to believe her but didn't bother with a follow-up question, scribbling it down. "I see... must have been a nasty tumble..." She mumbled as she finished the paperwork. "You're cleared to go back to class, or I could call your guardian..." They asked in a detached voice.
"N-No, I'll be ok..." Sweetie glanced at the clock seeing it was nearly lunch; slipping off the bed, she began making her way back to class with a slight limp.
Thankfully the halls were still empty, allowing her to slip over to her classroom cubbies without any incident. Opening her bag, she sighed in relief, seeing the money was still there, having been tucked away in her history book. Quickly slipping it into her mane as the lunch bell rang and the students began to make their way to the gym/cafeteria before trotting down the halls with the variable stampede of students.
During this, the filly seemed to work on autopilot, waiting in line for food, loading up her tray, passing the money to the lunch lady, then heading back to the classroom. It was only when she sat at her desk did she realize what all she had gotten; there was a slice of greasy pizza, a questionable tofu burger, a small mound of tater tots, a cookie, and a carton of chocolate milk. Not exactly the healthy meal her sister had asked her to choose, but at the moment, she didn't care. It was hard to watch what she ate after the lean times they had lived through, if she was honest.
Repressing her instinct to light up her horn, she bit open one of the ketchup packets and began to drizzle it on the burger. As she stared at the hockey puck-like patty, memories of dwindling rations in Ponyville started to surface. She still couldn't escape the smell of rotten Haytack or the taste of wiggling grubs that infested the food. Shaking her head, she glanced back down, grumbling seeing she had smothered the sandwich in the sauce. Making the most of it, she dipped her tots into the ketchup and tossed them into her mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing them down.
She slowly worked her way through the tots until the sauce was down to a manageable level, moving on to the pizza, oddly bitting it into a circle shape before setting it on the burger. Topping it off with the bun, she bit into it, humming gently as the ketchup began to pour out of the back of the sandwich. It wasn't that the food was terrific, but it sated her appetite, something that she didn't have for a long time.
Just as she started to open her milk with her teeth, she noticed a note had been placed on her tray. Blinking confused, she looked around, trying to find its source, but none of the other students had gotten back yet. Looking at it suspiciously, she slowly unfolded it, expecting the worst. Her eyes darted over the paper, once, twice, then a third time. The filly was dumbfounded, quickly slipping it into her mane before the other students began to take their seats around her.
Sipping her milk before dipping her cookie, a faint smile started to form on her muzzle, along with a gentle blush. Finishing her meal, she grabbed the tray in her mouth and pranced out of the room to return it. More than a few of the unfriendly students were visibly unnerved by her change in behavior.
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Rarity stared as she sat in her old sewing room, slowly pushing a ballgown through the needle. Pulling it from the machine, she looked it over, gently brushing her hoof over the bright blue fabric. It was perfect; not a single stitch was out of place, no loose threads in the material, and yet... something was off about it. But try as she might, she couldn't place what it was; it was to Upper Crust's exact specifications. Why did it feel wrong?
The fabric felt... strange in her hoofs; cloud velvet didn't feel like this. Leaning her head forward, she brushed her nose against it before flinching back, gagging from a rotten smell. Opening her eyes again, she found she was holding something very different. Squealing, she dropped the dress to the ground seeing the rare fabric become putrid burlap.
For the briefest moment, her sewing room flickered out of existence. Shaking, she struggled back to her hooves, slowly approaching the dress, focusing on it like one would stare at a hidden object painting. "T-This isn't..."
Inhaling, she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, bringing her foreleg to her muzzle her bit hard until the copper taste of blood hit her tongue. "It's not real..." She mumbled to herself. "It's not real..."