As twilight approached the door, she went to open it, but it opened on its own, catching the alicorn off guard, and she instinctively spread her wings, ready to take flight. But the door slowly opened, to reveal…
“Carousel Boutique?” Twilight said aloud to herself. Tilting her head to the side as she peered inside of the room. It looked like the usual boutique, but what was it doing here? 3 stories off of the ground? She backed away a little and looked up at the doors she had finished so far. Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Her ears folding back.
“Well… I’m halfway through solving this mystery…” Twilight said to herself, almost as if reassuring herself that this nightmare was halfway done, and she would soon find a way to solve this, and hopefully get her friends back.
She thought back to Spike, giving a sigh as she realised she had left him alone in Canterlot castle to hold the pause button on her duties. She shook the thought out of her mind for now, making her way into the room, the door slamming behind her. Plunging her into darkness.
Twilight lit up her horn and looked around, not only for Rarity, but for the glass box she had seen in the previous 2 rooms.
Looking behind her at the door, the other side looked like the exit to Carousel Boutique. The alicorn then began to walk deeper into the fashion store, remembering where Rarity first started out. Her and Rarity had always been one of the closest out of their friend group since she first moved to Ponyville, especially since Rarity showed her great kindness on her first day, trying to help her look a bit better since Rainbow Dash soaked her with a raincloud.
Thinking back made her smile uncontrollably, and a small giggle left her lips, but the little burst of happiness was short lived, as she spotted the glass box, with a small, metal hook on the inside, instead of display pins. Opening her saddle bag, she saw that the item representing Rarity was a bandanna with her cutie mark on it. She found the label on the inside of the bandanna and hung it on the hook, closing the box and looking around.
She heard the sound of hoofsteps echoing throughout the Boutique, which caused Twilight’s ears to twitch in all directions, but she never picked up where it was coming from, as it felt like the sound was surrounding her. Slowly getting louder.
The sound soon became too loud to bear and Twilight ended up covering her ears with her front hooves, putting her chest to the floor, cowering.
The hoofsteps sounded like they were right in front of her, coming toward her at a brisk pace. But when Twilight moved her hooves from her face and ears, there was no one there, and the sound had suddenly stopped completely.
The fur on Twilight’s neck stood on end as she got back up, looking around again. She didn't call out to anyone, as she didnt want to disturb anything within the room. Before she put her horn into the box, she gathered more information on the room. She found a simple photo of herself and her friends, this one with no crosses over her friends faces.
As well as a potential weapon, but she left it on the table for now, not wanting to make it obvious to anyone that she was armed.
Taking a moment to collect herself, she then walked over to the box, spying the hole for her horn to go into. With a loud click, the tip of her horn hit the back of the hole in the box, and the magic aura began to fill her horn again. Soon the magic reached her head, and her eyes began to glow a dark blue, matching Rarities eye colour. As, just like the last 2 times, a flashback began to play, showing how Rarity ended up here.
It started as usual, a point of view through Rarity’s eyes as she did her job in Carousel Boutique. She was working on her latest line, using a lot of different shades of red and black, making intricate patterns, masquette style. Her work was quickly cut short as Sweetie Belle walked into the room, looking a bit confused. The fashion unicorn quickly took notice.
“SweetieBelle? Is everything alright?” Rarity’s voice rang in Twilight’s ears as she spoke. Her voice, as dainty and dignified as ever.
Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity, something was off, but Rarity couldnt place her hoof on it.
“Uh… Yeah, though I think I spotted something near Twilight’s old castle. Do you mind coming to have a look with me? I'm not sure of what it was that I saw.” The mare explained. SweetieBelle was all grown up in this flashback, which must mean this happened more recently to the others.
After a bit of pondering, and looking between her work and her younger sister, the unicorn gave a sigh, a smile spreading over her face.
“Alright, let's go and have a look. Good to know your curiosity hasn't faded.” Rarity responded with a playful jab at Sweetie Belle’s side, causing the younger pony to chuckle a bit.
As the 2 of them made the way to the castle, they continued to chat and joke amongst themselves. Sweetie was still working as a teacher in the school of friendship alongside Scootaloo and Applebloom. While Rarity was beginning to expand her business once more, having a shop open in YakYakistan of all places.
The laughter and chatter continued to flow smoothly until they reached the stairs leading up to the castle’s entrance, where they both fell silent. Looking at each other with concern, before Sweetie went ahead, much to Rarity’s disliking. She followed her younger sister into the castle, and the 2 of them looked around for a moment, rarity looking rather shocked at the interior.
”SweetieBelle? I don't think something is right here. The inside is still perfectly fine, but it hasn't been touched for years. Surely there should be dust, or a few cobwebs. As much as I dread to think…” Rarity shuddered at the thought of such a stunning castle potentially being covered in dust and grit, and SweetieBelle stayed silent, and nodded in agreement
The castle remains untouched by dust or brine or even insect life. Just like in Applejack’s flashback.
It was almost like the castle had a protective border, so that the passage of time wouldn't affect it.
Sweetie Belle then walked further ahead, making an almost perfect beeline toward the pillar, and opening the door, seeing the set of upward spiralling stairs inside, still not saying a word. Rarity spotted her sister walking into the pillar’s door and followed close behind, her worry turning into annoyance.
”Sweetie Belle where do you think you’re going? This place could be dangerous, especially if you said you saw something in here!”
Rarity demanded that her sister listen to her, trying to catch her attention. But was given the silent treatment as Sweetie simply continued to walk up the stairs, ending up at the door, with Rarity’s cutie mark edged into the top of the door with diamonds.
Sweetie Belle looked back at Rarity… her eyes emotionless, a sinister smirk on her face… The door opened, revealing… Twilight standing there, with her horn in the box?
Twilight pulled her horn out of the box with a sharp gasp, quickly coming back to reality as the coloured glow faded from her eyes, soon returning to their normal state.
”T-that was me… But how can that be? Rarity went missing long before I arrived here! Why was I in the flashback?! ” Twilight said aloud to herself, her mind racing, her eyes wide, her pupils the size of pinpricks…
She thought about what she saw, and looked toward the door… Only to be greeted with Rarity's face being inches away from her own. She let out a scream, backing away quickly, and falling into her back, panting a bit.
”RARITY?!” Twilight shouted out in shock, causing the unicorn to giggle a bit, putting her hoof to her mouth.
”Twilight, darling, you really need to be more aware of things around you, ive been here this whole time, did you not hear me walking up to you?” Rarity asked, tilting her head to the side with mild confusion lining her face.
Come to think of it. No. Twilight hadn’t heard Rarity walking over to her. Did the flashback completely block out Twilight’s attention to reality, while watching back the events that just happened?
This made the alicorn worry. If watching the flashbacks caused reality to be completely blocked out, then why didn't any of her friends take that as a chance to attack her? Especially Rainbow Dash in her current state…
Twilight didn't want to think of it as being just pure luck, because if that was the case, then her luck would surely run out, as she continued to test each box to find what happened to her friends.
Twilight looked back at Rarity. She looked… fine?
There was nothing that immediately jumped out at her as to what the problem could be.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been affected physically, with Applejack having many different holes in her body, and Rainbow Dash having the ability to possess dark magic, and possibly a psychotic mindset…
But rarity? She looked like her normal self.
Twilight walked around Rarity a few times, eyeing her up and down to see what the problem might be. Something felt off about her, but she couldn't see it.
”Are… you alright darling? Has something been bothering you? Is there something wrong? I dont have any loose hairs do i?!” Rarity asked in her usual dramatic way, running over to a mirror and checking her mane and tail. As well as her coat, before she eventually ended up just admiring herself in the mirror.
”I dont understand…” Twilight said to herself, growing a bit frustrated.
She began to pace as Rarity continued to look at herself in the mirror. Her hoofsteps echoing in the lobby of the boutique.
“Applejack was changed physically, Rainbow Dash was changed Mentally. But you haven't changed at all, but were still lured here by what must have been a fake version of Sweetie Belle. So what are you doing here? What has changed about you!? Why can't I figure this o- MMPH!??” Twilight's spiralling thoughts were cut short by Rarity putting her hoof over the Alicorn’s mouth.
The unicorn gave a soft, reassuring smile, attempting to calm Twilight down before her thoughts got too out of control.
“Twilight. If I know you at all, then I know you’ll find a way to fix whatever's going on. I'll admit it was very strange when Sweetie Belle led me in here. Celestia knows where she is now…”
Rarity said softly, trailing off as she tried to remember where her sister went. Slowly looking around, before spotting a camera on a nearby table, tilting her head in thought.
She slowly walked over to the camera, her aqua blue magic picking up the device and walking over to Twilight, tapping her shoulder to get her attention.
“Just in case… Can we take a photo together? Who knows when this will end, this may be the last time we see each other for a long time.”
Rarity explained with a sniffle, tears filling her eyes as she smiled softly. She wanted to capture a memory of the 2 of them once more before Twilight left to investigate the rest of the castle.
Twilight slowly nodded with a smile, hugging Rarity tightly as the 2 of them then stood, shoulder to shoulder, and Rarity used her magic to angle the camera toward them.
The 2 of them embraced each other as the camera clicked, and the photo slowly printed out. It started out as a plain black photo, but it slowly developed in the natural lighting of the room.Twilight took the photo with her own magic, shaking it a little in the air to speed the process along.
Once the photo was developed, she took a quick peek.
But what she saw was not what she was expecting at all.
It made Twilight’s skin run cold, and her breath caught in her throat. Her heart pounded in her chest as her brain tried to process what she saw.
Rarity’s face in the photo, looks like it has been split in 2. With one side of her looking like it was trying to escape, stretching the original side because of it.
Her mouth was being pulled to the side, her eyelids were being pulled too. Her entire head was stretching and warping along with the side that looked like it was trying to escape from Rarity’s body.
Twilight dropped the photo in shock, her eyes wide and her ears folded flat against her head. Her breathing was heavy and shaky, and it took all of her strength to not shout out in horror.
Rarity looked at Twilight in confusion before reaching for the photo, to see what the problem was. But before the white unicorn could pick up the photo, Twilight swiped it from the floor, putting it into her saddle bag. It was probably for the best that Rarity didn't see what the problem was.
”Well its been very nice to see you again, rarity, and i'm glad you’re alright. But I really should be going to find the others and see if they’re ok.”
Twilight spoke at a rapid pace as she slowly backed away from rarity, toward the door. Looking to the left, she saw SweetieBelle standing on the stairs, looking at Twilight with a sinister smirk.
The alicorn quickly opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind her. Her eyes wide and her breathing heavy still.
”But how is that… i… She changed in an impossible way! That isn't.. How is that.. WHAT?!”
Twilight shouted out to herself into the pillar. Her voice echoed through the crystal walls, as the floor lowered to reveal the next door.
It was a dark brown, wooden door, covered in foliage, similar to ivy vines. With 3 pink, wooden butterflies nailed to the upper side of the door…
Fluttershy.