Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.
-Maya Angelpony
---
"Girls!!" Rarity cried, trying and failing to get to her hooves. The tile floor, now slick with blood, gleamed wickedly in the pale moonlight. The Crusaders continued screaming, their voices combining into one, horrifying crescendo of fear.
Sobbing in panic, the white mare struggled for an agonizingly long time to regain her footing, desperate to reach her sister and her friends. Finally, painstakingly, the unicorn regained purchase and turned from the prone form of Mrs. Cake and dashed to the stairs, taking one last look at her unexpected attacker.
Mrs. Cake lay on the ground, breathing heavily but otherwise not moving. The mask she had worn to assault Rarity was next to her, face down and cracked. The baker's right leg was damp with blood; a jagged, still-bleeding laceration visible where she had gripped the mirror shard. Her bright pink mane, now matted and filthy, fell past her eyes to pool on the tiles, blending in with the dark red ichor. Her eyes were wide and far-away, as if she was seeing something only visible to her. As Rarity moved up the stairs, she saw Mrs. Cake mouthing something noiselessly. The earth pony raised her right hoof to gaze at her wound without comprehension.
Hooves pounded heavily up the stairs, their panting owner trying desperately to make sense of it all. Mrs. Cake was her friend. They've lived together since before Rarity could remember. Even just yesterday, Rarity had gone to Sugarcube Corner for a guilty treat. She had a nice conversation with the blue mare. A pleasant, friendly conversation. Rarity couldn't remember what it was about, but they had laughed together. They had smiled and waved good-bye to each other.
And now, Mrs. Cake was trying to kill her.
The whole ordeal was... mindboggling. The snow white unicorn could barely wrap her mind around the idea of hurting somepony. And yet here she was, knocking a pony around with her bare hooves. Drawing blood. And her victim was one of her dearest friends. Unfortunately, the mare had little time to languish over her predicament. When Rarity was halfway up the stairs, the screaming abruptly stopped.
Panic and adrenaline coursed through the fashionista's veins, sending her senses into hyperdrive. All she could feel was the dull ache in her horn, the sharp stabs of pain that came from her abused ribs with every labored step. All she could hear was the rush of blood. All she could see was who she had to save. She had to get to the Crusaders. She had to save Sweetie Belle.
"I'm coming!" She shouted. "I'm coming girls!!"
Panting, she cleared the top of the wooden steps and rushed to Sweetie's room, pushing the door aside to find only a dark, empty room. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were nowhere to be seen.
The only sound in the house was the frantic beating of the white unicorn's heart as she turned the light on and searched the whole room top to bottom. Under the bed, empty. In the closet, empty. She even checked behind the dressers. Empty, empty, empty!
"Girls!" Rarity screamed hoarsely. "Where are you?!"
Her cry echoed through the house, but no reply came. "Girls?"
"...Girls...?" Oh god, had she lost them?
A long, drawn out creaking, produced by what could only be door hinges, rang in the silence as loud as a siren. Like a rocket, Rarity ran out of her sister's room and into the upstairs hallway, casting her eyes in every direction in an effort to discern the source of the noise. Down the hall, the door to her room was slightly ajar, light from a small lamp flickering through the crack.
Rarity was down the hallway and beside the door in under a second. "Girls!" She yelled, slamming the door open. "Are you-"
The fashion mare's room looked as it always had: a large, plush bed in the corner, a wooden table with a small sewing machine by her dresser, a polished mirror above her engraved vanity. The window in the center of the far wall, next to the bed, was open, letting in a small breeze. The curtains danced like ghosts in the night wind.
And in front of the window, frozen stiff and eyes locked out into the night, stood the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Feeling a massive weight lift off of her chest, Rarity smiled despite everything. Hearing the fashionista's footsteps, Applebloom turned quickly, twitching like a cornered animal. For a split-second, the terror in her eyes burned bright and frantic, until she realized who was standing in the doorway.
The yellow earth pony instantly broke down into sobs, her eyes flooding with tears. Bawling, the little filly threw herself into Rarity's hooves.
"R-R-R-Rarityyy..." She cried, burying her face into the Element of Generosity's shoulder. Rarity felt her own tears welling up again as she stroked the farmer filly's mane.
"Shhhh..." She cooed. "I'm here... I'm here..." Tearing her gaze away from the bawling girl, Rarity's eyes fell on her own sister, who remained fixated on the window. Worried, the white mare called out to the small unicorn.
"Sweetie, I'm here. What's wrong...?" She asked quietly, never letting go of Applebloom. She mentally slapped herself in the face. Everything about tonight was wrong. Sweetie Belle did not look away.
"...It's real..." She whispered. Puzzled, Rarity started to ask 'What's real?', but found the thought slipping away. This was enough. She knew the girls were safe and sound. Mrs. Cake still had to be dealt with, but... as long as the girls weren't in danger, she knew she would find a way to deal with her. Peacefully. Something still nagged at the mare though. It felt like she was missing something.
Or somepony. Scootaloo was nowhere to be found.
Rarity looked around the room, urgency building. After the relief of finding Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, the mare had entirely forgotten about the little orange pegasus.
"Applebloom, Sweetie; where's Scootaloo?" Rarity demanded, struggling to keep the rising panic out of her voice. The filly in her arms sobbed louder, and she could see Sweetie Belle stiffen.
"T-That t-t-thing took her!" the yellow earth pony sniffled.
Rarity shook her head disbelief. Did Mrs. Cake have an accomplice? "What...?! What are you-"
Sweetie Belle turned her head around suddenly, looking Rarity dead in the eyes. "Slendermane." The filly spoke in a strange, detached tone. Rarity blinked, desperately confused.
"What? What's Slendermane??"
The filly looked away, turning back to gaze out the window. "That's its name." She said, keeping her strange tone. Slowly, the unicorn looked away from the moon, eyes cast down. She scraped her hoof on the ground, pupils unfocused and guilty.
"I-... I've been h-having these dreams...-"
Thump.
Sweetie Belle clamped her jaw shut, visibly flinching. Applebloom's sobs became more subdued as her fear escalated, her eyes growing wide. "Whu... what was that...?" The red-maned filly asked, shivering in Rarity's embrace.
"Shhh..." The fashionista urged, focusing on the sound.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Leaping from her spot next to the window, Sweetie rushed into Rarity's arms, joining Applebloom. The fashion pony could see her sister's fear, feel the small unicorn's body shaking. She tightened her grip on the children.
Thump. Thump. Thump...
Hoofsteps, Rarity realized. Labored and heavy, the noise came from the stairwell down the hall. The mare was no Twilight Sparkle, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who they belonged to. Mrs. Cake was back on her hooves, and headed upstairs.
Thump. Thump.
Slam!
Yelping in unison, the two crusaders pressed harder into Rarity's chest. It hurt her ribs dearly, but she allowed it, knowing she had to give these fillies every bit of support she could muster. The noises faded away, and the house became quiet once more. The slam was, unmistakably, the sound of Sweetie Belle's door being slammed shut. Rarity had that door slam shut in her face more than enough to know that.
"S-Sis... make them go away..." Sweetie Belle began to sob. "This w-wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to be r-real..." Applebloom continued her quiet crying.
Rarity's mind was racing. 'Mrs. Cake is in the house. She's trying to kill us.' She squeezed her eyes shut. 'Scootaloo is gone. Taken by... something.' She opened them to look over her small charges. 'I... I need to get these two out of here. Maybe... the window?'
Certainly, it was possible. Floating down two small foals a story or two would be child's play for Rarity, who was used to moving entire racks of clothing all across town. They could leave the house, maybe find help. But... the more Rarity thought about it, the worse of an idea it seemed. Over and over again, their screams looped in her head like a broken record. To float them down, turn away from the window, hear that scream... and never see them again.
No, Rarity decided. Separation was not an option. Not as long as this... Slendermane... was still unaccounted for. Thinking further, only one real path of action seemed feasible if she wanted to not only save Applebloom and Sweetie, but also find Scootaloo. Mrs. Cake had to know something about all of this. It was no coincidence, the white mare reasoned, that the baker's sudden change in behavior happened the same night Scootaloo was foalnapped by a pony(?) Rarity had never heard of before. They were connected.
Mrs. Cake had information. Information Rarity needed dearly.
The royal-purple maned unicorn took the next few minutes to compose herself and comfort the children. They cried quietly in her arms, either too afraid to make much more noise or simply too exhausted. To do what needed to be done next... she would need to leave them in the bedroom. She couldn't risk dragging them into another brawl with Mrs. Cake, and they were just down the hall. She would be able to get back to them in case this Slendermane character returned.
...She hoped.
"Girls..." She whispered softly, stroking both of their manes. Two sets of large, innocent eyes peered up at her, begging her to make everything alright. Sweetie's were slightly different though. Rarity could see the light of inevitability inside them, as if Sweetie knew that something terrible was going happen and that there was nothing that could stop it. "...I have to go."
The reaction from both fillies was immediate and intense. "NO!" They both screamed, clamping on even tighter. Their eyes began to run with tears.
"D-d-don't leave again," Applebloom hiccuped, "T-that monster's gunna get me!!"
Sweetie Belle shook her head in Rarity's mane, saturating the deep purple hair with her tears. "It'll come back." She whispered fearfully. "It a-always comes back..."
With a gentle effort that broke the fashion mare's heart, she pushed the two sniffling girls off of her. They both fell on their rears, faces pleading with her not to go. Feeling her own eyes begin to water, Rarity shook her head vigorously. She needed to be strong for them. "I will be just down the hall." She assured, lifting her head. She put a hoof on each of their shoulders.
"I need to ask Mrs. C-" The mare caught herself. It probably wasn't a good idea to tell the foals their attacker was also their favorite cake maker. "Our... visitor... where Scootaloo is. I can't risk you two getting hurt."
Applebloom sniffed loudly but nodded, realizing that she really had no choice in the matter. All she could do was place her trust in the Element Bearer, and hope against hope that the monster would not return. Sweetie, however, was unmoved.
"You can't go." She stated, staring passionately into her sister's eyes.
Rarity shook her head sadly. "Sweetie, I have-"
"No. Don't leave me." The little unicorn cut her off. Her tone was pleading.
"I don't have a choice-"
"You can't!"
Rarity stomped her hoof, nostrils flaring. "I must!"
The foal cringed and flattened her ears, biting her lip. The fashionista sighed and spoke more gently. "Sweetie... I love you, but Scootaloo is still out there. I... I need to find her. I'll always be nearby." Giving her sister a loving nuzzle, Rarity took her hooves off of the fillies and turned towards the door.
As she walked to the hallway, she heard a small squeak behind her. "Sis..." The little unicorn sobbed wretchedly.
Rarity knew if she turned around and saw Sweetie's face, she would never be able to leave. So she just gritted her teeth and marched towards the door, fighting against the urge to just keel over and break down right there on her bedroom floor. Stopping just outside the threshold of the door, the mare drew herself up.
"Nothing will happen to you." She promised, voice full of steel. "I promise." A sniff and a whimper was her only reply.
Leaving the bedroom door wide open for easy access, in case of emergency, the white mare began trotting quietly down the hall. The silence of the boutique rang loudly in her ears, almost deafeningly. As she neared Sweetie's room, however, she could hear quiet shuffling sounds and the occasional heavy hoofstep. If there was any doubt about the baker's whereabouts before, they were gone now.
Reaching the tall wooden door, Rarity stopped. She realized that she hadn't really thought this out. After all, the earth pony had just tried to kill her not ten minutes ago. What made her think Mrs. Cake would just answer her questions easily? What if she attacked again?
'Then,' Rarity thought grimly, 'I'll just have to get the answers by force.'
Mentally recoiling in disgust, the mare shook her head furiously. By force? What did that mean? Had these last few minutes really changed Rarity enough for her to consider hurting another pony a viable option?
'N-No...' Rarity resolved, taking a deep breath. Her ribs ached in response to the sudden intake of air. 'I-I've got to give her a chance. And i-if I have to defend myself...' The unicorn shivered, gripping the door knob in her magic. '...So be it.'
She opened the door...
A black void stretched out before her, the lamp beside Sweetie Belle's bed nowhere to be seen. Now that there was no door between her and the room, Rarity could clearly hear the the sounds of a pony moving around. She managed to pinpoint the source of the noise to be near the far wall, on the opposite side of the room. Gulping loudly, the alabaster pony tensed as she grabbed hold of the light switch with her telekinesis. Taking one more deep breath, the unicorn flipped the switch.
Flick.
The room was trashed. Blankets and sheets from Sweetie's bed were crumpled up and shoved into a corner, the mattress practically torn apart, springs sticking out at odd angles. The drawers of the dresser were located about the room, upside down with small articles of clothing poking out from underneath. Rarity could see where the lamp had gone; it was shattered on the floor, the lamp shade torn to shreds.
The white mare spied a book face down on the floor, its pages all ripped out. The cover read 'Junior Sketchbook'. The pages themselves were everywhere: upside down on the bed, scattered on the floor, leaning against a wall.
Watching, one said.
Can't run.
Don't let it touch you.
The fashion pony felt her blood run cold. The words on the pages were hastily written, and in massive font, as if the artist wanted to make a sign to show somepony. But the words weren't what chilled Rarity to the bone.
The image of a pony, with legs almost three times longer than its torso, was the focal point of most of the pages. The creature wore a suit shaded in multiple layers of black crayon, betraying the artist's intent to make the outfit as dark as possible. The only color on each page, red, manifested itself in a single streak of maroon crayon, looping around the tall pony monster's neck. Its skin was colored in with white, creating a sharp contrast with the rest of its ensemble. What really got to Rarity, however, was its face.
Or, more specifically, its lack of one.
The boutique owner lifted her hoof and stared at the pictures on the ground in front of her. She found one with the tall pony and what looked like a small pegasus foal with a white coat and a startlingly colorful mane, standing side by side. Upon closer inspection, Rarity could see that the small filly also had a horn, making the pegasus foal an alicorn foal. In the background, drawings of pines ablaze made the picture much more red than the other ones. Large letters in the same font as the other drawings framed the eerie picture.
She burned them.
Did... Did Sweetie really draw these?
The sound of shuffling hooves brought Rarity back into focus. The reason she had entered this room in the first place stood with her back to the boutique owner, moving her injured hoof over the wall, smearing blood on the yellow wallpaper. The crimson lines formed into what looked like a crudely drawn pine tree, its branches drooping. Mrs. Cake didn't seem to notice Rarity's presence, even after she had turned the lights on.
Taking a hesitant step forward, Rarity cleared her throat. The baker instantly stopped what she was doing, before slowly rotating to face the fashionista.
Mrs. Cake's apron and coat had been stained by the flow of blood from her wound, making her look more like a butcher than a baker. The cut itself was now swollen, the skin underneath the sullied blue fur angry and red. The earth pony hadn't put her mask back on, and she stared at a very nervous Rarity with wide, blank eyes.
"M-Mrs. Cake, dear, u-um," Rarity began, "I-It's me, Rarity."
The insane mare said nothing; her only reply was a menacing step forward. Rarity found herself taking a step back in response.
"P-Please, snap out of it darling!" The white unicorn entreated desperately. No response. Another step forward, another step back.
Attempting another approach, Rarity swallowed her fear and took a few steps forward, eyes pleading. " Mrs. Cake, this isn't what you want to do! I know you; you're a kind, loving mare, who would never hurt anypony!"
The pink-maned pony continued staring blankly, but didn't move forward. Sensing that maybe she was getting somewhere, the fashion pony took a few more careful steps. "You... I-I don't pretend to know what you're going through, a-and I-I don't know what caused you to do this..." Rarity sniffed and looked down, biting her lip.
"But we can get you help!" She said determinedly, looking firmly into her friend's eyes. "I don't blame you for this! I-... I just need your help first. Please?"
A moment of silence passed as Rarity's request hung in the air. The tension with thick enough to cut with a knife. The mother continued to gaze back at Rarity, pupils dilated and uncomprehending.
One more step forward. "Dear-"
Without warning, Mrs. Cake charged, papers flying everywhere in her wake. Yelping in surprise, Rarity dodged to the left, rolling through the door and putting her back against the wall in the hallway. With a loud crash, the baker collided with the bedroom wall, ricocheting off of it and sprawling onto the ground in a heap.
The unicorn had little respite, because this time Mrs. Cake quickly regained her footing and charged a second time. Dodging once more, Rarity barely managed to avoid the sudden assault. The baker stopped in time to avoid ramming into the wall again, and turned to face the boutique owner, panting heavily. With a surge of dread, Rarity realized she had unintentionally put the mad pony between her and the girls.
To add insult to injury, Rarity had maneuvered herself into a position where she could no longer dodge her attacker's advances. In the narrow hallway, it would be a simple matter for Mrs. Cake to run the purple-maned pony down. Gulping, Rarity backpedaled down the hall, creating as much room between her and the other mare as possible. Steeling her resolve, the white unicorn prepared herself for the inevitable- she would have to defend herself after all.
Mrs. Cake charged. By pure reflex, Rarity took another step backwards.
Her hoof found nothing but air.
"Wha-!!"
Falling. She had walked off the stairs.
The air was forced out of the white pony's lungs as she hit the first step. The descent was disorientating and agonizingly painful, with each impact feeling like somepony was taking a sledgehammer to her ribs and beating the rest of her body with wooden bats. Near the end of her impromptu flight, her horn caught on the edge of a step. The pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
Dazed and battered, the pony eventually landed with a dull thud at the bottom of the steps. Barely able to see through the haze of pain, the unicorn wobbled to her hooves. The air was much more thick and heavy downstairs, causing Rarity to choke and forcing her to duck down to breathe. Blinking vigorously, the fashion mare tried desperately to clear her vision before Mrs. Cake could take advantage of the situation.
Trying for several seconds without avail, Rarity realized that what she had thought was a haze of pain was actually a haze of smoke. Huge grey coils of the stuff spiraled in the air above her like hungry snakes. The smell of it was almost overwhelming. While the realization explained why she was having trouble breathing, it hardly put her at ease. Was her house on fire?! How could this night get any worse?
Looking about frantically, she saw from her crouched position that most of the smoke was pouring out of her workroom. Shaking her head in disbelief, she guessed at the reason.
Had she really left the iron on? The first fingers of flame reaching out from the bottom of the door left little doubt.
The loud thumping coming from the stairwell told Rarity her brief moment of respite was over. Relieved that Mrs. Cake had chosen to pursue her and not the children, the fashion pony rose to her hooves and prepared herself for a fight, trying her best to breath through the thick smoke. She had no illusions of their safety, however. She was in the exact same position as before; fighting downstairs while the foals hid upstairs, out of her reach. If the thing that stole Scootaloo came back...
Rarity's nostrils flared. She would have to deal with this quickly.
Barreling out of the smoke like an angry demon, Mrs. Cake lunged down the last few steps at the white mare, teeth bared and eyes bloodshot. Rarity skipped to the right and tried hit the baker as hard as she could, aiming for the head for a quick knock-out. Unaffected, the mother simply moved her head out of the way, allowing the hoof to fly by in a woosh of alabaster fur. Twisting her head around, Mrs. Cake latched onto Rarity's leg with her teeth, digging into the flesh with a soft squelch.
A cold splash of pain alerted the fashionista the instant the baker's mouth clamped down, eliciting a squeal of equal parts surprise and hurt. Panicked, the white pony twisted and squirmed in her attacker's hold to no avail. Whipping her own head around, Rarity eventually managed to gouge a deep cut into Mrs. Cake's side with her horn, forcing the blue mare to release her. Hunched over and struggling to keep on her hooves, the baker retreated back into the smoke, where she vanished from sight.
Breathing heavily, the unicorn was forced to crouch down once again, lest her lungs be completely filled with the thickening smoke. The bite on her hind leg ached terribly, but bled little; something Rarity was very grateful for. Something wet dripped on her forehead. With a disgusted shiver, she realized the liquid was blood. The blood she had drawn from her good friend, dripping down her horn. Forcing down tears, the mare limped as quickly as she could to the stairs, needing to confirm the safety of the remaining crusaders.
Clang!
Rarity flew backwards, the impact sending her off her hooves and three feet back. Vision blurred, the fashion pony could barely make out the outline of an earth pony brandishing what looked like a frying pan in its mouth. Confused and too stunned to move, she could only watch as the figure hobbled over to her, the pan glowing wickedly in the light of the growing fire. It looked like it was from her own kitchen. When did Mrs. Cake have the time to grab it?
The mad baker stood atop her now, lips trembling around the round handle. Her eyes were still as blank and far-away as ever, completely lacking any visible murderous intent.
Clang!
The metal rang gleefully as it bounced off Rarity's face again. The pain was excruciating. How could she get free?
Clang!
The white unicorn felt a tooth become loose as the pan came down a second time, unrelenting and unforgiving. Her vision became foggy and her thoughts became more lethargic. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to save herself, she grabbed the pan tightly in her magic. The strain on Rarity's magic was reaching the breaking point. Struggling to bring the pan down again, Mrs. Cake brutally punched Rarity with her free hoof, breaking the fashion mare's hold.
Clang!
"Buh..." Rarity sputtered, mouth filling with blood. The loose tooth had come out, flying out of the mare's mouth and across the room. The unicorn was barely conscious. As her vision began to go black, all she could think of was how her dresses were burning away in her workroom, all alone. Funny the things you think of when you're being beaten to death with a frying pan. In your own home. By a good friend.
The pan drew back a final time. Rarity closed her eyes, and waited.
And waited.
But the blow never came.
"HI-YAAH!" Applebloom squealed, bucking Mrs. Cake as hard as she could. The sudden blow, understandably strong, given Applebloom's family, sent the baker sailing backwards into the smoke.
The fact that Rarity had just been saved only took a millisecond to sink in before she was struggling to her hooves again, face burning and swollen. It took a second, but her vision eventually cleared and revealed none other than Applebloom to be her savior. Surprised, yet immensely grateful at the little filly's timely intervention, she allowed herself a little grin. Her face, needless to say, did not approve of the gesture, sending tingles of pain down her spine.
"You... you saved me." She breathed, surprisingly articulate despite her swelling jaw. The filly didn't reply, staring disbelievingly into the smoke.
"W-was... was that Mrs. Cake??" The bow wearing filly asked, tone incredulous. Grimacing, Rarity prepared herself to tell the girls who the Masked Mare really was. She stopped. There were no "girls." Only a girl.
Sweetie Belle wasn't with her.
"Where's my sister? Where's Sweetie Belle??" The fashionista demanded, spitting out a glob of thick blood. Her panic levels began to rise as Applebloom shot her a confused look. With a little gasp, the foal began casting her eyes in every direction, eyes wide. When they finally turned back to Rarity, the unicorn mare could see her own panic reflected in them.
"We h-heard you fall down the stairs, and Ah said we should h-help! She agreed!" The filly cried guiltily, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Sh-she... she was right behind me!!"
That was everything Rarity needed to hear. She needed to get back to Sweetie, and she needed to be there five minutes ago. "Come on!" Rarity screamed over the roar of the flames, limping towards the stairwell. The fire had grown from a few small fingers of flame to a huge blaze that was in the process of devouring a few of Rarity's more prized dresses. Nodding, the farmer filly followed, coughing in the heavy smoke that permeated the bottom floor.
Woosh.
Clang!
The projectile struck Applebloom square on the head, producing a ringing not unlike the sound of a bell. The foal fell to the floor, knocked out cold. Practically screaming in frustration, Rarity turned to pick the filly up in her magic and saw Mrs. Cake shuffling slowly out of the smoke. Her whole body soaked in blood and trembling heavily, the baking mare moved as fast as she could towards the pair. What would it take to knock this pony out?
The trek up the staircase could've been described as the world's slowest race; Mrs. Cake tried tirelessly to reach Rarity and the fashion mare, in turn, tried desperately not to get caught. Applebloom floated in the air just in front of the unicorn, hopefully low enough to the ground so that she wouldn't have to breathe in all the smoke. The entire stairwell was full of the thick grey stuff, forcing Rarity to hold her breath for most of the ascent and only take small, sparing gulps of air when the pain in her lungs became too unbearable. The boutique owner had never been so exhausted and injured in her life. She doubted she would last much longer.
Finally, Rarity reached the top of the stairs, Applebloom in tow and Mrs. Cake hot on her heels. Taking a few gulps of the heavenly smoke-free air, the white mare began to gallop (it was really more of a fast limp) towards the door to her bedroom, which was still wide open. In the corner of her eye, she could see the mother clear the top of the stairs, trailing blood in her wake. It was a miracle she hadn't bled out yet. She began to gallop as well, sensing that her prey was now cornered.
Unwilling to lead the murderous pony straight to her sister, Rarity gently placed Applebloom on the floor next to the door and turned to face her attacker, intent on stopping her. She was surprised to see that Mrs. Cake had stopped advancing, and was actually taking steps backwards, away from the battered unicorn. For the first time that night, Rarity thought she could see some emotion in those blank eyes. It was fear.
Suddenly crying out, the baker turned tail and ran to Sweetie Belle's room, slamming the door shut behind her. Utterly confused, Rarity shook her head and refocused on her goal. She had to see if Sweetie was alright. Turning cautiously, wary of any sneak attacks from the baker, Rarity stepped into her room.
She froze.
The... thing... stood tall and deadly over the unicorn mare. A wicked aura wrapped around the creature like a second suit. The suit itself was like a black hole, sucking in all light it came in contact with and crushing into nothing. Its face was empty, but Rarity swore she could feel it's gaze on her, hungry and insatiable. This was the monster Sweetie Belle had drawn.
This was Slendermane.
The roar of the flames faded away, leaving Rarity's labored breathing and heavily beating heart the only noise. The atmosphere had... completely changed. Despite the absence of smoke, Rarity found it increasingly harder to breath. The walls seemed to press in on her, the room became smaller and smaller. Her ribs ached; it felt like she was being slowly crushed by some massive, unknown force. Before Slendermane, all of Rarity's resolve dissolved away into nothing. She began to tremble, falling to her knees.
Moment's later, Rarity sensed that its gaze was no longer centered on her, as it turned instead to face the small filly it had trapped earlier. Sweetie Belle stood stock-still, frozen in the same way Rarity was. Her small body shook violently, and a soft sob left her lips. The look in her eyes was one of familiarity, as if she already knew what came next. The two stared each other down for several seconds, neither so much as moving a muscle or uttering a sound. Rarity's ears popped.
Slendermane lunged. The screaming began.
"Nooo!!! Rarity help me!!!" The Cutie Mark Crusader screeched as she was swept up in the creature's arms. Sweetie started flailing crazily and her eyes went wild. The jarring sound broke Slendermane's spell, and Rarity leapt forward, prepared to do anything to save her sister.
"Put! Her! Down!!"
"Rarityhelpmehelpmehelpmehelpme!!"
Roaring in fury, the fashion pony was halfway across the room in half a heartbeat. She blocked out all other thoughts.
'Protect her!' Her mind screamed. 'Save her! Save your sister!'
A cold slithering feeling spread across the fashionista's back. Mind going blank, the last thing Rarity saw before the visions started was the long black tentacle dancing above her head.
Crack, whumph, snap. Rarity smiled as the bludeon came down upon her helpless victim again and again, savoring the feel of breaking bones and bruising flesh. Ribbons of blood flew in every direction, staining the walls and ruining her beautiful white coat. Somehow, this only made her angrier.
"-dontletittakemepleaseRaritypleasepleaseplease-"
The fashion pony fell to the ground, head clutched between her hooves.
Her target's lips moved wordlessly, her eyes clouded over. Again. Again. Again!
"-whygodpleasesistergodhelpmeitsgotmeitsgotme-"
Slendermane took a step out of the window, ducking its head under the frame in order to accommodate the rest of its body. It was leaving. Rarity could do nothing but lay on the ground, mind wracked by hellish images given to her by the creature's touch. Sweetie Belle's cries became more quiet, her pupils more distant, as her soul was slowly crushed by the direct contact. Foam dripped from her barely moving mouth, her limbs occasionally twitching.
"-...nogod...dontlet...it...-take...-"
Just a broken sack of broken bones. So satisfying.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
".....Ra....ri....ty...."
Slendermane was gone.
For what seemed like an eternity, all Rarity could do was lie on the floor, sobbing and shaking. The wildfire in her mind eventually began to fade, leaving a horrirfying after-image the fashion mare knew she would remember for the rest of her life. The second she found the will to stand, she was at the window, screaming her lungs out.
"Sweetie!! Sweetie, come back!!!" She screamed, choking on her words as tears ran off her face like a waterfall. She had made a promise. She promised! She promised that no harm would come to her...
Sweetie Belle was taken. Her sister was taken!
'...that monster stole her...' Rarity sobbed silently.
'That bucking monster took her from me!!'
"Give her back!!" Rarity roared, screaming into the night. "Give her back!! Give her back!!"
Her fear, her sadness, the entire night came rushing back to her. Exhaustion, pain, tears, misery, anger all coalesced into one bright, burning ball of hatred. This was all... this was all her fault. It all began when she showed up.
The baker.
Storming away from the window, eyes burning darkly with rage, Rarity scanned the room for what she needed. Finding the small sewing machine on her table to be sufficient, she yanked it from the wall with her magic, roughly tearing the plug from its socket. A quiet ringing noise began to echo in her ears, as if a bomb had went off nearby and her eardrums were still recovering.
Stomping out of the room, sewing machine in tow, Rarity passed a recovering Applebloom. "Ah-... Whu... What...? Rarity...?" The filly said groggily, rubbing her eyes. "What happened...?"
The white unicorn ignored her. Tilting her head, the filly rubbed her head in confusion. "Rarity...?"
As Rarity moved towards Sweetie Belle's room, the stench of smoke clogged her nostrils and made her eyes sting. The fire had grown to critical levels. Soon, the boutique would be nothing but embers. The fashionista's life work... up in smoke.
And she couldn't care less.
Growling savagely, the alabaster pony bucked the door open, sending sharp splinters in all directions. The lights were still on, and Rarity instantly spotted Mrs. Cake cowering in a corner at the far side of the room. After the blue earth pony saw who had come for her, however, the fear faded from her eyes and she stood up, wobbling unsteadily. Rarity's face twisted into a vicious snarl.
Mrs. Cake ran at the boutique owner with reckless abandon, trying for the umpteenth time that night to end her life.
Crunch!
The sewing machine came around, smacking the mother in the jaw and sending her sprawling to her back. Rarity was on her in under a second, teeth bared and eyes glowing with barely contained rage.
"Where is she?!" She roared, drawing the sewing machine back. The mare below her moved her lips, but it was clear she would not speak. Her pupils were still dilated and unfocused.
The Element of Generosity brought the sewing machine down on the blue pony's chest, producing another sickening crunch. "I know you know! Answer me!!" The baker grunted in pain, squeezing her eye's shut. She whimpered softly.
"Raaaaaaahhh!!!" Rarity was a specter of wrath. She didn't bother asking another question before bringing the machine down again. She struck the mother's leg, snapping the bone and crushing the tendons. She brought it down on her flanks, fracturing hip bones and prompting quiet moans of agony. Crack, whumph, snap. The ringing in Rarity's ears had risen to the point where she could hear nothing else. She saw red. She tasted blood.
She felt... good...
Muffled noises. Someone was screaming her name. She ignored it. A broken sack... of broken bones...
For several minutes of pure madness, Rarity poured her heart into every swing of the sewing machine. Eventually, her horn went out, dropping her weapon to the floor. So she used her hooves. When she was too tired to keep going... when the squelch of battered flesh ceased to feed her anger... she stopped.
Stumbling backwards, the mare fell onto her rear. The ringing slowly faded from her ears, and suddenly she could hear again, like she had just jumped out of a deep pool.
"R-... Rarity..." A small voice whimpered. Dazed and speechless, Rarity dumbly turned her head towards the sound.
Applebloom stood in the doorway, terror plastered on her innocent face. Following her gaze, the fashionista twisted back around to the scene in front of her.
A pile of blue fur and meat. A face barely recognizable as pony. A torn apron. A dirty sewing machine. Blood everywhere. Blinking uncomprehendingly, Rarity looked back to the yellow-coated flly.
"Who... who did this?" She asked slowly, talking around her swollen jaw.
'I did this.'
With a dawning horror, Rarity began to put the pieces together. The filly wasn't afraid of the body. She was afraid of her.
'I did this!'
Rarity looked back to the body, heart rate skyrocketing. Everything looked so... familiar. With a start, the mare noticed Slendermane crouched in the corner of the room. How long had it been there? Where had it come from? What disturbed Rarity the most, however, was how it seemed to watch her almost... approvingly.
The blood. The violence. It was familiar. She... she had seen it before.
The vision. She had done exactly what Slendermane wanted.
With a surge of revulsion, the fashionista emptied her stomach onto the ground, tremors of disgust shaking her body. Mrs. Cake was... was her friend. What happened?! How could she do something so disgusting...?!
Slendermane began to leisurely approach, almost swaggering towards the broken mare. A small, choking sob emanating from the doorway reminded Rarity that she still had a job to do. Turning on her heels, Rarity resolved to save at least one. She had to do that much. Pushing all her doubts and fears away, the boutique owner galloped to Applebloom, scooping her up and flinging the crusader up and onto her back. As she dashed down the hallway to the stairs, it was all she could do to focus on getting away.
"I'm sorry..." She kept whispering. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." The filly stayed silent, holding onto the white unicorn with all of her might. Whether it was a gesture of forgiveness or simply survival, Rarity couldn't guess. Her mind was numb to the terror as she saw Slendermane bend under the door frame, head peeking out inquisitively. She was just... tired. She wanted this whole night to just go away. For it all to be just a bad dream. The fire, the foalnapping, Slendermane... Mrs. Cake...
Struggling against the urge to throw-up again, the fashionista sped down the stairs, holding her breath against the smoke. As she cleared the bottom step, she realized just how little time they had left. The blaze had evolved into a fully-fledged inferno, ravenously consuming all in it's path. Rarity was sure that this was what Hell looked like.
Rushing through the flames, Rarity emerged outside her still open front door, gasping and sputtering. The outside of her boutique was wreathed in smaller flames, their heat radiating out into the chilly air. The grass was cold on the unicorn's hooves, small flecks of dew rubbing off onto her stained white coat. The moon floated lazily in the sky, like a foal watching a curious looking bug. The stars twinkled in the mare's eyes. They seemed to be congratulating her; telling her that she did it. That she had escaped Hell.
And, certainly, she had. The vast expanse of Ponyville was laid out before her, offering her any amount of safe refuges and places to rest. But... there was still something she had to do. Something that anchored her to this place as surely as the sun would rise. Mrs. Cake was still in there.
Only a monster would just leave her there. And Rarity wasn't a monster... right?
Shivering lightly, the unicorn lowered her charge to the ground. The filly looked at her with huge eyes; eyes that were no longer innocent.
"You're leaving again." Was all she said. The bow in the little pony's hair drooped pathetically. Rarity nodded sadly.
"I need to get her." She replied simply, turning back towards the inferno. The flames seemed to wave at her, beckoning her back inside. The filly only sniffed in return. Stepping forward, Rarity was almost at the door when the crusader spoke up again.
"You aren't a bad pony, right Rarity?"
The fashion mare looked back, misery and doubt in her eyes. "I... don't know, Applebloom." She whispered. The foal silently nodded, casting her gaze to the ground. It felt like somepony was scraping Rarity's heart out with a rusty spoon. Twisting her head back to the fire, the fashionista took one last breath and gathered what was left of her resolve. "...Stay here, I'll be right back."
With those words, Rarity rushed back into the fire, dodging a falling piece of debris as she maneuvered herself towards the stairs. The flames nipped at her sides, singeing her coat and tail and making her bite wound tingle. The fire had finally spread to the stairs, forcing the unicorn to leap over the first few steps in an attempt to prevent the worst of the burns. She couldn't breath. If she stayed here much longer, she would surely die.
Sprinting over the final step, she landed on the wooden floor just in time. The stairs behind her collapsed into a pile of broken splinters and ash, cutting off her only escape route. She had to use the windows if she wanted to have a chance of getting out of there alive.
Turning the corner into Sweetie Belle's room, Rarity covered her mouth and fought the urge to vomit as she spotted her handiwork. Mrs. Cake lay completely still, her body positively drenched in blood. A large puddle of the ichor had settled around her, making the floor slippery and wet. Sweetie Belle's drawings fluttered in all directions, pushed about by the drafts caused by the fire.
In the smokey haze of the room, Rarity couldn't tell if the baker was breathing.
Quickly leaping to the heavily injured pony's side, the alabaster unicorn heaved Mrs. Cake onto her back, trying not to gag at the smell. The baker didn't even twitch as Rarity exited the room, headed for the window at the end of the hall.
Slendermane stood in her path.
She was cornered.
The monster seemed to know this, and took its time staring the white pony down. An all-commanding feeling of terror settled over the fashion mare, chaining her to the spot. Her whole body trembled, fear and rage colliding against each other in her mind, fighting for dominance. Should she attack to save Sweetie Belle, or run to save Applebloom and Mrs. Cake? In the end, her indecision left her unable to take any action at all.
It took a dangerous step forward, the moment of respite evidently over. Rarity tensed. It was do or die. Shivering, she felt her thoughts wandering back to the feeling of its tentacle on her exposed flesh. Back to the vision and what it had done to Sweetie Belle. Back to how it had turned her into some kind of bloodthirsty maniac, who had no problem with hurting or even killing other ponies...
Rarity could feel the first tendrils of flame reaching up onto the second floor, their bright glow lighting up the dark hallway. Slendermane suddenly stopped, cocking its head towards the blaze. It paused there for several seconds, as if pondering something.
Then it just... left, vanishing out of thin air.
Rarity had no time to wonder why. A loud snap and a long, anguished groan echoed up from the floorboards of the mortally wounded boutique, signalling its time was near. The unicorn didn't have minutes left, she had seconds.
Pushing her body to the very limit, Rarity forced her legs to move at breakneck speeds towards her only route of escape. There was no time to open it. Yelping in fear, the fashionista crashed through the thin glass window, hurtling towards the lawn below. With an anguished cry, the mare put all of her willpower and energy into her magic, surrounding the two falling ponies in her light blue aura. It caught her.
But not for long.
For a millisecond, the pain in Rarity's horn flashed brighter than a super-nova, eradicating all conscious thought and drawing a hoarse scream from the throat of the fashion mare. Then, her magic simply stopped, dumping her and the wounded baker onto the grass with a dull thump.
Her boutique crashed to the ground behind her, smoke billowing high into the sky. She had made it... but just barely.
After a minute or two of respite, the alabaster unicorn forced herself back onto her hooves. Limping, the dead weight of Mrs. Cake reducing her to a snail's pace, Rarity circled around the house and met back up with Applebloom. She did what Rarity said, and waited there obediently. Upon seeing Mrs. Cake's prone form, the filly nervously averted her eyes, before falling in behind her guardian. With a dull pang of despair, Rarity realized things would never be the same between her and the bow-wearing foal. They said nothing to each other for a while.
"...Come on." Rarity said, facing towards Ponyville. The filly nodded quietly.
Together, they walked on into the night, leaving behind them a burning ruin in hopes of finding something that could make things right again. Something that could erase all of this, leave nothing but a smoldering memory...
...But somehow, deep in her battered heart, Rarity knew it would only get worse from here.