//------------------------------// // Rarity vs. Banette // Story: MLP VS... Pokemon // by FrostyDawn //------------------------------// Cobwebs. The wispy, white nets that cluttered furniture after periods of inactivity. And the one thing to frighten Rarity. "UGH! Filthy cobwebs and dust everywhere! If Discord wanted to send me to the worst possible place, he succeeded." Rarity griped, wiping them away. She found herself in an attic of some sorts, with a single window that let a beam of moonlight pouring in. The rest of the room was too dark to see, but Rarity could tell there were boxes and other items tucked away. It was an attic after all. In the moonlight, there was a hatch sealed with a padlock. "Thank you, my dearest. I really do try." The god of chaos chuckled, startling the unicorn. "Don't you dare talk to me, Discord! I'd rather take my chances with whatever you've sent after me than listen to your drivel." Rarity quipped, pointing her nose high in the air. There was a dull clunk in the corner, and Rarity was instantly frightened. "What was that?!" She cried. "Thank, Rarity, is the alternative to my 'drivel'. Say hello to Banette." Discord giggled. There was a creak of the floorboards, and Rarity saw a shape walk into the moonlight. A ragdoll, walking on it's own into view. I moved like strings on a puppet from invisible marionettes. It's body was made from gray faded cloth stitched together. It's eyes were red buttons folded in the cloth, making them look rather angry. The ghoul's mouth was a copper zipper, eerily bent to look like a crazed smile. "Remember those old dolls children through away and forget? Banette remembers too. Turns out in this world, old dolls and puppets become possessed by spirits. And they hunt down the child that abandons it." Discord said. "Now, I won't bore you with the details, and I've already explained it to your friends. One way or another, you won't escape until something kills someone." As if on cue, Rarity felt her blood chill as the Banette cackled, much like a sentient being. The red eyes seemed to pulse in the darkness, emitting a small swirl of color. Rarity felt compelled to look into the creature's eyes, her own growing heavier by the seconds. "Such... pretty colors." She muttered. "So... sleepy." Rarity said, and there, she could only collapse to the floor as she fell asleep. The recesses of Rarity's subconscious were buzzing with activity. Memories of past experiences drifted around spewing random dialogue. "Odd." Rarity thought to herself. "I never thought dreams worked like this." She said, looking around. She saw her own body drifting in an endless sea of wispy darkness. The shifting shapes and shadows around her formed a floor. A physical surface for Rarity to stand. "Did that thing put me to sleep? What good would that do?" She wondered. There was the sound of hooves galloping on the ground, and a voice behind her. "Rarity! Help!" The unicorn turned behind her, and Fluttershy was seen, running from a large shape that loomed in the distance. It was a gigantic Banette, towering at least four stories high. It was trudging after Fluttershy, before it brought down it's hand, grasping her. Rarity attempted to shout out or run to help, but her voice was gone and her hooves were stuck on the ground, by some sort of black glue. "Rarity! Do something! Why aren't you helping me!?" The yellow pegasus cried out. The monstrous Banette opened its zipper-mouth, and a white smoke seeped from Fluttershy's mouth and into the Banette's. "Do something! Why won't you help me?!" Fluttershy rasped before her grayed, shriveled body dropped from the Banette. "No... no! This can't be happening!" Rarity thought as a tear slipped from her eye. She just witness a death of one of her best friends and she was helpless. The giant Banette towered over Rarity, and pulled her up from the ground. Its zipper-mouth opened once more, and Rarity knew what was coming. She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth. "I just want this nightmare to end..." Rarity said, awaiting her fate. "Wait a second... this is a nightmare. And nothing more!" Rarity realized. If she truly was asleep, then this was only a dream. Fluttershy was never in any danger, and neither is Rarity. She opened her eyes to awaken from the nightmare, and she was no longer in the grasp of a giant demon, but on the attic floor, shaking in fear as the real Banette held out its hands, with ghostly strings stretching around Rarity. The strings tingled as the stayed on her, and the unicorn felt herself growing slightly weaker with each passing second. Rarity thrashed up from her binds, dissolving the strings into smoke, and firing bursts of magic at the Banette and catching it by surprise. "Don't. You. Ever. Touch. My. Dreams!" Rarity shouted, firing stronger surges of magic between each word. The Banette fell to the ground quickly, and Rarity charged over to jam her horn into the ghost, tearing the fabric. The Banette's button eyes lost their red hue, and its body slumped into lifeless cloth. It's zipper smile was gone, replaced with a blank frown. "Oh ho ho ho! The fancy lady has a temper!" Discord's voice cackled, snapping Rarity back to reality. "Oh dear. What was that? I never felt so... angry." Rarity whimpered. "And that awful vision..." "Yes, isn't it splendid? Some of these monsters prefer to warp your thoughts and assault your emotions, rather than brute force. And it looks like you succeeded." The padlock that sealed the exit to the attic melted, and the hatch popped open. "You are a sick waste of space, Discord." Rarity muttered. "Harsh. But don't use the word 'sick'. It makes it sound like I can be cured. I prefer 'twisted'." Discord said. "Now, carry on." Rarity slowly walked down the staircase of the attic, with a lot on her mind.