The Looking Glass
Twilight Sparkle shuddered, an electric chill running down her spine. The room in front of her was dark and her breath steamed as it left her mouth. Winter hit Equestria especially hard this year. It was half-way through the season and Winter Wrap-Up was still a long time away.
The Elements of Harmony had jumped at the opportunity to help clean out the town hall. Twilight had been eager to utilize her organization skills; the haphazardness of the town hall always annoyed her.
Breathing out, she walked into the darkness, her horn aglow with a mellow lavender aura. Gazing around, she levitated boxes one by one, moving them against a wall. She had almost finished moving all the boxes when a small glint caught her eye. Focusing the light coming from her horn, she directed it straight at the glint to be rebuked with a harsh white glare that made her cringe. Squinting and looking away she picked up the object and brought it towards her, holding it in front of her face.
It was a mirror, wrought in gold, it's handle a spiral column covered in a line of intricately carved ponies leading up from the bottom that stopped midway. Each succeeding pony was more detailed than the last, the older ones worn with age.
Twilight Sparkle was about to blow the thick layer of dust off the mirror when a call distracted her.
"Twilight? Are you done dear?" Rarity called.
"Umm," Twilight muttered, before calling out, "Yeah I'll be right up!"
After quickly finishing her work she slipped the mirror into her saddlebags and started up the spiral staircase leading to the ground floor.
---
Twilight stood on the lower level of the library, gazing at the mirror absentmindedly.
It was a curious device, thought Twilight as she rotated it in front of her, the mirror having been cleaned of dust. She stopped rotating it, her reflection staring back at her curiously. She would bring it to the sleepover her and her friends had planned. Maybe Rarity would know where it was from, she usually knew these kinds of things.
As she trotted towards the library's door, she levitated her saddlebags on her back and tucked the mirror in one of the pockets. Tonight Rarity was hosting the sleepover while the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at Apple Acres being watched over by Big Mac.
Walking inside Rarity's boutique, she noticed that Applejack and Fluttershy had already arrived.
"Well howdy, Twilight!" Applejack said, in her characteristic upbeat manner. Behind her, Rarity was fussing over Fluttershy, who was wearing a presumably fashionable dress. A fabric pen was hanging in the air next to Rarity, occasionally darting forwards to mark up the fabric.
Rarity turned around, a surprised look on her face. "Why I simply had not seen you Twilight! My deepest apologies, how rude of me!" exclaimed Rarity, pausing to take a breath.
"Oh it's nothing, I wouldn't want to interrupt, you look really busy.." Twilight said amiably.
Applejack groaned. "Ah'm glad you came, I was about to go crazy!" she said to Twilight, which Rarity shot her a sour stare for.
Applejack matched glares.
Pinkie Pie walked down the stairs into the parlor with a jovial grin on her face. All three of the other ponies stared at her in shock. "Pinkie darling, how long have you been here?" Rarity asked hesitantly, a stretched smile on her face.
"Since I got here, silly!" Pinkie responded, oblivious to the others' stares.
"And when exactly was that?"
"About three hours ago!"
Rarity stared at her, blinking several times in disbelief. "I only arrived at my home just 2 hours ago." she said, confusion written on her face. Behind her, Applejack was chuckling into her hoof.
Pinkie Pie ignored her, zipping up to the door and wrenching it open. Standing there was Rainbow Dash, her hoof extended pushing at empty air.
Twilight sighed. "Well, now that we're all here, we can officially get started." she said in a resigned tone, with only the slightest smile pulling at the corners of her mouth in response to Pinkie's random display. Rainbow Dash walked in, not confused in the slightest at Pinkie's behavior.
---
The group went through their average activities, playing a particularly competitive game of truth or dare that quickly became Applejack and Rainbow Dash throwing dares at each other, each trying to prove their athletic superiority. In the end, an angry Twilight put a stop to it and the two guiltily put aside their pride.
Several hours later, the six were sitting in a circle, a large spread of sheets and blankets covering the floor in Rarity's room. Rainbow Dash was telling a horror story, inwardly pleased with herself at the attention she was garnering.
"The door opened, the rusty hinges grating together in a guttural moan as a hoof reached in and grabbed the doorframe, blood dripping freely from it." Rainbow said in a low whisper.
Rarity was sitting straight, her face completely calm but her muscles clenched in anticipation. Twilight was leaning forward, her wide eyes trapped on Rainbow Dash as she drank in every detail. Applejack was lying down, a skeptical look on her face with one eyebrow slightly raised. Fluttershy was a wreck, entombed in blankets with one eye peeking out from a small gap. Pinkie was unfazed, listening to and watching her friend with a light smile.
The door behind them opened slightly, a small squeak jolting them to look at the same time. The six held their breaths, not daring to move. It swung open more, seemingly without a cause. The six remained still as statues. From behind the door came Opalescence, who gave them a haughty look and jumped onto Rarity's bed.
They breathed out in relief, looking at each other with timid smiles and beating hearts. Pinkie Pie laughed, the humor slowly spreading amongst the friends.
"I'm not so sure we should finish that story.. " Fluttershy began, her voice getting quieter with every word. "That is if you don't mind.." she whispered, the last words mute.
"Uh.. Yeah, for Fluttershy's sake!" Rainbow said, an unconvincing grin on her face. Twilight and Applejack shot each other knowing looks. A single bead of sweat rolled down the side of Rainbow's forehead and her grin stretched even wider.
"Well, I do have something I had been meaning to bring up," Twilight began, "It's something I found before, I was hoping you could help me identify it."
She levitated the mirror out of her bag, which sat in the corner by the door and brought it to hover in front of the others. Rarity grasped it with her own magic and slowly looked it over from top to bottom, her eyes exploring every detail.
"This certainly is a magnificent piece of work, Twilight." She said slowly, her eyes combing it over for information. "Where ever did you find it?"
"It was in the basement of the Town Hall," Twilight said, "It was just sitting there unused."
"It's obviously antique, and a very delicate work of art. I wonder who would leave such a beautiful thing lying in that dreary basement?" Rarity said, staring at her reflection. After a moment passed, she recoiled in shock, the mirror dipping down from her loss in concentration. "My reflection winked at me!" she said, obviously flustered.
"Lame joke, Rarity. You're not gonna get me with that!" Rainbow Dash said, skepticism rampant in her tone and face, still cautious from the previous scare.
"Are you sure about that, sugarcube?" Applejack said in a placating tone.
Rarity shot Rainbow Dash a cross look and looked back to the mirror. This time, Fluttershy was looking over her shoulder into the mirror also and she gasped. "Mine just blinked when I didn't!" she said in a hushed tone. She slowly backed away from Rarity and the mirror.
"Not you too, Fluttershy!" Rainbow said, this time less confident. Fluttershy wasn't one to play jokes.
Applejack snorted. "Now hold it in front of me here and I'll get to the bottom of this."
Rarity levitated the mirror to turn and face Applejack, and the earth pony stepped up to it, defiantly staring.
Several minutes passed, and Applejack's determined visage slowly fell apart, her face expressing hesitation, confusion, anger, and finally horror.
"My reflection left!" Applejack gasped.
"Left?" Twilight had been quiet until this point, but her curiosity brought her into the conversation.
"It just disappeared.." Applejack begun. "It waved at me, smiled and just faded away!"
The five looked at Twilight for explanation. Honestly, she had none, and she told them as such. "While I have not heard of this phenomenon ever occurring in recorded magical history, it doesn't seem to be malicious.."
The six took turns, each eager to test this oddity, each having their reflection vanish. Twilight was unafraid. She had scoured the tomes of the libraries in Canterlot and Ponyville, and there was no magical college that she didn't know about. She would write Celestia an inquiry, but it wasn't too important. What could harm the elements of harmony?
---
Twilight stood in the library, composing a letter to Celestia. She was sure to include a casual mention of the mirror. It had been a week since the sleepover and she had learned yet another lesson on friendship. The mirror had been returned to the mayor, it's properties explained which the mayor soon tested. Oddly enough, their reflections were still present in ordinary mirrors. Finishing the letter she levitated the letter next to her, waiting for the ink to dry before she sent it.
Somepony knocked on her door, and she trotted over to open it. "The Ponyville Library's ope-" she began, before a large kitchen knife buried itself in her neck, severing the vital veins and killing her. The abrupt action had left her no time to cry out or raise any alarm, and she crumpled to the floor with the knife still in her neck. Her attacker trotted around her into the library, slowly looking around.
The letter drifted downwards before being caught in a lavender aura, Twilight's body rising to float limp and lifeless, blood pooling on the floor by the drop.
---
It had been a hard day on the farm as Applejack met her demanding schedule. Luckily she was in peak physical condition and more than capable of meeting her quota. She looked to the setting sun, a blood-red orange setting past the hills. It was a pleasant day and a cool breeze curved around her body, causing her to sigh contentedly.
I should really head to see the gals, she thought, leaning on a nearby tree, a thin layer of sweat on her body. That sleepover sure was fun, even if Rainbow tried to (incorrectly) say she's a better athlete than me..
A twig snapped behind her, and without turning, she called out, "Big Mac? Applebloom? Is that you?"
Getting no reply, she began to turn slowly when a pair of hind hooves collided with her head. A snapping noise, like a breaking tree branch echoed in the orchard. Applejack's lifeless body slumped against the tree, her neck bent at a grotesque angle. A pony began to heft the body on it's back, taking the stetson hat as an afterthought.
---
Rainbow Dash hovered above the Everfree forest, her chest heaving with short ragged gasps as she fought to control her breathing. She had practiced hard that day, and her performance showed for it. She didn't know it, but she was at the least on par with the Wonderbolts. In a year she could easily best the team captain in a competition.
Taking one more deep breath, she stretched her neck. She was about to turn around to head home when something swooped down and latched onto her back, trapping her wings at her sides. She screamed in terror as the ground rose up to meet her, helpless as she dropped quite literally like a stone. Twisting in the iron grasp, she shut her eyes as the earth rose up to meet her.
She collided with the ground, all four legs breaking upon impact causing her to faint from the pain. The pegasus on her back rose, no worse for the wear thanks to her victim. It regarded the limp element of harmony curiously, and slowly brought down it's hoof on her throat, grinding it's leg slowly until the pegasus's chest stopped moving up and down. The pegasus grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail in it's mouth and began to drag the body deeper into the forest.
---
Pinkie Pie stood behind the counter of the Sugarcube Corner idly inspecting her hooves, the place silent except for her infrequent humming. The Cakes had gone to visit their inlaws so that they could show them their children and had left Pinkie Pie in charge of the store. She was about to close it for the day when the door opened and Twilight walked in stiffly, her limbs rigid as if she was uncomfortable with bending at the joints. Pinkie jumped up and leapt at her friend, wrapping her in a big hug. Twilight recoiled defensively, a perplexed look on her face. She opened her mouth but no sound came out.
"Twilight! OhmygoshIwassoboredbutnowthatyou'rehereyoucan-" Pinkie stopped for a breath, "WhyareyoulookingbehindmeisitapresentIlovepres-"
A burlap sack covered her head but the pink pony continued talking, making muffled noises as fast as a machine gun as she turned her head side to side. From behind Pinkie, another pony rummaged around the store. A cloth party banner, twisted into a makeshift rope wrapped around Pinkie's neck making her flail wildly. Slowly, the movements became more drowsy, the pony's limbs rising and falling weakly. Clawing one last time at the rope, she slumped over dead. Holding the rope tight for another 30 seconds, the pony tossed her mane back and began to stuff the corpse in a large barrel, a maniacal grin plastered on her face.
---
Rarity was hunched over her sewing machine, the constant clicking of the machine being the only sound in the room. For the most part, she did all of her work at night: it gave her a sense of solitude and creativity. As she finished stitching the dress in front of her, somepony knocked softly at the door. Opening it with her magic, she looked to see Pinkie Pie and Applejack walk in.
"Pinkie, Applejack! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to my boutique?" Rarity called out. The presence of her friends was a pleasant respite.
The two ponies stood side by side, staring at her blankly, and opened their mouths, letting out guttural croaks.
Rarity smiled uncertainly. The sounds they were making seemed both unnatural and uncomfortable to make, and it definately creeped her out. Stepping forwards deliberately, the two ponies continued croaking, sustaining the sound far beyond the normal lung capacity of the common pony. She began to take a step backwards for every step they took forwards, their paces steadily increasing until they moved at a fast stride.
Beads of sweat began to run down the sides of her forehead. The whole situation was unholy and sent pangs of fear through her mind.
Trapped against the wall, she breathed quicker and quicker until another pony stepped inside the room, sending her hopes up until she realized who it was. Her face contorted in confused horror before Pinkie Pie and Applejack reached her. She opened her mouth to scream, but the sound never left her throat, the two ponies holding her down as a boxcutter covered in a light blue aura slid across her throat.
---
Fluttershy was relaxing on her bed, her animal caretaker duties completed for the day. In front of her was a small journal, it's pages filled with her thoughts and hopes. She was writing with a pencil in her mouth, manuevering it slowly across the page. Recording her thoughts every day helped keep her in order and allowed her to retain her fondest memories clearly.
Finishing up the entry, she closed the journal, tucked it away, and stretched. Yawning, she blew out the lone nearby candle and snuggled under the sheets. Shutting her eyes, she had nearly dozed off completely before the sound of her bedroom window opening startled her. Sitting, she stared at the dark silhouette standing in front of her motionless.
She squeaked in fear before the pony stepped forward. Bolting forward, she leaped over pony and out the window, her wings flapping furiously. She glanced around, wondering where she should go. Hearing flapping behind her, she squeaked again and darted off towards Apple Acres. Landing in an orchard, she stomped haphazardly towards the illuminated farmhouse. Nearing the end of the orchard, she let out a choked cry, tears streaming from her face as she thanked Celestia for delivering her to safety.
As she stepped into the outcast light of the house, her predator landed in front of her. Fluttershy fell on her flank startled, a scream torn from her mouth. Twirling around, she saw 5 other ponies, surrounding her in a tight semicircle. As she stood there with her mouth agape, her predator brought a large rock on the pegasus's head and silenced her forever.
---
The mayor was ecstatic. Many of the town's ponies were in attendance of the community celebration at the town hall and the mirror that Twilight Sparkle had brought her was a great conversation piece. The mirror itself was finely polished, and it seemed as if the handle was even more decorated than before it had been returned, as if the line of ponies had increased. In one corner Vinyl Scratch was arguing playfully with Octavia, and in another Big Mac was drinking several other stallions under the table at once. The Wonderbolts had made a surprise visit, and were entertaining the foals and even some of the more inebriated ponies with minor tricks and tales. Oddly enough, the elements of harmony hadn’t made a big presence at the party.
Speaking of which, she hadn't seen the six since the day Twilight had brought the mirror back.. It's a good thing they chose to attend the party she thought, as the six walked in.