//------------------------------// // 01 Rough wake-up call // Story: Blood Curse Boutique // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// A bright flash of lightning appeared in the skies over the town of Ponyville which was soon to be followed by a deafening roll of thunder. In the building that was known as the Carousel Boutique did an ivory coated, unicorn mare manage to open her eyes in a slow manner. It was all in response to the sounds she heard. With great care was the set of forehooves placed before the eyes. The hooves then rubbed the eyes while the mare released a soft groan in utter discomfort. “W-What happened..?” It was only then that her ears flickered a little bit. She heard the rain which ticked against the many windows the building had like tapping fingers. The mare blinked a couple times after her hooves removed themselves out of her eyes. They slowly adjusted themselves to the darkness that had fallen in the normally so peaceful and well lit building. The unusual darkness made her wonder even more about the events that could have had occurred. When she finally had found the ability to stand right up on her all four of her hooves again, the eyes of the mare went straight up and she gazed over to the ceiling. She was able to take note of the candles on the chandelier. All of them were just extinct of their prideful flames. Above the eyes there was a faint blue magical aura that emerged while she let out a deep sigh of mixed emotions. As the stored energy got released, the candles were lit almost instantly. The flames created a source of light within the room she found herself in, in order to see just what happened. What was revealed within the realms of the light made things even more ominous to her. For the flames of the candles revealed a red coloring upon both the light purple colored carpet and the wallpaper. The mare looked around for a short bit of time before her attention was caught by another lightning flash that was clearly seen through a window. She was still terrified just what the coloring on the wall and floor possible could have been. Under the sounds of the loud, thundering roar did she turn her head back over to the curving wall with the pinkish purple paper placed upon it. Even though she faced the wall, the mare didn't dare or didn't even want to turn herself around to look at the remaining parts of the room. Though in time she had to. “What could have happened..?” she asked herself out loud in the kind and refined tone she always had. Though the hints of her fear were more than obvious within it. The eyes closed themselves off from the world again and the sound of a deep in- and exhales did their turn. Her mind began to process the sights she had seen. After a couple more breaths and seconds to consider things in her mind were taken, did the eyes open once more. They glanced over the visible corners of the room without a spoken word from her. It was only when she turned herself around that her eyes widened themselves ever so deeply as she saw. Something that was unheard of for a mare of her class and status. Within seconds there was a high pitched yell of sheer terror that took its turn through the whole building. ~~~~   With one quick motion of her hoof she covered her mouth and the sounds were silenced. The purple maned unicorn gave herself the time to look at the room she was in. The mare found herself standing in the middle of the working area of the boutique for some unknown reason. But the normally always so friendly and inviting room was then nothing more but a leftover battlefield. After she covered her mouth with her hoof as she took a good look at the workroom. Mannequins were torn apart as if they were nothing, rolls of fabric found themselves all over the room as bloodstains covered the floor. The mare just couldn’t believe that what had become of her once so prideful room. Everything she saw caused the many questions to rise up within her mind. “N-No..! This, this couldn’t, b-be!W-What kind of savage beast c-could have caused this?” she questioned herself while her legs started to carry her ever so gently through the rubble. Though in the corner of her eyes she caught something even stranger than what she already had encountered. With her curiosity raising to discover just what it was turned the mare her head over in order to get a better view. Only to stare at a trail of blood which left the room. She gazed at the trail a bit more before it disappeared around the corner. In her mind she already feared the worst as the curiosity got the better of her. It was after a deep sigh that had made its escape through her nose that the decision had been made. She decided to follow the trail. It lead her into through the hallway and then straight into the living room. The lady of the house made her way through the archway with a deep shiver that went through her body, the mare entered the dark living room. “Ugh, not here as well,” she muttered to herself before the magical aura returned once again ever so gentle above her horn. Just like before did it brought the light of the candles to life. Yet once more they also revealed another horrible sight. For on the sofa she normally would take place on to rest, was the body of a stallion to be found. Upon seeing the stiff form, the unicorn placed her foreleg once again before her face and it muffled the scream that came out of her mouth while she could only watch over it. On the sofa itself, laid the lifeless body of nopony else then Fancy Pants. He laid there on the red fabric sofa with dried up streams of blood that left the wound in his neck. His eyes were closed as his forelegs were tucked against his chest. “W-Who... why?” she muffled with the foreleg still before her mouth and she simply began to stumble over to the body on three legs. Once she stood next to her sofa, the mare removed her hoof from her face and could only shake her head at the sight before her. She wanted to cry so many tears but those simply didn't came. “I am sorry, Fancy Pants,” the mare spoke up as she then looked at where the blood began and took note that the whole skin was simply torn away around the area. Not only did it reveal the muscles being torn, but also a piece of bone and many broken veins. The mare simply shook her head for she didn't and couldn't believe the sight she saw with her own eyes. “N-No. T-T-They are a myth!” With the feeling of throwing up made its way through her body and even heavier in her throat, she just turned her head away from the sight in the vague hope that the feeling itself would go away with it. A faint hope she knew that wasn’t true at all. With her eyes had she followed the trail back to where it would actually stop. The mare walked back ever so carefully while she kept her attention to the bloody trail on the floor. But when she did found the spot where it ended, did the third deep scare of the night took place. She didn't let out a scream though. Instead she gasped for air ever so deeply. Once again couldn't the unicorn believe that what her eyes saw. The very spot where the trail ended happened to be the spot she had been waking up just a few minutes ago. “S-So first... I, I woke up in a blood covered home... F-Fancy Pants, d-dead on my sofa... a trail, l-leading to me. What happened here?!” she stuttered in herself. The feeling of throwing up returned in its full force. The mare simply tried to keep in whatever was in her stomach. She swallowed a couple of times before she shook her head. Only after that would she have made her way over to the stairs that would be leading to the upper level of the building. ~~~~                      With a lot of stumbling had she managed to walk up to the dark second floor of the boutique and stared down the hallway. Though the darkness was too much and to make matters even worse, there weren't any chandeliers that hung in the hall for nopony inside the boutique would ever come out at the depth of night. As she charged up her horn ever so gently to have at least some form of light began the muttering against herself. “F-Forgot the light is out here... Twilight said she knew, somepony who, could, place...it...” But it was then that she slowly puzzled it together. “W-What if F-Fancy was s-sent b-by Twilight..?” The feeling almost kicked her full force in her stomach which made her stumble even more through the hallway. The bathroom was still a couple doors away and each step she took felt even worse than the last. It was through luck she managed to make it over to the door as a whole. As her hoof opened it ever so gently did the screeching of the hinges not even bother her as much as it usually did. She had something to do. Something that she rather did not. The mare crawled up to the toilet bowl and she lifted the seat up. She then dropped herself on her flanks and started to wait for the content of her stomach to leave through her mouth. While the feeling was getting worse with every passing second, she thought she couldn't handle it anymore. It was only after a terrible long minute that she finally did the deed. The unicorn’s eyes closed themselves under her own force as everything that was inside of her stomach rushed out of her mouth under moans and groans of utmost discomfort and pain. Her tail swayed itself from side to side in an unpleasant manner. As if it tried to hit a fly that was around her somewhere and highly annoying. After a few more hurls that were done done in utmost disgust was her body simply dropped on the cold floor. Her back met the stone tiles before a stream of saliva mixed with her stomach content went down the side of her chin. Her eyes opened themselves in a slight way which caused the unicorn to stare up to the ceiling of the bathroom. In her mind she tried to recall just what had happened to her under quiet puffs of breath. And above all, to Fancy Pants before she had woken up from her sleep. That was the explanation she gave herself to the time before she opened her eyes. With the minutes that passed by was the unicorn shocked up by the sounds of another roll of thunder. In response to it she managed to hoist herself up on her shaky hooves and took a couple sniffs into the air. A deep shiver was given in reaction for the horrible stench that had entered her nose. The mare knew right away what it was and she quickly flushed the toilet. Her eyes had adjusted themselves a bit more to the darkness that was surrounding her. She made her way over to the washing table with the knowledge of it having a mirror above it. The mare had the intention to do two things near and with it. The first one was to clean herself a little bit and the second was to see if there was anything physically wrong with her. ~~~~                      She stood before the table after a couple steps and gazed with her eyes into the mirror. Unfortunately would release the fourth scare of the already awful night into reality. Once again she was confronted with something she couldn't comprehend. It almost seemed as if the line between reality and fiction was destroyed with a sledgehammer while the rain continued to pour and rattle against the window of the bathroom. Within the mirror and from no matter which angle she looked, there wasn't any image of her to be seen. Not even when she gazed deeper into it, it wanted to pop up. Her image simply didn't appear into it. She saw the room behind her crystal clear in a manner as if she didn't even existed or stood before it. It was only after another flash of lightning outside of the building struck the ground that there was an image that popped up within the mirror. Though it was arguably not a reflection she was used too. While the mare looked in the mirror during the strike was the image she saw happened to be one of pure horror. In her mind she continued to faithfully hope that what she saw was wrong and shook her head heavily in an attempt to get rid of the image. Then there was a second lightning strike that lit up the room once again. Within the light created it was that all her hopes were crushed within a single second. For the imagery seen before was accurate and long enough to imprint itself on the retina of the mare. The ivory coated unicorn stared at her own face that was reflecting off of the mirror. Her irises had a deep crimson, almost blood-like color to them instead of their normal sapphire blue one. Not only her face was caught by the strike of course, so was the entire wall behind her. And it was on that very wall that the shadows themselves revealed a new part of her. A pair of bat wings that got spread from her body in a regal manner. The mare stood there frozen while she almost began to hyperventilate from the image that was revealed to her retina. She still couldn't believe that what she saw. Within two seconds was the light gone again and thus removed her image from the mirror. But it didn’t do it from her eyes. As the roll of thunder from both strikes echoing through the silent town, she spoke once again deeply into herself. “W-Where am I? W-Where is my i-image?” she sputtered out. Her eyes went over every possible inch of the mirror all of the sudden. She had grown desperate in order to find out what happened to her. The attention of the unicorn then was turned down to the small sink below her. Her eyes looked down at the white sink and without any process of thought had she placed the plug in the drain. Her hoof then turned on the valve to let the water run into it. More and more water collected itself within the little sink. The mare could only have prayed that her plan would be a success. With a short passage of time she closed the valve just before it would walk over the edge of the sink and the sloshing sounds of the water went extinct from existence. “Am, am I really going to do it?” she questioned herself. Her eyes stared into the empty mirror with a deep gaze, wondering where the images were. Her horn charged itself in order to create some form of natural light after the valves were closed and the mare placed both of her forelegs onto the sides of the sink. She rose herself up on her hind legs and let out a deep sigh of utmost displeasement. She didn't want to, but she had to. For her own sanity’s sake she had to see the reflection within the water. The unicorn lowered her head towards the water with closed eyes. She was ready to stare down into any form of image that would be coming up. ~~~~   With the fear being built up within her body did she dare to open her eyes in a careful manner. They were granted the sight the waters revealed to her. Her eyes weren't even open all the way and her worst fears seemed to have come true. Her normally always so warm and inviting sapphire blue rimmed eyes were nothing more than cold and reddish. After she opened her mouth in order to let out another sigh, she took note of something more. Something that was even more devastating than the red rimmed eyes. Two of her teeth weren't considered normal anymore, or at least they didn't appear to be like that. For they had become razor sharp fangs that were capable of tearing flesh right off of the bone. Just below her chin there was something red that could be easily seen against her ivory white coat. It was something that had come after she had emptied her entire stomach in the toilet. “What in..?” she spoke while she wiped away the red with a hoof. The hoof was brought up to her face and she gave it a good look. The mare then sniffed it a couple times in the hope to recognize the scent. “B-B-Blood!?” Her pupils became as small as possible as she figured out just what the substance was. The silence within the room remained intact for a long and terrible minute. It was only interrupted by the storm that was raging on outside of the walls. “D-Don’t be silly, Rarity... H-How could that even be possible..?” the mare spoke to herself under a nervous giggle and the blood covered hoof dipped itself into the water. “It’s, it simply is impossible...” The mare then pulled on the chain which let the plug out of its hole which resulted in the water running freely down the drain. As her horn discharged itself again and the room got once again consumed by the darkness of the night. She stood there while listening to the sounds of the rain that ticked against the window of the bathroom, the rolling thunder in the distance and the sounds that were created by the drain. Her ears twitched at all of it in a careful manner as if she was waiting for something. Another flash of lightning rushed itself downward and lit up the room in its glory. But Rarity the unicorn didn't even look up from it. Eventually she just left the bathroom and ventured down the hallway once more until she stood before the stairs. While her eyes looked down at the hole towards the light, Rarity took the steps down ever so carefully. She sneaked as if somepony was sleeping somewhere else in her beloved home. Rarity found herself again on the ground level of the boutique. She then realized that not all of the curtains were closed and her horn began to charge itself up once more. One by one did the remaining curtains got shut off from the outside world. The mare could only hope that not a single soul had seen just what was laying in her very living room. The unicorn looked at the blood spilled in her home and let out another small sigh before she levitated some cleaning supplies over. Without any form of struggling from her side began the posh unicorn to clean up the blood that had been spilled. The saddened feeling returned to her when she saw the lifeless body of the stallion again. ~~~~                      After the passage of some time was the blood all cleaned up but the body was still there. The mare looked at it and came up with an idea that was sick to say the very least. She placed the cleaning equipment back from where she got it from and made her way over to the deceased stallion. As her horn was still charged with a bit of magic. The aura then emerged around the body. With a rather simple movement of her head got it lifted out of the sofa. The unicorn made her way over to a door that found itself next to the stairs that led upwards Her magic charged itself up even more in order to open it. Rarity found herself gazing down upon a stone spiral staircase that would bring her over to the basement of the boutique. She had a deep look at him before she just walked down the stairs that seemed to be better fit within a castle. The mare had reached the final step. And she saw only the darkness stretch before her. She stood in the dark, bleak and just uncomfortable basement of the boutique. A place not seen by many other ponies. And for the right reasons. With her horn she lit up some near ancient looking candles. In the light it was revealed why nopony ever had come down there. For it was there that all her failed projects went to. Dresses that were cancelled or simply not good enough for her liking, yet she couldn't throw them away. With another sigh that left her, she mumbled once more to herself. “Should have gotten rid of these a long time ago...” She looked at the body and them around the room in the hope to find a place that was good enough to hide it. But Lady Luck wasn't on her side on the unfortunate evening. Aside from the mannequins, an old and broken desk and some old toys of Sweetie Belle, there was nothing to be found within the basement itself. That was with one major exception though. For her eyes spotted the furnace that was attached to the very water supply of the boutique. With great interest she stared at it but soon enough she shook her head. “No, I cannot make that,” the mare said while she continued to stare at the device. With a simply motion of her head, she placed the body somewhere in between the mannequins and then just ventured back towards the stair. As she walked up the stone, spiral staircase there was an uneasy feeling that boiled up from deep within her body. A feeling which made her go back into the basement. Once back on the floor she levitated the body up and resting her eyes upon it. “B-But what if somepony finds out..?” Rarity mumbled while she became even more desperate for a solution. She tried her best to figure out something else. But no matter where she came up with, that furnace appeared to be the best idea. The unicorn trotted up to the giant metal device where she let out a small sigh of utter discomfort. “I, I am so sorry, Fancy Pants. I wish it never happened, whatever it was,” she spoke to him in a saddened tone. Her eyes were gently placed on his closed ones and she gave him a final honor. For she gave the stallion a final kiss upon his lips that would serve as a last goodbye. Their last goodbye. “Au revoir, my dear friend,” she spoke in a soft tone after their lips lost their contact. She then proceeded to open the door and glanced into the fire. But her eyes also inspected the gate, it appeared to be big enough for a stallion to crawl into in order to clean it. Rarity looked at the switch that was located on the side and turned it to the highest position possible. As she did that, it resulted in the flames rocketing up in their raging as more fuel was allowed to be mixed with them. ~~~~                      Rarity was then faced with a choice at that very moment. She could either keep the body and risk getting caught so risking being caught by any of the higher authorities. Or she could burn it to nothing but ashes and keep it all a mystery to herself. Of course she was torn apart by her own feelings of guilt and didn't know what to do with the body. Her eyes went in all directions as she mumbled ever so softly into herself. “I can do it of course, nopony will notice it as long as I don’t mention it. There is the problem, I will never be able to hold my mouth. Of course you can keep your mouth shut about it, you foolish mare! Look at what happened to him.” Without any form of further thought through her mind was the lifeless body of the proper stallion placed within the flames. The unicorn just gazed at it as the flames engulfed him. The doubtful look turned into a stone cold one as something took over her mind and the fires started to consume the body almost right away. “I am sorry, Fancy Pants. But it is needed.” Rarity spoke in a cold and heartless tone towards him. The flames managed to get an even better hold of the body and consumed it violently. Skin got molten away while the internal organs were cooked. A small shatter of glass could be heard as his monocle had bend under the intense heat. She kept looking at the fire until most of the body was burned down to ash and only then she closed the door of the furnace but let the flames rage on. Rarity had walked back up to the ground level and closed the door behind her. With the lock that fell back into place had she sealed the basement from the world once more. The unicorn proceeded on making her way back over to the cleaned living room. There she sat down in a small chair. She allowed herself the time to let all the past events sink in her mind. But she slowly came to the realization that she could be a creature of myth, legends and even darker folklore. A kind of ponies unspoken of by most other races that dwelled in their land. “Don’t be so silly Rarity! You can’t be a vampony... right? T-There must be an explanation for these, f-fangs. S-Sudden growth perhaps? Y-Yes, that seems, that seems logical. My irises then..?” she mumbled into herself as she leaned back deeper within the chair, pounding her head for explanations. Suddenly her eyes shot open before she gained a big smile on her face. “Oh what am I happy I paid some attention in biology when it was about genes. It is highly possible that the change of my iris color is caused by the change of genes. It is rare that it happens but it is possible,” the mare explained to herself. Rarity was more than happy that there were reasonable explanations for her changes. She let go a small sigh and closed her eyes again, trying to get some much needed sleep. But little did she knew that the events that happened on the stormy night would set the course for the rest of her life. A life that would be everything but pleasant. A life of blood stuck on her hooves was laying ahead of her. Whether she liked it or not.