//------------------------------// // Chapter: 1- Generosity // Story: Picture Perfect Pony Zero: Mothering Bell // by ReifuTD //------------------------------// “Mother Belle! Mother Belle!” Rarity heard a young foal’s voice. She could feel her body shake from side to side as she gained consciousness. “The horned stallion is hurting you!” Rarity suddenly jumped fully awake. She looked up just in time to see the grey head of a twenty point stag sink into the shadows. The pony instinctively reaches for the Camera Obscura with her unicorn magic. The camera’s bulb illuminated down the hallway but nothing else with each flash. Photo paper falls to the floor with each click. “It’s okay,” The voice came from Rarity’s side. She swiftly turns toward the sound taking more pictures. Within each flash of light a small foal could be seen. “Ow! Ow! OW! You’re hurting me! Hurting me! Mother stop!” And with a crying sobbing wail the young pony was gone. Rarity stood there in shock, her brain trying to process what she just seen and coming to the conclusion it was just her imagination she hoped. It had to be, After all she was hit in the head. In the silence Rarity could hear disapproving whispers of foals or what she could think to be whispers. The unicorn got to her feet wincing in pain as she moves her back legs. Her loins were in stinging pain. “I must have pulled a groin muscle in the fall,” Rarity tells her self. She limps out of the room, “Photo Finish!” The unicorn calls out entering into the next room, “Anypony!” “You hurt our friend,” Rarity turns around as she hears the little filly’s voice only to see nothing. The mare looks down at the Camera Obscura noticing a yellow light fading away. “This place is simply dreadful,” She remarks sighing to herself. She was hoping for a little one on one time with Photo Finish but now she just wants to leave. The room the pony was in looked to be Photo Finish’s studio. On one wall there was a work desk. Hoping to keep her mind off the dismal atmosphere and out of curiosity Rarity starts looking through it. Even if it was unlady like. On the face of the desk there was a tape recorder with a tape inside laying on a book and a few sticky notes with writing. _ Sticky Note #1 Work men’s office to be placed in west wing’s tower. The old Superior Gem Room. _ Sticky Note #2 Ready guest room for historian. The one located behind my room. The one next to that will be my assistant’s room. _ Rarity looks down at the book. It was about something call EVPs. Picking up the recorder in her hoof she started it. “Arranging privet photo shoot next Thursday,(noise) Remember to call construction company to repair the old burnt bell tower and fix the abandoned wings of the house.” The unicorn thought she heard something and rewinds the tape. Between the words she could hear “Where’s my baby,” Was being shrieked by a mare. The white unicorn shivers at the voice. A weeping starts to echo in the room. Rarity takes out the Camera Obscura walking out into the center of the room. The camera’s light turns on as she walked out into the room the light grew brighter. The pony points it at the floor where the light was brightest. The picture paper comes out the end. “Where’s my baby,” A voice shrieks and fades away. Rarity takes the paper from the camera and puts it on the desk as a loud thunk came from up stairs. With her sensitive horse ear she could hear what could almost be more foals whispering as she walked up the stairs to check out the noise. “That was other mother,” One of the none voices said. “We should let her kill the fake Mother Belle,” Said another. “Eek!” Rarity squeals as she sees the set of bloody hoof prints at the top of the stairs. They were leading from a room, down the hall and to the third floor stair case. It looked like the pony that made these prints had three legs. Well wearing an uncomfortable nervous grin of discuss on her face that Rainbow Dash would have found hilarious. Rarity tip hoofs around the blood as she enters into the room the blood prints came from. The room was some kind of nursery. A recently remodeled one at that with a crib and toys. Blood stained the carpet in the middle of the floor. It took Rarity a moment to register the sight. But she remembered hearing that Photo Finish gave birth to a foal last year. It made her feel uneasy with an idea of an infant foal around here. More uneasy that there’s an infant foal that could be somewhere and it was quiet too quiet. At that moment she heard a baby crying. Rarity rushed for the third floor stair case where the noise came from. Suddenly the stair case door shuts blocking her entrance. She embarrassly smacks her snout against the door. As Rarity holds her nose she could hear the lock of the door click. The laughter of foals could be heard on the other side as well as the crying infant. “Is someone in there?” Rarity called out. “She is not too bright is she?” A filly remarks giggling. “Is someone hurt? Who’s crying,” Rarity asked concerned. “We all are hurting,” A young colt answers, “One of us is hurt pretty bad.” “Then let me in dearie and I’ll help,” The mare told them. “You are never coming in without the key and you’ll never find it,” The filly snaps, “You’re one of the bad mares and the stag only sniffs out the bad mares.” Rarity got frustrated and bucks the door with her hind legs. She then yelps because her sore loins shot in pain. “Go away!” The voice on the other side cries, “The only way this door is opening is if you use the key!” “I got to get up there those filly’s they can’t possibly last long if hurt,” Rarity mutters to herself, “ I guess, I’ll have to find the key then. What are filly’s doing here anyway? Photo Finish must have had more children then I realized.” Then she sighed, “Since I’m up here I should check her room first.” Rarity enters the bed room next to the nursery. Inside was an extra large black and pink bed. A cassette tape lay in the middle of the bed. Thinking it would be useful and remembering the player down stairs, Rarity put it in her bag. Across from the bed was a desk with a journal. _ Entry 1 This place always had a ghostly aural around it. But I was never scared of it until last night. Not until the breathing. I think it has something to do with the large bell found in the sinkhole where the old bell tower burned down. _ Entry 2 There is an archaeologist I’m acquainted with by the name of Sir Soul Dirt. He has been known to dabble in the supernatural. I fear the thing entering into my room at night may not be a normal sprit. _ Entry 3 I did what Soul Dirt suggested. After listening to the recording I’m greatly disturbed. Soul Dirt and I were discussing using a rare Camera Obscura against this thing. But as Summer Sun approaches this thing seems to get stronger. Tomorrow we must try the summon and sealing spell without the Camera Obscura. If we wait I fear it will be too late. _ A thud from down stairs startles Rarity. She could hear the breathing coming up the stairs. The marshmallow mare pokes her head out the door just enough to see part of the leg and chest of the stag. Enough to see its neck lower and sniff the floor. The final doubt of the events that have happened to the mare down stairs shattered, she had to hide. The only place was under the bed. Rarity took the Camera Obscura out of her saddle bag and put whatever she thought she would need in her pockets. Then she tosses the bag on top of the bed and crawls under. The door pushed open, the pony first seen the snout of the stag. She held the Camera Obscura in front of her with her unicorn magic. Rarity had the feeling that the camera’s effectiveness against this monster would be minable but it was better than nothing. The hooves enter the room. The path of sniffs head over to the bed. The stag places its hoof on the bed and it creeks and groans. (I have to get out of here,) Rarity’s heart thumped in a panic. She just noticed that under the bed was bright. Looking around she found a vent big enough for her hobbit horse sized body. The unicorn pulled out the grate and slipped through. When she got to her hooves, Rarity heard the bed flip over and crash. The stag sticks its nose through the hole of the vent. It pulls away, after an eerie quiet moment the wall was hit hard shaking, knocking books off the shelf and crooking portraits. Then there was another impact. With a giving up snort the stag walks out of the room. The mare sighs taking a quick look around. If she remembered the notes correctly this should be Sir Soul Dirt’s room. Good place to at least pick up some more information. Rarity groans to herself, she was starting to feel like Twilight. At this point she really wished she didn’t take the lavender pony’s place. Rarity looks through some papers on the desk. _ Soul Dirt Note 1 I finally get to examine the sight at Mount Faust. I have been wanting to go back there for a while. The mount was named after the goddess alicorn said to be the mother of magic and knowledge. She was once said to make her home on top of the mountain. She would observe and write the events of the world. A pony lord who lived at the base of the mountain wanted her knowledge and tricked the goddess into meeting him. He beheaded the goddess. The head was kept by the lord. But the body was turned into a laurel tree. Thus the goddess became known as the Lauren Faust. _ Soul Dirt Note 2 I looked at the bell in the sinkhole. If I remember right it was called the Mothering Bell. I think it’s connected to one of the old cults of this mountain. A fascinating combo, The bell is a representation of female symbology. The bell symbolizes the womb. The Stag symbolized male vitality. I must quarry the locals at Laurenville for deeper meaning of this artifact. _ Soul Dirt Note 3 There are three monsters here, I have also identified several ghosts. But three of the oldest I discovered I would call true monsters. First the three legged Dullahan, A headless horse. This one is a pegasus and all of her skin gone. The creature seems to be attracted to Photo Finish’s child. The second monster is the Mini Stag, a young foal tied up in a sack with horns and legs sticking out of holes. This thing is full of loneliness and rage. I believe this was some poor pony done up to resemble the third monster the Stag it’s self witch I will go into more detail later. These three are stronger than normal spirits and would take more than the Camera Obscura’s power alone to defeat them. They must be weakened first. _ Soul Dirt Notes 4 There three ways to get rid of high powered sprits, 1. Find a way to calm down the sprit through finding the source of its rage. 2. Weaken by tricking the sprit to step in a pentacle. They can also be summoned into one. Most of the time the strong sprits will escape. This is why we must have the Camera Obscura. 3. The Camera Obscura, Normal shots won’t work on strong sprits. What is needed are multiple Zero Shots. Zero Shots can be performed by holding the camera on the target for an extended period of time and letting the sprit come in close before taking the picture. Most sprits will dissipate. Strong ones will take two or three shots like this. _ Rarity sees another note under a brass music box drum. _ Soul Dirt Note 5 Finally found one of the music box barrels. There are four in all. I know this because there are four devices each in a corner of the house where these barrels go. These devices seem to be on some kind of clock timer. I’m guessing this is so all the music boxes can go off at once. Why I don’t know yet. The devices need three things to get running again. 1. Most importantly they need to be cleaned to run. 2. They need to be set to the same time. 3. The barrels that go in them. From what I heard the mare that used to own this place Superior Gem and her sister Mother Belle was very interested in the bell tower and these music boxes. At this moment Mother Belle’s old office is securely locked. But one of the workers told me he has a pick gun that will unlock any door. _ “Well I know where I have to go now,” Rarity remarks putting the barrel in her pocket. There seemed to be nothing else of interest in the room at the moment. So the mare decided to head out into the hall. “Can you help save her and her son?” Rarity heard a male’s voice from down at the end of the hall. She turns to look only to see nothing. Rarity was about to turn away when she heard a flump. A leather sack with thick patchy stitches rolls out into the hallway. “Mommy!” A voice cries out from the bag fallowed by weeping. Rarity had to pull back her instinct to run away and slowly approached the bag. Suddenly it rises, twelve points of a set of antlers poke out of the bag as it rips. A rotted lower jaw is revealed. One eye peers out of a hole. The unicorn took a gasps as the thing makes a loud shriek. The Camera Obscura flashes making the Mini Stag shrivel back. Rarity turns and runs, The Mini Stag charges after her. She slides out of the way as the thing spears the wall. Rarity parried firing the Camera Obscura again. The Mini Stag gives one last roar and fades away. Rarity leaped down stairs, The stress had aggravated her pulled hind muscles. She found herself back in the kitchen. A pile of photos lay on the floor. Rarity picks them up and looks through. First few had a ghostly foal screaming. Not unexpected, Then some blank photos. But the last photo had something on it. A ghostly stallion in a pin stripe suit and pencil mustache. “Mother Belle,” The white mare turns around, A hard kiss is placed on her lips. There was the stallion from the photo. Rarity was stunned, Then she snapped out of it when the stallion’s free hoof probed between her butt crack. “Oh no! Rarity jumps away, pulling her ears back and dropping her tail. “Stay away from my bum!” She snapped firing the Camera Obscura. The stallion yells out in pain shaking violently. When he calms down, The white mare noticed the ghostly stallion had five scratches over his left side of his face as if somepony’s horse shoe dug it’s nails into him. “You’re not Mother Belle are you?” The stallion gives a sad look as blood runs down his face. Rarity backs out of the room. When the door shuts, She heard a mare’s voice yell. “You where with my sister again weren’t you!” She shrieks “She been trying to take you away from me!” “No, I swear!” The stallion shouts back. “Shut up!” Thwack-ing! A hard thud hits the floor. Thwack-ing! Thwack-ing! Heavy breathing, then a pause fallowed by the sound of a body being drug. “I told you to stay out of my gems, you little thief!” A ghost mare appears startling Rarity. This caused Rarity to scream a little. Half by the ghost’s sudden appearance and half by her resemblance to an adult Sweetie Belle. She got a good look at the spectral mare’s cutie mark. Some kind of large gem original color indeterminate. It gave Rarity a good idea of what the mare’s name was. But it didn’t matter. “Beg pardon I think you are mistaken, I am no thief.” Rarity told the specter as she backed away defensively. “Give it back to me you mule!” The mare lunge at Rarity. As she dodges and fired the Camera Obscura. Rarity’s butt bumps a stereo. The song “Picture Perfect Pony” starts playing. The ghostly mare was now gone. Her nerves had reached their limit. Rarity runs for the front door. Once outside she bursts down the road. It was the quiet sob that made her turn around. The mare looks up at the third floor window. It was her element of generosity that made her turn around and head back. She cursed this under her breath for she knows it meant giving of one’s self for a stranger.