//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four 
// Story: Piano Pony 
// by PurpleRibbon 
//------------------------------//

Sweetie Belle was an old pony before she thought to visit whatever remained of Ponyville. However, when she did visit, it wasn’t a fraction as bad as she thought it would be. Nopony she knew was alive; whether they all died because of the attack or from old age, she couldn’t be sure. Ponyville was in good shape, however, though most of the ponies and buildings there were new; not a lot could be saved after what had happened there. She still remembered it clearly.
Creatures were always attacking Ponyville, but nothing like this. The creature had no form, to speak of. It was only a large black mass...from a distance. But if you were to go anywhere near it, it would show you your deepest, darkest fears. It would chase you through the streets at a speed nopony could ever master and then block your way. The moment you looked at it, you were doomed; it would look into your soul, and drive you insane with your own fear. Sweetie Belle should know; she had seen it for herself.
When it attacked, she was with her sister in the boutique, helping her gather tools and materials all around the place for her latest creations. They were disturbed from their work by the sound of screaming. Rarity told her to stay inside, so she could check what it was. Sweetie Belle peeped through the window to see the mass of blackness moving towards her sister.
“Look out!”
Rarity turned towards it as it advanced.
“Just what do you think you’re doing, you bi-“
But she stopped in her tracks, hypnotised by the creature’s power. Soon, a pony stood in front of Rarity. The pony was hideous; it was bloated, its face and belly so fat it looked painful. There were large boils all over her face, her coat was greying with age and filth and her mane was messy, matching the colour of her old coat. But then she looked into Rarity’s eyes, which went from disgust to horror. The pony she saw was herself. Either the beast’s power or the agony of seeing her own worst fear brought to life in front of her caused Rarity to go insane. She laughed hysterically, then, before Sweetie Belle could stop her, she was killing everything around her with whatever she could find. Pieces of sharp ribbon that would have been used as an accessory were now used to slit frantic ponies’ throats as they fled from their houses. Beautiful scented candles which would have been set around Rarity’s daily bath were used to set houses on fire, causing many to die from either suffocation or burns.  Scissors that would have been used to cut strands from a pony’s mane elegantly and expertly were used to stab what were once her friends. The same happened to many other ponies, causing Ponyville to destroy itself. The now insane Rarity also came for her as well, baying for her blood. Sweetie Belle fled for her life, running as fast as she had ever ran. On the way, she saw two familiar corpses. It was Applebloom and Scootaloo, having cuddled together in their final moments, full of fear. It struck Sweetie Belle in the core of her heart, but she had no choice but to carry on running, as her sister was still chasing her. Another insane pony distracted Rarity, and they started fighting, so Sweetie Belle was only able to escape from luck. Though she was saved, her mind was in ruins, and she was condemned to carry the guilt of those pony’s deaths for the rest of her life.
She walked past where her sister’s boutique was, only to find another boutique. She decided against entering, and walked on, until she was at the graveyard. She walked past Applebloom’s grave and past Scootaloo’s grave. She only stopped when she came to Rarity’s grave. Inscribed into it were the words ‘A beautiful pony and a devoted sister’. She couldn’t have thought of anything better herself. She took a rose from her bag and lay it on the grave; her sister’s favourite flower. She wanted to speak to her sister, but no words that came to mind seemed good enough, so she was just content with lying there, next to the flower. She closed her eyes.
Officials found Sweetie Belle’s body a few hours later. Frost covered her body, so they assumed she had died of hypothermia, but after the autopsy, they found that it was old age that had taken her. Nopony knew what relation she had to Rarity, as there was nopony to identify her as Sweetie Belle; however, they buried her next to Rarity anyway. Only the rose, that had been left by the mysterious and old pony, was undisturbed by the frost, having been protected by her body. Other ponies knew of the horror that had occurred there, and put up their own theories about what relation she was to the once lovely Rarity. Though none of the ponies could agree on one theory, they all found the fact that the old pony had died by her grave as a heartbreakingly bittersweet tale, and it became a tradition to leave a rose at both Rarity and the ‘Mysterious Old Pony’, as she was known as, graves. Some even say that, on the anniversary of the night that the Mysterious Old Pony’s death, you can see her as a filly, with two other unknown fillies, singing a song about the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’, another unknown group, though nopony can confirm these legends as true, and it is unlikely that anypony will ever know the truth.

The End.

Well, I hope you're not all sobbing too badly, because there's more stories to come! The next story I will write slightly links to this one, as it's about Pinkie Pie's experience with the attack by this fear-bringing creature, so do look out for that one if you're interested. But, don't worry, not all my stories are this depressing! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! ^_^