Picture Perfect Pony Zero: Mothering Bell

by ReifuTD

Chapter: 2- Superior

Heavy breathing,
Photo Finish stirs in her sleep.
“Sleep,” A whispery voice
Few more breaths,
“I am, your god, you must give yourself to me,”
More breathing fallowed by hard grunts,

Rarity shivers and shuts off the recorder. She puts the recorder in her pocket and picks up the pictures she had taken earlier now developed. The pony sees what looks to be a disembodied head.

Voices echo up from below.

“Humble Home, dear, you must put her behind you,” A female voice gently speaks.

“I can’t forget about her,” A male voice said, it sounded like the voice Rarity had heard when she walked out of Soul Dirt’s room.

Removing the floor’s rug, the mare found a trap door. She pulls on the handle catching it with her hoof. Many cob webs reluctantly stretched themselves and brake.

“This is not healthy, what about our children,” The female voice tells the buck from below.

The voices stopped, Rarity gave an uneasy look down the hole. “It’s going to take more then mysterious voices to get me to go down this dirty pit.” She shut the door.

“Very well then,” Rarity says out loud. What she just saw made the white mare feel dirty. “Now, What do I need to do?”

She remembers the pick gun and started thinking in her head again. “I should check out the construction area and their office in the west wing.”

Rarity started to walk out of the room.

“You look so much like my daughter,”

A female voice cause the unicorn to stop and give a curious look. Nothing jumped at her so she walked out the back door.

It was raining now, The mare was kept dry under the back deck. A trail of hoof prints was leading from the deck to a grove of laurel trees. The rain washed the tracks away before her eyes.

The light of the Camera Obscura turns on. Rarity turned in time to take a photo of a stallion wearing a yellow helmet. He groans and fades away. This ghost made her feel off, But the unicorn shook this feeling and entered the west wing hallway.

Most of the rooms in this area were under construction. Doors missing and some rooms even walls. Rarity frowns when she saw that the floor was wet and covered in fresh muddy hoof prints.

The sound of children talking could be heard coming from one of the large rooms. The room seemed to emanate a bright light. The Camera Obscura vibrated like mad as the light and sound put Rarity in a trance. She slowly walks into the room.

For a moment Rarity was blinded by the brightness. The room was alive with young foals. Two dozen at least, all sitting at long tables eating meals. They talked and laughed with one another.

“Mother Belle! Mother Belle!” A crying unicorn foal runs up to the white mare.

“W-what is it dearie,” Rarity said in a tone both compelled and confused.

“My toy broke again,” The foal sniffled, “Can you do that mending spell?”

The foal showed Rarity a wooden toy with wheels. One of the wheels had broken in half. Rarity casts the thing in her magic. The spell allowed her to see the fibers of the wood in her mind like she can see the fibers of cloth. She elegantly stitches the two pieces together.

“Thanks Mother Belle,” The foal smiles and takes off to play with the others.

Feeling light headed from the use of complex magic, Rarity takes a few steps back into the hall. In the flash of light the room had changed to a normal empty room under construction.

“What’s up with the mask?” A voice catches Rarity’s attention.

The mare hears one of the disembodied voices. Voices she was disturbingly used to by now.

“Found this thing hanging on the shrine past the grove, did you bring it?” Another voice replied.

“Boss caught me with it, Thought I was going to do something fishy. Surely if you explain to him.”

“Great, He’s over seeing other projects only comes in every other day,”

Rarity moved farther down the hallway. As she walked she heard a thwack and the crack of bone.

“Arrrah!”

The moan made her look down at the Camera Obscura for its warning light as she spun around. Rarity instinctively took a picture of the specter. It was another helmeted pony who quickly faded away. Rarity turns back around and walks into the office.

When she entered the office Rarity gasped. A dead brown stallion lay over a desk. Blood had flown from his skull which seemed smashed open. Tools have been scattered. A note lay next to the body.
_

Boss note dated three days ago

Found one of the workers with a lock picking tool. He says it’s for one of the people living at the home. I’ll lock it in the floor safe for now where I keep my tool kit.
_

Boss note dated week ago

Found the combination to the safe in the other bed room. Still haven’t found the secret in side. But I found a barrel thing for music boxes. I gave it to the archaeologist pony.
_

Boss’s notes two weeks ago

Well digging out the sink hole out back with the dredger we hit some kind of bell. Photo Finish ordered us to dig it out. She was disappointed to see it cracked. Then ordered us not to touch it until someone checks it out.
_

After reading, Rarity could hear the sound of a filly screaming.

“Please! Superior Gem let me out!

Rarity looks under the desk fallowing the sound to find to her horror a floor safe.

“I wasn’t thinking dirty thoughts!” the little voice calls through the safe, “That happens when I was sleeping.”

“It happens because you were sleeping, because the Stag sees naughty little fillies in the middle of the night!” Superior Gem's appears snapping at the girl. She didn't seem to notice Rarity at all.

Rarity felt her concern for the safe filly settles as she realized she was most likely a ghost as well. Thankful for not being the center of attention of the ghost mare, Rarity sneaks out of the room.

She could only find stairs going to the second floor. This didn’t make sense to her since she knew there was a third floor in this tower.

After an inspection of the ceiling, the unicorn sees a panel with a latch. Content with finding the panel she decides to check out the bed room first.

Superior Gem’s room had a large double bed. A dresser with a mirror and a closet that made Rarity wish this mare was a customer of her bootee. She found a wire hook in the closet.

Over on the bed sat a couple of journals with bent pages that made it look like someone has been reading them.
_

Superior Gem Journal Entry 1

I sometimes wonder why I put up with that girl. Then I remember the money. I keep her locked in that room at night. I let her outside for the day. The less I see of her the better.
I hope something bad happens to her like falling in the creak like that foal did. I’m so glad I got rid of those orphans. As for my little friend up stairs I might have to take out the gem again.
_

Superior Gem Journal Entry 2

The police finally let me go. It took them forever. It’s not like it’s my fault the fire happened. At least not directly. I shall be cautious in using the gem in the future.
The police is still looking for my husband or should I say exhusband. I hid the body in my father’s secret place. The smell never rose up from there before and should not be an issue this time.
Unfortunately my sister gotten herself pregnant. I assume it’s my husband's. With all those damn kids around and she still had to knock herself up.
_

Superior Gem Journal Entry 3

I sometimes wonder if it is I controlling it or is it controlling me?

I was away from home at the time the day the accident happened. The property and fortune went to Mother Belle. But Belle is a shut in with no social skills so I returned home to help the poor girl.
My misery started when Mother Belle convinced me to take in that foal. Sure I like the attention and the tax write off. My mistake was letting her bring in more. Well at least I met Black Thorn out of this ordeal.
_

Rarity grabs the hook with her mouth. She walks back out and pulls the third floor stair case down.

“Stop your cr…, wait what was that sound,” Superior Gem stops her ranting.

Rarity not wishing to engage the crazed mare slips up the stairs.

Behind her at the window was a stallion dressed in priestly robes a heart and house cutie mark on his rump. He was looking out the window then turns to Rarity. He gives the mare a gentle smile. Then motions her to look out the window.

A pony walks out from behind the grove of laurel trees. But this pony was living, Rarity could see his brown coat and he was wearing a wooden stag mask.

“Beware,”

Rarity was startled to find the stallion gone. She sighs and looks around the room. It was obviously a young female’s room. Her eyes first fell to a dollhouse with classic My Little Human dolls. Again documents were out in the open.

Rarity didn’t like seeing that other ponies were doing stuff before her. It made her feel behind and it reminded her of that masked pony she saw outside.
_

Little Filly’s Journal 1

I saw her use it again. That magic jewel that seems to entrances anypony who looks into it. Superior Gem used it to convince some poor derping couple to take the last foal that was living here besides me. Why do I have to be special and stay living here with that witch. Cross my hooves she doesn’t read this.
_

Little Filly’s Journal 2

The witch locked me in the safe again. I can’t help it what my wee wee does well I’m sleeping. Superior Gem is so mean. I’ll get the last laugh. That dead stallion told me how to get in the second safe hidden beneath the first. He even showed me the piece of paper he hid in his pocket. It should still be with the body. With both numbers I can…
(Page Ripped)
_

As Rarity reads the sun sets and the room grew dark. Rarity absent mindedly had lit her horn so she could see under its soft glow. The loud thump from down stairs catches Rarity’s attention.

“What are you doing sneaking around here,” Superior Gem’s voice snaps startling the living mare.

Rarity turns around,

“Ah, it’s you the thief,” Superior Gem pause turns her eyes away as she was trying to remember something, “Not…Not my sister, you’re not the mare who’s not my sister. Never my sister, but you look so much like her.” Superior Gem gets and angry look on her face, “Doesn’t matter you’d be dead soon and I’ll get what’s mine back.”

The Camera Obscura fires, Superior Gem shrieks and flails as if she was blinded. Rarity rushes down stairs. Superior Gem goes to fallow her but backs away when Rarity holds up the Camera Obscura and points it at her.

“Watch your back filly,” Superior Gem snaps jumping out of the way.

Rarity noticed the trail of blood on the floor. Looking into the office, the dead pony body was gone. She takes a few cautious steps into the room. The safe was unhinged but still shut.

The unicorn removes the lid with her magic. She noticed her horn was itching, It reminded Rarity of the feeling she gets when a large amount of gems were nearby.

She didn’t find gems. The safe had been ran sacked, All that she found was a tool box and some old papers. One was a birth certificate.
_

Date (illegible)
Name: Southern Belle
Mother: Mother Belle
Father: Unknown
_

Rarity stood in shock. Southern Belle was her mother’s name. As strange and impossible as it sounds it appears her mother grew up in this house.

Comments

[Jack Kellar]

"Twilight Sparker"?

[the one guy on the left]

Anypony feel like we shoulda had a boss fight by now?