Dementia's Decay

by Pernix

Boutique

After leaving the library, I raced over to Rarity's shop. There was still a glimmer of hope that she'd be alive and able to think clearly.

Ponyville is in shambles. Ponies are lying dead, left and right, on the streets. Some were suicides, but most were intentional murders. Some faces I recognized as friends and neighbors. The scene still chills me to my core, as do the rest of the deaths.

I had to break the door to the shop down, much like I did with the library. I had hoped that the scenery inside wasn't the same. I scrutinized every inch of the lobby, desperately trying to find Rarity before it was too late. After finding nothing, I ran into the workplace to see if she was inside.

Sure enough, she was.

I could only stop and stare, mouth agape, as I observed Rarity creating her "new line" of clothing. She had been standing in front of one of her mannequins, as she normally did, but she wasn't fitting them with the fabric she had created. The mannequin figure now wore long white and red strips of a pony I once knew.

Rarity continued to slice areas of her coat with her signature scissors and other various tools, not paying any attention to the pain she must have endured. She layered each bloody strip onto the faux pony, all while laughing and mumbling to herself. I could make out a couple of words underneath all of her incoherent rambling and laughter.

"There have been many setbacks indeed, but I won't let that stop me. The client will be so pleased. So very pleased. I'll get it finished. I must. Everything is under control. Everything."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She just continued to cut away at herself, revealing nothing but muscle and other tissue that had been lying underneath her white coat. In the condition I found her, I knew I couldn't intervene without hurting her. I knew she already ignored pain, but I didn't wish to be the cause of it. If I were to lay a hoof on her at this point, she'd most definitely be hurt by it.

I could do nothing as I simply watched my friend skin herself alive. I didn't speak up, or try to save her. After watching the horrible scene for a couple of seconds that seemed like lifetimes, I simply walked out of the shop, as the hollow shell of Rarity continued her task. It wouldn't be long before she'd die too.

I could scratch one more friend off of my list. This only leaves Applejack. Could she still be alive?