The Closest I Ever Gave

by Nightmare_0mega

My Friends

It was gloomy morning over the still sleepy town of Ponyville. The weather forecast brought in a heavy mist and grey skies, courtesy of the pegasus ponies in command of the weather. Its citizens were just now dragging themselves out of bed, getting themselves ready, trying to get their days rolling. Everyone was still fighting with fatigued eyes and tired muscles... well all of them, save for the one pony that remained up all night, fixing up his shop. To him... sleep was more of an enemy, especially with his mind plagued with nightmares of the past.

He was finishing up with dusting off the many things that were once left behind. The grey scale look began to disappear in favour for a muted color. It was still depressing in its visage, but an improvement none the less. The pictures and still life paintings that were once removed were placed back in their rightful spots... except for the large image of a mare... a pegusus. Sweeney Todd took the time to look at the picture for a moment... before he took it downstairs, and stowed it away. He reasoned that such a beautiful face to watch him now, to watch him stew in misery while he bides his time, would be too painful to abide.

Next, after taking the time to pick up new grooming supplies from the market last evening, he began to set them up on the desk in the mane dressing room that sat in front of the barber chair he had. Water spray bottles, shampoos, conditioners, shaving cream, sharpeners, dyes... anything and everything he needed for any client of any preference or commission. He set up a stack of barber capes beside the desk, as well as a few light paper napkins for catching rogue hair bits, for the extra sensitive clients.

When everything was ready in that room for his first unofficial customer, he moved on to picking up the various wood boards that once blocked out the sun and discarding them in the back... He figured that he would take them to a lumber recycling yard when he had the chance.

After he finished tidying up, dusting the mane dressing room and picking up spare debris, making it somewhat more presentable (but still not enough to present a grand re-opening), he boiled some tea to relax himself after his hard work culminating up to this point.

Before he could take a sip, however, there was a knock on the door. Todd sighed out of exasperated expectation. He set his tea down and approached the entrance, knowing full well who is on the other side. Upon opening the door, Rarity quickly stepped in. Todd barely recognized the fashion diva pony due to the hat, the shades, and the excessive amounts of garments and scarves she wore, which were obviously worn to keep other ponies from noticing her. The barber shut the door once more, and locked it, to keep out any other "guests".

"Oh, my. What a garishly dull room. It's like all the color and life was leached from it," she quipped, removing her hat, glasses, coat, etc.

Todd snorted, "I did not have time to finish the renovations, my lady, so you'll have to forgive the said lack of color. After all, you required my assistance immediately..."

"True," she replied while she looked about the room from where she stood, silently criticizing the unfinished building.

"Shall we?" Todd bowed, motioning towards the mane dressing room where his barber chair sat before a mirror and his supplies.

Rarity flipped her mane to the side, and trotted past Todd to the room. She scavenged the room, taking a closer look at his supplies. She picked up various shampoos and conditioners, coat soaps, fragrances for the ladies and musks for the gents, different creams and gels, and even looked through an assortment of combs and brushes. Rarity, rather nonplussed, inquired to herself as to why none of his supplies he had were seen in the other mane dressing shops she would regularly go to, or in any style catalogs she's read. The only object on the table that genuinely intrigued her was a small wooden and beautifully carved box that sat closed to once side of the desk.

Todd approached her. "If I could have your prying scrutiny subsided for the moment, perhaps you should have a seat so we can begin."

She looked to him with a hint of doubt and concern. "I know that my dear friend Twilight wouldn't steer me wrong, especially for such a crisis," she said, pawing at her hair, "but, I have some serious doubts as to if you are capable. After all, I see none of the latest or cutting edge in your répertoire of cosmetics."

"M'lady," he said lightly, "it isn't what you have at your disposal, but how you use it... please, have a seat, and allow me to lay your worries to rest..."

She weighed her options one last time, and with a defeated sigh, she said, "Fine."

Rarity presented forth a picture of herself, and Todd took it up looking at it. "What's this for?" he asked.

"Reference," she said, "I want my hair restored to what it was before... THIS." She, again, pointed to her current hair's state, still overly dramatic, as if she were in a play. Todd, at first, could hardly care, because he had other things on his mind, and the Diva's theatrics were a little more annoying than convincing, but when he looked at the picture, then looked at her once again, he understood the situation. While most citizens wouldn't understand or even care for such small details in one's mane, good barbers and those a little more susceptible to fashion, such as Todd and Rarity respectfully, would be able to pick them out from yards away.

Rarity climbed onto the old, but very comfortable barber seat, and relaxed, trying not to let her superficial fears get the best of her.

After setting aside Rarity's reference picture, Sweeney Todd grabbed one of his barber capes and draped it over Rarity's body, making sure to tuck the top edges beneath her hair at the bottom of her crest, and securing it to her by tying the strings around her neck in a firm knot. Then, he spun the chair she was on a slow 180 degrees, facing her away from the mirror. Rarity was about to question Todd about that, but he merely told her to hold still. With his natural telekinesis, he brought forth a spray bottle of pure, chilled water, and gently sprayed her hair. She flinched to the chilling touch of the moisture against her coat and skin. The water relaxed the natural curls of her mane, letting it lie straighter than normal, just enough to make the task for him easier. Next, he brought forth 3 combs of different sizes (one for her bangs, one for the poll of her head, and the last for her crest), and used all three to carefully brush and separate the small tangles in her hair. While she couldn't see too much of what he was doing, she could feel the pull of the combs running through her hair. The pull was noticeable, but very gentle. It was as if she didn't even have any tangles in her hair.

After Todd finished preparing her hair for the next step, he set aside his combs, and brought forth a small bowl with a thin coat cream, and an application brush. Rarity was about to question him once again, but the barber hushed her, reminding her that he knows what he's doing and that she has nothing to fear. He explained, however, that once he applies the coat cream, it will take a while before it can be removed, and, in the mean time, he'll start working on her hair. She smiled, mutely mouthing the word "finally".

He asked her to keep her eyes closed at the moment. She obeyed his command. Todd went to work, beginning to apply the special cream he mentioned, gently covering every bit of her face that he would work with, careful not to apply too much, keeping it a nice and even coat, and careful to avoid her eye shadow as well as her nostrils. He moved on down from her jaw line, and began working on her neck. And as he worked, he began to have thoughts... dark thoughts. He's never really harmed anypony before, but the inner demon dwelling in the back of his conscious, memories, and emotions reminded him why he came back... why he escaped captivity in the first place. And the thing told him, you'll need some practice.
Todd shook his head. He didn't want to do something so awful to someone so undeserving of it. As melodramatic as she was, it was clear that hurting her would be disgusting. He'd never forgive himself.

He finished up applying the cream to her neck, and set the bowl and the application brush off to the side. He would clean them later. With the process done, he could now move on to the next step.

With his natural telekinesis, he brought forth a pair of thin straight scissors, and want to work, starting with cutting away split and loose end at her bangs, being very careful not to let the hair not touch the cream on her face. Once it looked assumingly presentable for the fashion diva's standards, he moved on to the sides, then the top, then going down her crest, snipping off splits, evening out her hair in perfect geometrical symmetry, akin to the reference picture minus the curls. "The curls of your hair are natural, correct?" he asked. She replied quick and quietly with a yes, letting him reply with, "then, I won't need to curl your hair myself. Once it dries, it'll return to its original state... and while it does..."

He trailed off, placing the scissors back onto the desk, and then opening the quaint but elegant box that sat upon one side of the desk, revealing his beautiful set of straight razors with elegant silver decor, with blades as sharp as any scalpel, and as well polished as any fresh mirror.

"These are my friends,

See how they glisten..."

He picks one up with the magic of his horn, and brings it close to him, opening it slowly, carefully... almost lovingly.

"See this one shine,

How he smiles in the light.

My friend, my faithful friend..."

He delicately feels the razors edge with his hoof, careful not to let his friend accidentally hurt him. Rarity, listening to this gentlecolt sing while he was supposed to be fixing her look, nearly questions him about that, but is interrupted with a new sensation...

"Speak to me friend,

Whisper, I'll listen.

I know, I know-

You've been locked out of sight

All these years-

Like me, my friend.

Well, I've come home

To find you waiting...

Home,

And we're together,

And we'll do wonders,

Won't we?"

As he sung, he very slowly and delicately dragged the razor across Rarity's neck, where her coat was caked with the special cream, and carefully removed the cream with the blade while taking off a very small length of her hair, giving it a brighter, younger look. Rarity, still having her eyes closed via Todd's request, couldn't tell what was dragging across her, but whatever it was, it was comforting. He continued to slowly take more and more of the cream and small length of hair off her face and neck, every now and then wiping the beautiful blade of his with a clean polishing cloth.

"You there, my friend,

Come, let me hold you.

Now, with a sigh

You grow warm

In my hoof,

My friend,

My clever friend..."

As he stopped singing, he took the last bit off, and stepped back, wiping off the last bit of cream off his still beautiful razor, and placing it gently on the desk before the mirror. He rotated the chair so that fashion diva would see what became of her.
"Now..." he said, "open your eyes... tell me what you think... tell me how you feel."

She did so, and beheld a shocking sight. Her reflection showed her a radiant and younger looking Rarity. Her mane long since naturally curled itself, as he was taking the cream off her coat, was shimmering like diamonds in the light. Her coat around her head and neck looked... whiter, purer. It almost glowed in the gloom of the room around her. She walked up, and noticed the reference picture she gave to Todd to help him. When she looked at it, then her reflection once again, she realized she looked better now than she ever did once before. Not even the picture could compare.

"I... I look..." was all she was able to mutter. She wanted to say "stunning", but the word simply wouldn't do it justice. What came next, however, was very unbecoming of a lady, but her reason to this exception would be an unbarred sense of joy and happiness. She gave him a quick but powerful hug, uttering "thank you" over and over again, before throwing eight bits on the cashier counter (seven for the agreement, the extra one as a tip), grabbed her stuff, and raced out the door, shouting and yelling in joy of her brand new look.

Todd was a little shaken from the sudden outburst of the diva, but was all in all glad to be rid of her so that he may continue to prepare. He picked up his razor, picked up a sharpening belt, and began to rework its delicate edge, before quickly polishing it, closing it once more, and placing it back into its resting place.

"Rest now, my friends.

Soon I'll unfold you.

Soon you'll know splendours

You never have dreamed

All your days

My lucky friends.

Till now your shine

Was merely silver.

Friends,

You shall drip rubies,

You'll soon drip precious

Rubies..."

He slowly and carefully closed the box, and gazed deeply into the shadowy mirror before him, sporting a grin so sinister.

"At last..." he uttered, ominously, "my 'arms' are complete again."

-------------

On the edge of the Everfree forest, resided a humble little abode, peppered with smaller natural dwellings fit for small animals, notches in trees and small perched houses for birds, and various shacks and pens for the more domesticated creatures. Out from the house, centered around all of these homes for various animals came a pegasus pony with carnation pink hair and a maize coat, with the image of three butterflies presented on her flank. The meek but good hearted pony, named Fluttershy, trotted out with a back pack of various foods and animal care equipment, and began her daily routine, feeding her guests that lived all around her house, cleaning their homes if they need it, and making sure everyone she knew was alright.

"There you go..." she cooed softly to a pair of squirrels after she brought them their food for the next while, "be sure you don't eat them all in one sitting. Too much of a good thing can be bad."
The two forest rodents nodded at the advice, and ran back into their tree notch.
As she was just about to retreat back into her house, she heard the distinct sound of wings flapping irregularly. Turning towards the direction of the sound, she immediately worried that some poor bird was in trouble, but the thought was quickly abandoned when, in the distance of the clearing skies, she saw a silhouette of what could only be a another pegasus pony... and not just any normal one either.

Crashing at Fluttershy's yard gate was the infamous Ditzy Doo. A gray coated mare with a very light yellow color for her mane. An odd combination for an equally odd pony. Her heart was in the right place, but her accident prone nature and lack of class tends to get her into more shenanigans than most other ponies (save for Fluttershy's friends, whom are famous for getting into some sort of situational adventure every other week), and it didn't really help that her eyes were very crossed most of the time, most likely impeding her vision. Sometimes, due to her unintentional chaos and seemingly less intelligent mannerisms, some pony folk tend to nickname her "Derpy Hooves", something Fluttershy usually detested for being such a rude nickname. Regardless of her shortcomings, however, the clumsy mare managed to keep her job as a courier, delivering all kinds of mail across Equestria's country side, even when her entrances were... less than spectacular.

"Oops, sorry, "she said, chuckling a little, obviously shaken from the poor landing, "Hit a little bit of turbulence there. Gonna be a shaky flight back I bet..." She reaches into her postal bag, pulling out a number of peculiar objects; including an alarm clock, a sombrero, a bowling ball, two hockey sticks, and a chicken, before she found the letter she was looking for and handed it to the slightly confused Fluttershy. As quickly as she showed up, she said "Bye, muffin!" and took flight once again.

Fluttershy watched the klutz of a pony for a moment before she turned her attention to the letter. She noticed the design of the seal on the envelope.

"Oh no," she sighed, "Oh dear. That's my uncle's seal." He wasn't technically her uncle, in reality, but he was the one to adopt her when her parents had disappeared when she was just a yearling. She would call him uncle ever since that fateful day. He was a very strict pegasus, to say the least, but he was the only real family she had for the longest time.
She opened the letter cautiously, and read its contents.

"To my Dearest Niece,

I'm writing to you to inform you that I will be visiting you at your homestead in Ponyville. We need to have words. You've been putting it off for far too long, and its past overdue that you take up your responsibilities.
Sincerely Yours.

Edgar Turpin,
Judge"

Fluttershy squeaked in horror at "take up your responsibilities" comment in the note. She didn't know exactly what here dear old uncle was planning, but she knew that, whatever it may be, it would involve leaving Ponyville, her friends, and the animals she's been taking care of over the years... probably forever.

Comments

[Thatguywiththemane]

It's an interesting tale you tell, friend. Consider yourself watched.

[Nightmare_0mega]

170886 Hey, thanks.

[FenrisianBrony]

I like it. 'nuf said.

[Nightmare_0mega]

1440401
Well, thank you... Hey, your avi has a rather familiar face on it. I don't suppose you were once on EquestriaForums, were you?

[FenrisianBrony]

Nope, this is the first mlp forum I've ever really been on. Soz

[Nightmare_0mega]

1440602

This isn't exactly a forum, but ok...

[Ghostly Glow]

I approve. Do continue.

[red reaper]

I beg you please continue

[Nightmare_0mega]

9535015
I’m really sorry, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. I really do like the musical, but a lot of things have happened in life (and the fandom) that has changed my desires and thought processes. There is no way I could continue the story as is with everything I know so far about FiM. Too much has been shown that is contrary to what I was expecting (namely, ambiguousness on Fluttershy’s family). I had instead chose to do other stories that offer something a bit more flexible and character based.

With this said, if there ever is a small chance that I wish to come back and completely re-start this story, working it from the ground up, well... it’ll be here for me to attempt that. Otherwise, I’m afraid it stays cancelled.

[red reaper]

9535027
I understand but if you want you can read my stories the have original characters and i'll to have a feedback