The Superstition
Applejack and Pinkie Pie were the last of the gang to arrive at the top of the hill, where Twilight was hosting a picnic for her and her closest friends. The rest of the group was already there and waiting for the two slowpokes to arrive. As the two finally made it, Applejack tipped her hat forward in greeting while Pinkie Pie happily skipped on over to the picnic rug, putting down a basket that contained helium-filled balloons that instantly floated out of her mouth. Not affected by the loss of her basket, Pinkie sat down next to Rainbow Dash, who was laying back and relaxing with her shades on. Finally, everyone was there. Now the picnic could begin. The gang enjoyed their picnic together in the warm Celestial Sun. Not surprisingly, Twilight was the first to finish. So, to pass the time, she brought out an old book that she found at the library in the Crystal Empire. Upon seeing the cover, Pinkie's curiosity was peaked and she asked Twilight what the book was about.
"Oh, this is just a book I found at the library while we were at the Crystal Empire. It's about superstitions. See?" Twilight flipped the book around and showed her friends the contents of the book. Inside were illustrations of interestingly odd looking ponies doing peculiar things, such as standing on top of a ladder with just one leg or balancing a plate on top of the head while looking at a tree. One caught the eye of everyone. A superstition called "Seeing Their Heart". Applejack was the first to ask the question that was probably on everyone's minds.
"What in the hay is that one?" she asked, pointing to the page. Twilight flipped the book back around.
"Hm… I don't remember seeing this one before…" Twilight began to read the page out loud. "'Seeing Their Heart' This superstition allows one to see the face of the pony they shall fall in love with." Twilight never mentioned much about relationships, but she always wanted one, and wanted to try it out. So did everyone else. Well, except for one.
"Well? Don't keep us hanging! Tell us how to do it!" demanded Rainbow Dash. Twilight groaned, and read the instructions.
"In order to see the face of your future partner, this superstition must be done on the hour of the Hydra (4 AM), where the night is at it's most active. Next, go to the bathroom and fill a bucket full of water. Place the bucket in front of your mirror. Lastly, look into the water with a comb sticking in your mane. The face of your future partner will be shown in clear view." Everyone was suddenly talking about giving the superstition a try, Rainbow even guessing on who it could be. Fluttershy, unsurprisingly, did not talk much. She was not much more of a talker when it comes to love. Rarity just scuffed it off and laughed loud enough for everyone to hear.. Everyone looked at her with expressions in a mixture of confusion and pity.
"What do ya'll mean ya don't believe in this?" asked Applejack, surprised.
"I simply do not believe in such riffraff. I am a mare of reason." stated Rarity with a face of confidence. Fluttershy tried to speak up.
"Um… I think these superstitions work… But if you don't believe in that, it's fine…" But nobody heard her.
"C'mon, Rare!" yelled Rainbow "You've had your own run in with stuff, haven't ya?" Rarity just laughed and got, thanked Twilight for the picnic, and walked back to her boutique to get some more orders filled. That night, Rarity could not sleep. Eventually, she sat up and looked at her antique clock on the other side of her room. The big hand was 5 minutes from reaching the next hour, which was 4. The details of the superstition ran through Rarity's mind. She never believed in such nonsense. She was curious, but she would never admit it, even to herself.
"Perhaps I could try out this nonsense, just so I can prove to my friends that it is just a myth." Rarity got out of bed and was about to start her way over to the bathroom, when a breeze of cold evening air blew in her mane. A chill went up the unicorn's spine as the breeze touched her entire back. Rarity shivered for a moment, then went to the window, where the source of the wind was, to close it. She pushed away the curtains, only to find that the window was already closed. Rarity was confused, as well as a little nervous.
"But, if the window was already closed… Then how did air blow through it?" Rarity shook her head in disbelief.
"No. It must be my imagination. There's no way that 4 AM is the hour of supernatural activity." She managed to convince herself and continued down the hallway to get to the staircase, as the bathroom was on the first floor. As she trekked down the dark, quiet hallway, Rarity heard something. She continuously told herself that it was all in her head. But regardless, turned around. All she saw was her bedroom at the end of the hall. She shook her head again and finally arrived at the staircase. She took her first step, and slipped. She fell on her rump on the next step, where she grabbed the railing and stopped herself from falling down any further. She breathed a sigh of relief and reached the bottom, this time, sliding down slowly. She finally reached the bathroom and entered. The bath was already filled with water, drop coming from the faucet and making a dropping noise. It echoed across the room. Rarity nervously tried to turn not he light. However, it did not work, and the room remained dark. Rarity groaned.
"There must be blackout…" She took a bucket and scooped up the water from the tub. She then placed it on the sink counter and grabbed a comb from the drawer. She took the comb and pushed in into her mane. Rarity then looked over the bucket and into the water. Rarity saw nothing. She sighed in disbelief.
"Of course, it was nothing but a lot of hoopla. I must get to bed." she proclaimed. But, as she turned, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something in the bucket. She turned back around. The bucket now had a peculiar black shape inside it. Rarity looked closer, to realize that it was the silhouette of the face of a stallion. Rarity was sweating. Was the superstition actually true? But, as the unicorn looked into the bucket of water, the shape jumped with great force. Rarity screamed and let her reactions get the better of her. She swung at the shape with another bucket nearby, missing and instead smashed the mirror and shattering it into a thousand pieces. A few shards even fell into the bucket where the shape was. Rarity, trying everything in her power to keep her from looking, looked inside the bucket and noticed that the water was replaced with blood. She could not stand the sight of blood and dumped the bucket's contents into the sink, the black shape never coming out. The next day, Rarity gathered her friends and asked them about if they preformed the superstition as well. All nodded their heads, but none with smiles. Everyone told Rarity that it did not work for them, and they were disappointed. Rarity didn't want to at first, but knew she would never stop thinking about it unless she told somepony. She shared her experiences from last night to her friends. They all playfully laughed at her story. No one believed her and accused her of making the story up. Rarity, embarrassed, ran back to her boutique, where she did not come back out for the rest of the day. 10 years later, Rarity had forgotten all about that night. Her boutique became the most famous in Equestria and her friends were faring just as well as she was. As Rarity traveled down the streets of Canterlot, she bumped into Twilight, who was now a master wizard and scholar. She was one of the most respected unicorns in the city. Rarity got up and apologized.
"Twilight! I am so sorry about that! I was just in too big of a rush!" Twilight just smiled and brushed the dirt off her fur.
"No need to be sorry, Rarity. It was just an accident. What's gotten you so excited anyway?" Rarity was on her way to meet her boyfriend, a calm and relaxed stallion who was kind and was always by Rarity's side. But for some odd reason, he was always wearing this mask over his mouth.
"I am on my way to meet my boyfriend in the park. I am already late as can be!" Twilight nodded.
"Well, don't let me keep you. It was nice seeing you again, Rarity. Hope we'll meet again someday." And Twilight walked off. Rarity continued her run to the park, eventually arriving. She saw her boyfriend resting on a bench near the lake. He was wearing his mask, same as always.
"Hi, honey! I apologize for being so late!" Her boyfriend just smiled sweetly.
"It's fine, Rarity. I'm just glad you're here." Rarity blushed and sat next to him. The two talked for hours, watching the lake's calm waters slowly ripple in the wind. Rarity felt so safe next to him. She slid herself closer and closer until the two were touching. Rarity was about to kiss him, until his mask got in the way. She was about to remove it, until she was stopped by her boyfriend.
"Why do you keep this mask on all the time? You cannot be so sick that you must wear this mask for months!" Rarity made a pouting face. Her boyfriends stood up and turned to Rarity.
"Rarity, I have a confession to make. The truth is, I am not sick..." He removed the mask, and Rarity's face drained of all happiness and comfort. Only fear, guilt, and terror remained. Behind his mask, was glass shards that pierced around his mouth. Everything around the two suddenly vanished leaving only her, her "boyfriend", and a endless void of darkness.
"You did this to me!! LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME!!" As he continued to yell, more and more shards of glass were emerging from his body, until he was completely covered.
"I am sorry! I did not intend to do any harm to you!" He continued to stare at her evilly.
"You did this to me, and now, your fate has been sealed!!" Rarity then felt something around her face. She touched her mouth, and realized that it was covered by a mask. Rarity screamed in terror, and she woke up, sweating and panting. Her little sister, Sweetie Belle, was standing at the door, a look of concern on her face.
"Sis? Are you ok?" The little filly runs up to her bed and hugs her big sister. Rarity hugged back, a tear or two going down her cheek.
"It was just a dream..." Rarity sighed happily at that fact.
"Huh? Did you have a nightmare, sis? Do you want to talk about it? That's what mom and dad did with me." Rarity quickly wiped away her tears and smiled.
"No thank you, Sweetie... I'll be just fine. You go off to bed, now. You have school tomorrow..." The filly drooped her head down in disappointment as she walked back to her room.
"Aw... Ok..." Rarity got out of bed, and went back downstairs into the kitchen to get a glass of tea to calm her nerves. As she entered her room again, she felt a light breeze coming from the window again. She then noticed Twilight's book on her desk, the wind flipping thee pages to the one titled "Seeing Their Hearts". Shattered pieces of blood-stained glass were laying next to the book, along with a pair of pliers and some dried red color on a handkerchief. Rarity just picked up the previously mentioned items and tossed them in the trash.
"Superstitions aren't real..." Rarity whispered under her breath, and she climbed into bed, the words "You did this" echoing in the farthest reaches of her mind.