//------------------------------// // The Murder // Story: Nightmare at Canterlot High // by SuperBlackdeth666 //------------------------------// Later, at the cafeteria, it was lunchtime. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had gotten their trays full and were searching for a table, where they could settle in. As they looked, Scootaloo asked, "Got any ideas for our next music video?" "Nah," answered Sweetie Belle. "Ah've got zip," replied Apple Bloom. "Same here," Scootaloo sighed. "Guess Discord's got us all out of whack today." Shortly thereafter, the girls found an empty table on the entrance's left side, where they sat down and started to dig in to their meals. "Hey! What are you losers doing in our private table?!" The trio knew that voice, but it sounded a bit more nasal than usual. They looked to their left and find, to their surprise, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon crossing their arms in contempt. Even more startling, Diamond Tiara had a bandage around her nose, which explained the voice. Her whole body was covered in bruises, from head to toe. Though she tended to look indifferent, she could be seen wincing from the pain. Silver Spoon, acting less intimidating, was shaking slightly. Her eyes were looking left from right, as if a burglar might have been lurking. Cracks were barely noticeable on the right lens of her glasses. "What happened to you?" Sweetie Belle asked, showing genuine concern. "None of your beeswax, Dorkie Belle!" Diamond Tiara snapped. "Now, if you don't mind..." Her voice suddenly trailed off as he took notice of Sweetie Belle's hand. "Where did you get that burn?" "And what's with all the band-aids?" Silver Spoon asked Scootaloo. "Would you believe that we all had a narrow escape from Groundskeeper Discord last night?" Scootaloo answered half-heartedly. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara's skins suddenly went pale. "Groundskeeper... D-D-D-D-Discord?" Silver Spoon gulped. "As in... Greenskeeper Discord?" added Diamond Tiara, equally terrified. "Greenskeeper?" Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were all confused. "He worked at my father's country club on summers and weekends," explained Diamond Tiara. "Right before he disappeared last year." "We were both there in our dreams," said Silver Spoon before drawing in a deep breath. "I was practicing a few swings for the eighteenth hole, when Discord sneaked behind me and... and... Well, I don't know how, but he... turned me into a gopher!" Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were all utterly speechless for a few moments before Apple Bloom said flatly, "Seriously?" "Yes!" exclaimed Silver Spoon. "He always chased them away when they'd cause trouble in the golf course! You know how pesky gophers are nowadays! Then, Discord looked down at me, with a hoe in his hands. And that smile…" She shuddered. "You saw his creepy smile, right?" she asked, to which Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo gravely nodded. "Thought as much. Anyway, he swung his hoe at me. I managed to get out of the way before it hit the ground. I ran and I ran before I found a gopher hole to dive into. I thought I was safe... until he tried to flood me out with a hose!" "One of his favorite methods," Diamond Tiara broke in. "Less damaging to the surface areas. Cost-free. Less risk of..." "Ahem! If you're finished," Silver Spoon broke in before continuing. "Luckily, I know the course like the back of my hand. I found my way into the sewer system and clung to a pipe, waiting for the hose to be turned off. "I felt like I outsmarted Discord. But I was wrong. I heard barking. One of the club's bloodhounds tracked me down. I forgot all about them!" "It was my dad's idea, in case Discord needed backup," added Diamond Tiara. "He always did plan ahead." Rolling her eyes, Silver Spoon went on, "I was so scared. I didn't know what Discord was going to do next. But then, after several minutes, I dared to peak out of a hole. I saw him holding a detonator, which was wired to a lot of dynamite sticks all over the course! He was going to blow me sky high!" "Cool!" marveled Scootaloo, only to get scolding looks from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "What?" she asked, her face reddening. "I mean, it sounded cool." "The hounds cleared the area as soon Discord was ready," carried on Silver Spoon. "He yelled 'Four!' and pressed down the detonator. He laughed like a lunatic in triumph. Before I knew it, I was close to one of the dynamite sticks. I wasn't that too close, but it was so loud, it almost made my eardrums bleed! And then... I woke up." "Golly!" exclaimed Apple Bloom. "You were lucky to get outta there alive!" "You think that was bad? I had it worse!" insisted Diamond Tiara. "Ow…" She clutched her side in pain. "You mean with all the bruises and the..." Scootaloo's voice trailed off, as she was hesitant on saying the word "nose." "Yeah," confirmed Diamond Tiara. "Discord had me turned into a golf ball. He hit me a couple of times with his club. I was flying through the air and then landed on the ground. Those weren't exactly soft landings. For a moment, I thought I was gonna drown in one of the watering hazards. But I realized something worse: when Discord was younger, he was..." She shuddered before finishing, "a professional golfer!" "Never sliced a swing," Silver Spoon added for good measure. "So how'd you wake up?" asked Apple Bloom curiously. "On the last teeing ground, I was facing backwards," explained Diamond Tiara, trembling. "Then, Discord gave one last swing and... broke my nose." That last detail caused Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle to cringe—this immediately gave way to sympathy. Sympathy for the very girls who always tormented them at every given opportunity. "Gee... Sorry to hear that, Diamond Tiara," crooned Sweetie Belle. "You know what? Forget it!" snapped Diamond Tiara, reassuming her prideful stance. "I don't need your pity! And you can keep the table. We'll find another one." As soon as she finished, she and Silver Spoon left the other girls to their lunches; all the while, she could be heard groaning hoarsely as her side continues to throb painfully. Just then, a light, yet startling scream made the girls jump. To their right, they saw Snips escorting the jumpy, jittery, shuddering form of Snails to their table. Snips was wearing a cast on his left arm, which served as backup for holding his lunch tray. Snails could barely keep his food from spilling. "Let me guess," Scootaloo said nonchalantly. "Groundskeeper Discord got to you in your dreams too?" "Well, duh!" snapped Snips. "He made me jump off the second floor!" The girls exchanged confused glances. "Uh, why?" asked Sweetie Belle at last. "Remember when I've always said that I hate Fancy class?" Snips asked, to which the girls nodded. "That was on the second floor. And Discord..." His voice grew filled with revulsion. "...was the substitute teacher! Went on and on with gynormous piles of Fancy words for hours! I couldn't take it anymore!" he exclaimed hysterically. "Sacre bleu!" gasped Apple Bloom. "And Snails?" inquired Sweetie Belle. "He was being used as a human plunger. Every. Single. Toilet," said Snips in a low, ominous whisper. The girls took a second to recoil from being grossed out at the thought of Snails having to deal with inhaling load upon load of the stench of urine and feces. Then Scootaloo asked, "What woke him up?" "So... much... clogging," whimpered Snails, frantically. "Uh, I don't think he wants to talk about it right now," Snips said uneasily, escorting Snails away. Sometime later that day, our heroines were in their last class of the day, in a neatly decked out classroom with desks positioned in four columns of five. Sunset was in the center left desk on the first row; Fluttershy at her right in the leftmost desk; Rainbow immediately behind Fluttershy on the second row; Flash at Rainbow's left and right behind Sunset and at Rainbow's right; Rarity in the rightmost desk on the third row; Trixie on Rartiy's immediate left; Applejack in the center left desk on the fourth row; and Pinkie in the leftmost desk on the fifth row. The class' teacher, Miss Cheerilee, was handing out a test. "Remember, class," she said gleefully, "this test is only the first step toward your inevitable graduation. I know you will all do well," she added before muttering under her breath, "and put this school into another budget crisis." Shaking her head, she resumed her happy demeanor. "You've got less than an hour to..." "Finished!" Sunset and Trixie proclaimed, both handing out their completed tests. This incited waves of jaws to drop open all across the classroom, staring in a surprised state at Trixie. Sunset was no exception. "Is there something wrong, Miss Cheerilee?" Trixie innocently asked. Recovering from her startled state, Miss Cheerilee hastily replied, "Why, uh... no, Trixie. It's just that I always get fast results from Sunset Shimmer. But from you, that's quite a first." "Well, I just want to be ready for tonight's show," Trixie said, loftily. "Can't afford to be focusing on tests all day." She went on in a real eerily dramatic tone. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is about to make a magnificent triumph!" Rainbow, who couldn't care less about Trixie's exploits, replied sarcastically, "Oh, awesome. We'll totally be watching!" "Not now, Rainbow Dash," Sunset snapped, shushing her friend before she could get herself in any trouble. With an apathetic grunt, Miss Cheerilee shrugged. "Well, Trixie, why don't you and Sunset put your heads down on your desks and sit quietly for the remainder of class?" "My pleasure," Trixie blustered as she did as the teacher suggested. As for Sunset, she instead took out a book from her leather jacket, not quite bored enough for a nap. "Actually, Miss Cheerliee, I think I'll be reading a book, if you don't mind." "Very well, Sunset," smiled Miss Cheerilee. "You've earned it." "Thanks," replied Sunset as she started to read very intently. Trixie, in the meantime, fell fast asleep... In her dream, Trixie was on a grand stage, with the lighting showing bright, and an audience looking on with sheer excitement. The curtains opened to reveal Trixie to the audience, dressed in her signature purple pointed hat. "Ladies and gentleman," she shouted in her self-introduction, "boys and girls... prepare to be awed and inspired by... the Great... and Powerful... Trixie!" The air was thick with the explosive sounds of fireworks shooting up, accompanied by the audience's applause. The curtains closed, and with a puff of smoke, a six-foot long animatronic snake appeared from thin air. In a fit of rage it lunged at Trixie, closing in for the kill. But with a quick thrust of her right arm, Trixie grabbed the snake by the neck, and threw it into the air with an unnatural level of strength. A clap of her hands and the snake suddenly disappeared in a flash of fire. Amazed roars rippled through the audience as Trixie took her bows. "Thank you!" she called. "Thank you! Now feast your eyes as I perform the most thrilling... most dangerous... death-defying feat in the history of magic!" Little did she know that as she spoke, Discord morphed out of the curtains and onto the stage, wearing a tuxedo colored light brown, dark red, gray, gold and pale yellow, along with a moderate amaranth dress shirt, purple vest, light blue bow tie, white gloves, pink socks, and black shoes. He stood above Trixie, his shadow looming above her as he wielded his rake. Noticing the shadow, Trixie turned around and gasped in shock when she saw Discord staring her down, rake in hand. "Define 'death-defying,' my dear," he sneered, grinning maniacally. He chuckled. "You've tamed a dead s-s-s-s-s-snake, but can you handle a live one?" As he hissed, he transformed himself into a 22-foot-long green anaconda with some sort of insane magical ability, coiled up and ready to strike. Fearing for her life, Trixie ran off the stage, screaming shrilly. But her escape efforts were in vain as Discord reached out with his coils, wrapping around her and reeling her in. He squeezed harder and harder. His coils felt like walls of solid steel compressing a car into a cube as they forced the very life force of Trixie out of the body that it resided in. Discord hissed triumphantly as Trixie squirmed in helplessness. As if that weren't bad enough, in real life, Trixie was twisting and screaming in her sleep; a gruesome reenactment of how Discord was doing her in her dream. As everyone looked on, startled, she suddenly slipped from her desk and collapsed, lying dead on the floor, eyes wide open, killed in real life just as she'd been killed in her dream. The usually dim-witted Pinkie, slow to realize what just happened, suddenly burst out, "Ooh, is Trixie taking yoga classes?" The answer to this uncalled for question was nothing but traumatized silence. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna, accompanied by the not-too-bright Derpy Hooves, were quickly summoned to the scene. As they stared at Trixie's discolored carcass, Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, knowing all too well what had happened. Then, before any of the students could fully make out what had really happened, the body was placed up on a gurney and covered with a white sheet. "Derpy, wheel her out quietly," whispered Celestia. "We don't want any of the other students to see what's happened." "You can count on me, ma'am!" Derpy acknowledged. But then, as she started to wheel the gurney out of the room, the sheet, which was stuck under Celestia's foot, came off, revealing the twisted, disfigured corpse of The Great and Powerful Trixie for all to see. The very sight caused Fluttershy to scream aloud until all the air left her body, causing her to faint. "Oh, just get her out of here!" said a frustrated Celestia as she shook her head. And so, Derpy wheeled the body out into the hallway. Next thing the Principals knew, they heard Scootaloo asking from down the hall, "Hey, what's up with Trixie?" "Not in front of the children!" Luna called out to Derpy. It was too late. The sounds of petrified screams from Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle filled the hall. All Celestia and Luna could do was slap their palms to their faces in frustration.