Preview: Feasting on Fears (mature/dark) · 4:20pm Aug 30th, 2021
Hello, all.
I mentioned in the preview for The Baltimare Affair that I was also working on a murder mystery project. I meant to post the preview last week, but time got away from me, so it's here today.
Fair warning: this is not an especially happy excerpt.
For most ponies, the mere thought of committing murder never crosses their minds. Sure, they might occasionally crack a joke about wanting to kill somepony, but it doesn’t rise beyond that.
For me? Killing ponies has been my dream ever since I was old enough to think about it. Just the thought of seeing the fear on their faces as they realize their life is over…it’s intoxicating.
Up until tonight, it’s only been a dream of mine. But things are about to change.
Tonight, I cross the line between dreams and reality for the first time.
Really, it’s not the actual act of killing I’m interested in. It’s the fear.
I suppose you might expect that I spent a lot of time choosing my first victim, and you’d be right. When you've been dreaming of this as long as I have, you want everything to be perfect.
It sounds like she’s home.
I’m patient as I watch her step inside, dripping wet from the rain. Spring Blossom worked the late shift as a cashier at Filthy Rich’s store, which meant she usually went straight home to rest.
More importantly for me, she lives alone. Maybe in the future I’ll think about multiple victims at once, but for now I’m content to start with one.
She can’t see me, of course. Nopony can, not unless I want them to. And I want this visit to be a surprise.
I watch her as she looks inside her cooler, staring at the shriveled stalks of celery and hard carrots on the shelves. She mutters something about going shopping the next day before closing the cooler.
As she usually does, she moves to shower next, scrubbing the day’s dirt from her coat and mane. I like the thought that she’s getting ready for my visit.
I am important, after all. Probably the most important pony she’ll ever meet.
That just makes this all the more special.
She slowly makes her way up the stairs to her bedroom, where my first performance will take place. I spent a fair amount of time picking the perfect spot.
Spring Blossom owned a vanity, a gift from her mother, which she kept in her bedroom. Every night, before she would climb into bed, she would sit in front of it and brush her mane out. One hundred strokes with a silver handled brush, after which she would smile at her reflection before climbing into bed.
The mirror was the important part. Seeing her reflection and mine together as I killed her was one of my deepest desires.
As soon as she sat down, I felt the impulse to strike, but tamped it down. I’d waited this long, I could wait just a few minutes longer. I wanted her to finish all one hundred of those futile strokes, and I wanted that smile to be the last choice she made for herself, before I took what I wanted.
For some reason, she was humming a tune tonight as she brushed. I liked that – it made things feel more intimate.
When she finished the last stroke, I moved in right behind her, salivating at what was about to happen.
The smile was followed by the most beautiful wide eyes I’d ever seen, and the most heart-warming scream I’d ever heard.
I left her there in front of the vanity, slumped forward in her chair. Now that she’d served her purpose, I found I didn’t especially care what happened to her body.
Maybe I was just too distracted with how I was feeling. Her fear had been exquisite, but I found myself craving more.
The next night couldn’t come fast enough.
This story will primarily focus on two PoV characters; the killer speaking above (which will remain in first person), and Princess Luna, who will be dragged in to help given the...extraordinary circumstances involved.
As the title notes, this story will be a Mature rated one (my first). I don't do torture porn, so don't expect a gorefest (or any sex related crimes), but given the seriousness of the subject matter and the details of some of the murders, upping the rating feels appropriate.
-GMS
I’m unnerved, slightly disgusted, and frankly I’m hooked. I can’t think of a more appropriate set of feelings to get from a murder mystery.
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One of the less talked about elements of writing are the moments where you read what you wrote, step back, and ask yourself "what part of my brain came up with this, and is that part okay?"
That's why I'm writing this alongside The Baltimare Affair, because that story, while serious in its own way, is also a lot 'lighter' in tone, and gives me a needed mental break.