//------------------------------// // 10. The proxy of my proxy is also my proxy. // Story: Fear The Hypnotist // by JeSuisLaPorte //------------------------------// The room was pitch black, way too dark for anybody to navigate in it and yet, SKX manoeuvred around the many objects with ease. He had practically become a nocturnal animal at this point, what with just how much time he has spent in the shadows since his abominable resurrection. His eyes were now as sharp as those of an owl. He walked over to a worktable where he had placed various items that would aid him in his mission. Namely, the stolen yearbook, the maracas and lastly, the acid.  Wait, the acid? He looked at the jars only to ascertain that they were empty. A bizarre observation indeed for he planned to use them on Sunset Shimmer to burn her face off. But now, he had to let go of that idea. He needed to find another painful way to kill her.  Low rumbling and quiet growls resonated behind his back. Could the Tyrant be responsible for this anomaly? Most likely, SKX knew that he can’t trust any of his words and advice period. The beast was a snake, he learned it the hard way. Being a zombie never figured in his plans, ‘cuz that was the Tyrant’s doing.  He had to act fast, put his plan into motion before the monster could change its mind.  Who knows what it would do next?  “Don’t you have more important business to do?”  Right, it knows all his thoughts. He shouldn’t think about it for now, it’ll only slow him down.  “Exactly! Don’t mind me, my little zombie.”      The fanfare of the parade hasn’t died down one bit. From what it looks like, this year was going to be the longest it has ever been. Guess the budget must have been bigger this time around.  The loud sounds coming from this whole event woke Trixie up. She was laying down on something rough which gave her a bad crick in the neck. She stood, her head still dizzy, and examined her surroundings. She was in an alley, more specifically on a pile of trash bags lying on the floor. The worst part was that there was a dumpster right next to the pile. Like, come on! People can’t be that lazy... can they?  “H... How did I end up here?” It seemed the traumatic memories of her kidnapping have been supressed, something an expert in the art of hypnotism could easily do. She looked around in hopes of finding a possible explanation as to why she passed out on a pile of trash but couldn’t find anything. How she got herself in this situation remained a mystery to her for the time being. Trixie examined her costume afterward. A bit dirty, but not damaged in the slightest.  Oh well, another strange happening but what can you do about it? Canterlot, at this point, is fairly known around the globe for its unexplainable phenomenon. Better not think about it for too long; the answers might not be pleasing.  Sweeping the dirt off her cape, Trixie returned to the parade to admire its beauty once more. What she hasn’t noticed however, was the zombie lurking in the shadows, observing her with great intent. Though this time, it wasn’t going to attack, it was going to wait for her to do her part. A part she didn’t know she had to do, but her subconscious did. When the moment would be right, she’d spring into action.  “Oh! So the pan flute is a powerful instrument when paired with magic. I should jot it down for my future games.”  The zombie stepped out of the shadows and followed her from a safe distance. The spell was still young which can cause some issues. If Trixie were to see him this soon after it had been casted, it might break the memory suppression part of the spell, the same would go if she heard the Tyrant’s voice again.  “Our hands are tied at the moment but... belief in patience will prevail!”  It will. SKX has not come this far to fail now. No matter how many obstacles are thrown his way, he’ll push through and won’t stop until the deed is done. Sunset Shimmer... A name he has grown to hate with a burning passion. A name he blames all his misery on. A name that makes him remember all the years of abuse he endured. A name that is responsible for making his name forgotten. Nobody knew who he was but her, and he’ll forever bury his legacy by killing her with his own rotten hands. Sunset Shimmer, it’s all her fault.  “Stay passionate about your hatred. It’s making things more interesting to me, and you know how important that is.”  It doesn’t matter what happens to him afterward. The Tyrant can torture him all he wants but as long as he can satisfy his need for revenge; he’ll feel whole again.    Trixie suddenly felt a strange urge to find Sunset Shimmer. Strange, where did that come from? Whatever, if she wanted to talk to her, then what was she waiting for? Trixie abandoned her previous activity and began to search through the crowd.  The Tyrant cackled. “It has already taken effect. Now my little zombie; it’s time we get in position. The plan has been put into motion.”      “How exactly are we going to find SKX in this crowd?” Rainbow Dash made a good point, there usually wasn’t this many people. It would seem this year is different, an ongoing trend in this world. Ever since Princess Twilight stepped foot in the human world, everything changed whether it was subtle or not.  “Uh, by persevering, I guess? I frankly don’t see any other way.” proposed Sunset Shimmer with uncertainty. They could have used some sort of magic tracking device similar to the one Twi built during the Friendship Games. The only problem was, she had grown to fear and resent magic ever since she turned into Midnight Sparkle. So, that idea was off the table.  “Then again, we’re lookin’ for a six-foot-tall mega zombie, Dash. I don’t think that’s gonna be too hard to find.” Applejack said as she skimmed the crowd with her eyes. “Sunset, ya said he was wearin’ a beanie and a blue jacket?”  Sunset confirmed with a simple nod. “He’ll definitely be hiding from us with a plan in mind. We should proceed with caution and always watch our surroundings the moment we walk into that crowd.”  “Do you have any idea how he kills his victims?” said Fluttershy in a worried voice. “I think it’s some form of hypnotism based on the autopsy report, but you seem to know a thing or two about him.”  Sunset nearly choked, realising that the way she’s been talking about SKX did imply that she knew him to some degree.  Whatever happens, she must not let her friends know what truly transpired between the two, or else it might kill their friendship for good. Cuz what she did... was unforgivable, even if she did change for the better. “I, uh... think that’s a good guess Fluttershy. You know, you made some good hypothesis during this whole case.” She let out a comforting smile. “You’re pretty good!”  Fluttershy blushed, avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment. “Gosh, y-you’re overestimating me.” she sheepishly responded, running a hand through her hair.  “Are we moving in or what? We can’t let this villain get away with all the harm he’s caused!” Rainbow Dash was visibly pumped about the idea of bringing this serial killer down. It was most likely a mixture of both a sense of justice and her fantasies of being a superhero or a cool detective.  “Right.” bluntly said Sunset Shimmer. She looked over at the crowd before putting on a determined expression. “Let’s go in.”      The main street of Canterlot had quite the traffic for Halloween. Many shops were open, selling candies and other goodies related to the festivities. The high amount of costumed folks made it a perfect spot for the killer to slip in undetected, and that’s why they were here.  Twi, Spike, Rarity and Pinkie Pie wandered around the crowded streets in search of a zombie that fit the description Sunset relayed earlier that night. Big and muscular, brown skin, a beanie and a blue jacket, specific enough for them to distinguish SKX from the innocent people dressed as zombies. He was quite different from the ways these flesh-eating ghouls were usually depicted in movies and games which played in their favor. Well, that and the fact that his “costume” supposedly looked realistic.  “Hey Twilight! Don’t you have a cool gadget that can detect magic? I know you can make one, cuz you made something similar back at the Friendship Games!” Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm was still something Twi had to get accustomed too, courtesy of her introverted nature. Pinkie’s energy was still too much for her to handle at times but thankfully, Spike was here to lay a helping paw whenever she would be overwhelmed.  “N-No Pinkie, I don’t. I just don’t feel comfortable with magic, that’s all.”  Pinkie Pie pulled back. “Okay! Sorry if I troubled you!”  Spike poked his head out of Twi’s bag. “I think we can manage without. We do have other gadgets, right Twilight?”  Twi’s eyes flashed, knowing what Spike meant by other gadgets. “Thanks for reminding me Spike!” She placed her bag down just as her dog hopped out to allow her to rummage through her stuff. Much to Pinkie and Rarity’s wonder, Twi pulled out a drone. “Tada! I built a drone recently so that I could explore Canterlot safely from my bed! I worked on it ever since the murders first started and today, I finally got to finish it. I-It's still in beta, so I'm not certain if it will work as intended.”  The drone activated and began to fly above their heads. Twi’s friends got close to her so they could watch the drone’s camera on her remote.  “You’re truly prepared for everything, darling!” complimented Rarity.  Pinkie viewed the drone as a new toy to try out in the near future. “Could you let me play with it one day?” she cheerfully asked.  “Well... maybe, if you’re careful with it that is.” sheepishly responded Twi, almost embarrassed by the praise she was receiving.  It was only when the drones flew above all the blinding lights of Canterlot that the group noticed something was off with the sky and most importantly, the moon itself. It was crimson red. Last time they saw it, it was normal.  “Uh... Was the moon always red?” nervously asked Spike.  “I don’t think it has ever been crimson red before...” replied Twi, looking into the drone’s camera to get a better view of the unnatural coloration in the sky.  A man in a pickle suit passed by them and no one paid any attention to it, except Rarity. She found the costume to be simply hideous for her standards, but then something came to mind.  “So, I've been visited by this man in a pickle suit, and he keeps telling me cryptic things like he knows who I am and it’s super weird! Worst of all, he stole my magical book that I used to write to Princess Twilight.”  Yeah, it was Sunset’s strange rant about a man in a pickle suit. Was this the same guy she was referring to? Curiosity overtook her and she just HAD to talk to him for a moment. “Oh my! I've got to see if it's THE man in the pickle suit.” she said before walking up to the man.  “You'd look great in a pickle suit, miss Rarity.” absent mindedly said Spike for he was infatuated by her beauty.  “Spike!” Twi’s voice made him snap back to reality.  “O-Oh! My bad.”    The man in the pickle suit was walking slowly which made it easy for Rarity to catch up to him. Just as she was about to say a word to get his attention, he turned around almost as if he already knew that she was going to talk to him.  “Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow in an almost exaggerated manner.  Rarity struggled to keep her laughter in. Not only was he wearing a ridiculous pickle suit, but he also had these cool guy sunglasses on and the constant facial expression of a tough guy. You could not look any sillier than this! This guy had to either be the best comedian ever to keep a straight face or the densest man alive.  “Ex-Excuse me.” she wheezed before she got a hold of herself. “My friend talked a bit about you. Do you perhaps, know someone by the name of Sunset Shimmer?”  The man in the pickle suit tilted his head from side to side before responding. “You are Rarity, aren’t you?”  Rarity pulled her head back out of surprise. “You know my name?”  “Yes, you work at a fancy boutique in Canterlot. I must admit, your craft is pretty good. You’re pretty good.”  His flattering remark got to her, and she couldn’t help herself. He was stroking her ego, she had to get more compliments out of him. “Oh dear! Finally, someone who appreciates my work! Well, my friends also appreciate it, but they always seem more concerned with other things to pay any real attention to my sense of fashion.”  “I say they are missing out on a lot. You’re going to make it big in the future, I’m certain of it.” His expression didn’t change much with each sentence, the same went for his tone but Rarity wasn’t paying attention. Who knew that someone who appreciated fashion would also dress up in such a ridiculous costume?  “Ho ho! Stop it! You’re going to make me feel embarrassed!”    “Hold on a minute.” Spike sniffed the air around them, noticing that a particular perfume he liked was now gone. “Where’s Rarity?”  Twi and Pinkie Pie took a quick look around them. Rarity was now a couple of feet away talking to a man in a pickle suit. “Rarity!” called out Twi. “We’ve got more important business going on over here!”  Sadly, her friend was way too caught up in her ego being stroked by this complete stranger to pay any real attention to them.  “Welp, guess we’ll just keep on looking with the drone, at least until Rarity snaps out of it.” said Twi in defeat.  Suddenly, Pinkie’s face slammed into hers as she pointed at the camera on the remote, excited at what she had noticed. “Oh look, look! It’s Sunset Shimmer! Come on, let’s go and say hi!”  At this point, the remote was pretty much in Pinkie Pie’s control as she piloted the drone to fly near her friend. Just as it descended, Sunset ran inside what appeared to be a slaughterhouse.  Spike poked his head further out to get a cleaner view. “Huh? Why is she going inside?”  With the hurry she was in, Twi could only assume the worst. “Do you think someone in their group might have been taken by SKX?”  “No time to panic!” screamed Pinkie. “We’re going to run all the way over there before something bad happens!”  Before Twi could react, Pinkie grabbed her arm and ran as fast as she could, pulling her along for the ride.  “... Fashion these days leaves so much to be desired. I don’t even know where to start! There’s just so much wrong with it.”  The man in the pickle suit was patiently listening to her rant, though it was clear that he cared very little about her message. He was only waiting for her to drop her guard so that he can get out of sight.  Thankfully for him, Pinkie came to his rescue. “Rarity! We have no time to explain! Follow us!”  By follow, what she meant was essentially “I’m going to drag you alongside Twilight to the slaughterhouse.” That finally gave the prompt for the man to leave, off to do whatever business he had planned for the night.  Though something suggests it ain’t going to be mundane. That strangely sinister smile was a good reason to be worried.      Now, Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy were knee-deep in the massive crowd that were enjoying the show. Finding SKX wasn’t going to be easy but with how tall he was; it at least gave them a chance to spot him since there’s not that many people in Canterlot who are his size. The four girls broke from the crowd to get some space for themselves. There, they could discuss how they were going to go about finding him.  “SKX isn’t going to attack us in public. We’ll take advantage of that to split up and search for him.” started Sunset “If any of you see him, quickly send a message. The map on our phones also gives away your position, so we’ll use that feature to get to you as soon as possible. And no matter what, don’t confront him alone.”  The others nodded. “I see... We just need to stay far away from the edge of the crowd when we’re going to search for him.” specified Fluttershy.  “That’s right!”  Rainbow Dash was eager to put the plan in motion, ready to take on another superhero-esque mission. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”    Once more on her own, Sunset pushed through the many spectators of the parade. This time, she wasn’t going to let fear overcome her, nor would she let regret bring her down. If she can stop SKX fast enough, then... there won’t be a need to explain to her friends what transpired between the two. Friendship preserved, simple as that.  Out of nowhere, someone bumped into her; it was Trixie who just so happen to be passing by. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going? The Great and Powerful Trrrixie hates people who aren’t paying attention.” There was a strange sense of hurry in her voice since she spoke faster than usual and didn’t perform any flamboyant gesturing.  “I’m kinda in a hurry right now.” bluntly responded Sunset. She was just about ready to push her aside when Trixie said something that immediately caught her attention.  “So am I! I believe I’ve seen the killer hiding away in some place and I was about to tell the police in hopes of receiving something substantial.”  “Wait! You saw where the killer went?” said Sunset mere milliseconds after Trixie had finished her sentence.  The magician looked at her with contempt before giving in. “I can show you where he went if you’re THAT curious.”  Trixie spun around and walked in a specific direction, with Sunset following closely behind. After a few minutes of walking, they had left the parade and arrived at a closed building, a slaughterhouse. At this time of the night, it was closed and there wasn’t a guard patrolling such a haunting place during Halloween. In short, a perfect place for a monster to hide in.  “I can see why he chose this place...” muttered Sunset Shimmer.  Trixie looked at her, slightly annoyed. “I didn’t say he was in there for certain, I only believed I saw him.” she specified.  “And you were potentially going to waste the police’s precious time? That could put you in a bit of trouble.”  Outraged, Trixie took a few daring steps towards the slaughterhouse. “Fine then, I’ll prove to you that he’s really in there!”  It was at this moment that Sunset began to worry. If SKX was indeed in there, getting that close to the slaughterhouse would be extremely dangerous. “Uh, you don’t really have to put yourself in potential danger just to prove a point, you know?”  Trixie was now right in front of a window, peeking through it intensely. “You underestimate the lengths that the Great and Powerful Trixie will go to score a win!”  Sunset walked up to her, fearing that something bad might happen should they stay too close to this building. “Come on Trixie; let’s not be that petty about it.”  The magician spun around, offended by her adversary’s remark. “Petty? I, the Great and Powerful Trixie am not-”  The window behind her smashed open and a zombified hand grabbed her by the head, pulling her closer inside. Trixie screamed as she trashed around in a desperate attempt to break free.   Sunset ran in as fast as she could, but it was too late; the killer’s arm wrapped around the girl’s stomach and finally pulled her inside. Sunset jumped, trying to at the very least grab onto Trixie’s legs but she instead hit her hand on the broken glass.  She got up and quickly examined the cut on her hand. It wasn’t too deep thankfully so it shouldn’t be a problem for now. Sunset took out her phone and sent a quick message to her friends before rushing in. This was obviously going against the very plan she laid out to them, but she couldn’t let Trixie die at the hands of SKX.  The door opened with a loud creak and Sunset found herself confronted with nothing but darkness inside the slaughterhouse. She looked over at the broken window since that was where she last saw the two. The faint light from outside couldn’t bright up the interior, so she’d have to use her phone.  Not even a second spent inside and already the door slammed itself shut in a terrible cacophony. Sunset jumped, nearly dropping her phone on the ground. She looked back and tried pulling on the door only to realise that it had somehow locked itself. Then, something laughed. It was a laugh that sounded like a broken recording of a man laughing. It was anything but natural, or even human.  Couldn’t be SKX, for he hasn’t spoken even once during any of their encounters. Gotta face the facts; there’s something else inside with them. That only served to make Sunset even more nervous.  But just as she was starting to second guess, she heard Trixie’s wails coming from somewhere in front of her. She activated her phone’s flashlight and moved towards where she believed the wails were coming from.  Something fell on the floor, causing a loud bang to erupt mere inches away from her. Sunset screamed and pulled back almost instantaneously. Nothing, nothing but a crate that fell down. Must have been badly stacked. She thought, observing the stacks of crates to her right.  She lowered her flashlight and was about to keep on moving until... she saw movement on the ground near the crates. Too late, whatever had moved was gone now. The only thing her peripheral vision had managed to distinguish was that something slithered away like a snake on the floor. Slithered away? That couldn’t have been a man for sure.  Never has Sunset wanted to leave a place this badly. Nobody else but her was aware of the mysterious third party involved with SKX. She was suspecting that whatever that thing may be; it was in most likely working in conjunction with the killer and that it was stalking her.  “The odds are stacked against you. He he. Sunset: you will fall.”  The voice originated from somewhere behind. She spun around only to be met with nothing. She previously referred to this thing as a ghost, but of course that couldn’t be further from the truth. This monster, whatever it was, felt like it came from a world other than Equestria and the human world.  “Sunset! Help!”  Trixie’s scream came from just beyond this door. Wandering alone in the dark was extremely disorienting, even with a light to help navigate. Sunset practically had no idea where she was.  She crossed the door and found herself in a large room filled with the remains of cows strung up on meat hooks. They had already been skinned to look like the meat they were going to be turned into. It was a disturbing sight that was fairly mundane to those who worked inside.  The only bad thing about this room was that the visibility was greatly hindered by the many cows strung up. SKX could easily sneak up on her, but she couldn’t let Trixie suffer at his hands. No more will die at his hands. He only held a grudge for her, but it was a grudge strong enough to justify murdering those who had nothing to do with this conflict.  Movement, she spotted movement just on her left. She shined her light on the strung-up cow and quickly noticed the pair of legs just below it. One leg moved back, and Sunset knew what SKX was about to do. The zombie pushed it with all his might. She placed her arms in front of her face right as the cow swung into her face.   It smacked her much faster than anticipated and she fell on her back, dropping her phone in the process. She hit her head in the fall which horribly disoriented her. The room was nearly pitch black, but the flaming hatred in SKX’s eyes gave away his position, inching closer to his victim. Sunset saw her phone on the floor, just barely in reach. Just in time, she grabbed her phone and flashed the killer with its bright light.  He covered his eyes, but not before lifting a foot up to stomp on her head, an attack that Sunset barely dodged with a roll. She got back on her feet, making sure to keep her light on the wrathful zombie to keep him blinded.  Then, something flew by her face, cutting her right cheek open. Surprised, Sunset stared at the object that hit her; it was a playing card, something that obviously couldn’t do this much damage, unless...  “I told you I can do real magic! Watch, as I make this simple playing card as hard as steel!”  It was Trixie, looming above her on a flight of stairs. Now that she was paying more attention to this place; nothing felt natural. Somehow, the interior of this slaughterhouse was vastly bigger than what could be seen on the outside.  “Tr-Trixie?! Why are you helping him?” screamed a confused Sunset Shimmer.  “I, uh...” Trixie’s eyes darted around, trying to find a reason why.   “Obey.”  The powerful voice brought certainty into the magician. “I can’t stand the fact that you hogged away all the fame and recognition that I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, so humbly deserve!”  Sunset saw it. A pair of purple eyes briefly appeared behind Trixie before fading away instantly.  SKX finally made a move, walking closer to her with his hands clenched into fists. His eyes had turned a bloody red and his veins popped out more from under his skin. The red-haired girl backed away, there wasn’t much she could do about Trixie. Getting out of this nightmarish building was now her top priority.  Suddenly, she felt an immense pain in the back of legs. Something violently smacked her with enough power to make her fall on her back right as SKX picked up the pace.  Sunset was yet again in a vulnerable position and this time, she got to see what slithered away. It was a gigantic, reptilian tail that retreated in the shadows, going so fast that it cracked like a whip. What followed was a laugh that sounded like a pale imitation of how a human sounded.  The killer’s hands wrapped around her neck, and he lifted her off the ground with his immense strength. His grip got stronger with each passing second and her consciousness began to slip away. She had already suffered a concussion before he strangled her, which only made her attempts to fight back all the more inefficient. Her punches did some damage, but the zombie couldn’t feel any pain. He wasn’t going to let go.  Sunset gasped for breath, but no air could even enter her lungs anymore. SKX was far too strong for her, let alone for any man. Now, she didn’t even have the strength left to raise her arms, causing them to flop on to her sides. Her eyes were getting redder as they began to close. This is it. She thought, knowing that there was no way out.  But then, SKX stopped strangling her. It wasn’t because he thought that she was already dead, no, he’s not that stupid. Instead, he raised his head to look at something. Something that was so intriguing in his eyes that he stopped his murder attempt midway.  One hand let go of her throat as the zombie dragged her to something that was in front of him. Sunset was still recovering her strength, so she wasn’t able to see what the serial killer was doing, but the sound of a heavy door opening gave her a slight hint as to what.  The red-haired girl was tossed inside a cold room. She coughed incessantly, grasping at her throat. She could still feel the pressure on her neck even though SKX had let go of her. It was so cold in here and that’s when Sunset finally pieced it together; she was in a freezer.  Freezers can be locked from outside, and guess who was out of there with the keys. Unfortunately, her body hasn’t fully recovered, so all she could do was watch as SKX slowly closed the door.  Behind him was Trixie and the purple eyed monster, grinning at what was going to be her resting place.  “How about we give you some time to reflect on everything?”  The door slammed shut. There was truly no way out this time. With the harsh temperature in there, she only had about a few hours left before she would freeze to death. The only hope she could cling on to was the hope that her friends would come to her rescue just in time.