In an instant, my eyes burst open and I sat up while taking in huge gulps of air. It took me a few a seconds, but I finally registered two familiar voices calling my name.
“Twilight. Oh my goodness. Are you okay?”
“Woah, Twilight. What did you drink last night?”
My eyes darted around frantically until they finally focused in on the sight of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in front of me. As soon as I looked at them a strange image briefly flashed in front of my eyes. I soon disregarded it when all the memories of last night surged into my mind, and I let out a loud scream.
I don’t know how long I was screaming but it was long enough that both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy felt the need to cover my mouth.
“Twilight, why are you screaming? What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Why were you out here in this puddle?”
“Shut up already!”
I took deep breaths bordering on hyperventilation. Panicked, I tried to tell them everything but to them it sounded like a broken chopped up sentence. “Shift--broken--jumped--world--kill--Equestria!--need to--SAMAGHHGHHHH!”
I fell to the ground clutching my stomach. All at once I could feel it happening again, something piercing right through me. I wasn't stupid, I was already putting the pieces together. Last night was real. Shift is the one Samael’s looking for. I’m still alive which means he did something to keep me from talking. I was able to scream earlier so my throat wasn't ripped out.
In the middle of my thoughts, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had come over and began fawning over me with worried expressions.
“Twilight! Twilight! What’s wrong? Are you--”
I didn't pay them any mind, the second my chest pain subsided I jumped up and bolted toward Whitetail Woods. Above all else, I needed to let Samael know where his target was. I tried a few times to say his name but a sudden stabbing sensation shut me up. Just as I approached the forest, a familiar pale gray colt stepped out from it. He looked just like he did at the party yesterday. He had a kind, somewhat smug smile that grew when he saw me.
Fear stabbed my heart and I turned to run the other way.
“Finally! Jeez, Twilight what’s got you so freaked out?”
“I really think something is wrong with her.”
I didn't even notice that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had been chasing after me. I froze in place before looking back toward the forest. Shift had began trotting in our direction and waving excitedly. I wasn't fooled though.
“Twilight! Hey!” I ignored Shift’s call, I knew I needed to get my friends to safety.
Fluttershy and Dash looked behind me and smiled when they saw him. Before they could say anything, I grabbed both of them and activated my magic, teleporting all three of us somewhere, anywhere. I wasn't even thinking about the destination when I did it.
When we reappeared Rainbow Dash quickly separated from me. “Girls, you have got to listen to me!” I said frantically. “You need to stay away from him at all costs.”
Fluttershy gave me a confused look, “Who? Shift?”
“Yes! He’s a-pain- I mean that -cringe- Look! Just don’t go near him!”
“What did I do?” I nearly jumped out of my skin when Shift appeared next to us. I sputtered in confusion before I finally realized that we didn't move anywhere. I didn't realize that by not thinking of a destination we would simply disappear and reappear next to the same spot.
I instantly tried to run, but in my impulsiveness I crashed right into Fluttershy, who had been standing in front of me.
“Oh my Celestia! Fluttershy. Are you okay?”
“Mmmhmm,” she tried to say even though she was holding her nose in pain. Rainbow dropped down to comfort her.
“What the hay Twilight? Why’d you go and do that?”
“I-I--”
My blood froze when I felt a hoof softly touch my shoulder. I slowly turned my head to face my murderer. He looked nothing like he did last night. That sick bastard had the balls to wear a concerned face after what he did! I tried to shove him off but his grip was stronger than it looked.
“Rainbow, why don’t you take Fluttershy to get her nose checked. I’ll talk to Twilight,” he said.
“Fine, but Twilight, you're acting weird, and I’m gonna find out why later. C’mon, Fluttershy.” She began to fly off with a whimpering Fluttershy in tow. I tried to call out after them but a crunching pain in my shoulder shut me up. I turned my head, only to see Shift with a sharp toothed smile.
I managed to jump up and back away from him. The fact that he purposely let me go was not lost on me.
“Look at you all energetic and scared. I see that you’ve healed up nicely,” he said, his tone sickeningly casual.
“Wh-w-what,” I finally managed to stutter out my question, “What have you done to me? What did you do! Why am I still alive?”
“Come on, I thought you were the local librarian. Listen. I told you that I wasn't going to kill you.”
“But you stabbed me! I… I felt it.”
“I did. That wasn't killing you though.”
“But there was no way I should've survived!”
“And yet, here you are. Yelling at me.”
The second I thought about yelling out for Samael he held out a hoof, and I, out of fear, shut up.
“Oh, calm down. You wouldn't be able to call for him anyway. I’m sure you’ve been experiencing some chest pains recently, correct?” He watched me flinch and his smile grew wider. “For right now, let’s call that a curse. I’ve cursed you so that if you say anything about who I am or anything about dear old Sammy, you’ll actually die. Understood?”
“T-theres no such thing as a curse…” I muttered. I just couldn't help it.
“If you say so. The basic fact, that you now have a hole in your chest that will slowly reopen every time you even think about saying anything. Plus, I’ll kill all of your friends,” he finished quickly.
“What!?”
He ignored me and continued. “So, this morning I was feeling pretty ballsy, right? I decided to try my luck and march near where Sammy is. Get this! The bastard didnt even sense me!” He began howling with laughter while my anger was beginning to overwhelm my fear.
“What do you mean, you’ll kill all of my friends! What do they have to do with anything!”
He finally calmed down and looked at me. “Oh, right. Yes, I want to make you a deal. I know that you’re the only one to have met Samael. Therefore, you’re the only one to actually be looking for me. I just want you to hold your tongue while I continue my work.”
“Let me guess, becoming Equestria’s first serial killer?” I snarled.
“Something like that. See, you can listen when you want to.”
“Why should I do that?! I could teleport to Celestia right now and sacrifice myself to tell ponies about you!”
In an instant he covered the distance between us and shoved his face into mine. “Yes, but then I’ll kill all of your friends while you're gone. If you take them with you, I’ll have killed off the entire town by the time you die. Either way, someone is going to leave this world, with or without you.” He backed away and I finally took a breath. “If you take the deal, then I promise two things: I won’t kill any pony you consider a friend, and I’ll take my time killing those you don’t.”
As much as I hated to think it, he had a point. I hated him. I hate him more than anything else in the world. For the simple reason that he was basically making me choose who was going to die. My friends, or an innocent pony. I knew that I couldn't physically stop him so I struggled to try and think of a way out.
“Y-you, promise?” I whimpered. I was visibly shaking and tears were rolling down my face. The only possible idea my frazzled mind could come up with at the time was to secretly write to Celestia that night. I would later go on to nearly pass out from the agony of trying to write the letter. The pain would steadily increase until I finally destroyed it.
“My kind never breaks a promise,” he continued. “Of that, you can be sure. Look, I’ll even Pinkie swear.”
That sick bastard! He actually knew the motions. Even worse, he knew what it would do.
“Remember, Twilight,” he said, his face back to that fake 'kind and caring’ look. "Breaking a promise is the fastest way to lose a friend."
"FOOOOOORRREEEEEVVVVEEEEER!!!"
Just like I expected, Pinkie Pie popped up from behind Shift, causing him to ‘jump out in surprise’.
"Agh," he ‘screamed’. "Pinkie Pie? Where did you come from?"
"I was just bouncing around when my mane bristled, so I knew that somepony was making a Pinkie Promise. By the way, I got that special cupcake you wanted. I never knew that there was somepony else who liked hot sauce as much as me!"
"Awesome, I'll meet you at Sugarcube Corner later. I still need to ask something of Twilight here.”
“Okey-dokey-lokie! Woah, Twilight, are you alright?”
I realized that I was both glaring at Shift, and still slightly teary-eyed, so I quickly wiped my eyes and changed my expression. “I-I’m fine. It’s alright.”
She didn't look convinced, but I guess she thought it had something to do with the promise so she let it be and left. I returned to glaring at Shift.
“You stay away from my friends, like we agreed.” I still couldnt believe I was agreeing to this. My only hope was that I could figure out something later when I wasn't under duress.
“I won’t kill them, yes. I won’t hurt them either, just to let you know. Believe me, Twilight, Equestria needs to know what death means.”
“We know what it means.”
“No, true death is unexpected, sudden. You wouldn't understand. So now, I want you to choose my next victim.”
“What? No! That wasn't the deal!”
“True. But at least don’t be a hypocrite and act like you aren't thinking of ways to betray me right this moment.”
I hesitated for a second, but that seemed to be enough for him. I blinked and he had somehow gotten behind me.
“So who’s it gonna be, Twilight?” he whispered in my ear. I jumped back once again but I still found him standing at my side. His sadistic smile was back in full force.
“You have the power to choose who lives and who dies. Believe me, someone is going to die. It could at least be someone worthwhile. One of your enemies? A bad pony that wronged you? Somepony that got on your nerves recently, perhaps?”
“I won’t do it! Just leave me alone.” I immediately turned and ran away. I ran… I ran home, cursing myself in every way. I was a coward and a failure as a Princess.
I mean, how could I not be? I was the only pony who could stop him and now he was holding my friends hostage. If I told on him, he’d kill them without mercy.
So I ran with tears and regret flowing off behind me. Even when Spike asked what was wrong, I ignored him, ran into my room and cried myself to sleep, all the while cursing myself. I got up that night and that’s when I tried to write to Celestia.
~~~
The next day, I stayed inside, wracking my brain on how I could outsmart Shift. There was no way I would just stand by and let that monster do as he pleased. I was a Princess of Magic, for pony’s sake. I had come up with a few ideas, but before I could make sure they were foal-proof. Spike barged into my room. I had unlocked it earlier to show Spike that I was alright. I just told him that I was tired.
He looked shaken up, scared, and out of breath. “T-Twili-Twilight!” he heaved.
I looked over to him, ignoring the brief image of… something. “What is it Spike? What’s wrong?”
“There’s a-- I don’t even-- A pony--Just--She--and the Mayor and--”
“Spike, calm down. What’s happened?”
Spike looked at me with the most frightened look I had ever seen. Taking a deep breath he began again. “THERE'S A DEAD PONY IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN!” he screamed.
In an instant, I ordered Spike to stay inside, lock the door, and wait for me, while I ran to where he said the dead pony was. As I feared, a large crowd had gathered in the middle of Ponyville. I shoved my way through to the front and almost threw up at what I saw.
I saw the mangled, bloody corpse of what might have been an earth pony once. Three limbs were missing, and the one that wasn't was twisted and separated from the body. Bones stuck out of her at every angle and her cutie mark and other pieces of her body were torn off completely. The worst part was that her blood was everywhere, it had been splattered and spread as if she herself had been tossed left and right by a wild beast. She would have been unidentifiable if it wasn't for her unique bright orange mane.
Everypony was either too shocked to move or freaking out over what they were seeing, but everypony went quiet when a small foal pushed her way through the crowd. She screamed and ran toward Carrot Top’s body. I was about to stop her, but then I got a good look at her.
It was a filly with a dark orange mane and pale blue coat. I watched, frozen in shock as the filly cried and screamed for her dead mother. Ponies were really starting to freak out, and in all the confusion sompony spoke to me.
“This is a pretty good turnout. I wonder why it’s not like this all the time. Nice pick by the way.”
I turned and saw Shift standing right behind me, smiling like he had just won something.
I was still in shock from seeing a dead pony for the very first time. I barely registered what he said. “Wh…. What?” I whispered.
“I said, nice pick. You chose this pony. Now she’s dead, and ponies are panicking.”
I snapped out of my daze and glared at him, “What!? No, I didn’t! I said leave me alone and ran away. I didn’t choose anypony.”
He chuckled, “Well, maybe not consciously. But somewhere in your mind, the idea of her dying did appeal to you.”
“Y-you’re insane…. Why in Equestria would it?”
He shrugged, “Don’t ask me, Twilight. Ask yourself. Whether you know it or not, some part of you choose her. I heard it as you ran away. It called out to me. Honest. How else would I have known that she would just be coming back?” He chuckled at my shocked face. “Indeed, I found her trotting back into town and I instantly recognized her from the image you sent me.” He looked over to her mangled corpse. “Damn. I do good work,” he whispered, staring at it lovingly.
I backed away, genuinely scared. If this is what he does to ponies, then he needed to be stopped at all costs. I decided to put one of my plans into effect.
“S-Shift?” I asked, and he looked back at me with a small smirk, “What happens if you break your part of the deal.”
He shrugged me off and continued admiring his handiwork. “Then I have no power over you. I uphold our part of the deal but you don’t have any reason to hold yours. Fair, right? Hmm. Maybe I should kill the Princesses next. Then maybe it’ll be like this more often.”
“YOU CAN’T!” I screamed. Luckily, since ponies were still panicking, my outburst did not draw attention. “I mean, you can’t… because you’d break your end of the promise. Celestia and Luna are my close friends.”
“Hmm, I suppose so.”
Hearing him admit it raised my confidence a little bit so I decided to get bold. “In fact,” I began, gaining a small smirk of my own, “You can’t kill anypony!”
Shift finally tore his gaze away from Carrot and frowned at me,“Why not?”
“Because, as the Princess of Friendship, I’m friends with everypony in Equestria.”
“So what? Are you just going to go around the world and make friends with every pony you meet?”
“I don’t have to. The magic of friendship touches us all! Just from my castle I can tell when friendships are being disrupted!” I claimed. I will admit to have just been making that up, but I would later discover a map in my throne room that pretty much confirmed what I was saying.
Shift glared at me in silence. I took a silent gulp and hoped that he would buy it. When he smiled, I feared the worst.
“Well done, Twilight Sparkle. You’ve found a nice little loophole for yourself there. Bravo. So would you say that killing poor Carrot Top--whom you chose, by the way--count as breaking our deal?”
“I didn’t choose her! Besides, you did break our… deal….” I trailed off. While I was talking, Shift broke down and started laughing madly. I only stood there in confusion. “Why are you laughing?!” I finally yelled.
“Because you’re so fucking predictable!” he yelled back. I was about to say something, but a panicking mare ran up and grabbed me. She started screaming something and I tried to see past her. When I finally did, Shift was gone.
I instantly had a sick feeling. Not the normal pain from trying to break his rule, but a general bad feeling. My first instinct was to try and find my friends and make sure that they were alright. Rarity was the closest, so I ran as fast as I could to her house. When I got within sight of her home, I teleported past the doors and inside.
“Rarity!” I called out. After teleporting around, I finally found Sweetie Belle upstairs calmly reading a book in Rarity’s room. She jumped as soon as she saw me.
“I wasn't doing any…. Twilight? When did you get in here? How did you get in here? ”
I lifted her up in my magic and pulled her face close to mine. “Where’s your sister?”
“She left a little while ago, something about meeting somepony and figuring out what happened. By the way, what did happen? I heard ponies screaming and Rarity came home and threw up.”
“Don’t worry about that! Where did she go? Who was she going to meet?”
“I don’t know. She said Sweet Apple Acres. So probably Applejack.”
Without another word, I dropped Sweetie and teleported out of Rarity’s home. I appeared on the outskirts of Applejack’s farm house and looked around frantically. I saw Big Mac ushering Granny Smith into the farm house. Not seeing anypony else I ran up to them.
“Blood! Bodies everywhere! Hide the children!” Granny Smith screamed. I guess that she must’ve been having some sort of mental breakdown from the body in the middle of town. Even so, I ran up to Big Mac as he finally closed the door on her.
“Big-huff- Big Mac!” He turned to me with a curious look. “Have you seen Applejack or Rarity?”
All he did was point toward town hall. I got his message and ran back toward the farm entrance. Upon reaching it I teleported once more to pass the distance faster. I appeared right in front of them; all five of my friends were gathered in front of town hall. Most of them jumped from my sudden appearance. Fluttershy even whimpered a little.
“Girls! I’m so glad you’re alright. Have you seen Shift?” I said, blinking away random images.
Rainbow trotted up to me and gave me a weird look, “Don’t change the subject. You still need to explain why you attacked Fluttershy the other day.”
“What? When did I attack her?”
Rarity stepped up and pushed Dash aside, “Rainbow Dash, please don’t exaggerate. It was merely an accident. But that doesn't explain your oddness as of late, darling.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sugarcube, for the last few days, ah haven't seen hide nor tail of ya, an’ when ah do see ya, you're always running off somewhere in a hurry. Now somepony’s bit the dust, an’ you up and disappear.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. “A-are you all suspecting me?”
Applejack reared back, clearly offended. “Now hold on. That is not--”
“Because I didn't do anything,” I interrupted. “Plus, the murder isn't the real problem anyway! I need to know--”
“Then what is the problem, Twilight Sparkle?” I jumped when Princess Luna landed behind me. She must have come from her examination and/or retrieval of the body. “Do you have an idea as to whom is responsible?”
I was about to shout out everything I knew when that oh-so-familiar pain struck me in the chest.
“Twilight Sparkle? Are you alright?”
Once again I was about to say something, but the distinct sound of laughter entered my ears, looking around I saw Shift practically skipping down the street, laughing his tail off. Looking closely, I noticed something on his hooves, something distinctly familiar. “I-I have to go,” I said.
“I am not done talking with you.”
“I know, but I’ll come back. Right now I need to check something.” I tried to move past her but she stubbornly stood in my way.
“Twilight, I can tell when you are hiding something,” she leaned in close, “And you are most clearly hiding something of great importance.”
She was saying something, but all I could see was Shift trotting further and further away. The further he got, the more my bad feeling grew.
“I’MSORRYI’LLBERIGHTBACK!” I screamed, teleporting away. I appeared directly in front of Shift who looked at me with his usual fake face. However, this time he couldn't seem to hide the malice in his eyes, or the smugness of his grin.
“Hello there, Twilight. I was just looking for you.”
“Looking for me? Where did you go?!”
“Oh, I just needed to see something,” he said innocently. “Speaking of something, I have a question for you.”
I glared at him harshly. “What?”
“I noticed that you equines have a real vanity issue about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you noticed the difference in terms by now. I was wondering, you say anypony, which most likely means the same as anybody: a pony or person of any importance. The only difference being that anypony is… well… pony-specific I’m guessing.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, what is the ‘any’ term for other sentient species? For griffons do you say anygriffon? For minotaurs do you say something stupid like anyminotaur. Frankly, it’s actually a little racist. Not that I’m complaining, of course. Actually, I’d even--”
“What’s your point?!” I yelled.
“My point, is that dragon scales aren't as tough as you think.”
I was going to yell some more but his sentence caught me off guard. It took me a few seconds to even come up with a response, and even when I did it was little more than a low whisper. “What?”
“My question to you is this: What is the anypony equivalent… to a dragon?”
My body began shaking uncontrollably and I stumbled back as his smile only grew. I watched as his face changed and his coat darkened before my eyes. I saw this, but my mind was still busy processing what he just said, trying to find any other meaning behind it. My eyes trailed down to the red stains on his hooves. Specifically, one hoof in particular. Stuck on his left hoof was a dark-stained purple scale. He followed my eyes and lifted his hoof up.
“Oh, yeah. I should probably wash this off. Eh, I’ll just tell ponies that I accidentally stepped in that other mare’s blo--” He couldn’t say anything else after I had tackled him to the ground.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO SPIKE?!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
I was literally on fire, ready to set off a magic bomb right in his face…and he just looked at me with that same insane smile that grew to take up his entire face.
“Hey, Bright-Eyes, don’t ask me. If I were you, I’d get back home before there are two deaths today. Actually, what would be the any word for animals too?”
That question only served to anger me further. I wanted to do something. I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me. I had so many horrible thoughts in that one instant. I had so many images pop up in my head, only to be forgotten a second later when my concern for Spike outweighed my urges. I jumped off of him and bolted toward my house, teleporting soon after.
~~~
I burst into my castle and immediately began lifting my muzzle and shouting for Spike. He could’ve been anywhere in this huge place, so I didn't waste any time and ran toward the stairs. Halfway between the door and the stairs, I tripped on something and hit my head on the first step. Lifting my hoof to touch my head, I felt something wet touch me instead. Fearing the worst, I slowly turned back to what I soon perceived to be a mangled, half-eaten bird. I nearly screamed when I realized exactly what that was. My dread only increased when Shift’s laughter began to echo all throughout the crystal walls.
Leaving my deceased pet behind with a small puddle of tears, I continued my journey throughout what was supposed to be my home.
Not a horror house.
I checked every room and every hallway, all the while screaming for my assistant. With every empty door I came across, I could hear Shift’s mocking laughter. I tried to follow it at one point but no matter which direction I turned, I couldn't pinpoint its location. In fact, it didn't seem to be coming from anywhere.
Eventually I came to my room. By that point I was breathing heavily from running about. Shift’s echoing laughter was now louder than usual, so I had no doubt that he was in there somehow. What scared me the most, however, was whether or not Spike was as well.
I slowly opened the door. Peaking inside, I saw Shift, sitting at my work table, reading my friendship journal. He had on a bored expression until he saw me.
“Jeez, took you long enough. You’d think your own room would be higher up on the list of places to check.”
Cautiously, I looked around. “Where’s Spike?”
He turned back to his MY book. “Oh, he’s here… and there… and I’m pretty sure a piece of his tail is under the bed--”
“THIS ISN’T A JOKE!” I screamed. “WHERE IS… MY...Frie…” I went dead silent when drops of blood grabbed my attention. When I looked up, I saw something that would continue to haunt me even as I write this now. Stuck to the ceiling with his own blood somehow, was the broken and disfigured body of my closest friend. While he didn't look as bad as Carrot Top, he was still seriously injured. I could see a broken arm and, just as Shift said, the little arrow at the end of his tail was gone. It was torn off and leaking blood. He was missing several spines down the length of his back, and his broken arm hung down limply.
I was stuck, frozen in shock with tears streaming down my face. Meanwhile, Shift put down our friendship journal and trotted past me and out the door. As he trotted by, I vaguely remember him whispering something to me.
“I know you don’t do these anymore, but I’ve got a letter for you. Ahem; ‘Dear Princess Celestia, Today, I learned not to be such a smartass.’”