Cold Fire

by Arcanum -Phantasy

Ch.33 Skulking in the Dark "Well...shit."

In a mountain cave miles away from any town or city, a being of pure darkness bitterly brooded. She sat in a pile of soil, leaves, and grass shaped into a crude throne. A glowing crystal sphere roughly the size of a golfball floated in front of her, her blue eyes locked onto the image shown at its center.

In said image, she saw a blue earth pony mare casually make her way down the path towards Ponyville. For a long while, nothing of any note happened. That quickly changed when the mare crossed into the legal border around the town. Ten miles away from the town, the front half of the mare exploded, showering the path with blood and gore. A few seconds later, the blood and chunks of meat and bone turned into sap, wood, and clumps of dirt. The back half of the mare briefly turned into the lower half of the creature watching before it did the same.

"Damn it," Sandra muttered, claws carving deep gashes into the armrests of her throne.

She tapped a claw against the crystal and a new scene played out.

A black and red Unicorn walked through what she learned was called Whitetail Woods. Again, nothing of note happened until the mare saw the town past the tree-line. Before she could take a step past that point, a mass of vines and branches reached down from the nearby trees and pulled her kicking and screaming into the canopy. It also pulled the mare out of the sphere's line of sight, a small blessing to her given the wet screaming and the gallons of blood that poured onto the ground a few seconds later. Blood that quickly turned into sap not long afterwords with a rain of dirt and wood falling a few seconds later.

A disappointed sigh slid past her muzzle, arctic blue eyes narrowed into a slight glare as she gave the sphere another tap.

Another scene appeared, this one showing the barren path to Ponyville's quarry. A green and black unicorn stallion walked the path, eyes carefully scanning his surroundings. His caution became more pronounced the closer he got to the arid land. The second he reached the border, the stallion came to a complete stop. He scanned the land beyond with a critical eye, every muscle in his body as tense as a spring held flat to the ground. Staying on full alert, he took one cautious step forward. Nothing happened. Staying on guard, the stallion let a malicious smile creep onto his muzzle as he furthered his advance. Five steps in, a solid stone spike rammed through him from below. Blood flew out of his open mouth before another spike burst out of the ground through his head. Branches of stone sprouted from the spikes, impaling him further from different angles. It didn't take long for the stallion's body to go limp, but by that time, his body was more stone pike than pony. The spikes crumbled away when the body turned into sticks, dirt, and sap.

"Unbelievable," she muttered, scowling at the orb. "First it was that mare with a stick and now I have this to deal with. Stupid magic."

Tiredly taping the sphere, it lost its glow and turned completely clear before drifting off to a pile of rags in a far corner of the cave. A pile set next to the mangled remains of the cave's former inhabitant. The sight of the dead and mostly picked clean grizzly bear made her stomach rumble, reminding her of how much energy she had wasted on her Substitutes and how long it had been since her last meal. Sighing in irritation, she got up from her seat then made her way towards the body. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her Night Slash as a small pitch black knife as she crouched down to begin harvesting more meat from it.

As she worked, she mulled over how to proceed with her plans.

Clearly, whatever magic that was at work here was aimed exclusively at her. It was also extremely likely that whoever set up the spells had been in contact with Alex or his friends. There was no other way she could explain how ruthless the spells were, given how soft ponies tended to be. Thinking further about it, she couldn't help but to feel a little impressed with this mystery pony's work. Granted, she personally would've made the spells drag out the kill for as long as possible, but she could still appreciate the creativity the caster had put into their work.

"Maybe I can torture some tips out of them later," she giggled, studying a finely sliced slab of meat.

Satisfied with her find, she nodded at the slab then looked down at the ground. Numerous runes and sigils were carved into a perfect circle into the ground around the carcass. Said symbols gave off a faint blue glow, their magic keeping the body fresh and free of rot or flies. Taking a deep breath, an ecstatic shiver ran through her body at the copper aroma of blood.

Fighting down some more seedy urges, she moved to another corner of the room and threw the meat into another circle of runes. The second the flesh fell into its center, the runes shined with a brilliant orange-red light, filling the cave with light and heat. Still holding her summoned knife, she willed it into the form of a short-sword and casually used its flat to flip the meat.

Keeping an eye on the meat, she moved to the bundle of rags. Digging through it with her free claw, she pulled out a small gray jar with a large cork sealing it. Smiling in satisfaction, she returned to her meat, pulled out the cork with her mouth, and carefully tilted it over it. A small stream of white powder fell out of it onto the meat before she flipped it over and did the same to the other side.

"No better salt than pure rock salt," she giggled, reaching for a nearby stone plate. "Isn't that right, Teddy?"

As she said that, she turned her head towards a far corner of the cave.

Occupying said space was a cluster of thick blankets, a sack full of wild cotton serving as a pillow. Set in the middle of the cluster was a cruel mockery of a teddy bear. The small cub's corpse was crudely stitched together, the body void of all but the cotton Sandra replaced its innards with. Its eyes and mouth were sewn shut with large blue buttons roughly sewn over the former. A lone preservation rune kept the flesh intact, its dull yellow light the only thing of beauty present on the corpse.

She giggled at it, a loving smile resting on her muzzle.

Shifting her attention back towards her food, she hummed a merry tune to herself as she worked. Her good mood took a dip when her free claw drifted to her chest. An ugly, jagged scar ran across it from her left shoulder all the way down to her right side. The memory of how she got it sent a wave of white hot fury searing through her veins. The way that bastard Sid slipped past her barrier. How Dahlia took the opening to slice at her with her tails. If she had been just a fraction of a second slower, that damned ninetales would've ended her with that attack. It took her a month to recover from that fight, even with the aid of the numerous magical objects speeding up the process.

Taking a slow, shaky breath, she swallowed down her fury. As nice as it would feel to throw a tantrum, it would be a waste of time and energy. Better to hold onto the hate for when it was needed. Better to channel that hate into how to make her enemy scream.

Slowly, a twisted smile spread across her muzzle. Her body shook as maddening giggles fell out of her like a toxic mist. With bloodlust pumping through her veins, she stabbed her Night Slash into the meat and dragged it towards her maw. Her laughter became more twisted as she tore large bites out of her meal.

"Of course those two fuckers would come to make this more difficult," she cackled, eyes wide and distant with maddening rage. "That cunt of an earth pony is probably a new friend of theirs' too. No matter. I have a way to deal with her, later."

She took another vicious bite out her steak, letting what was left of it slide off of her blade onto her stone plate.

"As for the two twits...."

An annoyed scowl replaced her smile, her maddened glee turned sour.

As much as she hated to admit it, Sid and Dahlia were strong. Not only that, but they had learned to see through most of her tricks in one way or another. If it wasn't for the various magical items she had obtained over the years, much to her sickening admission, she would've died a long time ago. If she wanted to get to Alex, she was going to need to add a couple more pieces to the board. Pieces that she had been building up for a long time just for this kind of situation.

"I suppose it was going to happen eventually," she grumbled, chomping down on the last of her bear steak. "Let's just get this over with."

Grumbling to herself, she rose to her feet and made her way through the cave's entrence. She was instantly greeted by a long dark tunnel, additional openings identical to the one behind her lining the sides in random spaces on each side. Her sharp eyes cut through the dark with ease as she made her way down the natural hallway. When she eventually found the chamber she needed, she let out an irate huff and entered.

The chamber was the same size and shape as the one she claimed as her room, but was empty save for one sole object hanging on a wall opposite the door. The object in question was a small round hand mirror, its frame ornate gold and silver shaped to resemble and intricate spiderweb. The mirror itself was perfectly smooth and devoid of blemishes, its black surface seemingly trying to devour what little dim light could be found in the room.

Glowering at it, she reached forward and tapped it twice.

"Lord Hanabi the Tenth of The Mountain of the First Dawn. Captain Red Claw of The Wild Tide."

Moments later, the mirrors surface started to waver, rippling like still water after a stone was tossed into its heart. While this was happening, Sandra schooled her expression, hiding her irritation behind a kind and placating smile. Not long afterwards, the mirror smoothed out and shimmered a soft silver glow with two dark circles sitting in the middle of it.

"This had better be worth my time, skinwalker," one of the circles huffed, its male voice oozing with pomp.

"Aye," the other circle growled, the slow grind of a stone being dragged across metal filling the cave.

Sandra bit back a retort, then sweetly and humbly said, "My apologies, my lords. I know you're time is valuable. However, I believe that I have knowledge that would be of great interest to you both."

"I highly doubt that," the first circle scoffed.

"Get on with it lass," the second one snapped, the grinding getting more rough to the ear.

"Very well," she nodded. "What if I said I found a certain stray vixen and traitorous bai ze? Would that be of any value?"

A sudden silence filled the cave. Sandra's smile took a faint edge, feeling the piercing gaze from the duo in the mirror.

"Go on," the first sphere said, smile audible in his haughty tone.

Smile turning slightly more pointed, Sandra shared what she knew.

***

The evening mountain air was cold and crisp, a stark contrast to the chilled and stagnant air of her shelter. Sandra embraced it with a blissful sigh. After the hour long chat with her pawns, the miles of foggy forest and star-filled night sky was a welcome sight. While they were useful idiots, that did not change the fact that they were idiots in her eyes. Stroking their egos while subtly placing the needed thoughts to get them to willingly follow her tested her patience more than she was willing to admit.

"It will be worth it in the end," she sighed, reaching into her mane. "After I'm done with them, I'll reward them with a quick death. I wonder who I should frame for their deaths? Perhaps one of the Princesses? Or maybe that Starlight mare? That should make things interesting for a while."

When she pulled her hand out of her mane, a brown bottle with a dented cork was held tight in her claws. Chuckling lightly to herself, she gently pulled the cork out with her mouth, spat it into her free hand, and took a long pull from the bottle. As the pleasant burn of brandy settled into her gut, she took in the peacefully eery scene. An eased sigh slid past her muzzle, a rare sense of peace coming over her while she basked in it all. She smiled up at a star-lit sky, a fine warmth settling in her gut from her drink.

"This is nice," she sighed. "Maybe I'll retire here when this is all done."

"PlEaSe....St..Op," a frail female voice pleaded.

Sandra's smile fell, a frustrated sigh rolling past her muzzle.

She turned her head towards the voice's source.

At the tree-line of the thickly fogged forest, a faint silhouette could be seen. The figure was low to the ground, its form seemingly forced to its knees. The fog completely hid the figure's details, its glowing yellow eyes the sole exception. Heavy faintly glowing silver chains held it to the ground in a painfully tight bind.

"Or what?" she spat, taking a swig from her bottle.

"Y....YoU d-d-d-On'T nEEd to Do ThIs," the figure weeped.

Sandra laughed, a vicious smile spreading across her muzzle.

"Of course I do! Not only did that useless man dare to stand against me, but his stupid friends kept me from finishing him off! Ever since I fell into that portal with them, the've continued to get in my way over and over and over and OVER AGAIN!!! Now that I know Alex is here too..."

The thought of what she had in store for him filled her with glee, manic giggles briefly falling out of her before she reeled herself back in.

"There is nothing you can do to stop me, Sandy," Sandra growled, a sadistic grin aimed at the figure. "So just sit there and watch like a good girl."

Sandy slumped further where she knelt, gentle sobbing her only response. Sandra gave her a satisfied snort and took another pull from her bottle. Slowly, her mania faded into a cool calm as she once again stared up at the stars.

"I...HaTe YoU," Sandy muttered, a hint of fire slithering in her tone.

"Go ahead," she sighed, laying pack to further enjoy the view. "I couldn't care any less."

Comments

[coopda]

Intriguing...

even more so is I thought I botched the spelling, no, that's actually how it is, in-trigu-ing

and what's it gonna take for the princesses to get involved? For a country as tight-knit as Equestria, I imagine a shape-shifting murder psychopath with clone jutsu could very easily get national security threat status

[RyRy]

who is Sandy?

[Arcanum -Phantasy]

11781789
Who indeed 😈

[RyRy]

11781798
ah, so not a name i'v managed to somehow miss but a new character?

[coopda]

11781799
i assume sandy is a repressed 'good' persona of sandra

[Bandit1990]

11781818
Is it a divided personality, or do we have a Nightmare Moon like situation?

[Amos Anon]

"Go ahead," she sighed, laying pack to further enjoy the view. "I couldn't care any less."

Finally, someone used this phrase correctly!

[dragonus85]

I like glimmers creativity