10759738
All of those remarks regarding Twilight's academic career are pretty much spot on, I will, per usual, be writing Twilight's story eventually, although that's not going to come until much, much later as it will contain some pretty massive spoilers otherwise. I'll also be exploring what happened with Applejack and I'm toying with the idea of telling Tempest's story too, I have a lot of potential stories to tell in this world, so we'll see.

10770132 Well, I do try.
Be interesting to see how far down the rabbit hole this mess goes.

nice work on chapter

DAMN
There I was, watching it all play out. Rarity accepts the offer, and I start reading more slowly, trying to piece together which killer she'll become. The Trickster? Too new. The Hag? too old and already exists. The Clown? The bottles woulda made sense, but she would never have stooped that low. Then it hit me, right before I read the defining sentence in euphoric horror as my suspicions are confirmed.

A plague is about to settle on Canterlot. And I can't wait to see it happen.

Side note: I wonder if the CMC will ever wake up? If they do, will they be free of the fog? Could they be the key in defeating the Thief? Or at the very least, her lackeys?

Looking at our list, only two of our main cast are not killers now. If we're assuming they all will eventually, I'm placing my bets on Flutters becoming either the Pig or the Spirit. The Pig seems likely because animal, and because the lore behind the original pig suggests working for a master, and Flutters would probably want to stick with Rainbow. The Spirit just screams Flutters though. Betrayed twice by friends she's cared about, once as Rainbow became a Killer, and twice as Sunset ripped her hope out. The Thief offers an escape from the broken shards of hope that have slashed through her. (The Demogorgon seemed like a possiblity, but I have my thoughts for him as well.)

Honestly, I have to give my bias towards Pinkie. Given how much I relate to her as a character, it's hard for me to ever see her becoming anything more than a Survivor. Pinkie just has too much Hope in her. That being said, logically speaking, she is a dead ringer for the Trickster or, more likely, the Clown. Just by virtue of them both being performers who went down a darker path.

I wonder if we're gonna see any killers from Crystal Prep? We already have some survivors from there, and there is no reason why Twilight wouldn't take someone from there.

If I had to guess now as to who would take the remaining Killers from the roster,
Fluttershy would take the Spirit.
Pinkie would have the Clown.
For the Demogorgon, I was gonna guess the Old Stain would take physical form to fight the Thief, but it's possible the Thief could have first experimented on her dog.
Diamond Tiara could easily take the Twins, with Silver Spoon as her lackey. Otherwise, Flim and Flam? I doubt it, but it's possible...
Trixie could take the Trickster. That actually feels more right than Pinkie having him. (I know Discord is a shooin for that, but it's just occurred to me that the Old Stain could likely just be Discord from this dimension.)
For the Executioner, anyone could really work. However, their face is covered, which provides an amazing opportunity to have Sunset from the human world become a killer.
Nurse Redheart would make a great Pig, and I would be forever upset if she was. Like, legitimately heartbroken.
The Cannibal... I dunno, Zecora? Nah, that's probably racist... Granny Smith? She's kinda dead, but I suppose that's never stopped the Old Stain before... I got no clue, honestly.

Really liking the story! Great work!

Okay, I'm done. Darkness Induced Audience Apathy has claimed me and I can't bring myself to follow this anymore. I wish you the best, and I'll follow other stories you make, but I'm getting off this particular ride.

Damn it! I was so sure Rarity would resist. Loosing her Hope feels like loosing interest in taking care of her little sister. They both need each other right now.

Though, some blame is on Sunset's group. Leaving Rarity on her own, in that moment, in that state of mind with Twilight right behind the doors. All of this could have been avoided if Sunset talked with Rarity. Hopefully, she'll do that with the res of the girls instead staying away from it. And hopefully, she'll notice that her old gang is on the radar with their magic.

Heh, it's good Sunset have made a new life for herself, but if she keeps staying away from her old friends it'll end in a new (probably even worse) tragedy. When will meet and talk?

And damn, what have happend to you, Twilight? Have you became a near sociopath or maybe you think becoming a god will make immune to despair and prevent from being hurt...

Did-did something happen to Spike?

10770930
My take:
Fluttershy- The Pig (No redemption, no second chances), though I really hope it would be avoided. Though maybe Fluttershy would turn into Flutterbat, hmm.
Pinkie Pie - The Clown or The Trickster, but my money is on the former, the sad clown motif.

"toilet bowl m, and dry-heave"
"toilet bowl, and dry-heave"?

"See her now, like this, I realise"
"Seeing her now, like this, I realise"?

"your sister was brought in by Lifeflight"
Ah, so that's how the remaining CMC got back. I guess someone called them at some point.

"of my head as I tried to piece"
"of my head as I try to piece"?

"corded steel wire, lays on the ground"
"corded steel wire, lies on the ground"?

"new killing was reporting, my heart"
"new killing was reported, my heart"?

"who got out the Trials"
"who got out of the Trials"?

"She kneels and gets an arm under me to start pulling me away from the door until she finally gets me through the doors of an empty room and drops me next to the exam bed."
...So, Rarity was holding the mask, but did the two of them just leave that extremely dangerous Killer weapon just lying around on the floor of a hospital hallway?

"The memory is confirmed as I turn the corner and spot Applejack sitting outside room forty"
...Huh. Well, there's still the mystery of what exactly is going on with her, but apparently for one reason or another she's allowed to be here and now. Hm. A variety of possible and possibly not mutually exclusive explanations come to mind, though...
Ah, and then Twilight. Quite a bit of secret identity respecting here, then, it looks like. That was one of the ideas I had, but with just Applejack I didn't think I had enough evidence. Well, I'm guessing neither side is particularly eager to restart the fight here and now; probably both want to regroup and rearm first.

"I would have thought she were dead"
"I would have thought she was dead"?

"I listen, I pick out Aria’s"
"I listen, and I pick out Aria’s"?

Ah, so perhaps the two sides hadn't exactly talked over the "truce" yet...

"It’s all I can do to keep from cracking the door open to take a look."
Wait, the door wasn't cracked open? I guess that would further help explain why she was pressing against it earlier, but:
"As I push the door open, a faint echo reaches my ears."
That reads to me as if she'd already gotten it slightly open.

"For some reason, it both fits and doesn’t. That kind of look on Twilight, though?"
...These two sentences are clashing in my head, but I'm not sure how to describe exactly how, sorry. You might want to take a look at them, though.
Hm. Maybe something about the "fits" part clashing with the following sentence, and the one after, about the look making her almost a different person? Sorry I don't have a clearer understanding of the problem here, again.

"I swallowed past a lump in my"
"I swallow past a lump in my"?

"fine, daring,” I say shakily"
"fine, darling,” I say shakily"?

"about?” twilight asks casually"
"about?” Twilight asks casually"?

"“I s-sure I don’t—“"
"“I'm s-sure I don’t—“"?

"my throat all the down to somewhere"
"my throat all the way down to somewhere"?

"What on earth is wrong with"
"What on Earth is wrong with"?

"insides so much so that she was trying to dig it out"
"insides so much that she was trying to dig it out"?

"and in its places there’s something"
"and in its place there’s something"?

"She traces her thumb over her cheek, and smiles."
That works, but I thought I'd check you didn't mean this instead:
"She traces her thumb over my cheek, and smiles."
It seemed a little odd to me she'd be tracing her thumb over her own cheek there, though not too implausible, and she was already gently cupping Rarity's face with a hand.

"year actually. Over course Applejack"
"year actually. Of course Applejack"?

re Rarity saying "Yes":
Weeeell I was thinking that might happen, for a bit in this scene now. Was hoping someone'd intervene (Leaving Twilight alone, ah, not a good idea, really, as we see here, I think! I wonder if Twilight just completely snuck back in, or if the others are busy elsewhere...) or Rarity realize that perhaps this isn't a bargain she actually wanted to strike, but... well, there it is. I wonder just what she'll turn into?

"darkness, and settle on my abdomen"
"darkness, and settles on my abdomen"?

"as she digs her the stingers that are where"
"as she digs the stingers that are where"?

"and from inside, a pure golden-amber light flashes from within, and"
"and from inside, a pure golden-amber light flashes, and"?

"I promise, didn’t I?"
"I promised, didn’t I?"?

[looks up the game's Plague]
Ahh. Interesting.

"was only twenty four hours ago"
"was only twenty-four hours ago"?

"the floor of the brake room for"
"the floor of the break room for"?

"The longer Twilight and Applejack were here, the more likely it was that tonight would end in blood."
Well! Uh, see, about that... depending on how far you extend the chain of causality out...

"where Apple Bloom, Sweetie, and briefly consider"
"where Apple Bloom and Sweetie are, and briefly consider"?

Whew! And there we go! :D
I look forward to seeing where the next act takes us; thank you for writing!

10771534
I definetly like the concept of Fluttershy as the Spirit, with her calm nature matching the Etherealness of the Spirit. But I could definetly see her becoming the Pig as well. It all hinges on how well she takes finding out that all her friends are murderers.

Thinking on it, I have a few theories as to what Killer Fluttershy has become. First, let's cut the already taken Killers off of the list. That means Doctor, Wraith, Trapper, Shape, Hag, Hillbilly, Huntress, Nurse, Nightmare, Ghost, Blight, Oni, Legion, Deathslinger, and Plague are off the table. That leaves us with Spirit, Pig, Twins, Clown, Executioner, Cannibal, Trickster, and Demigorgon. Let's take Clown, Executioner, Cannibal, Twins, and Trickster out of the line up because they don't really match the universe's Fluttershy's personality all that much. This leaves us with Spirit, Pig, and Demigorgon. I don't think it's Spirit because I see some evidence that the Writer might have plans to turn a different character into that Killer. The Pig is likely, given the slightly similar backstory behind that Killer and the things Fluttershy has had to go through recently. Demigorgon is admittedly a stretch, but it could happen if The Thief wanted a monster strong enough to match The Oni. That, combined with Fluttershy's ties with animals could compel her to become an apex predator.

Ho man what a ride I can't wait for the next chapter and the 2nd arc of this story.

This scene with Rarity at the beginning was enough to guess that she'll be the Plague though I have to give you credits since during the conversion scene just for a moment you made me question myself as I thought that she'll become the Twins along with Sweetie.

And so only 2 out of 7 MCs aren't killers right now. It's a bit obvious that Fluttershy is next considering she's got converted into a survivor and with how her world, probably, just shuttered it's only a matter of time now. Pinkie is the real question though, speaking in DD's words will she hold fast or expire?

Rarity nost likely has turned into the Plague. That killer.

Rarity took the bait and now she belongs to Twilight... Oh God, I'm scared as hell of what killer she will become....

10777524
I think The Plague given Twilight's choice of wording

10772808
Sunset's not a murderer though, no one has died directly by Sunset's hand or actions. Thinking back to After Sunset given Flutters' possessiveness and devotion to Dash it wouldn't be difficult to see her become the pig. Actualy, we don't know who's side Dash is on right now so Twilight could have a turncoat.

10795453
Hmmm... I could see that working

10795461
I mean, that depends on your definition of Murderer... Cause I'm pretty sure she hooked and killed Dash and the CMC at least three times.
I thought it was pretty clear that Dash was working for the Old Stain? Given that Twilight captured Flutters and put her through hell, I can't imagine Dash is gonna team up with her. Besides that, Dash likely still holds a flame for Sunset, and thus wouldn't betray her like that.

10795488
The problem is that while Fluttershy got involved as a direct action by Twilight it was Sunset who nearly killed her thus I would imagine that Dash isn't very fond of Sunset right now and given her lack of devotion to the entity it wouldn't be impossible for her and Flutters to join Twilight for a bit.

10795532
I don’t think Flutters knows who Twilight is or what she can do, so I could easily see her turning bc of Twilight, then revolting as soon as she learned who put her in that awful place. Flutters wouldn’t blame Sunset for nearly killing her anyways.
Dash isn’t gonna be a fan of Sunset, yeah. However she still works for the Old Stain, so at worst, Ghostface becomes their go-between. They’ll still be working together to defeat the Thief.

10795573
That about sums up my thoughts as well

Okay, I finally caught up with this, and what a ride. You really like to pack everything at the end.

Building from my comment in Dead by Sunset, the pace is perfect to build up mystery and develop the characters in their "normal" lives before shit hits several fans at mach speed.

Next, my opinion of Sunset keeps changing from hating her to liking her, but this time is for all the right reasons. Gone are the sudden changes in attitude, here we can truly see just how flawed, broken, hypocritical and egocentric Sunset can be. The truth is, as much "in control" of the situation Sunset thinks she is, she's just bruteforcing her way out of a desperate situation, doing the best she can to not fuck everything up more than it already is. She's not built to deal with any of this, and honestly I doubt anyone could ever be.

Sunset's falling out with Tempest was an honest surprise for me, even if I expect her to be the Oni at the end. The fact that she made herself into a killer is also a big red flag, since I don't think that would be as easy as just dreamcut her like the Legion. Also, it seems I was right when I assumed Tempest's feelings came more from Sunset's similarity with Summer than her actual person. I wonder if Old Stain can tempt her with a heartfelt reunion with her old love. Even if she was beyond saving from Sunset, the Entity lives by disassembling and reassembling people.

Speaking of Old Stain, it really put the legwork into becoming threatening again. Wallflower and Rainbow (Which have become my favorite characters here, with Sour and Starlight in a close second) seem to be far above any other killer in the roster, only bested by the Oni's terrible strength and Gunslinger's cheating rifle (I mean come on, the best range we had was Adagio's hatchets)

Since I mentioned. I really like Rainbow's characterization as a killer, it just sounds so like her to take what some would consider the worst fate into a casual and enjoyable living. Her encounter with Sunset was all I didn't know I wanted. She's sort of over Sunset in a weird way, a kind of acceptance that there's nothing more she can do. It reminds me of a phrase. "There's a certain liberty in hopelessness, because things can't get 101% fucked."
Also, her honest relationship with Fluttershy is something that anchors her as human despite being more monster than Sunset or Adagio.

As for Wallflower, her being on par with Sunset on so many levels was a pleasant surprise and a way of making things far more interesting by giving Sunset something she can't have with any of her friends. I maybe should've expected it considering your other works, but I guess Please Don't See Me being a sort of random idea you had one day and her usual role as a background appearance in most stories where she isn't in the main cast threw me off.

As for what she plans with her talking with Sunset at the bridge, I have a theory. She's feeding her hope. Both to strengthen her powers so she can deal with the Thief, and to prepare a feast for when Old Stain finally takes her. I'm guessing it'll want a large helping of hope to make her completely subservient.
Now, will Sunset be able to pull Wallflower to her side by offering true and genuine friendship? Probably not. Sunset can barely keep together her own friends, and even if she connects with Wallflower in many forms, if she doesn't offer something back, it'll fail.
I believe that's one of Sunset's major flaws. She refuses help, then takes it by force in desperation, and while she promises to do everything she can for others, she doesn't really helps them. Sour and Starlight have to help themselves. She distances herself from Aria due to her feelings. And we have seen her unhealthy relationship with Tempest. She will die for them, but I wonder how much of that is because of friendship and how much is just her own martyr complex.

Also, Wallflower. You jumped off that bridge didn't you? What a parallel with Sunset you're.

I have to admit, the thing Sunset did with Fluttershy felt kind of an asspull at first, but you made it work by having actual consequences. Now Twilight knows just how powerful the power of the elements are, and has begun to gather more for her own purposes. And I fear what kind of experiments she can make with it.
Also, unless Susnet states it clearly later, I don't buy her forgiving Fluttershy. I believe she was just trying to give her hope so she could rip it out right away. I hope it was worth it Sunny, because now Rainbow is pissed and ready to turn on you with the right words. She could've been your most loyal ally.

And speaking of consequences, I really like, and find it enjoyable, how you not only not fall into the typical trapping of these kinds of stories, but show it's actual consequences. "You get what you deserve" is a phrase that I've come to detest in Anon-A-Miss stories and similar revenge plots because it shows a wrong mindset: constant punishment. And that won't make someone that has done wrong turn good, it'll just give them more reasons to do worst. Basic rule of taming, once you have something at its lowest, you build them up so they stay at your side, otherwise it'll just maul you once it gets its strength back.

Now, as for how Sunset will deal with Twilight, I've two theories.

One, Old Stain will "upgrade" Lesser Knife into it's true form and that'll be the weapon that ends her.

Two, and the most probable. Sunset will once again play the martyr card. Get a good hold on Twilight, bring out the journal, and use the last of its power, sending them both back to the Old Stain, and feed her to it.

I'll be waiting for part two to see where all of theis goes down ,and catch up with the rest of the expanded universe. I especially want to see Aria's and Redheart's story, it's such an interesting relationship.

Actually, the relationships in this story are what I enjoy most. You clearly have a great understanding of these concepts, and each feels unique in its own way.

Keep the great work I-A-M! Good luck in your projects.

holy shit what a ride. fell SUPER bad for everyone and I'm dying to know how all this ends even if it makes me sad I want to know.

THIS IS ONLY ACT 1? Can't wait for the next arc. I would really like to see trixie tho

Can't wait to see pinhead and pyramid head, as they are just if not MORE powerful then the entity. The oni, freddy and Michael Myers are on par as well. The oni in Japanese lore being able to take on gods, freddy in his dream dimension is a god and Michael is pure evil incarnate in a human form while pin and pyramid head are basically gods who actually stuck a deal with the entity. Hell even the demigorgan is up there in power, well not him specifically but he does have an entit sorta of his own in the upside down.

re-reading these last view chapters I noticed something about wallflower's weapon. the lesser knife. it is the shadow of a greater knife the great knife of pyramid head perhaps?

given that note, i wonder when the old stain is going to send in the heavy duty infantry. granted he doesn't have the strength to do so right now, so when he does he's gonna need to make it count. my bet is he'll send in the real big guns my bet is the shape or pyramid head if he's in the stains fold at this point. and if he is, oh Sunset and Twilight better be ready. because the executioner will destroy them

this raises another line of inquiry, Sunset speculates that the right weapon could properly end twilight for good. i suspect that this will be the greater knife. wielded by the executioner themselves or used by sunset, wallflower or tempest to stop twilight.

i absolutely adore this story and i know that you are on a... well lets call it sabbatical. but if you are reading this I-A-M? take all the time you want, i am perfectly willing to wait as long as you need. and I'm sure the others who truly care about you are as well!

This is all kinds of amazing and creepy and I want to punch Evil!Sci-Twi for her poisonous worldview and I want to kick AJ and Rarity upside the head for what they did to their sisters, but now? Now we have the locket, familiar territory, and a new Killer. Wally is the wild card, Fluttershy is hanging by a thread, and Pinkie is hopefully safe.

But Sunset does appear to be healing, slowly. And that's important.

Too fucking good! Really hope you come back to this soon author!

This gonna be continued? Really want to read more.

I really love this story and I really really wanna know what's gonna happen haha

I think the best we can hope for at this point is I-A-M comes back to mark the fic as cancelled, it would be a massive loss but at least we’d have some closure on it.

I miss waiting for a new chapter to release so I could give it a read before before popping off to bed in the early hours, the writing quality on your fics is truly incredible I-A-M.