Mr. Smokes

by Deep

Master Stroke

Rarity sat frozen, her jaw dropped. She stared at me as if I were a ghost, like I was someone who was no longer supposed to exist. The longer she stared at me, the more she began to tremble, until the shaking was so intense that she gasped. “It can’t be you.”

“And why not?” I was still smiling. Despite her fear, a part of me was glad to see her, to talk to her, to hear her voice.

She glanced at my mask. The sight of it caused her face to turn pale, and she fell backward as she attempted to scoot away from me.

“So I guess this means our friendship is over, huh?” I was ready for her to say yes, since that was what I deserved.

The look of fear in her eyes transformed to rage, and she slapped me across the cheek as hard as she could. The slap reddened my cheek, which caused her to attack me with countless more strikes, until her own hoof was bleeding from the impacts. “You destroyed this city! You hurt so many ponies! And you have the gall to talk about friendship?! It’s because of you that Twilight is in the hospital right now. Do you know what you put her through? What you put all of us through?!”

I hung my head as blood trickled down my face. “Whatever you want to do to me, I deserve it.”

My words only served to make Rarity growl. She powered up her horn to magically grab my throat, after which she began to choke me with all of her might. The pressure caused me to collapse backward onto the ground, and the world turned into a blur as she used her magic to collapse my jugular veins. The suffocation was so great that I was unable to use my fire breath, but even if I could, I wouldn’t have used it. I deserved to die, for everything I had done, and everything I planned to do. At least this way I would die from a friend.

My body wanted to shake in an attempt to break free, but I resisted the urge. I let my body relax, and as my consciousness began to slip away, I didn’t fight back. The last thing I saw before my vision turned black was Rarity’s face. Her expression was full of a bloodlust that I could have never imagined on her, and yet, all I saw was a friend.

With a smile, I let myself fall out of consciousness. But like a dream, I was snapped out of it soon after. I gasped for oxygen. Rarity had let go of her magical hold, and I rubbed my throat to soothe the incredible pain shooting through it. Rarity was standing over me, hanging her head. The events of the night had left her mane a mess, and it hung down over her face, leaving her expression a mystery. “You are fortunate I’m weak,” she said, shaking with anger that was directed more at herself than me.

“No, I was the one who was weak. You, Twilight, and the others were always the strong ones.” I hung my head as well as memories of how weak I’d let myself be over the years came flooding back.

“Spike, I did not reject you because you were weak.”

Rarity’s words snapped me from my melancholy. I was taken aback.

“I rejected you because I knew you were in love with the idea of me, and not who I really am.”

I didn’t argue, because I knew she was right. The only reason I had even started liking her was because I found her pretty. If she was ugly, I probably never would’ve considered having a crush on her. I was a jerk, but at least now I was an honest one.

“It’s not too late for you to recreate your bond with Gabby. She is an amazing girl, and one you would have quite an enjoyable life with. A more enjoyable life than I could ever give you.”

I let out a sigh. “Maybe I don’t want an enjoyable life. Maybe that’s just too boring.”

As Rarity raised her head, her mane parted, revealing her stern expression. “It’s not too late. Even if Twilight… even if she doesn’t make it, she would want you to return home. Do it, for her sake.”

I stared into Rarity’s eyes, imagining my life if I chose to return. I’d be happy, surrounded by my friends. But perhaps a monster like me didn’t deserve happiness. After all the tragedies I’d created, there was no point in pretending that I could ever be redeemed. No amount of the magic of friendship could bring back the dead. The past was gone from me forever, meaning that only the future remained.

“The dragon you knew is dead, Rarity. He’s never coming back, even if I do. The only thing left for me is to follow my destiny, just as you are following yours.” As I continued staring into Rarity’s eyes, my lips curled into a sinister grin. “I’m the villain, and it’s time you started treating me like one. Go home, enjoy your life, because after I make my next move, your happiness is going to be gone. Everyone’s is.”

Rarity froze, struggling to comprehend what I had just said.

“And don’t tell anyone who I am or what I did. I hope I don’t need to threaten you.”

Rarity grew a scowl. “Your friends deserve to know where you are. I will not let them suffer any longer.”

I shook my head, hating that she had left me with no choice. I jumped toward her and wrapped my hands around her throat. My weight pinned her on the ground, and I used all my might to squeeze her windpipe and jugular veins. She began to shake violently to inhale even the tiniest amount of air, but I kept my hands tight around her throat. I could see her horn powering up, and so I pressed my claws against her jugular veins. “Don’t try it,” I said, looking her straight in the eye as her life bled away from her. She let out sounds too horrific to describe as her mind began to comprehend that she was truly dying. But just before she could die, I let go. She immediately gasped for air, and her eyes were bloodshot. “Consider us even.”

Massaging her throat, she sprinted away from me. I could see the tears welling in her eyes, but they were a small price to pay for what came next.
…………………………………….

The following morning, I returned to Hayseed, and after a few days of rest to recover from my injuries, I began what would be the masterstroke.

As soon as I was able to move my body without much pain, I ordered my thugs to expand the sale of sugarcubes to all of Equestria. My top performers--the ones who would stop at nothing to get the sale--got bonuses in the form of mansions, harems, and other luxuries. I did this to incentivize my thugs to increase their sales. The goal was the complete societal corruption and decay of the entire kingdom. When Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow had caused the kingdom’s decay using racism and division, I realized that it wasn’t hard to destroy Equestria from the inside. Defeating Princess Twilight and her friends… that was hard. But causing the very ponies of Equestria to collapse their own kingdom… that was a joke.

Nearly all of Fancypants’ remaining thugs joined my gang, since they now had nowhere else to go. I used them to expand my own organization further, and within only a week, I was selling sugarcubes in the Crystal Empire as well. What few members of Fancypants’ now extinct gang didn’t join me were found and killed. Not only that, I had my thugs burn every single one of his mansions, carriages, and everything else he owned. I wanted every memory of him erased from Equestria for what he’d done to Princess Twilight. When the police investigated the remains of his mansion, I used my influence to have them show me his remains, just so I could laugh at his charred, blackened face. The only body the police couldn’t find from the mansion rubble was Fleur De Lis’. I ordered them to find it, just so I could confirm that she was dead as well.

As Equestrian society collapsed into utter ruin, the Council of Friendship did their best to rule and maintain order. Princess Twilight was still in a coma, and so it was up to her friends to manage the kingdom as best as they could. They actually did a competent job at using the police and other organizations to quell domestic violence, crime and other issues amplified by the drug crisis. Unfortunately for them, the police and Royal Guards were in my pocket, and I was able to make sure that my thugs never ended up in jail. The only ponies who did get arrested were those who didn’t directly work for me. As a result, even more ponies joined my gang. The Council of Friendship’s attempt to end crime only made me stronger and accelerated my plans.

According to the police, no one had told them anything about the whereabouts of the former royal ambassador, Spike, and so I had no reason to believe that Rarity had told anyone about me. I hated myself for scaring her how I did, but it was the only way I knew at the moment to make sure she didn’t tell anyone who I was. Throughout the weeks of chaos, I made sure to visit Princess Twilight at the hospital every morning and every night. During the morning visits, I made sure she was being treated perfectly by the medical staff. I made it clear to the staff that if any medical error happened to the princess, they and their entire families would be killed. During the night visits, I stayed by Princess Twilight’s side for hours. It affected my sleep schedule, but I didn’t care. Oftentimes, I talked to Princess Twilight’s comatose body, and would retell old stories and funny memories. Other times, I just stayed quiet, too ashamed at myself for what I’d caused. A part of me hoped that she could hear me or sense me somehow when I came to visit, but another part of me wished she couldn’t. After everything I’d done, sensing my presence would only give her more pain.

Equestria’s deterioration continued until the situation got so bad that Shining Armor was called in to lead until Princess Twilight awoke from her coma. I had expected this, so everything was going according to my plan. In fact, his arrival meant that it was time for me to make my final move.
………………………….

The day of Shining Armor’s coronation as temporary king of Equestria, I used the same cave as before to sneak into the Royal Palace. Sneaking past palace security was a breeze, since I had told my connections in the Royal Guard to ensure a lower number of guards to deal with. As Shining Armor prepared for his speech, his wife no doubt by his side, I snuck through the castle until I reached their bedroom, where Flurry Heart slept in the company of two guards. She gave me a giggle, somehow able to tell who I was behind my mask. The guards greeted me with a grin and a nod, before leaving the room.

Now alone, I tore a page off a nearby notepad--one of many Princess Twilight would keep around for her constant note-taking--and wrote “It’s done.” I used my ability to transport messages through my flame to send the note to Hayseed. With the message sent, all I had to do was wait.

…………..

An hour passed until Shining Armor and his wife entered their bedroom. When they stepped in, they found me lying on their bed, and their daughter nowhere to be found. Princess Cadence froze in shock, while Shining Armor quickly powered up his horn.

“I wouldn’t do that…” I showed them a picture, one I’d been waiting the whole hour to reveal. It was of their daughter, tied and gagged in a dark room, and wearing a magical restraint over her horn. Her cute face was wet with tears, and behind her stood two of my thugs, one with rope, and the other with a long chain. “If you do anything, I hang her. If your wife does anything, she’ll be strangled by the chain.” I made sure to distort my voice, but I was so excited that I’m pretty sure I was doing a bad job at hiding it.

Both Shining Armor and his wife gave me a glare filled with such hate and murderous intent that I couldn’t help but grin. “What do you want?” he said, powering down his horn.

Filled with glee, I jumped out of the bed. Having known Shining Armor and Princess Cadence my entire life, I had predicted that they’d be willing to do anything for their daughter. I could’ve asked them to slit their own throats right here and now, and they would’ve done it as soon as they got the guarantee that their daughter would be freed. This was too easy. But as much as I wanted to do something riskier just to make the situation harder for me, I reminded myself to stick to the plan. Looking my brother and sister-in-the-law in the eye, I told them what they needed to do to save their daughter.

Comments

[Destiny Chaser]

This...is horrifying. Ow.

I assume Rarity knew Spike was the one responsible for everything because Fancypants told her?

[Destiny Chaser]

Also, where is Discord in all this? I mean, Spike is kind of stealing his gig as the Lord of Chaos.

[The Sandwich Guardian]

this is great, keep it up.

[Snivypony]

Bring in the phantom thievies!

[Soron]

10693821
Why make a movie if you can relax and watch someone else's?

[Destiny Chaser]

10695279
Touche.