9. The Shadow on the Moon
Friday night:
The cracking of his bones had become unbearable to him. His emotions overcame him, and it resulted in a broken jaw that he was stuck trying to fix. He pushed and pulled so many times, trying his best to rearrange it. Eventually, it worked. He opened and closed it a couple of times just to make sure it was functioning.
His first objective was done; Sunset Shimmer had remembered him. Now, it was time to prepare himself for the kill. Of course, now that they knew his appearance, he’ll have to adapt and find another way. A way to lure Sunset to him. That’ll be difficult since she’ll be wary of his future moves.
SKX will have to get her trust, by finding his own proxy to do it.
“The proxy of my proxy is also my proxy. It’s going to get convoluted if you push it any further.”
With hypnotisation, it should be child’s play. Just find and isolate someone that Sunset knows, no matter who it is and get them to obey his every whim.
SKX left the alley he was hiding in and carefully observed the streets of Canterlot. The night was still young as evidenced by the many trick-or-treaters wandering around town.
The streets were full of parading citizens, each grouped up based on the themes of their costumes. Canterlot was evidently deep in the spirits of Halloween. SKX also at one point had a love for this festivity... only it was slightly different compared to this one.
Nevertheless, he had to find a student at Canterlot High for his plan to work. It was going to be hard to find one amongst the crowded streets, but he had plenty of time, and surely the tyrant would be lay a helping hand.
“In this town, don’t we love it now? They’re all knee deep in the festivities! I’ll take this opportunity to have some fun myself.”
The shadow looming over him vanished, SKX paid no mind to it, however. Perhaps it was best that he was left alone for once.
The sky turned a little crimson all of the sudden. Nobody seemed to notice it, except for the zombie. He followed the intensity of the colour, eventually landing his gaze on the crimson moon. There was a huge shadow on it now. The shadow of his tormentor and master, a shadow that was very much alive for it moved around, observing the city with great attention. Evidently, he had moved on to the next level, slowly seizing control of Canterlot before his very eyes.
Sweet Celestia, he should really get it over with. The tyrant is starting to scare him, a feeling that has been detracting him from his hateful mission to kill Sunset Shimmer.
“It’s my town! Everyone, hail to the tyrant’s song!”
The Halloween party at Canterlot High was over, and now it was time for the Rainbooms to regroup and track down the serial killer hiding amongst the mass. Sunset, Twi and Fluttershy clued the others in on SKX’s dreadful appearance.
The only problem with finding him was that Canterlot’s relatively big. Not only that but traveling as a group would only make it easier for the killer to see them coming. The best solution was to split up, but in two groups since going at it alone would be quite suicidal.
“Okay, so two groups. One of three and another composed of four.” pointed out Sunset Shimmer.
Something in Twi’s bag began to wriggle around, eventually popping out. It was Spike. “Don’t forget about me!”
“Cool! Spike’s going to be joining us now!” joyfully exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
The others were quite surprised that Twi decided to bring Spike along for the ride since she hasn’t brought him to school for a while.
“I was just... sick. I feel better now, don’t worry.” he explained before jumping out of the bag.
“That makes eight of us now. We can split evenly in two groups of four.” informed Twi as she closed her bag, double-checking to make sure it was firmly shut.
“So, who’s going with who?” asked Rarity.
The Rainbooms exchanged quick glances at each other, unsure of the group's compositions.
“Well just so ya girls know, I’m sticking with Dash.” affirmed Applejack.
“And I'm much too scared to go without them.” Fluttershy said as she moved in closer to the two.
Sunset thought about it for a moment, then came to the conclusion that she should probably go with them. Rainbow Dash can be dangerously impulsive and Fluttershy might be too scared to act quickly in the heat of the moment. That would leave Applejack as the one holding this group together, which is why Sunset chose to go with them; she’d be able to help Aj keep Dash in check.
“I see... In that case; I'm going with you three.”
Twi, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike have moved closer to each other.
Pinkie Pie looked quite excited to go on this search, despite the dangers it posed. “Then the groups have been formed! We’re ready to go now.”
Sunset laid out the plan before the Rainbooms, taking center stage to get everyone’s attention. “Twi, you and your group will look around Canterlot’s Mainstreet while we’re going to the parade.”
Spike expressed his uncertainty. “Gee, that street is always crowded during the night. It should be filled to the brim with people at the moment.”
“Well, it’s only logical to assume that our SKX is hiding in a huge crowd right now. We have no choice but search in the most crowded part of Canterlot.” defended Sunset. SKX couldn’t be anywhere else but in the city at the moment. He’s a zombie, which meant that this was the only time of the year he could slip amongst the mass unnoticed. Outside of his hideout is where he’ll be the easiest to find. “Now, let’s not waste any time and go before Halloween ends!”
The parade was the most popular Halloween event in all of Canterlot. Thousands upon thousands of people would come to watch in bathed breath. The chances were high that SKX would be amongst them since the parade takes place in the streets. The crowd would form on the sidewalk, meaning he could easily slip past them and wander the dark alleys from one street to another in complete and utter discretion. They were most likely going to intercept him here.
But to reach the parade, they must first traverse the park. Unsurprisingly, it was empty at this time of the night. The wind was howling, the trees were shaking and the distant murmurs of the festivities in the horizon all came together to bring a soothing atmosphere to this area.
It had a surreal feel to it in the moment, which oddly comforted the group as they were trekking through the gravel road in the middle of the park. The whole place was casted in darkness with only the lights looming above the road to cast the shadows away.
Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy could now spot the parade happening in the distance. They were just a few minutes away, but that didn’t mean they were going to take their sweet time to get there. On their way, they approached a lonely bench in the park that was only accompanied by a flickering light above.
That was a creepy sight, but it wasn’t enough to get their attention. The subtle trail of blood, however, did as they came to a complete stop to examine it.
Fluttershy shivered at this sight. “B-Blood! Someone must be hurt!” She cuddled Rainbow Dash in her seek for comfort.
Sunset Shimmer and Applejack knelt forward to take a closer look at the trail.
The country girl followed the blood with her eyes. The trail led to a tree not too far from the path.
When the light flickered, they could barely make out what was off the path. What they saw was quite disturbing. A corpse, whose identity remained hidden by the heavy shadows casted underneath the tree.
“Gah! Another victim!” exclaimed Applejack out of shock.
Not knowing if the killer was indeed at the parade or still in the park, the four girls spun around frantically to make sure there wasn’t any danger lurking in the dark. Once they were certain that SKX wasn’t around, they began to slowly inch forth until they were near the body.
It was too dark to properly identify it, so Sunset pulled out her phone and activated its flashlight.
Rainbow Dash pulled back out of shock, Fluttershy shrieked and covered her eyes, Applejack nearly screamed, and Sunset stood motionless, staring at the corpse in dread.
These purple clothes, the small hat, the age of the victim... It was Beelz. Sunset took a few seconds to recognise him as his entire face had been melted by acid from the looks of it. His coat and hands were drenched in dried blood.
But why? Why was he murdered by SKX? Sunset couldn’t wrap her head around it for she was wracked with guilt. Beelz simply talked to her every once and a while but was never directly involved in the case. She couldn’t help but feel that it was her fault that this kind old man died a brutal death at the hands of the undead serial killer.
Her eyes began to water and that’s when her friends noticed that she wasn’t feeling well.
“Sunset? Are you alright?” asked Applejack even though she already knew the answer.
“It’s my fault...” muttered Sunset Shimmer under her breath. “He didn’t deserve this.”
The country girl wanted to comfort her, but Rainbow Dash’s odd look at the sky distracted her for a bit. She followed her friend’s gaze and saw something unnatural. The moon was crimson red. The shadow that SKX saw, however, was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. That can’t be her eyes playing tricks on her, the surrounding sky was also affected by this change in coloration.
“The...” babbled Dash before she regained her composure. “The moon’s red!”
Fluttershy noticed it too and now, everybody was nervous. All, except for Sunset Shimmer who was stuck in her bubble of regret and guilt.
She turned off her phone’s flashlight, unable to see the corpse’s face anymore.
A pair of footsteps caught the three girls' attention. Filthy Rich was walking alongside his daughter, Diamond Tiara, through the park. They were obviously heading for the parade since that was the main attraction of the night. What was strange about them was their ignorance towards the crimson moon.
Rainbow Dash ran up to them, startling the two. “Hey, you there! Don’t tell me you CAN’T see what’s wrong with the moon?” she shouted.
Her sudden appearance scared Diamond Tiara good and she was now trying her hardest to hide it, looking disgruntled. Filthy Rich, curious, peeked above only to look back at Dash in confusion.
“What about it?”
“Huh?” She couldn’t believe it. Filthy Rich literally looked at the crimson moon and BRUSHED. IT. OFF? “You gotta be kidding me?! The moon is red! It’s not supposed to be red!”
The middle-aged businessman readjusted his suit with distrust. “Red? I don’t see any red in the moon. Are you on perhaps on some, illicit substances? If so, then I urge you to get away from my daughter.” he said in a hostile voice.
“What?! Are you accusing me of being a junkie?”
Dash was about to get physical with him, but Applejack restrained her before she could do something stupid. “Dash! It ain’t worth it! Just let it go.”
Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara walked past them, making sure to side-eye the two in the process just to rub it in.
As for Fluttershy, she stood near Sunset and tried her best to comfort her. Her caring nature did help to alleviate Sunset’s guilt, as she was finally able to take her eyes off the old man.
“Are you feeling better Sunset?” she asked in a tender voice.
After taking a deep breath, she responded. “Yes, thank you Fluttershy.” She looked back at the corpse, knowing what to do. “I’m going to call the police now.”
Unbeknownst to both the girls, one of his eyes had moved to look at them.
The parade was breathtaking, flashy and lively. The parading vehicles, the costumes, everything was near perfection, which only made the citizens more excited to participate in the spirit of Halloween.
And apparently, it got some of them acting lovey-dovey in this spooky yet colorful setting. There were plenty of couples making out in the alleys just off to the side.
The Great and Powerful Trixie paid no mind to such acts, however. She was more focussed on the spectacle happening before her very eyes, caught up in its wonder. The main reason why she loved to go to the parade was fairly simple; she always wanted to be admired, to be in the spotlight and most importantly, to one day participate herself. All eyes on her, what a wonderful thought that she dreamt of for years ever since she started referring to herself as the Great and Powerful Trixie.
Oh, she was great and powerful indeed! She just... didn’t get the chance to show it to her rivals. But she would, one day. Yes, one day, she’d rise to stardom like she always fancied.
There’s a new light shining down on the parade, casting down a crimson red on the performers. That’s kind of neat, if it did come from the spectacle itself. How could there be such a light when the surrounding buildings are far too short to illuminate the top of the parading vehicles?
Curious, Trixie looked up and that’s when she saw the anomaly in the night sky. The crimson moon, covered by an ominous shadow that loomed over Canterlot. Panicking, the wannabe magician looked at the various attendees of the parade, hoping that someone noticed this unnatural phenomenon. She didn’t pay much attention in her science class, but she knew for certain that a crimson moon was impossible.
Nobody seemed to realise, well all except for one. A tall person disguised as a zombie stared at the sky while everyone else was paying more attention to the show. It became quickly apparent that he caught on to the anomaly while everyone else was rather ignorant of this strange happening.
She snuck through the crowd in hopes of getting close to the tall guy. Now, what they could do about the shadow on the moon was... no, what could they do? She only wanted a bit of comfort in knowing she wasn’t the only one seeing this. She didn’t really want another world-ending problem in Canterlot.
“Excuse me sir but are you seeing this too?” she nervously asked. Her voice caught the man’s attention and he silently looked over his shoulder. Trixie awaited a response, but nothing came from him other than a simple nod of acknowledgement.
“Do you perhaps know if there are any evil spirits responsible for this? Or is the Great and Powerful Trixie just working herself up over nothing?”
The zombie glanced back at the moon for a moment, then shook his head. It was strange that he wasn’t saying a single word. Then again, maybe he was just mute?
Trixie didn’t really know what to do now. Should she just go along with everybody else and pretend that this isn’t happening? Or maybe she should return home just in case the crimson moon was a bad omen.
“Not much of a talker, huh? W-Well, nothing bad is happening right now, so I guess we shouldn’t worry too much about it.” There was just a slight hint of fear in her voice, but Trixie’s pride convinced her to hide it.
The bizarre man was still silently looking at her. His entire body was eerily motionless. This snapped her back to reality and unnerved, Trixie distanced herself from him.
Even as she was pushing through the crowd, she could feel his intense gaze still locked on her. One peek over his shoulder confirmed that the zombie was in fact, following her with his eyes.
SKX recognised her from the night he murdered her most recent acolyte, but Trixie didn’t know who he was. Deep inside her was magic, the killer could feel it. Nothing in the world was going to stop him now; he had his target.
Trixie stopped walking once she found a nice spot to observe the parade. She had found herself near the edge of the sidewalk which meant that there weren’t many people obstructing her view.
Now there were dancers parading the streets equipped with flaming sticks they were juggling around. Sweet! Pyrotechnics are always a wonder to witness. Then, the firebreathers came, impressing the crowd with strong burst of flames erupting from their mouths. None of it was magic, but Trixie was enjoying the technics employed to make it happen.
Then, she felt something cold grab her shoulder. It was so cold that it made her body shiver. Startled, she shrieked and turned around. The same zombie from earlier was inches away from her, staring blankly at the young girl.
This guy was bad news. Trixie could feel it. There was an aura coming from him, an aura of malice. A malice that was only reinforced by the empty eyes of the zombie. At this distance, the costume felt eerily realistic. For a brief moment she even thought he was actually a rotting corpse. After all, the moon was crimson, Twilight turned into a demon a few months ago, was a zombie really that improbable?
Trixie was about to scream for help, but the man pulled out a butterfly knife and poked her stomach with it. The knife might have pierced her skin, for she felt a brief, sharp pain. This gesture had the merit of being subtle enough to not arouse any suspicion. Nevertheless, the message was crystal clear; if she screams, he’ll plunge the knife in her stomach and let her bleed to death. Doesn’t matter that there’s an entire crowd surrounding them, a knife through your lungs will kill you before an ambulance would have even arrived on the scene.
The cold hand of the man grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the parade. His mighty strength allowed the zombie to push everybody in his path away with just one hand.
The conversations of the Rainbooms she had overheard suddenly flashed into her mind. Mostly, the ones about Bulk Biceps being the potential killer. The only evidence they had at the time was that the killer was big and muscular.
Big and muscular... that was exactly how she would describe the man currently trying to pull her into a lonesome alley.
“No no no no no...” It was the mysterious serial killer X that had murdered these students and the night guard that was now pulling her away from the public’s eye. “Wait wait wait! Please let me go!” she babbled, keeping her voice down enough so that he wouldn’t stab her on the spot. It was useless, he wasn’t having any of it.
The killer pushed through the crowd without any hints of slowing down. She had no choice but to face the facts now; her words were not going to make him reconsider. On the contrary, he pulled on her arm harder and with such force that it could dislocate her shoulder should he put just a little more power behind.
Now things were looking grim for poor Trixie. They had broken out of the crowded streets and found themselves in an alley. SKX doubled his pace and forced her to keep up. After taking a short turn, they had no eyes set on them. There’ll be nobody to come save her now.
The killer pushed her into a wall, slamming her head violently against it. Feeling disoriented and panicking, she spun around and hugged the wall as hard as she could, metaphorically of course. Curiously, SKX sheathed his knife inside his hoodie. What was he planning to do without a weapon?
“H-He-Hey, wh-what are you g-going to do... to me?” she babbled again, this much sounding on the verge of tears.
She was implying something and SKX knew what it was, and it only made him angrier. He clenched his fists hard enough to see the veins bulging. A faint red light made itself known in his eyes, bringing more life to this hollow shell of a man.
“Oh man, s-sick costume bro!” A third party arrived unexpectedly. It definitely wasn’t a knight in shining armor, no. It was just a drunken man who just so happen to stumble on them.
SKX looked at the newcomer and Trixie saw an opportunity to make a run for it. But before she could even take her first step, the killer lunged at the drunk man and violently snapped his neck with so much force that it caused a piece of his spine to stick out. He was seeing red now.
The speed at which he murdered the poor man was almost inhuman, which wasn’t a good thing for Trixie as she just barely took off running. She was literally right next to SKX who had snapped his head back at her, his entire body displaying anger and impatience.
She turned the corner and saw the joyful crowd still present, the parade, still going strong. She reached out a panicking hand and screamed for help in teary eyes, but the noise of the spectacle drowned her calls for help. The deathly cold hands of the killer took a hold of her and before she even had time to realise what was going on, the murderer had her locked in a choke hold.
The immense pressure of his muscular arms slowly crushed her neck. She kicked and punched as hard as she could, gasping for air but it was to no avail. SKX was far too strong for her. Trixie’s world began to spiral as her vision became blurry and her body was slowing down. Her eyes began to close and the last thing she saw was the happy citizens of Canterlot... completely oblivious to her fate.
The police arrived on the scene of the crime. The old man’s body was left as is by the four members of the Rainbooms who had stumbled upon him. Once more, the police had another case on their hands, a number that was only growing the more crimes SKX committed. At this point, he was a plague, swiftly striking down his targets before leaving the scene just as fast as he arrived.
After they had done interrogating the girls on the crime, they placed multiple barriers around the corpse and began their examination. Sunset watched from afar, still struck with guilt. Things were looking grim now that they knew that SKX was a zombie. A revenant that walked the earth once again in search of satisfying his need for revenge.
“What a rotten way to die. Now, you blame yourself for his death but... No, you know what? I think you’re entirely right in placing the blame on you. It’s your fault this serial killer is on the prowl.”
The man in the pickle suit was back but this time, he dropped the slow speech pattern, instead opting for a more natural sounding one.
“You cannot hide anymore. You know he will never stop until he gets you.”
Sunset Shimmer turned around to face him. The man looked different now, mostly in his general expression. His entire face had a feeling of malice to it.
He walked away as he usually did but this time, oh no this time... Sunset wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.
“And where do you think you’re going?” she demanded, grabbing him by the shoulder.
For the first time, the man in the pickle suit expressed surprise. Now why would he think he was untouchable was anybody’s guess but one thing’s for certain, he wasn’t expecting her to act this quickly.
His surprise quickly turned into satisfaction as he responded. “So now you’re no longer in denial? Are you going to confront your sins, Sunset Shimmer?” His mouth slowly contorted into a large grin. “And confess to everyone you know?”
“I’m done sitting idly. I’m going to end this tonight.”
The man took a picture out of his pocket. It was the same mugshot he threatened Sunset with earlier. Next, he pulled out a lighter and burned the picture to a crisp, letting the ashes fall to the ground.
“No more lies, I trust you do the right thing.”
He walked away once again, but now Sunset was no longer curious to know who he was or what his deal was. She can’t take her mind off of SKX anymore. Her questions can be saved for later once the killer has been stopped for good.
Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached their friend. They had just noticed the man in the pickle suit leaving, which got them wondering what was going on between the two.
“Just who in the hay was that?” asked Applejack. Her eyes were still locked on the pickle suit.
“Quite frankly; I don’t know but let’s not get distracted. SKX is still on the prowl, and he might kill someone else if we don’t act quickly!”
“Yeah! Let’s stop him and show all of Canterlot just how awesome we are!” said Rainbow Dash in approval.
“Let’s be careful everyone. I’m sure SKX knows we are coming for him.” warned Fluttershy.
Sunset stayed firm and determined. Enough was enough, the zombie had to be stopped no matter what. “I know. But if it’s me he wants, then I'll come to him.”
Crack, crack, crack... this sound repeated itself at irregular intervals and it took some time for Trixie to come back to her senses. Her head was terribly dizzy, her vision, blurry. It was as if she could feel the planet spinning. Strangely enough, she had her eyes open and yet, she couldn’t see anything.
She tried to stand up from her seating position but felt something holding her wrist down. Surprised, she looked down at her hands; they were tied down to the chair’s arms with duct tape. Trixie tried to open her mouth to say something and that’s when she realised that she was gagged. Her feet were also tied to the chair’s legs, truly preventing any escape.
Now she was starting to panic as the memories of what happened slowly resurfaced into her consciousness. Her current predicament had finally set in, she had been kidnapped by the serial killer that had murdered many students, female students at that. She was in a lot of danger.
Trixie wriggled around her restraints, trying her hardest to call for help through her gag. Her eyes darted around the dark room she had found herself in and that’s when she located the source of the cracking sounds. Hidden in the shadow was SKX, carefully observing her with a blank expression.
He acknowledged her struggle by taking a few uneven steps towards the self-proclaimed magician, his heels cracking each time his feet made contact with the floor. Once again, she tried to free herself from her restraints, putting even more strength this time but it was all for nothing. The killer was now in her face.
Tears began to slide down her face as her entire body shook in fright before the muscular six-foot frame staring her down. Then, she felt a cold and viscous liquid fall on her thighs. SKX reacted quickly by wiping his eyes in disgust, his entire figure expressing revulsion.
Trixie gazed at the liquid; it was green and slimy. Shocked, she looked back at the killer who was now convulsing while grasping at his face. The slimy liquid leaked through his visage, spilling on the floor. The whole sight was disgusting in every sense possible. It smelled horribly and felt repulsive to even touch.
SKX carefully took his hands off his face. His mouth was now wide open, dripping not with saliva, but with slime. The defenseless girl was almost about to faint now that she got to see the killer for what he truly is; a rotten corpse walking amongst the living.
He took another step and his bone nearly snapped like a twig. He raised a hand at her, trying to grab her by the head with his massive hands. She instinctively pulled her entire body back as much as possible in the chair.
“I smell another kind of magic. What have you brought to me?”
Both of them stopped entirely. The sinister voice echoed through the room, sending chills down Trixie’s spine. It sounded deep, unnatural and monstrous almost like a growl. There was someone, or something else in there with them.
The killer retreated into the shadows as a singular lightbulb activated itself just above Trixie’s head. The room was now deathly quiet, a silence that was unbearable for there were potentially two monsters inside with her, looking at her while she couldn’t see them.
The tyrannic voice laughed. The laugh was so powerful that it rattled her bones with its impressive strength. Then, it moved. Those weren’t just footsteps that Trixie was hearing, no...
They were stomps. Stomps, of something massive swiftly coming to her. Trixie closed her eyes and turned her head away, too terrified to even look at what was making its way to her. Her tears had doubled in volume at that point, tainting her eyes with mascara.
The stomps were now dangerously close to her and finally, they came to a stop. Something growled and sweet Celestia it was right in her face! She could feel it breathing on her face. Its breaths sounded like they came from another world. They sounded mechanical even though this beast was clearly flesh and bones.
“Trixie.”
It spoke her name. It knew her name! Trixie couldn’t handle it anymore. She whimpered in fear, going almost to the point of crying.
“Your ego won’t get you far. You will fall.”
The voice bellowed again with enormous power emanating from its mere words. It broke the lightbulb, casting the entire room in darkness. Well, not entirely; there was a new source of light in the room now, and it came from the beast.
“Open. Your eyes.”
Trixie obeyed even though she didn’t want to see the monster before her. Was it obedience out of fear? Most likely. Her heart stopped, and so did the shaking when she finally got to take a clear look at the beast.
Its teeth were razor-sharp and three times as big as hers. Its skin was a dark green and its eyes shined with a dark purple light that was barely strong enough to light up the beast’s head. Its eyes... they were the most sinister pair of eyes she had ever seen. Most curious of all was the black top hat resting atop its head.
Trixie was now deathly still, unable to even process the situation anymore. It was comparable to a person’s brain shutting itself down. Only, she was still very much conscious of what was going on.
I don’t want to die. Was the only thought running through her head. The unsightly beast was going to eat her alive, that’s what monsters with razor-sharp teeth do, right?
Its hand pierced the darkness, carefully moving towards her face. Trixie could do nothing but watch the enormous hand itching itself closer to her. It had long black nails on its fingertips, long enough to be classified as claws. The beast closed his hand, but left its index stretched. It wiped away her tears before it opened its horrid jaws again.
“Don’t be scared little girl. I don’t bite. Well, not usually.” Its mouth contorted itself into a large, malicious grin. “You’ll be of great use to us. So, consider yourself lucky to have magic, otherwise I would have taken a bite out of you.”
Its eyes slowly looked up as it was thinking for a moment, before clarifying. “Maybe I should let you know that what we’re about to make you do will probably ruin your entire life. Oh well, it’s still marginally better than to die, right?”
Trixie cried, unable to take it anymore as the monster retreated in the dark at an impossible speed, causing a strong gust of wind to snap the silence away. SKX took his place, appearing once more before the traumatised schoolgirl. His hollow eyes suddenly transformed into spirals.
A pan flute played a nice, soothing music that calmed Trixie down despite the situation, but she knew that it was a feeling forced down upon her.
The spirals in the zombie’s eyes were truly... hypnotising, enchanting. She felt all her worries go away and before she could even be aware of what was happening, she lost control of her own mind.
“Another puppet for the taking. I hope you won’t take it to heart when I say you’re going to be replaced soon enough, my little pony.”
Pony... now that’s something he hasn’t heard in quite a while. It’s a word that brings back awful memories, however. Memories of his fall, of the very reason why he’s stuck following the tyrant’s orders.
It all started so, so long ago...
The dragon was much faster than he could have ever anticipated. It swiped its claws at him, nearly cutting his head off. Stardust Radiant dropped to the floor alongside his diamond. The impact combined with the deafening sound of the air brought by the dragon crashing down upon him made his ears ring. The flying creature failed to snatch the shining crystal and from the looks of it; he wasn’t going to stop until he had taken it from the unicorn’s dead hooves.
The dragon swooped down yet again. Stardust was thinking about teleporting away, having to fall back on improvisation to lure the beast away from the town.
“Heh, it’s following a predictable pattern.” his companion’s voice echoed through his ringing ears. Stardust looked back at the mare who was charging up a powerful laser, aiming straight at the swooping beast.
She was aiming at where the dragon would be in a few seconds and fired. The incredible acceleration of the creature was far too great for it to stop his charge or even move out of the blast. The laser plowed through its chests, tearing his scales apart and spilling a lot of blood onto the two unicorns.
The dragon growled in agony and the pain inflicted by the laser caused it to fall, smashing through many buildings.
Stardust looked at the mare in anger. “We were supposed to lure it out of town before we could attack it!” he shouted.
“And let it tear you to shreds? Aren’t you a big old softie, Stardust.” she replied in a condescending tone.
“I would have figured something out.” he said, defending his stance. “That fall might have killed somepony! You’re irresponsible!” he finally lashed out.
The mare feigned her shock. “Woah. Woah! Don’t say that! You’re breaking my heart.”
This time, Stardust caught on to her dishonest nature. Although, it was perhaps he was a bit late considering many of his peers warned him that she was a snake. For so long, he denied their claims as he spent his entire colthood with her. She was the first and only friend he had ever known. To admit his peers were telling the truth would be too painful for him but subconsciously, he knew they were right.
The dragon got back on its hind legs, his eyes bulging with rage. It roared as it slammed its front limbs on the floor, causing a massive shockwave that was felt by the two unicorns.
“Tss.” The mare spun around to face the giant lizard. “It’s too late for your plan. We’re fighting it here.”
Her voice was cold, she didn’t even seem to care about the town’s safety. Was it to be expected from ponies with dreams of grandeur? Stardust should be wary of his “friend”.
The dragon charged at the duo, its mouth opening to cast down a torrent of fire on them. Frustrated, Stardust hurled the diamond at the beast. By some luck, the jewel smacked it right in the eye, gouging it with its sharp edge.
He nearly barfed at this gruesome, taking his eyes away in disgust. The mare, looked away, but not out of repulse but rather out of a sense of irritation. She looked at him with her teeth clenched.
You’re not gonna one-up me this time! She thought as she rushed inside of a nearby building with a plan in mind.
Unable to pull the diamond out of its eye socket, the dragon chose to ignore it for the time being. Now it was seeing red, staring down the stallion that had taken away its eye. It roared as its huge jaws opened to spit fire down at the streets.
Stardust wasted no time teleporting himself out of harm’s way. As he popped up on a nearby roof, he could do nothing but watch the streets being consumed with flames. Any and all ponies who were unfortunate to be caught in the dragon’s attack were burned to a crisp, their screams cut short as they melted near instantly.
The ground was no longer safe for the fire wouldn’t go away. The only safe haven was the buildings who were tall enough to keep him out of the inferno below.
He looked at the dragon, his expression of sheer horror having turned into anger. Stardust never liked violence. He always preferred to end conflicts peacefully. This dragon, however, asked for it now. It started this conflict, and it was going to pay for it now.
His companion popped out of a nearby window, gazing down at the inferno on the streets before climbing on the roof. She didn’t look like she cared much that many ponies have died at the beast’s hand. All that she was seeing was a monster to take down for her mentor. Doesn’t matter how she’ll do it, all that counts are the results. The end justifies the means.
Stardust Radiant’s eyes were drawn to a peculiar building. A building with a roof as sharp as a sword. He pictured how they were going to bring the dragon down. It was going to be brutal, but it was best to put an end to this conflict as soon as possible, before more ponies could get hurt.
“Hey!” he shouted at the mare to get her attention. “You see that building with the sharp roof over there?” She followed his gaze and nodded. “We’re going to slam the dragon’s head on it!”
She smiled. “That’s so unlike you, I think I love it.” she muttered under her breath.
They hopped from building from building, hiding from the dragon as it had lost sight of them. The diamond lodged in its eye created a blind spot for the two unicorns, so sneaking around the beast was child’s play.
They had finally gotten in position just behind the sharp building. Stardust used his vast knowledge of magic to conjure a magical rope. A rope that was long enough to wrap itself around the monster’s neck.
His companion grinned, having finally understood the whole plan. “I see. We’re going to get its attention, then you’ll wrap the rope around its neck and we’ll both pull on it with our magic until we slam its head on the roof. That is brilliant, Stardust. I command your quick thinking.” The disdain in her voice was much more subdued now. Her respect was begrudgingly expressed to him.
“Fire a quick laser. It doesn’t have to be powerful; it just needs to get its attention.” he said, his eyes focused on the angry dragon. Some would say they were throwing daggers at the beast.
The mare obliged and fired a beam of light. The blast scratched the dragon but didn’t harm it in the slightest. It turned around and spotted the two unicorns. Its last remaining eye was bloodshot, looking unhinged as it roared furiously. Its charge was twice as fast as before, but not fast enough to avoid the rope that wrapped around its neck.
The rope tightened with such intensity that it choked the beast. “Now!” shouted Stardust.
The two pulled with all their might. The dragon tried to resist but the combined force of the unicorns overpowered it. Its upper jaw slammed against the sharp roof, piercing it. It desperately tried to pull it out, but the stallion and the mare locked it in place as it let out a dying roar.
Exhausted, Stardust dropped to the floor while the mare was struggling to catch her breath. Then, he noticed something worrying.
The giant lizard’s body crashed down on the building in front of them. The debris flew straight at them. Startled, the mare teleported herself out of the way with the little magic that she could muster. The same couldn’t be said for the stallion who had not enough energy to cast another spell.
He ran as fast as he could in direction of the building right in front of him. It was quite far and by that, I mean an entire street apart from the stallion. But between making a leap of faith and dying, he chose to have faith.
He leaped with all his might and for a moment, it seemed as if he could make the jump. But it didn’t take long for him to realise he was just short of landing on the roof. His upper body slammed on the roof, and he held on for dear life.
He didn’t have the strength to pull himself up because of the toll all his spells had put on him. If nopony came to his aid, he’ll die. His eyes darted all around him in desperate hope that somepony would come to pick him up. His fear quickly turned into relief once he saw her looming above him.
With the most genuine smile ever, he said. “Sunset! Thank Celestia you’re here!”
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Why? Both dash and aj seem like good fighters. So one of them needs to be on the other team.
No! He was the best character.
Wait seriously? I thought she was lying.
What was she implying?
So far I’m on the killers side.
I have some questions:
1) Will the one controlling SKX use Trixie to lure Sunset into a trap?
2) What does it all have to do with the dragon issue in Equestria? Because I do not get it. Can you summarize it for me?
11533945
I think I get it. During the dragon incident sunset must’ve left him to die. It was probably a combination of jealousy and thinking that he was weak because he called her out on her recklessness.
11533950
I was referring to what the issue of the dragon in the story has to do with the issue of SKX.
11533956
I think SKX is the aftermath?
11533959
Better that the answer to my question is told by the writer.
11533962
Good idea
11533945
1) Yeah, that's exactly what I'm setting up.
2) The whole dragon thing is basically a flashback. It's the incident that sparked the existence of SKX. Though it says nothing about the Tyrant. He's up to no good...
11533981
1) I understand.
2) Well, I would have put it all together in the form of a prologue to the story.
11533932
I'm glad you liked Beelz! He was a fun character to write for me, it's a shame he had to go. It was pretty much because he had nearly fulfilled his role at that point, though he won't be forgotten...
And about Trixie... I find it weird how she actually does a some form of magic in Equestria Girl, but everybody seems to just brush it off. I'm mainly referring to that one short where she offers a magical lucky sock to Rainbow Dash that allowed her to win the game for her team. Therefore, I decided why not actually give her some amount of magic, as undefined as it may be?
As for what Trixie was implying... Just think about it for a second; a teenage girl in a dark alley with a fully grown man twice her size... Yeah, it's quite easy to figure out what she was thinking and that's kinda why I didn't say it clearly (I DO have a limit as to how far I'll go).
11533991
I don’t think I’ve seen that short.
Oh god. I just thought about. Don’t know how I didn’t think about it before.
11533997
To be fair, trying to follow Equestria Girl's canon is really difficult. I had to use a wiki to see all the shorts in order. Then there's the specials and that just further complicates it for me...
11534014
Oh ok. That’s understandable.
OMG!!
Beelz is a ZOMBIE!!!