Trixie sat in Donut Joe’s whistling and enjoying her coffee. The last few days had gone excellently. She had finally gotten the recognition she deserved. All across Canterlot, ponies were talking about the horrific murders of employees of the Equestrian News company. Even the newspaper had begun to cover the murders on the front page, in order to keep up with it’s competition.

Trixie laughed loudly as she imagined the editors and writers being forced to cover their own systematic elimination. Aside from a couple small time employees that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, she had only killed a few of the key players. She decided that today she would find herself the juiciest target of all: middle management.

“Having a good day, Trixie?” Joe asked.

“I am. I’m just having one of those days where I know everything is going to be perfectly fine,” Trixie answered.

“I’m just glad you’ve found work again, it’s really improved your mood.”

“Work?” Trixie thought about it for a minute, realizing her ‘work’ was robbing the mutilated corpses of her victims. She giggled. “Yes, work had been splendid of late. Just odd jobs here and there, but quite rewarding.”

“Well, if you’d like to eat dinner with me tonight, my offer still stands.”

Trixie smiled and wondered if he would be so interested in her if Joe had an idea of how she spent her nights. “Sure, let me go finish my current job and see if I can’t make time.”

She left some bits on the table and walked out of the donut shop. Trixie appreciated having one normal place left in her life, where she could be a simple mare enjoying a donut. Out here in Canterlot, she was a variety of things: pariah, fraud, harlot. The world could be a cruel place. Luckily, Trixie was crueler.

It didn’t take long for her to spot a boisterous employee from Equestrian News eating at an outdoor cafe. He was talking loudly enough anyone within two blocks could have made out his drunken tirade.

Trixie watched for a couple minutes and noticed two large stallions eating at the table next to him, who weren’t looking at him in shock like all the other ponies. They were built like royal guards, and she realized they must be following this employee and trying to bait the killer.

“Amateurs, do they really think it’ll be that easy?” Trixie asked.

They could be watching any number of employees. I know it’s fun, but really ought to quit while we’re ahead.

“Nonsense, Trixie is just starting to have fun.”

We have had enough fun, and imagine if Joe found out what we were doing. It’d crush him.

Trixie mulled it over for a minute. “Nah, they’ll never leave me alone and let me be happy until the job is done. Let’s keep looking.”

She walked around Canterlot looking for other employees, only to notice they weren’t wearing their press badges or doing anything to draw attention to themselves. After an hour of searching, she found herself in front of the public library.\

Trixie walked in, smiling to the other ponies, as she headed back towards the public records. She decided to be quick, lest a pony find her looking up the names and addresses of the newspaper and it’s affiliates.

For an hour she searched and managed to find a few names and fewer addresses. She had the constant feeling that somepony was watching her, and finally decided it was too risky to stay here. Trixie left and went to the cafe across the street from where one of the ponies was supposed to live.

She saw a pony fitting the description of the editor in chief. Trixie sat down and ordered a sandwich while she eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Honey, please don’t worry about me. We’re taking steps to ensure all the employees are safe. We no longer wear our badges out in public. The Canterlot Killer won’t know who we are.”

A teal mare sat across from him, picking at her salad. “It’s more than that, you have a family to take care of. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

“Look, that’s not going to happen, okay? The princess talked directly with our CEO. He told us the killer has some kind of vandetta against the company, and that they’re already narrowing down the list of suspects.”

“Then why not just take a vacation? Tell them you need a week off with your family, that you’re going to visit your mother in Ponyville.”

The stallion sighed. “Alright, I’ll go in to work today and tell them I’m taking a week off. Get everything ready and we’ll leave for Ponyville at four.”

Trixie watched the two hug. The mare finally spoke, “Alright I’ll tell the neighbors we’re going out of town on short notice.”

The two parted ways and Trixie decided to follow the mare. True to her word, she quickly told some of her friends she was leaving town today for a week vacation. She lead Trixie straight back to her house, and went inside to pack.

Trixie quickly went home to get the supplies she would need and put them in her saddlebags. The walls of her apartment were stained and covered in mildew. She had considered scrubbing them clean, or moving into a fancier apartment. If she did that, it might draw attention to her. It was best if everypony thought she was still a poor showmare who couldn’t find work.

She returned to the house of her next victim at three and knocked on the door.

The door opened slowly and the teal mare smiled. She was a fit young earth pony and behind her was a suitcase. “Oh, hello. Can I help you, Miss?”

Trixie returned the smile. “Yes. I’m looking for your husband, something important came up before we can let him go on vacation.”

“Come in, Sean will be back any moment,” she said. She ushered Trixie into the house and went to prepare some tea.

Trixie glanced around the small house. It didn’t have much of a yard, but unlike the earlier apartments she wouldn’t have to worry nearly as much about the screams reaching the neighbors. There were stairs to the second floor, as well as a door to what could be a basement.

“So, you work with my husband. . . oh dear, I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name. I’m Margaret.”

“Hi, I’m Trixie,” she replied.

“Hmm, that sounds awfully familiar.” Margaret poured them both tea before heading back into the kitchen to get sugar.

Trixie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a small bag of powder. She had always wanted to try poisoning a pony and what better opportunity than this.

Don’t use too much or you’ll miss the best part.

She sprinkled some into the tea as the pony trotted back into the room. “No sugar for me, thanks,” Trixie said.

Margaret dropped a cube in her tea and stirred it, before taking a sip. “So, what does he need to do before he can go on vacation?”

Trixie grinned. “It’s simple, really. He has to choose which is more important. His life, or yours.”

She raised an eyebrown in confusion and looked down at her shaking hooves. The tea cup fell from her grasp before she slumped on the couch.

Trixie went to check on the door under the staircase. Sure enough, it lead down to a basement and it was full of workout equipment and dusty, brown boxes. She went back upstairs, grabbed Margaret, and dragged her down into the basement.

This is just too perfect! Everypony expects them to be gone for a week, and they have a basement too!

“Yes, we’ll have so much fun with this one. Perhaps it’ll be enough to recapture that thrill of my first kill, of Quick Read.”

Then we can stop, right? If you have a whole week to enjoy it, maybe we can finally go on a date with Donut Joe and live a normal life?

“This is our normal life now, Trixie,” she said to herself. “I’ve never felt so great and powerful as I do now.”

Well, I suppose as long as we’re happy, and you’re careful. I’d hate to lose our one last friend.

“We’re protecting Joe as much as everypony else. This newspaper has to die.”

The voice had fallen silent, and Trixie focused on tying the unconscious mare down to a workout bench. She tied her hooves behind her back in a painfully tight position.

Trixie went back upstairs to clean up the living room. Once the tea had been put away, she looked at the clock. In about fifteen minutes Sean would be home and Trixie could kill yet another employee of that accursed news agency.

She went upstairs just to be sure the house was empty before he got home. All the doors but one were open. When Trixie opened it, she saw a young filly sleeping in her bed. The room was covered in posters from the Wonderbolts, Daring Do, and Mare-Do-Well. Trixie’s eyes went wide as she realized she couldn’t kill the ponies downstairs with this filly sleeping here.

“I’ll need to kill her too,” Trixie whispered.

She’s just a filly, she’s not to blame!

“Well I can’t leave her here. Her parents have to die.”

So knock her out and make her parents die quickly.

“Oh no, I want to enjoy this one.”

Trixie walked over and pulled out some ropes. She took a piece of linen and made a blindfold, then tied it onto the filly’s head. She put the rope in next, gagging the filly and waking her up. As she began to mumble and thrash around, Trixie hogtied her hooves.

Leave her alone, please!

“Oh, don’t worry little filly. I’m not going to hurt you. No, I’m going to give you a gift. I’m going to make the world you grow up in a better place.”

Trixie left the filly hogtied and gagged in her own bed, pulling the curtains over the window. She then went back downstairs to wait for Sean to get home.

She didn’t have to wait long before the door opened up and he stepped inside. “Honey, I’m home,” he said.

Trixie brought down a vase on his head, shattering it and knocking him out. She locked the front door, and dragged him downstairs to join his wife.

She tied him on his stomach, spread eagle on his treadmill. He could see his wife from this position, and Trixie cast the spells to soundproof the room. Once this was done, she gagged him and slapped him to wake him up.

After a few minutes and hitting him a dozen times, he finally began to wake up.

“Sean, you know who I am?” Trixie asked.

He looked up at her, and tugged at his bonds. A light suddenly went on in his head and he realized this was the killer who had been stalking the newspaper employees. He nodded his head slightly.

“Then you know why you’re here. I’m going to remove the gag. Be civil, and I may make your death quick and spare your filly.”

Trixie pulled the gag out. “Please not my wife or child!”

“What do you do for Equestrian News?” Trixie asked.

“I won’t tell anypony just let them go!”

Trixie slammed a hoof on his wife’s ribcage. She squealed in pain and thrashed against her bindings.

“Stop! I’m a manager, the editor in chief! I approve all the stories in the paper!”

Trixie grinned. “So, you approve of slandering me? Of spreading lies about honest ponies?”

“Of course not! I approve of stories with good grammar and punctuation! I’m not responsible for the content!”

Trixie levitated out a knife and waved it around in the air. “Oh, so you only care about if a story is grammatically correct you don’t care if it’s factually accurate. That makes this so much easier.”

“What is easier? Please, I didn’t write any of those stories!”

“No, but you let them be published. So tell me, and speak up so your wife can hear, which one of you do I kill? That’s right. I’m going to kill one of you, and spare one of you. Tell me, do you really want me to free your wife and torture you for hours in her place?” Trixie asked.

Sean gulped and looked at his wife. She was writhing around on the bench she was tied to, and couldn’t see him or speak. He glanced at the knife, and saw several other unidentifiable objects sprawled on the floor next to Trixie. His conviction wavered.

“Her, kill her, just let me go!” Sean pleaded.

Trixie laughed at her victory. “See, Margaret? Your husband is just as horrible as the newspaper. Now, I’m going to kill you, Margaret, just like your husband asked me to.”

She thrashed on the bench as Trixie gagged Sean again. He was yelling and mumbling, though if he had changed his mind it was too late.

Trixie turned the treadmill on to low, so that Sean wouldn’t feel left out while she killed his wife. With him tied down over it, the belt on the treadmill began to tear at his skin and burn from the friction. Sean wiggled around trying to hold himself off the belt, but couldn’t. Trixie adjusted the ropes to ensure he had to stay facing forward towards his wife.

Sean could feel a burning down his chest, abdomen, and penis. The pain was unbearable, and his hair did little to cushion his skin from the abrasive rubbing. No matter how much he squirmed, the burning got worse as his skin was slowly burnt off by the friction of the rubber belt.

Trixie spun the knife around in the air. “For my first trick, I’m going to make this knife disappear!”

She caused a small explosion of fireworks in the basement. Using the momentary distraction, she jammed the knife straight into Margaret’s pussy, slicing it in two. Screams filled the basement as she thrashed about in her bonds and blood dripped to the floor.

“Look at that, Sean! A single blow, and it’ll take her an hour to bleed out. Slow, painful, inevitable. . . just like your death, Sean. I wonder how long it’d take that treadmill to sand down all the way to your heart?” Trixie asked.

Sean thrashed and tried to reach out to his wife. She was breathing rapidly and flailing as she bled out.

“For my next trick, I’ll sterilize your wounds!” Trixie pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and began pouring it on the treadmill.

The deep wounds on Sean’s chest and stomach screamed in agony, the burning increasing tenfold. The alcohol was making its way into the wounds as his flesh was peeled off by the treadmill. His loudest screams of agony were easily absorbed by the thick walls of the basement and Trixie’s magic.

“You know what would make this more fun? An audience!”

You don't have to hurt her. Just make it an act.

Trixie trotted upstairs and grabbed the filly who had been hogtied in bed. She levitated her downstairs and set her in a chair by the wall. Sean renewed his struggles when he saw his daughter sitting there.

Trixie came over and turned the treadmill off. She then went and removed the knife from Margaret, stuffing a towel in between her legs and tying it in place. It wouldn’t save her life, but it’d cause her death to take a few more hours.

She then took the gag out of Sean’s mouth. “So, Sean, tell your daughter why I’m going to kill her parents.”

“Because you’re a fucking psycho!” Sean screamed.

Trixie levitated a hammer out and hit their filly in the chest. She squealed out in pain, unable to see the horrors around her. “Wrong!” Trixie yelled. “Tell her how you lie for a living, how you’re a horrible pony, or I’ll kill her!”

“You’re the only horrible pony here! I love you, Peach, daddy loves you,” Sean said.

Trixie hit the filly again, and there was a loud cracking sound as a rib snapped.

Easy, you’re hurting her!

“Of course I’m hurting her! She’ll grow up to be just like her parents, and besides, it’s fun!” Trixie cackled as she turned back to Sean. “Mad? Psycho? You haven’t begun to see what I can do. Now. Tell. Her.”

Sean collapsed on the treadmill in defeat. “P-peach, daddy is a bad pony. He—daddy needs to go away for a long t-time. I l-love you, Peach.”

Trixie smiled. “There, that’s better. Now, if you agree to let me kill her, I’ll let you go.”

“I won’t fall for that again!” Sean shouted. “You said you’d let me go if I told you to kill my wife!”

Trixie laughed in triumph. “Yes, Peach, hear that? Daddy just admitted he told me to kill your mommy so that he could live. Your daddy is a liar and a coward.”

Trixie put the gag back in Sean’s mouth before moving over to whisper in Peach’s ear. She made sure it was loud enough Sean could hear. “In fact, your daddy already agreed that I could kill you too if I let him go. Why don’t we leave your daddy here to suffer for being a bad pony.”

Sean screamed as Trixie levitated his daughter towards the door. “Don’t worry, Sean, I’m not done with you two. You did just tell everypony you know you were going on vacation for a week. That means I have six more days to make you regret being born. Until then, I’ll let you stew down here as I torture your daughter to death.”

Trixie walked up the stairs and closed the door. She could hear Sean struggling, and even Margaret seemed to have a little life left in her. Once she got upstairs, she headed for Peach’s room.

Trixie went into the room and lay the whimpering filly on the bed.

She’s so scared.

“I know, I’m sorry little filly, your daddy was very naughty. I needed to punish him,” Trixie explained. She leaned over and lit up her horn. The large blue bruise on Peach’s side started to heal. Trixie pulled out a piece of wood she had used sleight of hand to put behind Peach. When she had hit her with the hammer, she had cracked the wood to make her father think she was killing his daughter.

“It’s okay, Peach, I wouldn’t hurt a filly. You’ll be a good filly, you’ll never be evil like your parents. That’s why I’m going to take care of you until this is all over. You can tell the Princess how nice I am when she asks.”

What if she tells the Princess who you are?

“She doesn’t know who I am, isn’t that right?” Trixie asked.

Peach whimpered and shook her head no. She had light yellow fur and a light pink mane, exactly like a peach would.

“Good filly. I know it’s not your fault. Here, why don’t I help you fall to sleep.”

Trixie loosened the ropes and the gag a little. She then brought in some water and helped the filly get a drink. The last thing she did was sing a lullaby until the filly had cried herself to sleep.

Trixie covered her in the blanket and looked at the clock. She had her date with Donut Joe in less than an hour. Trixie decided to go enjoy a relaxing night, and return in the morning to continue punishing Sean.

Trixie woke up the next morning and hurried towards Sean’s house. Her date with Joe had consisted of a nice dinner and a promise to do it again sometime. She wasn’t about to invite him over to her apartment while it looked like a hydra had taken a dump in a swamp and poured it into her living room. Perhaps once she cleaned the place up she could invite him over for hot coffee.

When she arrived at Sean’s house she found it exactly like she had left it. There weren’t any ponies out this early in the morning and Trixie used the key to let herself into the house. She hurried upstairs to check on Peach. She was snoring softly and sleeping in the bed. Trixie took a moment to untie her legs, and tie her forehooves to the headboard. This would allow her to stretch a little more and be more comfortable. The filly slept through it all, yawning softly as Trixie left.

Downstairs, Sean was passed out on the treadmill. Trixie checked his stomach and saw fresh scabs running down it’s entire length. She grinned, noticing that several patches of scabs and hair were matted to the treadmill’s belt.

Trixie turned the treadmill back on and was rewarded by his sudden screaming and thrashing, only to recall where he was. As the treadmill slowly peeled away the scabs and his skin, Trixie went to check on his wife.

She was breathing weekly and the towel between her legs had soaked through with blood. Margaret would likely die soon, so Trixie decided to make sure Sean got a good show.

Trixie levitated a knife out and cut off Margaret’s ear. She whined softly but made no movement. “You know, Sean, your wife doesn’t look so good.” Trixie tossed the ear onto the treadmill in front of him, and watched as it was pulled under him.

Sean looked on in horror as Trixie cut off the other ear, then her two nipples, and then sliced off her lips. One by one she carved pieces of his wife off and tossed them on the treadmill, laughing the whole time.

“Isn’t this wonderful, Sean? Not only do I get to kill you, I get to make you watch me kill her!”

Margaret squealed and stopped breathing as Trixie plunged the knife into her stomach. She began to rip out her intestines and toss them on the treadmill, turning Sean’s coat into a bloody mess. Trixie covered him in his wife’s entrails as the treadmill continued to burn away his flesh.

“So, Sean, I hardly slept last night trying to think of the best way to kill you, and you know what I thought of?”

Sean was whimpering and crying as he closed his eyes to hide from the horror.

“That’s right! It’s an old medieval torture device, used before the fall of Nightmare Moon. The Griffon’s call it the Pear. I know it’s not a peach, but I still thought it was close enough to be ironic. I had to whip something up on short notice, but it should have the same effect.”

Sean heard Trixie behind him but couldn’t turn far enough to see her. He suddenly felt a cold, blunt metal object force itself against his asshole. With the treadmill eating away at him he didn’t have the strength to resist. A pointed prong entered his ass, followed by a large metal object.

He screamed into his gag as he felt his ass tearing from the large, dry invader. Once it was fully inserted, he began to whimper and catch his breath.

“I can see why the Griffon’s enjoyed them so much. That wasn’t even the best part, want to know what was?” Trixie asked.

She rotated the bolt on the end of the pear, and began to spread the three pieces of metal apart. The once solid object flowered open inside his rectum.

Sean screamed as he felt the device grow larger inside him. The three prongs spread out, tearing and shredding his insides. He began to urinate from the pressure on the treadmill, and his penis began to get burnt from the friction of the belt.

He could feel warm fluid pouring out of his ass along with a foul odor as the onion was spread even wider apart.

“Hmm, that’s as wide as it goes. I mean, it’s probably lethal but I’d hope for more pain. . . perhaps if I remove it while fully expanded?”

Sean’s eyes went wide in horror as the device was pulled out by Trixie’s magic. He passed out as it tore it’s way free.

Trixie tossed the bloody implement aside and grabbed an epi pen she had bought from a local pharmacy. Though meant for allergies, this easily obtained item would help keep him from dying before the best part.

Sean began to regain consciousness as his heart raced. He realized all the nerves in his skin had long since been killed, as he couldn’t feel the conveyor belt against his chest or abdomen anymore. It still burnt his legs and penis, which he had done his best to kept lifted off the belt. He could smell the burnt flesh, feces, and slightly copper odor of his bodily fluids.

He felt something pinching into his knee. Sean turned and saw two pieces of wood with jagged teeth and two long screws and bolts.

“It’s amazing what I can whip up from a little folk lore and a trip to a hardware store, isn’t it?” Trixie asked. “This is the knee splitter. Basically, it’ll destroy any joint trapped between it! Elbow, knee, shoulder, oh and aren’t we lucky us ponies have so many joints?”

Sean slumped his head on the treadmill in defeat, letting the burning sensation of his left cheek being peeled off dull the pain of his right foreleg. Trixie tightened the device, severing the tendons and popping the join apart. He could no longer move any part of the bound leg, nor did he want to.

Trixie frowned. “Hmm, it isn’t much fun if you quit now. Perhaps I should leave you here for another day to think about what you’ve done.”

Sean struggled and flailed, desperate for an end to the suffering.

“Oh, so you don’t want that? Then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll leave you here with the treadmill and return tomorrow to see if you’re still alive.”

Trixie gathered up her tools and began to clean up the basement. She spent an hour cleaning and scouring the basement to ensure she left no evidence behind. Once she was satisfied, she trotted out of the basement.

She had decided to leave him to his fate at the hands of blood loss, infection, and the treadmill. Trixie had grown tired of this silly earth pony and his family. Still, she had a problem upstairs she wasn’t sure how to deal with.

Trixie trotted into Peach’s room to see her curled up as best she could under the covers, with her forehooves tied above her head.

We can’t just leave her, no one will come to check on her for a week.

“Peach, nopony will know what happened for a week, I’m going to have to leave you here. I’ll stop by to feed you every day, okay?”

Peach whimpered into her rope gag, and Trixie tucked the covers in around her.

Look how scared she is, we need to do something.

“I can’t do anything yet!”

Why don’t we tie her up back at our apartment?

“We need to leave her here for the authorities to find.”

She lost her parents, she’s an orphan now.

Trixie sighed. “Peach, maybe I should kill you too. It’s better than being an orphan.”

Peach squealed as Trixie touched her.

Look at the burns from the ropes already, how they’ve cut into her legs. Are you really gonna leave her like this a whole week?

“Ugh, fine. Look, Peach, if I promise to take you home with me and take good care of you, will you be a good filly?” Trixie asked.

Peach froze in terror and held her breath.

“Peach, your parents are dead. I can leave you here, tied to this bed, or you can come live with me for the rest of the week. Then, I’ll come leave you here for the police to find. Which will it be?”

Trixie pulled her gag out. Peach mumbled a few words before speaking up. “Please don’t hurt me, don’t leave me all alone.”

Trixie hugged the filly. “Shh, I won’t hurt you. Come on, I’m going to tie you up and put you in my saddlebag. Then we’ll go to my house and I’ll get you a dozen donuts. Would you like that?”

“Y-yes,” Peach said.

Trixie fastened the gag and quickly hogtied her before stuffing Peach into her saddlebag. She then checked over the house one last time before leaving and locking the door behind her. Trixie smiled as she left Sean to his fate of being slowly killed by the treadmill.

Author's Note

It's true what they say: writing is therapeutic.