The Cutie Mark Killers

Chapter 5
A Nail in the Coffin

Scootaloo sighed. This was harder than she thought. At least it was almost over.

The mood was sombre in the Ponyville cemetery. A crowd was gathered there to pay their respects to their lost loved ones for the second time in a week. At the front of the crowd were Granny Smith and AppleBloom, both dressed in black, with veils covering their faces. Granny Smith wept openly, while AppleBloom just stared at the ground.

A black casket was being carried towards an empty grave. Big Macintosh was carrying the front of it, along with Breaburn, who had traveled from Appleosia to bury his cousin. Two other stallions from the Apple family were behind them, carrying the rear of the casket. As they approached the hole in the ground, the pallbearers stopped and turned towards one another. Tears were flowing down Big Macintosh’s face.

After a few words, the casket was lowered into the ground. This was the final resting place of whatever was left ofAppleJack.

After most of the ponies had started to leave, Scootaloo approached the grave. AppleBloom was still standing there, along with Sweetie Belle, looking at the headstone. It was fairly simple, with only AppleJack’s cutie mark and a small inscription adorning it.

Here lies AppleJack
A shining beacon
Of honesty
And integrity

When AppleJack’s remains were discovered, the cause of death was declared to be an accident involving the juicer. When Cheerilee was discovered however, it was impossible to mistake it as anything other than a murder.

Scootaloo looked at her grave, where she was buried two days earlier. It was marked with a plaque that read:

Cheerilee
A true inspiration
For generations to come

The town had been whipped up into a frenzy following the discovery of her body. It was the first intentional killing in over a century. The police ponies were ill-equipped to conduct an investigation, as most of the time they just prevented petty crimes. Murder was something completely new to them.

Then there was Pinkie Pie and Zecora, who were still missing. Twilight Sparkle had organized a search party, but to no avail. Three days had passed, with no sign of them. She was eventually forced to call off the search. The two missing mares were presumed dead.

Scootaloo smiled. Everything was coming together nicely. There was one thing left for her to do.

She turned towards the back of the crowd, towards the blue pegasus that was visiting from Canterlot. Her next target. Scootaloo had explained her plan to AppleBloom and Sweetie Bell earlier, and now they just had to get a head start.

--==--

Rainbow Dash looked around awkwardly. It had been months since she was last in Ponyville. It wasn’t exactly the best of circumstances that had brought her back, but she had to pay her final respects to AppleJack. Still, she felt out of place.

Tomorrow she and the three remaining elements of harmony were going to meet at the library and catch up. Dash wasn’t looking forward to that. She still felt guilty over leaving Ponyville the way she did. After she was invited to join the wonderbolts, she barely had time to say goodbye to everypony before leaving for Canterlot.

She said some quick goodbyes to the ponies attending the burial, then stretched her wings and flew towards the hotel she was staying at. She soared high above the clouds, where nopony would spot her. It was a little out of the way, but Dash was looking forward to the flight. She needed some time alone to think of something to say to her friends the next day.

She looked down at the everfree forest below. It was starting to get dark out. Rainbow Dash felt a chill in the air, and dropped her altitude until she was just skimming above the treeline. The air was much warmer lower down. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the wind whipping through her mane. She was about to pull back up to the privacy of the clouds, when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo called, “Come down here for a sec!”

Rainbow Dash looked down at the little pegasus on the ground. Truthfully, Dash had actually missed her number one fan. She glided down to meet her, expecting a torrent of questions about the wonderbolts.

As she touched down, she noticed that Scootaloo was wearing a black cape that covered her hindquarters. Dash figured she still hadn’t earned her cutie mark, so she chose to hide her flank. There was also an unsettling smile on her face.

“Hey squirt!” Dash exclaimed, “Long time no see! How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine. Still learning to fly.” Scootaloo said. Dash could have sworn her eyes narrowed as she said it. “How’s life in Canterlot with the wonderbolts?”

Here we go, Dash thought.

“It’s been pretty sweet. Being able to perform with them is like a dream come true! It’s like I’ve finally found what I was meant to do in life.” Rainbow Dash gushed.

“I know the feeling” Scootaloo said, “So where are you off to?”

“Just heading back to my hotel to get some shuteye. I’ve got a long day tomorrow, and I… Wait, why are you out here? Wouldn’t your parents be worried about you being out this late alone?”

“Oh, I’m not alone.” Scootaloo said, and she looked past Rainbow Dash.

Dash followed her gaze and turned around. To her surprise, Sweetie Belle and AppleBloom were standing behind her. AppleBloom was wearing a cape similar to Scootaloo’s, but Sweetie Belle’s back was bare. A saddlebag was hung over her shoulder.

“How did they sneak up on me like that?” Rainbow Dash thought. “This is starting to feel a little creepy.”

Scootaloo moved towards her.

“I need to ask you something.” She said. Her off-putting smile had faded. A scowl now crossed her face. “Why did you abandon me?”

“W-what?” Rainbow Dash stammered. She wasn’t sure she heard her right.

“I said, why did you abandon me? You promised to help me fly. You promised to help me find my cutie mark. Then you up and left without even bothering to say goodbye. You lied to me”

Dash felt a pang of guilt. “Scoots, I…”

“Don’t call me that! I’m not a little kid anymore!”

Rainbow Dash felt a lump form in her throat.

“Scootaloo, listen. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave so quickly. I didn’t have a choice. I can make it up to you.”

“Oh, I know you can.” Scootaloo said. Her smile returned. “You see, I’ve been busy since you left. I even got a cutie mark.”

With that, she whipped off her cape with her teeth. Underneath, Rainbow Dash saw that Scootaloo indeed had a mark. It was the strangest one she had ever seen. It looked like a black pony with crimson streaks across its body. The sight of it made her skin crawl.

“What is that?” She asked.

“It’s what I’m best at. Pain.” Scootaloo stepped towards her former idol.

“Scootaloo…” Dash sputtered. Suspicion crept into her voice. “What did you do?”

“I killed a pony.” Scootaloo said, as if nothing was at all out of the ordinary. “I also helped kill three others. But before they died, I made them suffer.”

“What are you talking about? What did you do to my friends?” Rainbow Dash’s wings flared open in rage.

“I just told you. We killed Mrs. Cheerilee. We killed Zecora. We killed AppleJack. I killed Pinkie Pie.” Scootaloo shoved her face forwards with each word. She was inches from Rainbow Dash.

“You little…!” Dash reeled back as if to strike Scootaloo. She was stopped, however, by a sudden sharp pain in her back. She turned around, and saw a needle sticking out of her, surrounded by a fading turquoise glow.

Her vision immediately started to fade. Swaying slightly, she turned back to face Scootaloo.

“I hope the mark was worth it.”

“It wasn’t. But what’s coming up will be.”

--==--

The cutie mark crusaders had dragged the unconscious Rainbow Dash deep into the forest. After they had found a suitable location, Sweetie Belle had begun to unpack her saddlebag. She laid out several long nails neatly beside a tree.

Scootaloo and AppleBloom propped Rainbow Dash against the tree. Scootaloo had chosen this tree specifically, for the way its trunk looked in the night. It was twisted and knotted to look like a snarling face. The perfect spot for the task at hand. Scootaloo pulled a hammer from Sweetie Belle’s saddlebag.

“Bell, get the binding spell ready.” She said.

Sweetie Belle nodded, and summoned the necessary magic. Turquoise light surrounded Rainbow Dash’s limbs and wings, and she was lifted off the ground and pressed against the tree. The movement seemed to wake dash slightly.

Her eyes slowly opened. Scootaloo saw her rose irises struggle to focus on the scene in front of her. Dash groaned and tried to flex her hooves. However, upon feeling the magical resistance, her eyes bolted open.

“What’s going on?” She cried. Dash looked down and saw the cutie mark crusaders looking up at her. The memories of what happened before she was drugged started to flow back to her. Her heart was pounding. Her eyes drifted to the row of nails lined up in front of her.

Dash had seen enough. She pushed her wings furiously against the tree, attempting to gain leverage over her restraints. She felt the resistance slip slightly, but it still had her pinned.

“I guess we’re doing the wings first. AppleBloom, hold down the left one while I work.” Scootaloo ordered.

Scootaloo grabbed two nails with her mouth. Then, she and AppleBloom climbed up to one of the lower branches to get a better reach. AppleBloom grabbed Dash’s wing and held it tight against the trunk. Dash struggled, and her sensitive wing rubbed painfully against the rough bark.

“Let go of me you psychos! I’ll kill you for this!” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked in fury.

“Not likely.” Replied Scootaloo simply. She carefully lined up one of the nails. The tip brushed against Dash’s feathers.

Feeling the metal spike, Rainbow Dash realized what was about to happen. Panicking, she strained one final time to free her wing from Sweetie Belle’s magic and AppleBloom’s grasp. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her wing to the breaking point. The magic started to lose its hold. Dash kept up the pressure, wincing as she felt tendons strain and tear from the intense load. She was almost there, just a little more…

Scootaloo brought her hammer down. The nail tore through the thin tissue of the wing. Dash gave a shaky scream as cold steel tore through her, setting her nerves on fire. It was more pain than she had ever felt. Blood began to seep around the nail, staining Dash’s cyan feathers.

Scootaloo struck again. The nail sunk deep into the wood underneath. Tremors of the impact sent waves of agony up the ruined wing. Dash screamed again. Her wing instinctively tried to snap shut, causing the trauma around the wound to double.

“Why are you doing this?” Rainbow Dash sobbed. “Because I joined the Wonderbolts? I had to! I worked towards it my entire life! It was my dream!”

“No, it’s because you turned your back on me!” Scootaloo screamed, “You want to whine about dreams? All I ever wanted was for you to respect me! That was my dream! Instead, you just left me behind me like I was nothing. You killed my hopes. Now, I’m here to make it even.”

Scootaloo moved over to the other wing. This time, Dash didn’t struggle. Her body was still in shock from the first nail being driven into her. She wouldn’t dare try to move anyway, in fear of ruining her wing further.

Scootaloo held another nail over the skin and feathers of Dash’s right wing. She took her time, savoring the pained expression on Dash’s face. Ignoring the hammer, she started pushing the point against the wing with her hoof. Rainbow Dash whimpered.

Scootaloo applied more pressure. As the pain grew, Dash turned away. She couldn’t bear to look at the mutilation anymore. She gasped as she felt the spike pass through her skin and into the muscle underneath. Then the hammer came down again. It drove the nail clean through the rest of the wing, embedding it in the tree. Despite her best efforts, Rainbow Dash screamed again, tearing her throat.

“Ok, Sweetie Belle, you can let go now.” Said Scootaloo, hopping to the ground.

Sweetie Belle nodded and severed the flow of magic. Immediately, Rainbow Dash’s body slumped towards the ground, transferring her full weight onto her punctured wings. The left one tore even more, leaving a ragged gash that extended from the nail. Blood was seeping into the knots of the tree, giving it an even more frightening appearance.

Her legs now unrestrained, Dash tried to push herself free. However, as she struggled, her torn wings screamed in protest, while still remaining firmly nailed down. After a few seconds, she couldn’t take the pain any more. It was like her wings were on fire. She went limp, having been utterly spent.

Scootaloo grabbed another nail from the row. With a casual demeanor, she lined it up with the joint where Rainbow Dash’s left rear hoof met her leg. She brought her hammer back behind her head. She knew she would have to swing as hard as she could.

With a grunt, she hammered the nail home with all her weight. The force of the impact concentrated on the small point broke through Dash’s shin bone, embedding the spike within the marrow. The blue pegasus gave a choking sob. Scootaloo swung again. The nail sank an inch deeper. With a third swing, the bone split completely.

Rainbow Dash couldn't take much more. She looked down at Scootaloo.

"Scoots... please... stop this."

Ignoring her, Scootaloo kept swinging until she hit wood. There was now a pool of blood on the forest floor.

She drove another nail into Dash’s right leg. This time, Rainbow Dash barely noticed. Her body had started to go numb, overloaded with pain. She could feel unconsciousness taking over, tantalizing her with its sweet relief. However, she found the strength to say one last thing to her number one fan.

“Was it worth it?”

As Dash passed out, Scootaloo pondered what she had said. Had it all been worth it? Almost. Just one more touch, and it would be perfect.

She grabbed the last nail and climbed up the tree until she was eye level with Rainbow Dash. She pressed the point against Dash’s forehead.

“Goodbye, Rainbow.”

She lashed out with her hammer, driving the nail cleanly through Rainbow Dash’s skull. Dash’s eyes popped open in one last moment of agony, and then rolled back. It was done.

It was worth it.

For good measure, Scootaloo took a knife from Sweetie Belle’s bag and slit Rainbow Dash’s throat. Blood seeped from the wound, but it didn’t pour out like when AppleBloom did the same to AppleJack.

“Well girls, it’s been fun, but we should really get out of here.” Scootaloo said, admiring her handywork.

“Right, and I need to pay my sister a visit.” Sweetie Belle replied. She started to imitate her sister’s accent. “She must be oh so scared about all these deaths. Somepony has to take care of her.”

Scootaloo and AppleBloom grinned. It was about time they visited the Carousel Boutique. Sweetie Belle was overdue for a cutie mark anyway.

--==--
End of Chapter 5