Hitmare

Shattered glass flew everywhere. I hadn't realised just how fast I had been flying before I almost slammed into the opposite wall of the room. I glanced around, taking in the slashed bed-curtains, banners and other orange-yellow paraphernalia. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out two magic grenades and tossed them to the floor, where they exploded, spewing out a glimmering, pink-tinted cloud that swirled around to fill the room.

Pulling out my knife, I swooped down to the bed, throwing the bed-curtains to the side. Grabbing the groggy unicorn by the horn, I pressed the knife to her throat.

"Zule." She said icily. It was ironic, given how many times she had employed my services, that I should be the one to kill her.

"Celestia." I replied smoothly.

"I wondered when this day would come. A pity, really."

There was a crash as the doors were blasted off their hinges. "Princess!" One of the guards cried. He and his compatriot immediately fired off a spell to try to stop me, but each blast of energy simply fizzled out in the air. I grinned as Celestia panicked. She too tried to set off a spell, but like the efforts of her guards, it was futile. The mare just lay there, terrified as I began to push the piece of metal harder into her neck.

Blood started to seep out of the cut I was making before she spoke. "Please don't kill me." She croaked pathetically. I flinched. Was... Was this who I was now? Reducing the ruler of the whole country, a demigoddess, to tears of fear? Not now! I reminded myself.

I looked up at Celestia again- and saw not her face but that of Big Macintosh. The pressure on Celestia's neck decreased as I faltered. I suddenly felt so sick of myself. The very thought that Fluttershy, a personality I had completely invented merely as a cover for my true self, being a better pony than me was now horrifying.

I threw the knife at the wall with all my might. There was a clang as it hit the marble surface, but I barely even heard it as the guards threw me off the princess and dragged me away.

Big Macintosh was dead, and I had killed him because I was too proud and stupid to just go back to the contact and say no. I wouldn't have been good enough for him anyway. It didn't matter. The cell door clanked shut and I just lay crying.