In the residential district of Ponyville, in a small, run-down house, a stallion pegasus lay on his stomach in the center of his living room. His eyes were shut tight, his forelegs covered his head. He layed there, shivering as a cold draft blew over him. Voices were talking to him. The bad kind of voices. Screaming into his mind, reminding him how insignificant he was. He wanted them to go away. He just wanted them to leave. They gradually died away, getting quieter and quieter until they were virtually inaudible. They were gone, for now.
He slowly opened one eye, glanced around, then opened the other. His eyes were bloodshot and heavily bagged, as though he hadn't slept in weeks. He took his forelegs off of his head, and used them to lift his body off the floor. His unwashed fur was a dark shade of purple, almost black. His frizzy mane & tail were a brilliant shade of violet. The cutie mark upon his flanks was a black lightning bolt with a bright yellow outline so as to be distinguishable from his almost-black fur. His name, of course, was Shadow Flash. As his recent hallucinogenic episode would suggest, he had a case of paranoid schizophrenia.
He looked around, his eyes twitching, his face showing a mix of fear and confusion. He spun himself around, and spied an open window next to his front door, the source of the cold draft blowing through the room. I better close that, he thought to himself. He slowly walked towards the window, wobbling slightly as though his legs weren't used to his weight. When he made it to the window he lazily threw his hooves onto the top of its frame, and pulled it shut.
He stared out of the glass window. He wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but the sun was still high in the sky. He looked across his overgrown lawn to the empty dirt road in front of his house. He his eyes trained left towards the neighboring property, and there he saw her. She had a watering can in her mouth, and she tilted it over a beautiful flower bed lining the border between their properties. He narrowed his eyes. It was her. The one who sent those voices to torment him. It wasn't the first time. She'd been mentally torturing him for as long as he could remember. And quite frankly, he was getting sick of it.
Next door to Shadow's home, there lived a young mare. She was a pretty creature, bearing light blue fur, a short, orange mane, and a cutie mark of a waterfall. Her name was Aqua Rush. She was watering a bed of flowers on the edge of her property, flying and hovering around a white picket fence that marked where her property ceased, and the next one began. She led a simple life in Ponyville. She was raised in a loving family, had a college education, worked at a local grocery, and dreamed of touring across Equestria. Aqua was happy, and it seemed as though nothing would ever change that.
As she finished watering her garden, the pegasus glanced at her neighboring house. It was so run-down, it looked more like a shack than a house. She wasn't even sure that anypony lived there, the only hint of there being a possible resident was the lack of a 'For Sale' sign at the foot of its poorly-mended lawn. She thought she saw the outline of a stallion in one of the house's windows at first glance, but a double-take showed otherwise. Deciding it was irrelevant whether or not she had a neighbor, Aqua shrugged, then flew into her house to continue on with her day.
Shadow was laying flat against the floor underneath his window. He had very nearly been seen by his evil tormentor. Slowly, he lifted his head toward the window, to see if he'd been spotted. He looked up and down the fence that separated his tall grass from her flower bed. He was relieved to see she was no longer outside. He abruptly shut the curtain, then took a few steps backward and sat down on a raggedy old couch. He laid back, looking up at the ceiling. He couldn't put up with that witch's antics any longer. But how? How could he make her stop? His eyes suddenly popped open as an thought sprung into his head. He sat up, looking forward intently. He had an idea. A good idea. An idea to make her stop, and to exact revenge at the same time. Shadow was going to torture Aqua Rush to death. It was such a good idea, he had to get started immediately.
One week later
The sky was dark, the streets were mostly deserted.. The sun had only just gone over the horizon, putting the city of Ponyville in the eerie half-darkness of twilight. Aqua's shift at the grocery had just ended, and she was currently walking home. She trotted gracefully down the street, passing countless ponies with a gleeful smile on her face. She had a good reason to be so cheerful, her manager at the grocery had just bought another shop on the other side of town, and Aqua was selected to become the new manager at the second establishment. She held her head high with pride and confidence. Things couldn't be going better.
She made a turn into a back alley between two modern commercial buildings. It wasn't an irregular deviation, she used this alleyway every day while transiting to and from work. It was a shortcut between the commercial and residential districts of Ponyville, which gave her a few more minutes every evening to outrun the blinding darkness of night. It was only about three meters wide between two multi-story buildings, which gave it a distinct lack of light even during the day. It was intimidating to her at first, but she's come to get used to its deep ambiguity. Without giving it a thought, she trotted between the buildings toward her home.
Shadow Flash was propped up against a dumpster in the very same alleyway that Aqua called a shortcut. His chest inflated and depressed rapidly, his eyes were wide with excitement. Despite having sat in the alleyway for nearly fifteen minutes, he was hyper with anticipation. A short extension cord was wrapped around both of his forelegs, creating a makeshift garrote wire spanning his front hooves. Everything was ready, and he was about to set his plan in motion. He'd been studying his prey for the past week, and he knew she'd be here soon.
He heard hoofsteps; somepony was coming. He pulled his front hooves apart, tightening the wire between them. His entire body tensed up as he saw her trot right passed him. This is it, he thought. He sprang up, and a quick few flaps of his wings landed him right over her back. He quickly threw the extension cord around her neck, and pulled hard. Taken by surprise, the mare started clawing at her throat as the taut rubber wire crushed her windpipe. She put up a desperate struggle as the stallion strangled her, trying to put out any sort of scream for help, but she couldn't yell without her breathe.
The two collapsed on the ground, Aqua squirming around like a fish out of water, and Shadow maintaining his composure, a look of pure, professional focus on his face. She kept up the fight for another twenty-five seconds or so, until the lack of oxygen finally made her pass out. The cord was released from her neck, and Shadow stood up. He checked the mare's pulse to make sure he hadn't choked her for too long, then he wrapped his forelegs around her chest, flapped his wings, and took off with her under the cover of the night.
It didn't take him long at all to reach his destination. A rickety old shed in the Everfree Forest, similar in appearance to his own house, though relatively smaller. He pushed the front door open, still carrying his victim, and flicked on the light. A single light bulb hanging in the center of the shed flickered, and came to life. Directly underneath the light was a large wooden platform, about the size of a single bed, except slightly shorter. There were four metal half-loops embedded in each of the corners, and four plastic ties stacked neatly on the edge of the platform.
Off to the right of the shed was a table, similar in size to the platform, bearing several different items on top, and a chair sitting off to the side. Shadow hovered himself over to the platform, and softly laid Aqua Rush down on her back. He spread her legs apart, and carefully tied each of them down with the plastic restraints. Satisfied with his work, he sat down at the table, and pulled up a book to wait for her awakening. He sighed deeply. He was finally ridding himself of her evil antics.
It wouldn't be long, now.
Author's Note
Okay, so I haven't written or read a story in a while, so I have no idea how well I did with this first chapter. I suppose the like/dislike ratio will tell. Until that comes up, I can't say for sure whether or not any more chapters will be written. Only time will tell.
P.S. Please point out any spelling/grammar errors in the comments, I was really tired when I wrote this.
His mind was clear, his body relaxed. A cool atmosphere was held in the old wooden shed. Shadow sat at the table, calmly reading his book. Aqua was still passed out on the platform, quietly resting in her bonds. He looked away from his pages to view his victim. Her pretty features were accentuated in the bright light, like a heavenly glow cast upon a sleeping angel. It was such a perfect scene; the gentle rise and fall of her chest adding to the effect. She looked good, Shadow thought. Good enough to admire, to touch, perhaps even to kiss...
He dismissed the the thought as quickly as it came. The idea of sexual contact with his wicked tormentor was absurd at best. Why he would even consider such an action perplexed him. Then, he realized. She was subconsciously seducing him, as a last resort to avert her fate. But her mental intrusions wouldn't work on him this time. He had vengeance on his mind, nothing could change that now. He turned back to his book, deciding to ignore her until she awoke. It wouldn't be long now, he kept thinking to himself.
It was less than an hour before the mare finally came to. She slowly opened her eyes, and was immediately met with the blinding overheard light. She winced, blinking a few times as her pupils adjusted to the sudden brightness. The second thing that met her was the pounding headache, and the third thing was the awkward, uncomfortable feeling in her throat, as though her trachea had collapsed. She let out a few coughs, and started turning her head from side to side, trying to ward off her pain and discomfort.
She moaned a few times, a small sweat breaking out on her forehead. Slowly, she opened her eyes further, and an unsettling confusion started to accumulate in her mind. For one, she didn't know where she was. She saw the ceiling and walls were made of wood, and the cold air around her suggested an unheated cabin or shed. She tried to lift her right foreleg to roll herself off the platform, but found a resistance on her hoof kept it in place. She tugged harder, assuming it was stuck in or under something, but to no avail. She looked toward her hoof to see what the problem was, and was shocked to find it fastened in place by a plastic tie.
She checked all of her other hooves, and each one told the same story. Panic began to set in, and she started tugging as hard as she could on each of her restraints. She pulled and squirmed and struggled, but the strong ties kept her secured to the platform. The only part of her not fastened down was her wings, which were now flapping violently. She kept on trying to escape for a few more minutes, but eventually, she surrendered herself to her bonds, and folded her wings against her body. She looked around the room. There had to be some sort of indication as to why she was here, and she definitely found it.
There, off to her left, sitting in the shadows, was a dark-furred stallion, sitting on his chair, watching her every move.
"H-hello?" She spoke to him, but immediately regretted it. Her eyes widened; she knew why he was there. Or, at least, she had an indication. The most prominent thought was 'He's a rapist, and you're his next victim'. She gulped, the idea of imminent molestation sent a shiver down her spine. Her heart was beating faster, and the sweat on her forehead was going cold. Then she saw it-a random assortment of mostly carpentry items were laid out on the table before him.
From left to right, she saw a nail gun, a cleaver, two half-gallon jugs labeled "KEROSENE" and "ALCOHOL", a small bucket labeled "ROAD SALT", a small fire extinguisher, a hefty staple gun, a propane torch, a mechanical drill, and a tiny glass canister labeled "ADRENALINE".
Again, she gulped. She was trembling now, fear and confusion filling her entire body. She turned to look at the stallion with teared-up eyes. "Wh-what are you g-gonna d-do...?"
She could make out a smile forming on his face before he spoke his upcoming explanation. "Oh, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. First, I'm going to bolt both of your wings to the platform with several three-inch nails. Then I'm going to cut a big chunk of flesh off of your stomach, stick it in your mouth, and start pouring kerosene in your eyes until you chew and swallow. Next, I'll pour half a gallon of alcohol over your stomach wound, then sprinkle it with road salt. After that, I'm going to hold your head on its side and start pounding your jaw with a fire extinguisher until all the teeth on one side of your mouth are either chipped, broken or shattered. Then I'll turn you over and do the same to the other side. When I'm done that, I'm going to staple your lips together with one-inch wide industrial staples. Once that's over, I'm going to melt your eyes out of their sockets with a propane torch. And to finish it all off, I'm going to drill a hole through your chest and into your heart, then wait for you to bleed out."
Aqua was crying by now, tears streaming down her face with the occasional sob escaping her lungs. This couldn't be real. She had to have been dreaming, there was no way she was about to be tortured and killed by some random pony that she didn't even know. She shut her eyes, facing the ceiling. It was all imaginary, she told herself. Any second now, she'd wake up in her house, go work management at the grocery, then make enough money to tour Equestria for the rest of her life.
"By the way, the adrenaline is there in case you start feeling sleepy." Said her kidnapper. She opened her eyes. She was still in the shed, with the cold air, blinding light bulb, and murderous stallion. She looked toward him again, and found him standing right next to the platform, staring at her with cold, intended eyes. She squinted, she recognized him. She knew him. He was her neighbor, Shadow-Something. Shadow Fang? Shadow Flank? Shadow Flash! That's what it was!
"Y-you're Shadow Flash..."
"Yep, and you're Aqua Rush." Aqua's narrowed eyes were now bearing a more confused look.
"How do you know my n-name?" She asked.
"How could I not?" He said, a slight frustration accumulating in his voice. "You're the one who's been torturing my mind for months. Well, now it's your turn to be tortured." He laughed. Aqua slowly shook her head, her tears reforming.
"Sh-Shadow, you have th-the wrong m-mare, I n-n-never t-tortured you..."
"Ohhh, yes you did. You played with my mind like it was some silly toy. You kept on sending those voices to torment and depress me. But let me tell you something, Aqua Flush, you crossed the wrong stallion. And now you're going to pay."
"P-please, Shadow! Even if I could, I-I'd n-never do s-something like that!"
"Quiet. Your begging won't save you." He turned around, took a few steps to the table, grabbed the nail gun in his mouth, then went back and set it down on the platform. "This hydraulic nail gun is loaded with three-inch iron nails." He looked up at Aqua with a smile. "All eight of them are about to be embedded in your wings." She reeled back in horror. This was really happening. And it was happening right now. He hovered above the platform, picking up the nail gun in the cleft of his left hoof.
"Please, Shadow, no! I-I swear I did nothing! P-please, let me go!" She plead with him as he grabbed her left wing with his free hoof. Tears rolled down her stained cheeks, and she started to hyperventilate.
"I told you, your begging won't save you." He simply replied. With some difficulty, he stretched out Aqua's convulsing wing until it was full mast against the platform. He pressed the nail gun against her wing, just a few inches away from the tip. Her heart was beating so fast at this point, she thought it might explode.
"Please, please, please, don't do this!" She shouted one last time, desperately trying to fold her wing away from the maniac and his nail gun.
Without giving it another thought, Shadow squeezed the trigger.
