A Game of Psychopaths

by Perfect Prime

Rating: mature
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Dark, Nightmare Moon, Gore
Length: 13807

There are many types of ponies in the world, but not all of them are accepted by society.

Death is universally accepted as something bad, but that doesn't mean everypony feels that way. It is its own art form, and there are always those trying to perfect their skills. Two ponies lock heads in a battle of wits and mental instability as they assert their individual authorities over the ponies that they rule. They have been cast aside by the other ponies, and have been rejected by what they've wanted to be. The only thing left for them now, is to turn to the shadows and enjoy each other's company; no matter how sickening they find the other.
[Revised and Remastered Version]
[Small Details are Fixed and the Problems are Gone]
Rated Mature for gore, semi-mature themes, and foul language.
Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Published 2012-04-28 02:34:03 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-28 02:34:03 UTC

A Game of Psychopaths

A Game of Psychopaths

Silence permeated the lavender blue living room as the three occupants slithered around on the carpeted floor. Two of them looked ready to piss themselves, and the other just stood up on her hindhooves; back hunched over and her straight, rosy mane covering her right eye. The pupils were constricted to the extent that they were barely visible anymore and desperate ecstasy was written into her features as she approached the couple. Her toothy grin only added macabre to the maniacal portrait that the other two witnessed, and they shuffled back as quickly as they could; trapped within their own home.

One a Pegasus of tranquil harlequin and the other a Unicorn; painted with beautiful, curly locks of dazzling turquoise. They both held onto each other for dear life as the blood seeping out from their wounds dripped onto the floor; staining the comfortable tapestry. The stallion had both of his wings broken so as to prevent escape, and two or three stab wounds in his legs. The blood drained out from the injury and trailed down his hooves; spiralling as it descended and made contact with the carpeting. His wife, the brilliant ivory coated mare, had her horn broken off and held the sharp tip in her teeth; trying her best to fend off the assailant. A Unicorn’s horn has an amazing amount of blood being sent to it at any one point, and now it was just cascading down her beautiful features; accentuating her fear.

One single pony shouldn’t be capable of such evil; not when she is by nature an essential element of survival and peace of mind. The sheer irony of the situation was far more than just laughable and she herself demonstrated this; cackling higher and louder than any other psychopathic pony. Her dark blue eyes stared straight at the married couple; the knife covered in the oozing liquid held stiff in her teeth as she threatened them once more. Once the two had run out of room to hide and let the salty tears flow out, she stopped moving. She stood there, motionless; glaring at the two and smiling. Laughs started to creep out from the scared shitless ponies’ mouths as they began to think that she was sparing them; offering them mercy.

One fluid motion was all it took, and the blade crashed against flesh twice; slicing through it as if it was jelly; manipulated with masterful control. Screaming, the Pegasus jumped back from his decapitated wife’s corpse; his neck gouged open, and flapped his destroyed wings; the sounds of the bone fragments wearing away at each other audible to the last two ponies in the entire house. The horn stump hindered and diverted the rolling path of the Unicorn head with misery and despondency plastered on her face. The heartless killer who is usually so kind cackled once more and leaped forward, slicing his isthmus and listened as the blood gushed out of the open wound; the Pegasus writhing on the floor in pain.

Death was looming at the door; too frightened to tread inside domain of the murderous monster. He had two jobs to complete here, but even deities can be frightened of mortal creatures. The stallion wasn’t ready to give up, as every one of his limbs convulsed; attempting to save what was left of his life. Another fluid motion ended it all as her hoof struck down, connecting with the side of his head; shattering bone and spreading grey matter over the floor. She seemed to be quite pleased.

Night was here as the horned pony flashed from place to place; moving around Canterlot with false agility. She ended the teleporting on the roof of a standard, upper-class home; moderately large and well decorated. Forming a field around her body, the pony phased through the top of building and fell through; landing firmly on the ground inside; startling the sole bachelor inside. He was a Unicorn, just like many of the other citizens of Canterlot, and his initial instinct was to employ the birth right ability of magic against the intruder. Unfortunately for him, the soot coated mare used her own powers to subdue him; confusing him and sending countless thoughts through his head. The more thoughts somepony thought, the more difficult it would be for them to use magic; and he was rendered defenceless.

Hard to imagine that in a country of harmony and friendship, there could be so many cold, devilish ponies, who everypony else think are great and delightful. But, as with everything, peace has its own opposite. She was the living embodiment of it and she grinned at him; bringing out the primal fear all ponies are born with. He screamed, and hollered; begging for anypony outside to hear him and to come to his aid, but it was no use. The mare was no amateur and she had already prepared a barrier; impermeable by sound. He kept trying as his mind refused to accept the fact that this could very well be the end. Nopony was going to save him though, and he knew this. The last screams were just to bring solace to his mind that still refuted it all. In this house, nopony could hear him scream.

She was different to the other ponies in the way that she wasn’t in a rush. The windows were all open and they were transparent like the air. Usually, anypony in her situation with her intentions would be worried and would hurry everything, but not her. A cool demeanour mixed in with delirious elation showed on her face and she started to chuckle under her breath. Almost silent, the noises came out in rhythm and mocked the stallion; pushing him further back and pressing him against the wall. She skipped happily across the tiled floor and her hooves clinked each time they came down on the icy surface. Screaming, laughing, and clinking, every sound mixed together into an orchestra of malevolence, and a discordant harmony.

The clothing he wore specifically over the posterior portion of his body started to darken and a yellow puddle collected at his hooves; drenching them and diffusing into the air; malodorous and revolting by nature. Urine followed the paths in the ground, between each and every tile as it approached the intruder. She didn’t seem to care that much that her victim has just wet himself, but she didn’t want to touch his bodily fluids. There was a spherical barrier that surrounded her and as it came in contact with the fluid, it vaporized instantly; hissing as it changed states. She was no more than a few paces away from the Unicorn, whose magic was still being subdued, and the shield she conjured up remained with her; distorting the stallion’s reflection as he stared at her through the translucent boundary.

Of a sudden, she darted forward and startled the pony, triggering his instincts and making him thrust his forehoof in front of his face; trying his best to fend her off and protect himself. Shrieks ensued shortly after his automated motion and he came to dramatically rue the uncontrollable reflex. The instant his hoof came into contact with the horned pony’s creation, it became like his urine. There was no delay as he watched half of his limb disintegrate before his very eyes; a denser, semi-opaque gas drifting up slightly then descending; cascading down to the ground.

This anguished him and excited her as her cackles grew louder and boomed in his ears; once again using her Royal Canterlot Voice. Glazed windows vibrated vigorously under the pressure of her vocal prowess and some cracked slightly as the shout neared their resonant frequencies. Blood, sweat, dribble, and urine all pooled on the floor; spreading its arms out as if in prayer; begging both God and the mare for mercy; doing what the stallion was incapable of. The end was almost here, and they two both realised this. Unexpectedly, the immense pain he was experiencing brought about a change in him; giving him the faintest amount of strength in his darkest hour. A single dagger of magic was thrown from his horn and passed straight through one of her space black, outstretched wings. She didn’t grimace, but kept grinning. Turning her body into a mist like her mane and tail, she enveloped the hopeless victim. The look on his face said it all as his lungs were rejected the oxygen they craved, and the life was slowly yanked out of his not convulsing body.

Some days had passed since the nth killing committed by the now jubilant mare. She sat in her room above the store that sold confectioneries and rubbed the belly of her pet baby alligator as she perused a newspaper she picked up previously on the doorstep when she locked the front entrance. On the fourth page in, she found what she wanted to see. Recognition. In the entirety of Equestria, crime is hidden very well from the unsuspecting citizens. No pony of authority wanted them to know about just how much corruption there was in the world that they promoted as perfect. However, to see that her murder was published in the Ponyville Post, it had to mean that this was a public cry for help; begging for anypony to assist the authorities in identifying and catching her.

She wasn’t scared though, because this wasn’t the first time her work had been appreciated to this extent. Countless times prior to this moment, she had read about her killings in the paper, and shortly after, detectives would attempt to catch her. Sometimes, a few would get really close to doing it, but every single time they got to see her deranged face, she would end their lives right there. Smirking and chuckling, her straight mane flopped about a little as her body convulsed weakly; her dark cyan eyes shrinking as she glared out of the open window. She saw a beautiful, silver crescent hanging amongst the pitch black canvas; high up above the tranquil town that she so secretly ruled.
Turning the page, something caught her eye and her delight turned to confusion. Another murder made public by the press; one that she wasn’t responsible for. She wouldn’t stand for this and instantly recognised that somepony else was doing this to spite her. She was ready though. If they wanted to play a game, then she would play, and she didn’t plan on losing either; since she was, in her own way, a genius, she was able to fully acknowledge and appreciate what she had read about in the paper. The normal her wouldn’t have been able to do this, but in this state of mind, she understood everything that happened.

Using her well-crafted, murderous mental perspective, she pieced everything together and slowly, deduced what had happened that night two days ago. To her, it was all so obvious and should she have chosen to side with the Angels, she would have made a great detective. Possibly even greater than the Clawdornian. Her grin returned as she thought about how to relay the message to her; that she understood her intent. The normally sapphire blue mare would once again turn to dark cerulean as she learns of how the straight, pink maned mare was ready to accept her challenge. They would be able to play their game, and everything would be determined.
There wasn’t that much time left to be wasted, so she needed to make the most of what she had to work with. If she did this to the utmost extent of her skill, she should be able to get in the paper again, and let the powerful, magical mare know that the game is afoot. Patting her pet on the head gently, she slammed her bedroom door shut behind her; zipping down the flights of stairs and rushing her way into the kitchen. Nudging the fridge and pushing it with her head, she slipped her hoof behind it, and produced from it a large, kitchen knife.

She went over to the chrome sink and rinsed her constant companion during her nightly outings before snapping her mouth shut around the void of colour, plastic handle. Now satisfied and smiling maniacally in the dark, she trod along the tiled kitchen floor; arriving at the back door of Sugarcube Corner. Unlocking it silently, she smoothly opened it and sneaked out into the enormous shadow cast over her by the building onto the already darkened trotway. She was ready.
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There were countless ways that she could have relayed her message to her competitor, but there was one that not only would have been interesting for them, but also would be enough to intrigue all the other ponies who learn about these crimes. This was surely a plan that could fool anypony and prevent the two of them from ever being caught. She thought that this was brilliant, and as she approached one of the few cottages that lay on the border of Ponyville, she started to smirk with malicious joy.

She never went through the door, because that was stupid. Instead, she always climbed up one of the walls, and jumped down the chimney. She did this and her scarily straight mane seemed to get in the way as it kept blocking her line of vision. She wished that she could have the normal, fluffy hair that she usually had, but it had to be this way. With minimal effort, she dropped down and landed inside the dirty, sooty fireplace; sending a cloud of dust and carbon into the air, choking her ever so slightly. There was nopony in the living room, but she was certain that he was in here. She thought that most likely; the wavy maned, dark azure Unicorn was asleep in his room.

She didn’t want to do it that way, because that’d be boring. If he died unknowingly, then the fun is gone. It’s only enjoyable for her because they realise that they are about to die, and their primal fear takes over them; making them react to the situation in ways that always amused her. She would have to wake him though, and since she was just an Earth pony, and since he was a Unicorn, there could be problems if she didn’t take care of it. Slowly, she made her way up the stairs with shocking stealth, and approached the unsuspecting stallion’s bedroom. Noiselessly, she crept in and loomed over his body; his face illuminated by the sliver of light coming through the gap of the ajar door. He seemed so peaceful, and the very prospect of disturbing his tranquil rest; replacing it with the unfortunate and deadly reality brought more elation to her than a brand new doll does for a filly.

One fluid motion, smoother than a songbird’s melody was carried out by her head and neck; forcing the sharpened edge she held in her teeth to follow. An instant later, the slumbersome pony jumped up and screamed in obvious pain. Blood spurted all over his snow white sheets and stained his beautifully blue coat. A dull thump came from the ground as the tip of his well-cared for horn crashed down; bouncing up before falling again; spreading drops of the viscous liquid on the hardwood floor. His body convulsed and as he gripped his stump with his hooves, he rolled out of the bed and came to a rough stop around her feat.

She stared right down at him and maintained her line of vision with no remorse. Her toothy grin brought a higher level of fear to his pounding heart each time he saw it, and he started to choke on the blood that flowed from his single yet immense wound. As she expected, the pony with a safety pin for a Cutie Mark screamed until his lungs were empty, but it didn’t matter. She’d done this sort of thing so many times before, that it wouldn’t matter even if he alerted anypony of what was going on. She always managed to get away with it.

Tossing the knife aside and letting it stab into the floor of the plain bedroom, she reached over to the blood-stained pillow and carried it in both of her pink forehooves. Slamming it down on his face, she pressed her chest against it and felt his body writhe as he struggled to get his last breath. Moments later, the movements stopped, and he was gone. Chuckling quietly, she went back for the knife, and with one erratic gesture of her isthmus, her head shot to the side. More blood came out and the smell of the iron in his system permeated the room. It was done, and she left with his forehoof.

Three days after her spontaneous murder, the dark cerulean mare returned to the surface and jumped out of a mini misty tornado; abandoning her other half for the beauteous night. She was anticipating a response, and she had a rough idea of just how it would come about. The rough idea was there, and that was all she really needed. If this playmate was really worthy of taking part at all in this game, then she would have sent her message already, and it would have already gotten in the paper.

That was what she needed to find, but since it was so late, it was hard to find anyplace that would let her, a creature born from the nightmares of many, purchase anything. With no other option, she soared over her high-society home and observed the empty streets. She circled around for a while with nothing to do except to anticipate the message. She kept imagining just what she would have said, and just what she should do in reply. She wanted to win, and prove that she was the best, but it wasn’t that easy. She had to beat her, and make sure that she wasn’t caught. She had to kill her.

Extremely early the next morning, she still circumscribed the entirety of Canterlot. Eventually, she saw it. Down there, being blown along the streets by the gentle breeze, a single copy of the Canterlot Courier. Shooting down with unbelievable accuracy and speed, she grabbed it in her vicious jaw and darted into a dark alleyway. Using her horn’s magic, she lit up the darkness around her just enough for her to still be safe, and for her to be able to read the printed words.

Three or four pages in, she finally saw it. One single image, somewhat censored, coupled with a lengthy description of the scene and a cry for help. The devilish smirk she so often wore returned and if anypony had seen her at this point, looking like she did, they would no doubt have died from the fright. Her challenge had been accepted, and she was delighted by this. But that wasn’t the only thing she noticed. Her competitor had set something up for them. This would make it so much easier for her to play, since she would have one less thing to worry about. She couldn’t have been happier, and mentally conjured images skimmed through her thoughts as she contemplated what to do next.

Then, the perfect idea came to her mind. This was surely the best thing for her to do, and it would be so fun to see the look on her face if she did this. She was convinced that this was the best course of action, and without a second thought, she employed her inherent magic and after one dim flash of light, she disappeared from Canterlot. Another flash appeared about one hundred miles away, in Ponyville, right behind a shop that sold quills and sofas. She flew out of the navy light and soared high into the sky, trying her best not to be seen by any pony from below. Now, she had to pick the perfect victim; one that would convey the fact that she was the superior, and that her opponent was no more than a slightly gifted amateur.

She wasn’t very familiar with the residents of Ponyville, so she didn’t really know who to pick, but then, it occurred to her. If she did things perfectly and played her cards right, then whoever the pony is, won’t matter. Slowly, the plan unfurled before her very eyes and she saw it all happen. An unknown pony, being killed in the most ingenious way. A way that would surely thwart any detective’s attempt at trying to catch either of them, and ending their game. There were a few things she needed, but she could find them easily. The knife and spoon could probably be found in the pony’s home, so that wasn’t the hard thing to find, but she would still need to find the last few objects. It took her quite a while to realise just where it was, but as long as she could find it, it’d be fine.

With magic again, she teleported to a very serene and placid expanse of green turf with trees scattered here and there. One single, wooden table held what she sought and flying over to it, she pried open the brand new chess set, and took one king, one queen, and two rooks. Smirking, she held them in the air with her magic, honed after thousands of years of practice, and she took off again; searching for any home that seemed welcoming.

Even though it didn’t matter who she tortured, and even though she knew this herself, for some reason she was still preoccupied with the search of said unknown pony. A whole hour passed without her doing anything of value, but she kept at it; unfazed by the pain of her wound. After all, she was competing with some mare that could rival her own genius, and possibly beat her in this game she started. She knew there was the chance that could happen, but she didn't’ really want to think about it. She focused on the present.

She was getting really bored of just flying around, so she went for a gamble. The chess pieces she took trailing behind her as she flew through the black skies; her eyes closing as she enveloped her body in a skin of magic. A second later, her body dropped down; shooting through the freezing and motionless night air; headed straight for her target down below. Instead of smashing into the straw-thatched roofing of the home she was directly above, she passed through it as if it was water, and landed inside a pony’s home; ready to commence.

A dent was made into the floor where she came to a stop, and the other pony in the room stared at her in disbelief. At first, he didn’t recognise who she was, but soon the devilish grin on her face explained to him that he was in trouble. Being a Pegasus, his first reaction was to try and fly away, but once she dropped the chess pieces to the carpeted floor, she could concentrate on keeping him inside; restricted and bound by the power of her abilities. Licking her lips, she slowly slipped out of the living room and shuffled into the kitchen; making sure that the stallion was still being held back and denied escape.

Pulling out one of the many metallic drawers under the countertop, she extracted one, large kitchen knife, and a spoon one would normally use for soup. Clutching the knife in her teeth and levitating the silver utensil beside her folded away wings; she returned to the room where the Pegasus was being kept captive. His eyes were frustrated, darting from side to side; searching for a way out, despite recognizing that he was going to lose this fight no matter what. All he could do was try to make it so that she would have to stop all of this. Make it so that somepony would be able to see the truth.

Her smirk was enough to petrify the pony and stop him from even trying to break away from her influence. His body remained motionless, but inside his head, his mind was racing; visualizing how everything was going to happen; how he’d die, and what those objects were for. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that there was only one thing that he could have done to try and incriminate her. It was a bit farfetched, and odds were that it wouldn’t work, but it was still worth a shot. It was the only thing he could do to stop such a sick pony.

Before she killed him, she seemed to recognise that he has something on his mind; something so pressing that it was more important than him getting away with his life. She didn’t realise what it was, but to her, it didn’t matter, and she just wanted to have a little bit of fun. Ready to tease him a little, she released her grip on his entire body, and let it drop down; landing in a messy heap on the floor. Slowly, he picked himself up and stared at her cat-like, cyan irises out of menacing yet perturbed eyes. To her astonishment, he had cast escape out of his mind, and forgot about living. He had already accepted the fact that he was going to die there, but his readiness to move on irked her, and confused her. Instead of what she had predicted, the troublesome Pegasus dashed forward, and rushed her against the wall; his powerful, purple wings overpowering her unprepared hooves.

One single second was all it took for her to be pushed so far back, and to have her injured wing pressed against the wall; blood being squeezed through the relatively new wound; dripping down and staining the otherwise entirely white carpet. He scowled at her and for a single moment, his mind conjured up the thought that it was possible for him to win. He could do this. His delight at his own imagination got the better of him as he unknowingly let his guard down; making him vulnerable to what came next. Despite having a painfully wounded appendage, she still managed to flap them once; using all the force she could generate with her muscles. The resulting gust of air weakened his hold and caused him to falter for an instant. But an instant’s all it took.

He distanced himself from her to try and regain control, but this time she darted forward, and pinned him down on the floor; glaring at him and pleading with her maniacal eyes to try to overpower her again. Sadly, he was out of strength and the petrification from fright returned to him; making him want to cower as she pressed down on legs with her hooves. Disappointed but still happy, she cackled once before stomping down hard on both of his wings; effectively destroying them and making him no different from an average Earth pony. He screamed of course, but as with a lot of her other victims, nopony was going to hear him. She wasn’t going to ever let that happen. She doesn’t make mistakes.

She never knew how they felt, since she was never in their situation, but when she was this happy watching them suffer, and when she got off on it this much, she wouldn’t ever need to care. He had completely given up, and as he drew short breaths between his transient sobs, he turned his head as he lay there on his carpet. She loomed over him, and enjoyed the despair on his features as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. She lifted her head up, and waited a few seconds before bringing about the moment of the end. The blade swished down and sliced the air apart as it approached the bridge between his head and torso. Just before it all ended, he grinned as he noticed something that she had dropped right against the wall. She didn’t see this, and she killed him before she could; losing her chance to find out about just what had him so elated just before the termination.

His limp body now lay there; blood gushing just like the others’ staining the immediate surroundings and pooling where it was already saturated. Take the knife out of his neck, she tossed it across the room and it landed at the doorway into the kitchen; clinking at the metal of the blade came into contact with the ceramic tile. It would have been very difficult for anypony to tell just how excited she was, since plain expressions and features weren’t enough to articulate just how she felt. but she was sure that her competition would have been able to tell with just one glance at this scene, exactly what she was thinking.

Now using the spoon, she knelt down beside his body, and gently, carefully, and precisely scooped his eyeballs out of their sockets; placing one in her mouth and biting down; enjoying the warm liquid oozing out, the oddly rubbery texture, and the coating of what tasted like iron. The other eye she just disintegrated using her magic; thinking that this way nopony else would be able to find out. At this point, she realised that she needed the knife again and stretched out a single misty arm; reaching for object she had thrown away earlier. It wasn’t that fun for her to just mutilate a corpse, since they weren’t alive and couldn’t struggle, so she just got everything over and done with as quick as she could.

One fluid motion without magic, and the knife was thrust into his chest; indubitably piercing his heart. If he didn’t die from having his neck slit open, he would have died from having one of his most important organs stabbed and punctured. It was almost done now, and there were only a few more things that she had to set up for everything to be perfect and just as she had planned. She had lost track of where some of the things she brought were, and this pissed her off quite a bit; much more than the smell of shit and urine floating in the air from the bodily waste being ejected by the corpse as all the muscles relaxed.

A few minutes passed with her searching everywhere in the room; flipping the cushions on the sofa and ripping the rug place on top of the carpet. She even went into the kitchen to try and find them, but she couldn’t and it was starting to get at her. With no other choice, she had to hope for the best, and give up this search. Instead, she would have to seek another set of what she looked for in this stallion’s home. Flying upstairs and rummaging through each and every room, she eventually found a cardboard box, labelled with exactly what she wanted to see. Gingerly lifting the box, he face lit up as she saw them there, and her magic raised them into the air again. A queen, two rooks, and a king.

Now that she had the replacement pieces in her possession, she could proceed with what she planned on doing. Before she could continue however, she had to re-flip the mahogany coffee table and reposition it in the middle of the boring, uninteresting living room. The table itself was uniform in shape, and after isolating the centre of the top face, she started. The king was placed there alone at first, but soon the queen was placed to its right; just a little ways away. The last two pieces followed shortly afterwards, and they were to be located both above and below the most versatile piece; but at the same time still right next to her.

Her message had been relayed now, and she had nothing more to worry about. She could leave now, but before she did, she couldn’t help but stare at her creation for a moment. There was a subtle beauty behind all this grimdark gore, but there was also the mind of a brilliant pony hidden behind the disgusting facade. The eyeless head grinned like a retard at the wall, and when she turned to face it, she saw nothing. Smirking, a thought came to her, and she decided to recreate the detail; approaching the limp and lifeless body. Just before she teleported away, she lifted a hoof and slammed it down; shattering his skull to pieces.

This was bad. Really, really bad. This had never happened before, but she knew there had to be a first time for everything, and that this day had to come sooner or later. She just wished that it wouldn’t come at a time like this, when she was so busy, preoccupied, and had her criminal reputation at stake. One single mistake and it just had to be the one time when a detective shows up the next day. She was frustrated and annoyed beyond belief at what she believed to be her bad luck, and all she could do was think about how to save herself now.

The afternoon after she had sent her message to her competitor, she had realised that she had left something at the scene; something which if fully comprehended, would be very incriminating. The mistake was caused by her significant other, and she scowled at the mental image of the cheery pony. However, she did also realise that part of it was her fault, since she forgot about her seconds half’s problems, and what problems they could have caused her. If it weren’t for those fucking, ergonomic horseshoes that the pathetic mare needed to trot without feeling heart-wrenching pain, she wouldn’t have this problem.

With such a shoe, comes a certain level of ingenuity and a strange singularity. Another thing she could have done to prevent this from happening, was to fucking clean up after herself and her chaotic entrance in the home of the wavy maned Unicorn. It was all too late now however, and all she could do, was think about how bad this situation was. She recalled what had happened the day before; immediately after the clock tower in the centre of the town announced it to be one. She had already realised her mistake before this point in time, but she was delayed a lot by the mare that constantly got in her way. The bouncy mare kept clouding her thoughts and denied her access to the daylight. It took some time, but she eventually escaped the abyss of darkness and saw the celestial star giving light to the revoltingly beautiful day.

As soon as she was out, she and her perfectly straight hair almost flew over to the home of the Unicorn that she had killed previously. Luckily for her, the police had already sealed the place from the public, and were all upstairs; no doubt analysing the odd corpse. She thought that this was her chance, and she was just about to go in, when she had heard the loud, booming voice of a particular mare. A mare whose mane resembled the most ferocious demon fyre; stronger than the blazes she brought into being all those moons ago. On her head, the mare wore a pair of goggles that most Pegasi used during flight to protect their eyes. She recognised the skilled flier to be the famed Captain of the Wonderbolts, despite the fact that she trotted along on the ground; but the stallion who followed her was the one she had never met before.

She quickly hid behind a nearby tree and glared at the duo as they both entered the abode she intruded upon the night before. The other Pegasus had a mane brighter than the strongest of white-hot flames, and a body that reminded her of the setting of one of her killings; one that involved both a Unicorn, and a Pegasus. His eyes were focussed forward, and he didn’t notice that she was there at all as the mare from Cloudsdale escorted him inside.

She started to panic, and when she saw that they were safely inside and unable to see her, she sneaked over to the bottom of the window and peeked in. From where she was outside, she had noticed that although the flame maned mare stood in the centre of the room, the stallion that she was starting to recognise was staring at the fireplace and its immediate surroundings; not moving a single muscle as he stood there.

Fear took over her body and forced her to cower underneath the transparent plane on glass. Thinking faster than her heart has ever pounded, she raced up to the roof and scaled the rough, rocky wall that faced her. Putting an ear up to the opening of the chimney, she concentrated and filtered out any noise that she could determine; listening out for the voice of the mare, and possibly the stallion. It took a very short while, but pretty soon she was able to hear them, and from what she heard the leader of a prestigious group of aerobatic Pegasi say, the stallion whom she brought was a detective, and that she was offering her this case.

This was really bad for her, since if he was a detective, and if he was slightly competent, then he would have already seen her mistake. It only took her a matter of seconds to disassemble and mentally reconstruct the events that occurred prior to the death of her competitor’s victim, so for him to deduce her identity shouldn’t take too long. She wasn’t scared that she’d be caught, since there were many a pony who had found out who she was, but they never managed to catch her. She would always get the upper hoof and when they least expected it-

She could with the utmost ease do the same thing to him, but she was more concerned with how she was going to juggle all of the things going on in her life. She wasn’t sure whether or not she would still be able to still play this game, and fend off this detective that was supposedly on her trail. Of course, there was always the possibility that he wasn’t going to accept this case, but she didn’t believe that this was the sort of thing she should sit by idly and watch. If he investigated and she paid him no attention, he just might be able to get her. If she ruminated about him too much, then her reputation would be put to shame by the dark cerulean mare.

This situation wasn’t fair, since she was the only one of them that had that much pressure on them. However, she couldn’t think anyway that she could even the odds a little. Frustrated at her own incompetence, she kicked a hoof and growled; reaching over to the coffee table with her hoof and picking up the latest edition of the Ponyville Post. She angrily flipped through the pages and ended up ripping some of them as she tore through the newspaper; hardly absorbing any of the information. Livid, she tossed the shreds that still remained connected to the floor and ruffled her mane vigorously. Her teeth were gritted and she grazed them together; wearing them away slowly and painfully.

She wasn’t going to naturally calm down anytime soon, and her pet alligator wobbled away; hiding underneath her entirely pink bed. Tears of anguish and frustration started to gather under her eyes, and eventually one of them broke away; skimming down her face and leaving a thin, salty trail. Through her blurred and obscured vision, she looked past her disturbingly straight mane and noticed a single picture that was fairly intact. Pulling it out of the mess, she observed it and found it to be the picture of a stallion dead on the floor with his head smashed in. It reminded her of one of her own masterpieces, and at first, she thought that this was the work of a plagiarising copycat.

Once she had realised that based on the jagged edge there was more to the original picture than what she held, she began to search for the other half. Some seconds later she had it and placing the two pieces together on the floor, she had the image of the entire setting. Of a sudden, her anger and depression disappeared, only to be replaced by unwavering and aberrant ardour. She had in the period of time it took her to place the printed photograph on the floor and look at it once, deduced it all. She had seen what she did, and she heard her message loud and clear. Though it was a little bit insulting to her, she wasn’t fazed, since she also noticed something else there. A snafu.

Her smirk grew to a grin, and it seemed as if it was permanent, since she was just that excited at what she discovered. There was no way that anypony intelligent wouldn’t see this, and with it as their evidence, it would only be a matter of time before they caught her. This would surely even the odds of their little enterprise of merriment, and it could even end up making it easier for her to win. That’s what she thought, and as images of the events that occurred in the past few days zipped past her mind’s eye, she also conjured in her thoughts what would happen in the immediate future.

Everything was falling into place now for her, and everything was perfect. Just the right levels of danger, adrenaline, and competition. With that much driving her forward, she lost all capacity for imagining her failure and loss in this wager. Her message was now clear in her mind, and all she needed she could find in her home. Just like a few nights ago, in the dead of the night, she made her way into a dark kitchen, pushed the fridge to the side slightly, and revealed her large, kitchen knife. Aside from her favourite weapon of choice, she also needed two messengers, and they could be found in the room where her other half held so many, boring, pointless, and shitty parties.

She lifted a translucent box filled with the objects that had consumed her thoughts so much and extracted from it two of the well-known pieces. One essentially just the head of a pony, painted entirely in white. The other was the centre of the game, and was the most important part of her plan. The black king and white knight were tucked away into a pouch that dangled at her neck, and as she smiled with the blade in her teeth, she headed out of the back door once more.

Who didn’t matter at this point and she just wanted to get this over and done with. One thing she did note however was that Ponyville was getting more and more dangerous. If she were to assert her authority over the peaceful town once more, that detective Pegasus might rebel. She couldn’t tell just how good he was at his job, so she couldn’t safely gamble anything on it. The only thing that seemed to be befitting to the situation that she could think of, was going over to the town that her adversary ruled over. She would need to either take the train, or get somepony to send her there. Seeing as how the train could take up to a day, and that she couldn’t openly get the knife on without anypony freaking out.

Following on from her train of thought, she decided that she had to hire an illicit Unicorn to fulfil her desires. Just like every other country in the world, there were ponies willing to trade menial, everyday tasks in exchange for a few spare bits. Some ponies would even do this with their bodies and turn it into full-on prostitution, but she didn’t need a gigolo. From her countless nightly outings, she had come to terms with what they did, and started to recognize them all over the place. She now knew where and when they worked, so she had a great idea of where to go next.

At first, she started to trot there quite slowly, but pretty soon after her pace increased and she was almost galloping through the other silent night. She arrived eventually in one of the many alleyways that joined up the myriad nodes of Ponyville, and she whispered a name into it; listening as her words echoed back into her ears. Hoofsteps were amplified in the distance, and she could see a dark grey pony with her head covered by a hood.

Her muzzle was the only part of her visage that was visible, and her lips moved as she conveyed the words across to the other pony via the chilly night air. She answered the question with a demand, tossed a few bits at her, and approached. After the Unicorn finished counting the money, she pointed her protruding horn at the pink maned pony, and in one greyish flash, she was gone.

Over in Canterlot, an identical illuminating burst appeared in an area just as isolated and decrepit as where the pink mare just came from. She patted herself down a little, and pondered what she would do next. It would be difficult for her to make her way into anypony’s home here, since they probably had more security than anywhere else, so that was out of the question. There was only one option left, and she wasn’t really that bothered whether or not she did it like that.

She decided to go along with it, since this way she’d enjoy the thrill of the kill, and still be able to play her game. Now all she needed was a victim for her to toy with. She had to look through the streets for somepony that fit the bill, but even then, luring them into a dark corner was a bit difficult. Another idea popped into her head, and even though it was a highly degrading thing to do, she was willing to pretend for the sake of her reputation, and her enjoyment.

Standing by the aperture of the alleyway she materialised in, she stared provocatively at all the stallions that trotted by; eyeing them suggestively and posing in the most erotic positions she could think of. In her mind there wasn’t even the faintest trace of remorse or embarrassment as she put her body up on display for all the ponies to see, and she just kept licking her lips as high-society ponies trotted by. She knew that no matter how well-mannered they were, and no matter how cautious they all were, it would only be a matter of time before a weak pony approaches her, and gives in to his primal desires.

She was right, and indeed, an Earth pony approached her; a stupid grin on his face as he chuckled nervously and fiddled in his saddlebag to produce a few bits in his hoof. Pecking him gently on the cheek, the mare led him deeper into the alleyway, and felt around for where she hid the knife. Behind her, the stallion was starting to get a little frisky and started to stroke her thighs; sensually rubbing them up and down. On one level she did experience the sexual cravings scream at her, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the voice of her murderer mentality.

As he pressed his body against her back and prepared to begin the act ponies often committed with their loved ones, she twirled around and threw him back; flashing the metal before his eyes once; pulling out disappointment and fear from the Earth pony. Laughing devilishly, she darted forward and stabbed the stallion right in the heart; slamming her hooves on his mouth and stifling his screams. His muffled bellowing went unnoticed by everypony that had the opportunity to, and as he realised that he had made a grave mistake, she leaned in closer and edged the knife in deeper; finally ending it all.

It was done, and all she had to do now was just make sure there were no loose ends here. From what she could see, there were no incriminating hoofprints, no hair, or anything that would indicate that she was the killer. Happy with her new situation, she reached into the small, brown pouch that hung around her slender neck, and pulled out two chess pieces of both colours. Gently, she placed the white knight on the ground; right in the middle of the pool of garnet blood that was emitted from the pony’s wound. Before she put the other piece down however, she bit down on it and yanked it with her hoof; effectively breaking it into two different pieces.

She put the decapitated king and its head next to the white knight and let the pool flow around them; staining her hoof slightly as she accidentally dipped her limb into the bodily liquid. Her message was sent, and now she just hoped that she would see it in time; before a detective takes over this. Smirking, she turned to leave and look for another Unicorn for hire to take her horn; pulling the knife out.

She was about to shit herself from the absolute fear that she felt inside her. Her skin curdled and her heart stopped at rocky intervals. Only after reading the paper did she realised her error, and just what the fuck that Pegasus was trying to do, but it was already too late for her to salvage the situation. Everything was pretty much over, and she wouldn’t be able to toy around with the pink mare much longer. It had been three days since her taunting kill of an innocent pony to spite her antagonist, but she didn’t know at the time that she left something very important behind.

She didn’t take very good care of her wings, so they would descend to the floor every now and then, but she didn’t know that it would fall out there. This was insanely bad for her, now she had a sleuth on her trail. When she saw the picture in the paper, she lost all composure and went crazy as she tried to go erase the evidence. She used her insanely powerful magic and shrouded herself as she entered the crowded home of a Pegasus. Inside, there were many police officers, a detective inspector, and ponies from the forensics team.

She could see it at the bottom of the wall where her wound opened up again, and where she was pressed up against the night she killed the stallion that was the first to retaliate to her. It was right there, and she could have so easily taken it, but she noticed that there was somepony there that kept staring at her. Technically, it was a Griffon and not a pony, but she saw him staring right at where she was. She thought for a second that she had been caught or that her magic had faltered, but then she realised that her magic was perfect, and never faltered.

However, she couldn’t deny that fact that he glared at least at what she was reaching for. The others referred to him as a detective, and to her despair, the Clawdornian. She couldn’t believe her luck that he was here, and just hearing his name was enough to prepare her for defeat. A world famous detective was working on her case, and she didn’t even try to make it that hard for them to catch her, because otherwise she wouldn’t have allowed for this overlooked detail to exist. She waited for almost an hour for an opportunity to take it and leave, but he just kept looking at it; either ignoring or mumbling a response to everything everypony else said to him.

In the end, she gave up and just left it there, since she was unable to take it and escape in time. All she could do now was leave before her magic runs out due to her fatigue and reveals that she was there the whole time. She was still scared shitless at the thought of having to be in a game of psychopaths with one pony, then a battle of wits with a world renown Griffon, at the same time. She could do it, but just not for too long, and this meant that she had to hurry up and finish one of them soon. The obvious choice was to defeat the pink mare once and for all, and show just who the best is.

In the latest edition of the Canterlot Courier, she noticed an article dedicated to the summary of all the murders occurring right now. The journalist had theorised that this was all done by one pony, and when she read that she just scowled. The thought was laughable since both she and her opponent could deduce from scratch that this was the work of two different ponies. It was all there. No matter how good they are at what they do, there are things that they can’t possibly hide, and when a capable detective is present to observe them, they can form a chain of events that led up to the result they see before them. She was still paranoid about everything that was happening now, but reading about the deranged mare’s murder in the streets of Canterlot soothed her and brought the long awaited solace that her mind needed. She now knew that her companion wanted to keep playing, and after reading about one of her other kills, it was highly probable that there would be a pony investigating her case too.

The idea that both of them were in similar situations seemed to bring joy to her as she began to smirk blankly out of an open window. This would have to mean, that if she made the suggestion that they end the game now with one final challenge, no pony would mind. This would finally decide just who the better pony was, and allow for her to deal with the pesky Clawdornian. All she needed to do was think everything through, and she eventually realised that it was getting boring killing the citizens of Canterlot and Ponyvillians was starting to get boring and plain. She needed to move the game forward. Literally.

She was going to head north of where she was, and continue there. Once the morbid night arrived, she slipped into reality and dragged her body through the skies; leaving her post at the telescope that stood on the balcony at the very top of a single tower; protruding from the side of Canterlot Castle. Her immense speed in the air, propelled by her dynamic wings, could only have been matched by a select few ponies. One of them would obviously be the Captain of the Wonderbolts. Another was the somewhat sapphic mare of cyan. The final one she was aware of, was her own mother, whose brilliant, ivory plumage she missed so much.

It didn’t take her long at all, and before she could get pulled into a world full of dooming thoughts, she had arrived in the town of Manehattan. She was in the Big Apple, and since she had never been there before, she had to hold back the urge to turn into a tourist pony. Instead, she had a mission to complete, and the first step was to find a fitting Manehattanite. To do this, she strayed from her normal routine of actually look for a pony that she wanted to play around with for bit, and alternatively decided to go for a direct gamble.

First of all, she needed to pick an apartment building, and she eventually went for the one that towered over all of the rest. To her, all she could see was windows and bricks, but she was sure she was right. Then, she made herself invisible again with her magic, and coated herself in a layer of dark navy light. She could feel that on this particular night, she was really tired, and that her ability was going to wear off soon. This meant that she was running out of time, so she had to move on to the next stage. She shot straight into the edifice; going from motionless to faster than a bullet in less than a tenth of a second. She then stopped herself immediately after she was inside the walls of the ponymade structure.

Looking around her, she realised that she had made a small mistake, and that she wasn’t where she thought she’d be. For some off reason, instead of being in somepony’s apartment, she was in an office scattered with desks, cubicles, and pathways intertwining between the short enclosures. At first, she was disappointed that her tactic ended up being pointless and useless, but as soon as she saw him there, she calmed down a little bit. On the other side of the expansive room she stood in, she could make out the faintest outline of the silhouette of somepony locking up.

This brought more joy than anything else to her mind, and before she knew it, she started to smirk maliciously, and chuckled under her breath; just low enough so that he didn’t hear her. Taking one last glance around her, she memorised as much as she could about her surroundings, and took off to trail him. She found him pretty much immediately outside of the door that he had just locked, and turning off her cloak of invisibility, she landed on top of him, and enjoyed listening to the screams that came from his booming vocal chords. Licking his face gently, she tasted the sweat on his skin, and felt him convulse with disgust and fear; both aimed at her. Laughing louder, she concentrated and brought to her mind the mental image she took of the room that was no more than a few metres away; transporting both of them back there.

An instant later, them materialised right where she imagined, and they were still in the same, misleading position as they were in outside. He was still perturbed and frightened, whereas she was still elated and psychopathic. Her sadistic nature showed again, and she bit his ear as she pinned him down; relishing in his howls and devising just what she’d do next. She looked up slightly at somepony’s desk, and noticed nothing on it that caught her eye. In fact, throughout the entirety of the room, there was nothing that could have been of any use to her at all. It was quite disappointing, that she hadn’t planned this through that well at all.

Although she had no weapon, and her magic was running out slowly, her muscles prevailed and kept the squirming pony under control. Unfortunately for him however, he was nothing more than a useless Earth pony, who no longer had the strength to even move furniture. His screams were hoarse and his mane was grey from his elderly age. She didn’t need any instrument to aid her in this task of hers, but she just wanted one. That way, she wouldn’t have needed to dirty her hooves. She still had the tiniest bit of magic left, but she planned on using that to take her home; before anypony else suddenly trots in and corners her. There were so many things that she needed to do, but she had no, intelligent way to do them. There was the kill, and enjoyment, and the message, but if she went for a plain approach, she’d be a disgrace.

As long as the other two were refined, then it wouldn’t matter if the murder itself was plain. After all, all it takes to discount a serial killer’s linked murders is one that falls out of the norm. She had decided on everything she’d do, and she was about to begin. Grinning at the pony whom she was sure was about to die, she slammed both hooves against the sides of him head; sending a shockwave of tribulation through his thoughts. She lifted his head up towards hers, and stared into his gentle blue eyes before leaning in and giving him a tender kiss on the forehead before continuing.

With immense speed and what could only have been called skill, she slammed his head hard down onto the cold, icy, nadir that his back was pressed against. The impact paused his shrieks momentarily, only to have them return later; fuelled by the unbelievable aching in the back of his head. Before he cried for mercy, she repeated the action and once more, smacked the back of his skull against the ground. This time, specks of blood flew out, but apart from that, it was exactly the same as the first time. The third brought more blood, and the eighth generated a pool, but the strong-willed pony still survived and continued to empty his lungs and beg for somepony to hear him.

Almost twenty times later, they both grew weaker. She was no longer able to attack him with the same vigour and persistence as she did, since her body lost its strength and her muscles cried louder than the stallion ever did. Meanwhile, he lay on the floor under her, still pinned and unable to move; more because of the amount of blood he had lost through his substantial and potentially fatal wound. At long last, as she lifted his head one more time, he saw a vision of his past; and let a tear roll down his cheek as he revelled in the image of his young wife, the life they both lead together, and the beautiful foal they both worked so hard to bring into this world; whose darkest corners were filled with ponies like the one who subdued him. Just before the ending moment, his final thoughts shifted to that of his beloved spouse lying in a hospital bed and a droning beep in the background enunciating his tears as he lamented over her. One last assault and he was gone from this world. Gone to be reunited with his family.

She couldn’t care less about who he was as a pony, and to her he will always be just one of countless ponies that she had turned into her victims. Cackling she lifted her body, and licked away the blood that had stained her dark cerulean coat; gently kicking the corpse of the Earth pony. She never felt remorse for what she did, for that was out of her capacity, and something that her significant other handled instead. She was just a rejected pony whose jealousy and hatred for every pony that revelled in the light of day brewed and transmogrified her into a beast that could rival the evil of the chaotic tyrant, Discord.

But she never understood why it was so bad to be evil, and at this moment in time when she was dragging the dead body into somepony’s cubicle, she thought about it again. It wasn’t as if she never wanted to be one of the angels, but no pony was willing to give her a chance. She was there because of what she was, and that’s not something that she could ever change. Even if she used Starswirl the Bearded’s spell and travelled back in time, she wouldn’t be able to change anything about her fate. She was a psychopathic killer, and since she couldn’t become anything else, she might as well be as sadistic as she could, and enjoy who she was.

As she lifted the corpse into a revolving chair that was completely hidden from sight by the three and three quarters worth of walls that surrounded her, and auditory observation brought fear into her heart. In the distance, she could hear the sounds indicative of somepony coming closer, and no doubt headed for the room she was in. Everything was about to fall apart, and she had to get out quick, but she couldn’t. She still had her message to relay. Staring around viciously, she took in everything she could, and processed as much as possible, but nothing would be good enough. With no other choice, she dabbed her hoof in the blood dripping to the floor, and marked the Town Hall on an out-of-place map of Ponyville. Now, the door had already been unlocked, and before she picked up all of the feathers she dropped, the mysterious visitor was coming closer. Out of fear, she conjured up her memory of home, and took herself back; saving her flank. Just before she left, she saw the ruthless face and beak of the Griffon detective that she had met that night she realised her mistake, and saw something high up in the corner of the room making her panic frantically.

This was it for the both of them, and their game had to be cut short by a little tiny bit. Both of them had too much to handle, and both reached a mutual agreement, that their lives were more important to them than their wager. But, that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to see who the superior pony is, and just who was worthy of being respected by the other. The location had been established, but whether or not it was clear to the pink mare was a mystery to the dark cerulean pony. If she didn’t know, then all of that effort of hers would have been for naught. Plus, getting caught by one of the best detectives in the world and having her face seen by him was a downer too.

The sun was still out, so neither of them was allowed out yet. They were still locked away in the catacombs of the pony subconscious; denied the luxury of basking in the light that they both hoped to have, but never achieved. It would only be a few hours before they could let the games begin, but until then, they had to endure the immense torture of being stuck in such a small, cramped, restraining container; unable to do anything other than let the anguish eat away at their own minds, and biding their time as they waited.

As the two players of the game continued to waste their precious lives locked up, in two very different parts of Equestria, two creatures were hard at work. One was a white maned Pegasus with apathetic determination in his eyes, and the other was the cool and collected Griffon from Clawdor, whose calculating gaze was enough to persuade even the most criminal of ponies to just give up and admit to their sins. Both of them worked vigorously in their own ways, and their trained and sharp minds pieced together everything. They each were aware of the other’s existence, and had wordlessly agreed to do this together.

They both realised the truth behind the odd chain of murders, and despite only investigating for a few days each, everything became obvious. They mostly focussed on the cases they knew were relevant to the murderers they made themselves responsible for, and whenever anypony recommended they take on a case belonging to the other, they would reject it. However, the most recent killing of the cleaner in one of the corporate buildings located in Manehattan was something that they both needed to see. In the latest edition of the Ponyville Post, the Clawdornian personally requested that the Pegasus make his appearance.

Now, they had seen it and the approaching night loomed just over the horizon; afraid to continue, knowing what her darkness would bring. Inevitably however, the magic of one Princess’ magic allowed for the overpowering of the entities will, and brought forth the earliest and brightest part of the night. Just as she thought, her voluminous shroud signified the release of the two mares that everypony unknowingly dreaded. Everypony heard about their work, and they all heard about how they just killed randomly. That scared them more than anything, and most ponies couldn’t handle the idea of going to sleep one night, then waking up to find them face to face with their doom.

From an enveloping layer of dark mist emerged the dark cerulean mare who cackled as quietly as she could as the joy of the concept of being able to finally prove her superiority overwhelmed her. She didn’t even bother going to her post tonight and instead teleported straight into the skies of Ponyville. There were still ponies roaming the streets, so in order to keep her identity a secret, she had to once again wear her cloak of invisibility, and shroud herself from the dagger-like stares of the bystanders that so many ponies would call “innocent.” She was ready, and as she flew down low, inches above the dirt covered ground; she made her way towards the location she had already indicated almost twenty hours ago. Inside, there were no other ponies, and so she phased through the locked doors; released her magical cover, and reinforced the mahogany door that sealed the aperture of the main room. She would find the way in.

The two detectives had been working hard with their beak and muzzle buried in pictures and papers that they dug out from the depths of the records kept in Baltimare. They both knew what was about to happen, but the only thing that they couldn’t determine was when it would all happen. Technically, only the Pegasus was unsure, and the Clawdornian already had everything unfold before his very eyes. He saw everything, and he knew just how it would all take place, including where, and when. He had given the Pegasus everything he would have needed to deduce it, but he knew it might take him a while. Even some of the world’s greatest detectives enjoying watching inferior ponies struggle to induce everything they already knew.

The second of the players was out now, and everything was falling into place. She knew that odds were, based on the alter ego of her adversary, she was the last of the two to be ready to proceed. In other words, the pink mare was the one that was late, and she knew that her competitor was already there, ready. She read the paper that morning, and saw the picture that came with it. She knew where she needed to go, but she also read that one line quoted from a detective, asking for somepony else to take a look. Irrelevant as to whom this pony was, she recognised the creature that gave the quote, and realised that if somebody like that Griffon was working on their case, then they might be in a spot of trouble.

Leaving a little bit of food for the blank expression-ed baby alligator, she reassured him that everything was going to be fine, and that she would return to the only thing she regarded as her friend. Her other half had many friends, and was an essential portion of the friendship process, but she was nothing more than the rejected pony her significant other wanted no part of. She jumped down the tall flight of stairs and rolled at the end before lifting herself up onto her hooves and trotting over to the back door located in the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner. Not much time later, she arrived outside of the building that she’d been called to and she headed over to the front door that lead inside. She hesitated before she finally attempted to open the door, and as she stood there motionless, the mare inside noted her silhouette, and began to smirk with excitement.

The front door was too mainstream, and the pink mare realised that somepony like her competition would have definitely prevented anypony else from intruding upon them. This meant that she needed a more unique entrance. Grinning, she scaled the side of the architecture and made her way across the slanted roof until she reached the tilted and bolted shut window. She was ready, and jumping up into the air, she slammed her body down as hard as she could and shattered the glass that was underneath her hooves; falling through the oculus and getting lacerated by the shards left in the frame. Her limbs bled and alerted her of the low levels of pain that she was experiencing, but she didn’t care, and neither did the mare with the horn.

Both detectives were ready now, and it finally clicked in the mind of the younger pony just when the event was due to occur. He realised what he had missed, and was ever so slightly embarrassed; but was more concerned about how he was going to get there in time. He leaped into a taxi and offered to pay triple his fare, if the powerful stallion was willing to sprint him there. The driver accepted and a moment later, took off into the distance, dragging the Pegasus behind him in a cart. Meanwhile, the Griffon had finished enjoying a meal and licked his beak and he felt the delicacy travel the length of his oesophagus. He paid his bill and flew out into the streets of Ponyville; hopping into the pony-drawn carriage and asking for the mare that pulled it to take him over to the place where the action was at. All four of them were ready, and all but one of them were absolutely livid with fear, agitation, and enthusiasm.

Inside the almost symmetrical building in the centre of Ponyville, the two mares stood at opposite ends of the room; staring at each other with demonic eyes. Slowly, they moved to their respective lefts, and circumscribed the single, perfectly round wall that encircled them. All the time, they made sure to be as far as possible from the other pony, and they never broke eye contact for even a second. A second was all it would take, and it could all be over in that short amount of time. It’d be an amazing sight to see, but that’s not how they wanted this to end. They weren’t trying to kill any time by trotting around and following the wall, but they were trying to buy it. They needed more time; more time for them to think everything through. The game had been rushed enough as it is, and even a few extra seconds could mean the difference between life and death for them.

Their smiles were gone, and the fire of bloodlust in their eyes dulled as it shared its spot with concentration and contemplation. Thousands of outcomes skimmed through their minds, and they saw themselves being killed by the other pony. There were some overlapping cases between their psyches, but that was to be expected. There were a certain number of ways that it could all happen, and as such, there would be a limit to the number of unique events that could have been generated by their genius minds. They did in fact have a time limit, but they didn’t know that. They didn’t know, that they were on their way, and that if they got there before the time was right, then everything would go down the shit hole, and it would all be over.

The two detectives both say silently in their taxi-carts; one of them twitching in his seat as his mane turned into a mess; and the other remained motionless as he enjoyed the pitter-patter of the raindrops soothing his thoughts and calming his already tranquil heart. It was more obvious to the Griffon than it was to the Pegasus, that this was how it would all end, and he had already predicted everything. He knew that for him at least, there was ample time, and that there would be no need to rush anything that he did. He could rest as he revelled in the quaint nature of his taxi ride, and let his colleague stress about it. He would love to see his good friend distraught, and it would please his more sadistic side to see him struggle to do something so commonplace, that the Griffon didn’t even need to bother with it.

The taxis were drawing closer and closer, and the inevitable moment when time runs out was visible over the imaginary horizon. But there was still time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so calm. He’s a detective, so he’s effectively made an oath that he would solve a case, and save as many ponies as he could. Even if he didn’t like that oath, it was one that came with the job, and he knew that the Pegasus could live with it, so he forced himself to do so as well. The mare that pulled the Griffon and the stallion that dragged the Pegasus both worked hard to complete their objectives, but as the rain picked up, their vision became obscured, and it got harder for them to keep on track. The lavender-blue pony with the white mane started to grow impatient and spread out his wings due to his primal instincts. He hesitated however, before he sat down again, and folded them away; scolding himself for his foolishness.

Inside the freezing cold, almost pony-less Town Hall of Ponyville, the rain cascaded down the only aperture in the ceiling, and as they both passed under it at periodic intervals, they would have their bodies drenched by the refreshing liquid pouring down from the heavens. Her straight mane now clung to her face and the only eye she still had was her left one that wasn’t as good as the other. Her sight was blurred by the water that fell into her eyes, and so was her opponents, but neither of them could let their guards down and wipe it away. Everything would end if they did that, and that wasn’t acceptable for either of them. They wanted to win, and they were willing to risk everything, except their lives.

Griffons are very powerful creatures, and just like his kin, the Clawdornian had a body that could withstand the hit of a hundred ponies. He wouldn’t be hurt at all, and at most, to would just tickle. That was always his advantage, and just like many others in the world, he was surprised that the Griffons hadn’t taken over the world yet. Their only real problem would be the Dragons, but with their immense army, a few winged beasts shouldn’t have been a problem. He didn’t care about it that much though, since he preferred things the way they were. The Captain of the Wonderbolts was very confident in her Pegasus friend, and sounded very sure that afternoon, that he could handle all of this. The Griffon knew that it wasn’t true, and that he’d struggle to see the truth, but everypony knew that at the end of the day, he'd get there. It was just whether or not he’d be in time.

She was impatient, and her dark cerulean feathers were ruffled as she lost her temper. She didn’t want it to be unfair though, so using her magic; she formed a dagger in the air and shot it at the pink mare across the room; striking straight through and shattering the tiles on the ground. Before she had enough to pick it up however, the powerful wings flapped once and their expansive shadow stretched to the corners of the room as the body was propelled through the air; aimed directly at her. Menacing eyes stared at her and enjoyed the look of shock and fear that set in. She tackled the unsuspecting Earth pony to the ground, and listened to the popping sound of one of her shoulders as it no doubt dislocated. One stifled scream of pain made its way through her lips as she lunged forward and slashed with the blade her adversary granted her. Tasting flesh, the synthetic metal pulled out the blood from her cheek, and it dripped down into the pink pony’s cyan eye; blinding her for an instant.

Tossing her into the air, she was prepared to go on. It wasn’t actually that fair, since she had both magic and the ability of flight, but she gave her a weapon, and she thought that was enough to even the odds. The small and puny body of the Earth pony was unable to stand the pressure of being constantly thrown all over the room, and her skeleton started to give way. She had to fight back, or else it really would all end here, and she wouldn’t be able to keep her promise to that stupid animal. As the dark cerulean hooves grabbed her again, she lunged her head forward again in desperation; hoping for it to come into contact with bone. Sadly, all it got was skin, and all it left, was a small scrape on her tall body. Smirking, she commended her effort before kicking her in the stomach and watching her collapse to the floor in a head of pain; unable to hold onto the dagger any longer and dropping it; letting it slide across the floor to the other side of the room.

He was almost there, and so was he, but he knew that it was going to work. He had planned this out, and as with most other Griffon’s everything was going to happen exactly as he had predicted. It would happen very soon, and no pony will be able to say that he was responsible. There were times when the Pegasus got a little cocky and annoying, so it was only logical of the Clawdornian to do this. As the stallion that pulled the other pony rounded a corner, and came even closer to their destination, they both saw something that pulled out the deadly instinct that everypony dreaded.

All hope was pretty much lost for her, and if somehow she managed to get out of this, then maybe she’d stop what she did; or at least prevent herself from doing it so often. She had some first hoof experience of the pain that she caused other ponies, and she had to admit that it wasn’t anything nice at all. The other mare towered over her with malicious intent scrawled in her eyes, and she glared down at her; letting her know it was over. The other pony was doomed; she was at the mercy of the merciless.

One loud bang. The shattering of glass. A scream. Game over.