Part II- Look Before You Drink
Selene Moon practically skipped into school that day. But, it wasn't because she was excited to learn, no, this time she was most excited for lunch. Sapphire Wings would surely sit next to her and Jasmine at lunch, and, with luck, so would Speck. Then she would make her move. Nopony would suspect her, being such a good student and friend. If they did decide to search her house, Selene would simply burn the papers in the sink with her lighter and wash them down. Filling up her lock box with useless jewelry and maybe a false diary and leaving it out in the open should do the trick.
They would never know.
When lunchtime finally arrived, the mad euphoria burning inside her threatened to explode. Fortuitously, Selene Moon was an impeccable actor and acted completely regular as she made her way to the lunch room, the bottle of powdered foxglove sitting in the pocket of her bronze leather jacket.
Hopping into the lunchroom, she grabbed a black plastic tray and some silverware. After selecting her meal, which consisted of an apple, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a container of grapes, and some chocolate milk. She purchased it and almost galloped over to the blue lunch table where her friends were sitting.
"Hi friends!" she squealed, drawing out the last word for a lot longer than a normal person would have. A sky blue pegasus perched on the bench of the lunch table burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hi!" drawled Jasmine, drawing out the word in the same way Selene had.
In the moment she had before sitting down to join the rest of her companions, Selene Moon scanned the table with her sharp green eyes. The ponies that were sitting there included Striped Sweater, Sapphire Wings, Pawprints, and, of course, Jasmine. There was no sign of Speckled Leaves. Selene Moon's smile lost a bit of its shine and vigor as she sat down, right next to the blue pegasus and a blonde pegasus with blue feathers. The dominating race at the table was pegasi- Selene was the only Earth Pony.
"Hey!" smiled Pawprints, the blue pegasus, as Selene sat down. Just as her name suggested, her cutie mark was a pawprint. Though Pawprints did enjoy drawing, her special talent was actually being a zoologist.
"Hey!" mimed Selene in the same joyous manner. "How would you describe your day today? Good, bad, meh... squishy pie geckos..."
"Squishy pie geckos!" said Pawprints, and she burst into a fit of giggling. Pawprints was almost always amused by the things Selene said or did. One day, Pawprints warned, she would pee herself from laughing too hard.
All of Selene Moon's friends were weird in one way or another. She fit in with them well.
Eventually, though, she was presented with a chance. Sapphire Wings had turned away from her food, and was talking to Jasmine Bloom about something that was obviously amusing. Pawprints had gone to dump her tray. This would be quite easy, thought Selene. She had imagined that it would take a few failed attempts at poisoning Sapphire before she actually succeeded. Even if she got caught, stealing food was a game of their's that they would probably never stop playing. Quickly, Selene Moon took the foxglove out of her pocket and snatched Sapphire's milk carton.
Sprinkling in the whole bottle of foxglove, Selene briskly placed the milk back in its place. Lunch would soon be over, but if Sapphire Wings could just take one more drink...
And one more drink she did take. This was quite irregular for most of her other friends, but Selene Moon had been studying Sapphire Wings since she had joined their group in 7th grade. She always drank all of her milk, even if it was on the way to the trashcan.
Coughing, Sapphire Wings about spit out the last bit of her milk. Picking up a cup of grape juice, she swished some of the liquid around in her mouth then swallowed hastily.
"That was awfully bitter," she muttered. "Kinda like my salad, but like, times ten! Milk is not supposed to taste like that."
Selene Moon's grin got wider and wider. It was a disturbing sight.
"Eh, the school food sucks. Its probably bad milk or something," Jasmine suggested, shrugging. "Maybe you should just bring your lunch next time."
"That's what I would do," Selene added, nodding. "The cafeteria mares are all trying to poison us with awful processed crap. Best not to even buy it, ya know?" she gestured towards her own tray. She had scraped off the peanut butter from her sandwich, and only a few of the grapes were missing. Selene Moon tended not to eat very much, unless it was super nachos day. She loved super nachos.
But inside, Selene Moon was screaming with vexation.
Get on with it already! she yelped at the foxglove. She had given Sapphire precisely 0.2 grams of dried leaves, which was much more than enough to kill her as long as she didn't get to a hospital in the next 24 hours. Thankfully, nopony would even consider it to be foxglove poisoning, as Sapphire Wings hadn't been near foxgloves all day nor did many ponies realize how lethal foxglove really was.
The symptoms would start any moment now... Selene was glad she didn't give Sapphire any more foxglove than she had, because she was already looking green. Sweat beaded on her temples, and the blonde was starting to slow down. Her movements became lethargic, and her breathing more irregular to match her heartbeat.
Finally, while they were walking back from lunch, Sapphire Wings moaned to Jasmine that she didn't feel good. They had an ephemeral conversation before Sapphire approached the teacher with a sickly expression.
"Mrs. Yew, I don't feel so well..." the rest of the conversation was too quiet for Selene Moon to hear, but she didn't care. Just as long as Sapphire didn't throw up, she would most likely die. The amount of Digitoxin and cardiac glycosides in her blood would surely cause a heart attack. Selene had studied this very thoroughly, and knew all the details. She also knew that is was very unlikely for Sapphire to make it through the night, as only 0.02 grams of foxglove was needed to kill a 40 pound pony. As far as Selene knew, Sapphire couldn't possibly weigh more than that, as the average for a full-grown pegasus was 35 and Sapphire Wings was quiet skinny.
The blonde pegasus finally stumbled out of the classroom, blue nurse's pass in hoof. For a few more moments, Selene ran equations through her brain to calm herself down, finally coming to the conclusion that her enemy's survival rate was low and that she should stop worrying about it.
That night, Selene Moon burned all her papers on the comings and goings of her classmates. She also shattered the glass bottle that had once held the powdered foxglove leaves in the sink with a rock. Her tan hoof brought the rock down harder and harder until she was starting to crack the sink. Then Selene Moon stopped, her breathing heavy. If the police did come to investigate her house, large cracks in the bathroom sink would look quite suspicious.
Picking up a plastic spoon, Selene scooped up the pulverized glass bottle and dumped the powder into a sandwich bag. After she was finished, she dumped into the spoon into the bag as well. Latex gloves covered her hooves. Being an Earth Pony, she couldn't just use telekinesis to levitate the items, so she had to wear gloves to keep from poisoning herself in case some loose dust was left behind in the shards of the bottle. She held her face away from the glass to keep from inhaling anything.
Then again, it was best to do things the old-fashioned way. Selene had heard that Princess Twilight Sparkle had been working on a device that could trace and identify different unicorns's magic. The rising crime count in the major cites like Manehatten and Phillydelphia had provoked this, but crime was still pretty uncommon in the town in which Selene Moon lived. Even so, it was best not to try anything with magic.
Things in Equestria were developing so fast.
Closing up the bag with the shards, Selene made her way to the back of her house. Her backyard was a giant hill, and almost went straight down. If she were to dig a hole in it, it would almost immediately be noticed. Trotting down the hill, she reached the back patio. In the broken down green wheelbarrow sat an old rusted shovel. Selene Moon had used this for years, going back to when she was just a filly, burying "dead" dolls and various other things in a fake graveyard for sport.
This time she would be using it for something a lot more sinister.
Her parents wouldn't be coming home for at least another hour, but Selene Moon still had to work speedily. She lived at the edge of town; so close that a couple more steps would land her in the country. This also landed her very close to the freeway wrapping around the side of her neighborhood, like blanket that only covers half of your body.
When she had first moved into the neighborhood, Selene and the other children had gone down to the still-developing highway to walk their dogs. Back then, not many cars had traveled on it, them being a recent invention and all. But now it was buzzing with vehicles in all colors, shapes, and sizes. They whipped up a wild, smelly wind that blew back Selene's mane forcefully and made her close her bright green eyes for a moment.
But she had already wasted enough time.
She waited until the cars stopped and then approached the road cautiously. It would have looked quite strange to anypony watching right then- a light brown mare standing on the edge of the freeway, mind in another world. Selene Moon was still wearing the latex gloves when she ripped open the plastic bag filled with glass shards and discarded its contents all over the road.
Ducking behind a bush lining the thruway, Selene Moon waited for a car to pass by. She didn't need to wait long. Soon a flashing yellow car came barreling down the road, almost blinding Selene's sensitive green eyes with its brilliance. A loud popping noise filled the air.
Pop pop pop pop.
Selene let loose a smile from behind the bracken. The evidence would soon be collected in the tires of many cars, racing away from the town as speedily as they came. Selene Moon's town was just a small blot on the map; travelers coming and going everyday but never staying long. Nopony would ever find those glass shards again.
Part I- Magic Mirror, On the Wall, Who's the Most Malevolent of Them All?
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Part I- Magic Mirror, On the Wall, Who's the Most Malevolent of Them All?
Part I- Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall, Who's the Most Malevolent of Them All?
Selene walked down the hallway of Rosewater High slowly, her light brown hooves caressing the cool linoleum. She kept her head low, but snuck the occasional look upwards, her green eyes sparkling in the bright white overhead lights. Rosewater was new... and that meant it was another thing to analyze and daydream about. Sure, summer was fun, but Selene Moon secretly liked school. The first quarter was almost over, but there were still so many things Selene Moon didn't know about Rosewater. So long as she could avoid all the jerks that resided there, she'd be fine. With jerks also came friends though, and Selene smiled as she entered her Math class. Sure, she had to take Geometry, but at least she got to be with her best friend, Jasmine Bloom.
She rose her light violet hoof to greet Selene, and she blushed. No, not now... this wasn't the time. At least when Selene Moon blushed, it was nearly invisible. Not even her own friends knew this, and boy, was it coming in handy now. Still, Selene Moon's skin was riddled with goosebumps once she sat down. Her pale brown body shivered.
"Hey," Jasmine said slowly. "Guess what?"
Selene smirked. "What?"
"Well... Speckled Leaves asked me out."
Selene Moon's breathing halted. This... wasn't... happening...
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. I'm surprised he's interested too. After all, I fucking suck," Jasmine sighed.
"N-No!" sputtered Selene. "I'm surprised he asked you out because you're obviously his superior. He's another one of those colts, isn't he? Like Skull."
Jasmine Bloom groaned a little. "No, he's my friend, and he's not like that. Speck is quite sweet, actually."
"And nerdy, right?"
"Yes, Selene, very nerdy."
"Good," Selene Moon nodded in approval.
"Ahem!" exclaimed Ms. Penne, the math teacher. "We are about to begin, Selene, Jasmine. Try not to talk during the lesson, or I'll have to move you."
"Ugh," growled Selene, a bubbling hot anger growing inside her. Be careful Ms. Penne, or she might erupt...
"Ms. Penne is a jerk, right?" Jasmine whispered.
"Yes, the worst. I want to just... rip off her head or something sometimes. Like now," Selene whispered back, her voice laced with rage.
"Me too," they smiled, and both opened their math books.
But, deep inside, Selene wished she was anywhere but in that Geometry class.
About an hour after math class ended, Selene Moon found herself at the end of the school day. Trotting back to her locker, she breathed in and out steadily.
What exactly is the point of all this shit anyway? Call me dramatic, but I personally think life is pointless. Ha, just like the Earth. After all, it is round! Selene giggled to herself.
Packing her black saddlebag at record speed, Selene Moon crossed over to Jasmine's locker to wait. About thirty seconds later, Jasmine came trotting over out of the endless stream of colorful ponies.
"How are you always so fast?" she gawked.
"I dunno, I guess I just get let out a little earlier than you do," Selene shrugged.
"Yeah," mumbled Jasmine as she packed up her stuff and arranged her schoolbooks in an orderly fashion.
"Let's go!" exclaimed Selene. They both walked down the hallway while Jasmine greeted several friends in the sea of ponies. Selene tried to keep up, but was getting pushed around too much. She had to duck around a good number of ponies, and ended up bumping into most of them. An assorted group of ponies, both mares and colts, yelped in pain when Selene Moon hit them. She, on the other hoof, barely felt a thing.
"Hey," she gasped as they eventually made it to an empty hallway.
"Hey," replied Jasmine with a smile, who then bent down to unlock the locker that held her trumpet.
"I still can't believe you chose to play the trumpet when you could have joined me in the Orchestra," Selene Moon shook her head.
"Yea, and play the violin? No thanks," laughed Jasmine.
"You could have played the bass, like me."
"Umm, no thanks. This trumpet is heavy enough."
The minute they left the school building, they were both hit with a chilling shock of wind. Selene shuddered, but then embraced it. The colder it got, the closer it got to winter. Selene Moon loved winter almost as much as she loved the night. Not quite as much, though. Nothing could ever outdo Princess Luna's marvelous craft.
"Bye," Selene lifted her hoof to form a small wave.
"Bye," echoed Jasmine, waving back.
As Selene made her way towards the school bus, she wondered how much longer she had until Jasmine Bloom was stolen away from her.
After walking back from the bus stop, since it was a couple blocks away from her actual house, and entering the house, Selene Moon started to hyperventilate. She loved Jasmine, and that she was sure of. This was the burden Selene Moon had balanced upon her shoulders since 6th grade. But she wasn't ready to accept that her friend was leaving her, or that she could never be with Jasmine... but she still could. A deranged smile spread across Selene Moon's lips. A giggle escaped her throat, and then metamorphosed into psychotic cackling. Selene had never had a pleasant laugh. In elementary school, she had even been teased for sounding "Like a witch."
If anypony had been in that room at the time, they would have understood why.
With the grin still plastered onto her deep pink lips, Selene bent downwards to pull a glossy iron lock box out from under her bed. It was quite compact, only large enough to fit maybe a book and a few other toy items. It had a thick gray padlock, and the minute Selene sat it on her bedspread, she reached her hoof beyond her white nightstand and brought it back with a small key of the same color. The metal was cool to the touch; it sent shivers of pleasure up Selene Moon's spine as she opened the box.
Inside was a small black notebook held closed by an elastic band of a faded blue color. Other items included a lighter, some oversized latex gloves, and a bottle of crushed foxglove. Pages were scattered around in the box, some crumpled, with edges torn, and others looking fresh and crisp like they had just been added yesterday. Shuffling some of the older papers aside, Selene picked up a fairly new one, and unfolded it, leaning back on one of her black and white pillows. The color scheme of Selene Moon's room was about the same- white walls, white furniture, and a black and white bedspread. The room was passably clean; a few things could be seen spread about the cream-colored carpet.
Speckled Leaves was the title of the paper. On it was his schedule, his favorite color, food, how he acted, his favorite activities, etc. Selene Moon only had this much information on a few amount of ponies- Jasmine Bloom, Jellybean, Pawprint, Sapphire Wings and Remote. Remote had been her "coltfriend" for a time, which ultimately resulted in him breaking up with her because she was just using him to get closer to Jasmine in a more romantic sense. The other two were Selene's other friends, and Sapphire Wings was Jasmine's second best friend. And was going to stay second if Selene Moon had anything to do with it.
She pulled out another page, this one looking as if it was the oldest piece in the box. Its edges were worn with age, and several grease and food stains marked it. The folds had even been taped back together in some places. The aforementioned page also held the most disturbing contents of all; it was titled Rules of Murder. It had a list of potential victims, most whose names had been scratched out over the years and new names placed beneath them.
Luckily for these ponies, Selene Moon had never gotten around to killing them. Nevertheless, the leaf still held more violent contents. There was a list of things to watch out for, as well as supplies needed for different kinds of murder. Setting down both leaves of paper, Selene dug though the box one last time and brought out the bottle of crushed foxglove leaves and a pencil.
Pressing the page titled Rules of Murder against the closed lock box, Selene Moon carefully wrote Speckled Leaves's name under the "Possible Victims" column. She also added Sapphire Wings's name for good measure.
"Soon you'll both pay for trying to take Jasmine away from me," she muttered faintly.
"You'll both pay..."
