There's Something Waiting in the Corner

Clip clop, clip clop...

The sound of a pony trotting reflected from one wall to another inside the somber room, anxiously waiting for the other pony, who was currently lying unconscious on the stained floor, layered with grime and mucus, to awaken.

Although the room was pitch-black, the disturbed pony continued to trot casually in a circle around the other pony, whose mane was a collection between different shades of velvet. The color of the ponies mane matched the ponies tail, that was curled into a little ball like the rest of her body, among the little strands of hair sticking out of her mane.

"Twilight... Twi--light..." The pony who was eerily trotting around the room hummed, getting rather annoyed with the purple pony. The pony clenched her teeth together, making a deafening scraching noise with her mouth.

"U-Uh?" Twilight responded, her eyes fluttering open, finally awake and disoriented. "W-Where am I?"

She didn't receive an answer.

Twilight looked around, but all that she could see was the empty void that surrounded her. Her ears perked, as she heard the sound of somepony softly trotting, not too far away.

"Hello? Do you hear me? I-I--" Twilight pleaded, "I know somepony is in here with me, please--reveal yourself."

There was another measure of silence.

Twilight became irritated, yet remaining unnerved, regarding the silence. She steadily regained balance, forcing her hooves to lift her body-weight, no matter how much her legs were shaking from fear of the unknown.

The trotting halted. Twilight froze.

"Twi-light..." A sickly voice bemoaned, a echo shortly following. Twilight's neck snapped in the direction of the voice, her mouth shut tight. Her tongue was even shaking.

The gears in Twilight's brain began to maneuver, the voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. Why can't I remember? Twilight strained, forcing her eyes shut, trying her best to identify the morose voice.

Suddenly, a light bulb inside her brain activated, she had recognized the voice. However, in turn, she wish she didn't.

"I *remember** you..."* The ghost-like pony hissed, "You took everything I had--You *shattered** my entire existence.*"

The scene Twilight was experiencing was unreal, what was even happening? This whole time, she was too afraid to illuminate the room. If she were to, she wouldn't know where her captor was positioned, and she wouldn't have the time to react.

Twilight's eyes bulged out of their sockets as the enraged pony began to laugh. "It was a joke. Wasn't it?"

"WASN'T IT?!" The pony shrieked. Twilight leaped out of her skin, the opposing pony making a screech similar to a banshee's.

"You don't know what's it like, having everything taken away from you in a blink. Actually, having everything taken away from you through trickery and deceit. Have you ever shown mercy on somepony, Twilight Sparkle? " The pony spat.  "I'd. Be. Surprised."

Before Twilight could retaliate, a blinding beam of light plunged the room into eternal illumination. Twilight squinted as she saw a figure standing adjacent from her.

Suddenly, she was struck on the head by something hard, she fell to the ground, a new bruise forming on the top of her skull, as well as the top portion of her horn breaking off. Twilight felt a warm substance trickling down her forehead.

It was Blood.

Twilight had to hold back the urge to vomit, before she looked up at the monster standing before her. Twilight could barely see the object, but she realized quickly that it was a brick, held by none other than Trixie, Twilight's adversary from a long time ago. Trixie was wearing a dull cloak with multiple pockets that could've held any item that was tiny enough to fit inside.

Trixie's voice became evident, "So, Twilight, how has life been for you? I hope it's going great so far." Trixie spoke with fake-sympathy. "I had been meaning to talk to you, but I wasn't able to track you down because I was taking care of a few things, including finding a new home to live in. My life has been very stressful since our last encounter, as you can imagine. Especially after you RUINED my life, and seized everything I've ever had. But now, I am here to return the favor." She smirked, observing the brick she was holding with her magic. "Now your friends won't have to live with your constant babbling about friendship."

"T-Trixie, why?" Twilight cried, gaining enough energy to sit up. "I-I didn't mean to take everything from you. It was supposed to teach you that-that," She stuttered, a few tears trickling down her cheeks, petrified of what Trixie was planning.

"Teach me what? How I should leave Ponyville so that you and your friends could walk together on your rich soil? When there's a pony simply trying to earn a few bits to live a life like the rest of you." Trixie growled, fiddling with the brick, getting rather annoyed with the extent of the conversation.

"I guess ponies just don't care." Trixie sighed as she lazily tossed the brick onto the ground. Twilight would've attacked her by now if she wasn't so dizzy, and bleeding so much, and if her horn was refurbished back to what it used to be.

"Now, let's see," Trixie mumbled as she levitated a intermediate object from the cape she was wearing, a pair of tongs.

"Since I already cracked a section of your skull, it won't be too hard removing the horn..."

Twilight's eyes widened, contemplating if Trixie really was going to remove her horn. As Trixie approached her with a malicious grin on her face, Twilight knew that she was going to at least try.

""Trixie..." Twilight whimpered, shifting away from the pony with heinous intentions. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you the way I did, I know that I can't relate to how you feel, but at the time where I tried to compel you to leave Ponyville, I--I didn't know that it would affect you financially."

"Of course you didn't know," Trixie smirked, "I mean, it isn't like you haven't been penniless before."

Before Twilight could respond, Trixie bucked her over the head, but not as hard as when she swung the brick at her. Twilight fell over, back to a lying position, as Trixie placed on of her hooves to Twilight's neck, holding her firmly in place.

Twilight's skull began to ooze once more, as one of her eyes became blackened by the blow she had received.

"T-Trixie..." Twilight breathed as Trixie pressed down on her lungs, the oxygen she'd stored being forced to release. "Stop--"

"Why? Why should I stop? You know what, Twilight?" Trixie growls, peering down at Twilight's beaten features. "I don't want to stop. I'll never stop."

Actually, a bundle of thoughts were swarming around in Trixie's mind in the present. As a matter of fact, Trixie was beginning to regret killing Twilight, she doubted her strength.  But when she thought about how much she'd lost from being exiled from Ponyville and that Twilight was mostly behind it, she'd forget that she had ever felt that way.

Twilight screamed in agony as Trixie bent down, and wrapped the pincers around the remaining center of Twilight's horn, pulling at it with all of her might.

As the root of Twilight's horn was ripped apart from her skull, a sprinkle of blood shot from the now gaping hole in Twilight's head. Trixie couldn't imagine the pain Twilight was feeling at the second, but knowing that Twilight was in any pain at all, satisfied her. Twilight looked up at Trixie with pleading eyes, begging her to stop, since she couldn't speak because the pain was overworking her entire system. All Twilight could do now was stare at Trixie, like she'd been paralysed.

"Aw, you should see how pathetic you look right now." Trixie chuckled, before bursting out into laughter. "It's like the roles are switched. Isn't it?"

Twilight didn't answer, but instead let out a tiny sob when the pain began to abate.

"What? You're sad because you lost your little horn? Oh, it's not like you needed that anyways." She continued to tease Twilight, "Since you're amazing, you can obviously defeat me without your precious horn."

She paused, "Oh, wait, this means you're now a vulgar earth pony!"

Twilight glared at Trixie as she once again, sunk into laughter.

"Hmm," Trixie hummed as soon as she finished laughing, thinking of what she could do to Twilight now, but then, something suddenly clicked inside her mind. "I think you got what you deserved."

Twilight felt her heart jump, but before she could feel anymore better, Trixie conveyed,

"You know, when I was trying to make a living, I was still learning how to use real magic, instead of 'petty little magic tricks', by which I was told by your friends. Anyways, of course I wasn't an earth pony, I still had the natural beauty of a unicorn, but at that time, I felt like I was useless, like I was just another earth pony. And for a long time, I lived on, traveling, trying to earn bits. I didn't have a real home. You're lucky you live in that cruddy library."

"Twilight, have you ever thought about moving?" Trixie sneered.

"W-What?" Twilight spoke up, the pain subsiding for now. "N--"

"Let me guess, no. Am I right?" Trixie snarled, picking up the bloody brick with her magic. "You couldn't move because of your friends. But you know what? I think the 6 of you need some space."

"DON'T YOU DARE DO ANYTHING TO THEM!" Twilight shouted, startling Trixie, causing her to drop the brick onto the ground. "THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!"

"Are you kidding me?" She snickered, gripping Twilight with her magic, and pulling her towards her. "I'm just saving them for last. You didn't think I'd spare them did you? I mean, they're the ones who did the real damage."

Painful tears stained Twilight's cheeks as she steadied herself on the ground, and then sprinted full-force, aiming at Trixie.

Trixie snickered as she easily dodged Twilight's sloppy attack, using her magic to levitate Twilight, and throw her against the wall, a large CRACK noise echoed across the room.

As soon as Trixie let go of Twilight, she fell onto the ground. Most of the strands in Twilight's hair were ripped apart, and draped across the room, along with multiple puddles of blood spots, especially where Trixie was standing.

Twilight began to lose consciousness as her eyes forcefully shut.

"Too bad--it had to end--this way. Oh well, you can stay---down here until I return with another one---of your friends. Goodbye, Twilight deadbeat-- Sparkle."

As Trixie sent a farewell, Twilight's hearing worsened. Trixie's sentences were muffled for her.

And that  was when Twilight blacked out.