Merry swallowed down a yawn, bored of watching teenagers bumble around waiting to be killed. And she’d seen the movie before.

Luckily, just as the supposed teenagers on screen were getting flashed with lightning, the phone in her pocket buzzed. Merry slumped down in her seat a little and pulled the phone from her pocket, shielding the screen with her hand.

‘Get to somewhere you can talk’ the message on the screen said.

Merry sighed silently. Finally.

Thankfully, the dumbfucks in front of her were engrossed with the dumbfucks on screen, so she was easily able to slip away. The room was still dark, but she could see just well enough to find her way to the door at the far end. Merry slipped out into the hall beyond and pulled out her phone.

It rang once before picking up. “Hello?” she said anxiously.

“Hello, beautiful,” Setter said, making her giggle. “Smile, you’re on camera.”

“I am?” Merry hurriedly looked around.

She heard Setter chuckle. “Relax, you’ll see when you get up here. Now just follow my directions and you’ll be here in no time.”

“Where did the Mayor go?” Cheerilee whispered to Reuben.

“Huh?” he replied, mouth full of honey hay, nut and grain bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, no tomato.

“I think the Mayor had to use the little politician’s room,” Cheerilee whispered with a smirk.

Reuben swallowed before answering. “Want me to go find her? She is old. Might’ve gotten lost.”

Cheerilee smirked and gave him an odd look. “Huh. The Mayor goes missing and you volunteer to find her. Quite a coincidence.”

“Ya think I’m cheating on you with the Mayor?” Reuben said with a chuckle.

“I didn’t say that. But you do feel awfully excided.”

“And who’s hand is in my crotch again?”

Cheerilee smiled. “Mmm, do me right here.”

“Please don’t,” said a quivering voice from a couple of seats over.

Cheerilee looked past Reuben to where Daisy was sitting, scrunched down in her seat, watching the movie through splayed fingers.

“We weren’t going to actually…” Reuben chuckled nervously and shrugged before turning back to Cheerilee. “Were we?”

Cheerilee at last pulled her hand away and nudged him. “Maybe you should go look for the Mayor. She might have actually gotten lost.”

“Right,” Reuben said, getting up as quietly as he could and heading off for the door.

Cheerilee moved over a few seats to sit beside Daisy. “You doing okay?”

Daisy smiled nervously. “I’m fine, I’m just a bit-” she jumped as the soundtrack screeched while something violent happened onscreen “-not used to scary movies is all.” she tried sitting up a bit in her seat, only to sink back down as the movie continued.

Cheerilee put on her understanding smile. “Hey, it’s only movie. None of that stuff happens in real life.”

Daisy gave her an odd look. “Yeah,” she said, smiling awkwardly. “Yeah, I mean, sure sometimes ponies go to isolated locations and drink and smoke and have sex, but they don’t get picked off by mad killers.” she winced as the movie treated them to more gore. “But the first sign is usually someone going missing. And then someone else goes looking for them.”

Cheerilee smirked as someone on screen made the mistake of wandering off on their own. “You’re letting your imagination run away with you.”

Reuben wandered down one of the castle’s many hallways, approaching what looked like a juncture.

“Hello?” Reuben called out, his voice echoing back to him. “Miss Mayor? You lost?” He slowed as he reached the juncture and stepped out into the more open space. “Am I lost?” he said softly.

He looked around. The hallway was lit with torches, apparently they hadn’t gotten around to installing lights this far in. Aside from his breathing and the torches soft crackling, there was silence.

“Anybody?” Reuben called out again, listening to the echo fade. “Serial killers? Ghosts? It’s ghosts, right? All the heads in that trophy room, those belong to you? Maybe one of those artifacts?” he let out an amused snort. “Hey listen, ghosts or possibly murderers, uh, if you were planning on killing anyone, especially me, could you wait a bit? See, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get laid here soon and I’d kind of like that to happen before I get an arrow through my throat. Can we do that? Really? Awesome.” Reuben smirked. “Oh, I really hope no one heard that.”

“I don’t know,” said a voice from behind him. “I think you got a shot doing stand-up.”

Despite himself, Reuben jumped and quickly spun around, coming face to face with the Lamia from before. He chuckled nervously.

“Heh, thanks,” he cleared his throat, “Uh… Val, right?”

Val smiled and nodded. “That’s me. You, uh, you looking for someone?”

Reuben nodded. “Yeah, um, Daisy’s friend.”

“Oh, wool overcoat, glasses?”

“That’s her.”

Val smiled. “Right, I just saw her. She said something about going to bed.”

“This early?” Reuben shrugged. “Eh, she did drive a ways to get here, and she’s no spring chicken if you know what I mean.”

Val laughed lightly. “It appeared that way to me.”

Reuben laughed along with her for a moment. And then the laughter faded away and an awkward silence stretched out between the two.

Reuben spoke first. “So, uh, you live here?”

Val nodded. “Yeah, for a while now.”

“And, how is that?”

“It’s nice. Quiet. The place really is beautiful in the morning.” Val sighed. “It does get lonely sometimes. When that happens I usually drive into town, pick up some young buck and fuck the loneliness away.” the Lamia snickered.

Reuben nodded. “That does work. Uh, if you don’t mind my asking...”

“Yes?”

“How do you, er, drive?”

“Oh, that,” Val looked down at her tail. “To be honest, Daisy is kind enough to give me a ride in. And then I wobble back in the morning.” she smirked and looked around a bit before turning her attention back to Reuben. “Say, you’re not lost, are you?”

Reuben blushed. “Yeah, kinda.”

Val chuckled. “Used to happen to me. It is pretty easy to get turned around. Daisy showing you her home movie theater?”

Reuben nodded.

“Then you should head down that corridor there and take the third right. That’ll get you back there.”

Reuben nodded again. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” Val smiled.

Reuben turned and began walking off. When he was a few dozen paces away, he turned around and called back, “Hey, uh, it’s sort of a reflex, but… do you need a lawyer?”

“Only if they catch me,” Val called back with a laugh.

Reuben laughed along with her before turning and continuing on his way.

Cheerilee hated to admit it, but she was actually on the edge of her seat. The action onscreen was certainly ramping up. Which was amazing considering that they had already put an axe in a mare’s face. The last pony left alive wandered around a cabin, waiting, dreading the inevitable appearance of the killer.

It was this moment that Reuben chose to fall into the seat beside her.

Cheerilee just about bit her tongue in half, managing to swallow down a scream and a cornucopia of swears.

“I didn’t find the Mayor,” Reuben said quietly, oblivious to her pain. “But I ran into Val: the snake-lady gal? She told me the Mayor went to bed.” He looked over at Cheerilee, quickly putting together what had happened. “I make you bite your tongue again?”

“Fucker,” Cheerilee hissed at Reuben, who shrugged sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he whispered back. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Cheerilee, who had pulled an ice cube from her drink to suck on, raised an eyebrow. Her hand went straight for his groin again, cupping him though his pants. She grinned as she felt him tense up.

“You’re goddess damned right you will,” she hissed, managing to sound evil in spite of her slightly slurred speech.

A chorus of shushes came from the rows in front of them. Cheerilee was midway through flipping them the bird when she remembered who they were. Ignoring them, Cheerilee focused on the movie, just in time to jump again as a body came crashing through the window.

“Okay, there’s another tripwire right in front of you,”

Merry shined the light on her phone in front of her, spotting the wire. She gingerly stepped over it, letting out a sigh. She brushed a lock of her mane out of her face and kept walking. The corridor was dark, more or less pitch black. Occasionally, Merry would spot a bulb, but they were always lightless.

“You think you could turn on some lights?”

“Where’s the fun in that? You’ll be here in a moment anyway.”

Merry sighed and changed the subject, “So, what’s with all these traps?” she asked.

“It’s because of the- well, you’ll see in a moment. See the stairs?”

Merry looked up from to see a staircase stretching up before her. “Yep.”

“Okay, go up that and then make a right.”

Merry did as instructed, climbing the stairs and making turning right when she reached the top.

“See that door there? Knock on that three times.”

The door was big and heavy looking, with numerous wires running into the wall beside it. Merry raised a hand and knocked on the polished wood once, twice and thrice. There was a short beat of silence and then the door swung inward. Setter stood on the other side, looking just as relieved as she did.

“Glad you could make it,” he grinned, beckoning her inside.

Merry giggled happily and all but skipped inside, Setter shutting the door behind her. The room wasn’t very big, but an impressive amount of hardware was crammed into it. Setter led Merry to a padded office chair, stepping gingerly over the nest of wires covering most of the floor. Merry sat down and Setter did the same. He began pointing out the contents of the room.

“I got plenty of food and stuff over there. There’s a, uh, bathroom down the hall if you need it. Uh,” he wiped his brow, seeming a bit nervous. “These are the screens.” He gestured to the scores of screens that covered the far wall.

“And these are hooked up to cameras?” Merry said, peering at the monitors, most of which showed empty rooms or hallways. The largest one in the center of the wall showed the hallway outside the door “How many do you have?”

Setter blew out a breath. “Wow, I don’t even know. Hundreds, probably.”

“Hundreds?” Merry gave Setter an amazed look.

He nodded. “Yeah. Every room, every hallway.” He tapped a few keys on the keyboard, bringing up on the center screen a high up angle on the hall Merry had left. “Everywhere. I got ones in the gardens, some on the roof. Hell, there are a lot of places that have more than one camera.” Another few clicks and the image on the center screen changed to a lower angle of the hall. “Getting all the angles, right? Uh,” he gestured to the desk and the keyboards on it. “I use those so I can move around to different sets of cameras.” He slumped back in his chair and looked at her, almost nervously.

Merry gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s very impressive.”

Setter visibly relaxed. “Thanks. I was worried you’d be bored.”

“Eh…” Merry said, wincing a little. “Uh, what… time do things usually start?”

“The Boss starts hunting around nine.”

Merry glanced at a nearby clock. Eight-thirty. She shook her head a little. “So, you record all the… hunts?”

“Yep, the cameras, they’re all recording. HD, ten-eighty.” Setter coughed. “It, uh, it all started out with Jackie-boy wanting some type of surveillance. Keep an eye out for serious trouble. Then, once the Boss saw what I had already set up, she asked if I could do more cameras. I said yeah, I can do more. She asks if I can record, I say HD and I spent a couple of weeks setting everything up. This was a few years ago. I’ve been in here every hunt ever since, recording.”

“Do you also, cut them together?”

“Yeah,” Setter smirked. “You didn’t, uh, want to see one? I mean, they are kind of really long.”

Merry waved him off. “Why bother? I’ve got a live showing.” She grinned.

Silence stretched out between them for a time, both of them watching the screen in front of them. The movie was still playing, its sound faintly oozing through the speakers. Merry then spoke again.

“So, how many?”

“How many of these things has she done, or how many…” he gestured vaguely, “uh, huntees?”

“Both.”

Setter shrugged. “I really couldn’t tell ya. Plenty through. The Boss doesn’t exactly go hungry.”

“So it’s for food, then?” Merry blushed a little. “I never really asked.”

Setter shook his head. “Nah. The Boss, I mean she metabolizes like crazy, but she could get her fill of food anywhere. Regular food, I mean.” Setter repositioned himself in his seat. “It’s, uh, for sport, really.”

“Sport?”

“Yeah, and she’s really sporting about it too.”

“As sporting as trapping ponies in a castle and hunting them is, anyway.”

Setter let out an amused snort. “She’s really good about that. She doesn’t use any of this during the hunt.” he gestured to his monitors and keyboards. “And she doesn’t use any weapons. All those traps? Non-lethal. They’re there for me, mostly.”

“So she just hunts them down all on her lonesome?”

“No help at all.”

“And she does it until everypony is dead?”

Setter shrugged. “That’s typically how it goes.”

“So they really have no chance of escaping?”

“I said the Boss was sporting, didn’t I? If they can escape her, they go free.”

“So they can just waltz out the front door?”

“That would be a bit difficult. We lock the door, for one thing. There’s a smattering of traps in the entrance section of the castle. But, if they can get past those things…” he shrugged.

“But the bridge is out, right?” Merry smirked.

Setter gave her a look. “How would we leave?” he chuckled. “We don’t tamper with the bridge. I mean, if you make it to the front door and somehow get outside, chances are you have the Boss on your ass. And I’ve seen her. She’s quick. So you can book it across the bridge and maybe get in a car and drive off, but chances are good she’ll catch you first. But, hey, you can always jump off and try to swim it.” He laughed. “If the fall doesn’t kill you, you’ll probably have a tough time swimming. Not that that has stopped a few from jumping into the water. Or falling. Or getting pushed.”

“Infighting?”

“A few times. Now that is some spectacular footage.” He scratched the back of his head. “Anyway, there’s also a time clock. They run it out without getting caught, they win.”

Merry raised an eyebrow. “Has that… ever happened?”

“It’s not unheard of. If they didn’t manage to get away before the hunt is called off and they’re still uncaught, they get a big cash prize, a huge dose of something that zaps the last few days, and sent on their merry way.”

Merry gave him a look. “You are so lying.”

Setter waved her off. “I’m not. The Boss insists on being a good sport. Honestly, I don’t know how she has the integrity.”

“Knowing you can lose,” Merry nodded. “She enjoys it more that way.”

Setter nodded. “Yeah. She enjoys it.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

Merry gestured to the screens. “Do you like this? Do you… enjoy it?”

“Yeah sure, it’s, um, it’s certainly a fun watch.” Setter smirked. “I mean, that’s why you’re here, right? You want to watch.”

Merry smiled back at him. “Actually, I wanted to be here with you.”

“Oh,” Setter coughed, clearly blushing. “That’s, really sweet.” He glanced at the screens. “We don’t have to, watch if you don’t want to. It’s basically a do nothing job right now.”

Merry reached out and took Setter’s hand in her own. “No, I want to watch. It sounds exciting.”

Setter grinned. “Oh, boy.”

“Are they all dead?” the young blonde mare on screen asked, tears brimming in her eyes.

The cop nodded solemnly. “Yes ma’am. Two of my guys pulled you out of the water. They thought you were dead too.”

The mare sniffed, looking like she was just about to break into sobs, when her expression changed to something akin to worry.

“Is the colt dead too?”

“Colt?”

“The colt, Jason!”

The cop gave her a questioning look. “Ma’am, we didn’t find any colt.”

The mare slowly turned her head and looked into the camera with a thousand yard stare. “Then he’s still there…”

Forlorn music faded in as the scene slowly changed to a shot of the lake, the water lapping gently. The lake then faded into blackness as the credits began.

Behind her, Twisty heard Daisy clap and the lights came back up. To her left she could practically feel Scary smiling while on her right Flare was holding a hand to her chest.

“Told you it was good,” Scary said with a smirk.

“I can’t believe I never watched that before.” Flare said, eyes still glued to the screen.

“A classic piece of cinema.”

“I wonder if the sequels are any good.”

“Unbeatable,”

Twisty smirked. “You two want me to get out of your way?”

Scary and Flare turned to Twisty and then looked past her at each other. The swiftly turned away, harrumphing in near unison. Twisty shook her head and stood up, stretching. Behind her, Miss Cheerilee, Reuben, and Daisy were also standing up.

Daisy clapped her hands together. “Well kids, I think that’s just about all my heart can take. I’m going to bed now, but seeing as you’re all adults-” she stopped and turned to Cheerilee. “Oh, I really should have run this by you first.”

Cheerilee waved her off. “It’s your show. And they are adults, on paper anyway. Go on,”

Daisy smiled. “And seeing as you are all adults, I think I can leave you to your own devices for the rest of the night.” she yawned before continuing. “There’s still plenty of refreshments, and there’s more film reels in the box next to the projector.” She tapped her nose. “Oh, and which one of you is Laser Bright?”

“Here!” the Crystal Pony said, standing up.

“Please come here for a moment,” Daisy said, beckoning.

Laser Bright made her way over to Daisy, and the two began talking quietly.

Twisty shrugged. Cheerilee and Reuben then made their way over to her and the others.

“Enjoy the movie, kid?” Reuben said to Twisty, his jacket draped over his arm and positioned over his body in such a way to hide his groin.

“It certainly was exciting, wasn’t it?” Cheerilee said, smiling at Reuben with blatant lust.

Twisty smiled awkwardly. “Yeah, it was good.” She looked away, over to Laser Bright and Daisy. The older mare was heading for the door at the far end of the hall and Laser Bright was skipping excitedly towards what looked like a set of speakers.

“I think it’s the real adults bed time, right Reuben?” Cheerilee said, nudging the stallion hard in his side.

“Oh yeah, have to get my beauty sleep,” Reuben said, nodding. “You kids, uh, you kids have fun now.”

“Oh, and stay away from the cliff edge. You fall off, I get yelled at and possibly jailed.” Cheerilee smirked. “Anyway, goodnight!” she pulled Reuben away, leaving Twisty smirking as they headed for the door.

Once they were out of earshot, Ember spoke up. “Those two are hornier than we are.”

A chorus of snorts and chuckled erupted from the group.

“Hey guys!” Laser Bright called from the far end of the hall, waving her arms. “Guys, I got speakers and a turntable here.”

“Color me intrigued.” Xander said, heading off in that direction, Ember and Token following him.

“I’m going to see what other movies she’s got,” Scary said, jerking her head in the direction of the projector.

“Me too,” Flare chimed in, getting a bemused look from Scary. “Well, I want to know too.” the Alicorn explained.

Twisty smirked. “You two have fun with that. I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Beware your noisy neighbors.” Scary said with a smirk before walking towards the projector, Flare close behind her.

Twisty nodded, more to herself than anyone else, and headed for the door.

The hot water cascaded down over Val’s scalp. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the shower head firing water, savoring the sensation of its heat rolling over her scaly skin. She breathed in slowly, deeply, filling her lungs with the warm air, and the breathing out just as slowly.

After a time, she moved her hand up to the dial and turned the water off. The deluge slowed to a drizzle and then was cut off completely, leaving only a few lasts drops to drip down. Val drew in and out another breath, steeling herself for the cold air outside the shower.

She pulled back the shower curtain in one smooth, rapid motion. She hissed softly as the steam rolled away and the colder air rushed in. She felt her nipples harden, drawing out her hiss slightly.

Val let out a breathy chuckle and opened her eyes. Steam obscured most of the room, rising from her naked body and the porcelain floor below her. She slithered out of the oversized shower and over to the sink. She wiped away the fog on the mirror, revealing her face.

She smiled at her reflection, lips pulling back to reveal two rows of pearly white teeth. Her jaw parted and her fleshy red tongue emerged, licking over her teeth. She sucked her tongue back in with a wet slurp and closed her mouth.

She wiped away more of the fog. She took a moment to look her own form. Gods, was she certainly was something to look at. Fetching green scales, bountiful breasts, pleasingly wide hips, a hungry fire in her eyes. She turned to the side and gave her rump a little wiggle.

“Mmm, if we didn’t know each other so well, I’d just eat you right up.” She grinned at her reflection and licked her lips.

The radio beside her on the counter top suddenly clicked on, the female DJ’s voice coming through.

“Happy Nightmare-Night, listeners! As of now we here at Radio Vinyl are live for our Dead by Dawn marathon. That’s right, from now until dawn you are gonna be hearin’ me, a selection of guests, and of course, a buffet of musical treats. Let’s get things started.”

Val clicked the radio off and looked back to her reflection, grinning.

Author's Note

Okay, so here's the fair warning. The next chapter will contain sex and vore. You were warned.