...Some More Deadly Than Others
The room was warm, no, muggy. It was underground, during a heatwave, with no wind blowing, so it’s obvious that it would be uncomfortable. The concrete walls were admittedly doing their job; holding in its extraordinary mugginess whilst outside said heat vanished with the sun.
The basement was lit by a nearly dead fluorescent light. It wasn’t flickering yet, but it cast a dull, fading orange on the muted gray walls. I’d have to replace it soon—don’t want to lose it while doing my work down here.
The basement was mostly empty, save for a few things. There was a box in the left hand corner, filled with typical cleaning supplies: bleach, a spray-bottle of hydrogen peroxide, towels, a UV light, garbage bags, and a floor brush - nothing too special. Next to the box was a small set of gardening tools alongside a tranquilizer gun, grip held at the mouth(for the occasional rabid animal—Fluttershy would be contacted to deal with it). The last two objects were a little out of place. A concrete island table jutted out in the center of the floor, with open shelves beneath the flat, as well as a smaller wheeled table off to the side. However, the true outstanding object was the unicorn stallion strapped to the table(his horn buffered), lying on his side, and tightly bound in plastic wrap. It definitely not in the sexy way. No, this pony was passed out on the table, and definitely brought without consent. His body color was mostly white, with grey splotches sparsely littered across his legs.
The preparations were almost finished. The saddlebags on my back held the remaining pieces of the puzzle: a few potions, an anti-potion, a small flask no larger than an inch long, a needle, and some rather odorous wrapped herbs.
Everything can be broken down into steps to ensure that the proper result is achieved, even with tonight’s ‘event’. The first step: prepare the tools for the job. Everything has its place, especially on the wheeled table. The second step: wake him up and have a little ‘chat’. Floating out the herbs in a magical grip, with an added wrinkled nose, I let the greens hover just in front of his muzzle. After a few inhales of the scent, he finally awoke and sputtered momentarily.
“Good, you’re awake.” I say to the pony in a dry, almost soulless voice, tossing the herbs to the side.
He moaned, attempting to turn over, not quite opening his eyes. Of course, that didn’t last long after a light smack with my hoof.
“Whuh...where am I…?” he hazily mumbled, still trying to gain a grip on reality.
“You’re in my basement, there’s a heat wave outside, and this is the only place we would get any real privacy.” I responded, circling the table and fitting a gardening knife and its leg holster on my right foreleg.
It was clear he was coming to his senses now. “Wh-who are you?!” He raised his voice slightly along with his head, as high as he could get it.
“I’m of no importance. Tonight is all about you.” I propped myself up on the table and placed my hoof on his chin. “Do you know what your name is?”
“B-Bone Marrow.”
“Good. That’s good.” I lay my head parallel to his. “Do you remember what you do for a living?”
He gulped nervously. “I-I’m a hospital doctor—”
“No, no, no. Not your occupation. I meant what you do to feel alive. You know, when people aren’t watching, when you’re alone.”
He hesitated, sweating from more than just the heat. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No? I have some things that might jog your memory.”
I picked up the purple bottle from the side table and swallowed it whole, much to the horror of Bone Marrow. “It’s degradable glass—amazing what science can do these days, yeah?”
A chill rushed through my body, which soon turned to shivers. My throat dried out, my lungs emptied of air, my eyes prickled with pain. However, as soon as they began, they stopped. Everything felt more or less normal, albeit my body shape and color(which was now a deep magenta), hair color(mauve with a white stripe), and voice.
Putting on my best damsel-in-distress face, I dramatically placed myself on the table again, this time my head lower to the table. “‘Doctor Marrow! Doctor, please help! What are you doing? Doctor? Doctor?!”
He recoiled, realizing just what was happening to him.
“‘Remember her? Maybe this one will jog your memory instead!’”
This time I swallowed down the pale blue potion, followed by the same sensations, with added spine and leg pains. The table grew larger, or, rather, I got smaller, both horizontally and vertically. Wings sprouted out of my spine in a matter of moments, and my horn receded into my skull. I was now a Navy-blue pegasus colt. Flapping my wings as hard as I could, barely staying in the air, I hovered over Marrow.
“‘Doctor? Mommy said you’d help me. ...You can make the pain go away, right? It hurts so much! ...H-hey, where are you taking me?! Where’s mommy?!’” I whine in the colt’s voice, mimicking pain and fear.
Marrow was straining against the wrappings, attempting to magic his way out, without any luck on either front. “Stop…”
“‘Hey, I know, maybe you’ll remember this one!’” I lowered myself down, ingesting the third potion. After setting myself on the ground, the transformation began to take effect. I grew approximately back to my normal height, whereas my body developed a subdued red color and deep green hair. “‘B-big brother? I’m scared...I can’t breathe...I can’t move...it’s so cold...I can’t see...please...help me!’”
“Stop it! Stop!” he fidgeted around even more, yet the plastic held firm. “I know who they are...I know who they are...just...stop...please...”
I resumed my original face; calm and serious. Popping down the last potion, I returned to my original body. “You remember? Well then, tell me, what are their names? Or do you need a repeat performance?” It was a gamble; I didn’t actually have any more potions for a “repeat performance”. Yet I knew in my heart of hearts that he wasn’t going to lie again.
“Stargazer...Navy Blue...and...Red Marrow.” He laid his head back down, as though defeated.
Perfect. “And what did you do to these ponies?”
“I...killed them.”
“You’re doing great, Doctor Marrow. Now, why did you kill them?”
He remained silent, not wanting to answer—no, not wanting to admit.
“Oh come now, don’t quit, Doctor! We were just getting to the good part!”
He looked directly at me for the first time in the entire night; his eyes overflowing with pure, unadulterated fear. “Why are you doing this?”
“For both our benefits, Doctor. Now, why did you kill them?”
“...I did it because...they asked for it. They wanted death.”
I feigned a disappointed tone and placed a hoof on his forehead. “Come on, Doctor...surely you understand how alike we really are; so let’s try that again. Why did you kill them?”
“It’s like I told you! They wanted death!”
I clicked my tongue, returning to pacing around the table. “You disappoint me, Doctor. I would have thought you’d take as much pride in your work as I do mine.” I paused a moment, the grin leaving my face. “Eight years ago, you’re found in your terminally ill sister’s hospital room. She had just passed away from a heart attack, and you were just standing there, looming over her dead body. See, the funny thing is...you were supposed to be at the other side of the hospital making your rounds.”
“I would always skip work to go see Red!”
“Yet none of the nurses or staff had seen you pass by, or even enter her room. However, everyone bought your ‘sibling sixth sense’ story...though I knew better. I knew that there was a consistency between your sister’s murder and those who were smothered to death.”
He gulped again, watching my every movement.
“Fast forward two years, you finally pick up your life and attempt to put it back together, returning to the same hospital your sister died in. Your first assignment was a child who was nearly as ill as your sister was. Amazingly, after a few months, the child goes missing for three days, and turns up floating in a lake. Analysis showed that he hadn’t died in the water, he was suffocated beforehand. Furthermore, you, too, were missing for those same days, and turned back up the same day that foal did. Suspicious, no? You tried to recreate your sister’s murder with this innocent colt.”
“N-no...that’s a lie….”
“But you just couldn’t help yourself, could you? Not two months ago, that mare, Stargazer, also fell into your hands, and you just couldn’t pass up that opportunity now, could you? You killed her in the same way, and dumped her body in the hospital morgue, right in front of the entrance door. Scarred that poor intern.” I paused, letting it sink in for him. “Those were the only cases where I could actually establish a connection to you and the murders; who knows how many other patients you’ve killed!”
He cringed, his eyes darting around the room as though looking for some escape.
“Tell me, Doctor Marrow, do you know why we’re here tonight?”
“No...I-I don’t suppose I do…”
“We’re here so you may receive just payment for your actions: revenge for those innocent ponies you killed!” I took a breath before continuing. “We both know that I won’t be letting you go. You’d just continue killing innocents, not to mention turn me in.”
“I couldn’t help what I did to those ponies! After my sister died, I had to keep doing it! As though it was the only way I could—”
“Feel alive?”
He laid there, shocked at what he heard. It was the face of somepony who had their deepest, darkest secret guessed by another—a look of ‘how could you possibly know?’
“Like I said, we’re more similar than you’d think.” I took another breath. “Well, now that you’ve admitted your crimes, it’s time to say your last goodbyes.”
Step three is one of my favorites: extracting a blood sample from the target. This has two purposes. The first is for making sure a remnant of the target stays forever—a sort of secondary, eternal punishment. The other reason...is a bit more sinister: a trophy. I lowered my knife-equipped forehoof until I felt the blade break the skin of his cheek, to which Marrow winced in pain and proceeded to cut a straight line in the flesh, blood dripping down his perfectly trimmed white coat. Lining up the magically held flask, I let gravity take care of the rest. Soon, I corked the nearly filled bottle shut, and raised it in front of the bright bulb, allowing the dim glow to illuminate the bottle.
Step four: Give the target their moment—make sure they’re ready to go, have said their last words, and have been muffled before finishing the job
“Any last words, Doctor Bone Marrow?”
“N-no...I’m ready.”
“Then you accept your punishment?”
“I do; yes.”
“Very well then.”
“...I’ll see you soon, Red...maybe you can forgive me…”
I levitated the cloth on the nearby table into the air, balling it up before carefully pushing it into his maw. I’m glad this one just so happens to have some decency; they don’t usually accept their punishment.
At long last...the final step. I propped myself up on the table once more and turned the knife attached to my ergot until it clicked into place, perpendicular to my leg. I inhaled deeply, then raised my leg, positioning the knife in line with his heart, then slammed the blade into the flesh, cutting through the plastic wrap and piercing his barrel.
He let out an exasperated grunt, then laid limp, life evacuating his deep red eyes.
I exhaled as though I was coming up out of water and getting air after nearly being drowned. I could feel the very blood in my body pumping through every single vein. I felt my own heart pulsing. My mind cleared. I felt...alive.
Author's Note
Yeah, first chapter! This is my first story, so bear with me here, everyone!
Sorry 'bout the weird perspective, but it's definitely done on purpose, promise!
