The Maze

Rainbow wakes up, dazed, and struggling to stand up. I was hoping she'd be the first one awake. Taking in her surroundings, she notices the square room made up entirely out of metal, no door, and one singular camera in the front right corner. "Hey! W-where am I!?" she demands, not entirely sure she's being heard.

I giggle, and put my hoof on the intercom button and speak into it. "Hello, Rainbow," I say.

"Who are you!? Let me out of here!" She demands.

"Now, now, you must be patient with me, Rainbow Dash. Otherwise things will get messy," I explain. She glares into the camera. "Look, all you have to do is walk out of the door, that's all, and then we can continue our conversation," I explain, activating the door to rise and reveal a dark hall way.

"What happens if I don't?" she challenges.

"I was hoping you would say that," I say, the grin obvious in my voice. From the roof, five t.v's, that were disguised as roof paneling, come down. On them are displayed video footage of each of her friends, passed out in similar rooms. In each room, I activated timed fire arms that would kill every pony in two minutes. "The choice is yours, either go through the door, or see your friends die before you do," I explain, sinister.

"You wouldn't," she says, unsure.

"Wouldn't I?" I ask, then start the timers.

"Okay! Okay! I'm going!" she yelps. I stop the timers and put back the t.v's.

"Good Choice," I say, watching her leave the room.

I check the monitors, good. Rarity is awake now.

Much like Rainbow Dash, she tries to stand up as soon as she can. I roll my eyes. Honestly, are all of them going to try and do that?

"Hello, Rarity," I say.

Shocked, she looks around the room, and finds the camera. "Hello?"

"You're confused, aren't you?"

"Yes, where am I!?" she demands.

"All will be explained. All you need to do, my dear, is walk through the door," I explain, opening her door.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"No time for talk," I say.

She looks in the camera, and looks through the door. "Where are my friends?"

"Safe, if you follow my instruction," I explain.

She does so without question.

I look back at Rainbow Dash, walking in the hallway. The floor made of dirt, and the walls of, well, dirt. Pitch black, though I can see through the night lenses of the cameras in the hallways. "Having fun, Rainbow?" I ask, amused.

"I would, if I knew that my friends are safe and that you aren't keeping them hostage," she says bitterly.

"Now, Rainbow, why would you ever think that I'm keeping them hostage? I let you out, didn't I?" I say, genuinely hurt.

"But we're not free, now are we?" she says, viciously.

I laugh maniacally, "No you're not! And I get to see you suffer!" I say, jovial.

"You sick bitch!"

"Language, Rainbow!" I exclaim, offended.

Back to Rarity, I see that she is having much less 'fun' than Rainbow Dash. Obviously hating the dirt. "Doing alright, Rarity?" I ask, curious.

"Like you care!" She spits at me.

"Temper, temper! Both you and Rainbow Dash are having a hard time," I say.

She stops in her tracks. "Rainbow Dash is here too!" She exclaims, panicked.

"Every pony is here, I assure you," I say, reassuringly. "But I'd keep on moving if I were you," I say, more menacingly.

"Why?" she asks, still sitting. Stupid pony.

"Because in these walls I have embedded fire arms to shoot anything without movement, and they automatically shoot. I don't control them!" I explain, angrily. As if on cue, two guns fire at her one at a time. One at her hooves and one on her side. She screams as the one aimed at her side hits. "Oh, relax, drama queen. It didn't hit a fatal spot, you'll have a few hours before you pass out, which is all you need," I explain, watching her stand up and keep going.

"R.D! How you doing?" I ask enthusiastically.

"Shove it!"

"Ouch. The dog has a bite to it!" I say. "Just keep moving, you're almost at the end of the hallway. Wait for me there," I say, with no enthusiasm.

Red lights start flashing in the control room and sirens are going off. That only means one thing. I check the monitors, and sure enough.

"Hello, Apple Jack! Sleep well?" I say, enthusiastically, as I see her trying to buck open my walls. She ignores me and so I zap her using the electric flooring and walls. I chose metal for a reason. "I'll ask you again, Apple Jack, how was your sleep?" I say threateningly.

"It was fine, you psychopath!" She shouts.

"Oh, Honey, flattery will get you no where," I chuckle. I activate the door as I say, "Step through the door, Apple Jack." When she doesn't move, or say a word, I say, "Wow. Strong and silent type, huh? Well, another zap will get you moving," I say, about to press the button.

"No! I'll go. But I demand you give me a few answers first!" She insists.

"Ugh! Your friends are safe, you don't get to know who I am yet, the grass is green, the sun is yellow, ice is blue, you are orange, any other questions?" I explain, begrudgingly. She gets up and moves towards the door.

"Rarity! How are you holding up?" I ask.

"Fuck you," she says, blood dripping down her side and leaving a trail of it was she moves.

"Happy to hear!" I say cheerfully.

"Do I even get to know your gender!?" she demands.

"Nope!" I chuckle.

"I'm at the door, do I step though now?" Rainbow asks annoyed, I switch my monitor to her, and I see that she has, indeed, reached the door. Perfect.

"Not yet, my eager little filly! I need you to take something from it first," I explain.

"What?" She asks curious.

"Oh, I just love how easily you're playing along!" I say, excitedly. A small opening in the door reveals two items illuminated by light from the door. A taser and a baseball bat. "Pick one," I instruct.

"What's behind the door?" she asks cautiously.

"I can't tell you that, you have to choose a weapon," I explain.

She picks the bat up with her right hoof. "Good filly," I say, activating the door.

Rarity stands at the door confused and weary that she might get shot again. "Relax, dear. There are no guns over here," I explain, plainly.

A sigh of relief. "What's behind the door?" she asks.

"You'll see, but you need to grab something first," I explain. Without waiting for a response, I open the section of the door to reveal a pick lock and a hammer. "Pick one," I say simply.

"Why? What's on the other side?"

"You'll see."

She levitates the pick lock and I activate the door.

And there she is, Fluttershy. I've been ignoring her for this reason alone. Rainbow Dash walks in, holding the base ball bat. Wooden, with splinters.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" she asks, scared.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, shocked.

"Ah! And it has come down to this! But don't think this is the last room for you, R.D," I explain. Fluttershy flinches at my voice.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asks, cautiously.

"Isn't it obvious, Rainbow Dash?" I ask innocently. "I'm testing your loyalty!" I say, happiness in my voice.

"What?" Fluttershy speaks up.

"It's quite simple, girls, either Rainbow Dash kills you, or I kill her and you!" I explain joyfully and put a timer on for five minutes and thirty eight seconds. Lastly, I turn off the mic so that I don't have to hear Rainbow Shouting at me. I then see Fluttershy place a hoof on her shoulder, and Rainbow looks back at her. I turn the mic back on.

"Look, Rainbow, I don't mind if you kill me, really. If it means that there is a chance to go free," Fluttershy explains, softly.

"No! There has to be a way out! We both need to walk out of here alive!" Rainbow argues. She walks to the nearest wall and starts bucking it. Four minutes and forty seconds.

"Rainbow! There is no other way out, and I don't want both of us to die!" Fluttershy insists.

"Fluttershy, I can't kill you. I won't kill you. That pony can't force us into this without knowing that I won't kill my best friend," Rainbow says, starting to cry. Four minutes and thirteen seconds. I'm getting bored.

I check to see that Apple Jack is already at the door. "Oh! A.J! My apologies!" I say, truly meaning it.

"You gunna tell me who you are yet?" she asks, trying to open the door.

"Patience, Apple Jack!" I explain, like to a young foal asking for dessert. "Here, I'll open this up for you," I say, and she steps through. "Now, in front of you are five passage ways. Forward, left, right, extreme left, and extreme right. I want yo to take the left one," I instruct. She does so.

Looking back at Rainbow Dash, I can see that there are two minutes and thirteen seconds left. "I remind you that if you don't kill her, both of you will die and no pony will know where or how," I explain.

They both look up at the timer and then at the bat. Rainbow gives her an apologetic smile and Fluttershy nods. Then Rainbow Dash gives her a skull crushing thwack and the impact slams Fluttershy to the ground which gives off a huge bang noise and her blood sprays everywhere. Hitting the walls like rain during an intense storm on windows. It covers Rainbow Dash too, her body once blue, now being soaked with red turning her a gross brown. Fluttershy's body twitches as a pool of blood forms underneath her. "You sick bastard," Rainbow says through tears.

"It had to be done," I say, grimly. "By the way, I didn't know you had that much strength in you, though I suppose you are an athlete, and-"

"I was imagining you," Rainbow says quietly.

"Oh?" I ask, unimpressed. Then I shock her. the blood underneath Fluttershy and now Rainbow vibrate along with the shock. The blood on the roof and walls fall a bit faster. "When you go through, there will be five hallways. One forward, one left, one right, one far left, and one far right. All you need to do is walk to the right one," I explain.

She says nothing, the voltage doesn't even phase her. Disappointing. I open the door, and she gets up and leave the bat beside her friend.

"He-hello? Twilight? Fluttershy? Rainbow? Any pony?" Pinkie asks.

"Ah, Pinkie Pie, finally awake, are you?" I ask conversationally.

"Uh oh, this is going to end badly, isn't it?" she asks, worriedly.

"No, my dear, you can trust me! I'm a pony just like you, nothing will ever harm you or your friends," I lie.

"I don't know," she says. "My Pinkie sense is telling me something isn't right," she says.

"Trust me, Pinkie Pie," I say, like a parent to a foal. I activate the door. "When you walk out there will be five path ways. Forward, left, right, far left, and far right. I want you to take the far right one," I explain.

"Why? Will I be safe?" she asks.

"Yes, as safe as you've ever been before," I lie, but she buys it. She starts to cry as she moves forward.

"Have you figured it out, Rarity?" I ask. She is standing in another room like the one she started in, like the one Fluttershy was murdered in, like all the others started in. But instead of one hidden door, all around the room are ten very visible doors.

"No," she admits.

"All you got to do is pick the right door to unlock, and you'll know which one the correct one is because I will burn you if you pick the wrong one," I explain. the blood is starting to dry and mix with fresh blood making her coat all matted. "And another thing, Little Miss Rarity, you only have two minutes."

She walks to one of the doors and puts her hoof to the handle. Immediately a mechanical claw grabs her hoof and holds it on the handle. She screams a blood curdling scream and the grip gets tighter and the heat gets hotter. The claw let's go, and her hoof is smoking, with a little flesh melting off.

"Oops, I guess that was the wrong one!" I exclaim excitedly.

I see Apple Jack at her first task. "All you got to do is time it right so that the light beam doesn't see you," I explain simply.

"How am I supposed to do that if I can't even see it!" Apple Jack asks impatiently.

"Geez, all you ponies have terrible attitudes!"

She walks forward cautiously, trying to make sure that her moves are fast but unnoticed. But the attempt failed. A white light filled the screen and I heard a scream of agony from the earth pony. "Told you," I said. When the light turns off, I see Apple Jack laying on her stomach with her eyes closed.

"I-I can't see," she says when her eyes finally open. "I can't see!" She shouts.

"Oh, relax It's not like you can see anything in this tunnel anyway!" I comment.

"Is it permanent!?"

"It depends on how fast you get out of here, which based on the speed your going, I'd say yes!" I explain.

"Pinkie Pie! I see you are almost at your first obstacle!" I say.

"Uh, I guess?" she says.

"Just stop walking so that I can tell you the rules of my little game for you," I explain.

"Game!? You think this is a game? This is not a game! Sure games can be scary, I mean there was that one time where Fluttershy dressed up all her animal friends and had them chase us around a scary cave thing, but she didn't mean any harm to us, and in the end we all had fun! But walking in this creepy maze thing a lone with only you is not fun. Therefore, this is not a game," she says resolutely.

"Well, have I harmed you yet?" I ask.

"Well, no," she admits.

"Then let me tell you my rules. Don't step on the bear traps, and you'll be fine!" I say.

"So you are trying to hurt me, you big meanie!" she exclaims.

"It's the only way to get out of this maze, Pinkie," I explain simply.

She walks forward hesitantly, and it only takes her a few steps before she steps on a bear trap with her front right hoof. I can hear the crunch of bone and pierced skin. She wiggles an maneuvers her hoof out of the bear trap, quite expertly I might add, I don't even have the satisfaction of her hoof ripping off. Though, I can, in fact, see bone and muscle inside and I have the satisfaction of her not being able to stand on the hoof now.

"You bi-"

Coming back to Rarity, I see that she has little over twenty seconds left and her entire right hoof has no more fur and is burnt almost to the bone! But it also looks like she finally found the right door. Using her magic, she places the pick into the key hole and after three tries, opens the door with only fifteen seconds to go. Like Pinkie, she is no longer able to use her hoof, and it brings me such glee!

"In the hallway there are five passages forward, left, right, far left and far right. Take the far right," I instruct.

I switch between camera footage and I see that each of them are starting to either reach the exit, or their final torture device. All accept Twilight, who is still passed out. Which I say, enough is enough. I shoot a voltage of electricity in her cell and she wakes up with a start.

"What? Who?" she asks, dazed and very confused.

"Hello, my old friend," I say.

She spots the camera. "Old Friend?"

"Yes, but I must say, there is no more time for small talk, you see, you are very far behind and we must catch you up with the rest of your friends," I explain, opening the door.

"Who are you?"

"Honestly, you ponies never have your own creative thoughts, do you? Out the door, Twilight, let's go!" I instruct, zapping her again to make movement.

I see that Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash are nearing their last task at the exact same time.

"I'd start running if I were you," I tell Apple Jack.

"Move faster! Honestly, you call yourself the fastest flyer in Equestria?"

And just like that, a bullet hits Apple Jack in the flank and she topples down in pain, the bullet hit on the top apple of her cutie mark and blood is starting to seep through the hole. "Oops, did I say 'run'?" I giggle.

Rainbow Dash, too, falls for my trick only instead of getting shot, she gets a face full of hot, melted lead. Not only blinding her, but melting part of her face revealing the bones, muscles, and her right eye ball. she screams a deathly cry of pain as she keeps of running, the lead half falling off, and half drying on her face. Apple Jack too, the blind fool, is running too. They are about one minute away from crashing into each other, Apple Jack having to turn left after running into a wall. 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... and 1! each of them fall on top of the other.

"Who is that!?" They demand at the same time. Rainbow Dash, the one having the one good eye, blinks through the dark. "Apple Jack?" she asks.

"Rainbow?" they embrace each other and start crying.

"How sentimental," I say, in a droned voice.

Both of them start yelling at me, which I promptly cut in by saying, "Hey! Girls! Two options here, either you stay here and yell at me, or you can leave. You are literally seven feet from the exit." I say. A.J looks either way, while Rainbow looks the right way.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Rainbow asks, with a little difficulty since her face is partly missing.

"I was blinded," Apple Jack states. Rainbow Dash flinches a little.

"Good, because you don't want to know what I look like right now," she explains, barely understandable. "Is it permanent?" She asks, guiding her friend with her hoof.

"It could be," Apple Jack explains.

"You bastard!" Rainbow shouts.

"Hey! Just think of it this way, you'll never have to deal with me again!" I say as the last words they'll hear from me in this situation.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie are slowly trudging along and are about to run into each other too! And I swear, I didn't plan any of them meeting up. I thought that Rainbow was going to wake up first, then Fluttershy, then Apple Jack, then Pinkie, then Twilight, then Rarity. I was right up until I saw Rarity awake before Apple Jack, then I got a little disappointed. But honestly, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were the most fun anyway.

"Ugh! Could you go a little faster!" I complain to Rarity.

"If you'll remember, ass hole, my hoof has been burnt. Plus it's hard to walk on three legs," she explains.

"Touchy!" I say.

"Hey, Pinkie! How's it going! Wanna move a little faster there, bud?" I question.

"Fuck you!" is the response I get.

"Fine, if you're going to be rude to me, I won't even mention how far the exit is," I say, passive aggressively.

"What ever," Pinkie says.

They finally meet up in as much excitement and tears as the other two.

"Keep going, you're not that close to the exit yet," I explain. They keep on hobbling to the exit. "Just walk straight! No turns, no turning back where you came from, just straight," I explain

"So, Twilight, it's just you and me now," I say, seeing her walk down the hall.

"Are you going to tell me why you're doing this?" she asks.

"Let's just call this a form of intense revenge, for humiliating me," I explain.

"Trixie?" she asks.

"No, Twilight! But I can see why you would think that, because I used the word 'humiliating'. Please though, I encourage you to guess. None of your friends were smart enough to guess who I am," I chuckle.

"Well, your voice is masked, but you seem very comfortable with me," she says.

"Technology is wonderful, isn't it? And yeah, of course I'm comfortable with you, I've known you since the beginning of your training to become an Alicorn!" I explain.

She stops momentarily. "Celestia?!"

"No, Twilight, and keep walking. You don't want to get shot," I say. She continues to walk.

"Luna? Because I stopped Nightmare Moon?" she asks again.

"No, you're not even close!" I protest.

"Well, then, let me think about it for a while."

"Well, that's going to be hard, saying as the first trap is coming up soon," I explain simply.

"What do you mean?" she asks, how adorable.

"You'll see, Twilight. Believe me, though, there is no escape," I explain, sinisterly.

Then, I activate them, the saws. Twilight jumps as they appear and stays in place. "Hey! That's not apart of the rules, Twilight!" I scold. "And here I thought you always followed rules."

"What are you going to do to me?" she asks.

"You remember when you first got your wings? How uncomfortable you were? Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore!" I say excitedly. Two claws fall from the roof, making several clumps of dirt to fall with them, and clasp on to her wings tightly. She screams in surprise as the claws drag her closer and closer to the saws. Now, she's screaming in pure fear and all I'm doing is laughing my fucking ass off!! Celestia, revenge is good. This is what I've been waiting for, for who knows how long. And then, I see blood being sprayed, I hear the screams of pain and of bone and muscle being ripped out of the socket. And I know that her wings are gone.

I switch cameras briefly to see that Rarity and Pinkie are finally walking out of the door. "Took you long enough!" I shout.

"Fuck you!" I get in return from both of them.

I get back to Twilight and as blood just pours out of her, I see a small bit of wing bone sticking out. I switch camera angles and I see her left wing had just been dislocated and not ripped off. Damn it! Well, she'll bleed out anyway, so at least there's that.

"How you feeling?" I ask, not showing emotion.

"I hate you," she can barely say. Which is weird because Even Rainbow Dash could say things better than that.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" I ask.

"Just... leave me alone," she mutters.

This is weird. All of her friends were in the fight or flight mindset, doing everything they could just to leave, but here, Twilight is just accepting it. This isn't fun at all! Though, not completely out of character. Like the day she got her wings, for example, she was in a depressed state until she realised that her friends needed help! But, her friends are more or less fine! Give or take a few bullet wounds and guilty consciences.

"Can't do that, as I said before, you are the last one to go through the maze. You are stuck with me, but you're used to that by now, aren't you?" I ask.

"Just, fuck off and leave me alone!" She shouts and continues walking.

"No, can't do that, Twilight," I explain, hotly.

"Are you even a pony?" she exclaims, stopping briefly.

"Well, is the fact that I'm using hooves a good answer?" I ask.

"Wait, are you either of my parents?!" She shouts, panic rising.

"No! And before you ask, I'm not Shining Armor either!" I exclaim in frustration.

She's walking with acute purpose now, and all I want to know is what she's thinking about. "What are you planning?" I ask.

"Oh, you'll see!" Is all she says. she's trotting now, and getting closer to the split in the path.

"Okay, now Twilight, you are coming up to the path ways, now what I need you to do is take the one that goes straight," I explain, a bit nervously.

"But, what if I go right?" she asks.

"What?" I ask, a little fright in my voice.

"You heard me," she challenges.

"It's a dead end!" I say, almost too quickly.

But she walks right anyway. Perfect. Just perfect.

I haven't said anything to her, and she knows that she made a good choice.

I turn all the cameras and mics off as I think about what to do next. I zone out, and all I do is mentally prepare for our encounter. The encounter that I was, to put it lightly, kind of looking forward to.

I hear the door open and close and I turn my chair around like a stereotypical movie villain. "Hello, Twilight,"

"You. Why you?" she asks, shocked.

"It's been along time," I say.

"Four years," she responds. "How have you been?" she asks bitterly. "You've grown," she adds.

It's true, the last time she saw me, I wasn't this tall or muscular. "a lot can happen in four years, for example, you look as self centered and idiotic as the last time we saw each other," I note, bitterly.

She scowls, I smirk.

"So? What now?" What are you going to do to me with those hooves of yours?" She asks.

"Not hooves, but of course you knew that, didn't you, Twilight Sparkle," I say, emphasizing the disgust I feel saying that name.

She flinches when I say it. "I never knew you hated me so much," she says, starting to tear up.

"You can go now," I state. She turns and leaves, but not before she turns back and aims magic viciously at me. I don't even blink. She looks at me astonishingly and only blinks. "You thought I wasn't prepared for attacks from the great Princess of Friendship? Some princess. doesn't even try to give me the light of day," I explain. "Now, I was going to let you go scot free, but I changed my mind after that little incident," I say, getting up from my chair and walking towards her. Only a head shorter than her, I force open her mouth, grab hold of her tongue and slowly tear the muscle out of her mouth. Her screams aimed directly at my ears. She tries to fight for freedom. Thrashing, kicking, even magic! But all that does it loosen her tongue even more and I take it out of her mouth, the blood pouring down her mouth as the blood from her hole on her back is slowly drying. I hold the tongue in my hand. A wet and lumpy mass that squishes when I squeeze it. Kind of heavy too, it being a horse's tongue. She looks at me. Disbelief and fear are both present in her features.

"Problem?" I ask, taunting her. "If you have a disagreement with me, all you need to do is say it," I say simply and sincerely before laughing maniacally. She merely turns, opens the door, and closes it behind her. She walks back, rather quietly (HA!!), to the five paths and chooses the one i assigned her in the first place. I then turn off the cameras, deactivate the traps, and unlock the hidden door at the side of the room, run a quick three minutes to the exit, and run down Rainbow Dash's path. I reach the room in the amount of time, I assume, Twilight took to get to the exit herself. I open the door and see Fluttershy's dead body lying in dried blood in a room covered in the blood. Twilight knows who I am. She will send guards after me when she's out of the hospital. I need to do this fast, and there is only one exit.

I lift her body and drag it out of the room. I then lift it with a "spell" I learned with fire and lead the body on top of the floating fire the rest of the way to the exit. It's a special fire as light as air, as malleable as play-dough, and doesn't burn the thing it's carrying. I walk slowly to my goal, the exit, because I don't want to be caught by the ponies reuniting outside. I imagine them talking together, and crying together. And Rarity explaining things that Apple Jack can't see. Like Rainbow's face, or her burnt hoof and bullet wound and Pinkie's broken hoof, and Twilight's missing wing and tongue. It doesn't matter that I ripped her tongue out, she'll figure out a way to tell them it was me. And that's why I have to kill myself. Which I knew was always going to my fate, but I went through with this anyway. I needed the satisfaction of seeing those ponies suffer, and this one die. Even if it meant my life too.

Twilight and her friends walk side by side new ponies from what they were before. They, too, realize that they aren't far from Ponyville, Pinkie relaying that information to Apple Jack who is now permanently blind. The whole town is in a panic and the four ponies notice that no pony is in doors. When the come closer, they are seen by all of them. Starlight runs up to them, relieved to see them, and horrified by the condition her friends are in. She tells them that they have been missing for two days and all of Equestria is looking for them. She then teleports all five ponies to the Ponyville hospital, scaring everyone in the immediate area.

Pinkie Pie's hoof healed, but she was never able to use it properly again. They got Rarity's and Apple Jack's bullet wound healed up too, but moving was never an easy task for them after that. As for Rarity's hoof, the burns were so bad that they never healed and it had to be amputated and replaced. Twilight got stitches for her hole in her body, but without the wing, she wouldn't fly again. As for Rainbow Dash, it was impossible to fix the missing bone marrow and skin, so she had to wear a mask that covered everything but her eyes. The mask was made of a very light, not heavy, stone that she asked Rarity to design and they made it look like a dragon skull, for very symbolic reasons.

Weeks after they were placed in the hospital, two bodies were found in a river on the other side of the Everfree Forest. No one was surprised that one of them was Fluttershy's decaying body, but only five ponies weren't shocked and horrified at the second body found in the river. It was barely decayed, and when it was found, bugs wouldn't go near the body. He was a different species, and no one expected to see him dead. All, accept the five he imprisoned and tortured.