I have never known a more vulgar expression of betrayal and deceit.
-Lucien Bouchard

The Everfree Forest, in the beginnings of what will be a long and dreary snowfall ahead. The forest lay silent and dormant and white, punctuated only by wind whistling, along with the smell of new snow and the green of spruce pines (not yet covered with snow) that dominated the tree population like kings of old.

The trees weren't the only thing that stood out. A long strip of squiggly, white-matted road - a trail oftentimes reserved for cross country skiers, and the occasional snow mobile - snaked across the land like the tracks of a giant worm. But all in all, nothing the least bit out of the ordinary could be seen or heard, for the trail was closed for the upcoming snowstorm ahead, and there was peace all around for miles.

That is, save for one thing.

Cutting across the trail at a quick (but legal) pace and speed was a Polaris Titan, it's color the blue-black of choking, it's nose streaked white with crusts of snow, it's skis skidding the snow as a stone skipping on a lake would. The tires cut the through the snow like a buzz saw, giving the vehicle it's push.

But the strange thing was not that the snowmobile was driving on a restricted area, or that the sound of the forest seemed to shy away at snowmobile. No, the wood was afraid of person on the vehicle, for it was as if they could sense what was yet to happen, and who was driving that ship of horrors.

The driver was a girl, of about 15 or 16 years of age, and just about the same height as the average teen. She wore a pair of black snow pants, winter boots, thick winter gloves, and a fur-lined parka, with the hood obscuring everything but her pretty yellow-skinned face, ice blue eyes, and a few stray tufts of red and gold streaked hair.

She seemed to pilot the vehicle with the skill of a professional, mostly due to her experience of motor cross, but she vehemently insist that it wasn't her driving. Rather it was the thing that was inside her, using her, guiding her hands and fingers like a puppet on strings. She was only the backseat driver.

"What was that Ms. Shimmer? What did we just pass on the road there?"

The voice was cheerful, almost friendly in nature, but she knew better. Beneath it, Sunset Shimmer could detect the sadism hiding behind it. It gave of a bad vibe of "I-want-to-be-your-friend-but-I-also-want-to-kill-people" kind of sadism. To top it all off, it spoke with an accent so familiar that for a moment she thought she had made contact with Rarity. It was three seconds after that she realized that it was the other guy, using her voice.

Are you speaking to me? She was hesitant in her think-speech. She did not trust herself to speak in sound, for she was afraid the use her mouth would be a wasted effort.

"Why, yes, Ms. Shimmer! Or is it...Sunset?" That same near-sinister show of good cheer. "That's what your friends call you, isn't it?" The creature smiled with her mouth. "Let's be friends."

Apple Dumpling never hurt a soul. You killed her, and you expect me to be friends with you? She felt her anger rising within her now, waiting to blow.

"You're friend had nothing in her head. I must say I found something useful in yours"

She shouted, "Fuck you!" Well, whoop-de-do, I can speak.

This did not faze the other, who said excitedly, "I know what that expression means! I studied the foul language section of your memory warehouse. Very distasteful, I must say."

Alright then, it was time to give him a run for his money. "How about this Mr. Gray? Eat shit and die."

Silence from the other side, so she must've hit a nerve. It was only when he spoke that she realized it was the wrong kind of nerve.

"Why did you call me Mr. Gray?" Confusion in his voice.

Oh, rats, she thought to herself. Mental note: never tell any personal information to strangers - ever.

"Someone told you, didn't they?" he asked, voice firm. It would've been easier to believe that it was a he if it wasn't using her vocal chords. But she didn't answer his question.

It's best if we keep our eye on the -

"Who told you about me?" His voice was impatient and was now bordering on insistent. But she was still not going to give it any form of satisfaction. If she did, who knew what kind of shit the world could fall into? Her friends, even if they weren't here, were counting on her to hold firm. And she was going to do just that. Stay and stand up, as Rainbow would put it.

"If you're so interested, why don't you just read my mind?"

The same cheeriness crept back into the voice of Mr. Evil Twin. "Well, you seem to keep a few things from me. I don't understand it, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon."

They rode on, a twosome in one form, both apparently good drivers. Ivory flakes whizzed past Sunset's head, some landing in whatever strands of hair managed to get free of the confines of her furry parka hood. Some specks managed to get in her face, the face he was using, but he managed to wipe away the intrusive flakes from her eyes with her hands. They kept moving, the rev of the engine the only loud noise dominating the land. Great puffs of snow churned underneath the movements of the vehicle, its loose movements similar to sand in a desert.

"Just out of curiosity: why are you letting me live?"

"I'm borrowing you," Mr. Gray stated. "We're going to take a little journey, you and me."

Sunset thought to herself glumly, That's what I was afraid of. She knew she was getting farther and farther away from her friends, far away from their cabin, far away from civilization...because that was Mr. Gray's plan. To get far away as possible from anyone. And she was just a hitchhiker along for a ride.

And it had all been going so well, you little nitpicker. It had all been going so well....

Author's Note

This story is based after Stephan King's Dreamcatcher, combining elements of both book and movie.

Rated teen for curse words and occasional gore.