Demented: The Beginning

Poor girl. Abaddon got carried away, not like he shows mercy. They didn't even allow me a chance to comfort her. I tried negotiating with Abaddon to not do what he did, but obviously he didn't listen. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Eir, the only female amongst us.

Unlike the others, I am merciful. The only thing I do is care for others. For example, I urged Obed to purchase the kid an ice cream. You should have seen the child then, I'll never forget the joy on his face and on such a fabulous day. But now I must care for her body. And the others want me to make sure her famille see her.

Before we came here, my little loisir was carpentry. Naturally I made the casket, only from the finest wood: apple. I had us study the symbolism of trees, and my research says that "[The Apple tree] represents youth, [joy], [healthiness], [elegance], and magic." Fascinating isn't it? Listen to me, rambling on about tree symbolism when I should be preparing the body. The flowers, and/or plants, I've picked are: white rose, coral rose, basil, and rosemary. Even if you could, don't ask me why. Anyway, the fabric on the interior is silk with cotton underneath for support.

Now I have to clean her up, and either stitch her together again or find a way to censor the damage. The latter of the two sounds easier, but is it really? I guess it would be best to do that, for not even I know the equine anatomy. I extract the sai from her eyes— the ones that were once a beautiful forest green— clean them, and cover them with a silk blindfold. Her hooves I placed in their own separate boxes— both made exactly like the casket in which she resided. I cover her open chest, along with her stomach, with a wool blanket.

I stare at her, taking in every detail of the work I've done to show mercy. Perhaps she can rest easy now. Maybe she understands I'm someone different from the one that ended her life, I'll never know. Just before I close the casket, I utter a final goodbye.

"Puissiez-vous trouver la paix. Repose en paix." I shut the casket close and begin my journey to give her to her family. She's a beautiful girl, and there is the most gorgeous bouteq in this small town. Perhaps she works there, or maybe she lives there. One thing is for sure, someone will find her.

A scream penetrated the peace of the night. Ponies came rushing to the sound, ending up at a bouteq. A lone mare laid on the ground outside in tears. Next to her was a casket, made from the wood of an apple tree. Bewildered— or maybe frightened— a few courageous souls approached. While two were attempting to calm down the delirious mare, the other— an ordinarily happy pink Earth pony— gazed at the open box. Upon closer inspection— one she'd soon regret— she came across the scene of Sweetie Belle's decimated corpse. Tears blurred her vision, her voice to weak to announce what she is witnessing. Even without the blood it was still gruesome. After finding her voice— tears still visible— she quietly told another mare— a cyan Pegasus— to send word to the princesses that a murder has arose. The Pegasus unquestioningly took off at breakneck speed.

The town was worried. The happiest mare was on the verge of outright crying. Whatever was going on it was bad. No doubt they were right. Within twenty seconds of the Pegasus leaving, she returned along with four alicorns. They urged the onlookers to return home, and leave this to them. Two more mares came to the scene, after hearing about it from others who came by.

"Rarity, are ya all right?" the country Earth pony asked, while taking the sobbing mare's hoof in her own. Too delirious to respond, Rarity only cried more. Applejack embraced her, trying to comfort her while staying strong.

Fluttershy never glanced at the corpse, as she was squeamish. Rainbow Dash looked, and was horrified. Not even she could stand such a sight. Pinkie was crying as well, here was somepony she knew and now they're dead. No party could make this better.

Only the princesses looked upon the body without emotion. Not because they didn't care, but because they wondered who would do a thing like this.

"What should we do?" asked Twilight.

Celestia, using her magic, closed the casket. Producing a scroll and quill from thin air, she wrote a letter to the coroner— telling them to prepare a funeral and that a body will be arriving tomorrow. After sending the letter off, she looked down at Twilight. "The only thing we can do is bury her, and hope this will stop before it gets worse." With that, she expanded her wings and flew off into the sky.

"We can't just hope!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "There's some sicko out there who's probably looking for another pony to butcher!"

"I agree with Rainbow," Pinkie said fighting back tears. "We can't let somepony else die that way."

"W-What am I going to tell my p-p-parents? H-How are they going to take the news?" Rarity choked. She had calmed down some, but was obviously still grieving. "I never even got the chance to say 'Goodbye'."

"Rarity, I'll come with ya to yer parents. Ah can't just letcha go off by yerself," Applejack said. Rarity hugged Applejack, all the while thanking her. Applejack planted a kiss on Rarity's cheek, and reassured her that everything will end up better.

Only Luna remained quiet, since Cadence went back to the Crystal Empire to inform Shining Armor of the tragedy that struck. Luna's silence concerned Twilight. She trotted up to her, stopping when she was next to her.

"Princess Luna, what's wrong?"

"My sister has trouble grasping the concept of death," Luna told them. "As an alicorn, death is something we will never experience. We age without aging, and watch as others we know wither away. Some go peacefully, others not at all. No matter the reason, we are always at their funerals. Friends or enemies. Their last thought should be that somepony cares about them, and will miss them when they pass. It's the best we can do."

Luna spread her wings, and flew a feet in the air. She turned to face them all, her face stoic. "I suggest all of you get some sleep tonight. I promise we'll have the funeral in the morning." She took off into the air, as her sister had did. However, before she left, she arranged the stars to form a young filly's face.

It's nearing midnight now. One week after the first kill. I've watched the funeral from afar. Actually, I've watched the funerals. Yes, you heard right. Many more perished at the hands of the deranged man. They tried finding him. As well as passing laws to be indoors before night falls. Tonight won't bring death in the morning, though. On the contrary, it will be peaceful tonight. The insane are resting, for they're tired of the events that have taken place.

They might start again tomorrow, if not the the day after. I don't actually know. But they will start again. More will die, even more will mourn. But soon will come the day where it all ends, and I'll be there to witness it. I'll be there to make sure they can't escape— can't flee and return to kill. There'll be arrests and executions. But they won't be long gone. I'm powerless now, but with enough time I can bring them down. As for their victims— past and future— they'll find their happy ending. That's how some stories work. Darkness in the beginning, joy at the end. Sometimes, it'll be reversed. Other times, one or the other, maybe even neither. Just know that this will all come to an end, as the way every story should. Another chapter in a book. Another paragraph on a page. This will end for all of us.