Author's Note

I originally added the Death tag to the story as a precaution. But seeing as it only applies to this chapter, and if you can handle reading it to the end, you will see why I don't think the Death tag is necessary.

Chapter 01: Out of Control

The red demon hovered above the front doors of Canterlot High School, her turquoise eyes burning and smoking with malice, hair a veritable flame atop her head, adorned by the circlet she had so adamantly sought. She turned her attention from the small group of girls who dared to confront her, aiming it instead at the students who had withdrawn into the building and locked the doors.

“I’ve had to jump through so many hoops tonight, just to get my hands on this crown,” she seethed in an unearthly, almost monstrous voice, glaring through the glass entrance, “and it really should have been mine all along!” A moment later, her expression changed to a smirk, though the anger in her eyes was still evident. “But let’s let bygones be bygones. I am your princess now…” A clawed palm rose in front of her face, beaming with a sickly blue light. “And you will be loyal to me!” With one swift motion, she demolished the entire front entrance where every student gathered, crushing the debris into a massive ball and tossing it aside.

The demon glided into the front hall, causing everyone to scatter. “I’ll see to that personally.” A strange aura emitted from the crown she wore, stopping every student in their tracks.

Including me.

“Now, I want you all to hold down those obnoxious girls outside!” Every one of us obeyed immediately, our bodies running on auto-pilot. “You two,” I heard her call to the newly transformed Snips and Snails, “I want you to hold onto Princess Twilight personally. She cannot be allowed to escape.”

Her minions were immediately at Twilight’s sides, each with one arm gripped tightly. I watched as the other students gathered around each of the girls, similarly gripping their arms, legs, torsos, and even necks.

Stop, I thought to myself. No, stop, STOP! What are we doing? Why can’t I control myself? Why can’t I stop?! It was as if my consciousness had been pushed to the back of my mind, restrained as I could only watch the other students silently obey our new master while I followed as well.

“You,” the demon called out. As if on instinct, I turned my head to face her. “I think you should do the honors of taking out those pesky friends of hers,” she snarled with a vulgar smirk. With a flick of her claw, a pipe came flying out of the school wall, which she caught effortlessly. She held out the pipe for me. I knew what would come next.

Wordlessly, I took the small, but heavy pipe from her, gripping it tightly in both hands. Meanwhile, my mind was screaming for me to stop, but the screams went unheeded. I walked towards the closest of the girls, the animal lover, Fluttershy, and stopped inches in front of her. She had been dragged down onto her knees, and barely had any strength to resist the students who held her tightly, less than half of those required for any of her other friends.

“No, you don’t have to listen to her!” Twilight cried out, straining against the multiple bodies holding her at bay, front and center. She had been turned around to watch the display. “You can fight this!”

“Go ahead,” was the only response, coming gently from the demon princess behind her. Her words were grotesque, yet mesmerizing all the same. “You know you can’t resist.”

The other girls began yelling as well, pleading for the rest of us to regain our senses and control. However, I could hear that most of their vocalization was aimed at me, the one tasked with their elimination. The various cries and threats were deafening.

I peered down to look at Fluttershy’s face one last time. She looked up at me, tears beginning to trail down her cheeks. “Please,” she pleaded in that airy voice of hers, but with as much strength as she could muster, “don’t do this.”

We gazed into each other’s eyes for a brief moment. I felt my eyes burning, my face numbing, and my stomach turning. I literally felt like I was about to vomit. And all I could do was watch actions that were not my own.

In an instant, I raised the pipe above my head, and brought it down full force. There was a sickening crack as it landed on its mark, blood splattering onto the other students holding her, as well as myself. There was a brief instant of total silence. Surely, it could only have been a second or two, but it felt like an eternity as I stared on at “my” handiwork, breath caught in my throat. I’m not sure who was first to break the silence, but in an instant, all five of the remaining girls cried out, screaming for their friend, no doubt horrified as I brought the pipe above my head and slammed it down again. And again. The pipe made contact with the arm of one of the students during one of the swings, visibly breaking his forearm, but he made no sound and no effort to remove himself as I continued my assault.

This demon who had ordered the execution cackled ghoulishly as the others wailed at the sight before them, now a visible mess of blood, bone, and unspeakable soft tissue no longer held in their natural places. The other students who had held her down released her once it was obvious there was nothing left to put up a struggle.

I felt myself wailing along with the remaining girls over what I had just done, unable to tear my eyes away from the unnatural sight of this broken young woman in front of me. Until I turned to the next victim, the young farmer.

Her cheeks were already soaked by the time I made my way in front of her. “You lay a single hand on me, and I’ll make sure you regret it!” She squalled, unable to hold back her sobs for her broken friend. Unlike Fluttershy, Applejack required by far the most numerous and burly students. She was held upright, gripped tightly all along her legs and arms, her hips, and even had two boys holding her neck by the crook of their elbows. She was, after all, reputed as one of the strongest students in the entire school.

NO!!! I tried one last time to put up some kind of fight, to overcome the external force on my body, but it made no difference. All I could do was languish in my lack of control as I immediately swung into the blonde’s ribcage, causing another sickening series of cracking sounds followed by the raucous cries of her friends. She let out a hefty cry, followed by a strained cough accompanied by a trail of blood from her lips. Her head instantly fell as she gasped for breath. There would be no reprieve, of course. I swung again, into the same spot, intensifying her present injury and likely breaking another rib. She let out a faint cry this time, far less audible, though the pain was still prevalent on her face.

As if on instinct, the two girls who had held her midsection in place released her, and my next swing went straight into her newly exposed left hip. Instantly, she lost all control of her left leg and no further resistance was present in her limb. I then switched my stance and went for the other hip, doing equal damage. She was now dangling by the grips on her upper body.

The remaining girls’ struggling only intensified, as did their cries and protests, but to no avail. The students released Applejack’s legs, and even the boys released her neck, as she was clearly no longer a threat. The next swing fell squarely on her right clavicle, causing yet another squeal of pain as blood continued to trickle from her mouth. From the look in her eyes, I could tell she still had the will to fight, but there was too much damage done for her body to cooperate. The remaining students released her, allowing her to collapse face-down on the ground. She struggled to move her arms and grasp at a handful of grass, but there was no strength to pull herself forward. In one swift motion, I landed one more blow below her skull.

She ceased to move another muscle as blood poured from her lips.

I turned to look at the other three in line, as well as Twilight Sparkle. They all had mixed looks of horror, mourning, disappointment, and anger to various degrees.

“Where’s your friendship now, Princess?” the demon taunted Twilight from just over her shoulder. Twilight could do nothing but look on in pain and sadness, tears staining her cheeks just like the others.

Next was Rainbow Dash. Though not quite as physically tough as Applejack, the school’s renowned athlete was still a force to be reckoned with, and was just as well-bound. And she had, by far, the most visible rage on her face of any of them, as well as an extensive list of obscenities and insults to hurl in my direction.

Internally, I felt myself retch at the abominable act I was taking part in. I wanted desperately to look away, to make myself stop. Hell, if I could, I would have turned the pipe on myself and attempted to swing at full force. Anything would be better than this.

Still, I was forced to watch as I swung at an exposed kneecap. She screamed in agony as her leg suddenly bent into an unnatural direction. A few seconds and removed hands later, and the second kneecap went as well. Her legs were useless. I continued to swing as body parts were exposed; ribs, shoulders, elbows, and finally, her neck.

Still being held upright as I brought the final blow, Rainbow Dash was the first one I stood witness to as the life left her eyes. Seconds later, she was released, slumping onto the ground in a sickly ragdoll-like motion.

“Dashie…” Pinkie Pie whimpered under her breath at the sight. Her hair had gone completely straight at some point, something that escaped my attention during the unfolding tragedy.

I reached Rarity next, the beautiful fashionista that practically half the school fawned over. Once again I looked her in the eyes, the same as the others. I saw one difference, though. Despite the fear, rage, and sadness showing on her face, she managed to exude an air of… dignified defiance. She didn’t struggle, she didn’t sling insults or threats. Despite the tears rolling down her cheeks, she stared at me with a look of acceptance. She knew she wasn’t getting out of this alive.

“RARITY!! PINKIE!!” Twilight screamed out. She continued to struggle harder than ever, even managing to slip from some of the students’ grips once or twice. But she was still held firmly in place, unable to do anything but continue to watch this horror show unfold.

I moved to start my swing when Rarity’s words caught my ear, and for the briefest moment, made me pause. “It’s okay,” I heard her say through the tears, hiccupping as she strained to continue. “You’re obviously not in control, you are not to blame.” She then shut her eyes tightly.

I felt her words on my chest like a cannonball. I might have cried, if I had even the slightest control over my body.

Instead, I found myself slamming the pipe down onto one of her feet. She let out a high-pitched scream, wrenching her eyes to close further. The same came from pounding into her other foot. She howled in pain, but refused to open her eyes. However, she sobbed out again, attempting to convey a simple message. “I forgive you…” She couldn’t hold her breath to speak steadily, but it was clear enough. “I forgive you!” She wailed again.

“Enough!” The demon snarled, suddenly on my back. “Who is she to offer forgiveness?! What’s the point? FINISH HER ALREADY!”

The turmoil inside my mind grew worse at this figure’s words. I knew what I was doing was wrong, I was sure I had the power to overcome it and stop it! So why wasn’t I?

The next swing fell squarely against the base of Rarity’s jaw. Her body went slack, but the students held her up and faced her forward. She sobbed again, slurring this time, “I forgive you!” before I landed a second blow on the opposite side. She went totally limp, gasping for air through the pain. Again, she was propped up.

Even my previous actions couldn’t prepare me for the tortured sight in front of me. Her jaw hung loosely with no firm attachment, teeth and tongue leaning against her throat. Her already white skin was somehow even paler now. Yet somehow, I still heard her echo her message, clearer than any time before. “I forgive you…”

“End her already!” The demon clawed at my shoulder, seething in pure hatred. If I didn’t know better, I would think she’d heard it too.

I raised the pipe once more, this time not pausing as I heard one last echo. “Now you must forgi—” The pipe made contact with her temple, knocking her to the ground, causing yet another sickly crack and spraying more blood as it penetrated, exposing some of the soft tissue from within.

From behind, I simply heard Twilight sobbing and hiccupping. There were no more cries to her friends or pleas to stop. She simply sobbed uncontrollably.

I sobbed uncontrollably.

Finally, I found myself in front of Pinkie Pie, pinned on her knees much like Fluttershy. I didn’t think it possible, but she wore the worst expression of them all. But there was no snarl, no grimace. There were no obscenities or insults.

The expression she wore could best be described as… nothing. Her face had gone completely blank, without even the smallest hint of emotion. As I looked in her eyes, however, I could feel a burning ache that was indescribable. It was as if, had she been released at that moment, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill me in retaliation.

“You don’t deserve forgiveness,” I heard her whisper.

It was strange. I had killed the others without hesitation, save the slightest pause for Rarity. Now, I was mesmerized by the immensity of this girl’s visible disdain, her pure thirst for blood, practically unable to move.

“She’s right,” I heard from Twilight behind me. I couldn’t move, some instinctual fear of this pink girl keeping me frozen in place, but the words cut through clearly. There was no sign of her previous sobs, which caught my attention. “You don’t deserve forgiveness. Everything about you…” I could hear her whispering in my other ear now, “is deplorable.”

Pinkie returned, “No one will ever want to be close to you.”

The demon turned me around to face her. “They’re right, you know,” she smirked. “Nothing can make up for what you’ve done here.”

In an instant, I had full control of my body again. I gasped, as if I had been choking, before looking down at myself. I was covered in blood, innocent blood from girls who had tried to do what was right. I looked at the pipe. There was a sharp edge that I hadn’t noticed before. A second after that observation, I dropped the pipe in surprise. I looked up at the bodies of the girls I had killed. No longer did they bare bruises and blunt impacts, but carvings and shredded flesh as well.

“If you had been stronger, you could have stopped this,” Twilight accused me from the right, no longer held against her will.

“I’m gonna enjoy watching you squirm and burn,” Pinkie giggled from my left, a long, serrated knife suddenly in her hand as she wore a wicked, demented grin on her face.

“Ignore them,” the demon girl in front of me implored lovingly. “You did an excellent job.”

In the distance, I noticed something odd. The doors to the school were back in place, fully restored. On the other side of the glass doors stood a familiar figure. I couldn’t quite place who it was, but she looked so familiar I had to know her from somewhere. She was banging on the doors, apparently trying to get my attention. I also noticed that, as had been the theme of the night, tears were streaming down her face. She looked bruised and cut up, similar to my victims. I tried to pay attention to her features, the red and yellow hair, the turquoise eyes, the leather jacket, the sun emblazoned on her shirt. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t place her. She tried to yell to me, but the muffling doors stopped her message.

My attention was immediately brought back to the three girls surrounding me. Twilight stared at me accusingly, a vicious hatred seething from her eyes. Pinkie staggered towards me, knife in hand, and a wicked smile of anticipation for what she wanted to do to me. The demon girl strolled up to me, swaying her hips and crossing her arms around my neck, looking at me with a smoldering expression of desire.

I had nowhere to run. I felt trapped. I started hyperventilating. I was going to die!

_________________________ * * * _________________________

“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!” I popped my head upright, sitting up in my bed. My heart was racing, my head was pounding, my breathing was labored, I was covered in sweat. Immediately, the sick feeling in my stomach hit me, and I barely had time to reach for the garbage can next to my bed. Within seconds, I had emptied my stomach of its contents entirely.

I took a mouthful of water from the nightstand, rinsed, and spit into the garbage can again, gasping for air as reality quickly returned to my mind. This had become a near-nightly routine since the Fall Formal. Sunset Shimmer’s constant bullying had been bad enough, but the events of that night triggered something I couldn’t control. Brief though it may have been, the exposure to magic, seeing a girl turn into a real demon, and having control of my body taken from me was more than I could bear.

I grabbed one of the pillows on my bed and curled up as I began to quietly sob into it.

I looked at the alarm clock on my night stand. 2:43 a.m.