Cold as Iron
By Nailah
He cackled deliciously as he rubbed the knife against his fork, licking his lips, about to dig into the most wonderful treat, a pony. His eyes twitched and he kept making noises, scraping the knife against the fork, talking to himself like he was talking to an old friend.
“It has been a while hasn’t it? Such wonderful days, when we used to play. How we used to run and hide in the schoolyard. I never thought we’d see this day. Alas, I’m afraid it’s time for you to meet your end.”
The pony in front of him on the table didn’t answer. Laying there, lifeless as a ragdoll. Iron Waffles snickered as he lifted the blade to begin slicing as he continued muttering to himself.
"You remind me of my therapist all those moons ago. She wasn't much of a talker either. Or at least, not after I cut out her tongue..."
She gulped from her cage, watching him, listening to him, but not uttering a single word. She was terrified of what she was seeing in front of her. She sat in her cage, shivering with fear. He knelt down in front of the cage, hooves holding the bars.
“You know, this could have all been avoided, had anyone seen the signs and tried to help me be a better pony, but no one cared, you didn’t care! You pretended like you wanted to help, but no pony wanted me to be better and now you will all pay!” he screamed, feeling that rage flowing through him. He turned his head towards her.
“I guess you should know how I got like this right? I don’t know why it matters. Nothing will change your fate. You’ll end up dead just like him, and I’ll still be crazy, but I feel so good!”
She froze with fear, she had no idea what was wrong with this guy, but she listened to his tale in the hopes it would give her some time to find a way out before she ended up like the pony on the table.
She listened as he began to tell his tale. She was surprised at how detailed it was, like he still remembered every moment. Every single thing that went wrong, that she could have fixed.
“It all started on a rainy day, the raindrops falling on my muzzle, cold yet strangely refreshing. I had a little sister whose name was Maple Syrup, and she had died tragically. She was always a wild one, always getting into trouble. Well on this particular day, she decided to head into the Everfree Forest at night. Every pony knows how dangerous it is. When I found her in the morning, her body was covered in blood, her fur matted, her eyes blood stained and she had bite and claw marks to indicate that a pack of timberwolves had gotten to her.
That name stung her to her very core. She bit her bottom lip, a slight teardrop trailing down her face.
“I found her that night. Don’t ask me why, but I had this feeling something was wrong, so I followed her only to discover her dead. I clung to her limp, lifeless body and screamed. She was my sister for Celestia’s sake!”
“Of course you would be upset at losing your sister, but death is a normal thing in a pony’s life. That doesn’t make it right for you to murder others for nothing!” She said.
“SHUT UP.” Iron Waffles screamed, hitting his knife against the cage over and over again, causing marks into the steel, certainly not enough to cause any long lasting damage.
She took a gulp of a breath, cowering to the back of the cage. She stared up at this stallion. She was almost afraid to ask him to continue, but she needed more time. She needed to hear his tale, so that she might have a chance to live.
“I’d like to know more. I want to help you.” She spoke, trembling from head to hoof. Her eyes darted from side to side, she shivered as she watched him standing there in front of her.
Iron Waffles scuffed his nose up at her, disgusted.
“That’s what they all say when the fear overwhelms them. Your fate won’t change, just as mine is set.”
“Please. Just tell me.” She begged, she had to keep him talking. Somehow. There had to be hope for him yet. She felt for the dead pony on the table but there was nothing she could do for them now. She had to save herself, no matter what, she had to live.
“You’re just wasting your breath. There’s no hope for you, just as there’s no hope for me. Every pony will suffer.” Iron Waffles spoke, narrowing his eyebrows directly at her. She felt him staring into her soul. She watched as he paced back and forth in front of the cage, mocking her. She trembled, and swallowed a gulp of a breath.
“Please, consider it a last request. I want to know what happened to you.” She begged, she shivered from head to hoof.
“Very well, after my sister’s death, things were never the same. My parents grew cold to each other, and worse yet, they abused their only child left. They beat me and whipped me, but their worst crime was ignoring the signs and pretending like they cared. Blaming me for not keeping my sister safe. In a way, I did blame myself for her death. I should’ve done more, I should have tried harder to keep her from entering that forest,” he sighed as he looked at her, and for the first time since she was captured, she saw a glimmer of a lost soul in his deep blue eyes as tears streamed down his face.
“It’s okay…” She whispered, she dared to reach a hoof out towards this pony. Maybe there was something she could do.
He slapped her hoof away disgusted.
“You remind me of her.” Iron Waffles spoke, disgusted, narrowing his gaze away from her.
She blinked and sulked back into her cage fully. She waited to hear what he meant by her. Who was this mare and what did she have to do with this pony?
“I don’t remember her name, but my parents signed me up for counseling. I didn’t want to go, but they forced me to. I wasn’t of age yet to leave home. I hadn’t gotten my cutie mark either. They were concerned for me.”
“Because they cared, that proves you weren’t alone.”
Iron Waffles scoffed at her, giving her death glares. She grew quiet and waited for him to continue.
“I went to the stupid therapy sessions. ‘It’ll help you,’ they said, ‘it’ll make you all better,’ they said. THEY LIED! They all lied. No pony cared about me, I was nothing, and… now I’m every pony’s worst nightmare. It’s time you faced the truth. There is no escaping the future. There is no escaping your fate. You will die, just like I am dead inside.”
“No, you aren’t. There’s a pony in you that’s considerate, and even kind. Not the pony you’ve become.”
“You don’t even know me.” Iron Waffles sulked slightly remembering more events within his own mind.
“You’re right, I don’t know you, but I knew Iron Waffles was a good pony and he’s still in there somewhere, buried under all your hatred and grief.”
The counseling sessions with Mrs. I don’t even remember her name were dull and boring. Constantly asking how he felt, and asking about his day to day life, but everything changed when one of his school friends triggered him.
“You know if you had been a good big brother your sister would still be alive.”
“How dare you say such a thing!” young Iron Waffles flung himself at the other colt, tussling around in the grass, trying to get as many punches in as he could before the teacher pulled them off each other.
“Now what on Celestia’s heavens were you two fighting over? Detention for the both of you. And I will be having a talk to your parents after this.”
Iron Waffles sulked home, his body slumped, hunkered down, ears drooped.
“We were fighting over my sister, Maple Syrup, mom. I’m sorry. I just broke down and went into a stir of rage against my classmate.” Iron Waffles admitted.
It was just a memory, but one he recalled as clear as day. His mother hadn’t forgiven him for causing trouble at school, as soon as he got home he was chained down so that he couldn’t use his strength, as he felt the cold harsh whip against his flank. And worse yet the frying pan. He still had the scars all over his body, and the many burns upon his flank. He was a damaged pony, not worthy of love nor affection and now he was going to make sure the entire world knew how they had wronged him.
“I killed that pony, the one that mocked me. He was my first victim. And even as my hooves trembled with the knife, I felt so good. Finally, I had some sort of relief from all the grief I felt. I could breathe again. It was like I was a whole new pony and it didn’t stop there. Oh no. Once I got a taste of blood, I couldn’t stop. At first I took ponies no one would miss, criminal scum off the street, learning my trade and perfecting my technique. Now, here we are with you. You caused all of this. It’s your fault, not mine!” he shouted at her
“Truly, I wish I could have done more. I don’t know where I failed you, but I sincerely apologize. None of this was supposed to happen. I want to help you, let me help you.”
“No. You had your chance.” Iron Waffles growled as he opened the cage, and pulled her by the leash attached to the collar around her neck. He led her to the table, moving the dead pony aside with one shove of his hoof. He strapped her down to the table, three loops to keep her in place. She shivered and trembled in fear. Was this it? Was she going to die? To never know the feeling of another sunrise?
Iron Waffles looked at her with a sadistic smirk as he lifted his knife once more, preparing to make her his meal. To cover her in her own blood, but suddenly he trembled. He looked at her, horrified.
“What are you doing? Noooo!” he spoke as he looked at her like she were a long lost puppy. She couldn’t see, but her magic was aiding her in looking just like his sister.
“Please brother, don’t do this. My death shouldn’t cause you to be evil. My brother was good and kind, and he still is. Please stop the killings, turn yourself in, and be the big brother I’ve always wanted.”
Iron Waffles trembled, the knife falling flat to the ground, he let out a shriek, as he fell down to his knees on the floor in front of her. She was surprised when he let go of the straps.
“Go, just go…” he spoke as he felt the tears streaming down his face.
She knew it was a risk, she knelt down and embraced him in a hug. She put all her heart into it, to truly let him feel the warmth of her body one more time.
“There is still good in you, there is good in all of us, you just have to find it. Find my big brother and bring him back to me.” and with that she let go, and she disappeared. Her work was done. She smiled as she saw him get up and look disgusted by the many bodies that surrounded him. Iron Waffles was a murderer, and he would face severe punishments, but he was also a pony and what kind of sister would she be if she let him continue to suffer like this? Her spirit could finally pass on.
“Goodbye my brother, remember me as I was, find the joys in living again, and I love you.” With that the pony form she had taken started to disappear into dust as she felt her spirit being lifted up into the sky above.
Author’s notes: Is this horror? I’m not sure, it might be more a psychological horror but I was trying really hard to avoid Cupcake similarities and wanting to do my own thing. Let me know what you think in the comments. And this is my first horror story, so if you have any advice if I ever do this again, let me know!
