3: Clarity Glass Workshop and Ms. Hooves
(Two Days Later)
It had most certainly been at the back of her mind, as they never really made the front page. But they most certainly did today.
Mysterious Missing Cases Increasing!
Seven ponies missing within recent weeks!
The chief of Ponyville Police, Steel Blanket, states "[The missing ponies] will be found, and they will be brought home in one piece to their families. Until we find the culprit, I want every good pony in this humble town to keep their family and close friends tight to their chests."
The disappearances of ponies have been happening in Ponyville for the last estimated two–three years, but were small and didn't garner more attention than just some ponies going missing in the Everfree or just suddenly leaving without notice. Recently however, with the steadily increasing number, police and investigators believe the disappearances to be active takings (or foalnappings) being committed by somepony talented within this field.
Investigator Spyglass from Prance, states "The takings are random and – seemingly – without pattern, whoever is taking these ponies appears to have no reason. One of the taken was an alcohol brewer, taken eight weeks ago. The next disappearance was discovered three days later when they were reported missing, this one was a wood craftspony." Spyglass continues. "First thought it was a misandrist case, as many of the missing ponies were mares, but that was quickly rethought when a few stallions were reported missing."
Rarity didn't bother reading any further, worry for her friends, her cousin and her little sister clouding her mind as thoughts of one of them (or more) suddenly disappearing filled her head. Rarity knew Clarity and the girls could protect themselves; Twilight and Clarity probably had safety measures for it, Applejack can protect herself (clearly), they'd have to somehow catch Rainbow first, Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense' would definitely protect her, and Fluttershy had her animals.
But it was Sweetie Belle that scared her the most; her little Belle couldn't protect herself as well as Rarity and her friends could, she was just too sweet and gentle. it made her anxious thinking about it all.
"Ohh..." Rarity rubbed her temple with her hoofs. "What is Clarity up to..."
(Clarity Glass Workshop)
Clarity clambered onto the staircase of his basement, closing the lower door behind him. Shaking his head to stave off the fatigue from being awake all night. His basement is where he keeps all his personal activities, so as to keep them away from the heat of the furnace that could potentially damage them.
The ring of the bell over his front door made his slowly shutting down brain wake it's self up. Pushing up the stairs he called out, "Coming!" he shouted.
Pushing the basement upstairs door open, Clarity closed it behind him once through. After stepping out from the back room and stepping into the front of the building.
Standing behind the bar-esque counter, Clarity saw a gray Pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail with a brown saddle bag on looking around his shop at the the various objects he had created over time, as soon as he saw her gold, crossed eyes he knew that it was Derpy. "Hello, ms. Hooves!" The lovable mailmare "looked" at Clarity. "Is there something you need?" Clarity inquired.
"Oh yes "- she nodded -" I was hoping if you had the time to stitch up Dinky's teddy bear." Derpy reached around into her saddle bag and pulled out an old and notably worn brown teddy bear, setting on the counter directly in front of Clarity, who lifted it up with his magic. It's right button eye was hanging on by a single thread and stuffing was poking out of it's left ear and - upon turning it around - it's back.
What many didn't know about the Clarity Glass Workshop is that it's proprietor didn't just work with glass.
Despite how tired he was and would want nothing more than to lie down in his bed upstairs or go back down to the basement and collapse, he had to fix this old and endeared plush. "I'll have it fixed in a mere three–four minutes, or less." Clarity nodded his head at his a door way. "Why don't you come in, I have some muffins and tea," said Clarity.
Derpy gave him a big ditzy smile. "I wouldn't want to impose, Clarity," she said politely.
"Nonsense, dear," said Clarity with a small smile and tire eyes. "Come in, I'll prepare some tea for you and I'll start on Dinky's teddy." Without waiting for a reply, Clarity started walking to the kitchen, still holding the teddy in his telekinetic grip. Derpy followed behind him.
With the teddy still in his grip, Derpy watched as Clarity flitted around his kitchen warming a muffin up, setting it on a plate and preparing a pot of tea simultaneously.
Derpy watched in amazement as the tea and muffin were set in front of her, all while Clarity was examining the teddy bear, trying to determine the best way of repairing it.
He could refurbish the whole thing, which would take a small bit of time, or he could do patch work. He stared intently at it for a short moment.
With a quick glance at Derpy's smiling face as she nibbled on her muffin and sipped her warm tea; he knew just what to do: Refurbish it. "I'll be right back, darling," Clarity said as he walked to the door. "If I'm going to be refurbishing Dinky's teddy, I'm going to do it right." Clarity stepped out of the kitchen and made his way upstairs to his bedroom/personal crafts room.
Clarity knew how hard life was for Derpy and Dinky, not that either of them showed it with their cheery dispositions, but he knew and that's what matters. He knew that Derpy is always dangerously close to losing her job; yes, she is one of the post office's best employees, but her crossed eyes have caused several accidents that have nearly gotten her fired.
Not only that, but her pay is a little bit more than just enough for her to afford treats such as muffins and the occasional toy for Dinky. Hence why she brought Dinky's teddy to him.
Entering his room, Clarity immediately started gathering everything he would need, bolts of matching fabric, stuffing, and needles and dark thread. With his required objects, he set to work with cutting the bear a part and rebuilding it.
After a few short minutes, Clarity looked at the eyeless bear for a moment, wondering if he should replace the black buttons with new ones or use the old ones...
With a small smile, he knew what to do. Clarity stitched the old black buttons in, that way, it would hopefully feel like Dinky's if there was something old and familiar attached to it.
Tying the cut string, Clarity brought the bear up and turned it around, examining it and making sure he hadn't missed anything. It looked just like it always had, but the fabric was no longer stained in some places and looked matted. Oh, and no stuffing was coming out.
With a nod, Clarity left his room at a brisk pace. Coming down the stairs and around the corner, Clarity peered into the kitchen in which he saw Derpy sitting there pleasantly and looking like she was trying not to fall asleep.
Derpy sprung up when she heard Clarity's hooves against the linoleum. "Here you go, ms Hooves." Clarity hovered the refurbished teddy bear over to the clearly tired mother. "I hope Dinky likes it, I left the original eyes in so it still has some familiarity." Clarity walked into the kitchen and sat down as he watched Derpy examine it.
"Thank you so much, Clarity!" Derpy said as she gave it a once over. "It looks just like it did when Dinky picked it out." Derpy tried to hide the incoming cringe, but Clarity saw it anyway. "How much should-" Clarity cut her off by bringing is hoof up to her face.
"No charge dear, Celestia knows you need the bits," Clarity stated gently, giving Derpy the best warm smile he could manage. "Now, I suppose you should get moving," Clarity didn't give Derpy a chance to talk. "I know that today's a day off for you, else you wouldn't be here talking to me." Clarity stood up from the seat. "I'll walk you out."
What Clarity was clearly not ready for was Derpy wrapping her fore legs around his neck, throwing "thank you" out of her mouth at rapid speeds. It wasn't long before he felt some tears hit his back and shoulder. Clarity just wrapped one of his legs around her shoulders and let her take her time, not minding that she was dropping some tears on him.
Derpy eventually calmed down and – true to his word – Clarity walked her out of his store and waved her goodbye as she trotted away back home to her daughter.
As the lovable, ditzy mare left his sight, Clarity's smile slowly fell, until it was gone completely and his face was left blank. He felt warm and pleasant for what he had done for Derpy, but he just couldn't understand how ponies could smile all the time.
Yes, Clarity has grown up around expressive ponies, his cousin and his parents for example, but he could never quite grasp why they acted the ways they did. Why panic over being late by a minute or two? Why panic about forgetting something? That's alright, so long as it's not something truly important.
Clarity had always had subdued emotions ever since he was a young colt, he never felt compelled to laugh, cry or get angry- don't get him wrong, he's feels emotions, but their just so... weak, or so nonsensical that he's typically more confused than anything.
But in the end, it doesn't matter to him. This is how he is, and he likes it this way.
Shaking his head, he retreated into his store/home and went down to the basement, intent on continuing his previous activities. He may have been tired before ms. Hooves had arrived, but he felt reinvigorated, for seeing Derpy reminded him of why he does what he does.
It's so that those that have a life of hard and honest work have an increased chance to prosper. "It's for the best," Clarity thought as his face turned to stone. "No matter how much I have to tear my self apart, it will always be worth it." Clarity opened the door at the bottom of the steps and entered his personal workshop.
Author's Note
Yes, the Clarity Glass Workshop is stupidly similar to the Carousal Boutique, bite me.
4: Inner Machinations
(Middle of Next Week)
Clarity and Rarity were unable to meet last weekend as Rarity had a series of dress orders come in. And her dead line of the end of next week.
Clarity cut and tied off the final stitch of the manticore plushy, giving it a look over. It had the typical, orange lion body with the scorpion tail and draconian wings. Sitting up from his plush stool, he walked his way to downstairs to the main store front. Placing the manticore on a shelf for display near the many other plushies he had made; Nightmare Moon, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and many more.
Clarity fixed the Cadance plushy with a stare. He didn't really like Cadance, what with tampering with love and what not. He stepped around the shelf, looking at the pink plushy from different angles. It just didn't sit right with him, one should not interfere with lovers' quarrels; maybe they were fighting for a good reason-
"Stop." Clarity suddenly said. "Too much thinking on a topic I personally have no interest in," he stated before stepping around the counter and into the back room. To his left was a desk covered with paper; bills, commissions, letters, etc. all of it old and having yet to be thrown out or in the furnace. To the right was a long, wall-bound counter with a pair of tall cabinets, one on each end; design sheets, measuring tools and many other forms of tools. He sometimes did some work in this backroom, but it was either downstairs in the basement, upstairs in his room, or in the glass workshop.
Here, he normally just drew out glass designs and dealt with bills and formal letters. All his personal letters went straight upstairs to his room. "After all, someponies could break in for... blackmail against me," While odd to say out loud, it made sense to Clarity. There were a select few ponies in Ponyville that just didn't like him for reasons beyond him. "I am not having a repeat of that incident." Clarity visibly shivered.
Adjacent to the backroom door was the downstairs door. Walking up to it and opening it, Clarity closed the door behind him and made his way down stairs.
Opening the downstairs door, Clarity looks at his basement workshop: To his right was a workshop bench, a variety of tools on a tool rack near it. On the bench is a half-finished wood carving of Princess Luna on her throne, many shavings from the oak log litter the workshop bench and the floor around it. And in front of him was an old piano, dust collecting on it as he had lost interest in playing it years ago. A bookshelf was near it to it's left, several books of various sizes rested on it's shelves.
Ignoring it, he turned left where he saw the usual rack, and on it was his black saddle bag. Levitating it off the rack and onto his back, he turned towards the door, opened it and began climbing the stairs. He pulled the door shut behind him and opened the upstairs door.
Stepping into the backroom and closing the door behind him, Clarity trotted to the kitchen. Stepping around the small dining table inside, he opened the fridge to check if he needed anything. He did; milk, lettuce, carrots and cheese in particular.
Closing the fridge, Clarity levitated a small sheet of paper and pencil in front of him, writing down the items he noticed were either completely gone, or would be soon enough. Replacing the pencil where it came from - on top of the fridge - and folding the shopping list before slipping it into his bag.
Walking out of the kitchen and around to the front door, Clarity left Clarity Glass Workshop, locking the door behind him.
(The Market)
Clarity had gone straight to the market, no detours. He didn't have any other reason to be out here. Why make more? Although, along the way, he encountered Pinkamena. She was out shopping for party supplies as well as collecting a package from the post office. They exchanged pleasantries and each went their ways.
Scouring the market for his required food-stuffs, he quickly spotted a bored, young, earth pony stallion - short orange mane and tail with a green coat - at the booth for carrots. He most certainly looked like he wished to be somewhere else.
Clarity walked up to the booth, his pure white coat, mane and tail quickly catching the stallion's attention. The stallion quickly sat up and gave Clarity his full attention. Clarity made a quick glance at the price sign; threes bits for a bundle of eight carrots.
"Uh, good afternoon, sir," the earth pony said. "What can I do ya for?" Clarity watched as he visibly cringed on himself for asking that.
"A single bundle of carrots, please." Clarity pulled out three bits, his green magic encasing them.
"Y-yeah, here ya go." the stallion reached under the counter and brought up a bundle of carrots. Clarity set the bits on the counter.
"Thank ya, sir." the stallion swept the bits into the cash box. Clarity pulled the bundle into his saddle, being mindful of his other items.
"Have a good afternoon," Clarity stated with a nod of his head and walked off.
He heard the stallion let out a sigh of relief. Clarity was tempted to shake his head, but with held the feeling. Pulling his list out, he mentally crossed off "carrots". Looking away, he surveyed the area. Clarity saw all manner of stalls selling choice fruits and vegetables.
Floating the list back into his saddle bag, he walked through the market before coming upon a cheese stand. "Convenient," Clarity said out loud to himself. Walking up to it, he hoofed over the bits need and walked off with two bricks of cheese in his saddle bag.
While on his way to where he spotted a stand selling milk, Clarity had finally noticed a grumpy, Pegasus mare with a light blue coat and long, wavy, yellow mane and tail, her eyes were the color of healthy, freshly-rained-on grass. Her cutiemark was that of a type righter surrounded by snow flakes. A brown saddle bag was strapped around her barrel closer to her neck to avoid obstructing her wings. The ponies around her clearly avoided her, as her face was twisted into a scowl that said "I'm not in the mood for anything".
Clarity took note of her out-of-place appearance, as she most definitely wasn't happy to be here. Clarity turned away from her and continued trotting to the milk stand. Paying the acceptable price for a large carton of milk and stuffing it into his bag, he left to find a lettuce stand.
When the white unicorn finally found the stand, he was mildly surprised at the fact that there was one head of lettuce left. He couldn't help but comment on it. "I wasn't aware lettuce suddenly became a precious commodity." He began approaching the stand and the very satisfied vendor.
Clarity was suddenly shoved to the side by something, stumbling to his right and nearly falling over! His head and sight spinning from the sudden force, Clarity shook his head violently to clear the dizziness.
It didn't stop the dizziness (made it worse actually), but it did clear the spinning. Looking forward with a now throbbing head, he saw the same Pegasus mare from earlier, trotting away from the stand. She must have felt him staring at her and so she shot a snide smirk his way.
Clarity didn't show a reaction, but he was glowering on the inside... "She's next..." he thought, mindful of the other ponies around him.
And so, the white unicorn began to subtlety follow the winged menace. He followed her out of the market, down the street to another street and watched her turn to a house. She unlocked the door and entered, slamming the door shut behind her. Without prompt, the white unicorn began circling the house, casing it for tonight. He eventually stopped around the back of it.
Glancing around - above, around corners and behind himself - to make sure he wasn't being watched. Satisfied that he was alone, he began channeling power into his horn, the white unicorn's horn glowed a light green. A matching glow surrounded himself as he slowly lifted himself off the ground and towards one of the upstairs windows.
Many thought Clarity wasn't that good with magic as he had near next to no talent when he was young colt in school. He barely managed to lift a broom when he was ten years old. But now; he could lift himself, albeit slowly, but it was always useful when he had to do this.
The first window he floated to was obviously the winged menace's bathroom. He noticed several problems with the window, like the fact that there was a slight gap in the bottom left pane, but ignoring that, he checked the latch for it. It was unlocked and judging by the slight hints of surface rust, wasn't used often. "A possible entrance," he thought himself, floating to the next window.
It was her bedroom, and the window was locked from the inside. Clarity was unsure if it was an option or not, it was near where her bed was, but he's never tried levitating himself and using telekinesis on something else at the same time. "Maybe it's time to try," Clarity thought as he floated down before he was seen by either the winged menace, or somepony else.
When his hooves touched the grass covered ground, he felt a dull throb through his horn and skull. It wasn't painful, just bothersome.
Clarity quickly stepped in between the winged menace and the next door house. Poking his head out, he checked if anypony was there. There was a father and his colt. Clarity quickly dipped back into cover. Deciding to take another route, Clarity spun around and checked the opposite side. The back yards were clear, but what about the windows?
Clarity thought that he could try that invisibility spell, but decided it would be bad if he messed it up and caused a small explosion around him. He was still learning that one.
Clarity decided he'd just have to suck it up and step out, regardless of the father and colt. But that didn't stop him from checking anyway. Lucky for him, the father and colt had gone back inside, and the street was practically abandoned.
Clarity calmly trotted out of his dark corner. Strutting down street as if he lived there.
The white unicorn made his way back to his home immediately, he had to prepare for tonight.
He also didn't want to keep his milk, carrots and cheese in his most-likely warm bag. They belong in the fridge
(Night Time)
Everything was ready.
Clarity stood outside of the winged menace's house, all the lights were off. His stare was solid and sure.
Everything is ready.
Under the cover of darkness, Clarity walked around to the back of the house, avoiding loose stones or anything that could cause a ruckus. Clarity hopped the fence and looked up at the bathroom window. His horn glew it's light green, and the glow quickly enveloped the rest of his pale body.
Gingerly ascending towards the window, Clarity glanced at the bedroom window. The light was out.
Clarity had made sure to come late in the night, around two or so at night. "Never make a mistake, never be on a stake," he thought to himself. Not just a saying, but also a rule.
Clarity hovered outside the bathroom, the soft glow of his magic illuminating the interior and the window cell. Looking at the latch, he confirmed that it was still unlocked from earlier. "Perfect," Clarity whispered so lowly, that he almost couldn't hear it himself.
Bringing his hooves up, he pushed the window open, stopping and cringing when it made a soft squeak. He waited a moment before continuing. Luckily, the window didn't squeak anymore after.
The white unicorn gently hovered in, his hooves close to his barrel to avoid bumping anything or touching the wood. Once in, he softly set himself down on the floor mat. He let out a sigh. He hadn't spent too much time using the telekinesis on himself. As a result; he almost didn't notice the near-nonexistent ache.
He hated going through windows on second floors, too many variables. He may be able to enter through them and if signs of a break in are found, it can be blamed on a Pegasus. But what he didn't like was that if something changes he wouldn't know without having to levitate himself up. Levitation is hard, without an aptitude for magic it can be impossible, and without practice and conditioning, it can drain a unicorn's stamina.
Clarity's been using it for years, and it's still hard. Most likely from his lack of magical potential. He has trouble with a vast variety of spells. But over time, he has learned and mastered specific spells.
As the magic around his body and horn slowly faded, darkness enshrouded him. He didn't move and his breathing was as gentle as possible. His eyes quickly adjusted to the moonlit bathroom, and he approached the white door, leaving the bathroom.
Clarity closed the door gently behind him, doing his best not to make so much as a small squeak.
Noise is bad, okay? If he's not careful, everything for himself and his family could be ruined.
Instead of going straight for the winged menace, he floated around the hallway on his hooves. The hallway was bare, to put it bluntly. Aside from one small cupboard with a lamp on it and some photos on the walls, it was empty.
He didn't know much about this mare, but what he had experienced of her was enough for him. She let her emotions rule her and dished out unnecessary aggression on ponies that had done nothing to her. Clarity himself was a good example, and it was only a matter of time before she hurt Rarity or, Celestia forbid, Sweetie Belle.
Clarity stepped up to the door he suspected led to her room, and silently pushed it open. Clarity was slightly surprised, he expected the door to be locked. He was about to make a comment on her intelligence, until he made the assumption that she would have locked both her front and back door.
Why would you need to lock your room when you live alone?
Clarity shook his head, no point and thinking about her decisions. It was pointless, he was paranoid enough as it is. Pushing the door open further, he gazed upon her bed. And the Pegasus mare herself.
He stared down at her. Channeling magic into his horn, he lifted a metal syringe from his saddle bag, a needle on the end of it. A dark, almost black, auburn liquid was in it.
Without hesitation, he stabbed the needle into her neck, injecting the liquid as her snapped open! Yanking the needle away with his magic, Clarity calmly stepped back as she jumped out of bed.
She looked ready to scream bloody murder and attack, but her eyes began to drooped. She wobbled and tried to stand up right, but was for naught as she fell flat on her side. Her eyes slid shut, the last thing they saw was Clarity floating the syringe back to his saddle bag.
Clarity's magic didn't cease as he pulled a medium-sized burlap sack out of his dark saddle. The sack would typically only carry roughly twenty large potatoes, but not this one. Clarity had enchanted it. So long as the opening was wide enough, he could fit a pony of Big Macintosh's size in it.
Very useful for this sorts of activities.
Clarity pulled the mare into the sack and watched it bulge a bit as though only a meager amount of potatoes had been thrown in. There are so many pros to having a sack like this. He could lug it around in broad daylight if needed. And when he's questioned about it, he can always tell them that it's something other then a pony.
The only problem was when they wanted to see what's inside. Which they never did, thankfully.
Clarity stalked his way back to the bathroom. The white unicorn made it a point to always leave the way he came. Opening the door and stepping into the hall, body bag over his back. Closing the bedroom door behind him, Clarity opened the door to the bathroom and entered. He closed the door behind him.
Clarity pulled the weighty bag off his back, setting it on the ground gently. It wouldn't do to hurt the winged menace now, that'd be rude.
Well, ruder than foalnapping her in his opinion. He was going to make the trip there fairly comfortable.
Clarity wrapped the burlap sack in his magic and steadily lifted it off the tiled floor and out the still-open window, following it as it went. Standing at the window sill, his head poking out, he focused on the bag slowly making it way down.
He was tempted to drop it once it was a third of the way, but he didn't want to hurt the mare inside the bag.
Not yet anyway.
The white unicorn's magic faded once the bag was firmly set on the grass below. Standing up, he put his hooves on the window sill. He was a little anxious. He's climbed out a window and levitated himself to the ground before, but it seems he's still not use to it.
Breathing deeply, he climbed onto the window sill, minding the actual window and his horn. Igniting his horn, he began to slowly lift himself out and down to the ground, landing near the sack.
Once on the ground and the headache from lifting himself coming on, he turned around and used his magic to close the window. With a nod, he pulled the sack onto his back and began to stealthily trot back to his home.
(Clarity Glass Workshop)
Clarity pulled the door open and closed it behind him. Trotting, almost eagerly, to the backroom behind the counter, he quickly opened the basement door and started descending, closing the door behind him.
Opening the bottom door, he closed that behind him as well. He had to be quick, his guest would be awake in the next fifteen minutes. He walked up to the old piano sitting near the wall and bookshelf. He had taken great care in making this, so as to make it nigh-impossible to discover and protect his family from himself.
Bringing his hoof up, he played an excerpt of a string of notes from a song he had hated. A song of regret and misery, but also of forgiveness and redemption. He had hated that song with a passion. It had made him feel emotions he didn't know how to handle.
But that was years ago, when he had just started his hobby. Now, he loved the song, as that was how he thought his life would end one day.
With redemption. When he was finally satisfied with his most personal activity and put it behind him.
As soon as he hit the final key, the bookshelf to the left opened. It didn't slide open, that would eventually leave scratch marks on the cement floor. The back panel of the bookshelf - along with the shelves - opened like a door, revealing a short staircase to a hidden room. There was no door at the bottom, showing a cement floor lit by an overhead light. Dark stains were socked into the concrete.
Walking down the steps, Clarity could barely manage to conceal his excitement.
An out-of-place, malicious grin split the pale stallion's muzzle. Here comes his favorite part of the night.
(A small amount of time later)
The Pegasus mare's head throbbed lightly as she slowly regained consciousness. She noticed that she was lying on something hard and very uncomfortable for her back. Groaning, she opened her eyes, and immediately snapped them shut from the light in her face. "Oh, apologies for that." she heard the clop of hooves on cement, and from behind her eye lids, the light dimmed slightly. "Adjustable lights; fascinating designs aren't they?" the voice said.
Finally deciding that she could open her eyes without being blinded, she opened them.
And she wishes she didn't.
With her sight restored she saw a dim light, she squinted her eyes and looked away form it. She almost wished she was blind.
What she saw made her freeze and open her eyes. Lining the wall were shelves.
One of the shelves had a few pony heads on it that looked as though they had been freshly decapitated. Blood that had dripped off the shelf had stained the floor with red splotches.
The mare let out a scream, spinning the head to look somewhere else! That was a mistake as well, for all she saw was a series of body parts from various creatures. Not that she would have noticed in her panicked state, but there was a set of Griffon talons and paws.
In a frenzy, she began to flap her wings violently, desperate to escape this hellish place! "Oh, would you stop that." she looked at the source of the voice, Clarity.
"Please, let me go!" she screamed, staring at the passive unicorn. "I'll do anything, just let me go!" he rolled his light green eyes. She let out a sob.
She wouldn't recognize him in her freaked state, especially since the only time she had ever seen him was in the market and maybe a few times on the street.
"They all say that, maybe I should make a poster..." he mused, walking over to a stand on wheels with a tray on it that she hadn't noticed. The tray scared her, she couldn't see what was on it, but she knew it was bad. Another sob sounded form her as she watched him push it towards her. "Now," he began, "I'm going to ask you some questions -" he looked at her "-do well to answer them as best you can." she watched him grab a Griffonion butcher knife from the tray.
Her pupils shrank to needle points and she began to thrash around, flapping her wings as hard as she could whilst screaming her lungs out. Clarity let out a sigh at the futility of her efforts. "Please! I-I'm sorry for whatever I did! Don't hurt me!" she wailed past the choking of her sobs.
Clarity looked impassively at her. "Do you know what you did today?" while it was the next day after the clock had struck twelve o'clock, she wouldn't know that.
"I-I don't k-know!" she shouted, staring frightfully at the knife in the crook of his hoof.
He shook his head at her. "Wrong," he stated flatly, and streaked the knife across her strapped down foreleg!
The response was immediate. The mare slammed her eyes shut and started screaming her heart out, crying tears of fear and agony. Blood slowly trickled from the shallow cut. "Again: Do you know what you did today?" he asked again.
Her frantic thoughts somehow managed to pull themselves together for a split moment, just long enough for her to think. "I-I yelled at the m-mailmare f-for mixing u-up my mail!" she cried out to the sociopath, her trashing becoming tamer.
Her stomach fell when he didn't respond, she got ready to start thrashing again in doomed hope that she could free herself. "What did the mailmare look like...?" his question was distant as he stared at her, his voice made her cease her thrashing.
"S-she was a-a gray mare w-with a y-yellow mane and t-tail, a-and a bubble c-cutiemark...!" she sobbed out. A bone seemed to snap inside Clarity.
She wanted to shrink away and into nothing at the pale unicorn's piercing stare. "What's your name?" he asked, his voice firm and cold.
"F-Frost W-Wings..." she sobbed out, her thrashing had stopped as fear gripped her stomach.
"...Frost Wings..." he repeated like a record player, he set the knife down on the tray.
But it was a fleeting hope. Setting his hoof back on the cement, he lifted something with his magic. Her pupils shrank again as the hope in her heart gave way to more fear and dread.
He lifted up a pair of pliers, Clarity was intent on ripping out all of her feather.
And maybe her teeth.
She let out an ear piercing scream as she tried to push herself away from him. Clarity brought his hoof up and swung it at her head! His hoof connected with a crack, electing a yelp from Frost Wings and silencing her. "I have a proposition for you ms. Wings:" Clarity grabbed her wing with his hoof and forcefully extended it, floating the pliers near it. "Don't scream, and I won't hack your wings off..." he paused. "Yet." With those words, he ripped the first feather out.
Scared out of her wits, Frost Wings, let out a small yelp, Clarity sighed in response. "Ms. Wings," his voice was smooth and as cold as ice, "at least try." Clarity plucked another feather out, and Frost Wings let out a quiet sob.
Frost Wings choked up, before opening her mouth to plead once again. "W-whatever I-I did to y-you, I'm sorry..." she quietly sobbed, her voice raising whenever the pale sociopath pulled a feather. "J-just please, let me go. I-I won't tell anypony," she quietly pleaded.
Clarity ceased his plucking and set the pliers down. Hope blossomed in Frost's heart, maybe she had gotten through to him!
She didn't, obviously.
Clarity brought up a hacksaw, encased in his green magic. "It's not your fault, really. But -" he took the hack saw into the crook of his hoof and up to the base of her wing "- you could not begin to understand how many times I've heard those exact words." with a tug, the saw bit into her flesh!
She gave in and began screaming as loudly as she could, tears streaming down her face! She began to frantically flap her wings! Clarity frowned as her crazed attempts of flight dislodged the hacksaw. Flaring his horn, he grabbed her offending wing and pulled it taught, it still twitched and spasmed as the muscles strained against the magic.
Clarity rested the hacksaw on her wing again and started sawing again. Frost, who had stopped screaming for labored breathing, started screaming again as she felt the saw cut it's way through her flesh. Clarity started pressing the saw harder against her wing, bone chipping began to fly from the wing.
The pale sociopath ripped the hacksaw out of her wing, the saw being a half the way through her wing. Clarity brought his hoof up but stopped short, as he noticed her thrashing had weakened.
Looking at her, he noticed that her eyes were beginning to droop shut. She passing out from the pain. "That won't do," Clarity said, levitating a bucket full of cold water and promptly throwing it in her face.
Her reaction was instantaneous. Her eyes bulged open and stared at him, dazed from near unconsciousness and pain. She wasn't ready for Clarity to slam his hoof against her wing's new weak point. With a sickening crack and flesh tearing, Frost Wings' wing was viciously broken from her body!
Frost Wings screamed and thrashed with new found will! Blood lightly trickling form the jagged stump of her wing, was thrown about, specifically on the floor, herself and Clarity. The pale sociopath looked on, ignoring the crimson fluid hitting him and absently shaking the hoof that had dealt the blow.
He dumped the wing held in his magic in the nearby - what he likes to call - gore bucket. Her parts weren't exceptional enough to make it onto the shelves.
After a minute or so, Frost Wings' pain appeared to have subsided a small bit. For now. Clarity walked around to the other side of the table and the winged menace on it, the hacksaw levitating near him. "Let us continue, shall we?" he questioned, taking up a mirrored position on the other side of the table.
"N-no more, please! I-if you let me go, I promise y-you'll never see m-me again!" Clarity stared on with a bored expression, "I-I'll leave Ponyville a-and go back to Cloudsdale!" Clarity blinked heavily at her, her voice having gone hoarse from the screaming.
Instead of responding, the pale jacket floated the hacksaw back to the tray on the other side of the table and pulled a hefty, sharp-looking cleaver over. "Cleavers," he began, "heavy knives designed to sever thick vegetables." he looked at the gleam of the cleaver's steel edge. Frost Wings whimpered. "But for the Griffons, cleavers are designed and sharpened in a way that allows them to cut meat easier -" he took the cleaver in the crook of his hoof "- be thankful that I'm not using pony-made knives." Clarity said clearly.
Clarity lifted the cleaver high into the air, stretching her wing out with his magic. Frost Wings tensed up and rolled her head to the other side, she couldn't bear to watch her own wing be chopped off her body.
Clarity brought the cleaver down hard and fast. The breaking of bone, splitting of flesh and spray of blood were followed by a short, piercing shriek! Clarity floated the light-blue wing into the bucket and floated the now-bloodstained cleaver back onto the tray. "Very good, Frost," Clarity complimented, "you managed just a short shriek rather then a drawn out scream." Clarity hovered the hacksaw back over. "Unfortunately for you, there is nothing really interesting about you -" he rested the hacksaw on her fore leg "- you won't make it on the shelf." he stared pushing the saw forward and back.
Frost Wings had no response, only heavy whimpers of pain as the saw slowly severed her leg. Clarity started humming a tune. It was a lovely tune, one that could lull even the most grumpy foals. Frost Wings let out a giggle despite the pain she was in. The giggle - while faint - was enough to make Clarity stop and watch her with predatory curiosity. "T-this is just some h-horrible nightmare..." Clarity watched as Frost Wings started to try and rock herself back and forth.
"Oh on the contrary, darling," Clarity said, "this is very real." he shook his head when she didn't respond. "Well, what can you do, may as well continue." After some jerking and small, pained whimpers, Clarity started the sawing motions again.
He felt a deep satisfaction, while he didn't like breaking them so early - or at all - it most certainly made him very content. The knowledge that he was able to break somepony's spirit was euphoric- for lack of a better word. But sometimes, it's nicer when the they continued screaming and pleading for him to let them go.
Clarity watched as her hoof dropped off the rest of her leg. It made a clack noise and a small splatter of blood when it hit the floor. Clarity looked at the rest of her, levitating the hoof into the bucket without watching.
Shallow cuts on her remaining foreleg, a bruise was forming on the left side of her face where he had hit her. Both of her wings had been completely severed, leaving only bleeding stumps. She was still sobbing, albeit lighter and much quieter. She was staring off into space, her eyes glazed over.
Clarity stepped around to her remaining foreleg. Pressing the hacksaw against it, he started sawing through the flesh and bone. Much to Clarity displeasure, he had to start sawing faster. He had to make these kills - and the following torture - quicker, least he be discovered and he couldn't do that to Rarity and Sweetie Belle. IT would break their hearts. And he couldn't have that.
With one final stroke, the lower half of Frost Wings right foreleg fell to the bloodstained floor. He levitating it to the bucket. The bucket made cleaning easier. He didn't care about the blood, it would dry up, he gave up trying to floor clean a long time ago. Instead, he just let the preservation spell on the basement do it's work. It looked nice as a bonus.
He couldn't help but quietly thank Twilight for letting him borrow the rarer advanced magic books. He'd read tons of magic books, but the books he got from Twilight were, simply put, the best.
Looking at his tray, he raised a bloodstained hoof to his chin. He could use the metal mallet, maybe the hatchet, or... Clarity levitated a pair of hedge cutters.
These weren't normal hedge cutters; these ones were larger than normal and sharpened by Clarity himself. Maybe these would do...
Just as quickly as the thought entered, Clarity dismissed it. If he cut off all her legs, she would bleed out faster and he didn't want that. Bleeding out may lead to a head ache once you start running low on blood, but it was a (mostly) painless death.
Clarity set the hedge cutters down and lifted the metal mallet up.
Break her legs it is.
Clarity stepped to her hind legs and without a moment of consideration, took the mallet into his hoof and swung the mallet down! The mallet made vicious contact with her hind leg shin and sickening crack, smashed the bone into fragments! Frost Wings let out a pained yelp, water streaming down her cheeks, but otherwise, she remained catatonic.
The pale sociopath shuffled to the other leg and brought the mallet down on it. The crack and obliteration of the bone vibrated through Clarity's system, sending a nice shiver down his spine. Frost Wings yelped again, but made no other response.
Clarity shook his head, hovering the mallet back onto the tray. Stepping up to her head, he stared into her eyes. "You are... disappointing, to be frank." he smirked lightly. He trotted up to her head, levitating the pliers off the tray. "I'm sure you're aware that removing teeth makes it harder to speak," he spoke, standing on his hind legs and using the table as support. "I'm going to pull your teeth." lifting his hooves up to her muzzle, he pried her mouth open and floated the pliers near her teeth. "You're not using them after all." Clarity floated the pliers to one of her many teeth.
Latching onto the tooth with the pliers, Clarity started pulling on it. Frost Wings started shaking, whimpering and lightly kicking her missing and broken hooves.
After a short moment, the pliers yanked free from Frost Wings muzzle with a sickening rip of flesh! Clarity looked at the pliers. A bloody tooth with trapped between them, the tooth it's self - ignoring the blood - was a nice white color with long deep roots.
Clarity hovered the gore bucket over to his side, and dropped the tooth in it. Clarity brought the pliers by to her teeth and started ripping more out, getting a squeak and flinch, the pliers were soon dripping saliva and blood.
Dumping the last molar in the bucket. Clarity boringly stared at Frost Wings. Her muzzle was smeared with blood and she was moaning in pain with the occasional twitch, but she was still mostly unresponsive. At this point, Clarity was considering just decapitating her and calling it a night.
But an idea entered his mind, maybe a way to break Frost Wings from her catatonic state.
Clarity had once read that non-lethal electrical pulses sent to the brain can help a pony recover from a catatonic state. He didn't normally attempt this, but if it allowed him to torture Frost Wings proper, then it was worth the trouble.
He could also just end up electrocuting Frost Wings to death, and if it brings her back to full awareness in the last moments of agony, then it was perfect.
Trotting over to the corner near the tool bench, Clarity lifted up a strange device. It was rectangular and painted black, a pair of pointed glass cylinders were protruding out of the top, copper metal rods were inside the glass. Clarity looked at it. "I had heard of a pair of unicorns channeling magic into a large, portable magic-conductor to power their machine." He fired a beam of green magic into the left most conductor, the other conductor lit up with a matching color. "I thought that maybe there was a way I could compress the design, make it smaller." Clarity smirked. "And oh how right I was." Clarity borderline grinned as he connected a cable to the portable magic-conductor and converter.
The cable lacked a male-end plug, causing sparks to fly from the exposed wires on connection. Clarity lifted it up cable. "This won't hurt much..." Clarity lifted it towards the catatonic Frost Wings. "Much." he pressed it against her rib cage.
The reaction was almost instant! Frost Wings' pupils shrank into pin-pricks as her back arched painfully. Clarity yanked the wire away from her, before he did too much damage. Frost Wings twitched from the pain and electricity. Once the shock therapy wore off, Frost Wings screamed, blood and spit flying from her mouth!
Clarity sat back and watched in twisted satisfaction before striking her across her face, silencing her. "Now, while I do enjoy hearing my victims scream, it tends to grate on the ears after a bit." Clarity floated the portable magic-conductor away. "How are-" Clarity was interrupted by Frost Wings screaming, but not in agony like he wanted, but rather at him in rage.
"B-buck you! Y-you bucking psycho!" Frost Wings screamed at the pale sociopath. Rather then frown or scowl, Clarity's out-of-place grin widened. The appearance of his expressionless, green eyes and his wide smile cowed any other insults and curses that Frost Wings was going to spew at him.
"Good, excellent!" Clarity cheered. "Now I can finish you proper!" Frost Wings stared at him in horror, disturbed at what she had just heard. "You see," he began, "it is absolutely dull when they don't respond." Clarity pointed his hoof at the sparse, head-shelf. Frost Wings looked out of habit. He was pointing at a bloodstained, gold unicorn mare with the remnants of a curly, purple mane. Her eyes were closed. "She went quiet the moment she realized she was strapped down," Clarity said, admiration in his voice. "And despite what I did to her, she didn't make a sound, not even a whimper –" Clarity huffed "– even when I cut her open –" Clarity shook his head, before turning back to the Pegasus mare "– rude, just absolutely rude."
Clarity's horn lit up as he levitated the Griffonion butcher knife back over, Frost Wings started trying to pull herself away from him. Whimpering in fear from what was to come, and in pain from her missing hooves, broken legs and her bleeding gums. Clarity took the knife in his hoof, his face falling blank. "Let's begin." without hesitation, Clarity stabbed the knife into her ribs! Frost Wings started screaming more from fear than the pain.
Ignoring her screaming, Clarity dragged the knife down her barrel, creating a line of red past her blue coat. "Oh my Celestia –" Clarity floated a leather muzzle to Frost Wing's own and quickly clasped it around her muzzle, muffling her screaming "– much better." Clarity pulled the knife away from her body.
The incision was clean and practiced through years of experience, and it showed. The cut ran down from the uppermost part of her sternum, and down to the lowermost part of her rib cage, exposing healthy, red flesh, white fat and red-stained bone. Clarity added two more incisions, going up towards her shoulders, cutting a medium-sized 'Y' into her flesh.
Deciding this next part of too delicate for his hoof, Clarity took the knife in his magical grip and started to dig the tip into the incision to slowly peel back her skin.
Put simply; he was skinning her alive.
Clarity began to idly hum a lullaby, Frost Wings muffled screaming filling his ears. He didn't dare sing out loud, Celestia knew he couldn't sing. Literally.
Clarity was interrupted by Frost Wings struggling becoming weaker and weaker. He had only just started skinning her right set of ribs, blood was weakly welling from it. He let out a weary sigh. "It would seem that time has come." Clarity gave Frost Wings a frown. "Please, allow me." he smoothly pulled the muzzle of Frost Wings.
Her breathing was weak and shallow, but it didn't stop her. "...I-I hope y-you go to T-Tartarus..." Frost Wings rasped out.
Clarity was not impressed. With a flat look, placed the butcher knife on the tray and lifted a Griffonion cleaver up. But instead he set it back down, his expression was stone. Clarity floated the butcher knife back over, took it into his hoof and stabbed it directly into her stomach.
Frost Wings flinched and groaned weakly, but made no attempts to move away, weak from the blood loss.
"Those too, are words I've heard millions of times before." Clarity disappointingly shook his head. "Shame you couldn't be more original." Clarity widened his stance and forced the knife up to her rib cage! "Worst of all." Frost Wings weakly looked at him. "You're not even worth beheading."
Clarity ripped the knife out, splattering him with blood before he thrust the knife into her heart! Blood began to well from the stab, dark in color. Frost Wings' eyes widened, there was no pain like the one brought with death. "Good night, ms. Wings," Clarity whispered gently as he watched the light in her eyes fade.
Clarity let out a content sigh, he always loved a good kill every now and then. It always seemed to bring some kind of catharsis. It felt great, even if his victims were a disappointment sometimes.
Clarity stared at the corpse. "Now, to get rid of the body." he glanced around at the damage he'd done. "Hmm, not as grizzly as the last one..." he idly kicked one of her wings away. "And not a thing on her worth keeping." he shook his head.
Clarity began to dump the dismembered body parts into a darkened bag. The bag's opening was a dirty, off-white color from heavy use. While stuffing the bag with the wings, hooves and teeth from the bucket Clarity hummed a lullaby to himself.
Dismemberment bag held in his magic, Clarity grabbed the dead Frost Wings and started dragging her out of the basement, leaving a bloody trail as he ascended the stairs. He'd have to clean that up as soon as he got the body to his dumping local.
Clarity confidently exited his shop/home, bleeding corpse in tow. Thankfully, it seemed like Frost Wings wasn't much of a bleeder. Clarity was thankful for that, he has to clean up less, just the backroom, the basement and the stairs.
Despite it being nearly pitch black and all the Ponyville lights were out, Clarity still took it carefully, sticking to pathways that reduced his visibility. Dragging Frost Wings along the dirt path, Clarity came up to his little personal corner of the forest everypony was so scared of.
The Everfree Forest.
There were plenty of monstrosities in the forest that would love nothing more than to tear into flesh and bone. And flesh and bone includes Clarity.
But some five or so years ago, Clarity had come face-to-face with a manticore while dumping a body off. He thought it was his end, much to his horror and disappointment. But the manticore didn't attack him, in fact, it seemed to be waiting.
Clarity threw the body he had at the manticore and shakily left. He spent a several days trying to figure out why the manticore didn't just kill him like it had several other creatures. But he worked out after reading in depth reading on the Everfree Forest.
Clarity idly scoffed at the memory. He had reached the chaotic forest. He swallowed a small lump in his throat, he's been here plenty of times, but the forest was still a little unsettling.
Stepping up to the tree line, Clarity dragged the Frost Wings' corpse in. Clarity walked in a straight line, glancing over his shoulder every few moments to check his distance.
It was only when he couldn't see past the tree line did he drop Frost Wings' body. He tipped the bag held in his magic over and the body parts inside fell out. Giving it a good shake to make sure everything fell out before throwing it over his neck.
Clarity steadily turned around and began leaving the Everfree Forest, giving it and it's creatures silent thanks for it's reliable services.
Clarity smirked, he had used the Everfree Forest for years ever since he came to Ponyville, and – combined with his paranoia and the denizens of the forest – a body had never been found.
Especially come morning.
Author's Note
I had a fair bit of trouble trying to deduce Clarity's ASPD: Psychopath or Sociopath. Based on psychologist L. Michael Tompkins' study of psychopaths and sociopaths, I ultimately decided that Clarity's a sociopath as he has a weak conscience, and thinks about the consequences of his actions (e.g Rarity and Sweetie Belle's lives being ruined if he's caught).
Tompkins suggests that sociopaths are the more emotional and volatile psychopaths. A sociopath (from what I've read) can snap and use excessive violence if they are pushed or for not go reason.
I'll gladly take any advice and/or criticism anyone can give me.
