The Everfree Slayer

“Yeah, this is Officer Clip Clop at the pet store now! There’s a broken window right next to the entryway door! I’m going to go inside and see what I can find!” The police pony said into her walkie-talkie with her right forehoof before putting it back on the right of her utility belt and carefully opening the door with the same forehoof, and then finally lowering it to the ground. Her blue officer’s cap narrowly misses the sides of the open door as she moves her head near to see if she could listen to anything, shortly before her eyes widen in surprise when she hears a low rasping noise.

She carefully trots forward and silently shoves aside the glass door to the left with her flank. In the pale moonlight from the window, she reaches with her neck to the left side of her belt to grab the flashlight there with her teeth and turns it on so the area before her is now illuminated. She glances down on the right, so the light shows feathers of many different colors on the floor. She trots that way through the darkness with the hamster window on her left and bird cages to the right.

She hoofs her way around a big metal cage and turns her head further right to see a pegasus there, with a plethora of colors in her mane and a bloody butcher knife in her teeth. The pony stares up at her with wide, confused magenta eyes as she stands in front of an open metal cage, opposite the first cage and roughly the same height as her. The officer glances into the cage to the left of the pegasus with the flashlight still in her teeth to illuminate the cage bottom.

She sees sawdust in the bottom that’s now lightly splattered with red on the right side, as well as green feathers and a distinctly avian corpse just beyond that.

<*****>

“I don’t understand?” Twilight Sparkle exclaims from the right side of the Friendship Map. “While Maud did an excellent job of clearing away the rubble, I went back there this morning, and Starfall wasn’t there! No glow or anything! It was just an empty cave!”

Rainbow Dash sitting at her chair across from Twilight, can only help but widen her eyes while stammering out, “Th-that’s really weird Twi! I can’t imagine where she might be or what happened to her?”

Twilight stares at Rainbow while narrowing her eyes and says lowly, “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Rainbow starts and widens her eyes more, “Uh, no, that is to say, er, I might?”

Rarity turns her head from her chair on Rainbow’s right and Twilight’s left and narrows her eyes, “Precisely what do you mean, darling?”

“Well uh, heh heh…” Rainbow looks down nervously before staring back at Twilight and lowly saying, “I may have, kinda had Zecora perform a zebra Hoodoo exorcism rite, just outside the cave?”

Twilight widens her eyes and leans towards the pegasus slightly, “You WHAT? Rainbow Dash! I was finally getting through to her! She agreed not to kill anymore! Don’t you think you should’ve discussed this with me, first?”

“Well uh, “Rainbow shrinkingly stammers out, “I kinda also uh, murdered a parrot last night…”

Twilight gives scrunches her mouth as she asks lowly, “Uh, why would you do that?”

“I don’t know, okay? I just did these things while in a sort of trance, just like when I was killing ponies before! But uh, only this time, I was killing a parrot…”

Rarity looks at Rainbow Dash, “That is most peculiar, darling! Uh, do we need to tie you up again? I recently purchased a pleather bodysuit, and it has no shortage of straps to restrain you!”

Rainbow quickly looks back at Rarity and shouts, “NO!” she shakes her head and continues, “I mean, that is to say, uh…” she swallows, “Maybe just locking the door would be good enough?”

Rarity looks at Twilight on the other side, “What do you think, darling?”

<*****>

Rainbow Dash laid there on her left side, opposite Twilight Sparkle and staring at that side of her room while encased in a pale violet glow. She says to Twilight laying behind her, “Well, at least it’s not more bondage gear!”

Twilight giggles while laying on her pillow at the head of the bed, behind the pegasus, “Yeah, makes you wonder about all those questions you don’t ask, right?”

Rainbow chuckles, “I don’t wanna know!”

Twilight snickers slightly more, “Yeah… Goodnight, Rainbow Dash! Rest well!”

<*****>

Twilight stands on her hooves in the lonely desolate plain. She stares off and sees prairies, stretching out as far as the eye can see as the wind blows the grass, causing it to sway back and forth when she hears a familiar soft feminine voice say from behind her, “Twilight?”

Twilight turns around to see a magenta unicorn 10 feet before her. She has a curved 5-inch horn coming out of her forehead, and a wavy bluish-white mane that sits neatly on her shoulders with a ponytail of matching color and consistency behind her. She widens her eyes at the cerulean eyes of the other pony, “Starfall?”

Starfall narrows her eyes slightly to the alicorn, “So, here she is! The famous Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight quickly takes five paces to Starfall so she’s 5 feet away. “Starfall! What happened?”

Starfall stares at Twilight blankly before starting and shaking her head, “Oh! You mean, why am I in your dream like this? Well, as you’re probably aware, a zebra performed an exorcism! But that only banishes me from that one particular cave! But uh,” she leans forward and widens her eyes, “there’s lots of places I can go, you know?”

Twilight narrows her eyes, “I see… Are you still able to possess Rainbow Dash?”

Starfall smiles slightly, “I think so? There’s a particular squirrel on the north end of the park that I wanted to eviscerate, but I can’t do that right now because of the forcefield!”

Twilight starts and opens her eyes slightly, “All you want is death! What happened to you?”

Starfall straightens her mouth, “I already told you Twilight, you have a lot of time to think when you don’t associate with other ponies…”

Twilight nods her head, “Okay, so thinking! Tell me Starfall, what did you think about?”

Starfall narrows her eyes and looks down as she says, “I thought about how I’m not important… About how I don’t matter… And then, I thought about all of those other happy ponies out there…” she looks to Twilight wide-eyed, “I thought about how they get to live fortunate lives while I live alone and can only rely on myself… How I’m alone all the time…” she frowns, “And how awful they are…”

“Well, why didn’t you just talk to somepony? I mean, do you really believe they’d reject you outright?”

Starfall blinks while staring forward blankly and scrunching her mouth, “Probably?”

“What makes you say that?”

Starfall normalizes her face, “Well, I had friends earlier, but they all just disappeared… Then, I realized that it was because I wasn’t a priority to them.” she shakes her head, “That I didn’t matter…”

Twilight frowns, “And so, you started killing random ponies?”

Starfall blinks, “Well, it wasn’t just that! Ponies just use you and take advantage of you, while they’re around! Not worth my time and not worth being in my life!” she shrugs, “Heh, that’s why I didn’t care too much when they disappeared… Then, after I hung myself, I wandered in limbo for a long time…” She frowns at Twilight, “You probably won’t find any records about me, by this point?”

Twilight blinks, “That doesn’t matter, Starfall! You still existed and you still matter!”

Starfall frowns, “How so?”

Twilight lowers her gaze, “You were a pony living in Equestria! You mattered, just like everypony else!”

Starfall smiles halfheartedly while giving a wide-eyed stare, “Could’ve fooled me!”

Twilight sighs, “Look! I’m not sure exactly what you went through, and it occurs to me that I may never know…” she blinks, “But, I’ll make a deal with you, Starfall…”

Starfall narrows her eyes and scrunches her mouth, “I’m listening…”

Twilight nods, “Okay, now as you’re aware, I’m an alicorn!” before looking to her right and lifting her wing so its under-feathers are now visible in the sunlight. She lowers it and stares at Starfall again, “I will live for a very long time… Much longer than any of my other friends will…”

Starfall lifts her chin slightly, “Go on?”

“You agree not to kill anything, and I’ll be your friend…” Twilight smiles slightly and leans forward a little, “We can meet in dreams and possibly communicate in other ways? I don’t know for sure, but I will do research!”

Starfall is silent before saying, “So, you don’t want me to kill the squirrel?”

Twilight widens her eyes while leaning towards the unicorn, “No! Leave the squirrel alone!”

Starfall smiles and chuckles, “Well, I’ll think about it…”

“Um,” Twilight frowns, “could you refrain from killing…”

Starfall cuts her off, “Until I’ve made my decision?” she smiles, “Of course, Twilight! Life is precious, after all!”

“You don’t sound like you actually believe that?”

Starfall normalizes her mouth and looks skyward, “Probably because I don’t?” she looks back down to Twilight, “But if my first friend believes I shouldn’t be killing,” she smiles slightly, “I’ll uh, take that under advisement…”

Twilight frowns, “Why did you start killing animals, anyway?”

Starfall looks at Twilight, “Okay, I’ll admit it! I downgraded my killing from ponies to animals, for you! I decided that since something has to die and something has to pay, it can be animals instead, so your precious ponies and other creatures, can all live!”

“Why does anything have to die?”

“Because that makes me feel better, okay? I…” Starfall closes her eyes, “I didn’t really have anything… Well, nothing I wanted anyway. I…” she opens her eyes, “was alone and nothing really matters…” she grimaces, “We all die, Twilight!”

“But what about life, Starfall?” Twilight shouts with her head leaning forward. “What about those ponies you killed? Their hopes and dreams, extinguished by you! Don’t you think some crime has been committed here?”

Starfall snorts and smirks, “Hardly! They would all eventually die in the end, and nothing would’ve changed… Life is meaningless, Twilight…”

Twilight frowns and stares on with bleak open eyes, “I don’t know where to begin telling you how wrong you are…”

“Stow it, Twilight! It would just be hot air and meaningless drivel!” Starfall exclaims with a scrunched brow and fierce eyes, “I’ve heard those lies and nonsense before!”

Twilight suddenly stares at Starfall carefully, “Well, how about this! Call it, a friendly arrangement, if you like… I’ll agree to meet with you every night for as long as I live, and you agree not to kill! Would that make you happy?”

Starfall scrunches her brow again and lowers her gaze at the alicorn, “You know, the big assumption here is that I would enjoy meeting you, right?”

Twilight narrows her eyes to the unicorn, “Well, the subject matter is a bit darker than I’d like, but surely you like having somepony to talk to, yes?”

Starfall blinks, “I guess so? I mean, it does seem better than being alone?”

Twilight smiles slightly, “Exactly! And I can give you a lot more of that! Just uh, please stop killing?”

Starfall chuckles and shakes her head, “Okay, fine Twilight! For now, and just for you, I’ll stop killing things!”

Twilight eyes Starfall carefully, “There is one more thing I’d like to give you…”

Starfall stares at Twilight with a blank expression and frowns, “Uh, what would that be?”

Twilight trots the remaining 5 feet to Starfall and embraces her in a tight warm hug!

Starfall frowns and blinks, “What are you doing?”

“I’m hugging you! You need to feel important and like you belong!”

“I uh…” Starfall can only stammer out before tentatively returning the hug with her own forehooves.

<*****>

Twilight Sparkle opens her eyes to see Rainbow Dash, still encased in a purple forcefield. Twilight smiles as she cautiously scoots down to the other side of the bed and her hooves land with a low audible clack on the floor.

Rainbow stirs and stammers out, “Uh, hey Twilight! I’m awake now! You can unfreeze me!”

Twilight faces her body to Rainbow Dash on the bed, lowers her head, and causes her horn to glow purple right before the forcefield dissipates and disappears around the pegasus.

Rainbow then leans back and stretches her forehooves and hind hooves in front of her body to awaken them. Then, she calmly scoots out of her side of the bed to land on her hooves on the floor with a similar small clack noise. She turns her body to Twilight, “So, did you rest well?”

Twilight smiles, “Oh yeah! I met Starfall in a dream and she agreed to stop killing!”

Rainbow frowns, “I’ve heard that before!”

Twilight lowers her head and frowns, “True! But I think I actually got through to her this time… And I hugged her…”

Rainbow scrunches her mouth and moves her head back in surprise while widening her eyes, “You hugged a murderer?”

Twilight raises her head, “Look! I know what she did was evil and wrong! And I know nothing will bring back those ponies she killed! But…” she lowers her head again, “if I can keep her from killing from this point forward… If I can show her that there are other better things…”

Rainbow lowers her head and frowns, “I thought Zecora banished her though? How did she come back?”

Twilight snickers at the pegasus, “Banishing only takes the spirit out of whatever location they’re at! She can go anywhere from there!”

Rainbow lifts her head, “So, she decided to visit your dreams?”

Twilight frowns, “Well, it’s also possible that once she found she couldn’t control you, that she just decided to go into my dreams since I was sleeping right behind you…”

Rainbow frowns, “Meaning she may or may not be entirely sincere here…”

Twilight stares at the pegasus, “What do you mean?”

Rainbow stares at the alicorn, “In the air, you need to be able to take into account what other flyers are thinking and what they do and don’t know. Starfall knows she was banished from that cave, and she knows that I’m usually restrained at night. But she might still be lying to you, just to gain your trust…”

Twilight lowers her head, “Meaning I’ll need to tread carefully!”

Rainbow nods, “Exactly!”

Twilight frowns, “And the worst part is, even when we do let you sleep freely later, I have no way of knowing if she’ll honor her word, other than what she says to me!”

Rainbow sighs and says in an irritated raspy voice, “And in the meantime, I sleep while restrained!”

Twilight looks at Rainbow, “Right! Uh, I need to stay in Fillydelphia tonight! So, you’ll need to go to Rarity’s to be restrained.”

Rainbow frowns, “Well, Applejack would just hogtie me, Fluttershy couldn’t restrain a fly, and Celestia knows what Pinkie would do?”

<*****>

Rainbow Dash laid in the bed, while encased in black leather. She could see out the eye holes and speak out the mouth opening of the suit, which otherwise, encased her whole body. She looks at Rarity standing there on her hooves on the left side of the bed, “Tell me why you can’t use the rope again?”

Rarity snickers, “Well, sorry darling! But I can’t for the life of me, find it! However, I did just purchase the bodysuit…”

Rainbow frowns, “Do you think you could’ve bought one with a crotch and ass, though? My privates are cold, and this is humiliating!”

Rarity giggles more and smiles at the pegasus, “Well, we can’t have my slave feeling dignified now, can we?”

“Rarity, knock it off and cover me, already!”

Rarity composes herself, “Oh um, right! I’ll just cover you with the blankets and then, trot on over to the other side. Since I’m actually sleeping this time, the lights can go off and there’s no reason to blindfold you…” before looking at the blankets on the other side of Rainbow’s body, that’s had its hind hooves roped to the foot of the bed while her forehooves are bound to her torso with small ropes linking to D-rings on the suit and the built-in collar is roped to the head of the bed and buckled to her neck with clasps. Rarity’s horn glows blue and this causes the blanket to glow azure as well before it neatly goes over Rainbow’s body. She then daintily trots over to her side of the bed, gently scoots in under the covers, and places her head on the pillow. The lights soon turn off as she says, “Goodnight, Rainbow Dash!”

<*****>

Rainbow Dash is standing on her hooves in a wide-open field of grass, that sways back and forth with the wind.

She suddenly hears a soft feminine voice say from behind her, “Hello, dear husk!”

Rainbow turns around to see a magenta unicorn standing there in the field, about 15 feet from her. This unicorn has a curved 5-inch horn out the top of her forehead as well as a bluish-white mane and tail.

The unicorn smiles wickedly at the pegasus while looking up at her with cerulean eyes, “You already know who I am…”

(To be continued…)