You awake from a pretty restful sleep to the sound of knocking at your door. You sit up on the couch and stand up to answer the door, letting a small slip of paper fall from your chest.  As you open your door, you see Twilight waiting for you.
‘Anon, today’s Dinky’s funeral. Are you coming?’ she asks
‘Yeah, I promised myself for Derpy and for Dinky.’ You say ‘Come in, and I’ll go get changed.’
Twilight walks in and sits on the couch, and you walk into your bedroom to put on your suit. Always for a funeral, never for a night out. As you straighten your tie, you walk into the lounge room to see Twilight sitting on the couch with a shocked look on her face. As you get closer, you notice she was holding a photo.
‘Twilight?’ you say ‘What’s wrong?’
She immediately jumps and drops the photo. ‘AHH Anon! I…uh, Where did this photo come from?’
‘I don’t remember a photo…’
You bend down and pick up the picture to have a good look at it. With just one glance, you almost threw up. Somep0ny had left a picture of a mutilated Applejack, It looked like she was still alive as the blood gushed from her throat. You turn the photo over to see a small note left for you.
>She screamed to her last breath, Anon.
>Screaming your name with her final gasp.
>Catch me if you can…
‘Anon…what is it?’ Twilight asks
‘It was here. The killer was in my house, and left me here….’ You bang your head against the wall ‘FLITTER!!’
‘What?’ Twilight looks worried.
‘She carried me home, but she left me with another p0ny. I NEED TO FIND HER!’
You run out the door before Twilight can ask anything.
 
You run towards town, but you are stopped by a telekinetic force. You turn your head to see Twilight with her horn aglow.
‘Anon, you promised Derpy you would be there for her and Dinky.’ Twilight looked saddened ‘And I don’t think I can face the town without you there.’
She lets go, and you walk back to her, wrapping her in a hug.
‘Come on.’ You say ‘We should get to the funeral.’
You and Twilight walk to the cemetery where the rest of the town already sat. Both of you sat up the back to not draw attention to yourself. You watch as Derpy, who was dressed in a very solemn black dress, tries to choke out a eulogy for her lost daughter. She looks up at the sea of p0nies, her lip quivering and she breaks down into a mess of tears, before flying off into town.
‘Twilight, you stay here.’ You say. ‘I’ll go see if she is alright.’
You run off into the town, trying to find Derpy. You were worried about her now, she had just lost her daughter, so she might not have a lot more to live for. You turn a corner to see Derpy standing in the middle of the street, staring into an alleyway. As you creep closer, you see what she is looking at, and your jaw drops. Lying in the alleyway was Flitter and Cloudchaser, both mutilated and cutie marks removed, the extent can’t be judged until you get a closer look. The only words that can escape your lips are-
‘You have to be fucking kidding me?’
 
You grab Derpy, and carry her away from the mess. You can see she is shocked by the newest murder, especially on the day of her daughter’s funeral. You place her back on the ground on the edge of the cemetery.
‘Derpy?’ you place a hand on her shoulder as you crouch down ‘Derpy, can you tell me what happened?’
‘I…I…I couldn’t handle it. I had to run away. I didn’t want to believe my little muffin was gone. And then I smelled it. The same smell when I hurt myself. I turned to see the twins hurt on the ground…’
She began to cry again, and you wrapped her in a hug. As you pet her mane, she slowly calmed down and nuzzled you.
‘It’s okay Derpy.’ You pull away to look her in the eyes. ‘I have to go now, but I need you to fly straight home. Fly straight home, and don’t stop for anyp0ny.’
She wiped away a tear ‘But why?’
‘I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and have to see you hurt.’
She smiles before flying off as fast as she can. You stand up and walk towards the funeral, which was now finished, and p0nies were giving Dinky final goodbyes, to talk to Twilight.
 
You quietly walk towards Twilight, who was standing back at the edge of the crowd.
‘Twilight.’ She turns ‘We need to go, but I need you to grab Pinkie for a minute.’
‘Oh Celestia… did he strike again?’ she says, and you nod.
Twilight walks through the crowd of p0nies and whispers something to a pink p0ny. She nods and both walk back through the crowd. You look at Pinkie Pie, a shadow of the p0ny you first saw when you arrived in P0nyville. Her normally poofy hair had gone dead straight since the death of Applejack, and she barely ever giggled. It broke your heart seeing this.
‘Pinkie.’ You say, giving her a hug.
‘Hey Anon.’ she said.
‘I need a favour from you.’ She looks at you and nods ‘I need you to tell me who is missing from this funeral.’
‘Well, there’s Cranky and Matilda. But they are on holiday. Rose, and…and…’ tears well up in her eyes.
‘It’s okay Pinkie. I miss her a lot too.’
‘And the twin Pegasi, Flitter and Cloudchaser. Oh and that weird brown colt with the clock shop.’
‘Doctor Whooves?’ Pinkie nods ‘Okay. Thank you Pinkie Pie.’
You give her a kiss on the nose, and you see a large clump of hair go puffy as she giggles. Pinkie walks away, and Twilight walks to you.
‘What do we do now?’ she asks
‘We need to get to the scene before anyp0ny else leaves.’
 
The minute you arrive at the alleyway, Twilight is in shock.
‘Two bodies?’ she says
‘He is getting more bold. We need to find this bastard before he hurts others.’ You say.
Twilight lets off a flash of light, and you find yourself in Twilight’s basement. You carefully left the bodies of Flitter and Cloudchaser onto the table, and begin the autopsy.
‘Ready?’ Twilight gives you a silent nod ‘Bodies of Flitter and Cloudchaser. Sibling Pegasi from cloudsdale.’
You look over the exterior of the body.
‘Same motive, choked to death and throat sliced from left to right. From blood splatter and pooling, Cloudchaser had her throat sliced first, while Flitter’s heart still beat,’ you take a deep breath ‘shown by the blood splatter on Cloudchaser’s right side cheek.’
You examine the slice to the centre of the chest on both of them ‘Chest sliced from the top of the ribs, to the duodenum.’ Reaching inside, you feel around Cloudchaser’s chest cavity ‘Cloudchaser missing left lung and Cutie Mark, both cut with precision.’
You reach a hand into Flitter ‘Flitter missing Cutie Mark and right lung…’ your hand finds something that shouldn’t be there. You pull it out, and wash it in a bucket of salt water. As you dry it off, you finally see what it is, and your stomach drops. It was a picture taken 2 weeks ago, you and Applejack, but it was torn in half so only you stood there. You flip over the photo to see something written on the back.
>Tick Tock go
>And all th
>Tick tock a
>You and
You don’t know what it means, but an idea shoots through your mind.
 
You reach into Cloudchaser’s chest again, and feel around until you find another piece of plastic. Pulling it out, and washing it off, it is the remainder of the picture. A smiling Applejack. You flip it over, to find another message.
>es the clock
>e years they fly
>nd all too soon
>I must die
‘What could this mean?’ you say.
Twilight stops writing her notes, and looks at what you have found.
‘Maybe it’s a riddle, like Discord did.’
‘Discord…’ you say ‘You don’t think-‘
Twilight interrupts your question ‘No, Celestia checked on him after Rose. He is still stoned.’ Your face doesn’t budge. ‘Anon, I’m worried about you. When I first told you that, you laughed your head off.’
‘I’m sorry Twi,’ you say, running fingers through your hair ‘I just need to concentrate.’
You flip both the photos over to have a look at them, manly tears filling your eyes.
‘Twi, can you get me some tape? I want be able to fix at least one thing that killer destroyed.’
Twilight gives you a nod before walking upstairs, and the minute you hear the door close, you break down into tears for Applejack. They were filled with anger, this bastard destroyed the last thing you had to remember her with.
 
You wipe away the tears as you hear hoof steps echo down the stairs. Twilight returns, levitating a roll of tape to you.
‘Thank you.’ You say, as you start repairing the picture.
‘Anon, I know you miss her a lot.’ Twilight sits down next to you. ‘Can you tell me what happened between you?’
‘You really want to know?’ you sigh, and she nods ‘Okay. She tried to force herself on to me. Every day for 3 weeks.’ Twilight looked shocked ‘Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like that for long. It started like that, but she saw my kindness. After all these “fights”, we usually sat down for tea. She became my best friend.’
‘Why…why didn’t you tell anyp0ny?’
‘Well, one day I got hurt, and she made sure I was alright. She didn’t try anything on me.’ You place the photo down and run your fingers through your hair ‘Those things, the Elements of Harmony? She was honest most of all, but she was loyal to me. She made me laugh, and she showed me kindness; her generosity for someone new and that little spark. She had these things, and that’s why she was my best friend in the entire world.’
‘You…loved her, didn’t you?’
As you looked at the newly repaired photo of the two of you, you smiled.
 
‘Okay, let’s see what we have on the back.’ You say, flipping the picture over.
>Tick tock goes the clock
>And all the years they fly
>Tick tock and all too soon
>You and I must die.
‘What could he be trying to tell me?’ you say aloud.
‘Well…’ Twilight said ‘I don’t know. It isn’t something I have seen before. Maybe if we try to go over the evidence again.’
‘Okay. 5 bodies. 2 earth p0nies, a unicorn and 2 Pegasi. Organs and cutie marks removed. All female. All of them lived in P0nyville. Most of them knew me, except Rose.’
‘Okay.’ Twilight got up and started to pace ‘Can you remember the last time you saw them?’
‘Applejack, the previous morning. Dinky, with her mother after the funeral. Flitter and Cloudchaser, I went drinking last night. I must have been drunk, because I don’t remember going home.’
Something flashed in your mind. A memory of last night.
‘Twilight, that stallion who got you yesterday, his name was?’
‘Doctor Whooves? What about him?’
‘His cutie mark, it’s an hourglass, yes?’
‘Yeah, he is the town clock maker.’
‘Last night, Flitter carried me home, or half way. I was out of it, but I remember hearing Flitter talk. I can’t remember a lot, but I swear I heard her say “Whooves”. Put that with this note.’ You hold it up ‘It speaks a lot about time, and clocks.’
‘Anon, you don’t think…’
‘I do Twilight. I think I have just cracked this case, and I am going to bust this fucker. You don’t think they call him “Doctor” for nothing.’
You run up the stairs and out of the library.
 
You run. You run as fast and as hard as you can. There was only one emotion coursing through your veins, making you demand revenge from this monster. Absolute rage; the same feeling you had when that Heeb got the porch monkey acquitted. Something that caused you to end up here.
You run through the streets of P0nyville, through the darkness of night, through the mud streets until you find the clock shop.
‘A Hoof in Time.’ You say aloud. ‘God, he is pretentious.’
You look through the shop window into complete darkness. It doesn’t seem he is awake. Perfect, you can catch him asleep. You wind your right arm back to smash the window when you see a light inside start to waver on and off slowly. As the light gets brighter, you start to hear a sound.
>VRRRSCH
>VRRRSCH
>VRRRSCH
He might be trying to build a dooms day bomb, you needed to get in there fast. You bring your fist back again, but before you can throw the punch, you feel a sharp pain to the right side of your head.
Come ‘ere ground, you think, I’ma ‘bout to skull fuck you.
 
You awake in complete darkness. As you try to stand up, you realise you have been strapped to a chair. You can feel a slow trickle of blood drip slowly down the right side of your face. Your mouth feels like you have just been skull fucked by a big earthy dick. Falling flat on your face may cause that, you think.
As your eyes adjust to the darkness around you, the room opens up. Moonlight shone through one window, illuminating a small spot in front of you. You look to be in someone’s basement, specially fitted with different cutting implements. You hear a door open as hoofsteps descend the stairs, and you begin to chuckle.
‘Heh… heheheheh. I guess you are come to finish me off, ey Doctor?’
The p0ny finishes the descent and walks over to the wall.
‘Is that why they call you “Doctor”, Doctor Whooves?’ you say ‘Couldn’t practice real medicine, so you cut them up instead.’
‘I never said I was a doctor, Anon.’ came a voice.
Apart of you recognised the voice, the feminine voice unlike most, but it sounded more stern, not like any p0ny you know.
‘Well it’s obvious that you know me, or OF me; too bad I can’t seem to put a name to the voice.’
‘Oh, come now Detective Anon.’ the p0ny takes a step into the shaft of light. ‘You can’t say you don’t recognise me, do you?’
Your eyes widen as you look at the p0ny in front of you, only a few words escaping your lips.
‘Clever muffin.’
 
Derpy stands in front of you, a massive smile creeping across her face, her usual wall-eyes now straightened. You couldn’t believe it, hell you didn’t want to believe it.
‘So, you happy to see me?’ she says with a smile.
‘Depends, are you my saviour or my captor?’ you say
‘Can’t I be both?’ she walks over to a light switch on the wall.
‘And what are you saving me from?’
‘Dunno,’ she flips the switch, and the room is flooded by fluorescent light. ‘Boredom?’
She starts to giggle maniacally, and walked back to you, picking up a scalpel
‘Derpy, why are you doing this? Why me? Why now?’
‘I thought you’d be happy. I did all this for you.’ She brushed the blade on your cheek ‘Or was it because of you? I can’t remember. They all hated you, like they hated me. They couldn’t see the spark that I saw in you. You needed a challenge, revenge to prove you were a useful monkey. So I thought I can make you the ultimate game, a game like no other.’
‘So you killed Rose?’ you struggle against the bonds.
‘Yes. Fairly easy too.’ She says, slicing your cheek ‘I mean she wanted to be your friend, so I thought it would be fun to start with her. But I had more fun with Applejack. She put up a fight, but when you get a p0ny from behind they can’t fight back very well.’
‘YOU FUCKING BITCH!!’ you scream at her, trying to break your bonds.
‘Tut tut tut. I did all this for you. I needed you to play my game.’
‘And what about Dinky, huh? Killing your own daughter for a game.’
Derpy looks at you for a second, like she was contemplating a thought
‘In my defence, it was a very good game.’
 
‘How could you have done all this?’ you say
‘Fairly easy. I have been planning this for a while now, here and there.’ She get’s right up close to you. ‘Ever since I was a filly.’
‘What happened to the happy, giggling Derpy?’
‘She was never real. An act of who I was years ago.’
‘No.’ you say ‘No, I will not believe this. This isn’t you. Derpy is too clumsy to be this precise.’
Derpy kicked you in the face, breaking your nose.
‘You know NOTHING of me.’ She hissed. ‘I was treated as an outcast as a filly. Never a strong flier, wonky eyes. I didn’t create a monster, they did.’
Cracking her neck, she continued ‘I trained my eyes to look straight at those who teased me. I fixed my voice, and I studied. That purple bitch you worked with, not too bright. Never noticed me taking out Anatomy books. Always saying “Oh Derpy Hooves, you so silly”. I should have grabbed her too.’
‘But then YOU landed in P0nyville, and I saw another outsider. Someone who could relate with my prejudice, the mocking, the pain from Rainbow Dash. But you had to go be friends with Sparkle, so I decided if I couldn’t get you to help me, I will be your greatest nemesis.’
‘What…?’
‘You needed someone to come after, and I was there for you.’ She laughed maniacally again.
 
Derpy jumped onto your lap.
‘So, did you get the symbolism?’ She says, circling the scalpel around your left shoulder.
‘I’m not playing this game with you Derpy. You’re a monstAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!’
Derpy sunk the blade into your shoulder blade.
‘Oh, I slipped.’ She twisted the blade ‘Wanna try again?’
‘A-a-applejack.’ You splutter ‘You removed her heart. She had a strong heart, loved me.’
‘Good boy.’
‘Dinky…was sweet…hence removing her pancreas…insulin made to control it.’ you gasp. The pain was shooting through you, and you couldn’t talk through it without a struggle. ‘Flitter and Cloudchaser…fast fliers… Air in lungs…twins like the lungs…’
‘And Rose was a secret alcoholic.’ Derpy flies off you ‘I didn’t expect you to know her, no one did. Except Berry Punch.’
‘Why…’ you try to block the pain ‘Why all the notes and coming to see me? Why play with my mind like that?’
‘It’s no fun playing a game that took so loooooong to plan, only to have you quit.’ She walked back over to her wall of weapons ‘I needed you to have a reason.’ Derpy spun around. ‘Please mister Anon,’ She was using her fake voice, the one she used on everyp0ny ‘I don’t want to live in a town where there is a big meanie is prowling.’
‘So why go after Doctor Whooves then? I mean I never thought of you as the killer for a second.’
‘Another reason to kill off Dinky. Nop0ny would think a mother is capable of killing off her daughter.’ Derpy laughed once more ‘Plus, why not him? He is barely around town, only coming out to get supplies. I gotta tell ya Anon, that colt really –hates- pears.’
 
‘So what now?’ you say, giving up on trying to escape ‘I mean I doubt you will let me go.’
‘Really?’ Derpy says ‘Fine, I was going to let you leave. Just wanted a talk.’
‘You think I am fucking retarded?’ you say, a wicked grin lifting off your face ‘Like you…’
This hit a serious nerve. Derpy screamed a battle cry and flew into your chest. She lifted her scalpel high, and was about to plunge it into your left eye, when she suddenly stopped.
‘No…No, I won’t let you get to me. Not like this.’ She fell back onto your lap, giving you an evil grin ‘You will be my greatest masterpiece, my Pièce de résistance.’
‘Why…not let me continue the game? Why capture me now?’
‘Silly Anon, you can’t play a game like this indefinitely. You would eventually find me, and I might even be caught. This way, you go out as a hero.’
‘HOW?!’ you hated her very soul.
‘You bravely went to find Whooves, and he killed you like the rest of the victims before fleeing the state, never to be seen again.’
‘You…’ the pain was getting worse, and it was hard to hold up from passing out ‘You are a terrible… mother and a … lousy friend.’
Derpy’s smile fell and she began to whimper ‘No. No no no no. Derpy is a good mother. She loved her little dinkhahaha…’ she looked at you with a smile again ‘I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t keep a straight face saying that.’ She grabbed your face and brought it close to hers ‘I don’t give buck what you say. I don’t.’
 
‘Do you know what I am going to harvest from you, dear Anonymous?’ she said, resting the scalpel blade on your bottom lip.
‘Stomach, penis, kidney?’ you say
‘Nah.’ She tapped your head with the cold metal ‘Your brain.’
She leapt off you and hit another light switch, shedding light on a small inbuilt cupboard with 6 glass jars filled with a green liquid. In them sat various organs, all harvested from the p0nies she killed, and all labelled with their cutie mark, or in Dinky’s case, a blank piece. The one on the end was empty.
‘I will take as my final trophy, the brain of the human who played this game with me. Consider it an honour.’
‘I consider you a crazy fucking p0ny, and I hope you burn in Tartarus.’
‘Ooo, big words from the monkey tied up.’
‘Untie me and I can show you what this monkey has.’
‘No, I am good.’ Derpy flies over to you. ‘I must say thank you. You were a fun opponent, but we both end this tonight.’
She placed her hooves on your neck, and the feeling of something clutching your throat returns. As you struggle, Derpy’s smile grows. Your lungs burn, crying out for air, but the pegasus’ grip was too tight. As you black out of consciousness, your final sight was of the grey mare who no p0ny respected that became the most viscous killer in the history of P0nyville.
 
-EPILOGUE-
The body of Detective Anonymous outside the P0nyville clock store was a shock to the town. The human who had sworn to protect them had been killed, and his brain removed. Celestia had personally organised the funeral for him, giving him a send off fit for a soldier. A large memorial statue was erected for him and the other victims.
The entire town was in shock, but no more than Twilight Sparkle. She was his closest friend, and he was hers. When she found out the news, she broke down in tears, cursing everything. She lost hope in everything, so much it took the rest of her remaining friends to show her she could finish Anonymous’ work on hunting down the killer.
Doctor Whooves disappeared without a trace from his store, the only signs left were bloody hoof prints leading to the middle of the room and disappearing completely. The royal guards have been alerted on his presence as a known killer, but to no avail.
Derpy Hooves left town that same day, claiming she couldn’t live in P0nyville.
‘I just have too many bad memories of this place.’ She said to other p0nies.
Before leaving, she sat in front of the statue in silence. P0nies who walked past said that a smile never left her face.