Author's note: Heh, sorry for this one being a day late, guys. I had a bunch of stuff to do yesterday, so I hope you'll forgive me and enjoy this chapter. Bye!~

Sweetie Belle sang to herself, brushing her mane in her sister’s large, gem-studded vanity mirror. She looked at her reflection, and to her bemusement, saw Twist sitting in the background. She whipped round and saw nothing but Opalescence padding around, stopping to lick a paw. Sweetie Belle shrugged, but she could see her reflection begin to do things to Twist, exciting things that made Sweetie Belle ignore the fact that it was all a figment of her imagination. She dropped the hairbrush with a clatter and watched, transfixed.

Sweetie Belle took a large gem from Rarity's box and smashed it across a table, laughing in Twist’s face. She held the glistening gem to the light, admiring the blue rays shining from it, even through the ragged shards. She sped over to Twist, holding the weapon to her throat.

“You know the Cutie Mark Crusaders song, don’t you, Twist?” she said, her voice pseudo-sweet.

Twist gulped and nodded, not taking her gaze away from the brandished gem.

“Well, if you sing the whole thing without getting anything wrong, I’ll let you go. If you stumble on just one word, you are a goner.”

Twist nodded, hope welling in her eyes. She opened her mouth and began to sing, shakily but still trying to make a noble effort in the hope that Sweetie Belle would release her.

“When you’re… a younger pony… and your flank is very bare…” Twist began, pausing to gulp.

“Carry on.” Sweetie said, nonchalantly inspecting her hoof for any stray dirt.

“Feels like the sun will… never… come…”

“Yes, I’m aware.” Sweetie muttered.

“When your cutie mark… has not come…”

Sweetie Belle’s pupils grew large, her head whipping round to stare at Twist.

“Looks like your curtain finally drew, Twist.” She said, sharply cutting across Twist’s throat with the jagged surface of the gem.

“But there’s just no encore, this time.”

She pushed Twist to the floor, hearing a bone crack. No matter, she thought, bones aren’t important here. Twist was fading fast, she could see that, and there was business to attend to.

Still clutching the slightly bloodied gem, Sweetie Belle imparted her precious musical knowledge upon Twist silently. She cut shapes in the creamy white fur, musical notes, randomly scattered and varied in size, with muscles underneath twitching feverishly, to the beat of an imaginary rock song, the tempo rising as another crudely cut treble bass sliced into her skin.

Sweetie Belle began to hum the Cutie Mark Crusaders theme in perfect tune, even flourishing her dance moves with incisions to Twist’s skin.

“You know what Twist? I really like your mane!” she said, enthusiastically slicing off the ketchup red strands until Twist’s mane was merely patches in assorted areas, shorn close to her head. The lenses in her glasses were cracked, the shards digging into her cheek and piercing holes deep in, the glass jammed in the flesh.

Sweetie Belle held the curls in her hoof, staring from them to Twist’s crying and shuddering frame. Her face dropped as she took in what she had done, in a blind moment of euphoria and power. She numbly cut out the cutie mark and let it slither to the floor.

Sweetie Belle dropped the gem and ran, far away, the guilt taking over her like a red hot flame as she ran, sobs escaping from her throat.

Her fantasy coming to an end, Sweetie Belle looked at her real reflection and saw tears pouring out of her eyes, her hoof raised to her mouth, her frame shuddering. Sweetie already couldn’t do this, because Twist was so innocent. But the innocence excited her, willed her to carry on with the sick plan. The feeling of doing something so wrong thrilled Sweetie, made her feel adult, made her feel reckless. She kept a lid on her thoughts, for fear of releasing the emotional turmoil that raged within, and instead wiped away the salty tears and brushed her mane again and again, until she had forgotten what she was meant to be forgetting.

Next Chapter: Chapter Five - Cutie Mark Crusaders - Mutiny, Inner Demons, Doubt! Estimated time remaining: 48 Minutes