The Shining Axe (Closed)

November 15, Year 4.
Early Morning.

Quicksilver woke slowly and uncomfortably, within the so-called 'shelter' that the deteriorated building provided. He had some memory of the last dream he'd had before waking; already it was fading, but what he did remember was mostly nonsense.
A glance around the room showed him to be the first of tonight's occupants to awaken; 'Every time I sleep here again, it seems like one more pony than last time is doing the same. Never any griffons, funny that.'
Rubbing his eyes in an effort to wake up just a little more, he gazed out through a hole in the ceiling; by the amount of light, it was a little after sunrise.
This knowledge in mind, he gathered up his saddlebag, containing naught but his sole, constant companion of an axe, and a few bits, before stepping outside for a bit, gathering his thoughts.

Snow carefully touched down on the ground after finishing her usual morning flight, taking the same exact path she always took before landing down in the same exact spot. The pure white pegasus flapped her wings once more before letting them rest at her sides. Spotting a fallen feather, she quickly snatched it up and placed it into one of the pockets on her vest; everything had to be perfect.

The mare's eyes wandered towards some movement that caught her attention. It wasn't supposed to be there at this time of day. Her eyes locked onto the gray pegasus, her heart beginning to race as if she had just seen the love of her life. However, this was a different kind of lust...

"Hello there!" She called out to her fellow pegasus, putting a happy smile onto her face as she approached him.

Quicksilver heard a voice call out, "Hello there!" Looking up to its source, he saw a pure white pegasus approach him. 'Don't think I know this mare... I'd remember somepony that annoyingly happy in this wreck of an Equestria.'
Switching to vocal rather than internalized communication, he responds without even an attempt to hide his negative mood, "Hello, ma'am. Is there something you want?"

Snow giggled lightly into a hoof as she stood slightly closer to the other pony than anyone normally would stand to a stranger. "No, nothing really, I'm just being friendly." She replied, her slightly too big of a smile sticking creepily on her face. "It's nice to have friends. Especially in times like these. Don't you think so?"

Quicksilver remained skeptical, and took a step away. 'Okay... she's either an idiot or keeping up a charade. Either way, easy victim for a quick mugging, you don't get that happy without bits. Or the drugs bought with said bits.'
Out loud, he stated, "I suppose it is. Friends are a good thing to have, indeed. How about I give you a gift from my saddlebag, as my own gesture of friendship? Always nice to give gifts, after all."
The whole time he said this, he spent his time removing his saddlebag and placing it on the ground. At the conclusion of his speech, he turned to open his saddlebag, gripping a hoof on his axe's handle. 'Great start to the day, to wake up to free bits.'

"Sure, I like gifts." Snow replied in the same happy tone as before. She kept her eyes on the other pony, her smile turning into a twisted grin the moment he looked away from her. The mare quietly removed a small blade from inside her vest, holding it close as she stepped closer to the other pegasus.

"I actually have a gift for you too." She said, voice noticeably darker in tone as she spoke. In the blink of an eye, she swung her foreleg towards her target. Her heart raced as the moments sped by, as if she was feeling excited on a very personal level. If her strike met its mark, it would leave a cut on the side of Quick's neck.

Quicksilver heard her statement, and moved slightly out of the way; however, it was not quite fast enough to avoid it entirely, still earning a smaller cut for his trouble. 'What the- She's trying to kill me?'
Reacting as quickly as possible, Quicksilver abandoned his efforts to remove the axe from his saddlebag and chose instead to grab the handle as it was, swinging it around at leg level. As it was, if it hit, the injury would not cut, though injury would be possible still. And injury was not his aim, rather, some space and additional time were what he sought.

Snow's eyes shifted right toward the axe as soon as she noticed the movement, jumping back slightly to avoid the swing, but still taking a light hit to her right foreleg. Luckily she was left hoofed. Ignoring the slight pain in her leg, she giggled at the other pony.

"Oh, you're a quickie." She said, her tone still creepily cheery despite the lowering of her voice's register. To an outside observer, she'd look like a filly at a carnival. She was genuinely enjoying herself.

Quicksilver, feeling extreme fear of this mare now, hurried to retrieve the axe from his bag. "All right, here's your chance. Stallion with an axe he's familiar with, vs you, with a knife. Wanna run now?"
Despite his attempt at a brave front, Quicksilver's terror was hard to conceal, as he recognised himself as being in a bad position; cornered, with a weak stance, and not enough time nor enough space to ready himself properly. Nor could he fly; his attacker was a pegasus, and would just fly to block his way.
He was vulnerable.

Snow quickly surveyed her surroundings, her grin only widening as she realized she was at a mild advantage despite the other pony's larger weapon. She suddenly lunged forward, swiping for the neck once again before backing up as quickly as she could to get away from the axe. "You're really fun to play with. It's a shame our game will be over soon."

Quicksilver felt the metal slice across his throat faster than he could react. Reaching a hoof to the wound to feel it for himself, he left his axe only in the grip of the hoof of an unsteady, terrified pony. As such, the weapon quickly feel from his grasp, though he barely registered the fact.
Quicksilver felt as all feelings bar one seemed to drain from his body. No anger, frustration, no contentment nor hint of joy, and in his shock, not even pain. He felt pure fear, knowing his death was imminent. His vision blurred as he teared up at the thought.
In what he knew to be his last act, he looked into the blood-red eyes of his killer and asked, very faintly, "Why?"

Snow stepped up to the pony, limping slightly with her right foreleg that had been struck by the pony in front of her. An ear twitched as a faint word was said, smiling widely as she moved her nose right next to that of the gray pegasus.

"Because it's fun." Came her reply as she slowly raised her knife once more. With a demented giggle, she brought the knife's tip up to the pony's neck and slowly pushed it inside at an excruciatingly slow pace, letting the blood slowly drip down the weapon and onto her hoof as she savored the moment until it couldn't go in any farther.

Quicksilver faintly felt the knife enter his neck. Already close to death, he quietly waited for his death to arrive, letting more tears go freely.
Dying shortly after of his injuries and blood loss, his body lay still, sitting for its killer to manipulate as she wished for some time, before it would far later be found by one of the ruined building's residents.

Snow quickly pulled her knife out of the pony's throat, letting his lifeless body fall to the ground with a thump. She carefully cleaned off the handle of her knife with a satisfied smile on her face. It was a while since a playmate had been so much fun for her to play with.

With a bit of effort she rolled the body onto its back with its limbs sprawled out. She didn't waste a moment before she cut three lines deep into the belly to make a rough snowflake pattern. She took a step back to admire her work for a short moment while letting her blade drip blood onto the ground. That's when a familiar object caught her eye: the axe that had been swung at her.

"Ooh, a new toy to play with!" She said almost giddily as she tucked her bloodied knife away. Taking the axe as a gift to herself, the mare quickly spread her wings and took to the sky to leave the body in the open. She would need to find some water to clean off her left hoof.