That night, near a construction site on the edge of town...
Night Lite managed to find a car near the edge of town. He managed to hot-wire the car to get it running.
When the car started, music started playing on the radio.
He looked to see the lights on a crane that was rotating as it carried out its job on the site.
Without a second thought, he drifted off to sleep.
Ponyville
in the future...
Night Lite and one of his fellow soldiers, a Pegasus stallion known simply as "Rookie" were crawling through debris, keeping out of sight of the tank-like machines called "Rollers" that were rolling through nearby.
They followed the last of the machines, winding up behind a charred car, only to get fired at by a Hunter-Killer.
They quickly ducked out of sight and waited for the HK to pass, taking shelter under a collapsed wall near a group of civilians, which were elderly and school-age ponies, with a few ponies that were the same age as Night Lite guarding them.
They then made their move once the flying menace was out of sight. They then got to a spot near the machine's path, taking cover behind a wall.
Night Lite and Rookie armed a pair of cylinder-shaped bombs and threw them into the Roller's path.
Unfortunately, When Rookie threw his bomb, he was completely exposed, and the Roller's plasma gun vaporized him with a direct hit.
Dammit! At least he's now in a better place with his girl, Rainbow Dash, may they both rest in peace! Night Lite thought as he anxiously waited.
Seconds later, the bombs detonated, destroying the Roller. Once the bomb detonated, he ran out towards a main roadway.
A charred-yet-still usable car rigged with a machine gun came driving up to meet him.
Night Lite quickly took the wheel and drove off as the original driver, an earth pony named Bon-Bon, took control of the turret, just as an HK was flying in behind them, plasma turret blasting away.
Night Lite drove over piles of debris, the landings hammering the suspension as Bon-Bon blasted away at the HK with the machine gun, which had been modified to fire purple plasma bolts.
Several seconds later, one of the HK's shots hit so close that it caused the car to roll over, killing Bon-Bon in the process.
Night Lite struggled to get out, but was pinned. The gas tank then ignited, causing him to scream in agony as the flames began to consume his body.
Los Pegasus
Present day
Night Lite woke up startled, cocking his shotgun in a kind of reflex as he looked around.
Wow, even my dreams suck! He thought as he saw the crane, which was now fitted with what looked like a massive drilling bit, begin burrowing the massive attachment into the ground.
He turned off the radio and drove off.
Meanwhile
Twilight Velvet and her roommate Night Chaser were getting ready for a fun night.
Velvet had just finished blow-drying her mane when the phone began ringing.
She answered it and grew wide-eyed in confusion when the caller started talking dirty.
She then fought back laughter as she realized that it was Night-chaser's boyfriend, Day Stalker.
"Hey, it's Day Stalker!" She called out. Velvet continued to listen for another minute before she decided to have some fun with him.
"Who is this?" she asked in a mock accusing tone. Day Stalker nearly jumped when he heard Twilight Velvet's voice.
"Twilight? Oh, crap, I'm sorry, I thought you were...could I just talk to Night Chaser, please?" he said, nearly stumbling over his words.
Velvet was now laughing hysterically as Night Chaser grabbed the phone. "Hello?" she asked.
Day Stalker then began the same dirty talk that he accidentally did with Twilight just seconds earlier.
Los Pegasus Police Department, Downtown Precinct
7:59 PM
Lieutenant Crime Buster was walking with a detective that was explaining the situation regarding the murder of Twilight Fizzle.
"What'd do you got?" he asked.
"Dead mare." the detective, Detective Sharp Eyes, replied.
"I can see that." Crime Buster said.
"Twilight Fizzle, secretary, 35, shot six times from less than ten feet, large caliber weapon." Sharp Eyes, explained.
"You know, these work." Crime Buster said, pointing to his glasses.
"What's this?" he asked as the officer handed him a second set of pictures.
"Dead mare, too. Sent up from the Valley division this afternoon." Sharp Eyes said.
"Are you sure there's a point to all of this?" Crime Buster asked.
"Look at the name." Sharp Eyes replied. Crime buster did and was intrigued.
"Twilight...Dreams. Is this right?" he asked. Sharp Eyes nodded.
"You're kidding me." Crime buster said.
"The press is gonna be short-stroking it all over the damn place." Sharp Eyes said.
"A one-name pattern killer...I hate the weird ones." Crime Buster said.
There was a connection: both victims had 'Twilight' in their name.
Meanwhile, Twilight Velvet's apartment
Twilight Velvet and Night Chaser had finished getting ready and stood side-by-side to admire themselves in the mirror.
"Wow, better than any mortal stallion deserves." Velvet said proudly.
Velvet walked out and noticed that the terrarium on the desk was missing its occupant.
"Hey, have you seen Scales?" Velvet asked.
"No, not lately." Night Chaser replied. She then proceeded to check the answering machine for messages while Velvet searched for Scales.
She grinned when she saw the iguana resting on top of a shelf.
"There you are, young iguana! You mind your mother!" Velvet said in a gentle scolding tone as she carried him into the terrarium with her magic.
Velvet listened to a message from Velvet's boyfriend Racer, saying that he would not be able to go out with them that night.
Night Chaser quickly caught on to Velvet's disappointed face.
"So what if he has a sports car, you can't let him treat you like that, it's Friday night, for Celestia's sake! I'll break his kneecaps!" Night Chaser said.
"Well, I'm gonna go to see a movie." Velvet said as she walked towards the front door.
"You and Day Stalker have fun!" Velvet said.
"OK, you too!" Night Chaser replied.
Velvet walked out and found herself face-to-face with Day Stalker, causing her to jump.
"Dammit, Day Stalker!" she exclaimed as she playfully thumped his shoulder with a hoof.
Velvet hopped onto her motor scooter and rode out, blissfully unaware of a presence that was stalking her.
Night Lite watched Twilight Velvet go by and started the engine in his car as he began to follow her.
Los Pegasus Police Department, Downtown Precinct
Crime Buster and Sharp Eyes walked out and found themselves facing a crowd of reporters.
"Aw, shit!" he muttered.
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant, are you aware that these two killings happened in the same order as their listings in the phone book?" One reporter asked.
"Now, what can I tell you guys? No comment." Crime Buster replied as he and Sharp Eyes went into Crime Buster's office, shutting the door behind the reporters.
Crime buster got himself a cup of coffee, savoring the flavor.
"Did you reach the next mare yet?" he asked.
"Nah, I keep getting the answering machine." Sharp Eyes replied.
"Send a unit." Crime Buster suggested.
"I sent a unit, there's no answer at the door, and the apartment manager's not there." Sharp Eyes replied.
"Call her." Crime Buster said.
"I just called her." Sharp Eyes replied.
"Call her again!" Crime Buster cut him off.
Sharp Eyes did so, and got the same kind of response.
"Same shit." Sharp Eyes said.
"I can hear it now: easier that we call him the Goddamn 'Phone-book Killer'!" Crime buster said.
"Aw, I hate these press cases." Sharp Eyes muttered.
"Especially these weird press cases." he added as he lit a cigarette.
He then saw Crime buster heading towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Sharp Eye asked.
"To make a statement, maybe make these mules work for us for a change, if I could get on the tube by eleven o'clock...maybe she'll call us." Crime Buster replied.
He then turned to have Sharp Eyes check his suit.
"Well, how do I look?" he asked.
"Like shit, boss." Sharp Eyes replied.
"Your momma!" Crime Buster joked as he went out.
Later, at a local diner
Twilight Velvet was enjoying a late night dinner as she listened to the news on the TV.
The report was an announcement by police of the name of the second murder victim in the latest string of execution-style murders.
Velvet turned and stared at the TV with interest when she heard the name of the first victim: Twilight Fizzle.
"Let's watch something else." a stallion said. Velvet was anxious to know who the second victim was.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" she shouted as she rushed to the bar.
The bartender froze and everypony fell silent, just in time for the second victim's name to be announced: Twilight Dreams.
Velvet watched in shock as she pondered the possibility: this killer was targeting everypony whose name involved the word 'Twilight'.
An uneasy feeling swept over her when she realized that she could potentially become the next target.
She rushed to a payphone and checked the phone-book, to discover, to her horror, that she was next!
The phone itself was out of order, so she left the diner and began trotting down the street.
Unknown to her, Night Lite saw her and began following her.
She looked back and, upon seeing him, picked up her pace, with Night Lite doing the same.
She then ducked into the first door she saw, which led into a small nightclub called
"Tech-Pony". She watched out the window from behind a support beam as Night Lite passed.
Velvet then went up to the admission booth. "Hey, you got a phone?" she shouted over the loud music.
"It's in the back!" the mare in the booth replied.
Velvet ran off, but was stopped by the mare in the booth.
"Hey, it's five bits!" she called out.
Velvet paid the fee and continued into the club to find the phone.
She reached the phone and dialed the number for the police station.
She hung up in frustration when she received a busy signal.
Meanwhile, near the apartment building in which Twilight Velvet and Night Chaser lived...
The terminator walked into the building, having found it with the address he found in the phone-book earlier that day.
Night Chaser, having finished her "fun" with Day Stalker, who was now asleep, turned on her Trot-man portable CD player and began jamming out as she went into the kitchen to get a late snack.
The terminator went into the bedroom via the sliding back door, and wound up waking up Day Stalker, who saw him just in time to dodge before the cyborg punched the pillow, sending feathers flying everywhere.
Day Stalker grabbed the tall stand-up lamp and prepared to use it against the unknown threat.
"Don't make me bust you up, dude!" he said as he hit the terminator in the head with the lamp.
The impact didn't even phase the terminator, who then grabbed the unfortunate stallion and threw him out the back door, shattering the glass all over him.
Night Chaser, who had her music going almost full blast, could not hear the commotion, and thus was unaware that her boyfriend was in trouble.
Day Stalker attempted to attack the intruder again, and wound up being tossed into the mirror, which shattered.
Night Chaser was on her way back when Day Stalker was tossed through the door, right in front of her.
She screamed at her boyfriend's injured condition, then at the intruder in front of her, who was now pulling out a powerful handgun with a large laser on top.
She turned to flee, but was shot in the side as she turned.
Night Chaser attempted to crawl away as the terminator approached to finish her off, her hooves covered in her own blood.
The terminator shot her five more times, just as she had gotten to the door.
The terminator then spun around and pointed his gun at the phone when it went off.
Not seeing the ringing phone or the answering machine's recording as a target, the terminator then turned back towards Night Chaser's bullet-ridden corpse.
The terminator reloaded as Velvet's message came on.
"Night Chaser, this is Twilight Velvet, pick up if you're there! I'm at this place on Bridle Boulevard called 'Tech-Pony'! I'm really scared, I think that there's somepony after me! Uh, I hope that you play this back soon, I need you to come and pick me up as soon as possible! The police keep transferring me around, I'm gonna give them another try! The number here is 393-2819! Call me, Night Chaser, please, I need your help!" Velvet's voice spoke on the machine, with loud music in the background.
The terminator opened the nightstand drawer and found Velvet's address book. He then found her college ID card.
At last, he found his true target...