Dark Cloud's insane journyby igotakitty77ChaptersThe DescentPoor ScootalooAnd then There Were FiveThe DescentScootaloo wiped the trail of blood off of her cheek. The blood escaped into her mouth leaving a rusty, metallic taste. She tried to stabilize herself, but fell to the cold pavement once again, wincing at the pain of a torn muscle in her back leg. She had to get up and ignore the pain, this was the only chance of survival, not just for her, but for all of Equestria. She looked to her right, observing the battle commencing. Celestia was barely standing, she was not in a good state. Her muzzle was torn open, her horn dirtied, bruised in multiple places, and most of her mane and tail gone. Yet she still stood, using the very last of her energy to cast a magic shield over Luna, who was crumpled on the dirt in a bloody, bruised up mess. Celestia yelled something at her attacker, but Scootaloo was far too absorbed in the fight to hear it. In front of Celestia, stood a tall unicorn wielding a long knife, crimson with royal blood. A cold steady breeze was blowing, lifting up all of the pony's manes and tails. The unicorn, that brought the princess of the night to the ground, was grinning like a mad mare. She made no hesitation to lunge forward at Celestia, aiming the knife right at her horn. Scootaloo knew if it connected, it would be the end. In a flash, the knife slashed at the alicorn's horn. It wasn't enough force to break it, only to cause extreme pain. as the burning pain enveloped Celestia's horn and forehead, she let out a yelp, and cut off the magic that was shielding her sister. The unicorn kicked Celestia in her stomach, causing more pain in her in that area, which already had a large purple-blue bruise near the rib cage. She held a knife to the defeated ruler's throat. In one swipe, she could end all of Equestria as everypony knew it. Just as the unicorn was about to slit sweet Celestia's throat, she felt the strong punching hoove of a teenage filly on her face. She fell off of a weak Celestia and turned around to see Scootaloo, the only pony left in good enough condition to save everypony. The unicorn simply smiled at her challenger, and threw the long knife, Directly at Scoootaloo's heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dark Cloud sat on the dingy brown couch, watching some daytime soap opera. She wasn't watching it, really. It was simply background noise to make her feel less alone in her small apartment. She sipped on her herbal tea, which wasn't made very well, and tasted like a cup of hot leaf water. She sipped on it anyhow, ignoring the dull taste. No matter how much background noise the television made, she was almost always alone. Dark Cloud didn't like other ponies very much, and didn't have much room for them anyway. Her apartment was rather small. It had a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living room with a bed that pulls out from the wall. Sure, she could afford something much nicer, but why bother? She has everything she needs right at the bottom of apartment #629. She finished off the last of her tea, and walked into the kitchen to put it in the dishwasher. The kitchen was as small as the rest of the apartment, just a sink and a dishwasher with a mini fridge next to it. She kept small appliances like the toaster and microwave in the living room, where there was more space. She rinsed off the glass, and placed it in the top row of the dishwasher. The dishwasher never really got full, she didn't eat or drink that much, she was just never hungry, and when she was, she mainly had takeout. She walked back into the living room, checking the calender to see if she had anything important to do.Huh, it’s my birthday. She digested the fact that she forgot her own birthday. It oddly didn't shock her that much. She just didn't really care. Why keep track of age? And why celebrate one getting closer to death? She thought it over, and decided that she should at least get herself a cupcake. But that meant she would have to go to Sugar Cube Corner, the happiest place in Ponyville. That also meant she would have to converse with the annoying pink pony that works there. It's not like she wasn't a happy pony, she was just happy in her own way, a way not many understood. That's the main reason she didn't hang out with anypony but herself, she had a very different perspective of fun. And what a perspective that pink pony had. Dark Cloud walked in the bathroom and checked her reflection. Her mane was a mess of dark green-blue, almost the same shade as her coat, which was a few shades more blue. Her bright red eyes drove most ponies away, which was a good thing, for her, anyway. She took her mane brush and gave her mane and tail a few strokes. The firm bristles of the brush were strangely easy to pull through, considering she hadn't done so in a few days. Once satisfied with her grim appearance, she left for Sugar Cube Corner. The weather was cool, and pegesi were building up clouds. She figured she might as well walk, nopony would walk in this weather, so she wouldn't have to strike up a conversation. She had herself to talk to. As she trotted down the sidewalk the downpour grew heavier, a small sheet of rain water coated the sidewalk and street. This caused a small splash to form whenever her hooves hit the sidewalk. She walked for about 15 minutes or so, keeping her head down in order to keep the few ponies who were on the street to give her that stare she got so often. That stare... She hated the stare ponies gave her. She had enough problems as it was, she didn't like the added pressure of the eyes of all of those irrelevant ponies. Dark Cloud sometimes sat at home just thinking. So many thoughts, it was so easy to come up with a thought and explore it. It wasn't always a good thing to explore some of those thoughts, though. Just last night, she has the most odd thought that she's ever had, Yet it felt good to contemplate. Why can't I just kill somepony? The world would be so much better without some of the ponies in the world. Poor ScootalooWhy can't I kill somepony? Well for a couple if reasons, for one, there have been no murders in Equestria for over 70 years. Why would she ruin that? The second reason being, who would she kill? She would need to have a particular target, and she knew nopony that she personally hated. Reason #2 was about to be answered. As Dark Cloud entered the happily pink bakery, a small ding! sounded. The few ponies inside quickly glanced at her, then turned back to their sweets. Only a few ponies were inside the shop. There was a large gray stallion sitting alone, pigishly eating a huge chocolate cake. At the other side of the shop were three small fillies, sharing a pumpkin spice pie and chatting away with their mouths still full. Dark Cloud walked to the front counter. A plump blue earth pony was chatting with a tall yellowish earth pony in the kitchen. Dark Cloud figured the polite thing to do was wait for them to finish their conversation, then she would take her order, and she could leave. Well Dark Cloud wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible, so she rung the bell up front. Mrs. Cakes immediately turned her attention to the unicorn in front of her. "I'm sorry for the wait ma'am! I'll have Pinkie Pie take your order right away!" Oh fuck no. "Piiiiinkie Pie! Customer!" Mrs. Cakes chimed as she walked back into the kitchen. Dark Cloud was not going to have a pleasant experience with this pony. From all she had heard about her, this pony is always happy and energetic. Some ponies even say she breaks the laws of physics on a daily basis just because she can. As she said before, Dark Cloud was happy, just in a whole different way. Maybe she can bolt out of the door before- "Hiya! Welcome to the Sugar Cube Corner bakery! What can i get 'cha?" Pinkie Pie was a mere inch away from Dark Cloud's face. Her grin seemed wider than physically possible,and her eyes as well. Her insanely poofy mane was riddled with all kinds of sweet smelling batters and icings. Dark Cloud studied the bakery's residents to see to if they were surprised at the pink pony's behavior. They weren't. Does she really act like this all the time? Apparently so. Dark Cloud backed away a little. "Uh, yea. Just one birthday cupcake pl-" "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY?" Pinkie pie leaned over the counter, once again less than an inch from Dark Cloud's face. Dark Cloud was a little peeved at the invasion of personal space. "...Yes" Pinkie Pie pulled a brightly decorated canon out of seemingly nowhere. "YAAAAY!! BIRTHDAY PARTY!" She pulled the cannons string, and hundreds of party decorations came shooting out of the inside. Everything from party hats, streamers, and even a fully made cake decorated the bakery. The ponies inside grinned and started singing. "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear... dear..." Nopony knew her name. Pinkie pie looked puzzled. " I didn't catch your name! That's funny because I knoweveryponyinPonyvilleandIdon'tknowyoubutyouliveheresoimalittleconfusedbutit'sokaybecause- Pinkie Pie was talking in what seemed to be a never ending word full of other words. Dark Cloud raised her head from the ground. She was originally going to keep her head down to avoid the questions about her red eyes, but enough was enough. Dark Cloud shoved a hoove in Pinkie's mouth, stopping her talking. She looked straight into the party pony, not saying anything for a short time, just staring. Her bright red all around eyes were locked on Pinkie Pie's blue ones. Pinkie Pie looked a little scared, and the ponies around were staring in disbelief. Everypony loved Pinkie. What was the problem? Finally Dark Cloud spoke. "Listen here you annoying pink horse, I came here to get a cupcake. How hard is that, To get a single cupcake? Well apparently you have absolutely NO SENSE WHATSOEVER, so I don't blame you for finding the SIMPLEST TASK HARD TO ACCOMPLISH. Do I LOOK like the type of pony that wants a birthday party? DO I?" Pinkie shook her head no. "That's what I thought. Now clean up this disgusting party before I clean it up with your face!" Dark Cloud shoved Pinkie Pie to the floor, standing over her, practically seething with rage. "And by the way, my name is Dark Cloud. Don't forget it." And with that, she left the bakery, not caring to look back at the pony sitting on the ground with a now flat mane, tears welling in her eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo and her friends were awestruck at what they just witnessed. Who could be that cruel to sweet, party loving Pinkie Pie? As soon as the mare left the bakery, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle ran to Pinkie's aid. "Oh Pinkie Pie? Are ya okay? Now what kinda rude mare would ever go an' pull something like that on nice old you?" Applebloom questioned as she wiped the tears off of a very sad Pinkie Pie. "I know! Of all the nerve... Hey, where did Scoots go?" All three ponies looked around the bakery. Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen. SLAM Everypony turned their attention to the door that just slammed. Guess they had their answer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo charged out of the bakery. It had been almost 3 years since they got their cutie marks, hers being a set of wheel with wings due to her speed on scooter and in the air. Since Rainbow Dash had taught her how to fly, it was her favorite thing to do. Now she was relying on that speed. She jumped in the air and took flight searching for Dark Cloud. Not once had she ever been more angry than at this very moment. What right did she have, going around and bullying other ponies? And of all ponies, Pinkie Pie? Didn't she know how sensitive she was? The weather was bad for flying, the raindrops weighing her down and making it hard to see. She flew up higher to get a better view of Ponyville's streets. She carefully checked every area she could see, until she saw a dark blue pony trotting at a slightly faster than normal pace. Scootaloo tilted her body to the left, pointing her head downward to get closer. Once she was right over Dark Cloud, she dove downward. Scootaloo couldn't see straight, and was falling off course. She did her best to keep straight ahead, despite the biting wind that threatened to push her away from her target. Thunder crackled overhead, and lightning flashed disturbingly close. Scootaloo flapped her wings out, using them as a sort of umbrella. She lost some speed, but not enough for it to be safe. With the rain blocked, she could see that she was very close to Dark Cloud. She grinned, she would get revenge for Pinkie. "EAT THIS, YOU MONSTER!" With that, Dark Cloud turned upward. She saw Scootaloo coming straight at her, but could do nothing about what was going to happen. Scootaloo crashed into Dark Cloud, all the power in her hooves transferring into Dark Cloud's chest. The blow sent them both sprawling down the alley. Scootaloo felt something shatter in her front leg, and was unsure if it was in her hoove, or Dark Cloud's chest. Scootaloo stood up and flexed her hooves. She seemed to be okay. She them turned her attention to Dark Cloud, who was a crumpled pile in the middle of the alley. a small pool of blood was welling around her, and her leg was bent at an awkward angle. Scootaloo's blood ran cold as ice. She walked over to Dark Cloud. "Oh N-No. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to teach you a lesson. No no no.." Scootaloo started panicking at the though of her hurting anypony. Nopony deserved to be hurt this bad, not even if they were rude and cruel. "Teach me a lesson? Why would you want to do that?" A dark purple aura shimmered around Dark Cloud's broken leg, and it straightened back into a normal position. She unsteadily stood up and stared at the two bleeding hoove imprints on her chest, they were purple and blue, with blood seeping out of the outer rims. Dark Cloud looked back up at Scootaloo with a questioning look in her eyes, met with one of sudden realization. "Ohhh. The thing at the bakery. Yea, i saw you sitting at a table in there, with some other teens." She didn't seem the least bit mad at Scootaloo, considering she just broke her leg and punched her so hard that it bled. Dark Cloud scanned up and down Scootaloo's body. "You alright kid?" Scootaloo was taken back by the pony in front of her. She just healed herself from terrible injuries caused by her, and she was asking if she was alright? "Uh, yea. I'm fine. I'm sorry about-" She pointed to the two hoove marks "-that." "Yea, it's alright. I've had worse. Anyway, did you say something when you were about to crash? It didn't sound like a "look out" so was it something else?" Scootaloo then remembered just why she had crashed into Dark Cloud. Her rage was immediately reignited. "Yea. I did say something. I said, EAT IT YOU MONSTER. WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO PINKIE? SHE'S SO SENSITIVE!" Scootaloo was preparing for an apology from Dark Cloud, but got something so much worse. her face twisted into one of pure hate and anger. Something flashed in her eyes that was far past evil. "...Monster? MONSTER? I'LL SHOW YOU A GOD DAMN MONSTER!" Dark Cloud's horn lit up again, but this time in a deep red aura. The magic lifted Scootaloo about three feet in the air. the slammed her into the wall of the alley way. Pain shot up Scootaloo's entire right side, the force of the blow mixed with the small but deep scratches the brick walls made her flank and cheek burn intensely. Dark Cloud dropped her to the ground, the small cuts making tiny blood puddles on the teenager. Dark Cloud stood on top of Scootaloo and delivered a punch to the muzzle. Blood trickled down Scootaloo's nostril, leaving a small blood stain on Dark Cloud's hoove. Dark Cloud sent one punch after another to Scootaloo's face as she tried to protect herself with her one free leg. That leg was punched just as hard until Scootaloo had to put it back by her side. Dark Cloud finally laid off after what seemed to be an hour. Scootaloo could taste the blood from a split lip welling in her mouth. Her left eye was swelled almost completely shut, so she used her right eye to look at her attacker. Dark Cloud was grinning wildly at Scootaloo. "Quite the monster I am." She said in a satisfactory tone. Dark Cloud trotted down the alley way, leaving Scootaloo alone. The last thing Scootaloo heard before blacking out was a high pitched laugh that only a mad mare could produce. And then There Were FiveDark Cloud woke up. She took one quick glance at her clock. I was 9:24 am. She sat up and caught something out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to look at it, and saw a huge roach the size of her eye, cut in half on the floor. Well isn't that peculiar. She threw the covers off of her body, and got up to go investigate. Upon standing, Dark Cloud fell to the floor. She sat gasping for breath as the most immense pain she had ever felt burned in her chest. She sat on the floor, holding her mouth shut to prevent her screams from escaping. She didn't want to cause a spectacle, after all. After laying in a crumpled ball for what seemed like ages, the pain became slightly more bearable. She gazed at her chest to see what could have caused this pain. She saw two large ovals riddled with a mixture of blues and purples. Scabs lined the outsides of the ovals, but this certainly wasn't the cause of such pain. It felt more internal. She weakly lit up her horn. Dark Cloud used her healing spell to the best of her ability, leaving two scars along where the ovals were. It felt better, but her healing spell wasn't that great. She would have to see someone who knew more advanced healing spells. She would not go to a hospital. They would want all of her personal information, which she was not willing to give. How did she even get these injuries? That's when the night before came rushing into her brain like a flood of memories. Shoving down Pinkie Pie. Getting tackled by that teenager. Beating up that teenager. Beating her up... Why did she get so angry? And how did her magic aura turn red? What came over her? She remembered that satisfaction of winning and laughing. Why would she laugh? She didn't know, but it felt... good. She had all the power. She could have ended the young mare's life right then and there... But that was beside the point, she needed a medical check, just to make sure she wasn't bleeding internally, or something like that. Of course she knew who to go to. Twilight Sparkle. She was a master in everything magic, she would help her with no problem. But did she really want to see Twilight after all these years? Sure, they had been best friends in Canterlot, then she left her for those heroes. What were they called, The Elements of Harmony? Yea, that's it. She never even made an attempt to talk to her again. No letters, nothing. All because of the fashionista, the shy pegasus, the boasting athlete, the country girl, and the party pony. So yea, maybe she did want to see Princess Twilight. Dark Cloud stood up and walked to the corner of her room to a small pile of clothing. She searched around for a moment before pulling a dark blue saddlebag out of the pile. The side of the bag had the design of her cutie mark, two purple stars with shimmering red ones surrounding them. She hoisted it over her back, and went into the kitchen. There were only two drawers in the kitchen, one for junk, and one for silverware. She rummaged through the silverware draw, then pulled out a long knife, it was in a crescent shape. She got this from a dark side of the moon festival, in Luna's honor. She always liked Luna better than that stuck up sun princess. She placed the knife on the counter top, and went into the junk drawer. She pulled out a roll of masking tape, and covered the handle in it, giving the knife a good grip. Dark Cloud then placed the knife in the saddlebag pocket. She decided that the easiest thing to do would be to teleport to Twilight's library. There would no doubt be a commotion about the night before outside, even an investigation. Dark Cloud focused hard on her magic, and thought of Twilight's doorstep. In a flash, she was on the staircase of the library. She knocked on the door of the old mahogany tree. She was quite nervous, she hadn't seen Twilight in, what, three years? would she even remember her? A voice then came form the inside. "Spike? Will you get that for me?" Twilight chimed form the inside. Spike? Who was Spike? Did she meet a stallion? The door creaked open, and to her surprise, a small, purple and green dragon was standing in the doorway. "Yea?" Spike said tiredly. She then remembered how early it was, and felt a pang of guilt for waking the baby dragon. "Hi. Can I speak with Twilight?" Dark Cloud asked, surprised that the dragon had made no remark of her grim appearance. "Yea, sure. Twilight! Visitor here for you!" Spike shouted back to Twilight. The door closed for a brief moment before being re-opened by a lavender alicorn. Twilight took a moment to look at who she was facing, trying to put the feeling of remembrance with the pony's face. Once she put two and two together, she gasped and put her hoove on her mouth. "D-Dark C-Cloud?" "Yea. Nice to see you too." Dark Cloud gave a sarcastic bow to the princess, as Twilight teared up. "Oh Dark Cloud. I haven't seen you in so long. What happened to you?" Twilight was going in for a hug when the mare pushed her back into the library, entering herself. She slammed the door. "What happened to me? You haven't tried to communicate with me in 3 years! You made new friends with those Elements of Harmony, but didn't once think of the person who helped you get through the finals, putting you in Celestia's hooves!" Dark Cloud hissed at Twilight. "Oh Darky, I know! I always kept trying to make time but i kept getting so busy, and, and..." Twilight trailed off, now visibly crying. Dark Cloud almost felt bad. Almost. "Well, Ms. Element of Magic, I've been thinking long and hard about you." Dark Cloud flipped open her saddlebag and pulled the long knife out with her magic, the threw the sadllebag aside. "and I think we have some catching up to do." Her malicious grin reappeared, and her aura turned red once again. She walked towards Twilight, who was backing into a corner. Bad move. Dark Cloud now had Twilight cornered, and she had no where to run. Twilight's horn lit up with a flash of dark magic, an obvious last resort. Dark Cloud lashed out her hoove, delivering a powerful strike to the source of her magic. Twilight let out a loud yelp that attracted the attention of Spike, who ran down the staircase. "Twilight? What's wrong?" Spike gasped when he saw the pony standing over Twilight with a knife, and Twilight's horn sitting at an odd angle. "Spike! Spike, stay back! Go get help!" Twilight yelled, but Spike was already charging at Dark Cloud. Twilight was like a mother to him, and he would do whatever it took to protect her. His little body made a surprisingly large impact, sending Dark Cloud tumbling away from Twilight. The knife went skidding across the floor and under a bookshelf. Dark Cloud jumped up and bore down on the ground preparing for a charge. Spike bore down as well, flicking his scales out, making a sort of porcupine out of himself. Dark Cloud saw the change, and still charged. Spike geared up as the pony crashed into him, peeling off some scales from the impact. "That is quite the bothersome defense tactic." Dark Cloud said, picking a scale out of her face. "Too bad it doesn't work on large creatures." She laughed, but only a small giggle. Her horn glowed, and Twilight was raised into the air above their heads in a hollow bubble of magic. "Lucky you, Ms.Sparkle. You get front row seats!" Dark Cloud said, trying to control her laughter. She approached Spike, who was trying to get up and defend himself. She lunged on top of him, pining his little arms above his head. She raised her head up high and opened her mouth, revealing two very sharp teeth on the top row. Her pupils had gone tiny, and her smile wider than ever. She arched her head back, then dove down at the unprotected areas where scales had been peeled off, penetrating his flesh. Spike howled in pain at the sudden penetration from her teeth. She did this in many different areas, leaving a circle of small holes. The holes were seeping blood and Spike was cryng from the singing pain. Dark Cloud looked up at Twilight. Tears were flowing from her face, and she was pounding against the bubble, creating small rifts whenever she impacted. She let go of Spike, who couldn't get up, but merely scootched away. She also let Twilight out of the bubble, causing her to drop to the floor. She had obviously forgotten about the pain in her horn, and charged over Spike, placing her hooves around him, being careful not to touch the punctures in his mid section. "Spike! Oh Spike... hold on buddy! I'll, I'll go get help! Don't worry, just hold out for a little long-" Twilight's pupils went huge, and her mouth hung wide open. She fell to her haunches, then to the floor, face first. A large handle of a knife stuck out from in between her shoulders, a puddle of blood forming around the wound. Her ear was twitching, and she was taking huge breaths as she turned her head to look at Dark Cloud. She was moving her mouth frantically, trying to say something. She finally had the strength to say it. "W-W... Wh... Why-y?" She sputtered, blood trickling out of her mouth and down her chin. "Why? I ask myself the same question. Not because of my the contact thing, but because of you in general. Well, not just you. Those friends of yours played a major part in this as well. You see, the thing is, i am fed up with you heroes. It seemed that everything was fine here until you ponies united. Maybe... Oh yes! Now I know EXCATLY what to do! Well, goodnight Twilight Sparkle. Oh, and think of it this way, you definitely had the least painful death of your friends." Twilight had passed away long before she finished, but Spike was still holding on. She pulled the knife out of Twilight's back, and walked over to Spike. She gave him a look of annoyance, then a grin. "Hey Spike? Wanna play connect the dots?" She dug the knife into one of the puncture wounds, and connected it to the others. Spike was barely conscious, so this was just for her own entertainment. She dug under the loose skin, completely peeling off the skin and muscle, leaving just a few organs exposed. She jabbed the knife into his organs and twisted, creating a sick sloshing sound. Spikes eyes shot opened, and a second long scream escaped his mouth, then his eyes turned a milky white. His body went limp, and Dark Cloud retrieved her knife from inside of the dragon. She left the corpses there, and searched the library. She looked under E, and found a notebook labeled "THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS" She flipped through the book. It was filled with six ponies, each with a page or two about themselves. She flipped to the middle, where a picture of Twilight was. She lit her horn, and brought over a quill from Twilight's desk. She dipped it in ink, and but a big X on top of her picture. And the there were five, Dark Cloud thought.
The DescentScootaloo wiped the trail of blood off of her cheek. The blood escaped into her mouth leaving a rusty, metallic taste. She tried to stabilize herself, but fell to the cold pavement once again, wincing at the pain of a torn muscle in her back leg. She had to get up and ignore the pain, this was the only chance of survival, not just for her, but for all of Equestria. She looked to her right, observing the battle commencing. Celestia was barely standing, she was not in a good state. Her muzzle was torn open, her horn dirtied, bruised in multiple places, and most of her mane and tail gone. Yet she still stood, using the very last of her energy to cast a magic shield over Luna, who was crumpled on the dirt in a bloody, bruised up mess. Celestia yelled something at her attacker, but Scootaloo was far too absorbed in the fight to hear it. In front of Celestia, stood a tall unicorn wielding a long knife, crimson with royal blood. A cold steady breeze was blowing, lifting up all of the pony's manes and tails. The unicorn, that brought the princess of the night to the ground, was grinning like a mad mare. She made no hesitation to lunge forward at Celestia, aiming the knife right at her horn. Scootaloo knew if it connected, it would be the end. In a flash, the knife slashed at the alicorn's horn. It wasn't enough force to break it, only to cause extreme pain. as the burning pain enveloped Celestia's horn and forehead, she let out a yelp, and cut off the magic that was shielding her sister. The unicorn kicked Celestia in her stomach, causing more pain in her in that area, which already had a large purple-blue bruise near the rib cage. She held a knife to the defeated ruler's throat. In one swipe, she could end all of Equestria as everypony knew it. Just as the unicorn was about to slit sweet Celestia's throat, she felt the strong punching hoove of a teenage filly on her face. She fell off of a weak Celestia and turned around to see Scootaloo, the only pony left in good enough condition to save everypony. The unicorn simply smiled at her challenger, and threw the long knife, Directly at Scoootaloo's heart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dark Cloud sat on the dingy brown couch, watching some daytime soap opera. She wasn't watching it, really. It was simply background noise to make her feel less alone in her small apartment. She sipped on her herbal tea, which wasn't made very well, and tasted like a cup of hot leaf water. She sipped on it anyhow, ignoring the dull taste. No matter how much background noise the television made, she was almost always alone. Dark Cloud didn't like other ponies very much, and didn't have much room for them anyway. Her apartment was rather small. It had a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living room with a bed that pulls out from the wall. Sure, she could afford something much nicer, but why bother? She has everything she needs right at the bottom of apartment #629. She finished off the last of her tea, and walked into the kitchen to put it in the dishwasher. The kitchen was as small as the rest of the apartment, just a sink and a dishwasher with a mini fridge next to it. She kept small appliances like the toaster and microwave in the living room, where there was more space. She rinsed off the glass, and placed it in the top row of the dishwasher. The dishwasher never really got full, she didn't eat or drink that much, she was just never hungry, and when she was, she mainly had takeout. She walked back into the living room, checking the calender to see if she had anything important to do.Huh, it’s my birthday. She digested the fact that she forgot her own birthday. It oddly didn't shock her that much. She just didn't really care. Why keep track of age? And why celebrate one getting closer to death? She thought it over, and decided that she should at least get herself a cupcake. But that meant she would have to go to Sugar Cube Corner, the happiest place in Ponyville. That also meant she would have to converse with the annoying pink pony that works there. It's not like she wasn't a happy pony, she was just happy in her own way, a way not many understood. That's the main reason she didn't hang out with anypony but herself, she had a very different perspective of fun. And what a perspective that pink pony had. Dark Cloud walked in the bathroom and checked her reflection. Her mane was a mess of dark green-blue, almost the same shade as her coat, which was a few shades more blue. Her bright red eyes drove most ponies away, which was a good thing, for her, anyway. She took her mane brush and gave her mane and tail a few strokes. The firm bristles of the brush were strangely easy to pull through, considering she hadn't done so in a few days. Once satisfied with her grim appearance, she left for Sugar Cube Corner. The weather was cool, and pegesi were building up clouds. She figured she might as well walk, nopony would walk in this weather, so she wouldn't have to strike up a conversation. She had herself to talk to. As she trotted down the sidewalk the downpour grew heavier, a small sheet of rain water coated the sidewalk and street. This caused a small splash to form whenever her hooves hit the sidewalk. She walked for about 15 minutes or so, keeping her head down in order to keep the few ponies who were on the street to give her that stare she got so often. That stare... She hated the stare ponies gave her. She had enough problems as it was, she didn't like the added pressure of the eyes of all of those irrelevant ponies. Dark Cloud sometimes sat at home just thinking. So many thoughts, it was so easy to come up with a thought and explore it. It wasn't always a good thing to explore some of those thoughts, though. Just last night, she has the most odd thought that she's ever had, Yet it felt good to contemplate. Why can't I just kill somepony? The world would be so much better without some of the ponies in the world.
Poor ScootalooWhy can't I kill somepony? Well for a couple if reasons, for one, there have been no murders in Equestria for over 70 years. Why would she ruin that? The second reason being, who would she kill? She would need to have a particular target, and she knew nopony that she personally hated. Reason #2 was about to be answered. As Dark Cloud entered the happily pink bakery, a small ding! sounded. The few ponies inside quickly glanced at her, then turned back to their sweets. Only a few ponies were inside the shop. There was a large gray stallion sitting alone, pigishly eating a huge chocolate cake. At the other side of the shop were three small fillies, sharing a pumpkin spice pie and chatting away with their mouths still full. Dark Cloud walked to the front counter. A plump blue earth pony was chatting with a tall yellowish earth pony in the kitchen. Dark Cloud figured the polite thing to do was wait for them to finish their conversation, then she would take her order, and she could leave. Well Dark Cloud wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible, so she rung the bell up front. Mrs. Cakes immediately turned her attention to the unicorn in front of her. "I'm sorry for the wait ma'am! I'll have Pinkie Pie take your order right away!" Oh fuck no. "Piiiiinkie Pie! Customer!" Mrs. Cakes chimed as she walked back into the kitchen. Dark Cloud was not going to have a pleasant experience with this pony. From all she had heard about her, this pony is always happy and energetic. Some ponies even say she breaks the laws of physics on a daily basis just because she can. As she said before, Dark Cloud was happy, just in a whole different way. Maybe she can bolt out of the door before- "Hiya! Welcome to the Sugar Cube Corner bakery! What can i get 'cha?" Pinkie Pie was a mere inch away from Dark Cloud's face. Her grin seemed wider than physically possible,and her eyes as well. Her insanely poofy mane was riddled with all kinds of sweet smelling batters and icings. Dark Cloud studied the bakery's residents to see to if they were surprised at the pink pony's behavior. They weren't. Does she really act like this all the time? Apparently so. Dark Cloud backed away a little. "Uh, yea. Just one birthday cupcake pl-" "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY?" Pinkie pie leaned over the counter, once again less than an inch from Dark Cloud's face. Dark Cloud was a little peeved at the invasion of personal space. "...Yes" Pinkie Pie pulled a brightly decorated canon out of seemingly nowhere. "YAAAAY!! BIRTHDAY PARTY!" She pulled the cannons string, and hundreds of party decorations came shooting out of the inside. Everything from party hats, streamers, and even a fully made cake decorated the bakery. The ponies inside grinned and started singing. "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear... dear..." Nopony knew her name. Pinkie pie looked puzzled. " I didn't catch your name! That's funny because I knoweveryponyinPonyvilleandIdon'tknowyoubutyouliveheresoimalittleconfusedbutit'sokaybecause- Pinkie Pie was talking in what seemed to be a never ending word full of other words. Dark Cloud raised her head from the ground. She was originally going to keep her head down to avoid the questions about her red eyes, but enough was enough. Dark Cloud shoved a hoove in Pinkie's mouth, stopping her talking. She looked straight into the party pony, not saying anything for a short time, just staring. Her bright red all around eyes were locked on Pinkie Pie's blue ones. Pinkie Pie looked a little scared, and the ponies around were staring in disbelief. Everypony loved Pinkie. What was the problem? Finally Dark Cloud spoke. "Listen here you annoying pink horse, I came here to get a cupcake. How hard is that, To get a single cupcake? Well apparently you have absolutely NO SENSE WHATSOEVER, so I don't blame you for finding the SIMPLEST TASK HARD TO ACCOMPLISH. Do I LOOK like the type of pony that wants a birthday party? DO I?" Pinkie shook her head no. "That's what I thought. Now clean up this disgusting party before I clean it up with your face!" Dark Cloud shoved Pinkie Pie to the floor, standing over her, practically seething with rage. "And by the way, my name is Dark Cloud. Don't forget it." And with that, she left the bakery, not caring to look back at the pony sitting on the ground with a now flat mane, tears welling in her eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo and her friends were awestruck at what they just witnessed. Who could be that cruel to sweet, party loving Pinkie Pie? As soon as the mare left the bakery, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle ran to Pinkie's aid. "Oh Pinkie Pie? Are ya okay? Now what kinda rude mare would ever go an' pull something like that on nice old you?" Applebloom questioned as she wiped the tears off of a very sad Pinkie Pie. "I know! Of all the nerve... Hey, where did Scoots go?" All three ponies looked around the bakery. Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen. SLAM Everypony turned their attention to the door that just slammed. Guess they had their answer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scootaloo charged out of the bakery. It had been almost 3 years since they got their cutie marks, hers being a set of wheel with wings due to her speed on scooter and in the air. Since Rainbow Dash had taught her how to fly, it was her favorite thing to do. Now she was relying on that speed. She jumped in the air and took flight searching for Dark Cloud. Not once had she ever been more angry than at this very moment. What right did she have, going around and bullying other ponies? And of all ponies, Pinkie Pie? Didn't she know how sensitive she was? The weather was bad for flying, the raindrops weighing her down and making it hard to see. She flew up higher to get a better view of Ponyville's streets. She carefully checked every area she could see, until she saw a dark blue pony trotting at a slightly faster than normal pace. Scootaloo tilted her body to the left, pointing her head downward to get closer. Once she was right over Dark Cloud, she dove downward. Scootaloo couldn't see straight, and was falling off course. She did her best to keep straight ahead, despite the biting wind that threatened to push her away from her target. Thunder crackled overhead, and lightning flashed disturbingly close. Scootaloo flapped her wings out, using them as a sort of umbrella. She lost some speed, but not enough for it to be safe. With the rain blocked, she could see that she was very close to Dark Cloud. She grinned, she would get revenge for Pinkie. "EAT THIS, YOU MONSTER!" With that, Dark Cloud turned upward. She saw Scootaloo coming straight at her, but could do nothing about what was going to happen. Scootaloo crashed into Dark Cloud, all the power in her hooves transferring into Dark Cloud's chest. The blow sent them both sprawling down the alley. Scootaloo felt something shatter in her front leg, and was unsure if it was in her hoove, or Dark Cloud's chest. Scootaloo stood up and flexed her hooves. She seemed to be okay. She them turned her attention to Dark Cloud, who was a crumpled pile in the middle of the alley. a small pool of blood was welling around her, and her leg was bent at an awkward angle. Scootaloo's blood ran cold as ice. She walked over to Dark Cloud. "Oh N-No. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to teach you a lesson. No no no.." Scootaloo started panicking at the though of her hurting anypony. Nopony deserved to be hurt this bad, not even if they were rude and cruel. "Teach me a lesson? Why would you want to do that?" A dark purple aura shimmered around Dark Cloud's broken leg, and it straightened back into a normal position. She unsteadily stood up and stared at the two bleeding hoove imprints on her chest, they were purple and blue, with blood seeping out of the outer rims. Dark Cloud looked back up at Scootaloo with a questioning look in her eyes, met with one of sudden realization. "Ohhh. The thing at the bakery. Yea, i saw you sitting at a table in there, with some other teens." She didn't seem the least bit mad at Scootaloo, considering she just broke her leg and punched her so hard that it bled. Dark Cloud scanned up and down Scootaloo's body. "You alright kid?" Scootaloo was taken back by the pony in front of her. She just healed herself from terrible injuries caused by her, and she was asking if she was alright? "Uh, yea. I'm fine. I'm sorry about-" She pointed to the two hoove marks "-that." "Yea, it's alright. I've had worse. Anyway, did you say something when you were about to crash? It didn't sound like a "look out" so was it something else?" Scootaloo then remembered just why she had crashed into Dark Cloud. Her rage was immediately reignited. "Yea. I did say something. I said, EAT IT YOU MONSTER. WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO PINKIE? SHE'S SO SENSITIVE!" Scootaloo was preparing for an apology from Dark Cloud, but got something so much worse. her face twisted into one of pure hate and anger. Something flashed in her eyes that was far past evil. "...Monster? MONSTER? I'LL SHOW YOU A GOD DAMN MONSTER!" Dark Cloud's horn lit up again, but this time in a deep red aura. The magic lifted Scootaloo about three feet in the air. the slammed her into the wall of the alley way. Pain shot up Scootaloo's entire right side, the force of the blow mixed with the small but deep scratches the brick walls made her flank and cheek burn intensely. Dark Cloud dropped her to the ground, the small cuts making tiny blood puddles on the teenager. Dark Cloud stood on top of Scootaloo and delivered a punch to the muzzle. Blood trickled down Scootaloo's nostril, leaving a small blood stain on Dark Cloud's hoove. Dark Cloud sent one punch after another to Scootaloo's face as she tried to protect herself with her one free leg. That leg was punched just as hard until Scootaloo had to put it back by her side. Dark Cloud finally laid off after what seemed to be an hour. Scootaloo could taste the blood from a split lip welling in her mouth. Her left eye was swelled almost completely shut, so she used her right eye to look at her attacker. Dark Cloud was grinning wildly at Scootaloo. "Quite the monster I am." She said in a satisfactory tone. Dark Cloud trotted down the alley way, leaving Scootaloo alone. The last thing Scootaloo heard before blacking out was a high pitched laugh that only a mad mare could produce.
And then There Were FiveDark Cloud woke up. She took one quick glance at her clock. I was 9:24 am. She sat up and caught something out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to look at it, and saw a huge roach the size of her eye, cut in half on the floor. Well isn't that peculiar. She threw the covers off of her body, and got up to go investigate. Upon standing, Dark Cloud fell to the floor. She sat gasping for breath as the most immense pain she had ever felt burned in her chest. She sat on the floor, holding her mouth shut to prevent her screams from escaping. She didn't want to cause a spectacle, after all. After laying in a crumpled ball for what seemed like ages, the pain became slightly more bearable. She gazed at her chest to see what could have caused this pain. She saw two large ovals riddled with a mixture of blues and purples. Scabs lined the outsides of the ovals, but this certainly wasn't the cause of such pain. It felt more internal. She weakly lit up her horn. Dark Cloud used her healing spell to the best of her ability, leaving two scars along where the ovals were. It felt better, but her healing spell wasn't that great. She would have to see someone who knew more advanced healing spells. She would not go to a hospital. They would want all of her personal information, which she was not willing to give. How did she even get these injuries? That's when the night before came rushing into her brain like a flood of memories. Shoving down Pinkie Pie. Getting tackled by that teenager. Beating up that teenager. Beating her up... Why did she get so angry? And how did her magic aura turn red? What came over her? She remembered that satisfaction of winning and laughing. Why would she laugh? She didn't know, but it felt... good. She had all the power. She could have ended the young mare's life right then and there... But that was beside the point, she needed a medical check, just to make sure she wasn't bleeding internally, or something like that. Of course she knew who to go to. Twilight Sparkle. She was a master in everything magic, she would help her with no problem. But did she really want to see Twilight after all these years? Sure, they had been best friends in Canterlot, then she left her for those heroes. What were they called, The Elements of Harmony? Yea, that's it. She never even made an attempt to talk to her again. No letters, nothing. All because of the fashionista, the shy pegasus, the boasting athlete, the country girl, and the party pony. So yea, maybe she did want to see Princess Twilight. Dark Cloud stood up and walked to the corner of her room to a small pile of clothing. She searched around for a moment before pulling a dark blue saddlebag out of the pile. The side of the bag had the design of her cutie mark, two purple stars with shimmering red ones surrounding them. She hoisted it over her back, and went into the kitchen. There were only two drawers in the kitchen, one for junk, and one for silverware. She rummaged through the silverware draw, then pulled out a long knife, it was in a crescent shape. She got this from a dark side of the moon festival, in Luna's honor. She always liked Luna better than that stuck up sun princess. She placed the knife on the counter top, and went into the junk drawer. She pulled out a roll of masking tape, and covered the handle in it, giving the knife a good grip. Dark Cloud then placed the knife in the saddlebag pocket. She decided that the easiest thing to do would be to teleport to Twilight's library. There would no doubt be a commotion about the night before outside, even an investigation. Dark Cloud focused hard on her magic, and thought of Twilight's doorstep. In a flash, she was on the staircase of the library. She knocked on the door of the old mahogany tree. She was quite nervous, she hadn't seen Twilight in, what, three years? would she even remember her? A voice then came form the inside. "Spike? Will you get that for me?" Twilight chimed form the inside. Spike? Who was Spike? Did she meet a stallion? The door creaked open, and to her surprise, a small, purple and green dragon was standing in the doorway. "Yea?" Spike said tiredly. She then remembered how early it was, and felt a pang of guilt for waking the baby dragon. "Hi. Can I speak with Twilight?" Dark Cloud asked, surprised that the dragon had made no remark of her grim appearance. "Yea, sure. Twilight! Visitor here for you!" Spike shouted back to Twilight. The door closed for a brief moment before being re-opened by a lavender alicorn. Twilight took a moment to look at who she was facing, trying to put the feeling of remembrance with the pony's face. Once she put two and two together, she gasped and put her hoove on her mouth. "D-Dark C-Cloud?" "Yea. Nice to see you too." Dark Cloud gave a sarcastic bow to the princess, as Twilight teared up. "Oh Dark Cloud. I haven't seen you in so long. What happened to you?" Twilight was going in for a hug when the mare pushed her back into the library, entering herself. She slammed the door. "What happened to me? You haven't tried to communicate with me in 3 years! You made new friends with those Elements of Harmony, but didn't once think of the person who helped you get through the finals, putting you in Celestia's hooves!" Dark Cloud hissed at Twilight. "Oh Darky, I know! I always kept trying to make time but i kept getting so busy, and, and..." Twilight trailed off, now visibly crying. Dark Cloud almost felt bad. Almost. "Well, Ms. Element of Magic, I've been thinking long and hard about you." Dark Cloud flipped open her saddlebag and pulled the long knife out with her magic, the threw the sadllebag aside. "and I think we have some catching up to do." Her malicious grin reappeared, and her aura turned red once again. She walked towards Twilight, who was backing into a corner. Bad move. Dark Cloud now had Twilight cornered, and she had no where to run. Twilight's horn lit up with a flash of dark magic, an obvious last resort. Dark Cloud lashed out her hoove, delivering a powerful strike to the source of her magic. Twilight let out a loud yelp that attracted the attention of Spike, who ran down the staircase. "Twilight? What's wrong?" Spike gasped when he saw the pony standing over Twilight with a knife, and Twilight's horn sitting at an odd angle. "Spike! Spike, stay back! Go get help!" Twilight yelled, but Spike was already charging at Dark Cloud. Twilight was like a mother to him, and he would do whatever it took to protect her. His little body made a surprisingly large impact, sending Dark Cloud tumbling away from Twilight. The knife went skidding across the floor and under a bookshelf. Dark Cloud jumped up and bore down on the ground preparing for a charge. Spike bore down as well, flicking his scales out, making a sort of porcupine out of himself. Dark Cloud saw the change, and still charged. Spike geared up as the pony crashed into him, peeling off some scales from the impact. "That is quite the bothersome defense tactic." Dark Cloud said, picking a scale out of her face. "Too bad it doesn't work on large creatures." She laughed, but only a small giggle. Her horn glowed, and Twilight was raised into the air above their heads in a hollow bubble of magic. "Lucky you, Ms.Sparkle. You get front row seats!" Dark Cloud said, trying to control her laughter. She approached Spike, who was trying to get up and defend himself. She lunged on top of him, pining his little arms above his head. She raised her head up high and opened her mouth, revealing two very sharp teeth on the top row. Her pupils had gone tiny, and her smile wider than ever. She arched her head back, then dove down at the unprotected areas where scales had been peeled off, penetrating his flesh. Spike howled in pain at the sudden penetration from her teeth. She did this in many different areas, leaving a circle of small holes. The holes were seeping blood and Spike was cryng from the singing pain. Dark Cloud looked up at Twilight. Tears were flowing from her face, and she was pounding against the bubble, creating small rifts whenever she impacted. She let go of Spike, who couldn't get up, but merely scootched away. She also let Twilight out of the bubble, causing her to drop to the floor. She had obviously forgotten about the pain in her horn, and charged over Spike, placing her hooves around him, being careful not to touch the punctures in his mid section. "Spike! Oh Spike... hold on buddy! I'll, I'll go get help! Don't worry, just hold out for a little long-" Twilight's pupils went huge, and her mouth hung wide open. She fell to her haunches, then to the floor, face first. A large handle of a knife stuck out from in between her shoulders, a puddle of blood forming around the wound. Her ear was twitching, and she was taking huge breaths as she turned her head to look at Dark Cloud. She was moving her mouth frantically, trying to say something. She finally had the strength to say it. "W-W... Wh... Why-y?" She sputtered, blood trickling out of her mouth and down her chin. "Why? I ask myself the same question. Not because of my the contact thing, but because of you in general. Well, not just you. Those friends of yours played a major part in this as well. You see, the thing is, i am fed up with you heroes. It seemed that everything was fine here until you ponies united. Maybe... Oh yes! Now I know EXCATLY what to do! Well, goodnight Twilight Sparkle. Oh, and think of it this way, you definitely had the least painful death of your friends." Twilight had passed away long before she finished, but Spike was still holding on. She pulled the knife out of Twilight's back, and walked over to Spike. She gave him a look of annoyance, then a grin. "Hey Spike? Wanna play connect the dots?" She dug the knife into one of the puncture wounds, and connected it to the others. Spike was barely conscious, so this was just for her own entertainment. She dug under the loose skin, completely peeling off the skin and muscle, leaving just a few organs exposed. She jabbed the knife into his organs and twisted, creating a sick sloshing sound. Spikes eyes shot opened, and a second long scream escaped his mouth, then his eyes turned a milky white. His body went limp, and Dark Cloud retrieved her knife from inside of the dragon. She left the corpses there, and searched the library. She looked under E, and found a notebook labeled "THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS" She flipped through the book. It was filled with six ponies, each with a page or two about themselves. She flipped to the middle, where a picture of Twilight was. She lit her horn, and brought over a quill from Twilight's desk. She dipped it in ink, and but a big X on top of her picture. And the there were five, Dark Cloud thought.
