The Villainby Dashie McCourtyChaptersThe VillainThe Dark Knight (special ending)Friend or FiendThe VillainThunder and lightning loudly clapped as I began to gather my thoughts on what just happened. The bad weather symbolized the current atmosphere and my mood right now. I would have seen this coming... but, as bad things have been throughout my life, none of it has been as bad as this. None of it. This was unbelievably bad. I was hurt. No, I was more than hurt. I was damaged both mentally and emotionally. I thought things were going so well, but... looks like it all has to come crashing down again, because after all, I may just represent the word "bad". I`m a fair man. A fair unicorn, to be more precise. I've always tried to be happy, even though it has never come to me easily. My parents and siblings were all wiped out by gang wars that constantly ravaged our hometown of Neightroit, and I was never in touch with my other family members. This all happened when I was 7 years old. Flash forward to present day, 10 years later. Im now 17 years old, having spent my life going from town to town, city to city. Ive seen many different landmarks, such as the great Celestial statue in Fillydelphia, and the Statue of Harmony in Manehattan. These experiences, however, were all overshadowed greatly due to my rather, less than stellar other experiences. Other people would always berate me and put me down, no matter what city I went to. Perhaps it was because of my looks, or my appearance. Or maybe perhaps they did not appreciate orphans such as myself. I was never the type of kid that could make friends easily, but I tried... and rarely did that ever work. I`ve made a couple of friends along the way, but they both had to leave me because of relocation purposes. One of them found a job in Coltifornia and one of them had to move back to his hometown of Canterlot. Those days were sad days, and I was sad for a while until I came to Ponyville, where I stayed there for a few months... Let me tell you, this small town was very welcoming. Very friendly. The ponies here were kind and warm-hearted... heh. They sure were kind, alright. My cutie mark is a star with a black color and red dot in the middle. I had received it when I was 10 years old, when I got into a fight in an alleyway in Baltimare. Three hooded stallions cornered me, attempting to beat me for my personal belongings... I hated these kinds of stallions. These were the kind of ponies that killed my mother and my father, and raped my dear sister when she was coming home from night school. I hated them so much. Every fiber of my being yearned to put an end to these 3 wretched ponies that had me cornered here. And thats when my horn unleashed a large stream of black energy that appeared to drive these 3 stallions out of their minds... and also proceeded to mutilate them to pieces. As I watched in horror, I quickly fled the alleyway, praying I wouldnt have to go through this again. As I studied my rather unnatural power, I found out that my emotions controlled my magic. This would explain the time where I was able to teleport away from danger with my father when a gang member had approached us back in Neightroit. I was scared, very scared. In Ponyville, I was able to further study my talent with a mare, Twilight Sparkle. She was smart, gifted with magic and even represented the element of magic to boot. In fact, I was able to to learn a ton about magic during my stay here. I was able to grasp spells very easily as well, even though I transformed all of them into "darker" forms to suit my cutie mark`s power. Her other friends also taught me quite a lot. One of them, Applejack, helped to realize that I was quite the athlete. I now understand I`m able to run very fast, and my agility is apparently off the charts. I guess with all the hiking and running I do, it adds up. But there was one special mare that always made my day... Her name was Pinkie Pie. Oh dear, she was something else. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way she was able to cheer everypony up, was a sight to behold. Ive never met a pony who was able to become friends with anybody so easily. Being the introverted kind of person I was, it warmed my heart to see her put a smile on everybodys face. Eventually, we became good friends and I would tell her things about my personal life, such as how it was back then for me. She looked to be honestly sad with my past times, and she would always tell me to stay happy now that it`s all in the past. This made me feel a lot better about myself... I would always remember that beautiful smile of her own. It made my heart explode, twice even. Every morning I would go to Sugarcube Corner and she was there, standing behind the counter. She had the most beautiful eyes that I had ever seen. Blue eyes that would gaze into mine and it would always touch my soul, and make it ever so happy. Her soft, fluffy mane looked ever so gorgeous. And she was extremely cute to boot. It took me a while, but the answer was always right there. I was in love with Pinkie Pie. It seemed all to natural. I was the shy, introverted guy and she was the exuberant, extroverted girl. Every time I saw her, I felt like pulling her into a deep kiss and into a tight embrace and I wished that I never had to let her go. I was truly mesmerized by her. One morning, I woke up with the thought that I should confess my feelings for her. You see, that day was her birthday party, and her friends arranged a surprise party to really rock her hooves. I was sure that she loves me back... I always thought she liked me back, not because I wasnt like her, but that I was special enough to her that I should be hers forever. And she would be mine forever... Flashback... "Quiet, everypony!" Twilight said to the crowd of ponies cramped in the library. "We want this to be a SURPRISE!" The library`s door opened, and in came a pink pony with a confused look on her face. The library sure looked dark, she thought... "SURPRISE!!!!!" Everypony cheered. Pinkie Pie looked to be at a loss for words. "Happy birthday, Pinkie Pie!" exclaimed Rarity, as she and the gang pulled her into a group hug. "Youve done so much for us, and we figured its time we repayed you since you`re always putting a smile on our faces." I looked on with happiness as the group continued to embrace one another. Those six truly are the best of friends, I thought. The party itself lasted for quite a while. Eventually, it spilled out onto the streets connecting Sugarcube Corner and the Library. Good move, since the library was getting cramped. Lots of games were played, such as Pinkie`s favorite game, Pin the tail on the Pony, and other games such as Hoof wrestling and even a Pie Eating Contest. Pinkie, being the party pony she was, managed to win most of them. After a while, it was getting late. Most of the ponies had left except Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and some other ponies were in the library chatting away the night. And of course, Pinkie Pie was still here. She was alone, outside the library, gazing at the stars. I figured this would be the time to confess my feelings for her. "Hey, Pinkie Pie." I said, trotting over to her side. "I hope you`ve enjoyed the party!" She gave me a smile. So far, so good. "Thank you, Silver Wind." she said to me. "Its been really enjoyable with my friends around! I hope youve enjoyed the party too!" I tried not to stutter with my words. The way she talked was just so mesmerizing... and she looked extra beautiful today. "Pinkie Pie..." I started, hoping for the best. "I need to tell you something. Something very important." "Yeah, what is it?" she asked me. "Well..." I continued. "These past few months have been very life changing for me... before this, I was just a shy guy with no friends, and I didnt know what to do with my life until now. Youve helped me a lot with changing my life around for the worse. You and the gang. But, there`s just something about you that always made me feel... more than happy." "In fact, every day, whenever I visit you, I feel free. I feel so happy. And it`s all because of you. Your movements, your ability to put a smile on my face no matter what, and your beautiful blue eyes is what drives me." I managed to speak out this much before I said my final words. "Pinkamena Diane Pie... I... I... I love you!" And so I grabbed hold of her and tried to lock lips with her... However, Pinkie Pie let go with a small flinch. I ended up kissing her nose instead for about a second, and she had an uncertain look on her face. Just like that, she looked at me with that same uncertain face and ran off into the library... I felt hurt. I felt rejected... but maybe she needs some time to think about what happened... yeah. I waited outside for about 10 minutes, until Pinkie and her friends stepped outside of the library, with angry expressions on their faces. I was confused at this notion. "Hey." Twilight began. "Get lost. We don`t want to see you ever again." ... Huh? Did she just say that? At this point, I was not only hurt, but scared on what the others would say next. "Earth to idiot, do you copy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a harsh tone. "She told you to GET.LOST." What`s wrong with my friends? What have I done to make them so angry? Finally however, Pinkie spoke. "You." She began. "I`d never love a guy like you. Ever, in my life. If only I had known earlier that you would corrupt us with your dark emotions - which is what your cutie mark represents - I would have also rejected you." Tears began to form and fall from my eyes. I could not believe that this was happening. "I now know why youre a loser." she told me. "Nobody in your life will ever love you. Not me, not my friends, and not your past friends. You cant control us because thats exactly what you are and what you always will be. A loser. And for the record, I never thought of you anything but a friend... which I cant even call you anymore." No.... this IS happening... and it's all too real... but why are they saying this? What have I done to make them so angry with me...? I kept thinking about what Pinkie said to me until Twilight spoke... "Your kiss on Pinkies nose brought out your true colors." explained Twilight. "A form of black magic erupted within Pinkie's mind when you did this... not only did she become highly unsettled, but you had just shown her that you have a very dark heart. Princess Celestia always warned us that ponies with dark emotion cutie marks spell very bad news. It took us a while for us to look past your image of false bravado." I was too distracted by Pinkie Pies words of hurt to take Twilight`s words into account. "But..." I started to say, in choked sobs. "I only wanted to be your friends...!" "No! Get out of my face, and get out of my life!" Pinkie shouted. "And don`t ever come back here again! I hate you!" With my heart - and my spirit - both completely shattered now, I let out a big sob and ran in the other direction, heading towards the outskirts of Ponyville... End of flashback Thunder and lightning clapped heavily. A large drizzle complemented it rather well. It was all a lie - my stay in Ponyville was nothing more than a sad epiphany. How could I think that anybody would care for me in my life? After all, the godforsaken Elements of Harmony had rejected me. They weren't just ordinary ponies. They were Celestia's greatest assets who loved everybody. Everybody except me, that is. And how could I possibly think that I was special enough to be Pinkie Pie`s special somepony? Why, you might ask? Because... thats not who Im supposed to be. Not after thinking about what just happened before. No. I`m destined to be something else. I`m supposed to be a man with a sinister mind. A man with a very dark heart.... This form of magic I possess, it's not given to me by mistake. It is not my special talent for no reason. I was given dark magic to terrorize people. To wreak havoc among all forms of life. After all, my special talent is to murder with absolutely no mercy. Such a wonderful talent it is, hahahahaha... The evil spirit within this stallion would be in every living being`s head and heart. I would torment their feeble minds with an unspeakable malice. I would torture them both mentally and emotionally. I would leave rivers of blood in my wake. Mountains upon mountains of devastation. Pony folk would cringe at the very comprehension of me. And they would all cower in fear. I let out a sinister laugh. My cutie mark suddenly transformed into a black star with six shapes, with a blood-red blade in the middle... I let out another sinister laugh. I would destroy all of Equestria. Because after all, people have destroyed me. Everywhere I went. Even in Ponyville, where I thought I was loved. But alas, it was never the case. I embraced the darkness in my heart. I let it consume me. I let it devour me until I felt nothing but wickedness.... because I now know that I was destined to be Equestria's true enemy. And so I rose... And so, I transformed into the stallion that all of Equestria would fear at the very thought of. And with that, I became... The Villain. The Dark Knight (special ending)**A/N**: This is a special ending to the ending of the previous chapter, "The Villain". I strongly suggest you read that chapter first before continuing along here. My clothes are wet. Soaking wet. I'm still wondering what happened. To top it all off, my spirit is crushed and my heart is shattered. It's raining. It's raining very hard. The intensity of the thunder and the crackling of lightning to go along with the heavy drizzle symbolizes the current atmosphere right now. I'm heading into very depressing times. My name is Silver. Silver Wind. I'm a unicorn and I have an exceptional skill to use dark magic and my physical abilities are almost off the charts. Now, I'm nobody special -- because well, I'm not. My life's been a mess since Day 1. My family's been wiped out, my friends have all left me, and now I'm alone. Again. With no one else to care for me. I thought they were the ones that could help me lead me into the light -- and for a while, I never doubted that thought. However, it all came crashing to the ground as it used to do before I came to the town of Ponyville. Flashback... I'm waiting outside of Ponyville's library. I've grown used to this town, and even though I've only been here for a few months, it truly felt like a real home with warm and welcoming ponies. I met a lot great ponies here, I thought. Though, six ponies in particular really made me happy. Their names are Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. They called themselves "The Mane 6". It's a rather savvy name for a group of friends, if you ask me. They've all taught me how to be a true friend, something I've always had trouble doing because of my past life... One of them however, is the mare of the dreams. Her name is Pinkie Pie. What's there to say about her? Should I bring up how her smiles fill everypony with joy? That her beautiful mane would taste delicious as cotton candy? Or that her eyes would always pierce into my own, and into my very soul? Yes, I'm in love with Pinkie Pie. In fact, I had just tried to kiss her -- on the lips, to show my affection for her. I even told her I love her. However, she flinched and I only managed to kiss her nose. With that, she ran off into the library. It was about 10 minutes ago. Now obviously, I'm hurt. But, maybe she needs time to think about all this... oh wait, here comes Pinkie! With her friends... wait, why do they look angry? Twilight, the ringleader of the group, began to speak. "Hey." she said. "Get lost. We don`t want to see you ever again." ... Huh? Did she just say that? At this point, I was not only more hurt, but scared on what the others would say next. "Earth to idiot, do you copy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a harsh tone. "She told you to GET. LOST." What`s wrong with my friends? What have I done to make them so angry? Finally however, Pinkie spoke. "You." She began. "I'd never love a guy like you. Ever, in my life. If only I had known earlier that you would corrupt us with your dark emotions - which is what your cutie mark represents - I would have also rejected you." Tears began to form and fall from my eyes. I could not believe that this was happening. "I now know why youre a loser." she told me. "Nobody in your life will ever love you. Not me, not my friends, and not your past friends. You cant control us because thats exactly what you are and what you always will be. A loser. And for the record, I never thought of you anything but a friend... which I cant even call you anymore." No.... this IS happening... and it's all too real... but why are they saying this? What have I done to make them so angry with me...? I kept thinking about what Pinkie said to me until Twilight spoke... "Your kiss on Pinkies nose brought out your true colors." explained Twilight. "A form of black magic erupted within Pinkie's mind when you did this... not only did she become highly unsettled, but you had just shown her that you have a very dark heart. Princess Celestia always warned us that ponies with dark emotion cutie marks spell very bad news. It took us a while for us to look past your image of false bravado." I was too distracted by Pinkie Pies words of hurt to take Twilight`s words into account. "But..." I started to say, in choked sobs. "I only wanted to be your friends...!" "No! Get out of my face, and get out of my life!" Pinkie shouted. "And don`t ever come back here again! I hate you!" With my heart - and my spirit - both completely shattered now, I let out a big sob and ran in the other direction, heading towards the outskirts of Ponyville... End of flashback... There it is! My best friends - or should I say ex best friends - rejected me. They kicked me out of the town. Am I surprised? Of course I'm surprised! And heartbroken, too! That is what happens when you invest a lot of emotion towards anypony. If they let you down, you will be shattered. But these weren't just ordinary ponies. These were the Elements of Harmony. The very essence that brought forth light into Equestria -- something that the mighty Princess Celestia cannot do effectively on her own. They symbolize on what it means to be genuinely good figure towards not just the planet, but the universe, if that's even possible. And what did I manage to get at the end? A huge kick in the flank, with the message being very clear: "fuck your life". From the Elements of Harmony, no less. Not only did Pinkie reject me, but all her friends did, too. How out of character, I'm adding. I'm starting to feel hatred towards the so-called "Elements of Harmony". They rejected me. They love everybody except me. They will pay for leaving me like this; cold and alone... ...Will they pay? No, of course not! Must I go back against everything I held dear to me? Must I turn my back on everything they taught me? Will I make my best friends suffer all because I did something apparently wrong? No, they do not deserve that... or do they? What am I saying! They rejected me! Twilight made it damn clear... but they are supposed to love all creatures, big and small! I am no exception! But then again, who has ever cared for me in my life? My dead parents? My dead sister? I fall to my knees and start sobbing loudly. The sadness is just too overwhelming. I bet if Pinkie saw me like this, she wouldn't care at all. On some random scenario, she wouldn't care if I saved her from death. She wouldn't care about me if I poured my heart out into fighting a rampaging monster that would destroy all of Ponyville. And she certainly wouldn't care if I tried to apologize to her for kissing her... The truth is, I still care. About them. About the Mane 6. About all the times we've had, no matter how short my stay in Ponyville has been... but why do I feel resentment towards them? The answer is simple. They rejected me. All these emotions are just so fucking confusing. In fact, I feel a fit of rage coming up... but this rage all stopped I realized something. Even though they had thrown me off, I still cared about their well-being. Not only that, but I still loved each and every one of the Pony folk. I still loved Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. Even though they shunned me. Even though they hated me, I still loved them. As if on cue, lightning split open the sky as a winged figure flew down towards me... The figure itself was slightly taller than I was, had a very sharp horn, and its biggest feature was that its body was black as the night sky and it had a long, streaky mane that flew with the wind... It was none other than Princess Luna! I began to panic. Did Celestia send her personally to execute me here and now? Did Twilight's friends inform her of my apparent misdeed? No matter the reason, I lowered my gaze and began to tremble. "Child." she began. "You do not need to cower in fear like that. I know what happened outside of the library." Hearing her words, I stood up carefully. What exactly is she here for? "Allow me to repeat myself. I understand what happened outside of the library. You were harshly told off by subject Twilight and her friends, correct?" The Moon Princess said. "Y-yes..." I began. The sadness built up within me again. "...they did... I kissed Pinkie Pie, OK? And then they came out of the library and told me to get lost! And that they never wanted to see me again!" Without a warning, I threw my arms around Princess Luna... "How could they do that to me? How could they?" I continued, sobbing on Luna's mane. "There there, child. I know of your life. You have been hurt everywhere you went. Nobody took care of you before your adventures at Ponyville, and when you came here, it rejuvenated your life. And now you're hurt again..." The Moon Princess said, sadly. "I understand your sorrow." Luna said." I too, was once bewildered with resentment towards my loved ones. As each day and each night passed, that resentment and hatred grew within me. I turned into something wicked. I became Night Mare Moon, the evil mare in which your friends had defeated." "But, you need not follow that path of anger and hatred. You can become something else." I was confused as ever now. On one side, Twilight had just told me that I'm apparently nothing but an evil creature who seeks to destroy other people... but on the other side, here I have Princess Luna by my side telling me that I'm not. "But... Twilight told me that I have a very dark heart... and it's true, my magic is dark. It's very dark... gruesome and horrifying. My cutie mark itself says my special talent is dark magic..." I said. This whole thing made my brain hurt. "Yes, it is true. Your magical talent is extraordinarily dark. It is driven by emotion. Through sheer hatred, you have the ability to kill life." She explained. "You always wanted to hurt those who've hurt you. However, your stay in Ponyville has truly been a wonderful experience for you. You were finally able to acquire the love of other people -- through the magic of friendship. Why am I telling you this? Because you still care for your friends. Because you still love subject Pinkamena. And because you are able to keep picking yourself up from hurt." "You do not truly wish harm upon them. All you want is happiness -- and you still have the time to make it happen." Her words really pierced me. It was true. I didn't want them to be hurt just because they rejected me. No! This erased any doubt from my mind. I cared about them. They were my friends. Before them, my life was filled with anger and hate -- and the darkness became my only retreat... But that's in the past. I don't want to see others suffer. I'm done hiding in the dark. I'd rather die than become enemies with my friends. I closed my eyes, looked down, and smiled. Suddenly, my eyes darted open as my body and my cutie mark began to glow. Without warning, my cutie mark twisted and warped within a black light and finally it shattered. Out came a brand new cutie mark -- a black rose. Luna watched in awe. "I can feel it... the power of darkness... but it's different now." I managed to say, with an epiphany. "My magic... it doesn't have to evil! I'm not afraid anymore!" "You've discovered your magic's true power." said Luna. "Before this point, that was an impossible feat. But somehow, you've awakened the true power of darkness." I looked at her with a bright expression. It all made sense now. "The love I have for my friends transformed me." I explained. "I no longer feel resentment towards them, despite what they did to me." "I am proud of you, child, for realizing this." Luna spoke up. "You truly have learned a large lesson in friendship..." I hugged her. Maybe things won't be so bad after all... but what now? Will I return to Ponyville and face my friends? And fight for our friendship? "... however." Luna began to spoke. "I'm afraid you must not return to Ponyville to make amends with your friends. You see, I came to you on my own accord when subject Twilight sent a letter to the princess regarding your... actions with subject Pinkamena. My sister always believed that your previously 'evil' powers would always cause havoc and despair among pony folk. Despite this, she gave you the chance to come into Ponyville. When your kiss with subject Pinkamena went into disaster however, very disturbing emotions arose within subject Pinkamena and within the Elements. Thus, you are now labeled as an enemy." I was absolutely shocked at this, and regretful at the same time. If I hadn't kissed Pinkie... this would have never happened. What could have I done, though? We were alone outside.. and she looked so beautiful. What really bothered me though, was the fact that I am now labeled an enemy in the name of Celestia and her Elements of Harmony... "They are still the elements of harmony, dear child." Luna continued. "Always remember, your realization of love towards them sparked this. You now know your magic's true power. If you are somehow able to convince them that you are not the evil emperor, they will see you in a different light." I did not feel any resent towards them whatsoever. Because after all... even though they still hate me, they are my friends. I love them! They are my friends. The best friends I've ever had. The best ponies I've ever met. "Celestia told me you would kill me." Luna said, suddenly. "I came to find out. I did not expect you to mend your dark magic and turn it into the true power of darkness, however, as I am the only living being on the planet who has that capability." "What will you do now?" I thought about it. And then, I looked at Luna and smiled at her. "Something that's never been done before." I replied. "Something like the work of royal guards, but better." And so I turned and started to run towards my home just outside of Ponyville. I could hear Luna let out a laugh of amusement as she warped away. I had a smile on my face as I continued to run home. I've learned a lot tonight. Friendship may be hard, but it's definitely worth fighting for. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to clean up the planet; because after all, Equestria isn't a utopia that everypony seems to claim it is. Yes, that is what I'm going to do. I'm going to help out other people in need. I'm going to uphold the magic that is friendship. I'm going to make Equestria a better place to live. And I'm going to rally as many ponies as I can in order to fulfill my now life-long objective. But I'm going to do it anonymously. I'm not going to reveal who I really am. Because I'm not going to do this for fame. I'm not going to do this because I have extraordinary powers or anything like that. I'm going to do this because it's right. As I lay down on the chair at my humble home, I smiled once again as I darted a kunai knife towards a target 25 feet away. Bullseye. As I adjusted my rather mysterious-looking costume, I began to laugh. This is for the subjects of Equestria. This is for my family. And this is for my all my friends. And so I rose. And so, I transformed into the stallion that would protect Equestria no matter where he went. And with that, I became... The Dark Knight. Friend or Fiend**A/N**: This a parallel chapter to the first chapter of "The Villain". I suggest you read that chapter before reading this. This chapter is told in Twilight's first person perspective. "Quiet, everypony!" I said to the crowd of ponies cramped in the library. "We want this to be a SURPRISE!" It's getting dark outside, I thought. Today is Pinkie Pie's birthday... and no doubt that she probably forgot about it again. I'm not 100% sure that she's oblivious to the idea we're throwing her a surprise party. The last time she forgot her own birthday was the time where she thought my friends and I abandoned her and kicked her out of the group. Oh boy, ponies do NOT want to hear that story. Planning this party wasn't easy, but my friends and I figured we should throw Pinkie Pie a huge party for her birthday just to show we care about her with all our hearts. Hold up, library door's opening... "SURPRISE!!!!!" Everypony cheered. Pinkie Pie looked to be at a loss for words. "Happy birthday, Pinkie Pie!" exclaimed Rarity, one of my closest friends, as all of us pulled her into a group hug. "Youve done so much for us, and we figured its time we repayed you since you`re always putting a smile on our faces." "Oh, you guys!" said Pinkie Pie, jumping up and down. "You guys are the best friends I could ever have!" With that, the party officially started. I gave Pinkie Pie a big smile. Even though planning this whole thing was exhausting, it was definitely worth seeing the Element of Laughter smile heartily. And I owe it most of it to another good friend of mine, Silver Wind. Silver Wind... where should I begin, other than the fact that he's traveled around Equestria and came to Ponyville to find peace, and other than the fact that he has a huge crush on Pinkie Pie? I suppose that's why he decided to throw her a BIG party! Silver's a nice fellow. When he first came to Ponyville, he looked really sad, but I suppose with our help, he's become a lot more social with other folk. According to him, he's never been truly happy in his life. I guess I can see why never had friends before he came here. And I suppose that's why he admires Pinkie Pie so much, because of her bubbly and energetic appearance -- and she loves to make other ponies smile. But there's something else about him that I can't put my hoof onto. Sure, he's nice and all, but I can't help wonder... what has he done all his life? I realize it was bad, but just how bad? Did he get into contact with bad ponies? Now that I think about it, Princess Celestia warned us about a "terrible talent" coming to Ponyville a few months ago. Gee, now that I REALLY think about it, Silver Wind himself looks like he has some dangerous magical abilities... now, I've been taught not to judge ponies based on their talents, but ponies wouldn't believe the amount of talent Silver has. It's unbelievable at times. Just a few weeks ago, my friends and I -- Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and of course Pinkie Pie and Silver Wind were rounding up a parasprite invasion that nearly shook Ponyville to its foundation. And what happened next? The parasprites nearly consumed everything in the town. It wasn't until Silver somehow managed to vaporize all of them with a flick of his horn, and out came a wave of black energy. I cleaned up most of the town a while later with my own magic. I had found him with a rage-filled expression on his face after the parasprites were gone, albeit it was for a few seconds. At the least, it was disturbing. My thoughts are quickly interrupted though, as Silver Wind tapped me on the back. "Oh! Hey Silver, I didn't see you there!" I said, surprised. "Enjoying the party?" "Yeah, for sure! I'm glad Pinkie Pie is really happy..." He replied. He looked to be a dreamy daze, probably thinking about a getaway to a remote island with her. I let out a small giggle. "Well, you enjoy yourself now, Silver. Plenty of partying to do tonight." I said. He walked away with a small laugh. He sure is quite the fellow, I thought. Maybe I should just forget about my pondering thoughts about his magic for now and enjoy the party. "Twilight, darling!" Rarity called to me. "Do come over here and play a game of pin the tail on the pony with us! I'm not one for competition, but I bet you 10 bits you cannot beat moi in a best of 3." I complied. I haven't played this game in a long while... I wonder how I'd go up against Rarity? I ended up not doing too well. I ended up getting beaten twice in a row... there goes 10 bits. The party's going on very well! In fact, it's so good, that after a while, people went out to the streets to let the library cool off from all the crammed ponies inside. It wasn't since I first came to Ponyville have I seen so many ponies in one building. I continued to have fun with my friends. Pinkie Pie won most of the games, and Silver even performed some magic tricks. Although they were simple tricks, I was bedazzled at the way Silver approached them with his own magical ability... Ponies began to leave after chatting away the night and having fun. This sure has been a great party, I thought. At the window, I could see Pinkie Pie saying her goodbyes to the folk outside. It truly has been a memorable night for her, and once again, we owe it the most to Silver. "Hey Twilight," a voice called out to me. It was none other than Silver. "I'm gonna go check up on Pinkie Pie..." He had a blush on his cheeks. Deductively, I could only come up with the idea that he's going to tell Pinkie how he feels about her. He trotted away. Maybe if Pinkie accepts him, she'll throw another party right now just to celebrate the occasion. What am I thinking, she's PINKIE! Of course she will if it does happen... I spent the next minute pondering about what to do tomorrow, when suddenly Pinkie came into the library, and locked the door with a slam. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Howdy Pinkie!" said Applejack. "Did y'all enjoy the party? That Silver sure did throw you one hay of a celebration!" Upon hearing Silver's name, Pinkie scowled at Applejack. I was confused, but then, somehow, I experienced a sudden flash of anger and anxiety. "Hey, what gives Pink?" asked Rainbow, in an angry tone. Suddenly however, Rainbow's voice was calm again. "I mean... huh? Pinkie, what's wrong?" All of us suddenly looked at Pinkie angrily, as if she did something bad to us. Immediately, the feeling subsided. "Sugarcube... you mind tellin' us what's wrong? An' how come we're all feeling a bit peppy all of a sudden?" Inquired Applejack. As Pinkie hung her head down, I knew something was wrong. "Girls... Silver kissed me... and he told me he loves me..." Pinkie said. That's all? Strange, I thought she would react much differently than this. "Darling, a stallion loves you!" said Rarity, with a confused look. "I suppose I can understand you being upset, but why this mu--" Rarity was about to finish when Rainbow interrupted her. "I kinda don't blame her. If Silver tried to kiss me I'd probably punt his flank into next Tuesday..." said Rainbow. "... but he kissed Pinkie Pie of all the mares." However, Pinkie let out another scowl as soon as Rainbow finished. "That's not the point." Pinkie said. "He's... something else. He... filled my head with bad images... it... was just horrible!" She's shuddering and trembling with fear. The gang and I looked at her with very concerned looks. "Pinkie, what exactly did you see?" I asked her, hoping not to make her even more upset. "I saw..." she started. "...ponies get... MURDERED... but not just murdered... they were getting mutilated... and it wasn't just some freak thought, I could FEEL the ponies get mutilated..." I shot her an incredulous look. While trying to analyze what she just said, I had a lot of doubts. For one, ponies? Being mutilated? Even for the most powerful unicorn, it takes a lot of magical effort to rip a pony's body parts to pieces. Even Princess Celestia would have trouble doing so. She could tell I doubted her story. "Pinkie, if this is some sort of a joke, cut it out!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Whatever it is you're trying to do, it's not funny!" Pinkie didn't say anything. She just sat there, trembling. "Um, Dash?" asked Fluttershy. "I don't think Pinkie is joking about this one..." Pinkie spoke up again, this time sounding more willing to tell us more. "Girls..." she started, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm afraid this isn't some prank I'm pulling. I did see ponies being killed and torn to ponies. I saw the most horrifying things in my head as soon as he kissed me, which was on the nose... he even looked like he enjoyed killing those ponies..." "How exactly were they killed?" I asked, curiously. "Whatever it was though, it had to be a form of very dark magic..." That's when I realized what I just said. Silver Wind -- his magic -- his ability, and his talent -- came to light. "No..." I said. "Girls, we must write a letter to the princess... the terrible talent she warned us about a few months ago... was partying with us, with our very vague awareness. We have to tell her what happened just now, otherwise we may be jeopardizing all of Ponyville." The girls' facial expressions all turned into ones of anger. I could feel that they were none too happy about Silver. Even Fluttershy, the kind-hearted pony, looked like she was about to scream with rage. Without any more thinking, I started writing the letter. I couldn't wake up Spike right now. I would have to save him this kind of trouble. Dear Princess Celestia, It is with my great bitterness that I am writing you this letter. Do you remember the time where you warned us about a terrible talent coming to Ponyville looking to wreak havoc? Well... he is here, and he just showed us his true colors. And he is none other than Silver Wind... according to Pinkie Pie, he kissed her and it brought forth a surge of "negative" thoughts against her. Right now, she is struck with fear, and I don't know what we're to do now. Must we confront him? Or must we do something else? Sincerely, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I sent the letter off to the Princess with a transportation spell. Part of me wanted to go outside and talk about this with Silver in peace, but I knew this wouldn't be possible. Not after what Pinkie Pie had told me. Not after what she told all of us... About a minute later, a letter popped up. It was from none other than Princess Celestia. "Here we go..." said Applejack. With a gulp, I opened the letter and read aloud. Dear Twilight Sparkle, It is with great sadness that I must ask you to forbid Silver Wind from Ponyville forever. Although I had given him a chance to see if his dormant dark emotions would dissipate from making friends here in Ponyville, I see it has not worked out entirely. Pinkie's mind being invaded with extremely dark thoughts, inadvertently or not, is enough proof of this. This letter does not end here, I'm afraid. After doing some more research, I have found out that this Silver Wind has a dark emotion cutie mark, meaning it can change with his feelings and emotions, but only if they're powerful enough. In his case, any negative emotion powerful enough to trigger his true power and potential. And in any case, these emotions can spread over to other ponies very easily. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to give him a second chance. I can already feel the negative emotion building up within him as you read this. Twilight Sparkle, The Element of Magic -- you and the rest of the elements must banish him from Ponyville and into somewhere else... anywhere except your immediate location. I cannot have the bearers of the elements be in danger with this powerful presence at hand. Sincerely, Princess Celestia "This... this is just too sudden for words..." said Applejack, in a sad tone. "Say, the princess said that those emotions can spread over, right? That kind of does explain why we were acting a lil' feisty a while ago though, randomly feeling angry." "So... we have to banish him from Ponyville forever, huh? Let's make sure he FEELS the banishment." said Pinkie Pie, suddenly. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that she was feeling hatred towards Silver. This definitely wasn't like her at all... but I complied to her idea. We have to make Silver suffer. We have to flat out tell him to leave... harshly. The other girls looked like they too agreed with Pinkie's idea of banishment. "OK, Pinkie." I said, the rising feeling of hate towards Silver growing in me. "Let's go tell him off. Come on girls, we have to do this." We stepped outside of the library where we found Silver hanging around. He could see that we didn't look too happy to see him. Upon further inspection of him, and with the feeling of hatred towards Silver, I began to speak. "Hey." I started. "Get lost. We don`t want to see you ever again." Silver jolted his back in shock. What I just said obviously took him by surprise, as his jaw hung open. "Earth to idiot, do you copy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a harsh tone. "She told you to GET. LOST." A million questions must be going through inside Silver's head right now, but I couldn't care less. Finally however, Pinkie Pie spoke up. "You." She began. "I'd never love a guy like you. Ever, in my life. If only I had known earlier that you would corrupt us with your dark emotions - which is what your cutie mark represents - I would have also rejected you." Tears began to form and fall from Silver's eyes. Once again, I couldn't care less... in fact, at this point, I want him to feel bad. I want him to suffer. "I now know why you're a loser." Pinkie continued. "Nobody in your life will ever love you. Not me, not my friends, and not your past friends. You cant control us because thats exactly what you are and what you always will be. A loser. And for the record, I never thought of you anything but a friend... which I can`t even call you anymore." This must be very sudden for him, having your friends tell you off like this. But we're not his friends anymore... he's just a piece of trash. "Your kiss on Pinkie`s nose brought out your true colors." I told him, letting the harshness of my tone overtake my words. "A form of black magic erupted within Pinkie's mind when you did this... not only did she become highly unsettled, but you had just shown her that you have a very dark heart. Princess Celestia always warned us that ponies with dark emotion cutie marks spell very bad news. It took us a while for us to look past your image of false bravado." It was a little strange for me to be telling someone all this. I continued to let this uncharacteristic hatred take me over, though. "But..." Silver started to say, in choked sobs. "I only wanted to be your friends...!" Before I could tell him off again, Pinkie Pie cut in. "No! Get out of my face, and get out of my life!" Pinkie shouted. "And don`t ever come back here again! I hate you!" Silver let out a big sob. As he turned in the other direction to run, tears started to drop which left a tiny trail of water along the ground. "And I hope you never come back here again..." I muttered under my breath. Strange, how easily negative emotions can overtake a sentient being. We had to do this for our sake, however... for Pinkie's sake. At this point, we all looked to be flushed with emotion. We all looked like we were about to cry, but it wasn't worth it. Not after what just happened, because after all, we essentially rejected somebody and banished them from the town. "Well... I guess that's that, y'all." said Applejack. "Let's just go home... and hope somepony like this never shows up ever in our lives again." And with that, everypony started to head home. For once, Pinkie didn't bounce away this time. I know this would affect her for a long time. As I stand outside the library for a short while, I wonder what tomorrow will be like. We were so happy before all this... and to experience this is quite the life changer. But going up against dark hearts takes more than just your mind and soul. You have to be willing to outright say "NO" to it. I returned to the library, feeling distressed. I suppose I'll be ready for whatever lies ahead of me and my friends... but I just hope whatever we did tonight, doesn't come back to haunt us for the rest of our lives.
The VillainThunder and lightning loudly clapped as I began to gather my thoughts on what just happened. The bad weather symbolized the current atmosphere and my mood right now. I would have seen this coming... but, as bad things have been throughout my life, none of it has been as bad as this. None of it. This was unbelievably bad. I was hurt. No, I was more than hurt. I was damaged both mentally and emotionally. I thought things were going so well, but... looks like it all has to come crashing down again, because after all, I may just represent the word "bad". I`m a fair man. A fair unicorn, to be more precise. I've always tried to be happy, even though it has never come to me easily. My parents and siblings were all wiped out by gang wars that constantly ravaged our hometown of Neightroit, and I was never in touch with my other family members. This all happened when I was 7 years old. Flash forward to present day, 10 years later. Im now 17 years old, having spent my life going from town to town, city to city. Ive seen many different landmarks, such as the great Celestial statue in Fillydelphia, and the Statue of Harmony in Manehattan. These experiences, however, were all overshadowed greatly due to my rather, less than stellar other experiences. Other people would always berate me and put me down, no matter what city I went to. Perhaps it was because of my looks, or my appearance. Or maybe perhaps they did not appreciate orphans such as myself. I was never the type of kid that could make friends easily, but I tried... and rarely did that ever work. I`ve made a couple of friends along the way, but they both had to leave me because of relocation purposes. One of them found a job in Coltifornia and one of them had to move back to his hometown of Canterlot. Those days were sad days, and I was sad for a while until I came to Ponyville, where I stayed there for a few months... Let me tell you, this small town was very welcoming. Very friendly. The ponies here were kind and warm-hearted... heh. They sure were kind, alright. My cutie mark is a star with a black color and red dot in the middle. I had received it when I was 10 years old, when I got into a fight in an alleyway in Baltimare. Three hooded stallions cornered me, attempting to beat me for my personal belongings... I hated these kinds of stallions. These were the kind of ponies that killed my mother and my father, and raped my dear sister when she was coming home from night school. I hated them so much. Every fiber of my being yearned to put an end to these 3 wretched ponies that had me cornered here. And thats when my horn unleashed a large stream of black energy that appeared to drive these 3 stallions out of their minds... and also proceeded to mutilate them to pieces. As I watched in horror, I quickly fled the alleyway, praying I wouldnt have to go through this again. As I studied my rather unnatural power, I found out that my emotions controlled my magic. This would explain the time where I was able to teleport away from danger with my father when a gang member had approached us back in Neightroit. I was scared, very scared. In Ponyville, I was able to further study my talent with a mare, Twilight Sparkle. She was smart, gifted with magic and even represented the element of magic to boot. In fact, I was able to to learn a ton about magic during my stay here. I was able to grasp spells very easily as well, even though I transformed all of them into "darker" forms to suit my cutie mark`s power. Her other friends also taught me quite a lot. One of them, Applejack, helped to realize that I was quite the athlete. I now understand I`m able to run very fast, and my agility is apparently off the charts. I guess with all the hiking and running I do, it adds up. But there was one special mare that always made my day... Her name was Pinkie Pie. Oh dear, she was something else. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way she was able to cheer everypony up, was a sight to behold. Ive never met a pony who was able to become friends with anybody so easily. Being the introverted kind of person I was, it warmed my heart to see her put a smile on everybodys face. Eventually, we became good friends and I would tell her things about my personal life, such as how it was back then for me. She looked to be honestly sad with my past times, and she would always tell me to stay happy now that it`s all in the past. This made me feel a lot better about myself... I would always remember that beautiful smile of her own. It made my heart explode, twice even. Every morning I would go to Sugarcube Corner and she was there, standing behind the counter. She had the most beautiful eyes that I had ever seen. Blue eyes that would gaze into mine and it would always touch my soul, and make it ever so happy. Her soft, fluffy mane looked ever so gorgeous. And she was extremely cute to boot. It took me a while, but the answer was always right there. I was in love with Pinkie Pie. It seemed all to natural. I was the shy, introverted guy and she was the exuberant, extroverted girl. Every time I saw her, I felt like pulling her into a deep kiss and into a tight embrace and I wished that I never had to let her go. I was truly mesmerized by her. One morning, I woke up with the thought that I should confess my feelings for her. You see, that day was her birthday party, and her friends arranged a surprise party to really rock her hooves. I was sure that she loves me back... I always thought she liked me back, not because I wasnt like her, but that I was special enough to her that I should be hers forever. And she would be mine forever... Flashback... "Quiet, everypony!" Twilight said to the crowd of ponies cramped in the library. "We want this to be a SURPRISE!" The library`s door opened, and in came a pink pony with a confused look on her face. The library sure looked dark, she thought... "SURPRISE!!!!!" Everypony cheered. Pinkie Pie looked to be at a loss for words. "Happy birthday, Pinkie Pie!" exclaimed Rarity, as she and the gang pulled her into a group hug. "Youve done so much for us, and we figured its time we repayed you since you`re always putting a smile on our faces." I looked on with happiness as the group continued to embrace one another. Those six truly are the best of friends, I thought. The party itself lasted for quite a while. Eventually, it spilled out onto the streets connecting Sugarcube Corner and the Library. Good move, since the library was getting cramped. Lots of games were played, such as Pinkie`s favorite game, Pin the tail on the Pony, and other games such as Hoof wrestling and even a Pie Eating Contest. Pinkie, being the party pony she was, managed to win most of them. After a while, it was getting late. Most of the ponies had left except Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and some other ponies were in the library chatting away the night. And of course, Pinkie Pie was still here. She was alone, outside the library, gazing at the stars. I figured this would be the time to confess my feelings for her. "Hey, Pinkie Pie." I said, trotting over to her side. "I hope you`ve enjoyed the party!" She gave me a smile. So far, so good. "Thank you, Silver Wind." she said to me. "Its been really enjoyable with my friends around! I hope youve enjoyed the party too!" I tried not to stutter with my words. The way she talked was just so mesmerizing... and she looked extra beautiful today. "Pinkie Pie..." I started, hoping for the best. "I need to tell you something. Something very important." "Yeah, what is it?" she asked me. "Well..." I continued. "These past few months have been very life changing for me... before this, I was just a shy guy with no friends, and I didnt know what to do with my life until now. Youve helped me a lot with changing my life around for the worse. You and the gang. But, there`s just something about you that always made me feel... more than happy." "In fact, every day, whenever I visit you, I feel free. I feel so happy. And it`s all because of you. Your movements, your ability to put a smile on my face no matter what, and your beautiful blue eyes is what drives me." I managed to speak out this much before I said my final words. "Pinkamena Diane Pie... I... I... I love you!" And so I grabbed hold of her and tried to lock lips with her... However, Pinkie Pie let go with a small flinch. I ended up kissing her nose instead for about a second, and she had an uncertain look on her face. Just like that, she looked at me with that same uncertain face and ran off into the library... I felt hurt. I felt rejected... but maybe she needs some time to think about what happened... yeah. I waited outside for about 10 minutes, until Pinkie and her friends stepped outside of the library, with angry expressions on their faces. I was confused at this notion. "Hey." Twilight began. "Get lost. We don`t want to see you ever again." ... Huh? Did she just say that? At this point, I was not only hurt, but scared on what the others would say next. "Earth to idiot, do you copy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a harsh tone. "She told you to GET.LOST." What`s wrong with my friends? What have I done to make them so angry? Finally however, Pinkie spoke. "You." She began. "I`d never love a guy like you. Ever, in my life. If only I had known earlier that you would corrupt us with your dark emotions - which is what your cutie mark represents - I would have also rejected you." Tears began to form and fall from my eyes. I could not believe that this was happening. "I now know why youre a loser." she told me. "Nobody in your life will ever love you. Not me, not my friends, and not your past friends. You cant control us because thats exactly what you are and what you always will be. A loser. And for the record, I never thought of you anything but a friend... which I cant even call you anymore." No.... this IS happening... and it's all too real... but why are they saying this? What have I done to make them so angry with me...? I kept thinking about what Pinkie said to me until Twilight spoke... "Your kiss on Pinkies nose brought out your true colors." explained Twilight. "A form of black magic erupted within Pinkie's mind when you did this... not only did she become highly unsettled, but you had just shown her that you have a very dark heart. Princess Celestia always warned us that ponies with dark emotion cutie marks spell very bad news. It took us a while for us to look past your image of false bravado." I was too distracted by Pinkie Pies words of hurt to take Twilight`s words into account. "But..." I started to say, in choked sobs. "I only wanted to be your friends...!" "No! Get out of my face, and get out of my life!" Pinkie shouted. "And don`t ever come back here again! I hate you!" With my heart - and my spirit - both completely shattered now, I let out a big sob and ran in the other direction, heading towards the outskirts of Ponyville... End of flashback Thunder and lightning clapped heavily. A large drizzle complemented it rather well. It was all a lie - my stay in Ponyville was nothing more than a sad epiphany. How could I think that anybody would care for me in my life? After all, the godforsaken Elements of Harmony had rejected me. They weren't just ordinary ponies. They were Celestia's greatest assets who loved everybody. Everybody except me, that is. And how could I possibly think that I was special enough to be Pinkie Pie`s special somepony? Why, you might ask? Because... thats not who Im supposed to be. Not after thinking about what just happened before. No. I`m destined to be something else. I`m supposed to be a man with a sinister mind. A man with a very dark heart.... This form of magic I possess, it's not given to me by mistake. It is not my special talent for no reason. I was given dark magic to terrorize people. To wreak havoc among all forms of life. After all, my special talent is to murder with absolutely no mercy. Such a wonderful talent it is, hahahahaha... The evil spirit within this stallion would be in every living being`s head and heart. I would torment their feeble minds with an unspeakable malice. I would torture them both mentally and emotionally. I would leave rivers of blood in my wake. Mountains upon mountains of devastation. Pony folk would cringe at the very comprehension of me. And they would all cower in fear. I let out a sinister laugh. My cutie mark suddenly transformed into a black star with six shapes, with a blood-red blade in the middle... I let out another sinister laugh. I would destroy all of Equestria. Because after all, people have destroyed me. Everywhere I went. Even in Ponyville, where I thought I was loved. But alas, it was never the case. I embraced the darkness in my heart. I let it consume me. I let it devour me until I felt nothing but wickedness.... because I now know that I was destined to be Equestria's true enemy. And so I rose... And so, I transformed into the stallion that all of Equestria would fear at the very thought of. And with that, I became... The Villain.
The Dark Knight (special ending)**A/N**: This is a special ending to the ending of the previous chapter, "The Villain". I strongly suggest you read that chapter first before continuing along here. My clothes are wet. Soaking wet. I'm still wondering what happened. To top it all off, my spirit is crushed and my heart is shattered. It's raining. It's raining very hard. The intensity of the thunder and the crackling of lightning to go along with the heavy drizzle symbolizes the current atmosphere right now. I'm heading into very depressing times. My name is Silver. Silver Wind. I'm a unicorn and I have an exceptional skill to use dark magic and my physical abilities are almost off the charts. Now, I'm nobody special -- because well, I'm not. My life's been a mess since Day 1. My family's been wiped out, my friends have all left me, and now I'm alone. Again. With no one else to care for me. I thought they were the ones that could help me lead me into the light -- and for a while, I never doubted that thought. However, it all came crashing to the ground as it used to do before I came to the town of Ponyville. Flashback... I'm waiting outside of Ponyville's library. I've grown used to this town, and even though I've only been here for a few months, it truly felt like a real home with warm and welcoming ponies. I met a lot great ponies here, I thought. Though, six ponies in particular really made me happy. Their names are Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. They called themselves "The Mane 6". It's a rather savvy name for a group of friends, if you ask me. They've all taught me how to be a true friend, something I've always had trouble doing because of my past life... One of them however, is the mare of the dreams. Her name is Pinkie Pie. What's there to say about her? Should I bring up how her smiles fill everypony with joy? That her beautiful mane would taste delicious as cotton candy? Or that her eyes would always pierce into my own, and into my very soul? Yes, I'm in love with Pinkie Pie. In fact, I had just tried to kiss her -- on the lips, to show my affection for her. I even told her I love her. However, she flinched and I only managed to kiss her nose. With that, she ran off into the library. It was about 10 minutes ago. Now obviously, I'm hurt. But, maybe she needs time to think about all this... oh wait, here comes Pinkie! With her friends... wait, why do they look angry? Twilight, the ringleader of the group, began to speak. "Hey." she said. "Get lost. We don`t want to see you ever again." ... Huh? Did she just say that? At this point, I was not only more hurt, but scared on what the others would say next. "Earth to idiot, do you copy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a harsh tone. "She told you to GET. LOST." What`s wrong with my friends? What have I done to make them so angry? Finally however, Pinkie spoke. "You." She began. "I'd never love a guy like you. Ever, in my life. If only I had known earlier that you would corrupt us with your dark emotions - which is what your cutie mark represents - I would have also rejected you." Tears began to form and fall from my eyes. I could not believe that this was happening. "I now know why youre a loser." she told me. "Nobody in your life will ever love you. Not me, not my friends, and not your past friends. You cant control us because thats exactly what you are and what you always will be. A loser. And for the record, I never thought of you anything but a friend... which I cant even call you anymore." No.... this IS happening... and it's all too real... but why are they saying this? What have I done to make them so angry with me...? I kept thinking about what Pinkie said to me until Twilight spoke... "Your kiss on Pinkies nose brought out your true colors." explained Twilight. "A form of black magic erupted within Pinkie's mind when you did this... not only did she become highly unsettled, but you had just shown her that you have a very dark heart. Princess Celestia always warned us that ponies with dark emotion cutie marks spell very bad news. It took us a while for us to look past your image of false bravado." I was too distracted by Pinkie Pies words of hurt to take Twilight`s words into account. "But..." I started to say, in choked sobs. "I only wanted to be your friends...!" "No! Get out of my face, and get out of my life!" Pinkie shouted. "And don`t ever come back here again! I hate you!" With my heart - and my spirit - both completely shattered now, I let out a big sob and ran in the other direction, heading towards the outskirts of Ponyville... End of flashback... There it is! My best friends - or should I say ex best friends - rejected me. They kicked me out of the town. Am I surprised? Of course I'm surprised! And heartbroken, too! That is what happens when you invest a lot of emotion towards anypony. If they let you down, you will be shattered. But these weren't just ordinary ponies. These were the Elements of Harmony. The very essence that brought forth light into Equestria -- something that the mighty Princess Celestia cannot do effectively on her own. They symbolize on what it means to be genuinely good figure towards not just the planet, but the universe, if that's even possible. And what did I manage to get at the end? A huge kick in the flank, with the message being very clear: "fuck your life". From the Elements of Harmony, no less. Not only did Pinkie reject me, but all her friends did, too. How out of character, I'm adding. I'm starting to feel hatred towards the so-called "Elements of Harmony". They rejected me. They love everybody except me. They will pay for leaving me like this; cold and alone... ...Will they pay? No, of course not! Must I go back against everything I held dear to me? Must I turn my back on everything they taught me? Will I make my best friends suffer all because I did something apparently wrong? No, they do not deserve that... or do they? What am I saying! They rejected me! Twilight made it damn clear... but they are supposed to love all creatures, big and small! I am no exception! But then again, who has ever cared for me in my life? My dead parents? My dead sister? I fall to my knees and start sobbing loudly. The sadness is just too overwhelming. I bet if Pinkie saw me like this, she wouldn't care at all. On some random scenario, she wouldn't care if I saved her from death. She wouldn't care about me if I poured my heart out into fighting a rampaging monster that would destroy all of Ponyville. And she certainly wouldn't care if I tried to apologize to her for kissing her... The truth is, I still care. About them. About the Mane 6. About all the times we've had, no matter how short my stay in Ponyville has been... but why do I feel resentment towards them? The answer is simple. They rejected me. All these emotions are just so fucking confusing. In fact, I feel a fit of rage coming up... but this rage all stopped I realized something. Even though they had thrown me off, I still cared about their well-being. Not only that, but I still loved each and every one of the Pony folk. I still loved Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. Even though they shunned me. Even though they hated me, I still loved them. As if on cue, lightning split open the sky as a winged figure flew down towards me... The figure itself was slightly taller than I was, had a very sharp horn, and its biggest feature was that its body was black as the night sky and it had a long, streaky mane that flew with the wind... It was none other than Princess Luna! I began to panic. Did Celestia send her personally to execute me here and now? Did Twilight's friends inform her of my apparent misdeed? No matter the reason, I lowered my gaze and began to tremble. "Child." she began. "You do not need to cower in fear like that. I know what happened outside of the library." Hearing her words, I stood up carefully. What exactly is she here for? "Allow me to repeat myself. I understand what happened outside of the library. You were harshly told off by subject Twilight and her friends, correct?" The Moon Princess said. "Y-yes..." I began. The sadness built up within me again. "...they did... I kissed Pinkie Pie, OK? And then they came out of the library and told me to get lost! And that they never wanted to see me again!" Without a warning, I threw my arms around Princess Luna... "How could they do that to me? How could they?" I continued, sobbing on Luna's mane. "There there, child. I know of your life. You have been hurt everywhere you went. Nobody took care of you before your adventures at Ponyville, and when you came here, it rejuvenated your life. And now you're hurt again..." The Moon Princess said, sadly. "I understand your sorrow." Luna said." I too, was once bewildered with resentment towards my loved ones. As each day and each night passed, that resentment and hatred grew within me. I turned into something wicked. I became Night Mare Moon, the evil mare in which your friends had defeated." "But, you need not follow that path of anger and hatred. You can become something else." I was confused as ever now. On one side, Twilight had just told me that I'm apparently nothing but an evil creature who seeks to destroy other people... but on the other side, here I have Princess Luna by my side telling me that I'm not. "But... Twilight told me that I have a very dark heart... and it's true, my magic is dark. It's very dark... gruesome and horrifying. My cutie mark itself says my special talent is dark magic..." I said. This whole thing made my brain hurt. "Yes, it is true. Your magical talent is extraordinarily dark. It is driven by emotion. Through sheer hatred, you have the ability to kill life." She explained. "You always wanted to hurt those who've hurt you. However, your stay in Ponyville has truly been a wonderful experience for you. You were finally able to acquire the love of other people -- through the magic of friendship. Why am I telling you this? Because you still care for your friends. Because you still love subject Pinkamena. And because you are able to keep picking yourself up from hurt." "You do not truly wish harm upon them. All you want is happiness -- and you still have the time to make it happen." Her words really pierced me. It was true. I didn't want them to be hurt just because they rejected me. No! This erased any doubt from my mind. I cared about them. They were my friends. Before them, my life was filled with anger and hate -- and the darkness became my only retreat... But that's in the past. I don't want to see others suffer. I'm done hiding in the dark. I'd rather die than become enemies with my friends. I closed my eyes, looked down, and smiled. Suddenly, my eyes darted open as my body and my cutie mark began to glow. Without warning, my cutie mark twisted and warped within a black light and finally it shattered. Out came a brand new cutie mark -- a black rose. Luna watched in awe. "I can feel it... the power of darkness... but it's different now." I managed to say, with an epiphany. "My magic... it doesn't have to evil! I'm not afraid anymore!" "You've discovered your magic's true power." said Luna. "Before this point, that was an impossible feat. But somehow, you've awakened the true power of darkness." I looked at her with a bright expression. It all made sense now. "The love I have for my friends transformed me." I explained. "I no longer feel resentment towards them, despite what they did to me." "I am proud of you, child, for realizing this." Luna spoke up. "You truly have learned a large lesson in friendship..." I hugged her. Maybe things won't be so bad after all... but what now? Will I return to Ponyville and face my friends? And fight for our friendship? "... however." Luna began to spoke. "I'm afraid you must not return to Ponyville to make amends with your friends. You see, I came to you on my own accord when subject Twilight sent a letter to the princess regarding your... actions with subject Pinkamena. My sister always believed that your previously 'evil' powers would always cause havoc and despair among pony folk. Despite this, she gave you the chance to come into Ponyville. When your kiss with subject Pinkamena went into disaster however, very disturbing emotions arose within subject Pinkamena and within the Elements. Thus, you are now labeled as an enemy." I was absolutely shocked at this, and regretful at the same time. If I hadn't kissed Pinkie... this would have never happened. What could have I done, though? We were alone outside.. and she looked so beautiful. What really bothered me though, was the fact that I am now labeled an enemy in the name of Celestia and her Elements of Harmony... "They are still the elements of harmony, dear child." Luna continued. "Always remember, your realization of love towards them sparked this. You now know your magic's true power. If you are somehow able to convince them that you are not the evil emperor, they will see you in a different light." I did not feel any resent towards them whatsoever. Because after all... even though they still hate me, they are my friends. I love them! They are my friends. The best friends I've ever had. The best ponies I've ever met. "Celestia told me you would kill me." Luna said, suddenly. "I came to find out. I did not expect you to mend your dark magic and turn it into the true power of darkness, however, as I am the only living being on the planet who has that capability." "What will you do now?" I thought about it. And then, I looked at Luna and smiled at her. "Something that's never been done before." I replied. "Something like the work of royal guards, but better." And so I turned and started to run towards my home just outside of Ponyville. I could hear Luna let out a laugh of amusement as she warped away. I had a smile on my face as I continued to run home. I've learned a lot tonight. Friendship may be hard, but it's definitely worth fighting for. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to clean up the planet; because after all, Equestria isn't a utopia that everypony seems to claim it is. Yes, that is what I'm going to do. I'm going to help out other people in need. I'm going to uphold the magic that is friendship. I'm going to make Equestria a better place to live. And I'm going to rally as many ponies as I can in order to fulfill my now life-long objective. But I'm going to do it anonymously. I'm not going to reveal who I really am. Because I'm not going to do this for fame. I'm not going to do this because I have extraordinary powers or anything like that. I'm going to do this because it's right. As I lay down on the chair at my humble home, I smiled once again as I darted a kunai knife towards a target 25 feet away. Bullseye. As I adjusted my rather mysterious-looking costume, I began to laugh. This is for the subjects of Equestria. This is for my family. And this is for my all my friends. And so I rose. And so, I transformed into the stallion that would protect Equestria no matter where he went. And with that, I became... The Dark Knight.
Friend or Fiend**A/N**: This a parallel chapter to the first chapter of "The Villain". I suggest you read that chapter before reading this. This chapter is told in Twilight's first person perspective. "Quiet, everypony!" I said to the crowd of ponies cramped in the library. "We want this to be a SURPRISE!" It's getting dark outside, I thought. Today is Pinkie Pie's birthday... and no doubt that she probably forgot about it again. I'm not 100% sure that she's oblivious to the idea we're throwing her a surprise party. The last time she forgot her own birthday was the time where she thought my friends and I abandoned her and kicked her out of the group. Oh boy, ponies do NOT want to hear that story. Planning this party wasn't easy, but my friends and I figured we should throw Pinkie Pie a huge party for her birthday just to show we care about her with all our hearts. Hold up, library door's opening... "SURPRISE!!!!!" Everypony cheered. Pinkie Pie looked to be at a loss for words. "Happy birthday, Pinkie Pie!" exclaimed Rarity, one of my closest friends, as all of us pulled her into a group hug. "Youve done so much for us, and we figured its time we repayed you since you`re always putting a smile on our faces." "Oh, you guys!" said Pinkie Pie, jumping up and down. "You guys are the best friends I could ever have!" With that, the party officially started. I gave Pinkie Pie a big smile. Even though planning this whole thing was exhausting, it was definitely worth seeing the Element of Laughter smile heartily. And I owe it most of it to another good friend of mine, Silver Wind. Silver Wind... where should I begin, other than the fact that he's traveled around Equestria and came to Ponyville to find peace, and other than the fact that he has a huge crush on Pinkie Pie? I suppose that's why he decided to throw her a BIG party! Silver's a nice fellow. When he first came to Ponyville, he looked really sad, but I suppose with our help, he's become a lot more social with other folk. According to him, he's never been truly happy in his life. I guess I can see why never had friends before he came here. And I suppose that's why he admires Pinkie Pie so much, because of her bubbly and energetic appearance -- and she loves to make other ponies smile. But there's something else about him that I can't put my hoof onto. Sure, he's nice and all, but I can't help wonder... what has he done all his life? I realize it was bad, but just how bad? Did he get into contact with bad ponies? Now that I think about it, Princess Celestia warned us about a "terrible talent" coming to Ponyville a few months ago. Gee, now that I REALLY think about it, Silver Wind himself looks like he has some dangerous magical abilities... now, I've been taught not to judge ponies based on their talents, but ponies wouldn't believe the amount of talent Silver has. It's unbelievable at times. Just a few weeks ago, my friends and I -- Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and of course Pinkie Pie and Silver Wind were rounding up a parasprite invasion that nearly shook Ponyville to its foundation. And what happened next? The parasprites nearly consumed everything in the town. It wasn't until Silver somehow managed to vaporize all of them with a flick of his horn, and out came a wave of black energy. I cleaned up most of the town a while later with my own magic. I had found him with a rage-filled expression on his face after the parasprites were gone, albeit it was for a few seconds. At the least, it was disturbing. My thoughts are quickly interrupted though, as Silver Wind tapped me on the back. "Oh! Hey Silver, I didn't see you there!" I said, surprised. "Enjoying the party?" "Yeah, for sure! I'm glad Pinkie Pie is really happy..." He replied. He looked to be a dreamy daze, probably thinking about a getaway to a remote island with her. I let out a small giggle. "Well, you enjoy yourself now, Silver. Plenty of partying to do tonight." I said. He walked away with a small laugh. He sure is quite the fellow, I thought. Maybe I should just forget about my pondering thoughts about his magic for now and enjoy the party. "Twilight, darling!" Rarity called to me. "Do come over here and play a game of pin the tail on the pony with us! I'm not one for competition, but I bet you 10 bits you cannot beat moi in a best of 3." I complied. I haven't played this game in a long while... I wonder how I'd go up against Rarity? I ended up not doing too well. I ended up getting beaten twice in a row... there goes 10 bits. The party's going on very well! In fact, it's so good, that after a while, people went out to the streets to let the library cool off from all the crammed ponies inside. It wasn't since I first came to Ponyville have I seen so many ponies in one building. I continued to have fun with my friends. Pinkie Pie won most of the games, and Silver even performed some magic tricks. Although they were simple tricks, I was bedazzled at the way Silver approached them with his own magical ability... Ponies began to leave after chatting away the night and having fun. This sure has been a great party, I thought. At the window, I could see Pinkie Pie saying her goodbyes to the folk outside. It truly has been a memorable night for her, and once again, we owe it the most to Silver. "Hey Twilight," a voice called out to me. It was none other than Silver. "I'm gonna go check up on Pinkie Pie..." He had a blush on his cheeks. Deductively, I could only come up with the idea that he's going to tell Pinkie how he feels about her. He trotted away. Maybe if Pinkie accepts him, she'll throw another party right now just to celebrate the occasion. What am I thinking, she's PINKIE! Of course she will if it does happen... I spent the next minute pondering about what to do tomorrow, when suddenly Pinkie came into the library, and locked the door with a slam. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Howdy Pinkie!" said Applejack. "Did y'all enjoy the party? That Silver sure did throw you one hay of a celebration!" Upon hearing Silver's name, Pinkie scowled at Applejack. I was confused, but then, somehow, I experienced a sudden flash of anger and anxiety. "Hey, what gives Pink?" asked Rainbow, in an angry tone. Suddenly however, Rainbow's voice was calm again. "I mean... huh? Pinkie, what's wrong?" All of us suddenly looked at Pinkie angrily, as if she did something bad to us. Immediately, the feeling subsided. "Sugarcube... you mind tellin' us what's wrong? An' how come we're all feeling a bit peppy all of a sudden?" Inquired Applejack. As Pinkie hung her head down, I knew something was wrong. "Girls... Silver kissed me... and he told me he loves me..." Pinkie said. That's all? Strange, I thought she would react much differently than this. "Darling, a stallion loves you!" said Rarity, with a confused look. "I suppose I can understand you being upset, but why this mu--" Rarity was about to finish when Rainbow interrupted her. "I kinda don't blame her. If Silver tried to kiss me I'd probably punt his flank into next Tuesday..." said Rainbow. "... but he kissed Pinkie Pie of all the mares." However, Pinkie let out another scowl as soon as Rainbow finished. "That's not the point." Pinkie said. "He's... something else. He... filled my head with bad images... it... was just horrible!" She's shuddering and trembling with fear. The gang and I looked at her with very concerned looks. "Pinkie, what exactly did you see?" I asked her, hoping not to make her even more upset. "I saw..." she started. "...ponies get... MURDERED... but not just murdered... they were getting mutilated... and it wasn't just some freak thought, I could FEEL the ponies get mutilated..." I shot her an incredulous look. While trying to analyze what she just said, I had a lot of doubts. For one, ponies? Being mutilated? Even for the most powerful unicorn, it takes a lot of magical effort to rip a pony's body parts to pieces. Even Princess Celestia would have trouble doing so. She could tell I doubted her story. "Pinkie, if this is some sort of a joke, cut it out!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Whatever it is you're trying to do, it's not funny!" Pinkie didn't say anything. She just sat there, trembling. "Um, Dash?" asked Fluttershy. "I don't think Pinkie is joking about this one..." Pinkie spoke up again, this time sounding more willing to tell us more. "Girls..." she started, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm afraid this isn't some prank I'm pulling. I did see ponies being killed and torn to ponies. I saw the most horrifying things in my head as soon as he kissed me, which was on the nose... he even looked like he enjoyed killing those ponies..." "How exactly were they killed?" I asked, curiously. "Whatever it was though, it had to be a form of very dark magic..." That's when I realized what I just said. Silver Wind -- his magic -- his ability, and his talent -- came to light. "No..." I said. "Girls, we must write a letter to the princess... the terrible talent she warned us about a few months ago... was partying with us, with our very vague awareness. We have to tell her what happened just now, otherwise we may be jeopardizing all of Ponyville." The girls' facial expressions all turned into ones of anger. I could feel that they were none too happy about Silver. Even Fluttershy, the kind-hearted pony, looked like she was about to scream with rage. Without any more thinking, I started writing the letter. I couldn't wake up Spike right now. I would have to save him this kind of trouble. Dear Princess Celestia, It is with my great bitterness that I am writing you this letter. Do you remember the time where you warned us about a terrible talent coming to Ponyville looking to wreak havoc? Well... he is here, and he just showed us his true colors. And he is none other than Silver Wind... according to Pinkie Pie, he kissed her and it brought forth a surge of "negative" thoughts against her. Right now, she is struck with fear, and I don't know what we're to do now. Must we confront him? Or must we do something else? Sincerely, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I sent the letter off to the Princess with a transportation spell. Part of me wanted to go outside and talk about this with Silver in peace, but I knew this wouldn't be possible. Not after what Pinkie Pie had told me. Not after what she told all of us... About a minute later, a letter popped up. It was from none other than Princess Celestia. "Here we go..." said Applejack. With a gulp, I opened the letter and read aloud. Dear Twilight Sparkle, It is with great sadness that I must ask you to forbid Silver Wind from Ponyville forever. Although I had given him a chance to see if his dormant dark emotions would dissipate from making friends here in Ponyville, I see it has not worked out entirely. Pinkie's mind being invaded with extremely dark thoughts, inadvertently or not, is enough proof of this. This letter does not end here, I'm afraid. After doing some more research, I have found out that this Silver Wind has a dark emotion cutie mark, meaning it can change with his feelings and emotions, but only if they're powerful enough. In his case, any negative emotion powerful enough to trigger his true power and potential. And in any case, these emotions can spread over to other ponies very easily. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to give him a second chance. I can already feel the negative emotion building up within him as you read this. Twilight Sparkle, The Element of Magic -- you and the rest of the elements must banish him from Ponyville and into somewhere else... anywhere except your immediate location. I cannot have the bearers of the elements be in danger with this powerful presence at hand. Sincerely, Princess Celestia "This... this is just too sudden for words..." said Applejack, in a sad tone. "Say, the princess said that those emotions can spread over, right? That kind of does explain why we were acting a lil' feisty a while ago though, randomly feeling angry." "So... we have to banish him from Ponyville forever, huh? Let's make sure he FEELS the banishment." said Pinkie Pie, suddenly. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that she was feeling hatred towards Silver. This definitely wasn't like her at all... but I complied to her idea. We have to make Silver suffer. We have to flat out tell him to leave... harshly. The other girls looked like they too agreed with Pinkie's idea of banishment. "OK, Pinkie." I said, the rising feeling of hate towards Silver growing in me. "Let's go tell him off. Come on girls, we have to do this." We stepped outside of the library where we found Silver hanging around. He could see that we didn't look too happy to see him. Upon further inspection of him, and with the feeling of hatred towards Silver, I began to speak. "Hey." I started. "Get lost. We don`t want to see you ever again." Silver jolted his back in shock. What I just said obviously took him by surprise, as his jaw hung open. "Earth to idiot, do you copy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a harsh tone. "She told you to GET. LOST." A million questions must be going through inside Silver's head right now, but I couldn't care less. Finally however, Pinkie Pie spoke up. "You." She began. "I'd never love a guy like you. Ever, in my life. If only I had known earlier that you would corrupt us with your dark emotions - which is what your cutie mark represents - I would have also rejected you." Tears began to form and fall from Silver's eyes. Once again, I couldn't care less... in fact, at this point, I want him to feel bad. I want him to suffer. "I now know why you're a loser." Pinkie continued. "Nobody in your life will ever love you. Not me, not my friends, and not your past friends. You cant control us because thats exactly what you are and what you always will be. A loser. And for the record, I never thought of you anything but a friend... which I can`t even call you anymore." This must be very sudden for him, having your friends tell you off like this. But we're not his friends anymore... he's just a piece of trash. "Your kiss on Pinkie`s nose brought out your true colors." I told him, letting the harshness of my tone overtake my words. "A form of black magic erupted within Pinkie's mind when you did this... not only did she become highly unsettled, but you had just shown her that you have a very dark heart. Princess Celestia always warned us that ponies with dark emotion cutie marks spell very bad news. It took us a while for us to look past your image of false bravado." It was a little strange for me to be telling someone all this. I continued to let this uncharacteristic hatred take me over, though. "But..." Silver started to say, in choked sobs. "I only wanted to be your friends...!" Before I could tell him off again, Pinkie Pie cut in. "No! Get out of my face, and get out of my life!" Pinkie shouted. "And don`t ever come back here again! I hate you!" Silver let out a big sob. As he turned in the other direction to run, tears started to drop which left a tiny trail of water along the ground. "And I hope you never come back here again..." I muttered under my breath. Strange, how easily negative emotions can overtake a sentient being. We had to do this for our sake, however... for Pinkie's sake. At this point, we all looked to be flushed with emotion. We all looked like we were about to cry, but it wasn't worth it. Not after what just happened, because after all, we essentially rejected somebody and banished them from the town. "Well... I guess that's that, y'all." said Applejack. "Let's just go home... and hope somepony like this never shows up ever in our lives again." And with that, everypony started to head home. For once, Pinkie didn't bounce away this time. I know this would affect her for a long time. As I stand outside the library for a short while, I wonder what tomorrow will be like. We were so happy before all this... and to experience this is quite the life changer. But going up against dark hearts takes more than just your mind and soul. You have to be willing to outright say "NO" to it. I returned to the library, feeling distressed. I suppose I'll be ready for whatever lies ahead of me and my friends... but I just hope whatever we did tonight, doesn't come back to haunt us for the rest of our lives.
