A Darkened Heart

Prolouge

It was a dark and stormy evening when Cinder arrived in Ponyville. The wind was howling, trees shaking from its strength. Surely the weather ponies missed something. This storm was immense compared to most others.

He glided down to the ground and trotted to a stop, folding his wings. Cinder looked around. All the windows were shut. All doors were closed. Guess it was what everypony did around here.

He began to saunter down the street into the town square. No pony was here. Thunder clapped the night sky. It’s getting pretty bad, he thought. Time to find a place to stay. He glanced around then settled on a building with the name Ponyville Inn; Now offering apartments. He trotted off to the Inn to fetch himself a room.

Ponyville was his new home after all.

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Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Cinder was awoken by his alarm clock at 8:30. He pulled aside his bedside curtain. Wow, what a beautiful day it was. Nothing like the night before. Everypony was out and about.

He slid out his bedroom window, spreading his massive wings getting ready for his morning flight.

After a quick shower and drying himself off, he took to the sky. His wings, almost bigger than him, flapped gently but strongly, propelling him through the sky. With the wind in his mane he felt happy. Happy to finally be on his own, and happy to have a new beginning.

Glancing down at the ground, he smiled. Everypony must be busy with their lives today, he thought. And with good reason too. Everypony was out and about doing everything that needed to be done. He was hungry so he flew down to the Hayburger, a popular Ponyville hotspot. With that, his hooves made a soft thud on the ground, he folded his wings and went inside.

Cinder wondered up to the counter and sat down at a stool. “What can I getcha, stranger?” A brown stallion with a tan mane was looking at him. Clearly he was the head chef at the Hayburger. The stallion smiled, “You’re not from ‘round here are you”.

“Not really man. Flew in last night,” Cinder said.

“Well try out the Hay Fries. Home speciality.”

The brown stallion walked back into the kitchen to fetch Cinder his breakfast. Glancing around without moving his head, he didn’t see a lot of ponies in the restaurant. Maybe because it was too early.

“Here ya go man. That’ll be 4 bits”. Cinder glanced up from the ground. He smiled, dug into his bag, and pulled out 5 bits. “Keep the change bro”. The brown stallion looked startled, but readily agreed to take the extra bit.

“Hey you there!!” A loud, random voice, female, pierced the air around Cinder. He looked up to see a cyan colored mare with a rainbow mane and tail. Rainbow Dash tiled her head, still looking at him.

“I haven’t seen you around here. Ya new," she asked

The cyan mare batted her eyes twice, just a cutesy thing he guessed. “Yep I’m new. Flew in last night during that horrible storm," he replied, looking over the mare.

Giggling at his wandering eyes, she drew a step closer. "What's your name?"

“Cinder”.

She smiled, almost excited in a way. It looked like she had never met another Pegasus quite like Cinder.

“Sweet to meet you Cinder. What brings you to Ponyville?” The cyan mare hopped on the seat next to sky, spun around twice, then stopped, all eyes on him. Her eyes were a deep shade of magenta, he could have gotten lost in them if he had tried. She was a slender, but very strong mare, a very fast flyer from the looks of it.

“Simply put, I needed to get away” he said. “A new beginning if you might”.

“Ah ha. Well welcome to Ponyville! Always nice to have another flying buddy!” Her voice was cheerful and optimistic. Cinder finished his hay fries and threw the plate in the trash.

“Well, I would say I have to get going. But I don’t know where to go, haha. What’s to do around here” he asked.

The cyan mare smiled again, spread her wings and rose into the air. She looked at him differently than she did before. Her eyes looked Cinder over, mane to tail, almost looking for something.

Her magenta eyes were a thing of sheer beauty, something Cinder was not used to. He never was a very social pony, often kept to himself and perched on top of clouds to pony watch and take naps.

Cinder was an unusual looking colt to say the least. He was a little taller than Rainbow, as sleek and toned, except he sported an ash colored coat, with a fantastic black and white mane and tail. But his most striking feature was definitely his eyes. They were a dark crimson, almost a blood red, like something you would see from a deep cut.

“C’mon, I’ll show you the town.”

With that, the ash colt spread his wings as well, and the two of them took off into the warm mid morning light.

Cinder followed Rainbow Dash around Ponyville, keeping a good distance from her. She was rambling off locations that weren’t much interest to him. He day dreamed and began to think about her. Ember.

The mare of his dreams. The two had met at the Young Flyers Camp, and immediately fell in love. It was only recently that he had to leave her.

Catching her in bed with another stallion was one of the most heartbreaking things he had ever had to endure. Almost killing himself, he resorted to avoiding all contact with other ponies. It was only recently that he decided to leave Las Pegasus.

“And here we are” the cheerful cyan mare said. She looked back at the handsome young colt and smiled. He could tell she was clearly looking for something. Her gentle magenta eyes looked him over one last time, but when Cinder’s eyes caught hers, she blushed and turned away.

“Anyway, only pegasi can reach this spot, so I guess it’s a little unfair but you get a pretty sweet view of the town from here…”

Her voice trailed off, almost if she was lost in thought about something. She kept darting glances at the young colt, absorbing every detail of him, right down to the scar on his right wing. A smile made itself present on Cinder’s face, his deep red eyes glowing in the light, like ruby’s.

He closed his eyes, letting the wind rush through his mane, and breathed in the fresh scent of something.

He opened his eyes to see a very curious Rainbow Dash nuzzled up close to him. The mare giggled once she noticed he was aware of her. At first he was shocked, his eyes going wide with surprise. Afterwards, he was puzzled. “Aye what gives? You cold or something?” The cyan mare blushed heavily, and looked down at the cloud they sat on.

“…You could say that. What, a friend can’t nuzzle a friend for warmth? We are up pretty high ya know..” It was clear to Cinder that something else was on her mind. But he wasn’t going to pry, even though it was incredibly obvious.

A slight breeze wafted around them, causing her mane to fluff in his face. She laughed softly and smiled at him.

Rainbow, Rainbow Rainbow. You’re making this way too obvious. But I’ll bite and play along.

Cinder mused smiled to himself and thought of something else to say.

“Got any more fun spots to show me?” She smiled and got up, her tail hitting him in the muzzle; softly though. She truly was a thing of beauty. It surprised him that she wasn’t already taken.

“Not really, can’t think of any, haha….”

She blushed again. It was becoming annoying at this point and Cinder wanted to move along. It’s not that he minded a beautiful mare flirting with him, but it was a bit much for his heart to take at that specific point.

“Damn, well…. Umm… yeah heeheh..” Cinder giggled.

He looked sheepishly at the cloud beneath their hooves, as if trying to find an excuse.

Rainbow noticed this and silently took note. There was something brewing between those two. Something only time would reveal. Maybe it was friendship, maybe it was something more. Cinder closed his eyes again, feeling the cool wind wash through his mane. With the heat of the mare next to him and the contrasting coolness of the air, it made for an interesting sensation.

He could feel his heart healing. It would be a long road. Half an hour passed as the two sat on that cloud, pony watching as they unaware went on with their lives.

Everything was quiet on that cloud, except for Rainbow’s mind.

She squeaked inside her head. He’s so cute, but there’s something off about him…. I can feel it. It’s not physical, but emotional. It sure feels like this guy got his heart hurt pretty bad.

She felt strangely intelligent than her usual headstrongness.

As she mused silently to herself, she felt Cinder shift his weight. She looked over to see the young colt cross his forelegs and rest his head on them.

She smiled slightly. Another gentle breeze went between the two.

“Hey Rainbow!!” A strong female voice sounded behind them. As she turned around she saw Cloudchaser, Flitter and Raindrops looking at her with puzzled looks on their faces. Cloudchaser was a lavender colored mare, slender build with a wildly styled mane. Her sister, Flitter was less flamboyant, as she seemed to have a quieter side. Raindrops was a pale yellow mare with a cyan mane and tail.

Blushing heavily, Rainbow jumped up, stirring Cinder from his peace.

“Oh uh hey guys! What are you doing here?” Rainbow looked sheepishly at Cinder looking for support, but she got none.

Cinder smiled wryly and gave Rainbow a look out of the corner his eye. You’re on your own.

“We were about to ask you the same….. oh hello… who’s your friend?” The tone in Cloudchaser’s voice changed from stern to flirtatious.

“He your coltfriend? You got something to tell us Rainbow??”

She raised a suspicious eyebrow as the rest of the pegasi giggled loudly.

Rainbow again blushed. “WHAT. I was cold!.. Anyway. Everypony.. This is Cinder. He’s new to town.”

At the mention of his name, Cinder got up, stretched and turned around to face the ponies. As soon as his eyes met Flitter’s, she looked away and blushed slightly.

“Hey all. Nice to meet you”, Cinder said with a slight bow of his head. He surveyed the three mares that hovered in front of him. Raindrops was giving Cinder a hard look-over, not even trying to hide it. Her eyes looking over every detail as Cinder grinned stupidly. He could tell she was checking him over, it was all too obvious.

Flitter let out a giggle. A loud shriek as she realized the time. “OH SNAP. Girls, we gotta go. Jobs start in 30 minutes.” Cloudchaser’s eyes widened in horror.

“Awwww and was getting around to chatting with Rainbow’s new coltfriend” as she shot Rainbow a discerning wink. Rainbow remained quiet.

“It’s nice to meet you Cinder. We should chill sometime,” the lavender mare said in a cute tone. It was clear she was trying to tell Cinder something.

“Likewise girls. I actually gotta get going. It’s time for my afternoon flight. Catch ya later! Bye Flitter.” Flitter let out a surprised “EEP” as Cinder smiled gently at her. She in turn blushed heavily as smiled bleakly.

“Later” Cinder said cooly. And with that he gave his trademark exit. Putting his forelegs close to his chest, he jumped off the cloud backwards, falling down. Closing his eyes, he waited for the right moment.

Meanwhile above, a silence of shock washed over the four mares. They shot to the cloud with speed, to see Cinder falling like a rock to the earth.

It was then Cinder opened his eyes. He extended his massive wings, twisted his body, and let out a loud “YAAAAAHHHHOOOOOO!!!” as he rocketed into the sky, riding a thermal current, a shimmering, almost with an electricity to it, vapor trail of black and white following him, much like Rainbow had a rainbow form around her when she got going really fast.

He shot away from the four mares like a bullet and before they knew it, he had banked right and headed away from Ponyville. It took the girls a full minute to realize what had just happened. Slowly taking it all in, Rainbow was the first to speak surprisingly.

“Ok.. what just.. happened” she said with a touch of worry in her voice. She received mixed looks from the other three.

“My guess is as good as yours Rainbow, but dear Celestia you sure know how to pick ‘em” Cloudchaser said with a giggle. The other two mares joined in the brief laugh as Rainbow blushed heavily and looking away.

“He’s cute…” said a resounding voice from Flitter. Her cheeks were a rosy red and her wings were a bit erratic. “I mean… did you see how he just shot away like a bullet? I’ve never seen such speed besides Rainbow.”

“To be honest Flitt, neither have it. That’s the first time I’ve seen him fly at speed like that. And I have to say girls… I’m shocked. Never seen a pony exit that way, never seen of such acceleration.. He’s fast all right, but I wanna put that to the test” Rainbow’s voice was sturdy but Flitter saw the emotion in it.

The other three mares looked at Rainbow, with only possible outcome. She was going to race him.

“We should go” said Raindrops. She had been quiet after examining Cinder thoroughly.

With that, the four mares turned and flew towards their job. Only Flitter hung back a bit.

Cinder…… something is off about you…

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It was only after Cinder knew he was out of Ponyville did he perch on a cloud and take a breath. His exit was more flamboyant than usual, as was trying to show off for the mares, especially Cloudchaser and Flitter. Something pinged inside Cinder’s head as he circled around the outskirts of Ponyville, while he adjusted his speed to just under his cruising speed. Something clicked in his head when he thought about Flitter.

He continued on his flight path, almost silently gliding over Ponyville, riding different wind currents as he went. He glanced up at the cloud where the mares were just leaving. He decided he was going to “covertly” pull a flyby. With that, he gave a solid push from his wings which sent him flying upward. He smiled inward as he shot upward to the mares. Rainbow was out in front, with a bit of a lead.

“Hiya Rainbow!!” a voice from a familiar colt rang out. Cloudchaser and Flitter froze, but Rainbow smiled, laughed and not even bothering to turn around called out to him.

“What’s good Cinder. That was a short flight.”

“Hehe, yeah. I don’t really know the skies over Ponyville yet, as I’ve yet to map it out, so I took it slow” the young colt said, pulling parallel with the cyan mare. The wind was a gentle gust as the five flew off. Rainbow and Cinder were in the lead, with Cloudchaser, Flitter and Raindrops closely behind.

“Now’s your chance Flitter, go get near him! We all know you already have a crush on him” Cloudchaser said with a bat of her wing at her sister. A slight “eep” slipped from Flitters lips as she looked up at Cinder and Rainbow. What they were talking about was inaudible but she could make out a few words.

“So… that Flitter girl. What’s she about?” Cinder asked with an unusually peppy purring to his voice. He hadn’t been interested in mares recently, as to the fact with Ember. However, that was almost a year ago, and he felt his heart starting to heal, so it was worth a shot.

Rainbow paused for a second then a response came shortly after.

“Awwww Cinder, you got a crush on her don’t you..”

“Noooo… ok well maybe. But I’ve only met her once. Yeesh, I’m not that kind of colt” he said to Rainbow batting his right wing playfully at her. Flitter and Cloudchaser caught onto that motion, keying into that they were joking around.

“I know I know. But I’m just saying, she quite attractive Cinder. And I think she likes you, judging from how closely she and Cloudchaser are following” Rainbow said with an evil snicker. Cinder chuckled silently to himself, musing about what he just heard.

“What you two talking about?” said a cheerful Cloudchaser as she pulled next to Rainbow Dash, slyly allowing Flitter to pull next to Cinder. Cinder did not let that subtly go unnoticed. He smiled halfway to himself.

So this is what it feels like… Ponyfeathers I’ve been missing out.

“Oh nothing. Just idle chatting, trying to get Cinder here used to Ponyville. It is his new home after all” Rainbow said with a sly wink towards the ash colored colt. The five continued to fly towards their destination, in a line 5x1. Only Raindrops held back slightly, her eyes still going over Cinder's figure.

“So Cinder, what was that little display about back at the cloud? Never seen a pony fly like you” Cloudchaser piped up.

“Yeah” added Rainbow. “I’d like to know too.

“Me too…” Flitters voice was almost inaudible.

Cinder looked down as the group was flying past them. “That wasn’t anything girls. Just a little thing I do sometimes… hehe” he grinned nervously.

“Sorry if I scared you girls.”

“Nah it’s cool. I thought it was pretty sweet actually. Does it have a name?”

With that question, Cinder faltered almost not answering. “Actually, ya know it’s quite funny. I’ve never thought of a name for that trick. It’s just a thing I do sometimes when I’m feeling…..feisty." Damn it He immediately regretted saying that as a resounding flirtatious giggle arose from the mares.

“Oh really, so you were just showing off for us? I can’t say we didn’t enjoy it” Cloudchaser said, flashing Cinder with a playful wink. She barrel rolled in between him and Rainbow, sitting comfortably within his personal zone. He knew she did this on purpose, but took it no more than a mare being frisky with a newcomer. Flitter giggled as she took her queue from Cloudchaser, moving in closer to Cinder slightly.

Rainbow, Rainbow, Rainbow. You have some interesting friends, he mused to himself, smiling at the sudden turn of events.

They had finally arrived at their destination, the Ponyville Weather Control Center.

Cloudchaser, Raindrops and Rainbow Dash walked up to the building then stopped to turn around.

“I’ll be home late tonight Flitter. Don’t do anything foolish now” as she caught her standing close to Cinder. She wasn’t going to say anything, but caught Flitter’s eye as she stopped looking the colt over herself. It was clearly obvious that she was showing interest in Cinder.

“I’ll be off later tonight as well Cinder, but we should like totally hang out or something! Maybe hit the bar. Wait… do you drink?” The cyan mare lifted a quizzical eyebrow as she awaited the colt’s response.

He shrugged. “Eh, only sometimes. I really don’t like the feeling of being drunk. Makes me feel like I’m of control of myself.” His reaction caused Flitter to pass him a glace.

Wow, this colt really has his head on straight. Maybe I should hang around him more.

“Gotta go you two. Don’t have too much fun” Cloudchaser said as she flashed her sister yet another playful wink. The three mares left the two alone outside, with an awkward silence following.

The normally quiet Flitter was the one to break the silence.

“So…Cinder.”

“Yeah?”

“Ummm… do you wanna… hang out or something? Cloudy won’t be home till almost midnight, and I got nothing to do…..”

It was 2pm in the afternoon, realizing it now, he could use some company. Having no idea what to do he didn't shrug like he wanted to but offered a simple “Sure”.

The lavender mare’s eyes lit up and she drew herself closer still to Cinder, this time with her wing touching his, in fact she was almost standing on his hooves. She giggled softly, and pawed the ground in front of her, but that wasn’t for long until she was caught by Cinder’s affectionate gaze. His deep crimson eyes locking onto hers, they almost entered a state of bliss as the two’s heads grew closer together, to the point where their muzzles were almost touching.

Flitter was being unusually forward with Cinder. She was usually the type of mare that waited for the colt to the first move, but Cinder was special she thought to herself. She then realized how close she was to him and pulled herself away.

“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get that close to you” she said, a full blown red blush on her face. Her intentions were all too clear now, and Cinder knew it.

“It’s fine Flitter. I actually enjoyed it. You have really pretty eyes.”

“Thanks Cinder…” The answer was almost instantaneous. And with that he had himself a transfixed mare staring into his eyes. She bit her bottom lip as she continued to stare at his form.

“Shall we take this elsewhere?” she motioned with a flick of her tail, brushing it against Cinder’s nose.

At first, Cinder didn't know what to do, blinking twice. He had a beautiful mare standing in front of her, with her full attention on him. This had happened only one time before. But for some strange reason he trusted her.

With that, he made his move. Bending his neck slightly, he nuzzled her cheek, which resulted in a stifled “EEP” from Flitter. Her face almost burning bright red when she turned to face Cinder head on, muzzle to muzzle.

“Let’s go” he said with a smile. And with that they took off into the afternoon sky.

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“I sure hope you know what you’re doing, Cloudy” Rainbow said as she huffed a cloud around. Cloudchaser looked back at Rainbow as she kicked another cloud into place.

“Flitter has been cooped up for too long Dash. She needs to find herself a colt and trust me when I say that. But I think this Cinder guy is a good match for her. I’ve been watching them and Flitter’s little “invasion” maneuver. He hasn't tried to kiss her or anything, which earns part of my check..”

“I don’t like him” retorted a rather huffy looking Raindrops, as she milked a cloud for its moisture. “Something just doesn't sit right about him with me.”

“Whatever do you mean” Cloudchaser said darting to her. “I’ve been through my fair share of colts and I can tell a good honest one at length. This Cinder has yet to earn my trust with Flitter fully, but he’s off to a good start”.

A sullen Raindrops muttered something inaudible to herself as she continued her work silently.

Rainbow Dash and Cloudchaser giggled, when one of them caught the eye of Cinder and Flitter ascending to a cloud not too far away. At first, Cloudchaser’s heart melt. Finally her sister was able to feel comfortable enough around a colt that she was actually hanging out with him. “D’awwww look at that, Dash. See? What I tell ya”.

The cyan mare glanced over, forcing a double take at what she saw. What she saw was awe inspiring. A brand new colt that had just arrived in Ponyville the night before was already making friends and already had his first crush. Smirking, Rainbow herded yet another cloud into the designated area.

“Hehe, you sure got a way with your magic, Cloudy. It would do them both some good,” Rainbow said smiling as she chased after three rouge clouds.