The Darker Side of Equestria

Chapters

1.Luna's Madness
2. Apple Bloom's Cutie Mark
3.Sweetie Belle's Lyrics
3b.Rarity's Heart
4.Lyra's Lyre
5. Celestia's Final Option
6.Zecora's Rhyme
7. Three Pinkies for Your Viewing Pleasure
8.01 Prelude to Fun
8. Cloudchaser and Flitter's Fun Time Part 1
8. ????
Guess who's next

1.Luna's Madness

1.Luna's Madness/Children's Nightmare

You ever wondered what is was like to be in the shadow of someone as great and powerful as Princess Celestia. To watch them succeed and become well thought of in the eyes of their citizens while you were saw as nothing more than what you once were. She would raise the sun and bring joy to their lives while you raised the moon and brought sadness and misery. Nobody ever sees you as who you really are. All they see is the nightmare you brought to them. Celestia tries to tell you that they will come around to see you as you are but they never do. In her eyes are the words: Hope, Happiness, Greatness, Determination, Drive, Harmony, Power, Joy, and Purity. In your eyes, they see: Nightmare, Monster, Hatred, Devourer, Chaos. All they ever saw and will ever see in you is HER. A looming mass of hatred that was always ready to come out and devour anything in it's path. It cared for nothing and would only see to it that it's citizen feared it or be destroyed. You could almost say it was as maniacal as King Sombra or as chaotic and disturbed as Lord Discord. It might be just as hungry for power as Queen Chrysalis or maybe,just maybe...you would be as uncaring, spiteful, destructive, and psychotic as Lord Tirek. Any one of them was portrayed as monsters and one of them met a terrible fate in his own empire. Had it not been for her faithful student, it would have been likely that she would have killed you. The Nightmare would've ended if she took that road but perhaps your mother had other ideas or an alternate means of saving you from yourself. That is not to say that you aren't greatful for being released but you just wish you weren't seen as The Mare in The Moon, The Devourer of Fillies and Colts, The Nightmare Weaver. You wish they called you Princess Luna or just Luna instead of Nightmare Moon.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

In the city of Canterlot and within the halls of the princesses' castle, the guards silently await their princesses who have been talking for sometime in Celestia's chambers. This has become normal for the guards as rumors have spread around that Luna has been trying to garner attention from her "loyal" subjects. Celestia has tried to reason with her sister about the matter but Luna would always bring up that they only appreciate her during Nightmare Night and after that they would go back to fearing her again. Luna hated being feared. She knew that what she did in the past was horribly wrong and that is something she will always have gnawing in the back of her head but she has since left it in the past. Like before, Celestia tried to reason to her but it was not enough to ease her younger sister's pain. The guards of both sisters had a hard time keeping a stern face as they worried about their princesses.

Inside Celestia's Chamber...

Celestia covered her face with her right foreleg, blocking from a pillow that was hurled from the very bed Luna was laying on. Luna gave her worried sister a look of pure hatred. Using her magic, Celestia levitated the pillow from the floor back onto the bed in it's proper place. She brushed herself off with her elegant wings. Never taking her purple eyes off her younger sister.

"Sister..." Celestia said in a lowly sympathetic tone.

Luna sharply looked away with a face that could instill fear in anypony. "What does thou wanteth?"

Celestia could feel the sharpness of each word hit her but didn't want to show her fear. "They will come around but it will take time. It won't be easy and that I know but just trust me."

"We have waited long enough sister." Luna's tone was calm. "Thou claim that they will come around. I found that hard to believe in the slightest"

"They will. Just you wait." Celestia said with a small smile on her face.

"Prove it." was all Luna could say at the moment.

Celestia took a second to think about it. "Well there's Sunset Shimmer and Discord."

"A has-been student and a jokester that has betrayed you more times than anypony else are you proof." Luna sarcastically said with a grin on her face.

Celestia had became irritated with her sister's sarcasm. "They didn't have a problem fitting in and if I remember correctly, Discord was reformed twice and still garnered positive friends."

The dark mare wanted so badly to just yell out her anger or do worse but the image of what she once was was enough to prevent that. It was always that image that made her stop from doing unspeakable damage. She could tell that she deserved that response from her sister. She didn't like her sister's way of stating the obvious yet couldn't argue about the truth. Discord was reformed by Fluttershy after she almost gave up on him and after Twilight saved him even though he sold her friends' energy to Tirek. Compared to her, he had it harder in life. Luna took a deep breath, finally deciding to look at her sister with a more nicer expression. Celestia smiled softly, embracing Luna with her large wings. Despite the tender moment and their happy demeanor, both knew that the conversation still happened.

"They still fear me...of me...of what i'll become..." Luna thought with a look of sadness.

After meeting with the other two Alicorn Princesses, Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight for a meeting dealing with the social equality in Equestria, Luna had begun to raise the moon as Celestia went to her chambers for sleep. The guards that usually protected the hallway were off duty so their bat-pony counterparts took over. The moon began to move in place, Luna could see the stars twinkling throughout the dark skies. Whenever she and her sister were done with the day, she would look to the stars for comfort. To her and her alone did these stars obey. They did not fear her and were there to listen to her when she needed it most. At her appearance they did not flee nor ever bore malice against her. They never betrayed her like the ponies she tried so hard to impress during her freedom. She poured her heart and soul at these stars, always telling her secrets, greatest fears, feelings, day to day life. The personal information would be kept in privacy among the stars and in turn they would tell her their secrets.

For a time the guards watched as their princess of the night gazed out at the twinkling stars. They stand erect while listening to Luna talk to the stars as if she was a psychotic mare. They would also hear everything she say. Of course they never say anything for fear of being punished. To them,their beloved Princess of The Night was just talking to the stars as a coping mechanism for her dilemma.

Now the moon was properly positioned over Equestria with the princess looking on to examine her work. "A beautiful site as usual. Tis a shame that our subjects cannot see the beauty of the night." she said in a depressing tone.

The princess of the night sighed silently to herself while looking up at the stars. She hated this moment more than her and Celestia feuding because it was the moment that her nightmare would begin to haunt her. The monster she thought The Elements of Harmony had banished would climb it's way through Luna's mind and excessively call her out. No matter how many times she poured her memories on it to push it back it would hold on with strong force. Sometimes she can hear it growl and moan as it advanced on. The nightmare got closer and closer to the point Luna had curled up into a ball. She groaned lowly to herself, covering her face with her hooves. The guards, seeing their princess in pain, ran from their position at the door up to her to see what was wrong only to be met by a fainted Luna. They gave each other a worried expression before returning their attention to Luna. One of the guards aided with putting their princess on the other's back and proceeded to take her to her chambers.

Luna was still unconscious as they walked down the long hallway filled with constellations and bright stars floating around and throughout the long passageway. From time to time, the guards would check to make sure Luna was okay. She would mumble some words in a light gentle voice that opposite to her usual proper loud voice. The guards could only smile at the princess since it was rare for them to see their princess do anything as cute as that.

A couple of steps later they finally entered the chambers of Luna to meet two unicorn guards bearing their armor. The unicorn guard to the left of the bed used his magic to levitate the princess off the batpony guard's back and gently placed her in her bed. They levitated the cover on her to once again show a cuter side of Luna. The guards left the room with big smiles on their face. Taking pleasure in watching over their princess through the hallway.

Despite normal appearance while sleeping it was completely different in her mind. It was bleak and dull. She looked around to see floating images from when she attended the Nightmare Night Festival but something was wrong. The images were distorted with ponies having sharp cat-like eyes, darker colors, sharp teeth. Some of these horrible pictures were as if somepony smeared their hooves all over the pictures. Instead of fillies and colts laughing and playing, they had distorted cries and screams of anguish. She tried to cover her ears with her hooves but since it was in her mind, even her thought form could still here it. All the screams were like knives slowly digging their way into her from all over. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth as the stinging of their words made her scream.

"They fear you..." The voice said.

Luna hit the ground hard still covering her ears and clenching her teeth.

"They resent you..." The voice continued pressing on.

She resorted to another mean of enduring the pain of their screams. With great discomfort, she bit her own tongue with enough force to nearly cut it off.

"You resort to pain but tis not enough...the fear hurts them but pleasures me to no end..." The voice mockingly said.

After failing to shift the pain, she rose from the ground weakly and tried one more time to end her pain by using her magic to rip off her ears.

"How far have you gone Princess Luna...biting your tongue...ripping your ears off...and still no relief..." The voiced laughed out.

Luna was now at her wits end as she tried to get the children's screams out of her head.

"This can all go away...if you embrace me...embrace...The Nightmare !" The sound of a horn illuminated could be heard off in the distant.

Luna's eyes were wide open now. The screams and cries stopped and the images went back to peaceful and non-distorted. Their eyes were not that of Her. "Tis a lie!"

"Is it?" The voice sarcastically asked.

"Yes it is.Thou art sharing tales of false." Luna sharply replied.

"If it is then how come when you were me...they did not scream nor harbor anger...only fear but when you were freed of me...they cried and ran without hearing you out?" The voice asked with a hint of joy in it.

The hurting princess was holding back tears after hearing Her mention the obvious.

That entire phrase was just enough to make her remember the craziness of Nightmare Night. The children yelling and screaming at her along with their parents. Bringing the spiders to life only for them to attack the ponies. Her arrival striking fear among them as well as when she tried to save Pipsqueak and even thanking Fluttershy. It was always haunting her to know that they would always be fearing her. It began to drive her wild. She wanted it all to end, the nightmare, the memory, the hatred and resentment.

"Why do they love Celestia but are willing to hate and shame me?" Luna pounded her hooves onto the ground.

"They don't want you...so why should you stoop to their level. Say my name and I will make all of them simply go away..." The voice impatiently said.

Luna,despite being in a mangled state, refused to say her name. This only made her old self angry. She decided to make Luna suffer more than she already did. Luna attempted to force herself up to show her bravery to the voice in her head. What she did not realize was that the voice was behind her as a mass of ghastly mist. It shaped itself into a form she could easily recognize. The entity she had been keeping at bay since her freedom. It pinned her down by her wings and pounced on them multiple times with it's sharp hooves. Luna bit her tongue again to avoid screaming as the entity severed most of the bones in her wings. Seeing Luna hold up alittle more only infuriated the monster more. It rose it's rear legs into the air and pounced them hard onto Luna's back hooves. Luna yelled as loud as she her vocals could carry. Her eyes opened as wide as she could with tears streaming down her cheeks. The monster proceeded to ram it's rear legs into Luna's again, they screams grew louder yet no one was there to help her or even comfort her from the pain. It took four more times before loud cracks could be heard. Blood trickled down the sides of both her rear legs. Within seconds a puddle had formed underneath her body. The monster laughed maniacally at the princess' pain but knew it could do more. It rammed it's sharp fron hooves into Luna's skull. The response was pleasurable to it, Luna was screaming and crying louder than she had ever before. It was moaning at the sight of seeing Luna breakdown in front of it yet despite all she had endured, she refused to say it's name once.

"Say my name...SAY IT!!!!" The monster yelled out furiously

"I will never speaketh thou name ever again." Luna said as anger filled her eyes. "You are nothing more than a shadow that thinks it can make me say it's name but I will NOT!!!"

"You seem to have more backbone than when I first took over...but it will not help you for the night shall last FOREVER!!!" The monster removed itself from Luna and stepped back from the mess she made.

The monster expanded and stretch to unmaginable lengths inorder to consume the mind of Luna. All the images, names, voices, and her own sister began to disappear altogether. Nothing was safe from it and neither was Luna who got caught in it's waves of anger and misery. She found that she could not fly because of her broken wings and she could not swim due to her broken legs. Waves upon waves of rage hit her hard and relentlessly. She did her best to stay above the waves of hate hitting every ounce of her being. Each hit made her cry, scream, shake, and lose her sanity piece by piece. Once again, the monster moaned at the site of Luna losing everything she loved most.

"Since you refuse to say my name Luna...I will do it for you...My name..." The voice happily yelled out.

"No." Luna tried to cover what remained of her ears.

"Is..." The voice continued.

"No!" Luna fired magical beams in every direction but none made contact.

"Nightmare..." The voice continued.

"No!!!" Luna fired a powerful energy beam into the sky. She was already halfway gone at this point.

"Moon!" A loud evil laugh covered the entire monster covered landscape. Luna finally heard the name she was doing her best to forget by making memories to counter it in the beginning.

"NO!!!" Was the last thing Luna yelled out before she was engulfed by the mass now called Nightmare Moon.

In her chambers, Celestia awoken to the sounds of the guards outside groaning in pain. She did not leave her bed as she figured the guards were getting tired of doing their shift. As far as she could tell it seemed that everything was fine until she looked at the door. It was still dark in the room so she illuminated her horn to get a better view of her room. Her attention was drawn towards the door. She could see a pool of blood entering her room from under the door. Fear consumed her as she began to here the sound of hooves making their way to the door. Following these hooves was low giggling. The sun princess had become a nervous wreck when she heard what sounded like a lullaby.

"The little princess was all but adorn...held in place by her subjects' scorn...she fell on death's ear while everpony grew in fear...til all that was left was a single tear..."

The doors swung open quickly with the corpses of the two guards falling inside the room. Their bodies were shown to have bite marks all over as well as stab marks. Their eyes were glazed over and their armor was cracked in several places. Celestia nearly screamed but caught herself in a gasp when she saw who had done the deed. In the door stood a dark blue mare with sharpen cat like eyes with bloody tears staining her cheeks. Her hair was ruffled which gave the appearance of a psycho. Her wings were broken yet they stood up misshaped. Celestia's illuminating horn also gave her clear view of the figures teeth that appeared to be jagged as if she tried to sharpen them. She soon realized that it was her little sister, Luna. The princess of the night was beyond repair at this point. This was evident by the permanent smile she had gave herself and her demonic eyes. Princess Celestia wanted to get out of her bed and confront her sister yet was too scared to do anything. She was still processing what was going on and was having a hard time trying to cope with the thought of another banishment.

The new Nightmare Moon spoke first. "Are you scared of our appearance sister?"

Celestia didn't want to talk but did not know what her sister would do if she remained silent. "Yes I am.What has happen to you?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon smirked. "I haven't changed since the last time you banished me and I haven't change now."

Her eyes widened as the name slowly came out of her mouth. "Nightmare Moon."

"You are correct sister." a sinister grin appeared on her face. "And the age of my new empire will soon begin!"

Moving the sheets aside to prepare herself for battle, Celestia tried to advance off the bed but felt a sharp pain go through her chest. She looked down to see a blue beam of energy going through her chest from the horn of her sister. Nightmare Moon snickered under her breath at the site of her defenseless older sister. This was what she wanted a thousand years ago when she was first born. To see her sister beg for mercy and fall at her hooves. She retracted the beam from her horn to allow her sister to fall onto the floor muzzle first. Blood spilled onto the floor around Celestia just like the guards before her. She tried to balance herself but became too weak to move from the loss of ounces of blood. Celestia was completely shocked by what just happened. It was hard to think that her own sister would go this far to make herself be loved. Nightmare Moon walked over to her sister, her legs showing signs of instability due to their mangled state. It didn't take long for Nightmare Moon to relish in her weak sister's fragile state. She had finally accomplished what was impossible in the past. Using her magic, Nightmare Moon fashioned an axe with her cutie mark engraved on the back park of the axe. Still having her magic active, she aimed the axe precisely over Celestia's head.

"Do you have any last words big sister?" Nightmare Moon asked sharply with hints of a mocking attitude.

Celestia only looked up at her sister with eyes that showed fear of what will eventually happen to her sister. "Don't lose Luna, Nightmare Moon is only a nightmare and you can defeat it. Don't lose your way."

Nightmare Moon just laughed. She basked in the glory of her victory. " Luna is gone."

"You are wrong creature –" Celestia forced all her energy into moving her body but no movement was found. "– Luna will return to defeat your evil."

Nightmare Moon laughed harder than she ever had. "Are you really serious right now. Luna is gone and soon you will be too."

"SHE IS NOT! MOTHER AND I WILL ALWAYS BE BY HER SIDE!!!" Celestia, in a state of fury, had yelled out.

"Then see her in the afterlife!" was the last thing Nightmare Moon said to her former sister.

The axe came down full force upon Celestia's neck. The cracking sounds of bones within the neck breaking at once. The last line of life was gone from Celestia as her head rolled to the side if her body. After the room fell silent, Nightmare Moon continued to kill off the rest of the guards and maids inside the castle. She left no area unchecked with bodies of the servants continuing to pile on over the night.What she had wanted years ago had came into fruition with the death of Celestia. The moon never fell from the sky and everyone in Equestria was laid to sleep eternally. Never aging, never knowing the taste of freedom and unable to use The Elements of Harmony against their new Regal Queen of Nightmares. They now hailed her whether they like it or not. They could not escape her nightmarish grip on their world. This made them lose their sanity over the course of the years.

It took years to break certain ponies like The Mane Six, Doctor Whooves, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence. Hundreds of years had passed and her subjects were now mentally broken beyond repair. Nightmare Moon awoken her subjects to their new kingdom. This kingdom would be feared all over as each and every pony from Canterlot to Baltimare was fiercely loyal, willing to do whatever it was to protect the queen they adored. Nightmare Moon took on her original form now complete with her sister's regalia as a reminder to her greatest triumph in the history of her life. The Mane Six became her royal guards, watching her every move. They would follow wherever she went or go in a room before her to make sure that the room wasn't a trap. Shining Armor and the former Princess Cadence became her second and third-in-command. They didn't have a say in anything, however they are tasked with leading their warriors into battle. Since Nightmare Moon considered Spike was harmless as long as he was small. She allowed him to remain by Twilight's side and acts as a transporter of letters between Nightmare Moon and her guards. Discord tried his best to reverse the damaged done to his friend, Fluttershy. He tried his own brand of mind control but found it was useless so long as their queen was still alive. He challenged her to battle. Despite his bravest efforts, he lost and was banished to the moon for trying to fix her mistakes. Fluttershy showed no emotions to her friend's banishment. He could easily break his emprisonment but refuse to because he saw it to be useless now that he lost his friends. To this day he has never left the moon.

No kingdom was safe from The Queen of Nightmares while her army continued to grow with the births of new fillies and colts. Similar to their parents and their grandparents, these children were brainwashed to serve their queen in battle. To brainwash them was easy since they didn't know right from wrong. Never knowing they were serving the killer of Celestia, the former ruler of Equestria. To this day she remains on the throne with no one to usurp or save the ponies from her rule. Everyday before they go to battle and before they sleep, they would scream to the high heavens and stomp to the lowest levels of Tartarus what she instilled into their heads as a reminder of their loyalty...

"All hail Queen Nightmare Moon...All Hail The Lunar Republic!"

Overlooking the The Lunar Republic, above the heavens. A young Princess Celestia is watching her mother, Lauren Fausticorn cradling a young Alicorn filly with a moon cutie mark in her arms.

2. Apple Bloom's Cutie Mark

2.Apple Bloom's Cutie Mark

2.Apple bloom's Cutie Mark/Blood of an Apple

Being bullied for having a farming life was bad enough but being bullied for having a blank flank is just cruel. No matter what you did, it was never enough to please your bullies. You would try to ignore them but it always failed and what's worse is that no one really cared. Your family told you to fight your own battles. Others would comfort you but would never help you fight back. Truth be told I hate my life, I hate it to the lowest levels of Tartarus. I'm a filly without a cutie mark and I don't even know my parents. That just leaves me with Applejack,...Big MacIntosh, and Granny Smith. I love them, I love them with all my heart but it only mends but so much after awhile. I remember asking Zecora about a potion which could help get my cutie mark. She told me I would have to wait but I'm sure...no, I know that she has a real potion that could get me my mark and I intend to get it one way or another.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The night began to reveal itself to Equestria. The Apple Family was finishing up the last of their chores in the barn. Applejack pushed the last of the crates filled with apples into the corner of the barn so that in the morning she could make them into cider. Big MacIntosh was moving all the farming tools inside while Granny Smith simply moved her rocking chair back inside. As for Apple Bloom whom was tasked with moving the bags of seeds inside, wasn't as eager as she normally would be. It was a stressful task because the bags weighted more than her head. Another reason why she disliked it was because it prevented her from finding her cutie mark. Finding her destiny was all she and her friends ever wanted and needed. That's why they created The Cutie Mark Crusader in the first place. They didn't care for the risks as long as they got what they want. Getting bruises just proved how far they would go to actually accomplish their dream.

Once the tasks were done and they closed their gates. The family went to their respected rooms for sleep. Apple Bloom tucked herself into bed and instantly fell asleep. During her dreams, she would imagine what her cutie mark would be. Her imagination was utterly endless. She would think of having apple theme cutie marks like her family or ones based on food. One mark was half an apple and another was a yellow apple with a pink heart behind it. Just having a dream about this would make her wake up disappointed at the site of her flank. Most nights she would wake up crying silently to herself. It was always haunting her everywhere she went, from school, to her house and when she's around her friends. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon never made it easy for her. They never cared about others' well being as long as they could get a good laugh out of it. It enraged her to think they would never sympathize with her yet had no problems accepting Babs Seed even though she was a blank flank. Those memories were best hidden when she had things to do but at night, when she dreamed of what she wanted, they would hit hard. They would break any hope she had in her heart into millions of pieces that could never be fully rebuilt.

This night her dream was different than previous nights. The usual nightmares about the two stuck-up fillies and her cousin played out. Once the nightmare was over, she found herself inside a familiar place. She was inside Zecora's hut, making a potion to give her a cutie mark. Zecora had to leave to get some more of her plants for a recipe she was working on which left the young filly alone in her hut with a book about the cutie pox. Like most of the ponies she knew, they always read in the middle of a book and never in the beginning nor end. Perhaps within those pages she would find a means of getting her cutie mark.

It was near midnight when Apple Bloom had awoken from her dream. She wiped her eyes with her hooves and looked around the room. It was quiet except for the occasional crickets making noises outside. She hopped out of the bed onto the floor and walked over to the window. She looked outside to see the apple orchard being held off by the gates around the farm.

"I know my cutie mark is just waiting to be found and the only one that can help me is Zecora." she said in a low tone.

Apple Bloom saw her bookbag to the right of the window. The bag was empty since she removed all of her school items during the last day of school along with her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. She grabbed the bag with her mouth and trotted out of her room with a smile plastered across her face.

12 minutes later...

Deep in the Everfree Forest, at Zecora's Hut. Zecora was meditating upside down on her pole as her cauldron was boiling green liquid. Her place was quite a mess lately now that she was helping Twilight with new magic she had found recently. The magic was untested and thus there was no way of really knowing what the side-effects would be but Zecora was a master at understanding how this type of magic would work. Books were spread all over the tables along with various plants and dead insects. In a bowl not too far from the edge of the table was three poison joke plants. Near a red book titled Psycho Magic 109 was a purple scale that likely belonged to Steven Magnet the Serpent. Most of her potion jars were emptied out into the cauldron, thus they were on the ground near the cauldron. The stifled fire was cue for Zecora to check on her brew for the fifth time.

"It seems that the potion is complete so I must get on my feet." She calmly rhymed while jumping off of her pole.

Zecora walked over to the cauldron to see her potion's progress. The boiling green liquid had changed to clear pink. She grabbed her pole, stuck it in the cauldron and began swirling it around the liquid. It was a hard job to do because the substance was thicker than water and moved in motion similar to oil

"Simply perfect. Hopefully it has no side effect." she rhymed once again.

While her attention was at the cauldron, Apple Bloom rammed the door in with her back hooves. Zecora showed little reaction to the filly's methods of entering her hut since she has done multiple times in the past. What did catch her attention was the filly's bookbag which appeared lumpy and way too heavy for Apple Bloom to carry on her back. Apple Bloom dropped the bag right at the door. There was a loud thud sound followed by metal clanking together. She reveled at the relief she got, even going as far as shaking her body as if she was drying herself off. Zecora was curious about Apple Bloom's bookbag but came to the conclusion it was probably one of her and her friends' little excursions. Apple Bloom walked over to where Zecora was and examined the liquid as it was being stirred.

"What is that stuff?" Apple Bloom asked with a bit of distaste in her voice.

Zecora smiled as her attention was still at the liquid. "This liquid is an experimental potion for Twilight. It will give somepony the power to see past the light."

"See past the light?" Apple Bloom asked. "Can that help me find my cutie mark?"

Zecora's smile quickly faded into a frown, never once looking at Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom! If you continue to force this action then you'll be doomed"

Apple Bloom was furious, she believed Zecora had a recipe for a cutie mark but would constantly make up these stories to keep her from her goal. It worked for awhile in the past and she even learned a lesson about it, however Apple Bloom was determined this time. She noticed that while they were talking the whole time, Zecora never batted an eye at her.

"It would be easy for me to look around and find that one book from before." Apple Bloom thought. "But she would notice something's wrong, her ears don't miss anything."

"Apple Bloom, are you feeling okay?" asked Zecora. "You seem quite silent this day."

The filly broke from her thought and quickly answered back. "Uh yeah! I was just thinking about what Miss Cheerilee had taught us today."

Zecora stopped swirling the stick around to go grab some herbs from off the shelf. Apple Bloom hurried over to her bookbag to get something out of it. She avoided making much noise by holding some of the items in place with her hooves. After a couple of seconds went by, she had the item she wanted in her mouth. Zecora was searching the top shelf for the herbs. Apple Bloom had closed the bag, turned around to face Zecora, and walked over to her with a knife clenched between her teeth.

"You won't help me get my cutie mark then i'll make you." Apple Bloom thought with a wild grin appearing on her face.

When Zecora couldn't find the herbs,she turned back around to see Apple Bloom inches away from her with the knife. The filly had a long grin on her face complete with dilated pupils. She dropped the knife for a second to better speak with her mentor. Zecora was curious as to why the filly had brought out a knife but her eyes began to move towards the bookbag. Though across the room, she could see four inches of rope sticking out of the opening and what appeared to be a cleaver. She was hoping her thoughts were wrong. That maybe it was all a dream from the fact that she didn't sleep yet because of her potion.

"Perhaps I have been dreaming. I need to –" Zecora felt a row of teeth bite into her front left leg. "– OUCH!"

She looked down to see Apple Bloom was biting her leg with enough force to sever nerves. Zecora moved her pain-stricken leg around to force Apple Bloom off but she wouldn't budge one bit. She swiped Apple Bloom across her desk, hitting every book and empty bottle in an attempt to knock her off but failed. She tried using her right hoof to pry the filly off, however Apple Bloom was resilient in her goal. Her teeth were digging deeper into the skin with every second and pain was becoming difficult to bare. In her desperation, Zecora swung her pain-driven hoof into the cauldron with enough force to crack it.

Apple Bloom's head hit the cauldron hard, giving a loud sound which rang throughout the hut. She released her grip and fell to floor. Holding her hooves to her head as she felt a massive migraine coming on. Zecora had fallen over after prying Apple Bloom's grip and was trying to reach for something to balance her like the scale that belonged to Steven Magnet that was dropped earlier. Apple Bloom saw this and rose up to her hooves, ignoring the pain in her head as she went for her bookbag again. She lifted the opening of the bag and gripped the cleaver with her mouth.

Apple Bloom turned back around to see Zecora reaching for the scale. Zecora was within reach of the scale, stretching out her right hoof to try and grab the scale. The second she touched the scale with the tip of her hoof, a sharp object had entered Zecora's backside. Zecora turned her head to see a wide grin across Apple Bloom's face. She then turned her attention towards the item that was stuck in her back. It was the cleaver from the bookbag.

"Why!?" Zecora asked in a state of shock and disbelief.

"You keep me from getting my cutie mark with all your it will come in time and don't rush things!" Apple Bloom yelled out in a fit of rage. "Everypony always keep me from my goal of finding my destiny. But this time I will get my cutie mark even if it's in MURDER!"

Apple Bloom ran towards Zecora and jumped high into the air. She drove both of her hooves into Zecora's back, ramming the cleaver even deeper through the flesh and tissue. Zecora was writhing in horrible pain and Apple Bloom couldn't help but giggle. She was enjoying her mentor's pain and wanted to see more. With her mouth, she quickly removes the cleaver from Zecora's back and

flung it to the side. Seeing Zecora begin to cry made her heart beat faster and her mouth begin to water. She knew she wanted more.

"I wonder what my cutie mark will be once I'm done with you." Apple Bloom moved over to the purple scale and shoved it further away from Zecora's grasp.

Apple Bloom lifted Zecora's head up with her hoof so that they were now face to face. Zecora was frightened at what she saw. She didn't see the same adorable filly that once asked for help when needed. What she saw was a monster that could care less about those around her as long as she had what she wanted.

Zecora had a hard time reading Apple Bloom, the filly's expression was psychotic at worst. Her eyes showed no remorse, had little sanity left in them and whatever sanity was left could not fight against the growing darkness in Apple Bloom. With her other hoof, Apple Bloom struck Zecora hard against her head with enough force that it knocked Zecora hard onto the floor. With both of her hooves, Apple Bloom stomped against Zecora's head. She continued this process for two minutes. Every time she made impact, a loud crunch sound could be heard and Zecora's voice would become more slurred and distorted. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she had began to drool uncontrollably. Within seconds she had began releasing her excretions in unison. The smell of urine and feces filled the hut quickly.

"This smell is amazing, Zecora!" Apple Bloom gave off a disturbing smile to the now deformed Zecora. "Zecora."

Apple Bloom stopped her attack to examine the mess she made. Zecora was a mangled mess at this point. Her head was completely unrecognizable, both eyes were pushed out of their sockets and had been pushed several inches from the head and only still connected by the veins. The muzzle area was flattened with blood drooling from the nostrils while some of the teeth had been pushed upward into the inner nostrils. The head cavity had caved in, leaving little bits of brain matter scattered across the floor. The bigger chunks of the brain were lodged in her throat, suffocating her while her head was stomped in.

"If I had known it be this easy –" Apple Bloom slowly looked a book, on the floor that was open to the cover page. "I wouldn't have brought the extra stuff."

She happily trotted over to the opened book laying on the floor near the desk. She examined the book before noticing it was the same book as before.

"I found it!" The book's cover read "True Desire for One"

Before she could flip past the cover page, she felt a tingling sensation on her flank. It lasted for a second but she remembered it from when she gave herself the Cutie Pox. She looked at her flank with excitement in her eyes. On her flank was an green apple covered in blood. Apple Bloom jumped in joy over her accomplishment. Her dream finally came true and all it took was the death of a friend to get it.

For the next couple of weeks, she remained at Zecora's hut pretending that the death of Zecora never happened. She propped Zecora's body with some strings that she wrapped around the ceiling's structure and have conversations with it. Anypony that got close to Zecora's hut would be turned away by Apple Bloom telling them that she was not home or saying that she had to go on an important mission elsewhere. They'd buy it and she was safe for another day. When the last day came, Apple Bloom burned the hut down to keep all evidence out of reach. To make sure no one would suspect her of the "disappearance", she covered her cutie mark with paint to match her coat. The guards did question her due to her being close to Zecora but her brother and sister, Big MacIntosh and Applejack defended her without question.

Apple Bloom continued to go unnoticed for the remainder of her days. Zecora's murder was never solved and eventually it was dropped due to no real concrete evidence. Apple Bloom was the only one out of her friends to ever get their cutie marks.

3.Sweetie Belle's Lyrics

3.Sweetie Belle's Lyrics/Rarity's death in G Major

Rarity has always admired her work over me. Whenever I needed her attention, she would brush me aside and leave me to drown in my tears. She loves her work more than me or our parents and it drives me nuts. Every fucking time I am with her, it makes me want to rip her apart until she regrets what she did to me. Perhaps I am getting to far in the story for the moment so let's start from the beginning. It all started when I got my cutie mark. It was a microphone with a cleft note attached to it. I tried to show her it but she didn't care about it and went right back to her work. My friends tried to comfort me, it worked for a moment and being with them did make me happy but it still ticked me off that she didn't care. After spending time with my friends, I go back home to see her passed out at her work desk like every other time. I care about her, to the point of giving my life to her. Will she do the same thing for me? Probably not. I don't even think she knows I exist or for that matter care if I die. I'm still a filly and at this point in life my sister should be there for me.Well tonight I sing to you how I got her to admire what I have become...

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Deep within the dark bowels of Canterlot is a night club that is exclusively for those with dark hearts and even darker hooves. Stallions and mares came here from all over to see the special for the night. News had spread for months of a mysterious white filly that had a song which had become popular due to it's lyrics. Everypony, including Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have heard the lyrics before but the singer in tow was never revealed. Those within the night club society had always kept her secret for fear that they may never hear her beautiful siren like voice again. She only appeared on certain days as to ensure that her secret remains but when she wanted you to see her, she would advertise it all over the dark areas of Canterlot. They would see it and know their angel was ready to sing to them.

In this night club, called The Living Turnabout is where this mysterious filly usually plays. When word got out that she would be at the night club, tickets were sold out within minutes. Even the regal sisters got tickets to the show. It was known throughout Equestria to be the most sold out concert in years and had even beat Vinyl Scratch and Octavia's concerts by the hundreds. For her past concerts she had played songs that were geared towards the rebellious colts and fillies. Everypony knew of songs such as "Let loose your inner pony!", "Discorded Release.", "Howling at the stroke of Luna!", and "Never sympathetic to the elders!" They were chart toppers and gained cult followings within months. Her newest song was to be performed by her that night. The song nature that each of her songs possessed. The song was called "Death is Rare."

____________________________________________________________________________________________

It was sixty seconds to showtime and the white unicorn with a purple and pink mane was waiting backstage. This was told to be way different than all of her music yet still retain the whole rebellious nature that they loved. Through her little ears she could hear the sound of them chanting the name she gave them to hide her identity. It was an ironic name since it was close to a name she had despised most of her life.

"Rare Site!"

Tonight's show was a little different than her normal shows. She was given word that the princesses were in attendance and they would know who she was the second she walked out there. Precautions had to be taken to ensure that she wouldn't be caught. She wore a red and black masquerade mask over her eyes. A red and black Amore style wig covered her normal mane. She wore a silk red dress to hide most of her features including her tail and cutie mark. While she wasn't looking her best, it functioned properly to avoid any newcomers from knowing who she was. The crowd was becoming anxious while the owner of the night club was introducing her.

"Alright everpony, calm your hooves because tonight we have a special treat for all of you. So without further adieu, debuting her newest song for all to hear. Give it up for Miss Rare Site!"

The crowd cheered as loud as their vocal chords could go. The princess were louder than most as they express their happiness in the little filly. Rare Site walked on to the stage to see her adoring fans. The air was thick with the smell of scented apples and the lights were dimmed down to give off the mysterious atmosphere she loved. This was heaven to her, always being the center of attention and seeing her fans want more from her. It was too much to take in yet it was something she always needed. After a few more second of cheering, the crowd slowly faded to silent as she began to speak.

"Tonight I dedicate this song to a sister that I adored and was proud to call my sister." Rare Site gave her fans a warm hearted smile. "The song is called Death is Rare."

The mare at the organ began to play a slow upbeat tune was being played on the pipe organ. It was a mix of joy and sadness that filled the air and around every pony. Rare Site tapped her left hoof to the beat of the organ as a sly grin slowly appeared on her face. The crowd couldn't see that her pupils' had dilated under her mask, she nod her head to the tune as if the melody was hypnotic. With every sound from the organ she would nod her back and forth, never taking her gaze off of the crowd. The crowd was loving every moment of it but remained silent so they could here her voice. The tune played out for a minute before she began to sing into the microphone.

"We were in the home but it wasn't the same"

"We had a fight in her room while it poured down rain"

"She said she cared for me but she had somewhere to go"

"She couldn't scream while I held her close"

"I swore I'd never let her go"

"Tell me what you wanna know"

"Come with me and I will show"

"There ain't no motive for this crime"

"She is the very pain of mine"

"If you reap of what you sow"

"Then everypony here will know"

"Her life was called in brevity"

"And her name was Rarity"

"I know my rights, she's been there all day and night"

"Telling me it will be alright"

"I can take this well, I swear I told all the truth"

"She couldn't scream while I held her neck"

"Now she's in her room, a wreck"

"Tell me what you wanna know"

"Come with me and I will show"

"There ain't no motive for this crime"

"She is the very pain of mine"

"If you reap of what you sow"

"Then everypony here will know"

"Her life was called in brevity"

"And her name was Rarity"

"Now she sits there all alone"

"Staring wide eyed at her throne"

"Like a puppet on it's strings"

"Never seeing all her things"

"She waits for me to come home"

"So she'll never be alone..."

The music stopped playing and Rare Site was met with thunderous applause along with cheering from everypony in attendance. There was not a dissatisfied pony in the crowd, each one was cheering proudly, some were even crying in sheer pleasure. She was drunk off of it, the roars of the crowd and admiration that she never got when she was with her sister. It was the type of love that she wanted to drown in over and over again. She looked towards the organ player and nodded her head, signaling the mare to play the organ again. The tune played again and the crowd became silent once more.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Rare Site opened the door to her home. She walked in, avoiding the mess of clothes and sewing materials that consumed the floor. She walked through the damaged house with the same sly grin from before. From the outside, you would have never noticed the boutique was similar to a horror house until you walked in. She walked past ripped up and destroyed walls. The chandelier had fallen through the table that use to hold all of the sewing material. There were scorch marks on the floor and ceiling that were the result of magic. The mannequins that once stood tall and proud were now severed and broken into pieces. The large mirror that showed a pony their true beauty had become a pile of dust with large shards of jagged glass sticking outward. Rare Site loved the sight of the mess that she made with her sister. It reminded her of when she was known for being the young sister to the popular designer who could do no wrong with dress making. Her white coat use to illuminate as she would run around getting items for her dress. Making beautiful gowns and dresses for paying customers and her friends and even stressing herself day and night to make sure they were completed before time. Rare Site's horn glowed, levitating the costume off of herself and throwing it onto the floor.

With her horn still glowing, she magically lit the candle on the shelves to illuminate the room and reveal herself. She was the sister of Rarity, Sweetie Belle. The little filly walked over to a table while humming the tune from her newest song. She sat down while still humming the tune with a grin on her face. On the other side of the table was a pony propped up on strings that connected to it's forelegs, hooves, torso, and head. These strings were tied around the support beams of the ceiling. It's once beautiful curly purple mane was now a mess from being unkempt. It's makeup had dried up around her cheeks after running for several days. There were red marks around the mouth area and a few on the torso. The eyes were wide open and looking down at the table as if something was there to look at. The mouth had been forcibly stretched towards the ears to give off the appearance of a distorted smile. Just to keep the smile on it's face, Sweetie Belle had jabbed two pins to the ends of the stretched skin. Sweetie Belle wanted her sister to always have a smile whenever she came back from the night club. All she ever wanted was her sister's admiration and now she got it.

"She waits for me to come home" Sweetie Belle levitated a cup of water near herself.

"So she'll never be alone..." She then levitated an empty cup towards the figure.

"She died as my little casualty" Her magic consumed the strings in a white glow.

"And her name was Rarity" A small giggle was heard as Sweetie Belle took a sip from the cup.

The messy pony on strings was Rarity who had been dead for sometime. The strings that were sewn into Rarity's arms moved her arms towards the cup. The cup was motioned to her mouth in mock drinking pose and then placed back on the table. Sweetie Belle used her magic to lean Rarity's head back so that her eyes would meet her's.

"So Sweetie Belle, how was the concert?" Sweetie Belle had copied Rarity's voice through her magic.

"It was nice." the filly took another sip from the cup. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were there and they even enjoyed my newest song."

Rarity was adjusted to where her head was held in place by her arms on the table. "Tell me more, darling."

"I'll tell you later when we go to bed." She said as she left the table.

"But Sweetie Belle -" Rarity was forced back by the strings getting pulled upwards. "- You must tell me all the details. I have been here all day waiting for you."

Sweetie Belle didn't change her decision. "I think it would be best that we do it someplace more private and comfortable."

Rarity's head cocked to the side as if she was disappointed but her answer was more positive. "Whatever makes you happy darling."

Sweetie Belle walked over to her sister's corpse while having her magic untie the strings from the support beams. One by one, a body part would go completely limp on the table until it appeared as if she was sleeping. The filly looked at her sister with satisfaction. Rarity was now all for her to do as she pleased. She always wanted to do certain things with her sister but found that somethings were not her niche. At most would be that whenever she would return from a concert, she and Rarity would snuggle in bed under the covers. Sweetie Belle's magic would force the dead body to embrace her tightly for extra warmth. The magic that was still trapped inside Rarity's body produced heat for her body despite the fact her heart had stopped. This was how Sweetie Belle got through nights in her home. Sweetie Belle never once regretted what she did in the past. She loved every second of it but even she knew it would never last. The princesses were never really bright and would frequently disregard their duties for fun. This was evident when they attended her concert at the night club. But they would also be very strict when the found any bad things. From new laws to documents, nothing was safe when they became serious and she knew that had some of her songs from that concert. Every song she ever sang had secret messages embedded in them that were just waiting to be heard completely. The princesses would eventually find out and come to punish her severely for her actions.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Three Nights Later...

After the usual routine of a concert at night and coming home to talk with her dead sister, she went to bed and snuggled with her sister. The night was warm so she didn't need the covers as she would normally have. The embrace of her sister was more incredible than usual, the magical heat radiating off of Rarity was greater than normal. Sweetie Belle tried her best to sleep but a thought began to nag her. Was she really getting the affection of her sister? The question was obvious the more she thought about it. While Rarity was alive, Sweetie Belle was living in constant hell because Rarity was always busy. Always devoting her time to her clients instead of the one who really needed it. Now that she controls all of Rarity's thoughts, movements, and speeches, she felt content. All of her life's meaning made sense for the moment but the whole reality of it was Rarity never truly said the words she wanted to here. They were the words every child wanted to hear and now she would never hear them because of her actions. It was haunting her for the rest of her time alive. Most of the time she would leave Rarity propped to the chair in the kitchen to avoid eye contact. She wanted some time to clear her thoughts. The problem was that everything around her was more distraught than she was. The boutique was in shambles, barely standing due to the damaged structure and destroyed walls. It was amazing that it didn't fall apart in the past. The water and heating system barely worked because of the rusted pipes and sewage backup finding its way into the clean water system. Most of the water she was drinking was her own urine that she had collected over the eight months. Four bottles belonged to Rarity during her death, releasing herself as she was dying. Drinking her urine wasn't the worst possible thing to ever happen at the moment, she hated the horrible smell and mixed taste of meat and juice but found that she couldn't get enough of it. In the eight months, she had drunken at least one hundred thirty-three bottles. Somehow she showed no sign of infections or disorders and she could still sing like a siren to her audience.

Sweetie Belle could see that with the way the boutique was, the princess would begin to suspect something amiss. The fact that the other Elements of Harmony were too busy with their lives to check on Rarity was relieving but she wondered about her clients. They never came around Ponyville but even that was temporary. She was sure Sapphire Shores would come to see her "friend" and ask for a new outfit. If she saw the boutique or even Rarity propped to the kitchen chair, the blame would be placed on Sweetie Belle. Killing the Element of Generosity would have her banished to the sun or even turned to stone and placed inside The Canterlot Gardens for display. These thoughts played out in her head for days on end, never letting up nor ever stopping. It would have her curled up on the bed with Rarity hugging her with her eyes forced closed. These would last for hours and include her crying at the top of her lungs and punching Rarity mercilessly in the head.

Eventually the ponies around town could see the distraught Sweetie Belle leaving and entering the boutique with a disturbed smile on her face. Every night until her death two months later, she would have Rarity propped up in her favorite chair from when she had her episodes. Her body was forced to act as a cradle for the filly who used her magic to rock the dead body back and forth until she fell asleep. Nightmares of her actions would wake her in the middle of the night. She would around the dark house and the only thing that she could plainly see was Rarity.

Within the last week of her life, Sweetie Belle had a hard time staying awake or even thinking correctly. She completely forgot about her friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and their crusading for their remaining cutie marks. Her actions were slow and even her speeches had become incoherent. When ponies talked to her, she never looked them in the face and would lie her way out inorder to get back to the boutique. Most of the ponies never questioned her and let it slide on the count that they believed she was trying to acquire her cutie mark. Her home was no better. Everytime she entered the boutique, Rarity's dead body was in different areas and struck different poses. One time she was laying on the chair with her eyes closed and her forelegs crossed. Another time she was waiting by the door with a empty plate on her head. It bothered Sweetie Belle to the point she hid Rarity in a closet and barred it off with her fancy chair. Feeling relieved she had gone to sleep earlier than normal but kept Rarity locked up. It didn't take her long to fall asleep peacefully in the bed, dreaming of happier times with her sister.

It was quiet in the boutique, despite it's appearance, the place was peaceful. Sweetie Belle was still sleeping in the bed without Rarity, the crickets and other insects had stayed silent throughout the night, and Rarity remained inside the closet humming a familiar tune. This tune could be heard throughout the room and was enticing. The humming played out for a minute more before turning into full lyrics similar to Death is Rare.

"She puts me here all alone..."

"So she'll never ever be alone..."

"I was once her casualty..."

"But soon she'll be with me..."

"And my name is Rarity..."

3b.Rarity's Heart