Banishment & Redemption: A Pony Tale

Chapters

The Unending Path
The Tent
The Loop
The Voices
Meanwhile Near Ponyville

The Unending Path

The trees surrounded me, darkness filling my eyes as the moon above vanished from sight. I was in the darkest section of the Everfree Forest, completely alone and miles away from Ponyville. Cast away as a freak of nature, I no longer had a place to call home. To think that this was nothing more than a minor misunderstanding. They feared me, not because I was a force of evil, or enjoyed hurting others. No, they cast me away because of my appearance.

I have a very slender body, and both my coat and mane appear darker than night itself, almost shadow-like. My eyes are a dark shade of red, with purple and green to add a unique reflection during the light of day, whereas they glow a deep blood-like red when the moon shines upon them.

It has been said that my eyes are, at least during the day, the most beautiful eyes in Ponyville. Even Rarity commented on their beauty... That is, before she realized just how much of a demon I truly am. While she was generous enough to overlook my deformed body, the instant she glanced upon my devilish red eyes at night, she let out an ungodly shriek, and ran away without looking back. If you saw me with your own two eyes, you wouldn't hesitate to run in the other direction, either.

And when I say I'm deformed, I truly mean it; I have a body of a pegasus, albeit a very skinny one. My tail looks like that of a snake, and my hooves have talons protruding from them. "I'm a monster, and nothing more..."

Just then, my thought was interrupted by an unnerving gust of wind blowing throughout the Everfree Forest, causing the leaves on all of the nearby trees to rustle against themselves, creating a rather eerie sound in the process. However, unlike the typical rustling of leaves back in Ponyville, and elsewhere in Equestria, the sound of the leaves within the darkness of the forest seemed to be demonic in nature. I could even hear a faint whispering in the darkness around me, as if the trees were attempting to communicate with the lost souls of the forest. "This place is truly haunted" I spoke to no one in particular, not quite realizing that I was indeed talking to the forest itself.

I've managed to subconsciously walk along this seemingly unending path for seven hours, with little to no rest. I was absolutely exhausted, and emotionally strained. Yet I knew that if I were to rest along the side of this path, my fate would be sealed away by the forest for the rest of eternity. The dangers lurking through the darkness would surely envelop me, devouring my tainted soul. I suppose that is what an abomination like myself deserves; to die a cold and sour death by the hoof or horn of the monsters just outside of my visions reach. "It's actually a rather poetic way to die" I thought to myself, only for a booming voice to enter into my mind, startling me out of my depressive trance.

"HOW CAN YOU SERIOUSLY BELIEVE YOU ARE WORTHLESS?" said the mysterious voice in my head. While it was loud, it did not seem to be violent or otherwise angry. If anything, the voice was calm and sincere, with a hint of worry on the side. "DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW... HUH?... OH, Uh, my apologies, I wasn't aware of how loud I was projecting myself. I do hope you can forgive me." the voice spoke more softly, stuttering with a hint of embarrassment filling its tone.

I, being nothing more than an insignificant black coated abomination, did not know how to react to this new inner voice. I felt scared, yet oddly calm, as if somewhere deep within my mind, I knew that this was not a voice to fear, but a voice to trust. Still, I couldn't entirely shake away the feeling that there was something sinister to this entire scene. As if the entity behind the voice was attempting to deceive me into trusting it, like it was performing an act, while I was the mare among the audience. "Please, do not think that way" the entity began to speak, as if capable of reading my thoughts. "You are not a mere stage, nor am I performing an act. My name is Luna, sister and co-ruler of Equestria. I do believe we have met once before, back when you were in Ponyville. Do you remember? You and I met at the library, along with Twilight and her closest friends."

Yes, that's right. We did happen to stumble across each others path, having met both of the princesses, Celestia and Luna, back at Twilight Sparkle's library. Though honestly, that feels like another lifetime ago, almost as if it had all just been a nightmare of which I dreamt up.

"It was no nightmare, nor was it a dream. Now tell me, why did you leave your friends behind, and enter into the Everfree Forest?" the same voice spoke, which I now recognized to be that of Princess Luna herself.

"I was kicked out of town. They thought I was a monster, or a demon. They just kept screaming at me, telling me to leave and never come back!" I screamed at the forest while tears began to form in my eyes. "They kept calling me names! They just... they didn't accept me for who I was under my hideous appearance, and judged me based on that alone!"

By this point, the tears that were slowly forming in my eyes had begun to flow rapidly down my darkened face, causing my eyes to burn mildly. Before I was able to formulate another thought, Luna began to speak.

"You are not hideous, nor are you a monster. You are simply something new, and it may take other ponies a while to get used to your appearance. I of all know just how painful being feared by others can feel, especially when they fear you for the way you look, rather than..." she paused as a sadness took over her voice, the memories of Nightmare Moon resurfacing. "As you can imagine, I myself have had my difficulties. Ponies everywhere feared me, and it took them a while to accept me as Princess Luna, rather than Nightmare Moon." Luna spoke with a sense of pride in her voice at having been forgiven by her subjects. "You shall be accepted within Ponyville, just as I was accepted to my throne."

After finishing her final sentence, a white light with brilliant purple hues formed a sphere around where I stood. This light was blindingly beautiful, but also proved to be quite painful to my naked eyes, forcing me to shut them.
Upon opening my eyes, I instantly noticed that the darkness of the forest had been replaced by the brightness of day. Before me stood a large tree, which I quickly recognized as Twilight's home and library. I was once again in Ponyville, and while I was quite thankful to be back, I also feared for my life, not knowing how others were going to react to my sudden presence. To my relief, nopony appeared to be around, allowing me to silently and carefully enter into the library without being detected.

Once inside, I noticed Twilight sitting at her usual desk, deeply distracted by the book placed before her. She didn't appear to notice my entry, but soon called out for Spike.
"Spike, could you come here for a moment? I require your help with something important!"

"Yeah yeah, Twilight. I'm com-" before Spike was able to fully reply, he noticed me standing in the doorway. "Huh? What the HAY are you?!"

Spike's reaction seemed to shock Twilight, but before she could turn around to properly lecture her little assistant on his unexpected outburst, she noticed me standing silently by the doorway.

I didn't know what to say or do, so I just stood there, frozen in place. I expected to be attacked, or perhaps yelled at. However, neither one of us did anything but stare blankly at the other. No words were spoken, no actions were taken. We both just stood there, looking into each others eyes. It honestly felt like a staring contest, though this was no game.

Thankfully, Spike decided to speak up, breaking our trance. "Uh, Twilight? What are you two doing?" He asked with his right claw over his mouth, trying to hold back laughter at the rather unusual scene before him.

Twilight hesitated to reply, while keeping her eyes pinned against my own. Whether this was out of fear or curiosity, I wouldn't know, though she did reflect both emotions deep within her eyes.
"Spike. Would you mind getting the others?" She finally spoke, still locked within our gaze.

Spike, unknowing if I was a friend or foe, moved cautiously around the library so he could do what he was told. "Sure thing, Twilight! Though, Rainbow might be a little harder to find..." His voice trailed off as he made his way out of the library and into the streets of Ponyville.

After ten minutes of looking at each other, myself out of fear, and Twilight out of caution, Spike finally returned with five other ponies by his side. Twilight continued to stare me down, even after the arrival of her friends.

"So Twi, what's the big emergency?" Rainbow asked, only to stop dead in her tracks after glimpsing upon the figure that stood before her, otherwise known as me. The next thing I knew, I was being pinned to the hardwood floor by the fast flying Pegasus. She looked down at me with an unusually playful smirk, causing my body heat to rise and my mind to buzz at the possible thoughts going through the blue blurs head. You see, while most ponies were afraid of me, and did everything in their power to avoid me, Rainbow Dash was different. She actually thought I was, in her words, "Really. Freaking. Awesome." She was the closest thing to a friend I have ever had, possibly even going beyond the friendship line and into something... No, she would never think of me in that way, as I was still a monster. "I need to snap out of it" I thought to myself while loosely shaking my head to try and clear my mind.

"Oh darling, I can't believe how very rude I was to you." Rarity spoke with a strong sadness in her voice, clearly remembering the way she acted after seeing my glowing red eyes for the first time. "Will you ever forgive me?"

As if on queue, all six of the ponies present began to sob loudly, while practically chanting "forgive us" into the otherwise silent library, and just like that, the heaviness in the air evaporated away, and was replaced by unending happiness and joy. The library was full of party decorations, and confetti was falling from the ceiling. I was accepted into their circle of friendship, and was no longer an outcast. I was no longer a monster in their eyes. I was no longer alone...

I lived happily ever after in Ponyville!

--
Except, none of that actually happened. I was still in the Everfree Forest, having fallen asleep by the side of the unending path of which I walked.

Author's Note

Edited: May 19th, 2020

The Tent

A dream, a mere dream has managed to bring so much happiness to my otherwise depressed existence. Yet, now that I am once again awake, laying at the side of this darkened path, I felt an uneasy feeling overcome me. While I was indeed banished to spend the rest of my sorry eternity alone within the Everfree Forest, I now felt as if there was a part of me missing. Like a part of my soul was left behind, granted some form of salvation from the darkness. That single and rather simplistic dream had managed to sink its way deep within my subconscious, giving me a new sense, a new will to survive.

No matter how silly, or how stupid the thought may be, I no longer wanted to die. I wanted to live a life worth living… which unfortunately doesn’t include the life that I was given. I’m an absolute abomination. A sinful creature destined to cause harm, whether by my own conscious intentions, or by appearance alone. I was not a creature to love, but a creature to fear. A creature that deserves to be killed, possibly tortured by the hooves of Celestia herself. I’m a joke, an ugly joke. “Why the buck was I born?!” I thought loudly to myself.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, I decided to take a stance, and begin my travel along this path once more. To my surprise, however, the path was no longer a mere dirt road through the forest. It had somehow managed to become a large road, capable of allowing for multiple ponies to easily travel across it. While I did have the sense to question how a small dirt path could become a larger path quite literally overnight, I decided it wasn’t that big of an issue, and against my better judgement, I began to trot along the path at a steady pace, eagerly awaiting whatever lies ahead.

After only two minutes of trotting, I began to notice that the forest was getting brighter, and that there were fewer trees to block the light. While still a forest by any respect, this area of the Everfree seemed to be more pleasant. Thanks mostly in part to the added light on the environment, I was able to see far greater detail in my surroundings. The trees themselves appeared to have very thick trunks, and the leaves were a light purple hue with red spots near the stem. The path itself was a dark brown, almost muddy in colour, though it didn’t have the texture of dirt, or even mud. It felt almost alien beneath my hooves, though the coolness it provided was admittedly quite pleasant.

Shrubs and small bushes appeared to be glistening in the morning dew just beyond the paths edge, providing a very magical atmosphere around me. Again, I felt the will to live overcome me, and my depressive thoughts seemed to melt away by my beautiful surroundings. Everything felt perfect. It felt calm and serene. Like everything within this world was suddenly fine. I felt... Happy. Truly happy. Truly... Alone, yet also happy. I felt... Broken, and calm, and warm. I... Felt confused, yet equally sure of myself. I....

"What the hay is happening to me?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, prompting the forest to carry my voice in an echo, only for it to morph into a form of twisted laughter before fading away entirely. "That's unnatural" I thought to myself while flattening my ears against my head in fear. "I must be losing my mind. Come on now, hold it together DB."

Further down the path stood an unusual structure, almost like a tent from a carnival, or a circus. Though, this tent did not express the typically happy atmosphere of a circus, and seemed to reflect a more twisted persona.

Just as I finished that thought, another gust of wind blew throughout the Everfree Forest, and the magic-like clearing that once surrounded me vanished away into darkness, being nothing more than an illusion. However, the tent in the distance, which seemed to be illuminated by an unnatural source of green and purple light, did not vanish away from view. Almost as if it was urging me to attend its twisted show of horror and sin. With little choice but to continue down this darkened path, I decided to succumb to the desire of this unnatural carnival, and attend the show.

Another gust of wind blew through the forest, and more laughter could be heard around me, as I neared the entrance to this demonic tent. However, now that I was standing directly in front of it, I could clearly make out the design and general shape of the structure. The green and purple lights were of a magical origin, hovering around the tent like spotlights, giving it an unnatural glow in the otherwise dark forest. The tent had a green and purple striped design, with splotches of red littered all over it, almost like... blood?

As I was about to enter, I heard somepony call out my name. "Darkened Bliss, is that you?" The pony spoke with a voice I somehow recognized. This voice belonged to Rainbow Dash, and appeared to come from inside of the tent, calling out to me. "It is you! I thought I saw you coming this way. So, uh. What the hay are you doing way out here, Bliss?" Rainbow inquired, though there was a slight whimper to her voice, making her sound almost monotone. "I bet you're here to see the show! Seriously, I'd recommend going in as soon as possible. It's really freaking awesome..." She said, as her voice began to trail off. However, I heard her say one final thing before vanishing back into the tent. "It's seriously to die for"

I followed her into the tent without much of a thought, almost as if the tent was controlling me, calling me in. My judgement was seriously impaired by some unknown force, possibly the forest itself being responsible for my nearing insanity. But you know what? I don't care. I won't care, for as long as I remain alive, I shall be a sin of nature. If this forest wishes to kill me, so be it. I deserve it, don't I? And so, I mindlessly entered the tent, only for my eyes to be engulfed by darkness. Except, it was beyond mere darkness, this was darker than night itself, which I suppose we had in common. To top that off, the entire room was void of all sound. Dark and soundless. If not for the horrid smells filling my nostrils, I would have assumed that this was death.

Before I was able to take another step, everything around me became a blur of white, and a loud buzzing filled my ears, pounding my head into numbness. It was as if every single light in Ponyville had suddenly turned on at the same time.

After my eyes adjusted to the newly lit room, and the buzzing had morphed into a mild form of music, I noticed that I was standing in the centre of the tent. The floor was purple and black in colour, and seemed to have a swirl design that formed a type of optical illusion, while the walls were the same green and purple as they were on the outside, except the internal walls appeared to be washed out in colour. The room itself was littered with dead bodies, presumably the victims that came before me. However, it wasn't long until I started to recognise some of the mangled corpses, some of which were only fillies. Each and every corpse had a small face carved into the side of the body, covering the fur with blood, which has now mostly crusted over. After inspecting some of the fillies in the room, I noticed one filly in particular. She was just like the rest, except she had a face that seemed to go deeper into her side, carving her out as if a pumpkin on Nightmare Night. Her internal organs decorated her body, while a streak of wet blood was pooling in her eye sockets, eyes seemingly removed by some type of surgical device. However, given the fact that the blood is still relatively fresh, this filly was likely the latest to be murdered within the tent. This filly, who I've met a few times while in Ponyville, was always seen hanging around Rainbow Dash, and seemed to always be riding a scooter. Her name was Scootaloo, and before me is her managed body, severely deformed and brutalised.

"Pretty neat, huh?" A raspy voice spoke from behind me, sounding cold and emotionless. "That poor little filly just couldn't stay away from me. So, she decided to follow me into the forest, riding her scooter, without a single care of what may be lurking in the shadows. She ended up finding my tent, to which I kindly invited her in. Man, she was so ecstatic to be able to spend time with me, I just had to give her an extra special performance, which turned out to be awesome." Rainbow Dash said, eyes glancing between me and Scootaloo's mangled body. "I even tricked out her scooter, as a personal thanks for being so awesome and such a cool little friend."

While saying this, she looked at the corner of the tent, just beside Scootaloo's corpse. Her scooter was propped up against a metallic table, though it took me a while to notice that the wheels had been replaced by something else. "Are those..."

"Yup! Pretty cool, right?" Rainbow said with a hint of demented enthusiasm. "Now, it took me a while to remove her eyes without fully damaging them, but once I got them out, using them as wheels was a fairly easy task. Fillies have surprisingly durable eyes. You can actually ride that thing!"

"She was also awake during the whole thing! Well, that is until she passed out, heh. She felt me inside her, tearing at her internal organs. Man, you have no idea how awesome it is to hear a little filly scream in pain! She kept begging me to stop, and just refused to believe that her idol would even attempt to hurt her! 'Rainbow, Rainbow, I thought you loved me, Rainbow' is all she kept screaming, in between cries. Seriously, it felt like I was flying! The thrill, the adrenaline. It kinda turned me on, actually. Just hearing her, cutting her, touching her..." She paused for a moment, looking at me with an evil grin. "Now, I get to do the same to you, Darkened Bliss. To be killed by your only real friend. You know, there's something kinda poetic about that, but I really don't care for that kinda stuff."

I just stood there, unable to think or do anything. "I'm glad you ended up coming here, DB. Now, shall I start by cutting off your wi-"

Before she could finish her sentence, everything was gone. I was once again standing on the path, in the middle of the Everfree Forest. I was no longer surrounded by bodies, or horrible images of death and betrayal. I was simply alone. No tent, no lights, no Rainbow Dash. Just me, the forest, and the evils within.

"I really need to get out of here!"

Author's Note

Edited: May 19th, 2020

The Loop

"... stop!"

Falling awake into a nightmare of my own design, I stumble forward, grasping for any leverage that I could use to pull myself back up and into this ungrateful reality of which I reside. A scream escapes me as a searing pain erupts from within. My wings, no longer a part of me, rest motionlessly by my side, detached, lost from its former grip, and yet still remaining within my reach. The feathers that once were mine now lie in a pool of my own crimson blood, forever destined to float rather than soar.

The leverage I sought was never found, at least not in a hopeful manner. Instead, I was forced to pull my crumbled body to its legs by sheer force of mindful will, which thankfully provided me with enough information about my current situation to know that I was within a large and seemingly endless room, concrete below, stars and broken metallic beams above. I also knew that I was, and am, truly, definitely, bucked.

But that's okay. My death should come of no surprise, for I am a mere monster after all. A devil, a demonic entity worth no saving nor joyful thought. And yet, just as before, I find myself seeking joy. Wishing for the pleasure of a life that's not my own. But as I've already said, that's okay. Nothing really matters in the end, anyway. Every single thing that you do, will end up being entirely meaningless by the time of death. Even those of you lucky enough to have a statue erected in your honour for doing some kind of a great deed, will only have that statue fall in time. Time, the killer of all things. Except for me, apparently. Time is not my enemy, for my very life is the enemy within. The demon. The sin. My existence itself.

Joy. Despair. Pleasure. Pain.

I suppose that's why I decided to do this to myself. To leave my path aside, and step away from my own insanity. Yet, somehow, I keep finding myself coming back. Like a foal returning to the scene of the crime. There's just something unique about seeing another pony suffer. About seeing them recline into the depths of their own minds. About seeing them fall apart, and attempting to pick up the pieces to a puzzle that is always one piece short of completion. Suffering has always been a part of who I am. Who I was. I'm nothing but a deranged shadow, except no light was responsible for casting me. Darkness fueled by more darkness, with no bliss in sight. An abomination.

And so I move. I crawl. I claw my way forward. There must be an end to all of this. There has to be a way out of this insanity. A beacon of light to wipe away the shadow of my existence. And yet, I find nothing. Nothing but even more darkness, and a trail of my own crimson blood left behind as proof that I was once alive. That I was here.

A howl. A piercing shriek. Another monster in the distance slowly chasing me from behind, following my blood as if it were its own unending path. I move myself as fast as my pain would allow, becoming lightheaded in the process, and still I push forward to eventually find an end to this concrete nightmare.

Just ten more painful steps and I find myself staring at the edge, almost as if the floor just decided to stop existing for no discernible reason. The choice of my death is now mine and mine alone to make. Jump, and fall to a relatively peaceful death thousands of feet below, or stay, and be ripped apart by whatever demon is chasing from behind. Two choices, both with the same result. Death. Peace. Darkness. Bliss.

The choice is obvious, wouldn't you agree?

"I just want the pain to..."

The Voices

My eyes open once more, only to be greeted by the sight of the Everfree Forest, and the feeling of darkness all around me. I'm still standing on the path, and am still relatively unharmed, aside from the fact that my wings are no longer attached to my body. Just like before, the pain is ever so slightly numbing, making it possible to continue moving forward without any real difficulty, and without much hesitation. However, the feeling of hopelessness is still present within my mind, as if something in the forest is continuously taunting me, whispering to me, telling me that there is no point to any of this, and that I will be better off dead.

The whispers continued to grow, eventually overtaking my thoughts and forcing me to hear it. "You are worthless" the voices spoke, filling my head with nothing but pure evil and despair. "You're not worth saving. You're just a filthy abomination. Everypony would be better off if you died." The voices were growing louder and more distorted, causing me to fall to the ground in pure agony. "Darkened Bliss, you are a demon, a monster. Your fate was sealed the moment you took your first breath. Your life has been nothing but a lie."

While still holding my hooves against my head in a pathetic attempt at blocking the voices from penetrating my mind, I was somehow able to force my way back onto all four hooves. I didn't want to listen to the voices anymore, and I didn't want to die. Not here, and not now. So, against the wishes of the voices within my head, I ran.

I ran faster than I have ever ran before, with the voices still taunting me. "Where are you going, Darkened Bliss? You are alone out here. There's no one around for miles. You are going to die here. Alone. Scared. Hopeless." The voices were now becoming unbearable. They were causing my mind to slowly fall apart. I couldn't take it. I couldn't stand to listen to another word, so in my insanity, I decided to take drastic measures to make sure they never had the chance to speak to me again.

After stopping dead in my tracks, and ignoring the pain from running, I lifted up my front hoof, and proceeded to bash it against the side of my head. I hit it over and over, with tears flowing down from my now swollen red eyes. The pain was unimaginable, and the voices only grew in intensity. I hit my head harder and harder, until blood started to stream down from the impact, and the voices slowly began to vanish into nothingness. After a minute of continuously beating my skull, the voices went silent. And it was once again peaceful. Quiet. Serene.

Except, there was a new problem that arose from my stupidity, or brilliance. My ears began to ring, and my vision began to blur. Soon enough, the ringing was replaced by complete silence, and I lost the ability to hear even my own screams. It was worth it, though. I'd gladly accept this disability over listening to the voices taunt me, and tell me to give in.

But now, the lack of hearing was only beginning to fuel my depression, causing my soul to fall into an empty void. The pain in my wings, as well as my throbbing headache, were almost overwhelming. But, I've already made it this far, haven't I? I've already proven them wrong! The forest, the monsters within the forest, the voices in my head. I'm still alive. Still breathing. Still fighting!

However, regardless of the will to continue surviving, I could feel that there was something sinister lurking behind my tail, waiting patiently to strike when my guard was at its weakest point.

"You're not done yet. Keep moving"

I nodded, knowing full well that these new voices were nothing like the other ones. These were calm and collective. Strong, yet also filled with compassion. I knew deep in my heart that they were trustworthy. That they were helping me. Guiding me. Keeping me safe. Helping me survive.

So I kept walking, only for a little while longer, just before everything came crashing down upon me, causing the ground to shake and tremble.

"What the..."

An earthquake, a major tremor. The sound of breaking rock and shifting dirt. All around me, the path was splitting apart, and separating the forest with cracks that lead right to the core of Equestria. Rocks were crumbling and falling down in the newly formed abyss. Trees began to topple over one another, crushing anything unfortunate enough to be stuck underneath them.

"It's all ending! I finally did it! I finally-"

And suddenly, another wave of trembling erupted from directly below me, shooting me up into the air, only for gravity to bring me back down again. My stomach slammed hard against the path, causing the wind to escape my lungs. While struggling to catch my breath, I was somehow able to lift my head up enough to see the largest tree of all. The Tree of Harmony. Except, instead of its glorious beauty shining throughout the land, it had caught on fire, burning rapidly.

"No. I don't believe this. This isn't real. None of this is real!"

Before I could react any further, another quake shook the entire forest, and the Tree of Harmony started to fall directly toward me. As if everything went perfectly according to plan, the burning branch depicting the element of Generosity landed directly onto me. Forcing the flames down around my wounded body, searing the flesh and sealing the fate of the broken and bruised pegasus pony with matted and charred wings. The wingless wonder was dead. Never to be heard from again. Not by Twilight Sparkle, nor Rainbow Dash. Not by Applejack or Fluttershy. Nor by Pinkie Pie, Rarity, or even Princess Luna herself. I am gone. Dead. Lost. Forgotten.

Goodbye world. Goodbye friends, family and loved ones.

Goodbye... everypony.

But did any of that even happen? No, no, no, no. I suppose not. It's all just a giant illusion. It's all in my head. None of what I experience is real. Nothing is real. And if nothing is real, surely that means that nothing matters, right? I can do anything! I can be anypony! I am no longer Darkened Bliss. No, not anymore. Now I shall be known as Lightened Bliss. An Alicorn of pure and absolute power. The ultimate form. The most beautiful mare in all of Equestria, with a horn that shines brightly into the sky. I am a god of good will, and all ponies will worship me. Nay, they shall bow down to me!

"Might I join you?"

Yes! Come closer! Come and bask in the glory that is I. Look into my eyes of wonder and perfection. I am beyond beauty and perfection. I am... perfectification.

"This is very unprofessional of you."

I agree, completely. Yet, I cannot help myself. I love the attention. I adore the praise. And best of all, I demand the worship. And all the world's ponies shall bow down to their princess of perfection, their new Goddess. I have finally achieved my true destiny. A destiny of which has eluded me for years. Ever since birth, in fact. Yes, yes...

"And I suppose you will take over Celestia's rule?"

Why, naturally. How could anypony be mad with such a flawless and beautiful Alicorn such as I to guide them throughout life? Celestia must be destroyed! Burned. Incinerated. Sent to a fiery grave where she belongs!

"So you wish for harm to come to the Princess, is that correct?"

Of course I do, you fool! Did I not say as much?! Bring the Sun Goddess forth! She must be punished. Severely! Bring her forth!

And lo, Celestia was brought to her knees by the power of which I have wielded. The power to control the very fabric of space and time itself. With just one thought, I will send this poor excuse for a Princess to the moon where she can rot until her very dying breath. Which will hopefully be soon. Very soon.

"Buck you"

Huh? What do you... How dare you! Guards, kill her!

"But of course, my Grace."

With that command, Celestia's guards stepped forward and proceeded to thrust their spears deep within Celestia's throat, cutting her arteries wide open for all to see, and causing a flood of dark crimson blood to ooze from the wound.

"Well done! That was marvelous! Simply spectacular!" I cheered loudly, causing quite the ruckus of noise throughout Canterlot. And when I mean Canterlot, I am referring to the newly remodeled castle. Oh yes, that reminds me. My first decree as the Ruler of Equestria is to change the name of this dreadful town. Let's see here, perhaps we can call it 'CanterDark.' That has a nice ring to it, I think.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

"Haha, oh my... Is this seriously happening? This is priceless..."

What do you mean by that, Celestia?

"Pfft... Ha! Really? This is what I get for trying to help?"

Help? I don't need help. I am a goddess! Surely you jest, dear fallen Celestia.

"Actually, this is a joke to me. However, it does bring some entertainment value to the table."

How dare you insult me? Your grace and ruler of Equestria! The punishment for insulting a Princess is-

"Insulting a Princess? Ha! That's not even remotely original. But still, I find this whole experience rather humorous."

"Enough! I will not tolerate another outburst. Guards!"

"... What? Guards? Uh, oh! Right."

I watched on as the guards moved into position, then swiftly turned around and launched their spears directly towards me. I stood perfectly still, watching carefully. Then, just as they were about to pierce my heart, I managed to catch both spears mid-air with ease. Without missing a beat, I tossed the spears aside, and lunged at the nearest guard. Before he was even able to react, my fangs had sunken themselves deep within his neck. He squirmed and squealed under the weight of my body as I pinned him to the ground, continuing to ravage the tender flesh around his jugular vein until it popped open, allowing the precious liquid to pour deep within the confines of my gaping maw.

Moments later, my victim was laying limp beneath me. I looked up to stare into the faces of the other two guards, who remained perfectly still as if frozen solid by ice magic. I snarled as my body tensed up, prepared to strike with another vicious assault.

The third guard managed to lift up his spear and jab it toward me, but I quickly leapt backwards to dodge the attack, landing behind him as I sank my teeth deep into his lower back. Within seconds, his spine snapped in two and he fell to the floor in pain, leaving only one remaining guard who was shaking in terror.

He raised his spear above his head and charged at me while yelling an array of expletives. Just as he drew near, however, I rolled between his legs, causing him to trip over me. In an instant, I pounced onto him from behind, and proceeded to rip open his chest cavity, revealing his internal organs before sinking my fangs into the soft and delicate tissue surrounding his heart, which soon ceased to beat entirely.

"That... Was surprisingly brutal."

Oh shut up, Celestia. Guards! Dispose of this waste immediately.

"Yes, your Highness."

The two guards that entered were merely illusions that I had conjured up with the simple blink of an eye. They effortlessly dragged the three carcasses away from my throne room, where they were to be burned outside the castle gates without the honor of a proper burial.

"Now that's just lazy writing right there. Seriously, how low can you sink?"

I don't understand what you mean, Celestia. Explain yourself! Tell me what is wrong with this scenario?

"Are you seriously asking me that? Please tell me you're joking."

Ugh... I can't seem to win with you today, Celestia. What have I done to deserve such criticism from you?

"Oh, you want the list now? Because I do believe we have plenty of time to go through all of them."

Yes, give me a list! Prove that you are capable of besting a goddess such as I. Prove to me that you are worthy of your status as a Princess.

"Alright then. Let's begin with number one: You murdered three Royal Guards without reason, nor justification."

Because they tried to attack me! Obviously you weren't paying attention, as usual.

"Number two: Your ego is so inflated that it rivals Discord himself."

Ridiculous! How dare you compare me to that chaotic freak!

"Three: Your hair colour is ugly."

My mane is gorgeous! What the hell are you smoking, Celestia?!

"Four: You keep calling me Celestia."

Well yeah, because that's your name!

"Five: None of this is real. You're still in the forest."

Real? What even is real, when you truly think about it? If I am real, and I can dream, does that not mean that my dream is real, too? Or is that just a figment of my imagination? But then, if I am real, does that not make my imagination real as well? So then, everything is real, right? Everything and anything, even the forest that I'm apparently still stuck within.

Stuck.

Inside.

The.

Forest.

...

Dreams. I hate dreams. They make no sense, and yet, they riddle my mind. They force their way into me. They turn me into stuff I never wanted to be. They control me. They defile me. They empower me. The destroy me.

I'm still on the path. I never left it. I never will leave it. It is my life, and I must learn to accept that. Unless, what if the path itself is also a mere figment of reality? A metaphorical abnormality of self representation?

No, the voices are returning.

Stop it, just stop it! Leave me alone!

"... this is bad... We need to..."

Shut up! Why won't you leave me alone!

"... I know what we can do... It may cost us..."

No! No more! I refuse!

"... You are forgiven."

What? What am I being forgiven for?

Suddenly, as if triggered by my reaction, a blinding white light burst throughout my field of view, engulfing everything around me. At first, this light appeared to be harmful, causing my head to throb, my sight to weaken, and my body to burn, only to suddenly become soft, pleasant. Calming even.

As my eyes adjusted to the newfound light, I realised that the trees and wildlife around me had vanished, leaving nothing behind but an endless sea of black, almost as if somepony had taken a pair of scissors to reality itself, slicing and cutting along its edges.

Before long, I noticed six distinct figures appear in the distance, each glowing brilliantly, radiantly. Though despite their incredible display of brightness, they didn't hurt to look at, or even focus on, which I did in order to see which ponies were present.

These ponies were none other than Twilight Sparkle and her friends, smiling back at me. Yet, there was something odd about them. They seemed to be entirely made up of a bright aura, which continued to radiate outwardly.

Even stranger, their cutie marks, manes, tails and overall coat colour were absent, though not entirely unseen. Every time any one of the six alicorns would move their body, I'd catch brief glimpses of colour forming beneath the ever-expanding whiteness around them. As if their bodies were merely composed of energy.

Yet, none of them appeared hostile in the least. Their faces showed nothing but compassion, understanding, and love.

"Come on, silly! It's time to go home now, silly filly." Said an angelic voice that I soon recognized as Pinkie Pie's, now extending a glowing hoof toward me. "We'll be waiting at the end of the road for you." She finished, before vanishing alongside the others.

However, just after she had disappeared, a large wooden gate manifested in the far off distance, appearing to be several feet wide, and many stories high, though still small compared to the environment around me.

I walked cautiously toward it, unsure if what I saw actually happened or if it was simply another hallucination or nightmare. And yet, somehow, I trusted it, as if it were all meant to occur.

As I neared the gate, I realised that the ground beneath me had been slowly inclining. Whether this was intentional, or not, it made getting closer rather easy. Although, once I had gotten close enough, I found myself having to crane my neck just to see the top of these wooden slabs.

Carved within these tall and imposing structures were the elements of harmony. One slab had the element of laughter engraved into its side. Another had loyalty, generosity, honesty, kindness, and finally, a deeply engraved slab with magic carved within.

Without any kind of hesitation, I placed my hooves upon the slab closest to me, the element of magic, and gave it a solid push, resulting in a loud creaking sound erupting from the gate's centre.

Once opened, I peered past the wooden structures and into a beautiful land filled with lush vegetation, including grass, flowers, and various assortments of plants scattered about the otherwise bright scenery.

Atop a massive hill sat Ponyville, just off in the distance. Standing just ahead of me, were six familiar looking ponies, each holding an object pertaining to the element they represent.

But just before I could walk inside the gate, they were gone. Everything had turned to darkness, and I found myself once again alone in the Everfree. But how alone can one truly be when they have the voices to keep them company?

Author's Note

Isn't insanity fun?

Meanwhile Near Ponyville

Just outside of the Everfree, six worried residents of Ponyville stood in wait.

“Are you sure we can’t just fly in there and rescue her, Twi?” asked the brave blue pegasus known as Rainbow Dash. “I mean, you’ve got me flying, you with your magic, Fluttershy can get some animals to help out, Applejack could buck some evil things, and I’m sure even Rarity could do something useful.” Rainbow said while sticking her tongue out at the white unicorn known as Rarity, who simply humphed as response.

“Yes, the forest is a very large place, Rainbow. It would take us all night to search the whole thing, even with the help of Fluttershy’s animals. Plus, with little to no protection, well; it’s just too dangerous.” Twilight answered, her ears splayed back in sadness, and a massive frown stricken across her face.

“I know, Twi. Danger this, evil that. But come on! This is Darkened Bliss we’re talking about! Don’t we owe her more than simply sitting around, doing nothing?” asked an agitated Rainbow. "I mean, it was kinda our fault. We should be out there, Twi. We need to be out there."

The pink party pony present known as Pinkie Pie nodded her approval, and began bouncing in place. This action seemed to give the other ponies a sense of courage, and one by one, they too began to nod their approval, siding with Rainbow Dash and her request to search for their friend.

"Then it's settled." Twilight said with a sigh. "I'll go get some supplies, and will write a letter to the Princess informing her of where we'll be going, just in case anything should happen."

Rainbow Dash took to the air in excitement. This was surely going to be one hay of an adventure, and all to rescue a friend. Right at this moment, she felt just like Daring Doo. Nothing could stop her from finding her friend. Nothing, not even Celestia herself. She loved Darkened Bliss, and they would reunite. It was just a matter of time.

All six ponies started trotting in silence towards Twilight's library, so they could gather the much needed supplies to make their journey as safe as possible.

Rainbow took one last glance at the Everfree forest, a single thought on her mind.
"Please don't be dead."

Author's Note

Edited: May 19th, 2020