Crippled, Broken and Beaten.

The rat scurried across the tundra of garbage, it’s beady black eyes searching for any scrap of food amidst the rotten, fetid debris.

The air was cold and thick with small, stinging drops of rain that flooded the holes and pits of the heap, and made the dirt thick and tar-like; already the rat had lost several of its stinking, squealing brethren to the drowning water.

Though, the rain wasn’t the only thing that the rat was worried about.

There was also….Him.

The rat didn’t remember when He had first slithered his way into the twisted heap of metal that served as his palace, coming from the general direction of the dragon territory, but his screams in the night, his endless babble and his taste for rat meat made him a legend amongst the vermin of the junk yard.

The rat nosed its way through the detritus a few minutes longer until it found a half-eaten pear. The grubby morsel was so utterly transfixing to the rat’s animal brain that it wasn’t even aware of the shadow that had fallen over it.

Quick as lightening the greasy hand with its sharp nails shot down like a missile, catching the rodent and pulling it up.

“There you are, Mr. Ratty.” said a thin, reedy voice, a voice that had been young, but was now ancient.

The rat squeaked in fright as the thin, pallid face of its captor came into view.

“Naughty, naughty, Mr. Ratty.” chided the creature, ‘You’re late for the tea party and you didn’t even bring the cake. I guess I’ll have to make due with something a little bit more… raw.”

There was a flash of pointed teeth, a gush of blood, and then darkness.

Ryan Doe, age 19, sat perched upon his mound of filth, his clawed toes digging into the surface, his bloody mouth still chewing the rat whilst an old song with lyrics half-remembered bubbled up from his throat.

And all around him the shadows took on equine forms and danced around him, mocking him for his bad manners and his poor singing; Ryan didn’t even realize that his garbled singing had become a tearful banshee wail until he felt his throat start to burn.

The shadows went silent, allowing the icy darkness to bring the tormented human a small portion of solace.

He didn’t remember too much about what had come before the Master had taken him in and shown him the true meaning of pain. All he could remember were a few scattered images with distorted sound that flickered in and out of clarity in his hazy, twisted mind.

“Holy shit, I swear if you keep up with that pony bullshit I’m gonna whoop your faggy ass!”

His fist connecting with a terrified face.

His mother scolding him harshly and the sting of his father’s belt.

His thin fingers typing out hateful things on a glowing computer.

Ryan gagged and pulled out a clump of bloody rat hair from the back of his throat with his grubby talons, flicking it away after after a thorough examination yielded no more meat.

“No more meat, no more meat, now there’s nothing left to eat.” he sang, letting out a girlish giggle that felt like acid on his tongue.

I’m the king of all rats! he thought suddenly, The ruler of vermin in a palace of filth on an island of shit in an ocean of blood. I am the leader of roaches, the sovereign of racoons and timberwolves and the master of-

NO! Not him, not the Master! Ryan’s claws lashed out and scored his dirty skin, leaving four red divots; the newest in a constantly growing number of scars.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he wailed, clenching his wrist until the bones shifted. How could he have been so stupid? The Master would come back if he thought about him too much. He’d come back and take Ryan in his horrible embrace and-

“NO!” roared Ryan, covering his eyes and bursting into hot tears that left tracks on his begrimed face.

He didn’t know how long he cowered there in the cold and the quiet, listening for any sound that might indicate his master’s return. But he heard nothing, nothing at all save for his breathing and his soft, childlike mewling.

Finally the first rays of the sun broke through the cracks in his filthy palace and he made his way, slowly out into the cool morning to find more food.

I hope the rats come back. he thought, growing giddy again, They’re soooo juicy!

They were close now, she could feel it.

After all this time I’m going to find that monster and make him pay for what he did. thought Twilight Sparkle as she walked through the lower slums of Manehattan, the remaining Element Bearers following alongside her.

The heat from Celestia’s sun was shrouded by thick, oily smog that caused the temperature to drop significantly and the smell of unwashed ponies was nauseating. Twilight felt her heart break when she saw several homeless foals looking at the six with hopeful eyes.

The purple Alicorn stopped and opened her saddlebags, levitating two sandwiches that she had brought along out and placing them near the foals, who took them and eagerly devoured them.

“Woah now.” said Applejack with a smile, “Don’t eat too fast, you’ll make yerselves sick.”

“Sorry.” muttered one of the foals bashfully, her chewing markedly slowing.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” said Fluttershy kindly, smiling down on the foals; Twilight could practically taste the compassion that she gave off.

“Thanks, Princess Twilight.” said another foal-she thought it might have been a filly under all that grime-with a smile that showed off some rather yellow teeth. Twilight smiled back and said “You’re very welcome.”, then she and her friends turned and continued on their way.

“I really hate this part of town.” said Twilight sadly. The other five vocalized their agreements.

“It’s so sad, seeing so many foals without a home.” said Fluttershy.

“And I didn’t see a single smile until you gave them your food.” said Pinkie morosely.

“And they're so close to that...thing from the Gala.” said Rainbow Dash with a shudder.

A grave silence fell over the company. They all remembered that day at the gala, when the strange and terrifying monster appeared in the garden in a flash of light. Fluttershy in particular still had vivid nightmares that were dominated by the sneering, thin-lipped mouth and the hateful, vile words that issued from between them.

The creature had wasted almost no time in hurling a bolt of lighting at the meek mare’s head. Fluttershy had ducked and the killing blow had instead struck the peacock, who was dead before she had known what hit her.

The creature, who had called himself “Zap”, then proceeded to wreak chaos in the Gala: throwing out bolts of lighting, kicking the guardsponies across the room and yelling the most unspeakable profanities in a voice laden with malice.

Twilight and Rarity had tried to subdue him, but he easily bested them, leaving both with painful burns that took quite a bit of time to heal. Rainbow Dash had dive-bombed him and managed to make him stumble, but she too found herself on the receiving end of the creature’s powers, and Applejack only got one good buck in, which earned her a broken leg.

All of the Bearers were eager for a fight, and now they had the means to win.

The Elements glowed against their chests, pulsing with their prismatic light and filling their bearers with pure magical power.

They were going to win and, judging by the sudden wave of stinking air that washed over them, they were almost there.

There had been reports in the Manehattan Gazette, tales of a ghoulish creature who crawled through the darkened alleyways at night, striking fear into the hearts of the homeless and waking ponies up with its screams and babbling.

They had investigated and triangulated his position until they found the best location: the sprawling junkyard that lay at the city’s borders.

They were ready, and the hunt was almost over.

Ryan was awoken from his short, nightmare-filled slumber by the smell.

It was a new smell, but also a familiar one; a thick mix of apple juice, fresh grass, rainwater, perfume, cupcakes and magic.

Oh no….they’re HERE.

Ryan sprang up like he was on springs, his bloodshot eyes already searching for the source of that horrible scent from his position atop the garbage mound.

“Where are they?” he queried aloud, “Where are they? Those living shadows, they won’t get me!”

He crouched down and began pawing through the refuse, his sharpened nails separating the slimy food scraps from the old and rusted metal to reveal a sharpened piece of silver that he had found.

“Ahhh...my burning brand.” he said with a smile, “This will make the shadows leave-make the sparks go cold and dead and dusty…. like me!” he giggled and clutched the makeshift dagger until his fingers bled.

The shadows were coming, and he would face them and drive them off before they could bring the Master. Ryan whimpered in pain as a sudden flash made his head burn and filled his closed eyes with the image of the Master descending upon him like a great, shadowy bat with saber-teeth and eyes like Death.

The shadows are coming, the shadows are coming, the shadows are coming and they’re going to bring him with them. he thought as he began to crawl through the trash, slithering ever closer towards the shadows, who were now in his domain.

They don’t even have a ticket! How rude!

He got closer and the smell got stronger.

He gagged.

Oh how he hated the smell of friendship.

Author's Note

Here's my first attempt at a dark HiE fic, I was inspired to write this after reading the ever-awesome No More Nightmares

I hope you enjoy what's to come....if anything comes of it.