Equestria's Darkest Shadow

Applejack ran down the tunnel she chose. After half a minute, she saw a light and rushed through it. But, instead of Canterlot Castle, she arrived at...

"Sweet Apple Acres? What in tarnation am ah doin' here?"

"Jest what we wanna know, traiter!" came an elderly, but very familiar voice.

Applejack turned and saw Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith glaring angrily at her. At first, Applejack was confused, but then she heard two more familiar voices.

"Applejack! How's our new business partner?" called one voice.

"We've been waiting for your call ever since we left that wretched casino!" said another.

There, standing by the orchard gates were the Flim Flam brothers!

"How could you sell Sweet Apple Acres to them hooligans after all they did to us?!" accused Granny Smith.

"Sell it?!" exclaimed Applejack. "Ah-ah-ah would never--!"

"Don't be so modest, Applejack." said Flim. "But why did you have to leave out what happened after you brought us back together?"

"My theory is that she was to nervous to admit our pact knowing our past." suggested Flam. "But we told them how you considered giving us the rights to this lovely orchard."

"And after a week," continued Flim. "You gave us a call to pick up the deed with your hoof print and signature." He soon held up the same deed with hers and the Flim Flam brother's signature.

Applejack gasped in terror.

"Ah looked up to you, Applejack!" said Apple Bloom, teary-eyed. "Ah thought you were mah hero! And now you go and betray the Apple Family name with THIS?! Guess Ah really shoulda stuck with Big Mac from the get-go!"

"Eeyup!" agreed Big Mac, gruffly.

Applejack's heart felt like applesauce now. Her whole family hated her now. They couldn't trust her anymore. She wanted to speak, but was too broken in spirit to do so.

"Well, now that our little agitations are off our saddles..." began Flim.

"I think it's time we gave Sweet Apple Acres the renovation it deserves." finished Flam.

"R-renovation?" stammered Applejack.

"C'mon, ever'pony," said Granny Smith. "Let's pack 'ur things and head on out ta Appleloosa. We'll jest be shur ta tell Braeburn all 'bout Jack's betrayal. Don't ev'n deserve to be called an Apple no more."

"Nnope." said Big Mac. And they slammed the front door.

Applejack just stood there, shocked and upset. She had nothing else to say. All she could cope with was how she became a disgrace to the Apple family. Worse still, not even being an Apple family member anymore. She ran away, sobbing and broken.

"Applejack? Where are you going?" asked the brothers.

But Applejack didn't want anything to to with the con artists. As she ran on to the outskirts of town, the heads of her family members circles around her like flies. They insulted her, calling her a disgrace to Apples everywhere and wishing she never existed.

"No! No! Ah cain't be a disgrace!" screamed Applejack in denial.

As she was swatting the heads away from her, a shadowy, pony-like figure appeared from behind a bush and leaped toward her in attack.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was rushing down the tunnel of her choice. As she ran down the light at the end of it, she came across a small, sad filly in the middle of Ponyville. Being the pony who never left a filly unhappy, Pinkie couldn't help but ask why the little one was upset.

"I'm lonely. I haven't got any friends anymore." said the filly when she could speak.

"Well, consider the waterworks in your eyes officially closed," exclaimed Pinkie with enthusiasm. "Because Pinkie Pie, that's me, is gonna be your new friend! And after that, I'm gonna help you make even more friends!"

"How's that gonna happen?" asked the filly, mournfully.

"With a party, of course!" And Pinkie put a party hat on the filly and pulled out her party cannon which shot confetti everywhere.

"I don't do parties." scowled the filly.

"Well, that's obviously because you've never had my parties before!" suggested Pinkie.

"No, I've heard about your parties." reproved the filly. "And when I saw one for myself, I was less than impressed. The noise, the blinding colors, the food that made your teeth rot on contact, yuck! I've never seen a party more obnoxious than yours!"

Pinkie gulped a big gulp. "S-S-Surely, you must be joking." she stammered, nervously.

"Not on your life, bud." the filly reassured. "You, I have no doubt, are the most annoying ball of randomness I've ever known in my life. So you can take your dumb parties and stuff them in your party cannon till it explodes!"

Pinkie's jaw dropped to the ground. Was it possible that somepony actually found her and her parties annoying?

"You hate her parties, too?" came a voice. Pinkie turned in surprise. A group of fillies with devilish smiles stood behind her and the filly.

"I sure do." replied the filly.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? You're welcome to be with our group if you like!" said the leader of the group.

"If it means not dealing with the pink noisemaker." snarked the filly.

"Even better! It means listing off the reasons why Pinkie Pie is the worst and most annoying pony in existence!"

Delighted at this revelation, the filly galloped of with the Pinkie haters, laughing about their hatred of Pinkie, her games, and her parties. Pinkie just stood in bewilderment. But there was worse to come. The entire town had been listening to the entire time and they were shocked too. They all chatted to themselves now that Pinkie's perfect party record had been ruined. Could they trust her anymore as a party pony?

"N-no! It was just one pony!" exclaimed Pinkie in alarm. "I can still at least make everypony else here happy, right?"

But nopony else seemed to agree. They soon all decided to find a better party pony than Pinkie. Pinkie couldn't bear it any longer. Her poofy hair soon became completely flat and droopy. Tears flooded her eyes. She had lost the popularity of Ponyville entirely. While she sobbed quietly in the middle of town, a shadowy figure appeared from the fountain and leapt at Pinkie Pie from behind. In the tunnel Rarity went down, as she reached the light at the end, she ended up at her Carousel Boutique. At first she was shocked to return back home, but was even more surprised at a blonde-maned fashion critic approaching. "You!" called the critic "Are you the creator of these dresses?"

"Why, yes I am," said Rarity. "But who are--?“

"Cojo Cebu." interrupted the critic.

"The fashion critic so into fashion that he even tries to resemble a mare as best he can?!" gasped Rarity and squeed. "I simply cannot tell you how happy I am to have you review my fashion boutique!"

"I was happy, too." replied Cojo. "Until your dresses gave me a rash!!!" And he opened his gown to reveal his chest covered in red spots.

Rarity gasped. "But h-h-how could my--?” she began, but Cojo interrupted again. "I don't know what you're using in those dresses, hun, but I'm going to have to demand a recall on all the dresses you've sold in the last like three weeks! Ugh! Somepony get me some ointment!"

And it wasn't long before the entirety of the ponies who bought her dresses started to infect them with the rash, too. The Carousel Boutique was soon closed under health hazards and Sweetie Belle had to be kicked out of there. And then, newspapers started pouring in about her shops in Canterlot and Manehatten being shut down as well. Nopony would ever trust Rarity for fashion advice again. Not even Sweetie Belle could look her in the eye. Rarity could barely take anymore. As she broke down, a dark figure slithered over to her.

Fluttershy was nervous when running down the tunnel she went through. As she went through the the light at the end, she saw she had fallen into an open field of flowers. Many animals flocked and frolicked around Fluttershy and this made her feel better....until one of them screamed at something and ran away with the others following suit.

"What is it, cuties?" asked Fluttershy. "If it's that mean old Shadow Pony, I'll give him what for!"

But it wasn't the Shadow Pony. With thundering hoof steps over the hill was...

"Iron Will?!" Fluttershy gasped in horror.

"That's the kind of aggression Iron Will likes to hear!" congratulated the minotaur. "Like Iron Will says, 'When a baddie comes around, pummel them to the ground!'"

"B-b-but, you see, sir---" stammered Fluttershy.

"I've done some hearing about how you've gotten to be more courageous and learning to talk back to ponies since last I came here." Iron Will continued. "And I decided to take you back and make you the new mascot of my assertiveness campaign!" And he presented a poster with Fluttershy posing like a wrestler and looking angry. Fluttershy gulped her heart back to her chest.

"And I ain't taking "no" for an answer" said Iron Will as he cupped her in his arm. "Now, come on, compadre! Time to show the world what the true face of aggression looks like!"

In no time at all, posters of Iron Will's assertiveness training's new mascot were flying everywhere. Everypony was shocked to see Fluttershy as the new face of aggression. Those who had grown to love her kind-hearted nature soon began to wonder if that kindness was just a facade. Presently, whenever she and Iron Will gave seminars, some ponies that didn't participate started shouting insults at her, calling her a liar. Fluttershy could hardly stand it. The love and respect she had gotten was now reduced to dust. Just as she was about to burst into tears, Iron Will shouted, "Now, does anypony have the guts to give this mare a whoopin'?!"

"I'd like to try." hissed a voice. Suddenly, a pony with glowing yellow eyes jumped out at her.

Rainbow Dash was full of confidence that she could beat the Shadow Pony by herself. "Here I come, you backstabbing jerk!" she said to herself as she reached the end of the tunnel. She looked around. Yes! She made it back to the castle hall! But when she flew to them of the hall, she saw that her friends were standing by the battered and bruised Pony of Shadows.

Rainbow Dash goggled in disbelief. "What?! But, you didn't--!”

"Ahh, there you are, Rainbow Dash." said Twilight. "Looks like you've arrived late. But that's ok. We've managed to take care of the Shadow Pony without you."

"Without the awesomest pegasus in all of Equestria?!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "How could you let me miss the action?!"

"Well, Starlight and I were talking after the fight," continued Twilight. "And we had decided to make her the new Element of Loyalty." Everypony else agreed.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "N-N-New Element of Loyalty?" she whimpered.

"That's right!" said Starlight. "They even gave me my own brace that has my cutie mark!" And she presented the brace in shining detail.

"As you're no longer needed in our travels," said Twilight. "You're welcome to do you're own things. Be a Wonderbolt for life and not worry about the stress of saving Equestria." The others agreed and cheered for Rainbow Dash, but soon cheered even more for Starlight as they left Rainbow Dash to take in what she had witnessed.

There was worse to come.

"Crash!" came a familiar voice. "There you are!" And in flew in Spitfire.

"Hey, Spitfire." said Rainbow Dash gloomily.

"Why so down in the dumps, Crash?" asked Spitfire.

"My friends don't need me anymore." replied Rainbow Dash.

"That's a bit of a coincidence." said Spitfire. "Neither do we!"

"Wait--WHAT??!!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Sky Stinger did such a stellar job at breaking records on his own, we decided to make him an official Wonderbolt!" explained Spitfire.

"B-B-But what about me?" asked Rainbow Dash with a lump in her throat.

"That's the great part!" said Spitfire. "You're going to be teaching full time in our classrooms. So you're still technically one of us, just not really flying."

Rainbow Dash's feelings were beyond words.

"Well, gotta fly! See you tomorrow morning!" And Spitfire flew out the window. All Rainbow Dash could do was collapse to the floor, tears flooding her eyes. She was now of no use to anypony. Not her friends or the Wonderbolts. She was now just a teacher for new recruits. Then the Pony of Shadows got back on his feet and loomed over the broken Rainbow Dash.