Dark Shadows

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Pawn
Chapter 3: An Honest Day's Work
Chapter 4: A Dash of Loyalty
Chapter 5: Number One Assistant
Chapter 6: Lost Laughter
Chapter 2: The Past and Present

Chapter 1: The Pawn

Chapter 1: The Pawn

Deep in the darkness of space a forgotten princess waited for her time to strike revenge against those who has banished her. Hysteria, the youngest sister of Celestia and Luna, is that princess. Back in the times of Discord's reign she sided with the mad Draconequus, and when he was defeated by her sisters she was sentenced to wander the galaxy for all time to atone for her crimes. Her only companion was her ever growing hatred for her sisters, and everything they stood for, and it has helped her keep her sanity. Now she has a plan to exact revenge on not only her sisters, but all of Equestria, all she needs is a pawn to do her bidding...

*Too weak.." Hysteria muttered as an image of a young boy appeared in front of her. She needed someone who would be willing to give in to her completely, but also be able to perform what was asked of them. An image of three young girls appeared, replacing the image of the boy. What are these three attempting to do?, Hysteria thought as she saw the three girls put on backpacks filled to bursting with survival gear...

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SURVIVALISTS!" Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, yelled in unison. The Crusader's latest attempt was to travel deep into the Everfree and stay there for one week, with no help from their friends and family. Of course, their friends and family had no idea they were planning to head out to the woods in the first place. After a few minutes of struggling to get through the door of their clubhouse the trio was off to the Everfree.

"Applebloom, you know where we're going, right?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking terrified as the group passed another ominous looking tree.

"I'm know we're going the right way!" Applebloom said defiantly, turning to face Sweeite Belle, "Or are you just trying to chicken out?"

"Do I look like Scootaloo to you?!" Sweetie Belle yelled back angrily, causing a few birds to fly from the branches they were perched on.

"Hey, I'm not a chicken!" Scootaloo shouted as she shoved Sweetie Belle just hard enough to push her over. Sweetie Belle stumbled a bit before falling into a bush, cutting her arm on a twig as she fell. When she got up her arm was bleeding, causing Scootaloo to cough.

"What's wrong Scoots, afraid of a little blood?" Sweetie Belle asked, a devious grin spreading across her face. Scootaloo didn't answer as she had her hands covering her mouth so she wouldn't vomit, so she chose to shake her head violently instead.

"You sure about that Scoots, you seem pretty pale" Sweetie Belles said, lifting her arm up towards Scootaloo's face, causing her to shuffle back. Her foot caught a tree root that was on the edge of the path and she fell down, cutting herself on a rock. She got up before it had started to bleed, and as soon as it did she fainted, falling into Sweetie Belle, causing her to lose her balance.

"Nice job Sweetie" Applebloom said sarcastically as Sweetie Belle tried to get out from under Scootaloo.

"Yeah, yeah" Sweetie Belle said as she patted herself off as she got to her feet, "What should we do with her?"

"Since it's your fault that she's like this..." Applebloom said, tapping her chin with one finger as she thought, "You should take her back to Ponyville"

"What about you?" Sweetie Belle asked as she tried to wake Scootaloo up so they could head back.

"I packed too much to not go all the way through with this" Applebloom said, turning around to continue along the path, "See you in a week!". Applebloom suddenly took off running, leaving Sweetie Belle with a half conscious Scootaloo.

"How interesting..." Hysteria said as she rubbed her chin, "Now that this young girl is all alone I can try to trick her, but what is it she desires most?". Hysteria quickly looked through Applebloom's memories, trying to find her one true desire, learning much about her in the process. She knows the Elements of Harmony personally?!, Hysteria was amazed that such a young girl would know such influential people. After a few minutes of hunting she found out what would let her trick Applebloom.

"A cutie mark, is it?" Hysteria said with an evil laugh, "Be careful what you wish for..."

"Stupid Sweetie Belle, making Scootaloo faint like that..." Applebloom muttered as she struggled to set up the tent she had brought alone. After a few minutes and plenty of shouts the tent was set up, in all it's glory. Despite it being a rather old tent from the attic at Sweet Apple Acres it looked fairly new, almost as if it was never used.

"Now then, time to start a fire!" Applebloom said as she looked around for some stones to make a fire pit with. She looked around and only found three stones, and so she had to go out in her nearby area to find more. As she left her campground the temperature dropped sharply, causing her to shiver.

"I wish I had my jacket..." Applebloom said as she rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm herself up.

"Hello there young one" a dark voice said from no where in particular.

"Who, who's there?" Applebloom said as she looked around in fear, trying to find the source of the voice.

"I know how much you want a cutie mark" the voice said as a dark cloud appeared in front of Applebloom, "How far are you willing to go to get one?"

"Who are you?!" Applebloom shouted, her voice cracking due to her fear.

"I can give you a cutie mark if you truly desire one" the voice said again, the dark cloud getting closer to Applebloom, causing her to stumble backwards.

"What do you want with me?!" Applebloom cried, tripping on her own foot, causing her to fall to the ground.

"It's simple..." the voice whispered, getting close to Applebloom's face, "You kill the Princess"

"What?!" Applebloom shouted as she tried to crawl away from the cloud, only to be pull back.

"You seem against it now, but just you wait, you'll soon be begging me to let you help with my plans..." the voice said in a dark tone, letting out a loud laugh as Applebloom was pulled into the cloud. She tried to scream but she couldn't, she was paralyzed by her fear. The last sound she managed to make was nothing but a faint squeal before she was pulled into the cloud entirely.

Chapter 3: An Honest Day's Work

Chapter 3: An Honest Day's Work

It has been three hours since Applebloom became Poison Apple, and she is now nearing Sweet Apple Acres. She had been thinking over what Hysteria had said to her. Who were all these people she was supposed to find? IT was clear that honesty was her sister, the dragon's tail was Spike, but what did she mean by the three who have yet to find their purpose, each a different race. Did she mean her friends? That was the only thing she could think of, but who was the third? Upon looking into the mysterious orb she found on the outskirts of Ponyville she understood who the third person was.

Her.

Or rather, who she used to be. Applebloom was an Earth pony, and still didn't have her cutie mark when she became Poison Apple. When Poison Apple looked into the orb she could see her old self, trapped forever inside a cage. What would she do in this situation? Would she willing harm her own sister and friends for Hysteria? Probably not, Poison Apple thought as she reached to farm house on Sweet Apple Acres. It was time for her to take away her sister's honesty...

It was early morning when Applejack heard someone rummaging through the attic of the barn. She knew most people liked to stay off her farm, but even then there was the occasional person who tried to hide in the barn. Picking up a nearby shovel she made her way into the barn, preparing to defend herself if need be, only to find Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in the barn, surrounded by old camping gear.

"What are you three doing?" Applejack asked, dropping the shovel beside her.

"Getting camping gear!" Applebloom said happily, tossing an old tent away because it had a hole in it.

"Why do you need camping gear?" Applejack asked, dodging a tent pole Scootaloo had thrown behind her.

"We're uh..." Applebloom started to say, trailing off as she tried to find an excuse.

"We're going camping in the orchard!" Sweetie Belle said, quickly taking the attention off Applebloom.

"Why are you camping in the orchard" Applejack asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice, because she knew what was coming next.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CAMPING EXPERTS! YAY!"

"So how long do you three plan on camping for?" Applejack asked, noticing a rather large bag filled with food beside the pile the three girls were rummaging through.

"One week" Scootaloo answered, tossing a hatchet towards another pile, "Oops". The other two girls looked up and saw that the hatchet had broken through a tent pole they planned on using.

"Smooth move Scoots, now we have to find another one" Sweetie Belle said angrily as she went back to digging through the pile. Scootaloo went over and took the hatchet out of the pole and set it next to the pile so nothing else would get ruined. Applejack sighed as she turned around to head back to the house. She had to get ready for a long day on the farm. Her schedule for today was to harvest the rest of the south-eastern field, and to help Big Macintosh with the lunch rush at their apple stall.

After a long day of work Applejack finally got back to the farmhouse. Her arms and legs were tired from working in the field the entire day, and then carrying barrels of apples to the stall during the lunch rush. She quickly made her way to the bath so she could get a little bit of R&R. Just as she lowered her way into the bath she heard Big Mac from the other side of the door.

"Where's Applebloom?" he asked, knowing she usually comes home after her and her friends usual crusades.

"They went out camping in the orchard" Applejack said calmly as the warm water relaxed her muscles.

"Oh, okay" Big Mac said, nodding to himself as he made his way to the kitchen. He was hungry after a long day of work. Applejack waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore before she lowered herself under the water completely. She started to think about what was happening with Applebloom and her friends out in the orchard. After a few minutes she got out of the bath and made her way to her room, getting into her pyjamas before she climbed into her bed, made even more comfortable after her long day.

Poison Apple made her way into the farm house quietly, trying not to wake her old family. She knew that if any of them saw her in her new appearance she would be found out immediately. Heading up the stairs she looked around for Applejack's room, finding the door open a tiny bit, allowing her to open it without being found out.

"Who's there...?" Applejack asked quietly, having been on the verge of sleep when she heard her door open. Poison Apple stopped instantly, knowing that if she was awake it was going to make her job a lot harder. She quickly slipped into the room as Applejack got up to shut the door, being kept hidden by the darkness.

"I should really start locking my door..." Applejack mumbled as she turned to go back to her bed.

Thud

Applejack quickly turned around to find the source of the noise, only to see a small orb rolling towards her. As she bent over to pick it up she felt something jump on her back, causing her to jump back to her standing position. Poison Apple quickly brought the knife to Applejack's throat, knowing that the farmer would easily be able to throw her off.

"Who, who are you?" Applejack said quietly, her voice filled with terror.

"It's none of your concern" Poison Apple said as she brought the knife closer, preparing the slit Applejack's throat.

Wait, Poison Apple could hear Hysteria's voice in her head, Don't kill her, just cut her so the orb can absorb her honesty

"Yes mother" Poison Apple said as she moved the knife down so she wouldn't kill Applejack.

"Mothe-" Applejack started, cut off when the knife slid across her collar bone, causing her to fall to the ground as she bled. When she hit the ground the orb lit up, her honesty being pulled from her through the open wound. Due to the pain of having her honesty pulled out she passed out, but not before seeing her attackers face.

"Applebloom..." Applejack stammered as she passed out, all honesty gone from her body. Poison Apple picked up the orb after it finished glowing, and made her way out of the farm house. As she left the farm she picked her next target, and she knew just how to get her too...

Chapter 4: A Dash of Loyalty

Chapter 4: A Dash of Loyalty

It was early morning when Poison Apple found the cloud house that belonged to the one and only Rainbow Dash. She knew it would be impossible to catch her when she was up there, or when she was flying, so how would she get her...

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled from over a nearby hill. Poison Apple had mere seconds to hide, or she would be seen by the purple Unicorn. As she hid in a nearby busy she saw a terrified look on the Unicorn's face.

"RAINBOW WAKE UP!" Twilight shouted, using her magic to throw a rock through Rainbow's window.

"OW!" Rainbow shouted, having been whacked in the head by the rock, "What do you want?!"

"Something's happened to Applejack! You need to come with me, hurry!" Twilight yelled, looking around nervously. Rainbow's head quickly disappeared as she went to get dressed, taking her time as she thought this was just Twilight being crazy again. After almost twenty minutes Rainbow made her way down to Twilight, who immediately took off running.

"Hey wait up!" Rainbow shouted, being caught off guard by Twilight's sudden speed. Because they were running at high speeds it only took them half an hour to reach the farm, only to find a distraught looking Big Macintosh.

"Mac, what happened?" Twilight asked worriedly, afraid something horrible had happened.

"AJ..." Mac mumbled, looking away in pain, "AJ went crazy and tried to kill me"

"WHAT?!" Rainbow shouted, knowing her friend wouldn't hurt her brother, or anyone for that matter. She quickly flew into the house, only to find Applejack's room blocked off. Knowing that she liked to keep a window open she flew back outside and looked for it. When she found it she was terrified by what she saw inside.

There AJ was, curled up in a ball on her bed, covered in blood, mumbled incoherently to herself. Rainbow looked around her room and saw a pool of blood in the middle of the floor, along with a small trail that lead out of the room. She slowly floated back down to where Mac and Twilight were talking, noticing a rather large cut along his neck.

"Did she cut you?" Rainbow asked, rubbing her hand over the wound, causing Mac to flinch.

"Eeyup" Mac said as he relaxed into her hand, "I went to wake her up, and then she just jumped at me, cutting me with her nails". Rainbow and Twilight exchanged worried looks before Twilight spoke up.

"Celestia needs to know about this, I'll be right back!" Twilight said, quickly turning to run, only to be stopped by Mac's hand.

"Please don't, I don't want to see her hurt..." Mac said quietly, looking at the ground instead of Twilight. She could understand why he'd want that. Applejack was his sister after all, and family is very important to him, even if they tried to kill him.

"Ok Mac, I won't" Twilight said, turning to Rainbow, "Look after him"

"You got it" Rainbow said as she led Mac to the bench on the front porch, hoping to try and cheer him up. They ended up sitting there in silence until Mac tried to leave. Rainbow quickly grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back down, to no avail.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rainbow asked, still trying to pull him back.

"I'm going to check on my sister, I need to make sure she's still ok" Mac said, pulling him arm out of Rainbow's grasp. Rainbow sat back down, defeated, and watched him go into the house by himself. She sighed and put her head into her hands.

"Why do you always have to be like this?" Rainbow said quietly before looking up suddenly. She had this feeling like she was being watched, but when she looked around she couldn't see anything or anyone. Little did she know that just behind a wheelbarrow stood Poison Apple. She barely managed to follow her here, and was now planning how she was going to take Rainbow's wings.

So far the only plan she had managed to come up with was an oversized bug zapper, but she had no clue where she would find that, and every other plan always placed her in the public eye, something she didn't want. Thankfully she didn't have to worry about catching Rainbow as there was a very loud scream coming from inside the house. It was Big Mac.

"MAC!" Rainbow shouted, nearly smashing through the front door as she made her way inside, finding Macintosh lying at the bottom the stairs, his arm sliced open. Looking up the stairs she saw AJ, hand covered in blood, smiling as she looked at her brother. Rainbow quickly flew up the stairs, willing to hurt her friend for what she did, but missed as Applejack stepped out of the way and back into her room. Knowing it might be her only chance to do so, Rainbow blocked her door with as many things as she could find, before going down to check on Mac.

He was still lying at the bottom of the stairs, his arm bleeding heavily. Rainbow quickly flew around the house, looking for bandages and disinfectant. After finding them she bandaged his arm up and carried him to his room, pausing to look at the barricade she made around AJ's. As Rainbow placed Mac on his bed he woke up.

"What happened?" Mac asked, noticing Rainbow's serious look.

"AJ attacked you again, and cut you really badly" Rainbow said as she sat on the bed next to Mac, rubbing his hair slowly. Mac tried to get up, only to be stopped by Rainbow pushing him back down.

"Rainbow please, I need to help her" Mac pleaded.

"No, don't I don't want to see you hurt..." Rainbow trailed off, looking down at the bed.

"But Rainbow, she's family, I can't ju-" Mac started, only to be cut off by Rainbow suddenly kissing him. His eyes opened in surprise before he leaned into the kiss. When they broke apart it was Rainbow who spoke first.

"Sorry, it's just that I, uh..." Rainbow trailed off, her face bright red. Mac quickly sat up and hugged her, knowing what she was going to say.

"It's okay Rainbow, I've, uh, felt that way for a while now too" Mac said as Rainbow hugged him back. As they let go Rainbow's wings spread out.

"Sorry, it's that, uh, you know..." Rainbow said, her face once again bright red. Mac understood what she was going to say, since he had learned about Pegasus anatomy in school. He quickly hugged and kissed her, pulling her down to the bed with him. Rainbow didn't try to fight him as she went down, nor as he slowly took off her shirt. She loved him, and he loved her. Even if AJ was crazy they couldn't stop their feelings from showing.

Outside Poison Apple had been watching it all unfold. She looked away as the action began, and after an hour looked back to see Mac sleeping peacefully as Rainbow walked around in a blue night gown that she found in the house. Poison Apple quickly went to her old room's window and slipped inside. Watching from her door she saw

Rainbow make her way downstairs towards the kitchen.

"Man am I hungry" Rainbow said as she opened the fridge, eager to find something to eat, "Who would have thought that would be such an exercise?". A sudden noise caused Rainbow to look up from the fridge. As she did she felt something cut along her wings, which were still outstretched. Turning around she saw Poison Apple, smiling devilishly as she cut down Rainbow's wings with a butcher's knife.

"Applebloom! What?!" Rainbow shouted as she fell the the ground. She could only stare in horror as Poison Apple pulled out the orb, which quickly began to suck out Rainbow's loyalty. As it did Rainbow passed out, feeling something trying to come out from inside her. As the last of her loyalty was sucked out Poison Apple picked up one of her wings.

"This will make a nice decoration" she said as she turned the wing over, examining it. She quickly made her way out of the house after she heard noises from Mac's room. Stopping outside the door she turned around to see Mac's reaction. As he got to the bottom of the stairs he saw Rainbow's body, illuminated by the refrigerator light.

"Rainbow!" Mac shouted as he ran towards her, picking her up and shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. When she didn't move Mac looked around, catching a glimpse of Poison Apple's bow. He quickly ran to the door and looked outside for Poison Apple, holding the family shotgun that they kept next to the door at shoulder height, willing to kill whoever did that to Rainbow.

Luckily for Poison Apple he was looking at his eye level, and his vision was narrowed by rage. She quickly slid along the side of the house and made her way into the orchard. Pausing again she turned to see Mac slump to the ground, crying. As she turned to run deeper into the orchard she head a loud bang from behind her. Thinking that it was Mac she laughed, but she was wrong. Mac, and Rainbow, were still very much alive.

Chapter 5: Number One Assistant

Chapter 5: Number One Assistant

As Poison Apple went further into the orchard she began to laugh hysterically. Now only did she manage to get two of the elements in one house, but she got Rainbow Dash right after her romantic encounter with Big Mac, causing him to kill himself. To her sick, twisted mind, it was the funniest thing in the world. Her laughter died down as she neared the edge of the orchard, knowing that it would give her position away. She quickly climbed into an apple tree to get a better view, her thoughts being interrupted by Hysteria as she sat down on a branch.

You have done well so far little one, so I will give you a hint as to how to find a dragon's tail, Hysteria said quietly as the orb began to glow, In the town there is a baby dragon, kill him and take his tail

"Yes Mother" Poison Apple said as she moved to climb down from the tree.

Be careful young one, this dragon lives with the element of magic, and she may put up a fight, Hysteria whispered as her voice left Poison Apple's head. Poison Apple knew there was only one way to take them both out in one night, but she had to be quick about it. All she needed was something to cut off Spike's tail with...

Here you go young one, Hysteria said as an axe appeared in front of Poison Apple. She quietly thanked Hysteria as she picked up the axe, thankful that it was the dead of night, meaning no one would be outside to see her carry it into town.

As she neared the library she could hear papers flying around. Looking into one of the windows she saw Twilight rapidly writing something down. She turned quickly to Spike, who was half asleep, holding one of the papers.

"Send this to the Princess right now!" Twilight ordered, but Spike waved her away.

"I'll do it in the morning, I'm too tired to do that right now" Spike said, yawning as he turned to head for his bed. Twilight shook her head angrily as he walked away, then looked at the clock on the wall.

"I guess I should get to sleep too" Twilight said as she blew out the candle she had been using for light. As the room went dark a faint purple glow started to come from Twilight's horn, which she was now using the light the way to her bed. Outside Poison Apple looked around for an open window, finding one on the upper floor, which lead into the room next to their bedroom. Quietly making her way inside, Poison Apple began to plan her course of action.

First, she would take care of Spike, then, using him a distraction she would take down Twilight and cut off her horn. She started to think if it was necessary to kill Spike, since he would wake Twilight if she wasn't careful.

You do not need to kill the dragon, but the choice is yours, Hysteria said as Poison Apple began to head for the door. She nodded to herself, ready to make her move. As she made her way into the room she could hear loud snores coming from the dog bed that Spike slept in, meaning he was obviously fast asleep. Looking over to Twilight's bed she couldn't see the Unicorn. At first it worried Poison Apple, but a smile quickly spread across her face. If Twilight was downstairs she could kill Spike, and use his corpse to trap Twilight.

Slowly walking towards Spike's bed she noticed his head and tail were both sticking out of the bed. Poison Apple laughed quietly to herself as she raised the axe, bringing it above with Spike's neck. Knowing it would be best to not waste time preparing she quickly brought the axe down, ending Spike's life in a split second, without a noise. Before she could do anything else she heard Twilight coming up the stairs. Poison Apple quickly ran behind a bookshelf that was in the room, getting behind it just as Twilight came into the room.

"Now that Gone with the Pegasi is in the right section I can sleep" Twilight said, still not noticing that Spike wasn't snoring. As she walked further into her room she finally noticed that her assistant's loud snoring was missing. She walked over to see if he was still asleep.

"Spike?" Twilight said quietly, just in case he was still asleep, and just wasn't snoring. When she got over his bed she noticed the blood pool around him, and fell back in terror. As Poison Apple made her way out from behind the bookcase Twilight levitated one of Spike's hands towards her, which had been cut off along with his head.

"Spike?!" Twilight cried, her eyes filling with tears. Poison Apple quickly ran forward, knowing she was about to scream out Spike's name. Raising the axe she prepared to swing at Twilight's horn.

"Spi-" Twilight started to yell, but was cut off as the axe was brought to her horn, cutting it clean off. She fell to the ground, her horn flying off and getting stuck in the wall. Poison Apple took out the orb and a purple mist began to make it's way out of where Twilight's horn had been. Twilight's colour began to drain just as the other's had, and she curled up into a ball, tears still flowing down her face. Looking over to the wall where Twilight's horn had gotten stuck Poison Apple got an idea.

Moving over to Spike's corpse she quickly cut off Spike's tail, picking it up and moving over to Twilight's horn. Taking the horn out of the wall she moved the tail over the hole where it had been a moment before. She quickly stabbed the horn through the tail, nailing it to the wall. Poison Apple took a step back and smiled, appreciating her work.

Good work young one, Hysteria said, laughing, I did not think the element of magic would fall so easily. You have done well

"Thank you Mother" Poison Apple said, jumping onto Twilight's bed.

Next, you must take the laughter and smile away from another of the elements, Hysteria said, pausing to think for a moment, But she should be easily dealt with, just wait for the news of her friends to reach her and she will be yours

"Yes Mother" Poison Apple said, laying down on the bed, closing her eyes, planning on sleeping after two days of hard work.

Sleep young one, you have a lot of work ahead of you..., Hysteria said as Poison Apple drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 6: Lost Laughter

Chapter 6: Lost Laughter

It was early in the morning when Poison Apple woke up. As she sat up she was greeted by a foul smell, and after taking a quick look around the room she found it's source. Not only had Spike already started to decay, but his bowels had released themselves during the night, leaving a nice pile of dragon turd for Poison Apple to clean up.

"Stupid dragon" Poison Apple grumbled as she cleaned the floor, throwing both Spike, and his turds, into the garbage. After taking a long bath Poison Apple got up and prepared to deal with the next target on her list, Pinkamena Diane Pie. Poison Apple whistled a tune as she dried herself off, pausing to look in the mirror and she was surprised at what she saw.

It was Applebloom. Normal old Applebloom. As Poison Apple looked into the mirror she could hear Hysteria's voice.

This must be a shock young one, to look as you used to, but it is necessary, Hysteria said, quietly laughing to herself, For you must wait around the element of laughter, as she will soon lose her happiness. Poison Apple understood what Hysteria was saying. With a close friend dead, and three of the other elements changed, there was no way Pinkie Pie was going to be able to stay cheerful and happy. The plan was so simply, yet so evil. Poison Apple loved it.

She quickly made her way downstairs and had a quick meal because she was hungry, probably a side effect of her current form. After finishing her food she made her way outside, making her way towards Sugar Cube Corner. As she got close she could hear Pinkie humming happily inside. As she opened the door the humming got louder until Pinkie was standing right in front of Poison Apple.

"Hiya Applebloom! What can I get you?" Pinkie asked, bouncing around Poison Apple happily.

"Can I have an, uh..." Poison Apple said quietly, looking at the menu on the counter, "I'll have a strawberry milkshake"

"Okay, just go wait over there, I'll have it in a second!" Pinkie said happily as she bounced back into the kitchen. Poison Apple looked around at the other patrons. Among them were a rather cranky looking middle aged man, a bald Unicorn, and a Pegasus with fire red hair. She continued to look around, but stopped as the quaint environment began to make her feel sick.

"Here you are, it's on the house!" Pinkie blurted, quickly running to the counter as two people came in, a Unicorn and a Pegasus. They were chatting happily with each other as they reached the counter. Poison Apple watched them carefully, not knowing why, but most likely to take her mind off the decor. The Unicorn was a pale white with two tone red hair and blue eyes. The Pegasus, who was a fair bit larger than the Unicorn, had light brown hair and had hazel eyes, along with a carefully trimmed beard. Pinkie was still bouncing around as she took their order.

"We'll have two large blueberry muffins please" the Pegasus said, his low voice matching perfectly with his gruff appearance.

"Okay, take a seat over there and I'll bring them to you" Pinkie said happily, turning into a pink blur as she popped into the kitchen, coming back so fast she managed to beat the couple to their table. She quickly mumbled something to them and then ran back to the counter, another person entering the store. Poison Apple could hear the couples conversation from where she was sitting, so she decided to listen in to pass the time.

"Service here is really good" the Pegasus said as he pulled out a chair for the Unicorn. After she sat down her went to the other side and sat down.

"Yeah, I've been here a few times before, and she's almost always like that" the Unicorn said, her voice matching her small body. The two of them leaned across the table and kissed before sitting back in their chairs. The Unicorn took one of the muffins up in her magic, using her hands to take something out of her bag.

"So, is this about what you're thinking of for the character?" she asked, taking a bite out the muffin, a look of pure bliss spread across her face.

"Yeah, maybe make them a tiny bit more skeleton-ey, and brighter eyes, then it's perfect" the Pegasus said, taking a bite out of his muffin as his date rummaged through her bag. She pulled out another picture, this time of a town in the middle of a forest.

"So this is Sunny town as I imagine it when it's peaceful" she said, wiping a bit of muffin of her date's face, making him frown.

"Yeah, that seems good, but what about after the curse shows up?" he asked, putting the muffin down and taking a drink out of a travel mug he brought with him. He smiled briefly before putting the mug back down. The Unicorn quickly finished off her muffin before reaching into her bag one last time, this time pulling out a picture of the same town, but this time it had a sinister appearance,

"How's this?" she asked, noticing he put his muffin down, "You gonna finish that?"

"It's perfect, and you can have it, I know how much you love blueberry muffins" he said, pushing the muffins towards her. She quickly jumped over the table and kissed him before devouring the muffin. As she wiped her face Twilight came through the door, her colours still drained.

"Hiya Twili-" Pinkie paused, noticing her lack of colour, "You okay Twilight?"

"No" Twilight replied in a monotone voice. Poison Apple quickly pulled the orb out and set it underneath her table, hoping this would be her opportunity to get Pinkie out of the way.

"Why not, it's an amazing day today, oh, and we have a special on rainbow cupcakes today!" Pinkie said, her voice going back to it's normal tone.

"Spike's dead" Twilight said, still monotone.

"Spike's dad?!" Pinkie said, either not hearing what Twilight said, or hoping she just heard her wrong, "What's he got to do with anything, aren't you his mom or something?!"

"I said Spike's dead" Twilight said louder this time, getting the attention of everyone in the store. Pinkie froze in midair, breaking the laws of physics, and then fell to her knees. Her hair had lost it's usual puffiness, and she looked noticeably darker. The couple that Poison Apple had been listening to slowly got up, prompting everyone else in the store to do the same. A light began to shine under Poison Apple's table, meaning the orb was starting to work, and Pinkie quickly stood up, looking at the customers who tried to leave with mad eyes.

"No one leaves this room!" she shouted, rage flooding her voice. The older man quickly turned back towards the door, eager to escape, only to have Pinkie rush up to him and hold him up by his throat. The Pegasus that Poison Apple had been watching turned around and pulled her off the old man. He quickly overpowered Pinkie as she tried to push her way past him, and he threw her towards Twilight, who moved out of the way, allowing Pinkie to whack her head on the floor.

"Come on, get moving, let's get out of here" he said, waving his arms around in an attempt to get everyone outside. Looking around the store he saw Poison Apple sitting at her table and quickly rushed over to help her out of the store, only to be attacked by Pinkie, who was now holding a knife.

"GO! RUN!" he shouted at Poison Apple, managing to hold Pinkie back long enough for Poison Apple to get out of the store. From outside all that could be heard was a loud thud as someone's body hit the floor. After a few anxious moments the Pegasus came out of the store holding Pinkie in his arms, a knife stuck into her stomach.

"What happened?!" the Unicorn he had been with yelled, running up to him.

"She attacked me, and then the knife slipped and..." he said, trailing off as he looked at Pinkie, "We need to get her to a hospital". He quickly looked around before taking off, his date using her magic to teleport directly to the hospital while he flew Pinkie over. Poison Apple silently laughed as Pinkie's blood slowly dripped down, leaving a trail from Sugar Cube Corner, all the way to the hospital. As she turned to leave she heard someone yell from behind her.

"Applebloom!"

She quickly turned around to see Scootaloo running towards her. The young Pegasus quickly came to a stop in front of Poison Apple. Poison Apple smiled to her and began talking to her, knowing what she was going to do next.

Yes young one, another who is yet to find her purpose, and it's your friend too!, Hysteria laughed, the irony of the situation being the funniest thing her twisted mind has seen in a long time.

Chapter 2: The Past and Present

Chapter 2: The Past and Present

Darkness surrounded Applebloom as she opened her eyes. Last thing she could remember was being terrified of a strange dark cloud that could talk. She couldn't figure out where she was until she heard the voice again.

"Welcome young one, to the heart of darkness" the voice said from behind her, causing Applebloom to jump.

"Who, who are you?!" Applebloom asked, her eyes darting back and forth in a desperate attempt to find the source of the voice. Applebloom stumbled around aimlessly before she realized she wasn't touching the ground. The voice's laughter caused her to stop her attempts to find somewhere to stand.

"You seem confused little one" the voice said as a hand reached out from the darkness, "Do not fret, it will all be explained soon". Before Applebloom could reply an image of an apple with a hammer and nail appeared in front of her.

"This could be yours" the voice said, the disembodied hand motioning towards the image, "if..."

"If what?" Applebloom asked, realizing that the image must be her cutie mark, the one thing she wants the most. She quickly though about what a creepy disembodied voice would want with her, but she couldn't think of anything.

"Oh, it's really quite simple..." the voice said, waving the image away, "All you have to do is kill the princesses"

"What?!" Applebloom shouted. How could she want her to kill the princesses? They bring peace and order to Equestria, who would want them killed? The only reason was if...

"Why you ask?" the voice said, pausing for dramatic effect, "Revenge, that's why!". Applebloom jumped back to try and get away from the voice, and ended up hitting the ground. When she got up she was inside of the Canterlot Castle, but it looked slightly different than what she was used to. The wall and pillars were less ornate, and looked as if it had just been built. As she continued to look around she heard trumpets sounding outside of the massive doors behind her. She turned around just in time to see the doors open, a younger Celestia and Luna walking through surrounded by guards.

"What's going on here?" Applebloom asked out loud as the two princesses walked past her towards their thrones.

"This is the day they banished me" the voice said as a woman entered the room, escorted by guards. Unlike the two sisters she was in shackles, and looked like she hadn't seen the light of day in many months. She was led to a place in front of the two sisters, and was pushed forward by her escort.

"Hysteria" Celestia said in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "You are brought before the court to be tried for your crimes against Equestria and the harmony it represents"

"What crimes am I guilty of, other than wanting to be free?!" Hysteria shouted, causing her guards to pull back on her chains to try and control her.

"You sided with Discord in the war, and you have attacked our humble Castle in an act of chaos" Luna said, her horn lighting up, creating an image of a nearly destroyed Canterlot next to her.

"Do you admit to committing these crimes?" Celestia asked, looking at Hysteria with pure hatred.

"Yes I do" Hysteria said, pausing to look Celestia in the eyes, "Sister!"

"So that's how it has to be then..." Luna said quietly, a hint of regret in her voice.

"By order of the crown you are to be banished for all time!" Celestia said, once again using the Royal Canterlot Voice, "You will wander the stars for all time!". Celestia's horn began to light up and a small ornate box floated up from behind her. When it opened two pieces of jewellery came out and made their way around the sister's necks. The necklaces began to light up, and suddenly Hysteria was gone, all the remained were her chains.

The image of the throne room disappeared, and Applebloom was once again in darkness. She looked around to find Hysteria, who she placed as the voice who had been talking to her. Before she could ask the voice began to talk again.

"Now you know what they did to me" Hysteria said calmly, "and now you know why they must die"

"But that was a long time ago! They've changed!" Applebloom pleaded.

"That does not matter, they deserve to pay for what they did, and you won't help me..." her voice trailing off as she spoke. A knife suddenly appeared in front of Applebloom, pointed straight at her, she tried to run away and found that her arms and legs were now bound together.

"No, no, please, no!" Applebloom cried, her life flashing before her eyes.

"Then join me" Hysteria said, the knife twirling in front of Applebloom's chest.

"Okay, okay, I'll join you, just please don't kill me!" Applebloom begged, the knife starting to cut down her chest.

"Fine, but you must prove your allegiance to me..." Hysteria said deviously. The knife made it's way into Applebloom's right hand, which was now free.

"Cut out one of your eyes"

"What?!" Applebloom shouted. The knife suddenly shot out of her hand and took it's place above her chest again.

"Do it, or you will die" Hysteria said angrily, the knife breaking through her skin.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Applebloom cried as she knife flew back into her hand. She slowly lifted the knife to her right eye, and hesitantly brought it closer. As the point of the blade got withing an inch of her eye she stabbed it forward, wanting to get it over with. She felt a blinding pain as the knife split her eye ball in half, and before it could make it's way into her brain it disappeared, and the pain was gone.

"Good choice young one" Hysteria said, a hand once again appearing.

"Thank you" Applebloom said, rising to her feet, "Mother"

"From this day forward you will be know as Poison Apple" Hysteria said, pointing down at the cutie mark that appeared on Applebloom's thigh. It was an apple with a dark shadowy figure on it. As she looked down at it she fell to the ground outside her campsite. She looked around with her good eye before hearing Hysteria's voice again.

"I need three ponies who have yet to find their purpose, each a different race, a dragon's tail, wings of a speedster, feathers of a queen, moonshine, starshine, fire from the sun itself, and the honesty of the purest soul. If you can find them all I will be set free. I need you to find them for me"

"Yes Mother" Applebloom said quietly as she picked up the knife that she had used to stab her eye out, "Your Poison Apple will set you free". Poison Apple began walking away from the camp she had set up, making her way towards Ponyville, planning her murders the entire way home.