Figures crossed paths all the time in Ponyville, so no one thought twice as the blue furred horse trotted along the dirt path in an off-beat tone. His yellow hat and little bow-tie made it clear he was heading towards the party that was being held at Sugarcube Corner just because Pinkie wanted to. Ponies all across town were stopping by for free food and cakes, so another worthless soul stopping by wasn't anything special. His green eyes surveyed the building before him and gave a smile, walking towards it. His hooves occasionally slipped under him as he walked, as if he wasn't used to walking on all four, but nopony paid him much attention as he walked in through the double doors that went into the bakery. Ponies lined the inside of the room, up against walls and displays as they talked and laughed. But before the blue pony was an open path that led towards the surveyor of the party-goings, the pink bubbly pony herself, working behind the counter delivering cakes and sweets to those in need. Her smile warned those around her as her voice sang a soft tune as she worked, relieving the stress of anypony that entered. But an ominous air slowly filled the room as the light cast a deep shadow in front of the blue pony, who slowly walked up to the counter, smiling. She wasn't paying attention as she flung about her station before stopping in front of the blue stallion, nearly jumping when she saw him.
"Oh, you must be new around here! I've never seen you before." She exclaimed excitedly to the newcomer, who only smiled in response. "What's your name?"
"Midnight." His voice was low and raspy as he spoke, his grin not fading in the slightest. "I presume you're the Pinkamena Diane Pie?" His words tickled her ears, but not in a good way.
But Pinkie's personality never lets her turn away a pony because of uneasy feelings, especially if it's their first time meeting. Instead, she was already trying to plan a Welcoming Party for Ponyville's newest civilian. "Yes, but friends just call me Pinkie!" She said with a bubbly smile. He chuckled at her, resting against the counter.
"Good. You're just the mare I wanted to see." He said in a very unnerving manner. Pinkie's body shivered in response, telling her that this pony isn't good news. But she ignored it again.
"Me? Why would you be looking for me???" She questioned, more curious now. Ponies around the room started to leave as they kept talking.
"Because I needed to talk to you about something." He responded.
"Oh, is this about a party?! I love parties!" She got excited, bouncing about. She only assumed this because everypony who looked for her specifically needed help with a party…
Or baking.
"Well... It is a party of sorts..." He responded in a more mysterious tone, still holding his smile.
"Oh, I can help!!! But... I've got to plan your party too..." She said, "I want to know you better so we can become friends and have a lot of fun here in Ponyville."
He scoffed at her. "Well, I can help with that if you can help me out." She smiled and nodded in response with great enthusiasm. "So... Is there somewhere we can talk more... Privately? I wouldn't want prying ears to listen into our conversation."
"Yeah, we can talk in the kitchen real quick." She said, waving him past the counter and into a side door. He chuckled and followed, something blackish leaking from his eye as he followed her. Inside, past the door was an open area of the Sugarcube kitchen. It was hot and smelled of freshly baked cakes and cookies. She stopped in the middle of the room and turned to him.
"So... Where do we start first?" She asked.
He simply scoffed again, turning off the lights, which made Pinkie concerned again. His smile grew bigger in the darkness as he started to approach her.
"How about... We start... With you." His raspy voice echoed, a stench of death and decay starting to fill the room. Pinkie backed up, fear starting to creep into her mind finally.
"Wait... Wait, what are you doing?"
The lights flickered, and in the split instant she could see properly, Midnight lunged at her, throwing her to the ground and covering her with a black substance that sunk into her fur. She struggled, trying to get away, but her earth pony strength and mind bending abilities couldn't help her. It all happened so quickly…
The last thing she could remember before the shadows of the world settled in was a strange feeling in her ears, and a sharp pain to her head…
This was the case of the missing filly. One of the town's kids had seemingly wandered into the nearby forest and hadn't come back for some time. A lot of ponies gathered up around the forest around dusk to go on a search, while the parents stayed back, comforted by their neighbors. Among the group were the fabled 6, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. They, alongside several other adult ponies, formed a party and took them into the woods to find the missing child. And as they entered, the forest made it known that things aren't what they seem anymore.
The feeling of the woods was darker than normal. Tension was rather bad as they made their way through, jumping at the slightest sound and making sure that the trees didn't try to grab them. Of course, Pinkie tried to make the situation better by singing her old song of laughing in the face of fear, but it didn't seem to be as effective this time. The woods were far darker and more terrifying than they ever had before. When Celestia set the sun down across the horizon and Luna rose the moon, some of the ponies ended up breaking off from the group, heading back to town as fear gripped them too tightly. The 6 kept on, facing the shadows that hindered them.
"It's not so bad once you get used to it…" Applejack commented as she kept an eye out past the shrubs of anything.
"Yeah… Seems rather quiet…" Fluttershy managed to squeak out, cowering behind Applejack in fear. "Too bad the forest… Is too scary…"
"Fluttershy, darling. As long as we stay together, we should be fine." Rarity looked back at the yellow pegasus with a warm smile, even though she was scared herself.
"Heh. It's just a bunch of trees, Flutters. There isn't anything really scary out there." Dash said from above, flapping her wings as she hung above them.
"Enough, girls. Remember, we're out here to find a lost filly. The faster we find her, the faster we can get out of this Celestia-forsaken forest." Twilight said, her light magic gliding across everyone's left. One, two, three, four, five, six….
"Wait. We're missing some pony…" She quickly turned around as the others looked behind them. It was true. While most of the group had split off, two local mares stuck with them in the search. And now they had seemingly vanished into the forest as well.
"Oh great, now we've got to find a kid AND two adults…" Dash groaned in disbelief.
"Can this night get any worse?"
Then a loud crack got their attention. Everypony nearly jumped, as both Fluttershy and Pinkie jumped into the hooves of their respected friend.
Twilight strained as she had the pink pony on top of her, nearly making her legs buckle. "Pinkie…! Get down…!" Pinkie chuckled sheepishly and hopped down onto her own hooves as Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Now… Rainbow Dash, did you see what that was?"
Dash squinted her eyes into the partially lit shadows, and noticed a figure dashing away. "Hey!" She shouted at them, then suddenly started flying after them through the trees, leaving the other behind.
"RAINBOW DASH!!" Applejack yelled as she followed suit, before the rest followed after them both.
They ran through the brush, snapping twigs and sticks, rustling all the leaves. They were so focused on chasing their friends that they didn't notice the huge claw marks in the trees.
Nor the blood that bathed much of the tree bark.
They ran continuously through the foliage until they made their way into a small clearing where both Rainbow Dash and Applejack had stopped.
"Seriously, girls??? Why did you just take off like that???" Twilight growled in protest, but neither answered her. She walked up to them, upset. "HEY. I'm talking to you both. What's got you all–" Then she stopped.
Her eyes widened at the sight before her, a sight so sickening that she wanted to throw up. Before them were the two mangled bodies of the ponies that they lost earlier. Their blood soaked the ground under them as they lay lifeless, their stomachs torn open and their insides spilling out. Each was missing different parts of their body, nowhere around to be found. Fluttershy let out an eep when she saw and Rarity gagged, nearly vomiting herself as she stepped into a patch of bloody grass.
"What… what did… this…" Twilight barely managed out past her need to vomit. She was doing her best to hold it down, unlike the white one who couldn't, dashing towards the nearest bush. No one could answer her question as the cold air of the night caused chills to run down their spines.
Until something made itself known to them. A sickening crunch, a smacking of lips, the sounds of blood spilling and flesh tearing came from the brush beyond the bodies. Into the clearing came…
A pony.
A blue pony with a yellow hat.
Covered in blood.
And carrying the half-eaten body of the filly.
He raised the body to his mouth again, grabbing a leg with his teeth and tearing it off with a sickening rip, chewing on the leg as the small body was tossed aside. Within moments, he tore off most of the remaining flesh before tossing aside the remaining bits.
"Oh, how long it's been since I've had a fresh meal." He said with a laugh, looking up at the starry sky as he spoke. "To finally be free to stretch my limbs and be myself…" His laugh only grew louder and louder, before he faced the group before him with a wicked smile covered in blood. "And to do so in such a place…" His arms slowly lowered to his sides, black muddy claws dancing off the ends of his blackened hooves. An ooze slowly dripped from his black eyes, which stared lifelessly at the mares.
They stared back in fear, frozen to their fate. He stepped closer, walking on his hind legs as he got closer. Fingers wrapped around his hooves over and over, smiling as he kicked aside the broken bodies, growing closer with every step. Rainbow Dash was the first to break out of her trance, immediately dive kicking at him, which he simply caught her hoof, holding her in the air as he looked at her. To her, his face started to melt away to the bone, the smell of burning flesh filling her nose as she struggled to get away. The skull cackled as it looked at her, two red dots staring at her from the crevices of the eye sockets. She screamed as he threw her back at the others, her wings flapping violently as she crashed into the ground in front of the others. They gathered around her, holding onto her except Pinkie, who stood in a daze of sorts.
"Best to learn your fights before picking them, meal." The pony said, laughing. The others stood their ground.
"You should learn who you're dealing with, monster." Twilight retorted, steam coming out of her nose. "We are the Elements of Harmony and we have faced far worse than you!"
He chuckled. "Oh, how cute. And this… Elements of Harmony thing? Doesn't it require all of you to pull off some sort of… magic stunt?" He watched them with a smile as he started snapping his fingers.
"The Elements are more powerful together. With us all here, you don't stand a chance." Applejack said with a huff, stepping forward.
"Yes, darling, what you said. We Elements are capable of a lot together, so let's straighten up your attitude." Rarity said as well, siding with Twilight.
Rainbow Dash took up to the air, red with anger now. "You may have gotten me with that trick, but I will not let you get away with killing innocent ponies!" She said furiously, more determined now.
Behind them, Fluttershy kept back, too frightened to face him, but as the others stepped forward, she heard a strange giggling behind her. She slowly looked behind her, terrified that it was something else, but when she noticed Pinkie, she let out a small sigh…
Then she noticed giggling coming from her. "P-p-pinkie?" She barely said in a whisper.
Pinkie raised her head towards Fluttershy, smiling.
"You are all foolish to think you can just beat me with the power of friendship…" He said, grinding from ear to ear. "Hell, you've already lost someone and you haven't even noticed it yet."
The group looked at him, confused, before a scream overtook them.
"Checkmate."
They quickly turned around and saw Pinkie tearing open Fluttershy's throat with a smile. Blood spewed from the deep wound as Fluttershy backpedaled into Twilight, collapsing as her hooves as blood kept spilling. She weakly looked up at the purple princess, unable to speak, gargling on her own blood, before collapsing completely, the life in her eyes quickly fading away.
Pinkie stood on her hind legs, covered in blood. Her eyes twitched violently as veins of black began to consume the white in her eyes. Ooze dripped down her body, dripping off her hooves and mixing with the blood. Then she started laughing. And laughed. And laughed.
"Pinkie, what did you do?!?!" Twilight screamed in dismay, unable to believe her friend had just killed another friend. The others stared at her, expecting an answer, but she looked at them, continuously laughing. She couldn't stop it, it was too much for her. She… wanted this. Yes, she wanted to do this. To kill those before her. Why?
Because she could. Because she wanted to.
The pony laughed at the group, holding his arms out wide. "Welcome to your worst Nightmare!!!" He exclaimed in a boasting voice. "This is only the beginning…"
A figure watched from a distance, unconcerned with the blood and screaming. Its eyes followed the movement of the twisted pony, narrowing in dissatisfaction. Behind it, a creature descended into the tree with it silently, but the figure glanced back at it as it landed with pointed feet on the branch.
"High Councilor of Fate, it seems that your wishes for the reawakening of Angel Michael were a complete success. The Angel of Fear has fully recovered from the catalyst he was encapsulated within." It spoke in a broken voice, its body moving in irregular patterns. The figure shook its head, disagreeing.
"No, he has not. What we are witnessing is just a crazed nightmare who truly thinks himself a god…" The figure stood up, looking back at the creature. "We need to pull our Angel free from his prison. Please do what you do best, Bathemus."
The creature nodded as it flapped its angelic wings, a flutter of feathers fell as it took up into the sky in an instant, vanishing quickly. The figure turned back to the carnage, watching intently with a smile.
His laugh bellowed across the forest, causing local wildlife to flee in terror as before him, both Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash stood their ground, both angry to the moon above them, but also extremely concerned. Behind them, Applejack wrestled with a demented Pinkie Pie, whose smile was beginning to creep her out.
"You did something to our friend, now you're going to undo it!" Rainbow shouted, violently flapping her wings.
He laughed at her. "Impossible! Once I've tainted a mind, once I grip a soul, nothing can change them back! Nothing short of killing me!" He said in a challenging way, opening himself to them. "You're more than welcome to try, but considering your first attempt went so sour, maybe you should think about your own lives instead."
"We will not abandon a friend in need. Especially after what you made her do!" Twilight exclaimed, stomping a hoof on the ground. He chuckled at this, claws dancing slowly in the air.
"Then come face your death, child." He said, his grin tearing his face apart as a black tongue rolled out. Rainbow moved even faster this time, taking to the air above the trees before quickly flipping and hurling herself towards him at break-neck speeds. He hardly moved in response, and when she made contact with him, his frame was sent flying backwards into a tree, cracking the bark. He slumped over in the dent of the tree, watching with his horrible smile as Twilight threw a spell at him. He watched the purple light rush him, then dashed aside, the spell sticking to the tree and lighting it up. An orange glow started to light up the shadows as he backed off from the fire, seemingly wanting nothing to do with it, which got Twilight thinking.
Rainbow dashed in again, but he blocked her kick with the back of his hand, barely moving this time. "What are you, a one-trick pony?" He mocked, as his hand quickly flipped, tightly grappling her hoof, causing her to cry in pain as he squeezed it. "Come on, Rainbow freak. Scream for me!" He laughed, distorted and hollow as his grip got tighter, threatening to break her bones.
"Rainbow Dash!" The voice got him to look away, and before he could react, Dash slammed her other hoof into his face, causing him to recoil.
"AH, SON OF A FUCK!!" He roared, rubbing his face. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU FUCKIN-" he got cut off as a blast struck him, engulfing his body in flames. "AH, GODDAMNIT!!" He stumbled, trying to put the fire out, yelling profanities at the ponies. Behind them, Applejack managed to pin down Pinkie with the help of Rarity, who was supporting her with magic.
"Now, Twilight!" Applejack yelled, looking at the two with concern, knowing she couldn't hold Pinkie down forever. Twilight nodded and conjured a massive spell, spreading it across the trees in front of them, when he still stumbled. He looked up, through the flames glaring at them as Twilight finished her spell, setting the forest ablaze.
A scream rang out from the inferno as the ponies watched limbs of the trees burn off, falling into the ever-growing flames. They stepped back, but didn't leave, only to confirm what they managed to do. They turned towards Applejack and Pinkie, who had passed out.
Twilight let out a much-needed sigh as she saw her friend safe. "That… that was too much…" She said, the other nodding in agreement.
"But… What are we going to do about… her…" Rarity glanced over at the body of their fallen friend, fighting back tears.
"That… Monster…" Rainbow kept hovering above Twilight as her hoof was still in pain. "I can't believe it… That she's gone." She held her hooves across her chest, head hanging down.
"There wasn't much we could do, Dash." Applejack stated, stepping off their pink friend. "We got caught off guard by this one and paid the price for not being prepared."
"Yeah… The best we can do now is see to it that she gets a proper burial…" Twilight said, having a hard time holding back her emotions. "But at least it's over." The others nodded in response. "Rainbow, can you help carry her? Rarity and Applejack will help Pinkie get back."
Rainbow nodded and fluttered down next to their dead friend, lifting her up as Applejack and Rarity got under Pinkie's body. "Are we good?" Twilight asked as the flames still raged behind them. They nodded and turned to set off…
"GAH!!!" There was the sound of flesh tearing, bones breaking, the smell of blood invaded Twilight's nose as she looked up, red splashing on her face. "Rainbow Dash!"
She hovered in the air, but not of her own accord. A huge black tendril had embedded itself through her back, piercing through her stomach. She nearly screamed in pain, dropping Fluttershy's body as she was moved further up into the air, blood raining down below her as the other watched in fear. "What the…" A second shot through, breaking through her chest with a sickening 'pop'. Then both curled back, gripping onto her body…
Before they pulled her in two, separating her lower half from her upper half. The two parts were haphazardly thrown aside before the tendrils retreated into the flames. The fire flicked after they vanished, before the red coloring changed into a black shade. They parted ways as a figure stepped through, their hair shifting in the slight breeze. A face covered in shadow with only a single golden eye staring back at them. It most certainly wasn't equestrian in shape, standing on only two legs, wearing a long coat of reddish black and a set of mute colored pants. Misshapen appendages hung at its sides, a black ooze dripping from the tips trailing back up into the sleeves. An aura of dread befell the ponies as it stepped forward from the flames, a crooked smile slowly appearing from the shadows of its face.
"Hello, little ones." It spoke, ice on its breath chilling the air despite the flames surrounding them. It was completely different from the monster they had been dealing with, and fear screamed in the back of Twilight's head as she realized that what they faced was far worse than anything they've ever faced before.
Nothing in Equestria could even compare to the sheer mind-numbing fear of this monster… No, this demon.
Nightmare stood up, surprised at the tenacity of these ponies that stood against him, yet also very pissed off. He stared through the flames at the group of ponies that remained as his body began to crack and misform itself, limbs growing longer and sharper, jaw cracking open more as teeth filled in the open rows. His fur grew darker as the sloppy black substance ran over his body, coating it. "I'll show them. I'll show them what happens when you make a fool of the Prince of-"
He was quickly cut off by a figure slamming into him from above, throwing himself back into the ground. He snarled, quickly snapping at his new aggressor, but stopping as he stared at a six-winged creature towering over him. "Oh, it's one of you assholes." His crusty voice dribbled itself out of his mouth in disgust. "What the hell do you want? I'm pretty busy eating…"
"Council Lead Lor is dissatisfied with your current progression and has asked me to speed up the process. Thankfully with your deteriorating self, removing the seal that remains shall be simpler than before." It responded in a cold voice.
"What the hell do you mean? I am my true self. I am the Prince of Nightmares. That's what the old man wanted…"
"Incorrect. He wished for the return of the Angel of Fear, not a shoddy knockoff."
"Shoddy- What the fuck?! I'll have your face for calling me that, you winged bastard!" Nightmare growled in hate as he stood up, nearly matching the 7ft frame of the creature.
"Unlikely." It simply responded.
"Yeah, and what are you going to do to stop me, Angel Face??? Bet you taste real good." He grinned at it with a small chuckle.
"This." Was all it replied before it threw its sharp claws straight through Nightmare's guy, impaling him on its arm. Nightmare jolted in sheer pain as the black ooze shot up out of his mouth.
"Ach!" He gripped the angel's arm with his claws and forced it back out of him, spewing Shade from his torso. "You… Fucking bastard! What… What the fuck?!" He gripped his center as the spill slowly stopped, the wound healing itself quickly.
The angel only stared at him as it lifted its claw. In it was a small black heart made of Shade, beating softly. "I have successfully extracted the catalyst and removed the seal." It then tossed the heart over into the shadows of the trees. "Now Michael shall rise once more."
"Who the fuck is Michael?" Nightmares hissed in anger, before a cold chill rushed over him. His eyes drifted over to the shadows, a glint of fear in them as he watched a figure rise from the darkness. A singular golden eye staring back as Nightmare, frozen in true fear, could only watch as the figure moved towards him, its body dripping in Shade.
"So you're the sorry excuse of a Prince running around with my Nightmares…"
He could only watch as the figure wrapped its fingers around his neck, pressure slowly closing around it.
"No. Please, no. I'm sorry." Nightmare's voice was soft, barely heard. The figure gave him a silent smile as the pressure got worse, his own life slowly being ripped out of him.
"Let me show you just how much I hate liars." He said, raising his head.
Then a crack was heard, followed by the collapse of a body onto the dirt.
The figure only grinned at it all as its focus turned towards a set of ponies on the other side of a wall of fire.
The trio were already on edge as is, but this new figure didn't help to ease their growing problems. He moved towards them, slowly walking with hands behind his back as the smile never wavered. "Such beautiful colors. A mixture of rainbows, painted with blood." He chuckled softly, his golden eye watching over them all as he stepped up to the frozen Twilight. "It is a shame that such beauty has to be.. buried." His cold breath washed over Twilight's fur, chills shooting down her spine as she jumped back.
"Run girls!" She shouted at the other two, who had also been frozen in fear. Their bodies refused to move as the figure laughed at them.
"You all look like you've seen your own demise!" He laughed at them, shaking his head. "Well, for one of you… But for the others… I have something special left behind by a traitor of my own." He lifted a hand and snapped, causing the mares to flinch from the sound.
"What the hell was that?" Applejack asked, worried.
He only smiled as he lifted a finger, pointing behind them. They turned their heads towards the rising figure of their friend turned monster, Pinkie. She looked far worse for wear now as black sludge clumped to her fur, slithering across her body as blank eyes stared at the group. "Corrupted with Shade, this one. Hella thing." He said with a chuckle. "Either you control it with utmost care, or it consumes your very self, leaving you a hellish husk of a living, breathing nightmare."
Pinkie's body convulsed as cracks of bone could be heard, her form stretching and malforming itself as the Shade pulsed fasted, seeping deep into her matted fur. Flesh tore open, blood rushing down covering her pink and black fur, bones tore through her hooves, massive tendrils of Shade breaking out of several parts of her body. She howled in pure pain, arching her back as she stood upright on her hind legs. The girls watched as her shadow nearly doubled in size, towering over them as she leaned forward, her face nearly torn open by a huge broken smile. The stench of blood rushed off her body as her blank eyes lowered down towards the girls, a soft huffing coming from her as her chest moved slowly. Rarity, being the closest, stared at her in fear.
"Pi - Pinkie? Are you… Are you ok-" As soon as she started speaking, the massive frame moved all at once in a quick motion, swiping at Rarity. No pony was fast enough to do anything about it, and before Twilight and Applejack could even realize what happened before them, the headless body of the white pony collapsed into a pool of her own blood. The figure straightened its back as it slowly crushed a smiling Rarity head in its oversized claw, bone cracking and blood running thick between the fingers. She lobbed it at what remained of Rarity, landing a broken but smiling head between her own hooves.
"WHAT IN TARNATION JUST HAPPENED?!" Applejack cried out as she stepped back. But her sudden outburst doomed herself as the once Pinkie looked at her with menace.
"Smile. Why wouldn't you just smile." A soft voice rumbled from the body as it moved towards the orange horse, who scrambled backwards, tripping over herself.
"NO PINKIE, PLEASE! IT'S ME!!" But her cries didn't save her as the figure lunged at her, pinning her to the ground under her massive frame.
"Smile! Just smile!" It screeched as claws dug into Applejack's torso, ripping open her stomach and rib cage. Blood flung through the air as she tore out bones and organs, clawing and ripping, tearing apart flesh, all while wearing a broken smile. Twilight gagged as she could only watch the blood fest before her, before she noticed the smiling face of Applejack staring her down, blood dripping from her mouth and eyes. It seemed like she was laughing in her own death, but the sight caused Twilight to shift herself away from the mass of flesh that was once her friend. Before long, Pinkie gave up on tearing Applejack inside out and began to slam her oversized claws onto her head, breaking her jaw and cracking her skull, slowly caving it inwards, but the face continued to wear a smile through it all. Twilight turned away to get away from the mess of it all, but her fate was much worse as she came face to face with Him. He smiled at her as his decaying breath washed over her face, causing her to finally puke.
"Now, calm yourself, Princess. I have something fun planned for you…" His voice became unnaturally soothing, getting her to look at him again. His face bore no changes, but she suddenly realized that he bore a set of white feathered wings behind his back, six in count. He lowered a hand and wrapped it around her chin, staring her down in the eyes. "It will all be over soon, child." He said as she watched his second eye reveal itself from the shadow of his face. Seeing it threw her mind into a frenzy. She couldn't think anymore, her will gone, her powers unreachable. Who was she anymore? She couldn't remember as her mind descended into insanity as the wings slowly encapsulated her in the purity of the white feathers…
It's been days since the Elements of Harmony vanished within the forest. Many search parties were sent in to find them, including Celestia herself, fearing the worst of her favorite student. Eventually, the remains of four of the girls were found in such a horrible state. There were no clues as to what could have caused such casualties, but many believe that it was a rabid Chimera that lived deep in the forest. The bodies of the filly and two mares were also found alongside theirs, mostly eaten and torn apart, which helped with the story. But amongst all the questions that were asked, the whereabouts of both Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were the most asked as neither were found. Some continued to believe that they are alive somewhere in the forest, others believe that they're both another lost cause. Whatever the case may be, a funeral was held for each and every friend, burying what could be buried as grievances were spread about. And even after all was said and done, with everything that could be dealt with, young Spike was left pondering over a clue that made no sense to anypony else when they found it.
Near where the bodies had laid in their final struggle, a trail of blood and purple fur led over towards the shadow of a tree before simply vanishing into the darkness…
Author's Note
"I understand that you have just awakened and may feel groggy and exhausted, Brother Michael, but High Councilor Lor has summoned you and you know how he gets when he has to wait."
"You think I don't know how Brother Lor acts? Like I could possibly forget that. But even he knows that it's worthless trying to stand in my way when I set out to do something. His little fate problems can wait. I have something else I want to finish."
"Excuse me for asking, but why are you so interested in this… Village. It is so far beneath us, it hardly deserves your attention."
"Well, this Village means so much to me, having raised myself for so long. It felt awkward to just leave without giving my thanks. So if you'll excuse me, Brother, me and my fellow hellhounds have a little goodbye party to celebrate…"
