During a warm, summer evening, three foals were frolicking in the quiet streets of Ponyville. They seemed to have no cares in the world, jumping up and down excitedly, trying to catch each other as they played.
To their surprise, nopony was there to shush them, so they could be as loud as they personally wished. To which they did not mind in the slightest...
Rain Cloud, a grey, slightly chubby filly, was chasing after one of her friends, trying to capture either of them in her magic. Despite her weather related name, she was not a pegasus, but a unicorn.
Her bright purple mane and tail, bounced as she ran, trying to catch up to her friends, who were much more fit, and far in the lead.
"Guys! Please, slow down!" She screeched at them, causing both of them to stop and look at their friend. "You know I can't run that fast..."
Spectrum Light, a small, white-coated, earth pony filly was looking at her friend with a concerned expression.
She walked up to Rain, and placed one of her hooves on Rain's shoulder, who was breathing heavily.
Spectrum rubbed her friend's back, trying to get her calm, helping her catch her breath, which seemed to escape her at this moment.
When it did not return to her, Spectrum looked at her friend with wide eyes.
"Hey. Hey, are you alright?" Spect said with utmost concern.
The other pony with them, a light grey pegasus colt, Shadow Night, quickly made his way over to the two fillies.
He grabbed a hold of Rain and held her close to him.
"Rain! Oh my dear Celestia! Hey, please, speak to me... Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me?" He asked, shaking his friend.
Rain was coughing at this point, drowning out Shadow's attempts to speak to her. Her vision was blurring, and the voices around her were fading.
She saw her own life pass before her eyes, as her best friend Spectrum, and her crush, Shadow, stare down at her with terrified expressions.
What was wrong? Why was this happening to her? Why are her friends so sad?
Then, as if on cue, Rain regained her breath. She coughed and hacked, trying to understand what was going on.
"Oh thank goodness! You're alright!" Spectrum cried, wiping tears from her soaked face.
Shadow was still in a shocked state, tears practically dripping down his face.
Spectrum placed a hoof on Shadow's shoulder.
"Hey, she's going to be okay. Please, stop crying. Your crush is alright-"
Shadow's face glowed red and Rain's mimicked his.
"Shut up!" Shadow screamed, clearly embarrassed.
Spectrum just giggled, while her friends scowled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later in the evening, Rain was waving to her friends, with a big smile spread across her features. Shadow walked up to her and embraced her in a hug.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay? Do you need me to walk you home?" He asked with concern in his eyes.
Rain just chuckled, smiling wider.
"I think I'm going to be okay. Stop worrying, I need a little exercise anyways." Rain laughed.
Shadow's expression did not falter, except looked even more worried.
"O-okay, if you're sure. Make sure you take deep, and slow breaths, alright? And don't run home, you could pass out!" He yelled, as Rain was walking away.
"Okay!" Rain answered, but it was soon drowned out by the darkness that surrounded her.
Ponyville was abnormally quiet, no sound being made in any distinguishable direction. All lights were off in every house, the only remaining brightness were street lights, which were slowly going out one by one.
Occasionally, Rain's fur would stand up on end, like something was watching her.
A wave a cold went straight through her, making her shiver uncomfortably.
Something was clearly wrong here...
The only thing making the situation creepier, was the street lights going out. They seemed to sense her fear, and went out at the exact moments she was the most scared, making her jump.
Soon, only a few lights remained, one stationed above an empty bench. Rain stared at it, sensing it's loneliness.
She blinked, only to reopen them, and see a stallion sitting on the once empty bench.
Rain jumped, taking a hoof-step back.
What the hell? Where did that stallion come from?
It was true, she swore there wasn't anypony there before. And suddenly, this stallion appeared into thin air! She must be more tired than she thought...
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof, and opened them again.
The stallion was still there, and definitely real...
With slow steps, and her flight and fight response on its maximum levels, she approached the stallion with precaution.
Even from this distance, he seemed to give off an unnatural vibe.
When Rain got a little closer, she started to recognize some features...
He had a very dark grey coat, a pitch black mane and tail, and was a unicorn. His cutie mark was one of the scariest things about him. It was of a black feather, with a large knife going through it, pinning it to the ground. The knife was dripping what looked like dark blood...
She shivered at the sight of it...
Getting closer, she noticed something even creepier...
His eyes, were the color of blood, a deep crimson. And his left eye, had a very large, visible scar on it.
Gathering some courage, she stepped out from the shadows, and stood next to the stallion.
He didn't even glance at her, only stared at nothing in particular.
"Excuse me?" Rain asked nervously, catching the stallion's attention.
He stared at her, with an expression so cold, it made Rain unable to move. Her body was frozen in fear...
He didn't even say anything, just continued to stare at Rain. With a gulp, Rain spoke again.
"Sir? I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you lost? Do you need directions? I know this town like the back of my hoof, I bet I can show you where to go!" Rain smiled, even though her lip quivered from fear.
The stallion wasn't phased by anything she said at all, just looked at her, unmoving.
"Oh! How stupid of me, I'm Rain Cloud by the way!" She smirked, outstretching her hoof towards him.
He didn't take her hoof, and her smile faded to a frown. He turned away from her.
He mumbled something under his breath, which Rain heard anyways...
"Such a shame..."
He had a low, dark, and hollow voice, that made Rain get a chill down her spine.
"What's such a shame?" Rain asked, curious. The stallion looked at her, anger flashing in his eyes.
He got up from the bench, and walked over to Rain slowly, looking her in the eyes.
He opened his mouth, and spoke something that made a chill go down Rain's spine.
"It's a shame, that your ponies think that friendship will solve their problems. But we all know you're wrong..."
Without warning, Rain was engulfed in a red aura, the owner of it being the stallion's. Rain screamed, trying to get out the stallion's grasp, but to no avail.
Immediately after, Rain was forcefully thrown upwards, hitting her head, square in the street light's glass.
Rain screamed, as the glass shattered into pieces, some plunging themselves deep into her scalp.
She fell fifteen feet to the hard ground below her, hitting her back on the side of the wooden bench, bruising her back.
She screamed, landing on her side, some of the glass shards digging deeper into her head.
Tears were flooding from her eyes like a waterfall, as she wailed and sobbed in agony.
Her eyes were shut tight, wincing in pain.
Warm, and sticky blood was dripping down her face and neck, making Rain cringe at the feeling. She cried, trying to alert somepony, anypony. But nopony came...
All the lights remained off...
Rain opened her eyes, and through her bloodied, tear-filled vision, she saw the lunatic stallion walking away.
He turned to glance at her one more time, and she swore she saw him smile at her.
Then, the stallion turned his head away, and continued to walk forward.
And Rain even thought she saw him dissapear.
Dissapear into thin air...