//------------------------------//
// Story 2: Dark Zero's Tale 
// Story: Flashfics, Gifts, Scraps, etc. 
// by ViTheDeer 
//------------------------------//

       Dark Zero awoke, peering over the edge of the cloud he had chosen as a bed, and trying to work out how late it was. The sun was just over the horizon, and he could see all the ponies below bustling around, setting up the marketplace and carrying parcels around. The colts and fillies were already trotting into the classroom at the schoolhouse under Cheerilee's watchful gaze, so Dark estimated it to be around 8 am. 
He was not used to the rhythms and patterns of daytime life yet, and staying out in the sun too long still gave him a headache. Even though it had been months since his beloved leader, Nightmare Moon, had been defeated, leaving the princess Luna in her place, but having lived most of his life asleep during the daylight hours made the adjustment to daytime living difficult, yet necessary if he was to flow his new mistress' commands.
"You have belonged to the night for far too long." Luna's eyes showed pride at his dedicated service, yet sorrow at the fact that he had no longer any place in the royal service. "You should try to live during the day, get to know the ponies, make friends!"
So, he endeavored to do just that, though he was not finding it easy.
He had tried to keep his former employer a secret, but that lasted only as long as it took for Rainbow Dash to catch him practicing fight drills in the blue sky.
"I recognize those moves" Her violet eyes were full of accusation. "The only ponies that flew that formation were the Shadowbolts. You were one of them, weren't you? That's why you showed up here right after the last Summer Sun Celebration, isn't it?"
He had tried to fly away out off shame, but Rainbow Dash' speed was no match for his. He had to endure her endless questions about life as a Shadowbolt, their training habits, their techniques, until he was able to take solace in the one place he knew she would stay out of - the stallions' room of the library. And even then, he got the impression that, had the door not locked, she would have trotted right in. To his great relief however, the librarian Twilight was able to distract her, and he was able to slip out unnoticed.
He scanned the skies even now for her tell-tail rainbow streak but, as he suspected, it was far to early for the weather pony to be up and about. A perfect time to practice his routines. He stood up, shook out the morning dew from his coat and wings, and, taking a step off the cloud, allowed himself to plummet towards the earth for a few seconds before opening his wings and letting them bite into the air and give him enough lift to shoot forward.
His stomach dropped from the sudden acceleration, and the wind blowing through his mane and coat cooled him off and made him almost forget the sun's oppressive heat. He flapped his wings a few times for altitude, and began running through his basic flight drills.
His joy at flying was interrupted, as he say a speck of color on the horizon. He couldn't make it out at this distance, but judging by the speed at which it moved, it could only be Rainbow Dash, up at an unprecedented - for her - hour. Undaunted, Dark decided that, if she was going to be awake, she might as well be witness to his signature move. Perhaps if he impressed her enough she would leave him alone, he reasoned. Or at the very least, she could convince her friends that he was  someone to be respected, and not cast aside as he felt when he first met them.
He had fled out of the library and run immediately into a pink pony, knocking over the tray of cookies she had been holding in her mouth, causing them to go flying in the air, some landing on the ground, and others on the coat of the elegant white unicorn standing next to her.
"My mane! You've gotten crumbs in it! I just washed it this morning!" She frantically tried to shake out the crumbs with her hoof, while the pink pony started collecting the cookies and putting  them back on the tray.
"If you wanted a cookie, you could have just asked!" Dark tried to avoid looking the pink pony in the eye, and backed away from her, looking apologetic... causing him to bump into another pony behind him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He turned to see a butter yellow pegasus, apologizing despite having not been at fault in the slightest. Dark had had enough, rushing away from the cluster of ponies before spreading his wings and leaping to the air. Behind him, he could hear a pony shout after him in a thick drawl, but he was already too far away to make out the words.
He shot upwards into the air, the wind blowing past making his eyes water, masking the tears he could feel welling up. He knew he could never be accepted into the ponies' lives, he was sure of it.
His thoughts back on the present, Dark rose into the blue sky, feeling the air thin around him as he gained altitude. Satisfied with his height, he spread his wings wide to pull a sharp turn, the forces threatening to tear his limbs from his body. Facing the earth again, he drew his wings in tightly against his sides, making as low as profile to the air as possible, using only the very tips of his wings to keep his flight stable. He could feel the air around him start to push back as he neared that invisible barrier of speed that he had broken through only a few times before. Out of the corner of his he caught glimpse of the blue pony turning flips and loops in the air, and only hoped she could see him. Drawing on the magical gift that Nightmare Moon had bestowed on her flight squadron, the air darkened around him, as though the sun itself had chosen not to shine in his direction. With the darkness, the invisible barrier seemed to melt away, and his speed increased until finally, just at the point where he would break the speed of sound and pull off the Sonic Darkboom...
...a streak of color crossed his path, and he had to pull out of his descent quickly to avoid plowing into the blue pegasus that been frolicking beneath him, unaware of his rapid descent He threw his wings out wide in a braking maneuver, and he heard a sickening crack and a shot of pain coming from his outer pinions. instinctively, he drew in that wing, which only succeeded in the resistance from the other wing to send him into a maddeningly dizzy spiral. He watched panicked as the ground spun around and around, growing ever nearer. One wing useless and broken, pulled tight agains his side, he tried desperately to slow his fall with his one good wing, to somehow stop his spiral. But try as he might, he only succeeded in aggravating the erratic spin. He could make out details on the ground now, and the colorful shapes of ponies milling around below. He braced for impact.
When the impact did come, it wasn't what he had expected. Rather than the sickening thud of his body hitting hard ground, it was soft, like falling into a down comforter. When he opened his eyes, he saw why. He wasn't lying broken on the ground, but on the back of a blue pegasus pony, gently slowing his fall and guiding him to a safe landing in a field just outside of town. Dark tried to open his mouth to thank his rescuer, but only managed a soft squeak, one that was eaten by the wind.
"Don't worry, nopony's going to crash on my watch!" Rainbow Dash alighted in the field, and gently helped Dark to his feet. "Especially not because they happened to cross my flight path. What were you trying to do up there, copy my awesome Sonic Rainboom?"
Dark staggered a bit "Th-th-thank you, you saved me!"
Dark suddenly felt that maybe he wouldn't have such a hard time fitting in after all.