Blackening the Sunshine

by Rinderin


Chapter 2: Death and Justice

Blackening the Sunshine

Chapter 2: Death and Justice

"Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee. "

-John Donne

Loss.

A word I've come to know all too well. My life is centered around it, my memories clasped in it's dark embrace. It has become a part of me, like a terrible pain that never seems to go away. Everypony I have ever loved is dead or gone away to some foreign part of Equestria, where they live unhindered in their pretty, perfect lives.

Abuse.

Another word I have experienced first hand countless times. How I would cower before my father, whimpering like a new born puppy as he brutalized my mother. Naturally, the second I ever came into harm, my brother would be there for me. He too however would receive a hellish beating before being thrown out onto the street. Whilst all this happened, I would remain frozen with fear, too scared to even raise a hoof in defense of my loved ones.

Suffering.

My entire life has been that of misery, so naturally suffering accompanies my sorrow. Everyday was a struggle for survival, at school I was desperately avoiding those horrid Others who would seek to bring me harm. Whilst at home I would try my very hardest to hide from my father's wrath.

Pain.

All my life, I was hurt by those around me. Even if back then I didn't realize it, deep in my heart I always knew that my greatest enemy, were the ponies who acted as if they cared about me. Yes, the Others and my father may have harmed me physically, yes everypony else in my school may have insulted me verbally, but those who stayed with me, those who convinced me that they really cared were the ones who broke me.

They were the ones who Blackened my heart. They lied to me, they were supposed to be there for me, yet where were they when I was battered in the mud at school? Where were they when my father abused myself and my family? What about when my mother and brother were butchered? The answer is painfully simple.

They weren't there. I was cheated, lied to, deceived.

After the death of my mother and brother, I pushed through. I kept going. I would never let them shatter me, I would force my way through to the bright light of a new day. A better time awaited me, I could feel it. With every day that passed, I felt stronger, more confident, unstoppable. However, as with all good things in life, that came to an end. Eventually my father returned to the bottle and now, without any protection from my loving brother I was left vulnerable, open, exposed. In the end, I realized that there was only one way to end my torment.

By ending my father.

The deed was simple enough, push him through our apartment window. Send him flailing into the dark abyss below, where he would meet a very quick and rather grotesque death. It almost never happened, at the last minute, I faltered. Luckily, his fate was already sealed and just as we had planned, he tumbled through the window and plummeted to his demise. One could say this was my rebirth, my reckoning. For I now knew my purpose in life.

Revenge.

The fuel of my existence. It's what I thrive upon, the small amount of bliss I get in life comes from achieving sweet vengeance. Finding those who have wrong me in the past and bringing them to Hell brings me such rapture. Death and justice go hand and hand in life, for I am the harbinger of both. Let justice be brought to those who broke a young filly and let the crimson grasp of death clasp them tightly.

That is my mission. That is my life. That is my very being.

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What are you waiting for? Let's begin stalking him already!

"Not yet, we haven't packed everything in yet."

Then pack faster, I am becoming impatient.

"Look, Ponyville is a long journey away and if we don't pack enough supplies for the trip, we'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere without food or water."

Fine. Just get it over with, I'll be waiting in the living room. and with that, Bloom turned and left, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my saddlebag laying open, an assortment of foods and drink inside. Averting my gaze to the closet, I opened it and retrieved a bag filled with a selection of dried fruits along with a variety of other foods. Smiling with content, I closed the bag and exited into the living room.

About time.

"Everything is packed in, we should be just about ready to set off."

Bloom hopped off the closet she was perched on and stood by the door, a sadistic smile plastered onto her face.

Let's get hunting.

I strode up to the door, grabbed my dark grey hood and pushed the front door open with my hoof.

"It's a beautiful day" I chuckled as I locked the door behind myself and set off down the hard cobbled streets of Baltimare.



Life in Baltimare is as good as one could expect it to be. The ponies here are friendly enough and they don't notice me too much, asides from the local baker who seems to have some kind of obsession with me. Or perhaps he's just being friendly, I don't think I'll ever really know. Bloom has suggested that we kill him on multiple occasions, she deems him 'annoying'. Most of the time I'd just shrug it off, other times when he gets too nosy, I give it some thought. Of course however, in the end I always dismissed it as simple irritation. And plus, he makes a mean Croissant.

Fortunately for me, I live fairly nearby the outskirts of the city, allowing me easy access to most of the roads leading into Equestria. Whenever I hunt, it's almost always out of town. Wouldn't want any connections being made back to me of course. My absence from home is very easily explained, after all, I am a travel writer. I have no ties in this city, excepting perhaps my agent, but then again my 'agent' just so happens to be my only real friend, Bloom.

Ponyville most certainly was a long way from here. It would take us at the very least four days to reach our destination and that's if everything goes as planned.

Do we even know where to start looking for him? It's not like we know anyone who lives there.

"Very true, in fact I'm not even certain that he lives there any more."

So this is all based of information which was given to you nearly a decade ago? Oh how reliable that sounds. Why do we even need to go after him now, it's not like we couldn't have simply gone after somepony who lived a little closer.

"No. He is the final one on the list, it must be him."

You and your damned list.

"Say what you want, we're going to Ponyville. It's not negotiable."

You're talking to me as if I'm some little filly. Let me remind you that if it weren't for me, you'd most likely be dead by now.

"Oh not this again. You use this every single time we do something other than what you want."

If we truly HAVE to go to Ponyville, isn't there a quicker way to get there? What about the train?

"Not this time. I'm sure you're aware that the Elements of Harmony reside in Ponyville. Were we to leave any trace of us having been there then we'd be listed as a potential suspect. Something which I will most certainly not risk."

Hmph, maybe we should off them while we're there. It'd certainly make the hunt a lot easier.

"Kill the Elements? Not very likely, if even one of them goes missing, it'll reach Canterlot within days. Such exposure is something we surely can't risk."

True I suppose.



We walked for several hours more before the sun finally set, leaving us surrounded by darkness, our only light a smouldering camp-fire. Bloom had succumbed to slumber only a a hour earlier, yet I lay wide awake, the only audible sound was that of the forest. With a sigh, I pushed myself up and walked over to Bloom's sleeping form. She lay wrapped in her sleeping, breathing softly. How odd is it that a creature which has brought so much death, can sleep so soundly and quietly?

I wandered over to a nearby stream where I bent over and started tossing rocks into it's currents. After a while, I laid back and let memories overcome my conscious.

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"Make a wish sweety!" my mother exclaimed as she wrapped her forelegs around me and gestured towards the small birthday cake in front of me.

I wiggled out of her grip and place my forelegs onto the table before me. Taking in a deep breath, I blew out all seven of the candles on the cake.

"I wish daddy would stop hurting us." I wished after blowing out the flames.

My mother visibly saddened, her face turning into a depressing frown. She knew as well as I did that this cake would not change anything. In less than a few hours, father would return home and perform his nightly ritual of tormenting Daylight, my mother and I. Some small part of me, the foalish, naive part of me, silently hoped that this cake really did have magic in it. Magic which would make everything alright, or at the very least even slightly better.

Of course, such things would never come to be.

A few hours after the 'party' which only my mother and I attended, Daylight came home, followed by my father. As always, it was very obvious that he was drunk, you could smell the stench of the alcohol from anywhere in the house. However, something was different this time. He had a sense of comprehension in his bloodshot and reddened eyes. He was at the very least partially aware of what he was about to do. He also recognized that today was my birthday, a very big surprise in many respects.

"Hey there-" he released a loud belch before dropping the bottle clasped in his mouth, the glass shattering into a thousand pieces."- honey, how was your day?" he chuckled, before gripping my mother tightly in his foreleg and softly kissing her on her forehead as she struggled to escape his grasp.

"Oh come now, don't you want to kiss your soul-mate back? Well we can't be having any of that now can we?" he released her momentarily before striking her across the muzzle with his hoof, sending her spiralling down onto the wooden floor.

"Afternoon, please..." she whimpered, blood flowing freely from her nose.

"You never answered my question darling, how was your day?" he asked, before punting her in the stomach, my mother released a hoarse groan as the hoof made contact with her abdomen.

Meanwhile, Daylight was still upstairs, most likely in his room.

"Go... Upstairs... Sunshine..." was all that mother could manage, before another hoof made contact with her belly.

"YOU WILL NOT IGNORE ME!" Afternoon shouted, veins pulsing out of his neck.

I backed away, turning towards the stairs which I climbed as quickly as I possibly could. I could still hear my father's shouting as I ascended. Upon reaching the top, I crashed into the wall and quickly rebounded towards my brothers door.

"Daylight! Open the door! Please!" I screamed while desperately banging on his door.

After a moment or so, he opened the door, fresh cuts along his forelegs with a baseball bat clutched in his mouth. His eyes too were bloodshot and it was very obvious that he was crying.

"He's not doing this today. Not on your bucking birthday." he muttered, as he strode past me and descended down the stairs.

I followed after him, a bright light shown in my tiny little heart. Maybe there truly was magic in the cake. Maybe things would be okay now, Daylight would scare him out of the house and he would never come back. I reached the bottom of the staircase and laid eyes upon my mother's battered and broken form in the clutches of my father. Her nose was still bleeding, along with her lips. Her right eye had been completely blackened and covered up. Her coat and mane were rustled up and messy.

She was crying softly as Afternoon held her by the scruff of her neck, using her as a shield from my brother. Daylight himself was shivering, he looked scared, afraid, weak.

"Daylight.. Don't..."

It was too late by then, as before Daylight could react, Afternoon pushed my mother, sending her crashing into Daylight, knocking them both onto the floor. My father was quick to capitalize, he retrieved the baseball bat which Daylight had dropped in the collision and tossed it aside.

Daylight tried to push my mother off himself as gently as possible, however he found himself being pulled up by Afternoon by the scruff of his neck. He was sent flailing onto the stairs, not even a meter from where I was cowering in fear. Afternoon then began pelting him with blow after blow to the muzzle, the hot red crimson of his bloodied nose splattering onto my coat.

With a grunt, Afternoon sent him tumbling down the stairs. He grasped him again, this time by the mane and dragged him towards the door, where he struck him once more.

"Should have listened to your whore of a mother, you little brat." he said coldly before punting him in the abdomen.

He lifted Daylight up and forced him against a wall, where started choking him with his forearm. Daylight feebly tried to struggle out of his grasp.

"Don't fight back you little shit!" shouted Afternoon, before slamming Daylight's head against the wall, releasing a sickening thump.

He had knocked Daylight out cold.

With a grunt, he opened the front door and tossed Daylight outside, into the freezing night.

With a yawn, Afternoon stumbled towards the kitchen, where he retrieved a bottle of whiskey. He then proceeded to climb the stairs, passing by where my pathetic form was. Just before he reached the top, he turned and muttered a simple sentence.

"Happy birthday darling."

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I raised a hoof to rub the sleep away from my eyes, only to discover that they were drenched. I had been crying.

I hope he is busy rotting in Hell, where he deserves to be. That bastard had damaged my family so much, he had taken everything from us.

The moon shone brightly, I often found it very hard to believe that Celestia and Luna even existed. How could two Goddesses let such unspeakable horrors be committed and not do anything to stop it. If Luna truly did control dreams, then why are all of mine filled with dark, terribly nightmares? How was it possible that such hate could exist in such a untainted land?

A rock being thrown into the stream into the stream interrupted my thoughts.

Behind me, in the shadows stood Bloom. Her normally bleak expression looked even more grim than usual.

These horrors exist, because Celestia and Luna allow them to exist. They are too weak and afraid of dealing with the problems, so they simply let them go by unnoticed, unaccounted for. The truth is, that both Celestia and Luna have never harmed a being directly in their entire lives. Even when Luna was Nightmare Moon, she would never have been able to actually kill another pony. That's their weakness, you cannot rule with just benevolence, there must be discipline, there must be order, or else, monsters such ourselves will be born.

I shifted uncomfortably and turned to face Bloom.

The princesses mask their fear with confidence, their weakness with benevolence, their feebleness with supposed wisdom. For every 'problem' they push aside, another two spawn in stride. The princesses are not foals, they are just weak, they are not unaware of our existence, just too scared to face reality. It's understandable, after all, look what reality has done to us. The latest addition to royalty, Twilight Sparkle, has not yet learned of the true horrors which plague Equestria. She will discover them soon however and she too will do nothing except cower.

"They can't accept the truth so they hide it underneath a carpet of happiness and tranquility?"

Of course. What else can they do? Reveal the dark truth to the general populace? Equestria would plummet into darkness within days. Normal ponies aren't strong enough to understand the real hatred which is going on in this world of ours. In all honesty is anypony?

"Aren't we strong enough? Haven't we proved that much yet?"

Proved what, and to who exactly? We most certainly were not strong enough to deal with reality, after all, here we are on a journey to hunt down and kill somepony. And who exactly are we proving anything to? Daylight? Mother? They were both killed by reality.

I looked towards the ground, a tear splattering on the sand below.

Nopony can withstand reality. However, some can eventually learn to accept it and adapt to it. For us, that is assuring vengeance and justice on those who have wronged us. If that's what it takes to deal with reality, then it's what we must do. Lest we fall into the dark abyss, that is pure insanity.

The moon still shown down upon the stream, it's white light illuminating me.

"What's the point? Why do we keep fighting, if life truly is so awful then why are we fighting so hard to keep our own?"

Because we have no choice. If we don't balance out the darkness and the light, then who will? The Princesses? The Elements? We are all that Equestria has which keeps the darkness at bay. Justice does not end with that list of yours. Just because he is the final one name, does not mean that the darkness has been stopped. The only darkness we will achieve in vanquishing by killing him is that part of us which demands satisfaction. That part of us which demands that our terrible lives be amended.

Bloom took a step forward, illuminating herself in the moon's glow.

No. Our work will not end with him, once our vengeance is served, we must make it our duties, our mission to ensure that such horrors do not befall others. For justice shall not be fully served until every single one of Equestria's hidden monsters are drenched in crimson, with their life leaving their eyes.

"How many monsters are out there?"

Too many. More than we can ever hope to kill in our lifetime. But as time progresses, another like us will come along and take our place in the ever shifting tides of darkness and light. So we must drive them out and lead the charge against these terrible creatures, for we are the harbingers of change. The bringers of death and ultimately justice.

I couldn't help but start shivering with anticipation. Bringers of a justice, serving neither the light nor the darkness. No, my mission would not end with the final name on my list. At the same time however, I couldn't help but feel saddened, such impossible darkness and death awaited us as well.

Perhaps to any other pony, the darkness would be all to much to bear. However, we have learnt to accept the darkness. Embrace it even.

The tears had stopped flowing.



After my conversation with Bloom last night, I found myself easily drifting off to sleep. No longer struggling to discover the gateway into slumber, I dreamt of brighter days. Days without all the horrid ponies who would mean to corrupt Equestria. They were filth, dirt, vermin.

And like all filth, they must be cleaned away. Until no trace of them remain.

I likely wouldn't live to see that day, but I most certainly would be the one who would bring around it's reckoning. I would be the reaper of these monsters, along with Bloom of course. Together we would send them clawing and crying into the deepest Hell imaginable. Their pain would be my fuel, their screams my music, their fear my rapture.

I awoke to Bloom looming over my bed, her usual sadistic smile played on her face.

Finally, it's about time you woke up.

With a yawn I wiggled my way out of my sleeping bag and stumbled sleepily towards the camp-fire. Some of last night's soup remained in the pot which hung above the now grayed and blackened remains of logs. It was cold, obviously, but it definitely filled me up enough.

I was eager to set off as quickly as possible, so once the fire place was carefully hidden and the sleeping bags once again tucked away into the reaches of my saddle bag, we set off down the road once again.

I reached into my saddlebag and retrieved my torn and tattered map. It's edges were ripped and it had brown stains in various locations. Another three days until we reach Ponyville. Another three days until we set to work on the final name on the list.

Before we set off, I reached into my saddle bag and retrieved a long scroll.

A list was clearly imprinted onto the paper, a list thirty four names long. Thirty three names had been crossed out with a large red cross. Only one name was left now. Only one name remained.

And that name, was Swift

I still remember him, a rather small stallion. He always looked happier and brighter than everypony else. he most certainly wouldn't be too difficult to track down. Ponyville certainly isn't a large town by any stretch of the imagination, it's homes never exceeded three stories of height. A orchard was present on the outskirts of the town, but asides from that the town really wasn't too extraordinary.

However, the ponies living there certainly are. Every living member of the Elements of Harmony reside there, so I'll have to be in and out of town as quickly as possible. While there I would have to avoid direct contact with others as well as possible, so my usual policy of silence would most certainly be in full effect.

Shall we set off, or are we just going to stand here in the middle of road, being very easy targets for would-be bandits.

"Yes, of course." I mumbled, slightly irritated at the interruption of my thoughts.

And with that we set off down the cold, hard cobbled road, towards Ponyville. Towards the final name on my list. To the final name which required crossing off, before my new purpose. For my final loose tie.

For the darkness would come and we most certainly would be the harbingers of justice and death, however what we would never have anticipated was great loss on our part, as we were convinced that we had nothing to lose anyway.

Of course however, everypony has something which they hold dear. Even if they don't realize it.


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Burnt Pastry, had been following the local travel writer for nearly a day now.

He had been watching her from across the street, masking his face with the local newspaper when she left her home this morning. Just as always, she had locked the door behind her, restricting access to her home. Being an earth pony, Pastry had initially tried to break in via force. However, it appeared that either her door was made of some incredibly strong wood, or it was magically enchanted.

Unfortunately, it was most likely the second of the two.

So, Pastry had turned to observing her. He knew something was very off with her the second he had met her, the she seemed so quiet and withdrawn from reality, how she avoided contact with other ponies, but by far the most unnerving aspect of her personality, was how she would always whisper to herself.

He had read about the recent disappearances, sprouting all over Equestria.

Nobody else seemed to notice, perhaps he was just being paranoid but... is it really just a coincidence that at every time disappearance, she just happened to be away, on a 'business' trip. Of course, there are many things which go against his suspicions, she is a travel writer after all, it's her job to travel around Equestria and she's been doing for much longer than the disappearances have been going on.

But still, there's only one way to be sure.

This time, he would be following her. All the way to Ponyville. He closed the shop for the weekend and packed up enough supplies to last the journey. He stayed at a safe distance, always ensuring that she was at minimum two hundred or so meters away from him. It's a good thing he decided to pack a telescope.

Last night however, made him question whether or not following her was actually such a good idea.

He was watching her, sitting by a stream, crying. What unnerved him the most was that it seemed that she was having a fully fledged conversation... with nobody. Unless somepony else had followed her, it was impossible for there to be anypony else with her. He had made very sure to check if she had any travelling companions.

Indeed, there was something very, very wrong with this mare.

Pastry was no longer so sure that he wanted to find out the truth, what if she was behind the disappearances, then what? What if she discovers that he was following her, what would she do to him? Would he too become yet another missing pony among the crowd. Another name wiped out from existence, never to re-emerge from the darkness?

However, in his heart, Pastry knew that if what he fears is really true. Then he must be the one to end this, he must be the one to stop her before she cane hurt anypony else.

Some small part of him however, silently prayed that he was wrong.


'Let the crimson flow.

Let the darkness take hold.

For struggling against it,

is as impossible and insane,

as attempting to fool and deceive death itself.'