Who was responsible for easing the release of Discord, for the freeing of Nightmare Moon... for the invasion of Canterlot.
More importantly, what could possibly be his or her or its motives... plans...
Evil and good may not always be motives... but what could possibly be his motives... what could possibly have done these things... Is this foe kind or petty? His morality... what is it? What is he? Who is he? All he is... total ambiguity.
Most importantly, where has Fluttershy disappeared to?
Chapters (2)
I felt it was best to set up who Tenebrous is in this chapter. I needed to show both sides of him.
Yes... that coat of is symbolic. First one to guess what it is symbolic of gets a cookie.
If you do not like symbolism, do not worry... neither do I. However, when working with a character whose race is either divine or implied to be so, it is almost expected that you would use symbolism. A deity would want you to know what they are sovereign over. It is sensible. To do anything otherwise is simply lazy, unless it is used as a plot point in some clever way, in which case it is justified. A deity character should always have symbolism, because it would be pragmatic on their part and, thus, the author's as well.
My reason to make the character of Tenebrous is to take an implied character- via word of Faust- and put a different spin on him or her than most other writers are. Many of them are making all-out nasty monsters, with varying results on that. I did not want to do that. So, I open with him pretending to be angry. My first story included a mysterious character who subverted many villain cliches, and, thus, I am known for it.
Second, to elaborate on the pain thing: Tenebrous literally suppressed all the things that bodies produce to suppress pain. He also flooded him with guilt, regret, and many other emotions he had learned to ignore. He made the man care.
If that doesn't satisfy you, then interpret it as him also systematically killing the man's brain cells...
Either way, you should understand that, while Tenebrous is not necessarily evil, per say, he is still very dangerous.
Also, the idea of being rendered unconscious by pain is indeed literally impossible. Number one: if you were to do so in a moment of great peril, you would likely die. Two: You wouldn't be rendered unconscious by the pain, but by concussion, blood loss, or fatigue.
I included this phrase to highlight that Fluttershy is indeed still conscious of these events.
This is the first fan-fiction that I have approached as a serious piece of literature first and foremost. Thus, I am putting more thought into the individual elements of storytelling than I usually do. I am even dealing with meta-elements here. You are in for a treat. But, there will be more comedy, as well. I cannot resist making a good joke, but I will not do so when something else is far more appropriate.
Also, I put on my Lemony Snickett and got snarky at places. I was originally also going to get self-depreciating, but I felt it would not fit the story.
First one to correctly figure out why Fluttershy is the focus member of the Mane Six in this story gets a cookie.
Interesting. Nice to see an antagonist who is not branded as such, and who's reasons are a mystery. Though for a divine being, he seems a little too brisk and not too humble. But maybe that's just me being nitpicky. I'll track.
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That was actually part of the intention.