Life in Taraville was not as bad as everyone claimed. Most people complained about the fact that it was always dark and raining and that the streets were never very well lit. Others felt that it's atmosphere was depressing overall. Still others claimed that the salesponies that chose to set up shops were less than reputable and ripped ponies off more often than not. The way this unicorn saw it...all of those claims were true enough, but he chose to look at the bright side of them all. Sure it was always dark and raining, meaning that it was impossible to get a sunburn and that his skin never dried out. Yes, the lighting was poor on the best of days, but that meant it was easy to catch unsuspecting ponies unawares. The atmosphere could drive even the most peppy of party ponies to off themselves, but that meant that making friends would never be an issue for him since no one would dare attempt to live in this place. And of course the shopkeepers were all scoundrels.
But hey, he had to make a living somehow. And after all, anyone who would dare to trek through this place would rather not be noticed, which made his life even easier.
Splish splash!
He looked up and smiled behind his old, tattered cloak. “A customer...” he said out loud to himself in his raspy, voice.
“This is unbearable! Why on Earth is it raining so hard here!? There isn't a cloud in the sky!”
He frowned a bit. He recognized that voice from somewhere, but he couldn't tell where from.
“Ugh, I was better off on that thrice-cursed rock farm! This town is no place for the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!”
His eyes widened. Now he knew who it was...even without the source screaming out her name like that. He had attended a few of her shows before, not at all impressed with what he had seen there. He thought that her magic was mediocre at best. Worst of all, her incessant boasting was exceedingly annoying to him. What was she doing in a place like this?
Then, realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. He knew exactly what a mediocre show magician like her would be searching for in a town like this. But maybe he would be able to trick her into a sale before he had a chance to get to her. She was about to run right past him when he called out. “Traveler!” he whispered loudly.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke. This was a reaction that he was used to, seeing as how his little stand was in a dark alleyway where no one would expect. He found that keeping his stand in the alley made it easy to sell to passersby while making it difficult for anyone less reputable than him to rob him.
Trixie locked eyes with him once she composed herself. She flipped her hair and tried to pretend like nothing had happened. “How dare you attempt to sneak up on the Great and Powerful Trixie!?” she accused.
He smiled, feigning guilt. “My apologies, Miss Trixie,” he said, bowing. He stepped out from the alley. “Living here, it is easy to forget one's manners. My name is Cloak Nefarious Dagger, but my friends call me Cloak N. Dagger.” That was a half lie, seeing as how he had no friends. “You may call me Cloak, though.”
Trixie closed her eyes and “humphed” at him. “Whatever. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not speak with commoners like you. I have more important business to attend to.” She started to trot away.
Cloak never lost his smile. “More important than the Alicorn Amulet?”
Trixie stopped and turned around. He had her in his hooves completely. “What did you say?” she asked, her tone betraying more than a little surprise.
Cloak pointed at himself in a “Who, me” sort of gesture and shrugged. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Miss Trixie. Maybe you are hearing things-”
Cloak was taken off guard when Trixie lifted him up with her bare hooves and slammed him against the wall. She was strong, for a unicorn. “Do not toy with me, Cloak N. Dagger!” she commanded. “What do you know of the Amulet!?”
Cloak regained his smile. “Ah, so that is what you are after,” he said as if he did not already know. “I don't think-”
Trixie pulled him off the wall and then pushed him into it again, making Cloak a little dizzy. “I said not to toy with me, salespony!” she reminded.
Cloak shook his head to clear out the flying mailponies from his head. “If you kill me, you'll never be able to get the Amulet,” he warned, not raising his voice. “Believe me, Trixie Lulamoon when I say that I am on your side.” He wasn't to be honest, but it was a tried and true sales tactic to claim to be looking out for the best interests of your customer.
She let him go, looking upon him with confusion. “How do you know my whole name?” she asked.
Cloak rubbed his neck to help get the air back in. He chuckled. “Who doesn't know of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” he flattered. “Your feats are legendary.” This was not necessarily a lie. Trixie's deeds were indeed legendary, but not in a good way.
Trixie smirked. “I suppose they are. Trixie's feats are so legendary that word of them has reached even this backwater town.”
Cloak bowed again. “Yes, they have,” he said. Then, he frowned. “But I fear that you will find it difficult to retrieve that which you seek.”
Trixie started to growl. “Why is that?”
Cloak smiled again, unable to control himself. This was going to be easy. “Oh, if it were up to me I would give it to you without question, but...”
Trixie was in his face. Her breath smelled strangely like cherries and maple syrup. He had no idea where such a smell would come from. “But what!?”
“The shopkeeper that holds it is a bit...strict when it comes to selling rare and powerful items like the Alicorn Amulet,” Cloak claimed.
“Who has it?” Trixie asked. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will change his mind!”
Cloak shook his head and stepped backward. The cherry and maple syrup stench was starting to bother him. “If only it were that easy, Miss Trixie,” he said, sounding hopeless. “You see...it's your voice.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “My voice!?” She took a deep breath. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE GREAT AND POWERFUL VOICE!?”
Cloak's ears would be ringing for a while after that. “Oh nothing, nothing at all! It is the shopkeeper's tendencies, I assure you. The problem is...he only sells to patrons with distinguished voices.”
Trixie was starting to look skeptical. Her horn was glowing white. “What sort of game are you playing with me, Cloak N. Dagger?”
Cloak would need to play this carefully or else lose the sale completely. “There is no other voice that I would rather listen to than yours, Great and Powerful Trixie.” More lies. “But there are others like that shopkeeper that would refuse to sell to you because...because, well you are...a mare.” He tried his best to sound uncomfortable with saying it.
“WHAT!?” Trixie yelled in anger.
Got her. Cloak hid his smile as best he could. “Yes. It is unfortunate that we live in a society such as this one, Miss Trixie. It is a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless.”
This was clearly upsetting her. Perfect, Cloak thought. Now was the time to make his sale. He continued. “However, I have just the thing to get around this. Give me a moment.” He went behind his stand for a second and came back up with a small capsule.
“What is that?” Trixie asked, examining it from a distance.
“This pill contains the essence of a plant that I like to call Joys N' Poke,” Cloak claimed with a trustworthy smile.
“That's an odd name for a plant,” Trixie observed, stepping closer.
“Even so,” Cloak continued. “This capsule will give your voice the necessary base to fool that old bigot of a shopkeeper.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. She was clearly interested, but not completely sold. Cloak had to hurry, he knew. He went back down below his stand. “I understand your skepticism. You're worried about your appearance. While your voice will sound like a stallion, he will still be able to tell that you are a mare.” He came back up with a simple black cloak. “A simple solution, I know but it will be enough to trick him.”
Trixie scratched her chin. “Black does not suit the Great and Powerful Trixie at all,” she claimed. “Do you have one in purple?”
Cloak resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Sadly, no. Even if I did, I would advise against it. Purple is your signature color, after all. It would give you away too easily.”
A few seconds passed before Trixie nodded in agreement. “I suppose you are right. No one looks better in purple than the Great and Powerful Trixie. I practically started the trend. He would recognize me immediately.” A few more seconds passed before she nodded her head definitively. “Fine, I'll take it!”
Cloak's smile broadened. “Perfect. For the cloak and Poi-er, Joys N' Poke...30 bits.”
Trixie stamped her hooves on the ground. “30 bits!? That's outrageous!”
Cloak chuckled. “Of course, of course! My apologies, Great and Powerful Trixie. How about...25 bits?”
“15 bits,” Trixie countered.
She fancies herself a haggler, Cloak thought. He decided to play along to satisfy her. “24.”
Trixie crossed her hooves, smiling. “18!”
Cloak sighed, feigning defeat. “Fine, fine 18 bits it is, but I'm losing money,” he lied. He gave her the cloak and the pill. This mare had clearly never haggled for anything in her entire life. “It might take a minute for the full affect of the pill to settle in, but once it does it will last long enough for you to make your purchase.”
Trixie fastened the cloak around her neck and looked at herself in a nearby puddle. She posed a little and smirked. “Perhaps the Great and Powerful Trixie does not look as bad in black as she thought!” She lifted the pill and looked at it. “Are you certain that this thing is safe?” she asked.
“Of course it is!” Cloak only half-lied. “I would never sell anything that I wasn't sure was safe.” That last part was a complete lie.
Trixie raised and eyebrow at him and shrugged. “Fine,” she said. She popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed. She grimaced. “Ugh, it's bitter!”
Cloak chuckled. “The shopkeeper that you want is named Oddsin Ends. He is five blocks down to your left.”
Trixie coughed a little. “Thank-” Cough! “-thank you!”
“It was my pleasure to have served you, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Cloak said, bowing low. After standing up, he backed away into the shadows of the alley.
Trixie turned around and coughed some more, this time more violently. “My throat...hurts...” She coughed again. “...must...be working...”
She started trotting towards where Cloak had told her to go, but then she was bent double by another fit of coughing. She tried standing up, but she couldn't from the raucous coughing coming from her throat. After it was done, she went back to the alley to see if he had a lozenge or other such thing for sale. “C-cloak...?” she asked weakly. “Where...?” There was one last cough before she drew in a breath to call out again, only there was a problem.
No sound came out of her mouth.
She tried speaking, but not only was her voice not deep and full of base as the salespony had promised, it was also non-existent. She went into the alley and looked around for him. Both he and his stand were gone. She looked up and screamed, which to anyone listening sounded as quiet as a mouse whispering.
She had been played for a fool.
There would be time to find that treacherous salespony later though. Right now, she had something she needed to find. She trotted away into the rain and darkness, leaving Cloak Nefarious Dagger to chuckle silently upon the roof.
Cloak Nefarious Dagger was running as fast as his skinny legs could carry him. This current customer was...less than satisfied to say the least.
It had been about six months since he had scammed Trixie Lulamoon. Since then, business had been even more successful for him than usual. So many more scoundrels and fools had crossed paths with him, all looking for quick disguises or quick fixes for all manner of things. Cloak had been raking in so much money over the course of the past few months, that he even contemplated quitting this business and moving someplace nicer. He laughed the idea off, realizing that he loved doing this far too much to stop. It was more than just a means to survive and put food in his mouth: it was a way of live. He felt more alive than ever when he ripped some poor, unsuspecting rube off from his or her hard-earned bits. There was a certain sense of accomplishment that he gained from this that he never experienced with any other job that he had ever held. The look on the faces of the ponies when they came back to the alley, realizing that they had been had, only to find that he was no longer there.
Cloak N. Dagger was a master of shadow magic. Shadow magic's strongest point is that it allows the caster to vanish in and out of shadows at will and move about them with ease. This is how he was able to get around Taraville with ease. It's also why he was so well suited to what he did and why his cutie mark was that of a black wraith.
And finally, it was why he thought little of trying to get another one over this seemingly old Earth pony that had walked by him. The ancient stallion had a thick, white beard growing from his chin. He had pointed out that it was a chilly night (which it was) and that the old pony might catch his death of pneumonia if he did not have something to cover himself with. He had sold him one of his cloaks for 20 bits, claiming that his supply was running low which was an outright lie. His supply never ran low. Begrudgingly, the old pony paid up and took the cloak and quickly covered himself. Cloak smiled his usual smile and backed away into the shadows, ready for the old pony to discover that the cloak was a fake. It was simply a magical construct that Cloak had created to last just long enough for him to make a sale. He had perfected this ability to better his profit margins even more about a month ago. So far, it had worked perfectly for him.
Until today.
Sure enough, the old pony found out that the cloak was fake and came running back to the alley, screaming bloody murder. Thinking that he was safe and out of sight, Cloak did not even bother trying to hide his laughter. Then, the old pony locked eyes with him.
Cloak's smile faded and so did his happy happy jokey joke time.
The old pony delivered a fierce right hook to his jaw, sending Cloak flying into the opposite wall. The impact nearly knocked him unconscious. He stood up gingerly, barely able to keep his eyes straight. This pony may have been old, but he certainly was no weakling. He tried to focus on disappearing, but he could not even focus on standing upright. The only thing he could think of to do was run. He knew it was foolish to try to outrun an Earth pony, even one as old as this one, but it was all he could do. With nothing on but the cloak on his back and his saddlebags of bits at his hips, he took off out of the alley down the cobblestone road.
And that was the situation Cloak was currently in. Running down a dimly lit street without magic from a crazed, old Earth pony.
Periodically, Cloak kept checking back to see if the Earth pony was still chasing him. Not only was he still on his tail, he was also gaining on him every time he looked back. Dear Celestia, Cloak thought. This jackflank isn't giving up!
Cloak suddenly came to the realization that he would not be able to keep up this pace. Pretty soon, he would not be able to run at all. He could feel his stamina failing and his muscles aching. Earth ponies were built for endurance and strength. Unicorns were built for intelligence and knowledge. He did not have the home field advantage in this situation. In a matter of minutes or even seconds, his legs would give out completely and the old pony would overtake him, beat him to death and more than likely kill him, or worse – take all of his bits.
Cloak realized that he wasn't watching where he was going and looked up, only to see too late the obstacle in his path.
BAM!
Cloak fell to the ground in a heap, landing on one of his saddlebags. The bits inside went spilling out across the street. He cursed aloud, but did not have time to pick them up.
“Watch where you're going, you idiot!”
All of a sudden, Cloak realized what...or who he had run into: it was another unicorn, a mare. She was tannish-yellow and had a bright red and yellow mane. She was standing over him, already recovered from the collision. She was looking down at him in anger and disgust. Cloak was a bit taken away by her striking beauty, before another voice reminded him of his current predicament.
“I GOT YA NOW, YA BLOODY CHEAT!!”
Cloak realized that he wasn't going to get away from this pony alone. He quickly turned to this mysterious and beautiful unicorn. “Please! You have to get me out of here!” His usual calm and raspy voice was now hysterical and panicked.
The unicorn made a face at him. “Why should I help you?”
For once, Cloak did not have a quick answer. “Just...just please! Out of the kindness of your heart, Miss!” He looked back. The Earth pony was so close now, he could almost hear his ragged breathing.
The unicorn was silent for a bit before she rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. I'm already behind schedule, anyways.” Her horn glowed and enveloped both of them in yellow light. Then, they were gone.
They reappeared on top of a building in the middle of the town. It took a while for Cloak to recover his breath. He looked around on the ground below. There was no sign of the old Earth pony. He heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Never had he been that close to death. That definitely was not the rush that he enjoyed.
“What was going on there?” the yellow unicorn asked.
Cloak had almost forgotten that she was there. For once, his smile was genuine. He crawled over the unicorn and started kissing her hooves. “Oh thank you so much, Miss. You saved my life!” He kept kissing her hooves, which clearly made her uncomfortable.
The unicorn looked entirely disgusted with this act of thankfulness. She stepped back. “You're...welcome,” she said. “You still didn't answer my question.”
Cloak had begun to regain some of his strength. “Just a...business disagreement,” he answered, standing up. “Umm...I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?”
“My name is Sunset,” she answered. “Sunset Shimmer. And I don't have time to talk to you.”
The unicorn's eyes widened. He knew he recognized this pony from somewhere. “You're...you're Celestia's old student!”
The unicorn turned around. “How would you know that?”
Cloak bowed to her. The name of Sunset Shimmer was legendary among the ne'er-do-wells in Equestria. She used to be mentored by none other than Princess Celestia herself, before her heart drove her to seek something greater. When Celestia would not give her the power she wanted, Sunset left for another world that would. What was she doing back in Equestria?
Cloak decided to play it cool. “Oh, everyone knows who you are, Sunset Shimmer,” he partially lied. The only way anyone in Equestria would know who Sunset Shimmer was would be if they actively searched for information about her. Most ponies did not even know Celestia had a student before Twilight Sparkle.
Sunset raised an eyebrow and then smiled. “Oh they do, do they? This might be easier than I thought.”
Cloak smiled and chuckled. “This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the crown, now would it?”
Sunset clicked her tongue in annoyance. “You know a lot for a backwater peddler,” she said. It did not sound like much of a compliment.
Cloak shrugged. “It wasn't too hard to figure out, seeing as how there's a fake crown sticking out of your saddlebag.”
Sunset looked at her bag and cursed when she realized that the fake crown was sticking out in plain sight. She tucked it in and turned away. “I've wasted too much time here already.”
Cloak was not finished with her yet. He felt that he could get a little something more out of her. “How was it that you came by this place? It would appear that your destination would be to Ponyville or Canterlot. I know for a fact that Princess Twilight has never set a hoof in Taraville.”
“The portal was not properly aligned,” Sunset explained. “Instead of where I needed to go, it sent me to this stupid place.” She paused and looked at Cloak with disdain. “You clearly want something from me. What is it?”
She's astute, Cloak thought. At least moreso than Trixie. “It's more like...I have something to offer you.”
“What could you possibly have to offer me?”
Cloak smiled. She was eyeing the hook but not quite sure if she wanted the bait. “I was just thinking that if you are planning on stealing the crown of Princess Twilight, you would want to be a bit more...inconspicuous.”
“What are you talking about?”
Cloak acted as if what he was saying made him uncomfortable. “Well...your colors. Beautiful as they are, they are not quite what I covert thief needs.”
Sunset look at herself and smiled. “Quite the observation. What do you suggest I do about it: buy a cloak from you?”
She catches on quickly, Cloak thought. It made him a little uneasy, but he kept going. “It is for the best, Miss Sunset. After all, this is a matter of great importance, is it not? What is a few bits for the Element of Magic?”
Sunset chuckled. “You are a decent salespony. Fine, I'll take on of your cloaks. How much?”
“15 bits.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds, she shrugged in resignation. “I suppose it's worth it. Deal.” She pulled the coins out of her bag and passed them over to Cloak.
Cloak was surprised that she had taken the deal so willingly. The cloak definitely was not worth 15 bits. Granted, he charged her far less than other ponies. Truth be told, he was a bit taken with her and did not wish to rob her too badly. He had one more actual cloak on his person besides the old, tattered one that he was wearing. He had decided to not to slip a fake one by her. Doing that had almost gotten him killed and his magic was not quite back yet.
She took the cloak and fastened it. “Hm, fine material,” Sunset commented.
“Only the best for my products,” Cloak said, lying again.
Sunset nodded and grinned. Then, she started laughing. It made Cloak very uncomfortable. “What's so funny?” he asked.
“You're too easy,” Sunset said in a deprecating manner. “You're not at all as smart as you think you are.”
Cloak was confused. “What on Earth-” Then he noticed that his right side was much lighter than it was before. He lifted his cloak and gasped. The last saddlebag of bits that he had was gone. “My money! It's gone!”
Sunset held up his missing saddlebag triumphantly. “Looks like I get this cloak for free,” she observed.
Cloak had never felt such a mixture of anger and confusion before. “How did...how did you...?” He could barely get the words out.
Sunset cackled again. “You think you're the only unicorn to master shadow magic? I perfected it when I was a foal!”
Cloak gritted his teeth. He roared and dove at her. Sunset grinned and teleported away with ease, causing him to dive into nothing but stone and dust.
Cloak yelled out in anger and smashed the ground in front of him. He had been outsmarted by that wrench. He had never been outsmarted by anyone before. Even without his magic, Cloak N. Dagger had always prided himself in being able to outwit his opponents in any situation. But this one time he had let his guard down, it had cost him dearly. He had over 500 bits in that bag. Seeing as how the other one had been spilled all over the street, he was now bitless.
“Oh how rude of me.”
Cloak gasped and turned around. It was Sunset Shimmer and she was smiling treacherously. “I can't leave you up here like this. That would be so inconsiderate. Here, let me help you!” She pushed him off of the edge of the roof with a kick.
Taraville was no longer the wonderfully dreadful place that Cloak Nefarious Dagger thought it was. Now it was just dreadful.
It had only been a month since Sunset Shimmer had tricked him out of all of his money. After that, she had kicked him off of the building they were on into a dumpster below. He had gotten out with nothing worse than a few scrapes and bruises, but now he didn't have a single bit to his name.
Ever since then, his luck had changed. He had tried many times pull off a few jobs like he had been doing, but word seemed to have gotten around about the pony in the cloak selling cloaks. Even with his shadow magic, he ran into too many close calls and made too few sales. After a month, he had only three bits to call his own and those weren't even from selling cloaks. He found those in the spot from where he had crashed into Sunset on the street. All the rest had been taken by passersby, he guessed. After that sad discovery, he returned to his old stand. All of his cloaks had been soiled and muddied. There would be no way that he could sell them to anyone, even at a discount 10 bits. He kicked over the stand in anger and frustration and left it behind.
He had no idea how things had gotten so bad for him. Not to say that he had never been in a slump before, but had always been able to count on his abilities as a salespony and trickster to get him out of it. It was as if there was some God of favor that he had fallen out with when he met Sunset Shimmer. She had to be the cause of his problems somehow. She said that she had mastered shadow magic too. Maybe she used it to put a curse on him somehow?
That was a bit farfetched. Even if it was true, there was nothing that he could do about it. He sighed and moved on to one of the many abandoned buildings that he now called home.
Cloak pulled at the door, but it wouldn't budge. Jammed again. He turned around and kicked at it with his back hooves. He was no Earth pony, so it took him a few tries to get the door down. The door cracked and crashed to the ground. He coughed as the dust flew into his face and walked inside. It was a five story building with an attic. There were shelves of old books and peculiar items. Cloak figured that it used to be some sort of bizzar. He went upstairs, careful to avoid the missing step that had caused him to almost break his leg a few weeks before. The 5th floor was full of junk and broken, worthless things but it also had a bed...or a mattress to be more specific. He figured that he had gotten all of the mites out of it days before.
He went up to one of the windows in the small room. He pulled back the moth-eaten curtains and looked out at the town. Taraville used to be his town. Sure, he wasn't the mayor or a city councilpony, but it was his town in other ways. He could sell to anyone and rip off everyone. He was able to trick ANYPONY into thinking that his cloaks were the best and that they needed to buy them. But now...
Cloak tried to close the curtain, starting to feel depressed. Instead, the curtain got caught on the bar that it was hanging from and refused to move. He pulled and pulled on it, but it did not budge. He gave it one final tug, succeeding only in ripping the entire structure off the wall. He cursed to himself and kicked the thing out of the window. He walked to the bed, ready to put this entire day and the rest of the month out of his mind. He reached for the blanket but then pulled back suddenly. Something was not right.
There was a groaning sound coming from under the blanket.
He jumped back immediately and reached for the closest lethal thing he could find. He picked up a broomstick without the broom on it and pointed it at the mattress. He walked quietly over to it and reached for the blanket. He gingerly held it and then pulled them back quickly, hoping to catch whoever it was under there off guard.
He gasped. It was not a pony, though he looked as small as one. He had a head of a goat and the body of a horse, like a centaur of some sort. He was red and black and had small, yellow horns. Something was wrong with him though. Cloak had never seen a centaur before, except in the books he had read as a child, but he knew that he was not supposed to be this small. He looked shriveled up and atrophied. His breathing was shallow and hard to hear. He had not even opened his eyes.
Cloak gently poked him with the broomstick. “Hey...” he said, whispering for some reason. “Are you okay?”
A few seconds passed before the centaur's eyes flickered open. A twinkle of something flashed across his eyes before disappearing. “Un...icorn...” he said in a voice, barely loud enough for Cloak to hear.
“Yes...yes, I'm a unicorn,” Cloak confirmed. He figured that the centaur must have been starving from the ribs showing on his torso. He did not have any food to give him. but he knew that he had to do something. He stepped backward, a smile on his face. “Hold on, my friend. I'll be right back.” He raced down the stairs and out of the door.
He came back a few minutes later, out of breath but smiling broadly. He held the glass over the centaur's head so that he could drink. “Here, friend,” he said softly. “You look thirsty.”
The centaur's fluttered open. He looked up at the glass and opened his mouth slightly. Cloak slowly poured the water, careful not to do it too fast so that he would choke or spit it back up. After the glass was empty, Cloak set it down. “Feeling better?” he asked. “Where did you come from?”
The centaur looked up at him and reached out to him. His strength looked like it was coming back to him, but his arm fell to the side of the mattress. He started shivering and convulsing. “S-s-so c-c-cold...” he said through chattering teeth.
Cloak looked down at him. There was no way that he would be able to get anything out of this pitiful creature. Besides, what kind of pony would he be if he tried? He was a scoundrel, but trying to rip off a malnourished, sick and helpless being such as this was beneath even him. Not to mention that tricking ponies had not worked too well for him in the past few weeks. Maybe it was time for him to try something different. There was only one more thing of practical value that Cloak had left to give to him.
He knelt down next to the mattress and removed the only thing he had left to his name: the old, tattered cloak on his back. He placed it over him and smiled. “You know...I have never gotten cold when I wore this,” Cloak mentioned. “My customers have sometimes asked me why I have this old thing when I have so many new ones to sell. To tell the truth, this is the only cloak that I would never sell. It was the one that gave me my cutie mark. When I found it in the street after I was abandoned by my parents, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I knew what I had to do.” Cloak chuckled. “I guess sometimes even destinies can be wrong.” He smoothed it out. “There. It actually looks pretty good on you, friend. My name is Cloak Nefarious Dagger, by the way. What's yours?”
The centaur grasped the cloak firmly and looked up at him. “Cloak...” he said in a raspy voice. “Please...come closer...”
Cloak knelt down further and came close so that he could hear him better? “Yes? What-”
The centaur immediately grabbed him by the shoulder. Cloak looked at his eyes. He recognized that look because it was the same look he had given to so many other ponies before. “You...chose the wrong...day to be kind...” the centaur said.
“What do you-” Suddenly, Cloak felt his strength waning. All of a sudden, he found that it was difficult to breath and impossible to move. He tried to stand up but his body would not respond. He looked at the centaur. His mouth was open and he saw a colored stream coming from him and going into the centaur. All too late, Cloak understood what was going on.
The colored stream disappeared and Cloak collapsed fully to the ground. He tried to crawl away, but it his strength was completely gone. He attempted to cast a spell to vanish into the shadows, but he had no magic left. Everything was gone. It took everything he had just to look up at the centaur. He was now standing up and looked slightly larger. He was smiling triumphantly. “You're...you're...Lord T-Tirek...” Cloak realized.
“Yes...yes I am,” he answered with a smile. “I was beginning to wonder if my escape from Tartarus would be all for naught. But thanks to your kindness, it wasn't.”
Cloak had never felt as badly as he did now. He had been tricked again and this time, he did not even have the cloak from which had gotten his name. “Why...why me?” Cloak said, beginning to tear up.
Tirek took him by the ear and started walking. “Do not despair, my little pony,” Tirek said with mock sympathy. “You are the first of many that will fuel me so that I can take my rightful place as the ruler of this pathetic land.” He dropped him in front of the window. “As a show of thanks, I will be merciful towards you.”
Cloak looked down. It was a long way to the ground. He sobbing freely. “Please...please, my lord! I-I don't wish to die...!”
Tirek smiled. “Say hello to Hades for me.” And with that, he pushed him out of the window.
Cloak was no fool. He knew that he was not immortal. After all, all ponies must die. He had believed that he would probably die at the hoofs of a disgruntled customer or another brigand. All his life he had done nothing but steal and rob and connive to get by and never before had he had to suffer any negative consequences. But the one time that he had tried to do something nice for somepony...
Despite his circumstances, Cloak couldn't help chuckling at the irony. The last thing he thought about was how useless trying to be a good, upstanding pony was before he finally hit the ground with a sickening crunch. And this time, there was nothing but the cold, hard cobblestone ground to break his fall.
