A breath of relief echoed trough the silence of the night . The moon was bright and the sky clear , allowing to see trough the darkness without too much effort . The source of the noise was a pony , but not a typical one .
"Maybe they're right...Maybe I shouldn't have went to this party...Maybe I shouldn't exist at all..."
This pony had a white coat that pierced trough the dark , but the most visible part of his body was his eyes : Even tough they were dark blue , the reflection of the moon on them could tear the shadows of the night .
"What went trough my head ? Why did I do this ? Why...am I trying ?"
You could tell it's a Pegasus , but you'd be wrong : Because he never saw the sun , his wings got obscured , his eyes could see trough the night and his teeth got sharper from scraping away the bark of his favorite tree , conforting him in the idea that its his house.
"Why is everypony so mean to me ? What did I ever do to them ?"
Tears went to his eyes , as the memories of the last hour kept flowing trough his head.
"I...I don't know what went wrong ! I just walked in !"
The tears were dropping on his cheeks , making them shiny with the moonlight .
"I want somepony to talk with...I need it."
His jaws were tighten down , anger filling is heart as the sadness vanished away.
The poor batpony couldn't hold being friendless anymore , he needed a friend as bad as he needed to breath .
"you don't need them ."
His eyes brightened up as he sought the source of the voice trough the darkness .
"Wh...Who's there ? Show yourself !" shouted the lonely pony.
"Don't be silly , you know who I am ."
The stranger wasn't a pony , it was a orb . A really dark one.
Fear was filling the spirit of the colt , making him paralyzed .
"Are you going to hurt me ? Why are you here for ? And who are you ?"
"My name is Kaomet , the spirit of anger and sadness."
"Anger and sadness ? Why does that concern me ?"
"Because ponies that stay alone and away from everypony is friendless. I saw what happened to that party . Really sad , isn't it ?" , asked the smoky shadow.
"Why did they chased me ?" asked Star Shock , "Why are they so hateful to me ? What am I responsible of ? What did I do ?"
"Don't you worry , I am here to make you an offer. A really intersting offer ."
The young stallion raised his head , ready to listen .
"Go ahead , I'm listening ."
Shock didn't see clearly enough to be sure , but it seemed like he saw a smile .
"I can bring you something , but at a cost . I can give you friendship , in exchange of a little task ..."
"And what is that task ?"
"I am weak . I need to feed of the souls of happy ponies . Do you think you could do it in exchange of that friendship you desire ?"
Shock hesitated , considering the dangers and consequences of such act .
"If I do this , you swear you'll bring me friends ?" the young stallion asked .
"Of course my dear , and much more if you want. " answered the shadow " Even answers about why everypony avoids you ."
The eyes of the batpony widened , and , motivated by that last argument , he answered .
"Then I'll do it."
His answer was clear , and he was determined to have friends at all costs .
The shadow said a few unintelligible words and a shiny object appeared .
It was a knife .
Shock looked at it a few minutes . He knew what it was for and he knew he must do it .
The answers to why he spent his young years alone were in his grasp , he just needed to do one little thing to get them .
He took the knife between his hooves , and he looked at it : something was strange .
"Why is this knife so light ? I can swing it effortlessly ." wondered the stallion.
"It's my creation . " answered Kaomet , " I infused it with magic . Not only it's lightweight , but it's sharper than a razor ."
"On who am I supposed to use it ?"
"I let you choose your victims . After all , you're the one wielding the weapon ." Kaomet answered with a smile .
Star Shock thought about it . Names were coming trough his head , and he couldn't choose who would be his first victim .
"I know ... First , I'll show the ones to the party that I'm not a pony to avoid !"
A disturbing smile was showing on his face , revealing his teeth .
A laughter rang trough the night . The laughter of a mad pony in great need of answers and vengeance .
The stallion trotted trough the peaceful city , remembering one by one the names of the guests of the party as he passed in front of their mailboxes.
"There is Sunset Flower , and Sunshine Mist , and Desert Dust , and ..."
the name of the culprits were flowing in his head .
He swung the shiny blade of the knife around , hitting ponies that he imagined , to see if he could reach a runaway .
"You can't avoid somepony forever ..." he mumbled , a smile reaching each of his ears .
He sat down in the middle of the street , scratching the ground to write the name of his aggressors in the dirt .
As he finished , he looked at it and repeated to himself the names , eyes closed .
He realized that there was a really special pony on his list , somepony he'd rather avoid.
Pinkie Pie .
He heard the stories about her killing other ponies to turn them into cupcakes .A shiver went down his spine just by thinking what she could do to him if the stories were real .
After consideration , he brushed off his list the name of the pink-maned pony.
"that knife is the key to acquire my most desired thing in the world , I won't hesitate to sacrifice some worthless ponies to get it ." said the batpony.
He got up and kept walking down the street , singing for himself , and somehow with a happy smile .
A few minutes later , he was at the front door of Desert Dust .
"Desert Dust is quite strong , I can't risk to get hit . I need a plan ..." mumbled Shock .
By looking around he found a plastic bag .
The tool is ready and the trap is set , let's commence the show .
*knock knock knock*
The quiet sound of the banging on the door awoke Desert . He got up groggily and walked his way down the stairs . He opened the door , but to his surprise , there was nopony .
"Huh... Hello ? Is somepony here ?" Asked the yellow pony .
He didn't have enough time to realize . Before he could have done anything, the plastic bag is wrapped around his head , suffocating him . Muffled sounds came from the bag , and suddenly , Desert collapsed in a soft noise .
Star was shaking , wondering if he went too far .
No , he was still breathing .
Shock then wondered what he could do .
Something exploded in his mind . Something even better than just killing them .
He dragged the body of the consciousless friend to a cave he knew no one was getting close of .
He tied him down to a pillar , put the knife down on a tree stump and went out .
"Stupid creatures ! If only you were a bit smarter you wouldn't be here ! Don't blame me for what will happen to you ! You should've thought about that before rejecting me ! What did I do to you ?! What ?!"
Looks like the plastic bag trick worked quite well : 3 ponies were held captive , and only one of them managed to hit Shock before collapsing .
Muffled cries were coming from the gagged mouth of the ponies .
They were tied down to the pillars holding the cave , and their bounds were tight .
"But don't worry ! I'll throw my own party ! With all my friends !"
A maniac laughter got out of the mad pony mouth , and his eyes got wider and wider .
"Let's see...What do we have here..."
His eyes wandered over a toolbox filled with saws and hammers , but his choice pointed toward a blowing torch .
"Meh...I'll need that later ."
His hoof stumbled on a nail gun ,creating a wide smile on his face.
"You know , I never used that one , and even weirder , this cave wasn't filled with these tools before . I see that Kaomet really wants his souls ..."
Sunset Mist , at the see of the nail gun, started sobbing and shaking : she knew what would come next .
Slowly making his way to the captives , Shock thought of every uses of the tools .
When he arrived in front of her , he considered her : she was beautiful , with her golden mane and icy blue eyes . She was crying .
Shock allowed himself to brush with a hoof the mane of the beautiful mare , but he didn't got the reaction he hoped .
She swung her head away and tried to shake of the hoof of the mad pony .
His eyes got angrier as he shouted .
" You still avoid me ?! Even when I invite you to a party ?! But you'll see ! Tonight , I have friends everywhere : the ones tied down and the ones in my tool box ! And , how unfortunately , you are not on this list . I don't see any reason to keep you with us , excepted if the others want to ."
He gave a look to the two others who stopped sobbing . They tried to make him understand with muffled sounds and cries .
"No ? No one wants to keep her ? Well ... Now it's your turn to be friendless . But don't cry yet , my friend naily here will cheer you up ."
The mad pony pushed the nail gun against the hoof of Sunset and she began to cry .
"No need for tears , it didn't helped me to cry , so there's no reason that it'll help you ."
As he pulled the trigger , a loud bang echoed in the cave .
The two others couldn't see what was going on , but as soon as Shock turned to face them , the understood .
Blood was splattered across his face , and his hooves turned red . Sunset Mist lost consciousness because of the pain. He laughed .
"Now , who wants to be my friend and enjoy the party I prepared ?" Asked the psycho pony .
They knew the answer was obvious : to live , they needed to play his game and be his friends . Maybe they could leave the cave ? Maybe they could signal to the others about the horror happening down there ?
A cry came from behind the psycho : Sunset Mist was still alive , but the state of her hoof was horrible .
Her hoof was crushed by the pressure applied by the nail and the bone was destroyed and couldn't be saved .
She started crying again , asking for mercy .
"You see your friend ? Well , the one who don't want to stay at my party will end in the same state , or even worse , depending on how I feel ."
The two intact ponies opened their eyes wide . They weren't scared by their fates , but by how Shock said it .
It was with a calm voice and a meditative tone , not even showing the slightest emotion . And he was smiling .
The next morning , Ponyville got surprisingly active .
StarShock was trotting around in the town , when he heard a young foal shouting :
"Ask for the Foal Free Press ! 3 Ponies missing ! Any clue about their position is crucial ! Ask for the Foal Free Press ! ..."
As the young pony walked away , Shock was wondering if somepony knew something about that night .
He was pulled out of is thoughts when a guard walked to him and asked calmly :
"Are you Star Shock ?"
The batpony didn't answered , but instead , he got scared . Scared that somepony had discovered the truth .
With a gulp , he answered .
"Yes , can I help you ?"
His tone was the calmest possible , but even a guard who just started the job could notice the doubt and culpability in the eye of the bat.
"I need you to come with me . Don't resist . Everything that you'll say will be held against you ."
The calm and deep tone of the guard sent shiver down the young stallion's spine .
Shock was wondering if he could ask "Why ?" to the guard , but he knew that this kind of action could be taken as resistance against the law , so he cooperated and followed the guard .
"Where are you taking me ?" Dared to ask the stallion .
"You'll see . Plus , I asked for silence . Break my rules one more time and you'll need help to be able to walk ."
This answer filled Shock with fear , and where they were going wasn't helping : they were going to the cave .
When they arrived , Shock saw a lot of people : families of the victims , scientist , guards , even princess Celestia was here.
The guard pushed Shock to kneel before the princess , and he pushed hard . Shock was forced to obey .
The princess was standing in front of him , studying every movements , every breath that the young stallion took .
Suddenly , a book felt right in front of Shock . The book was stained with blood and had an horrible stench.
The book was followed by the knife , who ranged when it hit the ground .
The eyes of the princess were filled with anger , and Shock knew what was coming .
"Are you responsible for this ?" A loud voice asked .
The temptation to lie was pulling Star Shock to it , but he decided to tell the truth .
"Yes , I'm the one responsible for this crime ."
The princess stepped back , but not in disgust : the honesty of the answer surprised her , as most criminals would lie when confrontated to their crimes .
After reflection , the princess said "Guard ! Take him to the castle !"
The noise off armor pieces moving against each other sent fear rampaging in the killer's brain .
He knew prison was obvious , and asking for mercy wouldn't help , so he cooperated and walked along the guards .
They were followed. Followed by several eyes , and Shock could feel what their expressions meant : Fear , disgust , curiosity , sadness , and even more ...
Once they arrived at the castle , Shock got something quite unexpected .
The princess voice wasn't as loud as in the cave , and her voice , even in the gigantic castle , didn't echoed .
"Now."She said , " You have a lot to answer for . To start , the obvious questions . What is your name ?"
Shock was hesitating , but he was set to answer .
"My name is ... Abyss Kiln."
He knew he was lying , and he hoped the princess wouldn't notice his doubt .
"Now, I read the book you wrote , and , even tough I must judge ponies for their crimes , it's the first time I saw such madness. Why did you killed these foals ?"
"I...I..." It was hard to choose what he was going to say . He could lie , but he would be sent to tartarus for etenity , but he chose wisely .
"The shadow told me to..."
Truth was burning his throat .
"A shadow ? What shadow ? Who are you talking about ?"
Even tough he couldn't look her eyes , he saw fear starting to emerge from the princess.
"Erm...His name is Kaomet , and he told me to give him the souls of ponies , in exchange of what he would answer my questions."
The princess didn't responded .
He saw she was completely frightened by that answer.
"Abyss Kiln...You need to tell me where and when was the last time you saw him ."
The mind of the broken stallion flinched .
"I saw him in the cave , while I ..." He hesitated ," But I didn't wrote it down in the book..."
The princess started to flip the pages as fast as she could read , trying to find something about the shadow.
She stopped on the last page , slowly reading the words wrote in blood.
"Kiln...Why did you accepted his offer ? What were the questions you were talking about ?"
He responded , filled with fear.
"Why am I friendless , that is my question . Why does everyone avoids me ? What did I do to deserve this ?"
The princess suddenly realized something , something that could even scare her.
"You lied..." She said.
"Uh?"
"You lied . Your name is Star Shock . You were born on the moon an you trained your wings there. You helped nightmare moon to escape and people got aware of you . One day , you tried to escape the moon by flying . You landed with too much speed and you killed 8 ponies in Ponyville . That's why people avoided you for these years , because you killed their beloved ones."
The mind of Shock blanked out .
The princess had the answer .
He did all of this for nothing .
"Now you must answer to your crimes. Shock , I condemn thee to be sent to Tartarus for a 100 years . You won't see anyone during the travel to Tartarus and the convey will be secret . Guards , take him to the wagon !"
Shock didn't fought at all when the guards took him to his fate , but instead , he cried .
During the transport , he swore to himself that he would avenge himself from Kaomet , bringing down his world of pain and anger with him . . . . . . . This night , a young fillie with a red mane and brownish coat was sobbing alone . Suddenly , her eyes got wider as a dark figure appeared .
