Chapter 1
Summer Sorrows climbed from her bed and gathered up her things, as she did every morning. She put on her leather jacket and her choker, then headed over to her bedroom mirror in order to prepare her make-up.
A stoic, pale, stone faced mare met her gaze as she stared into the mirror, pale white fur and a pitch black mane and tail that had certainly not been dyed that way from their normal bright yellow.
She sighed softly, adjusting her choker and her leather jacket before taking out a stick of lipstick from within a draw, applying the black substance to her lips with a few practised strokes. She puckered her lips, making sure that the lipstick was correct, then placed it back in the draw it had came from.
Her leather jacket was simple, her choker was simple, everything about her was simple and that was just the way she liked it. The only piece of complex or showy clothing she wore was a small fascinator with a pitch black net veil that crossed over one side of her face.
She gathered up her hat and then had her breakfast, then prepared to head outside. It was simply going through the motions, the mare was nothing but a hollow shell on the inside, she had died many years ago, when her pet goldfish, Fluffy, had died when she had played “Black Parade” By My Chemical Ponemance several times too loud and his bowl had shattered into a thousand shimmering shards.
That had been a metaphor for her soul, because in that moment, her soul had shattered too. She no longer felt or had emotions, she was nothing more then a hollow shell going through the motions of being alive, like a marionette dancing on strings before some kind of profane God.
Pushing open her front door, she prepared to face the world outside, but, rather strangely, outside was pitch black. It was not the kind of blackness that came from it still being night, it was the kind of darkness that came from there being no sun at all.
Just like her soul, she mused to herself as she stepped out into the darkness. The cobbles of the street ahead were bathed in shadows and cold against her hooves, but she had stopped feeling such things long ago.
She lived on a long cobblestone street, and despite it being ten in the morning according to her pitch black pocket watch, the street lamps were still blazing brightly, shining like the hope she had lost so long ago in the darkness.
Sorrows moved her way down the cobblestone street as she slipped away the pocket watch. Everyone in this day and age used hoof-watches like total normies, not Summer though, she was different and they just didn’t understand her.
One pony in the shop had straight-up asked her if she was having a good day. She had simply stood there and stared at him in her black clothing and gear until he backed up on the question. There was nobody in the world who got her.
There was the sound of movement ahead of her. Sorrows stopped in her steps as her pierced ears twitched slightly, seeking out the sound as she slowly came to a stop, waiting to see what was going to happen.
A pony dropped down from out of nowhere, landing before her with green eyes shimmering like some kind of ethereal fire as his horn glowed a sickly green, taking out a straight razor from within his jacket.
He appeared to be a gray stallion in a red trench coat, it was hard to tell in the half light, but the fact that he had just dropped out of nowhere brandishing a weapon and looking at her with murderous intent, she did not need to see him clearly. This was the fierce Canterlot Ripper…
And he was looking at her in a confused fashion, his green eyes piercing through the murky half-light as he spoke in a raspy tone like a thousand lost souls screaming out at once.
“Why aren’t you running… You always taste better when you run...” He hissed, his tongue spilling from his mouth to lick over his lips as if he was tasting them.
Sorrows just stared blankly at him, looking unimpressed as her pierced ears swivelled to pick out his words.
“Oh no, please don’t kill me. I have soooo much to live for.” She croaked in a dry tone. She didn’t talk much, people were too dumb to understand what she said anyway, too slow to grasp the intricate meaning woven into every word.
The Canterlot Ripper stared at her as if he was struggling to see, then spoke again “Can you step into the light please? It’s really hard to see you in this light.”
She stepped forward calmly, getting into the light so that he could see the tight fitting leather jacket and choker, along with the lipstick and the eyeliner (which she never washed out).
Across from her the pony let out a soft tskk, like someone that had just seen something so dumb that they could not believe it was even possible.
“What are you doing wearing that kind of outfit, young lady? Celestia didn’t raise the son as a joke and a lot of ponies have died already from being hit crossing the road, and you’re out here wearing black?” The last word dripped an ample amount of confusion.
“Are you going to kill me or aren’t you?” Sorrows groaned, almost like a teenager that was getting sick of the current situation.
He smacked a hoof into his face with a sigh, “No, no, no! I’m not going to murder you. The diener would have a fucking heart attack. You just wear that day to day? Clothing like that should only be worn in the bedroom.”
“You’re not my dad!” She hissed defensively at the stallion, who gave a soft laugh in response.
“You’re fucking lucky there missy, if I was your dad, this situation would be a lot worse. I’m a fucking insane serial murderer and even I wear some colour so ponies can see when they’re about to bloody run me over!”
He marched forward and grabbed her hoof, dragging her forward with an aggressive grumble.
“Come on, you’re coming with me, right fucking now missy.”
“No! Let go! Help! Help! Fire!” She screamed.
Celestia stared out across her city and sipped gently at her cup of tea as she watched her prank unfold before her. She wondered just how ponies were going to deal with the lack of sunlight. They’d have to stay inside or use candles and lampposts to light their way. They’d need to cancel work and have the day to relax.
It was a fun prank that was not too other the top, she really had got this April Fool’s thing down perfectly.
From beneath, there were ponies screaming with joy, lighting fires in celebration that towered into the sky like she had never seen before and-
Oh.
Oh.
That was not good.
The door to her bedroom burst open and Luna stumbled in. The ivory alicorn responsible for raising the sun was caught totally off guard by her midnight blue sister suddenly storming in, so much so that she almost dropped her cup of tea.
“What did you do, Sister!”
Celestia placed down her cup of tea and flinched softly, “It’s not that bad, is it?”
Luna stared at her in a dumbfounded fashion “Several dozen ponies hospitalized, one pony died because he kept partying well beyond his limits, believing it to still be night time! It’s bad sister.”
The Ivory Alicorn clicked her hooves. “Why didn’t any of my guards tell me about this?”
“Because they were scared you were going to vaporise them!”
“Ah, yes, that makes sense,” Celestia mused, “I guess I better fix it then.”
Summer Sorrows was mad, the Canterlot Reaper had murdered her, on a spiritual level at least. He had taken away the items that reflected upon her inner darkness and replaced them with a large evening gown and a droopy hat that hung over her eyes.
She had burned both items almost instantly after he had released her, but her skin still felt tainted.
Up ahead, the sun was slowly climbing its way up the horizon as Celestia fixed the mistake that she had made. It looked like it was going to be another sunny summer day.
Could her day get any worse?