A young pony walked down the ash covered cobblestone street, his brown cloth cloak protecting him from the bitterness of the outside world. The sky was painted a dark gray, a testament to the crumbling world around him. There was no trace of the sun in the sky for it was covered by massive clouds, like gray blots etched onto the massive expanse. Buildings lay in tatters around him, stuck in an everlasting state of decay.
But the grimmest of the scene were the skeletons of ponies that lay around him, some still decaying with bits of flesh still hanging from their dirty bones. The air was tinged with the smell of decaying flesh, a smell that he was already accustomed to. Many of his brethren fell today, fighting for the blessing of eternal night, a night Equestria truly deserved.
He continued to walk down the bloody road, pushing the occasional corpse out of the way. Some of the corpses were still fresh, armor still attached to them. Many of the corpses wore the trademark armor of the army of Celestia, a golden chest plate and helm. But other corpses wore a different armor, armor as black as the night sky with a cloak covering their faces. The cloak had the consistency of shadows, obviously the byproduct of enchantment.
The young colt took the whole gruesome scene in.
In these wretched times, it was to common a scene to see such a peaceful city ruined by the taint of blood. It was hard to imagine that this city, once called Hoofington, was the home of hundreds of ponies who were trying to live their lives in peace.
It was almost sad to see such a sight, it-
The colt shook his head, waking himself from his stupor. Now is not the time to dwell in such things, he had to focus on the task at hand.
He finally reached his destination, the village square. The square was decorated just like the streets, hundreds of pony bodies lay limp on the harsh floor.
At the centre of the square stood a stallion who wore a cloak the color of shadows, it covering most of the features of his body. The stallion stood there, gazing at the cloudy sky, as if he was in the trance of prayer.
"Father, I am here." The young colt pierced the still air with his words. It sliced the silence like a knife through cloth, disturbing the peace.
The stallion stood silent, not turning his head towards his visitor.
"Where are your manners to the dead my disciple? You disrespect the brave brethren who lost their lives today with such vigor." The stallion snapped, still staring at the sky, his turquoise eyes piercing the endless expanse.
The young pony looked down, shameful for his sin.
"I am sorry, I only deserve punishment for what I just did." He said shamefully, hanging his head low.
There was a period of silence as the young colt looked at the hooded figure before him.
"You are forgiven, rise and be grateful for the mercy of nightmare." The older pony said in a low, rumbling voice that vibrated the air around him.
"Have you brought what is asked?" the stallion asked, now resting his eyes on the colt.
The colt flinched, seeing that the pupils of the stallion's eyes were black slits, like the eyes of dragons. There was a moment of silence as the colt tried to compose himself. He was talking to a high official of the Republic, so there was a reason why he was nervous.
He shook his head, breaking from his trance.
"Y-yes, yes I have." The young pony replied, now fumbling through his saddlebag that lay peacefully under his cloak. From the bag, he took out an old black box.
The box was the color of the night sky and was longer in width, obviously containing some sort of object that resembled a knife or a wand. "Pacem in tenebris" said the words written on the cover of the box in fancy silver calligraphy.
Suddenly, a purple aura enveloped the box, snatching it away and floating it towards the stallion. He smiled, now floating the box before him. He slowly took out the cover, revealing the precious content that lay within.
Inside the box lay a knife. It had a silver blade and a golden hilt and was covered with numerous arcane symbols and gems. The stallion gingerly took it out and held it before him. As he held it, a familiar chill ran down his spine. A dark aura started to engulf him, feeling like a cold embrace which enveloped his body with an unsurpassed coldness.
"Well done, you have successfully done your task my child, Nightmare is pleased with you. But one more task lay before you today. Will you accept?" the stallion said, staring at the other pony with black slits.
The pony flinched, realizing he was being talked to.
"It will be an honor father, name it, and it will be done." The pony said with a low bow, his cloak almost touching the floor. The stallion smiled at the young colt. He seemed like a good and dedicated disciple, he would be more than happy to bestow such an honor on him.
"The last task is one of sacrifice. In order for this to work, the blade needs blood, the blade needs a soul for it to do its job. It demands a sacrifice." He said, now smiling, approaching the colt with the blade in his telekinetic grip.
It took a while for the colt to realize where this was going. He slowly started to back off, a fearful look on his face.
"Father, What are you-" He gagged.
The stallion dug the blade into the colt's throat, blood spewing in all directions. He gasped for breath as he gargled in his own blood, a look of horror etched across his face.
The blade was as cold as ice.
He could feel it in his neck, cutting every fiber and muscle the blade touched. He struggled a little bit, trying to pull away but the stallion held him in place with a maniacal grin. He felt himself getting weaker and weaker, his vision getting dimmer and dimmer as the world suddenly deteriorated around him.
Then, the body grew limp, now a cold and lifeless lump.
The stallion let out a smile of accomplishment and pulled the knife out of the corpse. The body dropped with a dull thud, becoming yet another body to the graveyard around him.
The stallion, now alone, closed his eyes and started the ritual. He floated the blade before him, its bloody blade shimmering with magic. As he started chanting, the blade started to glow, taking a life of its own. Suddenly, the blade turned as black as night and started glowing a faint purple. Black gas started floating up from the bodies around him, filling the space around him with a dark haze.
As the gas started to enter the blade, a maniacal laugh pierced the cloudy sky. Darkness has claimed yet another victim, and the colt that lost his life today won't be its last.