The first rays of the sun shined brightly as they poured over the hills, illuminating long silver glades painted with the late blooming purple flowers of fall. Overlooking a large red river, a sleepy town was beginning to awaken, with small ponies pulling themselves from bed and trotting out into the sunlight. It was not easy living in Silverfield if you were without privilege, and for most ponies that meant a long, hard day of working in their fields or gardens. Those shopkeepers who did not own fields saw meager traffic throughout the day, but they always seemed to get by with enough money to spare at the local bars in the evening.

For those that knew privilege though, it was another boring day of snoring through the early morning hours. Several miles north of the town was a ruined fortress that towered over the land, casting a shadow on the surrounding hills as it overlooked the calm landscape. Inside this fortress was a keep, with one wing under construction and one wing that looked to be in good repair. In the center of this castle sat a once grand throne room that now had nothing more than engravings upon the stone floor and walls to keep it decorated. Behind the thrones were a hallway, and in one of the rooms ajoined to this hallway slept Rainy, a simple unicorn with simple outlooks on most things.

Rainy smiled as he heard a pigeon chirp at his window. Magically unlocking the hatch from under his covers, Rainy waited for the bird to push it's way inside before he pounced on it, throwing his covers over the bird as it landed on his bed. There was a few moments of struggling, but finally the bird stopped moving and stuck out a leg with a sizable envelope attached to it. Rainy untied the attachment before grabbing the bird and tossing it back out the window, angry squawks echoing back at him as he shut the window. Rainy simply giggled at the stupid Equestrian bird. He actually was quite fond of animals, but anything from that horrible place was probably carrying some horrifying disease.

Rainy leaned back in his bed as two small bags jingling with bits fell onto the sheets. While it was always nice to get money from Reddling, Rainy was far more interested in the letters filled with cramped and somewhat messy penponyship. Ever since his uncle had left, he was determined to read every letter until he finally received word that the blighted princesses and other royalty were slain.

He was waiting for the letter Reddling would send him saying that he'd be coming home. Telling him he wouldn't be alone anymore.

Rainy,
Greetings from the blighted lands. Training has taken me for quite a ride, and I'm sorry that I haven't been able to write in many weeks. I've recently gained some... perks of a new position. I think that the increase in bits has made this quite apparent. As I've told you in the last letter, my new position places me very close to the Princesses. I'd say this might even be the closest I'll get to them given my background- These ponies up here, they speak so weirdly! But anyway, I've made some ponies, heh, "friends", or at least, they trust me. Odd as it is, I find myself trusting them as well. No doubt if they knew more about me they'd turn on me in an instant, but it still gives me some comfort knowing that I won't be fed to giant worms, snake ponies, horrifying abominations, thestrals, yeah. Don't worry about me! There is certainly not any crazy things taking a bite out of me, nor am I going to let that happen anytime soon!
I want to know how you are doing Rainy. I know it's very hard to get letters back into Equestria, and we always run the danger that our mail is being intercepted. If my work brings me near you at any point, I promise that I will be by to visit and check up on you.

Thinking about you with overwhelming fondness,
Reddling Rain

Rainy put the note disappointingly under a smooth rock on top of at least two dozen other messages that Reddling had sent. Paranoid as Reddling claimed to be about having their mail intercepted, this had not stopped him from sending notes whenever he seemed to have the chance. Rainy pushed the thought out of his mind as he stretched, giving a deep yawn as he reached over and uncorked a bottle next to his bed, taking a swig of the ruby liquid inside. Giving a little cough as he swallowed, Rainy put the cork back on as he buckled his sword before he grabbing a small bag of coins on his way out. Sure, Rainy was lonely, and the solemn town in the south didn't really give him much comfort, but the cafe in town simply had the best full Silverfieldian Breakfast.

And everything aside, Rainy felt like he could afford to splurge quite a bit when it came to things like breakfast, wine and booze. Whatever unnamed job Reddling was making money at, the money had done wonders to elevate Rainy's status with the other locals of Silverfield. The unicorn took a deep breathe of air as he started his walk, completely sure that Reddling, and unfortunately his friends and the damn Princesses of Equestria, were in no peril at all.

"Ah, this, this is excellent!" Rainy declared from his favorite seat at the local cafe. In front of him were several dishes piled to the brim with their different parts. A pile of fluffy scrambled eggs cooked in milk leaned against a full potato that had been cut in half and fried before being stuffed with double fried mushrooms and tomatos. Three small oat pancakes sat on a plate near a small bowl of hot dipping oatmeal that had been mixed with a brown sugar. Directly in front were two plates, one containing some wheat soda bread and the other two potato scones. Rainy quickly lifted a butter knife with his horn and dipped it into a jar of grape jam, spreading the tasty substance over the scone as he took a full bite and swallowed. He dismissed the waitress of the cafe with a polite nod as she delivered a large glass of tea to the table, setting it next to his water glass. Within moments the strong smells of honey and jasmine wafted over the table, mixing with all the other fragrances from the breakfast.

When the breakfast laid half eaten with almost all of the most tasty parts picked out and devoured, Rainy leaned back and burped, looking around the small cafe. It only had six tables on the inside and four on the outside, only half of which might be filled on a busy morning .A tired looking stallion emerged from the kitchen, leaning on the counter and looking out through a window that shot rays of sunlight into what was otherwise a bleak life behind the counter and in the kitchen. Rainy watched as the waitress drew closer to her husband, also taking a seat as they locked eyes and sighed, almost happily.

Rainy had been coming through the cafe often enough to get to know the owners well. In a few months they would be expecting a new foal, and Rainy had already promised their mother that he'd take extra special care of them. He'd partaken in their conversations where they had wondered if, like the foal's mother, they would have back pains through their life. Rainy had insisted that they merely hope for a unicorn, as their foal would have an easier time getting along in life. Dropping a couple bits on the table, Rainy slunk out of the cafe, thinking to himself how... final it all seemed.

Silverfield was not a happy place, but nopony said that. Rainy could see weary ponies who only waited to drown their sorrows in drink everyday pulling carts or working in the farm fields when he would go about his day. Everypony he passed seemed to be filled with this ebbing sadness. It was not a depression, the likes of which would touch their facial features and body language, but rather an aura that lacked dreams or hope wrapped around them like a cloak on a cold winter day.

As the young colt stopped outside of the grand church, he sighed. He couldn't remember if the world had been this depressing when Reddling was around, but at least things had always seemed brighter. Rainy remembered Reddling had come home sometimes looking sad and weary, yet he and Rainy had always been able to be close and cheer each other up. The prevalent cloak of sadness that wrapped itself around the rest of the ponies simply stayed away from them.

It was a happy feeling Rainy didn't have a word for. It was also a feeling of closeness that he was not going to let the cursed lands of Equestria take from him. Nodding to himself, Rainy assured himself that he was safe, that Reddling was safe, and that one day soon they'd enjoy each other's company once more.

Reddling could feel himself floating in a dark, suffocating void. His felt his hooves touched down on a stone floor as he slowly rose up, opening his eyes and looking around at the castle before him. He was back home in the ruins of Castle Celes, and the general disrepair of the place greeting him with a homely feeling nonetheless.

The world rocked in and out of focus, as if it was not only unreal, but also utterly self-aware of its that everything contained inside itself was not real. Pressing his hooves to himself, Reddling nodded before looking around. At the very least, he was completely real here, even if the castle itself appeared incorporeal. Odd shapes were twisting at the edges of his vision, writing in languages he did not know and making symbols that he had never seen before.

Trotting forward, Reddling jumped back suddenly with a start as Rainy darted into his vision, looking around the castle with a smile on his face. “Weddling?” The little light blue colt asked, looking directly at Reddling.

“Rainy! How’re you today?” Reddling asked, kneeling down to him. Rainy did not respond, acting as if he had not heard anything said to him. The colt sat down now his smile changing from slight glee to worry.

“Weddling?” Rainy asked, the fear in his voice reflecting a now frantic tone the colt began to panic. “Reddwing, please come out, I give up okay?” Reddling twisted around as he felt something grab at his back. Wrapped around the base of his wing was a collar attached to a chain that was slowly pulling and tugging backwards, away from Rainy.

“Weddling?” Rainy asked pathetically again, staring around the castle.

“Rainy, I’m right here!” Reddling called, tugging at the chain. “W-What is this?”

As if to answer his question, another chain was suddenly thrown from a darkness that ripped the world asunder. Reddling felt himself fall over as both of his wings began to be forcibly pulled away from the castle, and away from Rainy.

“Rainy, what do you want to say? Out with it!” Reddling screamed at the colt. Rainy did not respond to the screams, but instead began to simply cry, curling up in a ball on the floor.

“Weddling? Where are you? Why did you leave? Reddwing?” Rainy asked to the cold cobblestone floor. Reddling pulled himself to his hooves and began to march towards Rainy, but a painful jerk on his wings brought him back down to his belly, the chains dragging him backwards as various portraits that hung in the halls of the castle leered down at him. Some of the portraits were of ponies, others of bats that Reddling had never met. All of them had the same feature however, with red paint, red blood leaking from their mouths and running over their frames before dripping onto the floor like rain.

"Ugh! Disgusting!" he hissed, fighting his way to his hooves once more just for the chains to give another tug, tearing into his flesh and forcing him back to the ground, dragging him into the darkness. He swung his hooves, punching and kicking at the the ground as slowly the world came back into view. Cobblestone pillars and other ruined bits of castle floated around the courtyard of Castle Celes. Standing only on his hind hooves and leaning against a dead tree, a cloaked figure watched as Reddling straightened up. There were a few tense moments as they stood there, waiting for the other to speak. The cloaked figure made no sign that it knew Reddling was there, but he was sure they were watching him.

"You there! What is your name, why are you here?" Reddling hailed to the cloaked pony. The cloaked pony gave no answer, but did pull their cloak aside, letting it fall away as they trotted forward. Light from some unseen source graced their features as they pushed back their hood, letting their bright amethyst mane fall against their fiery black coat. Two stormy grey eyes met Reddling's gape as he stared at himself.

A few tense moments passed before the earth pony looked up, smiling devilishly. "You're in my home, so you first. What's your name, Equestrian?"

Reddling stomped a hoof angrily, snorting at himself. "Ha! A good joke! I am Reddling Rain, of Silverfield, and this is my home!"The earth pony's grin did not waver. slowly beginning to circle Reddling, he could see various leather pieces rising from the ground and wrapping themselves around the pony's body. Redddling gulped at the thought of the leather armor covering his body, and shook a little as the earth pony trotted in front of him again, now with Ausfall in their mouth. Both of their eyes met for a few seconds, then Reddling reached out and ripped Ausfall out of the pony's mouth, throwing it aside.

"You've already failed us. Finally, we trusted you and believed in you, and you let us down, "Reddling". You are no assassin, no knight in shining armor, no hero of Silverfield. Why have you not killed Luna yet?" The earth pony laughed, demanding the last bit and poking Reddling in the chest.

"I shall when I have the chance, I-" Reddling was silenced as the earth pony raised a hoof, still staring into his eyes.

"You'll fail us. If you don't know it, I do. You'll fail Silverfield, you will fail Equestria, and you will fail all those around you. Or are you too stupid to scry the future?" The earth pony asked.

"You foolish phantom, of course I cannot see the future! I am an assassin, not a fortune teller." Reddling retorted. The earth pony laughed a cruel, twisted laugh once more.

"You'll know it when it happens." With that, the earth pony turned away, trotting away and into a swirling grey mist that seemed to be now binding the world together. Steeling himself, Reddling ran to Ausfall and grabbed the blade, turning and flipping his body over so he'd land on his back- but not before the blade flew from his hoof and soared at his earth pony self. The other Reddling staggered as the blade hit him in the side. Reddling turned himself over, trying to get up, but soon a weight was apply itself to his back, along with a splitting pain hitting him right above his wing. Reddling turned to see that Ausfall had been hacked into the base of his wing, cutting straight down to the bone and leaving it to spasm of it's own accord, completely useless.

"This is the price you pay. Nothing's free, Reddling Rain. Will you be me?" The other Reddling leaned down, grabbing the back of Reddling's mane in his mouth and pulling it up. After a few seconds the other Reddling let go, watching Reddling's face flop into the ground with a puff of dust. "Or become something else? We'll see."

Reddling felt one last breath of air leave his lungs before he fell forward into the earth, losing himself once more in the blackness of his dreams. Now he was floating alone in the blackness with renewed purpose.

I know what must be done. I know why I am here. For my countryponies that were raped, enslaved, and used. I'm going to slaughter the royalty of Equestria... But after I finish off Equestria, I'll make sure I go back to Silverfield and change things. I'm going to make a difference in both lands. The past won't repeat anymore, and the future won't be bound by the past. I'll make the justice I like.

Reddling touched down in a basement esque room, leaving the blackness behind. The walls were covered with cobwebs, and everything seemed dull and depressing. Ahead, Reddling could hear somepony from far away calling his name, along with a banging. He was being dragged towards the sound of his name, for despite the hatred he had just imbedded in his heart, there was a feeling that was impossible to fight any longer.

Reddling began to walk towards a dark black rift opening on the other side of the room before stopping dead in his tracks, staring in horror at the ground. In front of him was a mare, her dark grey coat and blue-white mane instantly drawing Reddling's attention away from everything else.

Web grinned as she opened her eyes. Instead of the sweet, heartlifting amber that Reddling had come to need to see everyday, there was instead a torrent of black spiders with red hourglasses on their backs and bellies pouring from her skull. Reddling threw himself back with a scream, but it was already too late as the creatures overtook him, pulling him away from Web and pinning him to a back wall. Web stood up, as if to say something, but when her mouth opened it was not her sultry tones gracing Reddling's ears, but instead ten thousand blackened scorpion creatures wriggling from the back of her throat. They flung themselves on him, cutting into his skin, tearing into his nose, mouth, and ears. Reddling shut his eyes and let out a scream for help, but the creatures only continued to bury themselves into him, ripping at every inch of flesh and muscle they could expose.