My tale is not a pretty one. I'm not a normal mare. I never got to grow up in a family. Are you sure you are ready to enter a world where darkness and shadows reign supreme?

Alright. Can't say I didn't warn you.

My name. Names have power, you know. A name can strike fear or devotion in one's heart. It can cast a shadow of judgement, just by your name.

My name is Midnight Star.

And this is my story.

Seventeen years ago, I was found on the doorstep of the Canterlot Happy Foals orphanage. A cheerful, happy name for a bleak place. I was maybe three months old then.

They thought I was strange. My horn is blood-red, yet my coat is ashy grey. My mane was ebony-black, dotted in white, yet flickering like flames.  And my eyes.... they were strangest of all. All green, with no whites.

When I'm sad, angry or stressed, purple smoke flickers out of my eyes. I've never questioned it. It just happens, like there just happened to be an Earth and the solar system.

At the orphanage, my only friends were Joy Ray and her twin, Pure Sky. They were the ones that shared my joys, my secrets and my sorrows. They were the ones who held me when I cried, who cheered when I rejoiced.

C.H.F.O was a bleak and dreary place. It was run by a fearsome mare, Stone Cold. Like her name, her heart was as cold as stone.

Everywhere we went, there were rules. And more rules for these rules.

I hated it there.

The hellhole was scuttling with rats, and when I mean rats, I mean the other foals. Besides my friends of course.

The other foals were quick to judge, and they found lots of ammo for me.

In a way, I have to thank them for hardening my heart.

Without them... well, let's just say I wouldn't have found the motivation to do what I've done.

But anyways, this was my childhood.

A web of rules, punishments, lies, torture... and names.

Well, it's about time he showed himself!

My life changed two years ago, when he appeared.

It had just been a normal day. My fifteenth birthday was last week. I was sitting down to breakfast when the newspaper caught my eye.

TYRANT KING DEFEATED BY PRINCESS MI AMORE CADENZA AND DRAGON! CRYSTAL EMPIRE SAVED!

Following the events of his first known appearance, the tyrant king, otherwise known as King Sombra, is revealed to have been defeated by the Princess Of Love and Spike, a dragon who has been hailed a hero of the empire.

I didn't read on, for I was too caught up in the photo.

He had a grey coat. Just like me.

He had a black mane. Just like me.

He had a reddish horn. Just like me.

And... the purple smoke. Just like me.

The resemblance was uncanny. And the other teenagers knew it.

"OMG! That freak could be your dad!" Sugar Hearts said, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"The freaky blood must run in the family!"

That freak could be your dad....

That freak could be your dad...

"Stop it, guys. They must be... err, distinctly related. There's no way he could be your dad. The King's over a thousand years old!"

I made a move to stand up, but Sugar Hearts blocked my way.

"Where you going, sweetie?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"To find out the truth."

I attempted to storm out, but she held me at hooves' length.

"What, you want a reunion with your freaky daddy tyrant king?"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I screamed, throwing her back. I felt the crunch of bones as I brought my hooves down on her collarbone. The purple smoke started to flicker, and I could swear that my vision was turning a violent red.

Galloping out of the breakfast room, I ran to my dorm, my heart pounding.

That wasn't the worst evil deed I've ever done, and it certainly wasn't the last.