The damp earth raced below his feet. His claws dug deeply into the dirt, gouging long claw marks the size of a small pony. Saliva flew from his open mouth as he ran with blinding speed across the landscape, his dagger-like teeth shining like metal in the late afternoon sun. He felt a slight nip in the air, a tell-tale sign that fall was approaching. But he did not mind, despite being completely hairless.

With heightened senses, the Rake identified his target: a small herd of deer being shepherded by three, no wait, four earth ponies and one pegasus. The Rake turned and dove behind a tree for cover. He slowed his breathing, his eyes never leaving the deer or the ponies. He was not sure which he would take, since he was ravenously hungry. He knew that the deer would be the easiest to catch, yet the ponies would be absolutely delicious. Ponies were a rare treat for the Rake, and each time he fed on one, he made sure to savor each crunch of the bone or each rip of the flesh.

The Rake cleared his throat, his mind made up. “Help!” he called out in a perfect mimicry of the foal named Pipsqueak. “Hello? Who said that?” one of the ponies called out, a faint tremor in her voice. “Help!” the Rake called, more desperation in his voice this time, “Please! My leg is hurt! Help!” That did it. “You guy’s stay here, I’m going to go check this out,” the Rake heard a female pony say. “Alright, but be careful,” the male pegasus replied.

It was over for the mare fast. A single bite to the back of the neck and her head went rolling off into the trees. The Rake moved fast after that. With nearly blinding speed, he raced out from cover and leapt five, ten, fifteen feet in the air. He landed upon the back of the pegasus and slashed down the length of the pony’s spine with his claws. Without skipping a beat, the Rake threw himself off the dead pony and twisted, essentially turning into a spinning blender. The other two ponies stood no chance.

The Rake finished his meal rather fast. The stripped bones of the ponies he scattered around the clearing and in the woods, and for good measure the Rake felled a deer. As the Rake gnawed on the severed leg of the deer, It appeared before the Rake.

It’s empty face looked down on the bloodstained jaws of the Rake. The Rake’s hollow, black eyes met Its empty face. The Rake noticed the broken body of a foal impaled on Its tentacles, which It dropped to the ground. For several moments, It simply looked at the corpse while the Rake gnawed on the deer leg.

Its mouth appeared, and the tentacles reached down and dragged the corpse towards the massive, gaping jaws. The Rake felt a small amount of fear run down his spine, knowing that It would just as easily kill him in the same way as it was eating the corpse now.

It devoured the entire body whole. Blood dripped down Its chin, which It wiped off with a tentacle. The mouth disappeared, leaving the face blank again. The Racked sucked out the bone marrow before asking, “Sir, what is our plan of action now?” It thought for a moment before replying mentally, as it always did, “You, Rake, shall wait for my instructions. I will move on to my next area of focus.”

“Sir?” The Rake asked, confused. It turned away from the Rake and stared off into the distance. “I have several matters to attend to, but none of them are in nearby Appleloosa. My business takes me to Ponyville, where I will begin the next phase of my plan.”

It teleported away. The Rake lay in the grass, contemplating what It had said. The Rake looked up and It was in front of him again. “Actually, I do have something for you to do,” It said to the Rake. The Rake listened intently.

The mission had been a success. He had visited the small pony named Pipsqueak before, to learn the voice of an innocent child, but he had certainly felt delight at seeing the terror on the face of the yellow pony whose house he had infiltrated. Surely now she was speaking with Pipsqueak, who had relayed the Rake’s message to the yellow pony. It will be pleased with my work, the Rake thought as it bounded across a hill.

The Rake was off to carry out the next set of It’s instructions. The Rake bounded over the gate to Canterlot and landed without a sound. It was late at night, somewhere around midnight. The moonlight reflected brightly off of the Rake’s pale skin, forcing him to keep to the shadows as much as possible. He waited in the darkness for the guard patrol nearby to pass. As he waited, the Rake absently picked dried blood off of his claws.

The guards moved on, and the Rake moved forward. He jumped onto a rooftop and ran as fast as he could towards the castle. Without pausing, he jumped from the rooftop through an open window in the castle, landing without a sound. He crouched on two legs, waiting to see if his intrusion had been noticed. It hadn’t.

The Rake ran on two legs towards the barracks. He reached the locked wooden door, which he easily picked with his claws. The door silently opened, revealing dozens of sleeping Royal Guard, all belonging to Celestia. Luna’s Royal Guards were on patrol now, in Canterlot.

He crouched on all fours and crept his way through the sleeping soldiers to where another door stood. This door was unlocked, and the Rake opened it silently. Nightshade, the unicorn that was now head of the Royal Guard, sat at his desk, writing something down with a quill and some ink. The Rake shut the door behind him.

Nightshade dipped the quill into the inkwell with magic and lowered it to the page when he noticed that his candle flame nearly blew out. He felt a very faint breeze and turned around. The Rake had drawn himself up to his full height, standing on two legs. “W-What?” Nightshade stammered. The Rake grinned, baring his sharp teeth. “I am the Rake,” he said as his claws fell.

Nightshade’s bisected body lay in a pool of blood on the cobblestone floor. The Rake turned to the door and followed the last set of instructions: he carved Its symbol into the wooden door. The circle and X stood our prominently against the dark wood, and the Rake felt pleased. Without making a sound, he crept out of the barracks and bounded away into the night.

Rainbow Dash’s head felt groggy from the medicine. He shoulder ached and her joints felt like they were on fire. She opened her eyes slowly at first, then they flew open. A tall, dark pony stood in front of her bed. Rainbow Dash looked into Its eyes. It looked into her eyes.

And in that second, Rainbow Dash’s will broke.