Author’s Warning: Beware! The following chapter is not mandatory to read. This chapter contains a whole lot of ponies dying, blood, gore, and other things under the category of “Unnerving”. If you are squeamish on the subject of blood, gore, swearing, and/or dark undertones, back out now and wait for the next chapter. You have been warned, so don’t b**** about it if you can’t take it. Bad S*** Meter level: Cupcakes

I toppled the white mare as others went running, few standing in awe as Red Storm, the good natured, polite, care-free stallion they had known was trying to kill them. I looked down at the mare, not knowing what I would do next. It was Nurse Redheart. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and I just licked my lips. I said in her ear:

“You know, I never got to repay you for saving my life. So I will save yours.” I slowly rose, and as she got to her hooves, my whole body stiffened with malicious fury.

“JUST KIDDING!” I grabbed her throat in my teeth and snapped my neck back, breaking hers. I bit down harder and felt vertebrae shatter as I tugged on her limp body. I placed one hoof on her shoulders and tugged again, this time ripping her head and her entire spinal column out of her body in a gruesome ballet of blood and sinew. I drank from her body for a few moments before turning my attention to the remainder of the crowd. My coat was slicked red as I clung to the pendulum of a head in my mouth and stared at them. Finally, I spat it out and whispered in their general direction:

“This is the part where you run away.” They took the hint and turned, running and screaming. I laughed as I licked my lips and unfurled my wings, taking flight. I flew forwards and quickly caught up to another pegasus stallion who was too shell-shocked to remember to fly away, instead using his slow, weak legs to try and escape. ‘Ha. Desperation makes people stupid.’ I grabbed him by the wings and pulled him up into the air as he kicked franticly. I bit into his neck, spraying my muzzle with warm, steamy blood as I tore outwards leaving a gaping hole where his jugular once was. I dropped the bleeding pony into the water fountain as I made another pass.

This one, a grey mare with a black mane squirmed as I grabbed her from said mane and carried her up atop town hall. There, she began to cry as I pinned her down.

“Please, please, oh sweet Celestia don’t kill me!” she bawled. I leaned in and let the blood drip from my lips onto her forehead as I said:

“You are the cellist, no? Well, here’s some news for you: There is no Celestia here. Just me.” I then proceeded to stomp down on her forelegs, smashing them both beyond repair. “AND I AM A CRUEL AND UNFORGIVING GOD!” She wailed in agony as I flung her from the top of the building and watched, laughing manically as she dropped to the ground, even going as far as saying “Ouch” as she hit the ground with a sickening *Smack*. Well, not sickening for me, but you get the point.

I watched as a certain white unicorn ran up to aid her marefriend, but it was useless. The grey mare called Octavia was already dead, and I was already descending upon my wings of death. The unicorn stood tall, tears flowing from behind her purple shades.

“You bastard. How could you do this to us? Why? Why cause this much pain to your friends?” I stopped, and I looked at her, and I thought. That was a rather good question, but the answer came as I saw the reflection of my red eyes in her shades. A demented smile spread across my face, and with unimaginable speed, I sped forward and punched a hole straight through her chest, blood spraying onto the broken body of the grey mare behind her. She stood, gaping, blood dripping from her lips as I whispered softly:

“Because it’s fun.” I then gripped her left with the other hoof, and withdrew my hoof from her chest. With lightening speed, I grabbed her other shoulder and I promptly tore her in half from neck to tail. Blood was now running down the street in a gruesome yet gorgeous stream and the water fountain in town square ran red with blood, having been dyed sanguine from the body I had dumped into it. I stood, and inhaled the carnage I had brought; all the while I dreamt what more I should bring in the next several minutes. Suddenly, an enormous force collided with me, sending me flying straight through a building. The building then collapsed on top of me. As I climbed out of the debris, I spotted my new challenger. There, she stood, magenta eyes burning with fury and her cyan feathers rustling.

“Red Storm! What the hay are you doing? Killing innocent ponies is not cool man!” I grinned a devilish grin before responding:

“Is that so, Miss Dash? Pray tell, you have a Rainbow District in Cloudsdale, no?”

“What about it?”

“And you are the weather team leader, no?”

“What are you getting at?”

“You say murder is wrong, yet still, one question floats about: Where do you get your Spectra from? We in the Sanguine Kingdom only know one way to get Spectra, and if your system is anything like ours…” She didn’t let me finish, instead flying straight at me. I met her with my own charge.

I smashed into the mare with all the force I could muster, but to my despair, the same protective magics that kept her safe from the Sonic Rainboom aided her even now, as she shrugged off my blows as well as I did hers. And I was wearing an aegis. Soon, however, I was fed up with the petty games, as I was getting hungry again. I leaned back, and through a very old and very dangerous technique, used the added weight of my body, my total wingpower, and my raw strength to deliver a blow to her that would have decimated a mountain. She flew backwards at insane speeds, smashing through three buildings in a row, before she lay still in the rubble of the third building. I turned my attention back to the fleeing ponies. Some had gotten wise and were flying away. I would catch them later. I flew forwards towards the nearest group of ponies, and there in the middle of them I saw a particularly delectable family of three. An earth pony stallion, a Pegasus mare, and a unicorn foal, all running away together. I tackled the stallion first, and the Mare shouted something, but I didn’t hear it. The stallion told them to run, and to leave him behind. The mare turned quickly and kept going. I looked at my prey who then punched me in the face. This surprised me, and I retaliated by digging my teeth into his throat. He continued to batter me until he lay still and lifeless. I drank my fill before standing up. Then, I examined the body. It was a clean kill, but something was wrong. Then I realized who it was. I had just brutally murdered and fed from The Doctor. ‘He… oh my…’ I shook the strange feeling of guilt away as an enormous force threw me off-balance. I spun around to my assailant, and came face-to-face with an infuriated Big Macintosh.

He charged again, and smashed into me, cracking my carapace. ‘Holy Nightmare Moon! He is no ordinary stallion!’ I countered his attack by catching him in the mouth with a sucker-punch right. He spit out a tooth and came at me again. He threw a right-hook punch and I caught it. He threw a left-hook punch and I caught that one too. We stood there, trying to overpower each other, and even in my augmented state, he was forcing me to my knees. I tapped into my inner strength, using up much of my fed blood to increase my muscle mass, and evening the odds. As strong as he was, he was no match for Sanguine Blood Magic. I forced him to his knees before snapping the ankles in his forelegs. He roared in pain, but kept fighting back, which brought out the sadist in me. I kicked his left hind leg, breaking it with small splinters of bone flying out, before tackling him. I them proceeded to break the last of his legs, all of his ribs, and his jaw; all the while he screamed in agony. Finally when I felt like I had enough fun, I snapped his neck and rose, licking the blood off of my forelegs. Suddenly, a burst of magic struck my side. I lost my balance, but regained it quickly, doing a 90 degree quick-turn on one hoof. There, was Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

“Well, well! The gang is all here... wait… where is Fluttershy?”

“We told her ta hide, in case she’s the target of yer rampage. Besides, she ain’t no good in a fight.” I shrugged in agreement before re-focusing my attention. Then, the orange farm mare saw the broken form of her brother behind me, and she flinched.

“So then, fillies, shall we dance the Danza Macabra? I am anxious to see how well the lot of you are in a fight.” They just stood there, and I held my ground, with The Doctor in a pool of his own blood between us. Suddenly, Rarity took the first shot, (a simple concussion spell-bolt) and I deftly avoided it. I moved at speeds faster than she could track, before I tackled her away from her friends. The moment she hit the ground, I reared back, and I struck her on the horn with enough force to destroy a two-ton boulder. Her horn shattered into sparkling and flickering fragments, and she screamed a blood-curdling scream before feinting. I picked her up, and threw her at her friends. ‘My… friends…’ I shook the feeling of doubt away again as Pinkie Pie shouldered the unicorn.

“Pinkie, take Rarity somewhere safe. Applejack and I will handle this,” explained Twilight as calmly as she could. Her friends were dying around her, and the only way she could end it was to kill me, a friend in my own right. Ultimatums, ultimatums… As much as I would like to say that I enjoyed the bloodshed, seeing my friend like that brought me anguish. However, that feeling too was overcome with malice as when Pinkie turned to leave; I sped past Twilight and Applejack, headed straight for the retreating pony. She turned just in time for me to glide an outstretched wing across her neck. I stopped about five steps ahead of her, with the dust trail slowly rising behind me. I then turned to see a look of horror and agony in the Pink mare’s face, before suddenly, her head rolled off her neck. It fell next to her body, and there her body stood, in mid-step with an unconscious Rarity on its back. Blood was squirting from the open neck like a water fountain, and I had to resist leaning in to take a drink. Finally, after what felt like hours, the headless body fell to the ground, with Rarity rolling onto the cobblestone street.

Applejack and Twilight were absolutely in shock of what just happened. I then began to nonchalantly step towards Rarity, who was beginning to soak in the Pinkie-blood, staining her white coat red. I stepped up to the unconscious body and raised a hoof above her head. Twilight realized what I was about to do, but far too late.

“RED STORM, N-”

*Crunch*

The purple mare fell to her knees. I flicked the brains and skull off of my tread as Applejack growled, brimming with a fury so powerful that I was actually intimidated.

“You…you… YOU SONOVA BITCH! YA KILLED THEM! YA KILLED THEM BOTH! YA KILLED THEM ALL! AND THEN Y’ALL GO AND ACT LIKE NOTHIN’ EVEN HAPPENED! I’M GONNA KILL YA! I’M GONNA KILL YA UNTIL THERE AIN’T NOTHIN’ LEFT TA KILL! I’M GONNA-”

“Applejack… stop.” The purple mare’s words surprised even me. “There’s nothing left for us to do. We’ve lost. Red Storm has killed Rarity and Pinkie. We can’t use the Elements of Harmony anymore. We are not the Elements of Harmony anymore. Even if just one of us were to die, the bond is broken, and it cannot be mended. Just… stop.”

This surprised me even more. Elements of harmony? These mares were the Elements? Ah, but that would make sense now. Either way, she spoke the truth. There was no point in fighting. Even at full strength, they would have been no match for me at my present ability. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind me:

“Hey, plothole! I’m not done with you!” We all looked up at the owner of the voice, and behind me stood Rainbow Dash. One of her wings was obviously broken, and she appeared to have a skull fracture, but she held herself as tall as ever; once she saw the state of her friends, however, the spirit in her eyes died. She fell to her knees, suddenly overcome from injuries far worse than I could see, and Applejack raced to her side. The orange mare carried the wounded pegasus back to the other side of the street. Glaring at me with pure, unceasing hate all the while. I nodded in acknowledgement, and let them pass. The orange mare continued onwards off to the farm, past the remains of her brother, and out of sight. I trotted slowly up to the purple mare who was now sitting in a pool of blood, dribbling from the remains of her friends. She looked up to me, tears flowing.

“I… I failed everypony. Please, just kill me.” I obliged without thought, crushing her skull between two of my hooves. Her body fell down onto the street with a *thump*, and I walk down the street. By now, everypony had fled the town, and so with nothing more to do, I retrieved a lamp from a nearby home, and proceeded to light buildings aflame. While I was starting a fire in Sugarcube corner, a very familiar voice spoke up behind me:

“What have you done now?”

I turned slowly, as the voice filled me with dread. A dread that numbed my feeling of madness, down to lucidity and near-sanity. I dropped the lamp as I stepped up to the mare behind me. The mare who saved me, took me in, comforted me and gave me the benefit of the doubt. Fluttershy. It struck me just then that if Twilight’s words were true about being the elements of harmony, Fluttershy would without a doubt be the Element of Kindness. Having lived in a medieval castle for my whole life with nothing to do but train and read, I had extensive knowledge on the forces that brought the downfall of Nightmare Moon, Discord, and many others. I looked into the eyes of my marefriend, but it was rather apparent that she had no feelings for me anymore. She was looking at me with cold disappointment and sorrow. She did not, however hold any hate in her gaze.

“Fluttershy, you almost look surprised. I told you this is what I was destined for. It was simply a matter of time.” She slapped me across the face.

“You are destined for nothing. You chose to do this. You. No pony else forced you to do this. You are not the stallion I once knew. I feel nothing towards you anymore, Red Storm. Leave my life, and never come back.” I was shocked at her aggressiveness, even though it was expected. The town was ablaze now, and I could feel the heat on my back. She continued:

“More so, you may think that killing some ponies and burning the evidence is a good idea, but it isn’t. If you excuse me, I must go and evacuate the Everfree forest before the fire spreads and burns that down too.” I snarled, returning to my not-entirely sane state once more. She turned to trot away, but I grabbed her tail and pulled her back. She squealed, and I breathed in her face:

“I’m sorry dear, but I won’t let you leave me now. I gave you my heart, and I expect the same.” Her eyes went wide at what I was implying, and before I could react, I plunged my hoof straight into her chest. She lay in my arms, spazaming as I extracted her still-beating heart in a geyser of blood, and took a bite out of it. I smiled devilishly at her, but all malice left me as an ember of my humanity ignited once more. She was dying in my arms, but managed to whisper:

“Red… Storm… I hate you.” Her eyes closed slowly and I set her down. My heart was heavy after having just murdered my love in cold blood, but my fury kept that from holding me back. I made a funeral pyre for everypony I had killed; after all, it would be rude no to give them their final rights. Once I burned the rest of the town down I flew into the air and reviewed my work. ‘Kill count: ten ponies. Buildings capsized: four. Overall evaluation: a good start.’ Suddenly, there was a flash of light next to me, and my sister was there next to me, levitating herself with her advanced magics.

“Hello brother. Good work! Now, to return your sanity and conscience.”

“I beg your pardon?” she tapped me on the head with her horn, and with a flash of orange magic, I was alone. Not only because she was gone, but because the voices were gone as well. I was not alone for long, however, as just as suddenly as my sister appeared, my conscience returned to me. I cried. For the first time in decades, I cried from despair. I felt like killing myself. But no, I was not worthy of such peace. I decided I would live alone in the Everfree forest, amongst animals like my love once did.

I flew down to the edge of town and striped myself of my armour before heading into the dark forest; with tittering shadows following me, mocking me from the light of the raging fires. I walked aimlessly for some time before I came across a small hut. It had strange tribal glyphs and markings along the outside walls, along with intimidating masks on stakes not unlike lawn ornaments. I felt the urge to enter, and so I went up to the door, and knocked. Immediately a voice chimed within:
“Hello and welcome, my troubled friend. Come inside, so your heart we may mend.” I found the rhyming odd, but I entered.
Inside was an odd sight, even to me. I instantly recognized the furnishing inside as that of a southern tribal, and a Zebra greeted me.

“Hello Red Storm, Zecora am I. How are you doing on a day so fine?” I blinked, before saying:

“Well let’s see here. I just killed all of my friends, burned their bodies, before destroying the town we lived in. I have been having a good day.” She just chuckled.

“You have yet to see this is all a lie. Sit down, and I shall explain to you why.” I felt like she was a bit odd, but that she spoke with much wisdom. I followed her command.

“You have been tricked, and your mind plagued. This entire world, your sister has faked.” I was beginning to understand what she was saying… but not really.

“This is all just… an elaborate illusion?”

“Quite indeed, though hard to explain. The details can become quite a pain.” I nodded at this, knowing that illusions can take many forms, and many levels of complexity. She then handed me a single red pellet. I looked at her sideways. She said:

“Do not fear, for your recovery this treatment must be done. Although I must admit, the waking up process is not any fun.” I swallowed the red pellet, and instantly my head felt like exploding. Then, it did.

Author's Notes:

God damn, was Zecora hard to write for! How the hell do all of those other writers do it? I just eeked by, but the rhymes suck none-the-less. Sorry folks. Also, to anypony who missed the ad at the begining of the story, there is a fellow youtube brony who needs help! Find him and his cool walkthroughs here. Thanks!
Oh yeah, almost forgot...SANITY IS FOR THE WEAK!