Cloud Vicious was walking down the cold, marble hallway, thinking to himself about his last assassination. Of course, it taking place not even 5 minutes ago, it was hard not to think about it. He had thought of all the work that went into it, all the careful planning and cunning manipulation.
From the day the young little foal was born, Cloud Vicious had his wicked eye on him. Almost every event in his life, from his first birthday where he was gifted his Grandfather’s Military Helmet, to the day he was accepted into the Royal Guard, to the day where he defeated the succubus Queen, Chrysalis (who, unbeknownst to him, was greatly weakened by Cloud Vicious), thus giving him both the position of Celestia’s Personal Guardsman and the high bounty on his head. It was, of course, at this moment that Vicious had struck, instantly killing the poor Equestrian with a blow to the head. Now all he had to do was collect the reward, and then repeat the process again.
Just as he was about to leave Canterlot however, his unmatchable senses had picked up a quiet noise. It was one he was all too familiar with. It was the noise fools who thought they could get the best of Cloud Vicious made before their certain demise. When he had turned to see the threat, he couldn’t help but be confused. Before him was an Equestria, an Alicorn no less. With a Black coat and a blue mane, the creature attempted (but poorly) to hide behind a bush. Normally, Cloud Vicious would simply ignore these little pests, as creatures who do not actively look upon Cloud Vicious quickly forget him entirely. Not to mention, such a cliche’ and normal Equestria would be a waste of his talents. But still, he felt something. Like a sense of slight danger.
Cloud Vicious walked towards the bush, and uttered the words:
“This your first time playing Hide n’ Seek?”
Of course, the sound of a thousand voices, all dark and evil, speaking at once startled the poor Alicorn. The fact that he could see him was just the icing to the cake.
“B-b-b-but how c-could you see me?”
Was all that the black coated Equine could utter.
“How couldn’t I see you?”
“I’m the greatest at stealth, the best hider in all of Equestria! Nobody, not anyone, not a single soul can see me unless I decide they can!”
The Blue Mained Alicorns’ voice began to grow, as if the creature was beginning to become agitated.
“Guess not.”
Cloud Vicious normally wouldn’t spare so much as a breath to such low-life vermin, but he was feeling oddly devious today.
“I am Lord Anders! The Element of Darkness! I will not be bested by some green mask wearing scumbag!”
Lord Anders began shaking with rage. He was, in his mind, truly the greatest in Equestria. But before he had truly lost it, he had realized. He’s still the master of manipulation.
“Tell me, how many souls have you ever lied to? Cheated to?”
Lord Anders had asked, thinking he could still come out on top.
Cloud stopped for a second and thought. What an odd question, he wondered. However, all it took was a second before he had realized what Lord Anders was up to.
“1,573”.
Of course he was low-balling it, but it didn’t matter. It was enough.
“What?!”
Now Lord Anders was pissed. This joker was obviously lying. At least, he hopped. His mind became chaotic, trying to figure out whether or not he should accept this as truth or not. But before he suffered an emotional breakdown, he had come up with an idea. A test. Surely, he would catch this liar.
“Alright you little bag of lies, I challenge you...”
“Blood Cloud.”
“Blood Cloud... wow what a gay name...to a boxing match! If you lose, you leave Equestria forever. Deal?”
“And when I win?”
“You won’t!”
Cloud pondered this for a moment. He really didn’t have anything to lose. He’d still come back to Equestria even if he lost. Though, at the same time, he didn’t have anything to gain either. It’d be a waste of time. Still, there was the off-chance that Anders could pose a challenge, and it would give him the ability to aptly test his skills.
“Fine.”
In a flash, both the Alicorn and the mysterious Pegasus appeared in boxing ring in the middle of nowhere.
Bewildered, Lord Anders seemed to struggle to utter the words:
“What... just happened?!”
“I took us both to my little pocket dimension. You can call it the purple dimension.”
“Wow, the gayness fountain just doesn’t stop for you, huh?”
“It’s named after my hometown, a town where all the tops of the trees are purple, as are the manes and tails of the Equestrians born there.”
“But-”
“It was all burned down by Celestia’s royal guard. The trees, the homes, the little critters, and even my family. All but my little sister. I managed to save her. The names in memory of it all. But enough talking. Now we fight.”
Boxing gloves had appeared on the front two legs of both Equestrians. As they both stood on their hindlegs, the background of the arena had begun to become more erratic. Before, it was a calm sea of different shades of purple mixing together, flowing like a river. Now it had become a whirlpool, as different hues smashed together. The chaos of it all had distracted the foolish Alicorn, and in a single, painful, humiliating blow, Cloud Vicious had struck him down. He was already done. Not even a minute of fighting, and the Equestria was lying on the floor, limp, but not dead. Unconscious.
What a pity. Cloud Vicious had hoped for a decent fight, but as was proven to him yet again, hoping is pointless. Cloud Vicious peered into the Alicorns’ mind, and found his place of residence. He teleported him there, and left him to rot.
70 days had passed before Lord Anders had finally awakened. He lifted himself up onto all four hooves and took a quick look around. Home, he had thought.
He quickly remembered Cloud Vicious, and the short battle they had waged. He remembered a searing pain, and then nothing. Everything past that was blackness. Could he have... lost?
Suddenly, he became angry. Neigh, something more. Enraged. No, something even more than that! Completely and utterly saddlesore.
Nobody can beat him. Not Celestia, not Discord, not the Elements of Harmony, not anypony! Thus, there was only one explanation. Blood Cloud must have cheated. There is no other way. Lord Anders is perfect in every imaginable way. He’s the master tactician. The master strategist. The greatest ninja, the fasted alicorn, the single most magical being in existence. He was Lord Anders! The element of darkness! He nearly brought the world to an end multiple times, and if he cared enough to, surely he could truly end it all whenever he pleased! Some stupid, ugly, one-winged, green-masked cyclops couldn’t possibly hope to beat him! Sure he can teleport people, sure he has his own little “pocket dimension”, and sure he has a pretty bitchin’ jacket, but it doesn’t matter! He couldn’t have won! Not on fair terms at the very least!
And then it hit him. He cheated. There is no other way. Blood Cloud must have cheated.
Lord Anders spent no time fooling around. He set off to find Blood Cloud and end this nonsense once and for all. Of course, this would have been an impossible task had Blood Cloud not wanted to face Lord Anders again. Unfortunately for Lord Anders however, Blood Cloud was more than willing to brawl once more.
Cloud Vicious payed close attention to the words of Lord Anders, hearing him scream and whine about being the “Element of Darkness”. While this was obviously untrue, the reason Anders would think this was true was interesting to Vicious. While it would have taken a normal pony decades if not centuries to come to the conclusion that Vicious did, it only took him mere minutes. Anders must have had one of the Shards of Darkness, a piece of the fabled Heart of Darkness. Cloud Vicious had many of the shards, but still his collection layed uncomplete. Having Anders’ shard would certainly be nice. Thus, he appeared before Anders a few hours after he awoke.
“Have a nice nap?”
Anders feelings of violent rage began to swell once more. The very image of Blood Cloud made him sick. Still, he fought to control himself.
“You. Me. Again.”
Anders struggled to speak these words, his entire being shaking in hatred.
“Sure thing. This time however, I decide the terms.”
Lord Anders was about to reject that offer, but he realized he was in no place to argue.
“A three round match. First round: Sword fighting. Second round: Magic fighting. Third Round: No Weapons Melee Fighting. I win, you give me the Element of Darkness. You win, and I give you all my power. Deal?
Of course, as usual, Cloud Vicious had nothing to lose. But poor little Anders did not no of this.
“Deal.”
Cloud Vicious gave Lord Anders two hours to prepare. While this time should have been spent practicing and meditating, Lord Anders used it to vent his frustrations. Cloud Vicious, on the other hand, simply spent it thinking about how great it will be to have another Shard of Darkness in his possession.
The two hours had ended, and in an instant both combatants were once again teleported to the Purple Dimension.
On one side, Lord Anders stood, bearing his finely crafted Sword of Darkness. Its grip pure black, its blade an evil iron. Cracking around it were jolts of blue magical energy, giving it is awe inspiring glow.
On the other side, stood Cloud Vicious, wielding the Sword of the Ex Chosen One. Once a grand sword, with a bright red grip, a golden hilt, and a shining Pearl White blade made out of the most finely crafted Diamonds ever made in Equestria, it has since fallen into dark hooves. Now its’ once amazing radiance has been reduced to something from a horror show. Its blade was now covered in chaotic energy, constantly changing color and texture. Its handle a deep purple, and its hilt appeared as broken bronze. Cloud Vicious had become attached to the blade over the years, as he too had fallen far from his once pious stature.
The fight had began.
The fight had ended.
Lord Anders was struck down by the accursed blade. But the torment did not end there, as the blade stole Anders’ very soul and had entrapped it in the crystal, located on its hilt. Cloud Vicious, feeling rather malicious, placed the blackened soul into a body Anders knew all to well.
It was of the once king of the koopas, Bowser.
Lord Anders stood up, examining his new body. The second he realized what Cloud had done, he had felt a rage so fierce, so fiery, so out of control, so incredibly powerful that even an Angry Marine would take a second to admire it. This anger, of course, was one not meant to be felt by mere mortals, and Anders became dazed and confused in his fury. He swatted at everything he could see, regardless of whether or not he was in reach.
If Cloud Vicious could feel happiness, there is no doubt that he would be laughing his hardest now, taunting the once proud Lord Anders. But, his past had long ruined him, destroying his happiness and thus, with one more blow, Vicious struck down Lord Anders. This time however, he was not holding back nor was he intending on trapping his soul. No, this time, Anders was defeated. He was killed. He was gone.
Vicious stood on both hindlegs, proclaiming that he was truly the mightiest, most cunning, most powerful soul in all of Equestria. Fangirls from all over the world rushed towards him, their bodies full of awe. They cheered him on, screaming his name at the top of their lungs. Some stood to defile the body of the once proud Element of Darkness, while others rushed to simply touch the glorious body of Cloud Vicious.
Cloud however, was having none of this. The chaos was ear-wrenching. Thus, he teleports himself home. The fangirls however would surely find him, and thus, he needed a disguise. The cunning Cloud Vicious was nothing but clever however, and thus he already had the best costume already in mind.
With one yell, he transformed his body into a being that was once lost to the lands of Equestria.
“ZABRAKADABRA!”
In a flash, he became a Zebracorn, a cross between an alicorn and a zebra. Now, surely, nobody could tell he was infact Cloud vicious. With yet another disaster out of the way, he set off to collect his prize.