Equestria; a journey with equines

Chapter 15

Melding of the minds

Great, breakfast.

The manticore roars with the volume of thunder, knocking the drowsiness from me as the adrenaline kicks in. It pounces. In reaction, I disappear, gone for a second before reappearing behind the bewildered and apparently frustrated beast. I do love teleportation.

The lumbering beast lands on the ground where I was mere moments before, only to find nothing there but dust. It has good reason to be confused, but it has only itself to blame, it gave up the element of surprise by roaring. It turns around to retreat back into the bushes where it came, only to find a fist in its face. A fist made of dark and sinister energy, courtesy of the thing in my head. Bastard.

The manticore flies backwards into a tree, the same tree that harbours my cleverly concealed nest. The very same tree where that bastard decided to reappear, in my head. Exactly the same tree that I have just tumbled out of.

The manticore shakily stands, growling with an equal amount of pain and anger. I flare my large, ethereal wings, causing myself to look larger and more intimidating. I don't really need to though, there's no way I could lose. Power flows into my claw, building up the dark magic in its palm. The manticore charges towards me, eyes glowing with pained rage and thick drool hanging from its gaping maw. I let loose the energy from my claw at the beast, the energy taking the form of a gyrating crescent of purple fire, striking the beast in its hideous and battle scarred face, halting its advance entirely.

The beast wails in anguish, its face burned by the crescent as it sliced through the flesh. Blood pours from the wide gash that stretches from its cheek to down its neck. A thick stream of liquid from a severed artery sprays me and the surrounding flora with a coat of deep crimson. The manticore wails again, bringing its paw up to cover the wound. It looks pathetic.

Another dark crescent strikes the manticore, tearing open its arm, exposing the bone. Another hit, and another hit as I continue to to barrage the pathetic creature before me with crescent blades of energy. The manticore hits the floor, heavily wounded. The last blade had sliced clean through its leg and knocked it to the floor.

I approach the downed manticore, slowly, as if to drag out its suffering. It cowers before me, panic in its hate filled eyes. I grip its jaw in my claw, forcing it to look deep into my eyes. I smile at the beast beast briefly, before ripping out the creatures jaw from its face. Blood continues to pool around the body, painting the canvas of green grass red.

The sword from yesterday materialises in my hand. I like the sword, and I think I going to call it Bane, as it is the bane of all things living. Fitting, I force Bane through the creatures head, ending its miserable existence. Now I can finally feast, I'm so hungry.

...

I wipe the blood from around my mouth, the meat of the manticore was delicious, even if it was raw. I burn the remains of the pathetic creature, the less evidence of me being here, the better.

"Congratulations," The 's' sound being stretched out "It seems like I made a good choice." a loud and powerful voice echoes through my mind. I know the voice, the bastard is back.

"What do you want?" I snapped, sounding more animalistic and primal than I intended.

"To applaud you, you show such prowess and dispatching those before you. Guilt free too."

"I don't need your approval," I growl, "I do what I want, and I will be rid of you."

"Is that right? Tell me, who gave you the power? Who gave you the means to make nice with those ponies?" It shows obvious displeasure in uttering the word ponies. "I did. Who ruined it all for you? Who murdered and destroyed? Who abused the gift of power? You did, not I, you."

"No! You were influencing my decisions from the start. You made me a monster."

"How could I? I have only just absorbed enough power from your hateful actions to communicate with you now."

"You're lying!"

"Am I? Tell me, what do I gain from making you eat raw flesh? That was all you."

"But I..."

"No, it was all you. You used my power to make you a monster. Not I, you."

"..."

"I underestimated you when I attacked back at the ruins, you overpowered me in my weakened state. I lost, you attempted to steal my power. You're own greed chose trying to control my power over destroying me."

"It's, all my fault."

Yes, yes it is."

"What should I do?"

"That."

"Wha..."

I hit the floor, filled with familiar burning pain. Exactly the same from the dream. It tears through my being, causing me to cry out in pain. My blood curdling screams echo through the forest, but I can't hear them. All I can hear is laughter, Nightmare's laughter. It fades out as the world goes to black. I must fight the urge to all unconscious, I must resist. I must...

I fall into the icy grip of unconsciousness. Back into his realm.

...

I float aimlessly through the large and foreboding expanse of darkness. The void. I am racked with pain, worse than that of before. In too tired to scream anymore, to tired to cry anymore. Just float through the void, suffering at the metaphorical hands of the Nightmare.

My own greed caused this, my desire for power. They say absolute power corrupts absolutely, they would be right. I could be living a life of happiness and harmony, just like all the HiE fics I have read. But I messed that up. This is all my own fault. I brought this suffering upon myself, upon everyone else too. I hate this, I hate it all.

I cringe, the pain intensifies, like my own intestines have been liquefied and boiled inside me. All my previous defiance lost to the depths of the void. I don't have the will, or the energy, to resist. The Nightmare has won. That small part of me ignores my resignation, only fighting back harder. But it won't succeed, the Nightmare has won.

"How wise," The Nightmare's voice echoes over the deathly silence that accompanies the void.

I don't react. I have already accepted defeat. The Nightmare surrounds me, engulfing me in its dark embrace before assaulting my mind and overloading my senses. I'm going to be the next harbinger of darkness, the new Nightmare Moon. The elements won't stand a chance against us, they will be destroyed.

Fluttershy.

A faint voice echoes around my mind.

Fluttershy.

No, I can't let him win, I can't let him harm the elements. Especially Fluttershy. This bastard is going down! With newfound energy, I resist the Nightmare's influence. The sudden resistance takes the Nightmare by surprise, but he gives no ground. I continue to fight back, fuelled by my sudden revelation. I squirm within his grip, doing everything I can to break free. Nightmare redoubles his efforts, shattering my resolve and allowing entry into the deepest parts of my mind.

The Nightmare merges into my thoughts and emotions, corrupting them, possessing them. He has me now, it will be no time before I am nothing but a puppet, a vessel for the Nightmare. Lost to the void. A fate worse than death, to forever float around this plane, while the Nightmare assumes direct control of your body. This is how Luna must've felt for a thousand years, trapped within the confines of her own mind.

There's a crack of light, blinding in the darkness. A strange fluctuation of pure magical energy courses through the void, through me, and through the Nightmare. It disrupts whatever magic he was using to control me. The magic mutates and warps into something else, instead of possession, both me and the the Nightmare are thrust together, minds melding into one. The flow of magic abruptly stops, leaving one being floating through the endless void. The being neither himself or not, but in complete bliss.

...