Your Human And You: The mask we wear.

“There will come a time in your life when you lose something that matters to you. You'll fight for it and you won't win. But what really matters isn't the war you're waging, it's that you don't lose the person you are in the midst of the battle.”

It had been three days since my visit to the town. Call me paranoid but I didn't feel comfortable in and around the town. Whether it was the blue pony that had vanished, the humans or the fact that everyone in town were ponies...I still can't be sure. For three days I had been familiarizing myself with my new surroundings, thinking and just trying to survive, but as long as my mask was on and my equipment was holding...I was doing fine. Rumors of my appearances had spread about a little because I heard several passerbys on the dirt road talking about me. Apparently, I was a mysterious phantom of some kind, that appears and disappears without a trace. Or maybe an apparition of some Nightmare Moon pony, but whether or not I was a threat or even existed to them, was still debatable, to both them and to me. Not that I wanted to hurt any of them but if it came to it, I would defend myself.

The shock of seeing my own kind still lingered in my mind, like some cruel joke, however I decided it would be best if I moved on...which was hard. Right now however, I was moving through the tree tops with my flock of birds not far behind. Most of my day had been spent foraging for food and making a flint axe. Since my fight with that wolf, I had woken up to the dangers of the wild and needed to arm myself with a better weapon. The land, itself, was like a double edged sword. This place... Sometimes it welcomed you like the warm bed of a lover....sometimes it felt like a cold knife at your throat. But right now, I was making my way through the thick line of trees and bushes, hacking through the vines.

The trek was hot, exhausting and the fact that the forest was unnaturally dark didn't make it any better, as I stumbled around aimlessly. After a few hours of walking, I noticed my bird flock had all but dispersed. As I delved deeper into the forest the air around me seemed to become heavy and thick and all of a sudden I found it hard to breathe. As if out of nowhere voices seemed to echo around me, whispering loud enough to hear but not to make out what they were saying. Afraid and exhausted, I ran through the forest as the voices still whispered and echoed around me. The tree trunks seemed to form twisted faces. Running even harder now, I was afraid I was going to pass out with fatigue. Then I saw a light ahead of me were the treeline ended....and I jumped through! Rolling on the cold grass, I breathed heavily. Looking up, I saw that the sky was taking on a dark orange hue because the sun was already setting.

Getting up, I looked around the clearing to see what appeared to be some ruins. Walking over, I almost failed to notice a crevasse that surrounded the ruins and nearly fell to my death. With night approaching, the ruins did look like a good place to spend the night but unfortunately the bridge traversing the crevasse was wrecked. Looking around, the only way I could cross would be if I chopped a tree down to span the gap. Sighing, I started to hack down a long but thin tree. Once it collapsed I began to drag it to the crevasse edge and started to slide it into position. With the tree in place, I started to belly crawl along it to the other side, trying my best to not look down. Five tantalizing moments later I was safely on solid ground. Taking a moment to calm down, I started to make my way towards the ruins.

***************

Upon closer inspection, the ruins looked like some sort of castle, that was abandoned and hadn't been used in centuries. Walking to the entrance, I noticed that door was open slightly and the dust on the handle had been disturbed. Being cautious, I spotted an opening in one of the walls and began to climb up to it. Once inside what appeared to be servants quarters, I instantly felt very strange. The air felt different, not like last time at the forest, but it seemed to have a presence about it. Faint traces of anger, jealousy and spite were present, sending shivers up my spine. However, there was also a feeling of sadness, loneliness and regret. It was as if the ruins were haunted by someone or something! This did little to calm my nerves but I quietly left the room and went into the old dusty halls.

I wandered for what seemed like hours, with only the silver moonlight to guide me. Turning a corner, for what felt like the tenth time, I was greeted with a large rotting wooden door. How was it that after all those years the door remained intact, I didn't know, but I slowly pushed it open. The door led, to what appeared to be a throne room with large worn tapestries on the walls and two large thrones, standing at the back. To one side of the room was a cage of some sort with a cloth inside that looked more newer than the rest of the place. For a moment I thought the cloth moved slightly....and then it did. Unsheathing both my machete and axe, I hastily made my way towards the cage. Coming closer, I could see that dirty cloth had a lump underneath it indicating life. The lock on the cage door didn't seem very sturdy and I thought I could probably knock it off with my machete's hilt.

However before I could knock the lock off, I heard a small clicking sound behind me and I dived to the left, as a large steel axe-head missed me by inches. Rolling onto my feet, I almost dropped my weapons in shock, as I faced my attacker. Wielding a large double handed, double edged axe was a griffin...Boy was he a big fellow. On all fours this griffin was about my height. His plumage was a smoky grey colour and the rest of his feathers, below his neck, were black. On his right shoulder was a leather pad and on his left fore leg was an arm-guard. A few straps and pouches adorned his chest, with welt stones and what looked like hunting equipment. He wasn't wearing a helmet, he looked at me with piercing yellow eyes...the eyes of a fighter...the eyes of a predator.

With a small battle cry, he lunged at me, swinging his mighty axe with great force. I barely blocked his attack with my machete in an underhand style. With my axe in my left hand, I swung at him, but he backed off before I could make contact. Smirking, the griffin looked me over before taking his axe and thrusting it at me. The weapon had a long reach of about 6 feet, which I quickly blocked by crossing my weapons catching his blade. Taking a risk, I grabbed his axe-shaft and I pulled the Griffin forwards and tried to slice him with my axe again. He ducked and rammed his shoulder into my chest, emptying my lungs of oxygen and making me splutter. Gathering together my strength, I punched him in the face. I was knocked back. Separated from him I coughed violently and breathed in vital oxygen.

The Griffin looked at me and spat out a bit of blood, before laughing. He knew he was battling an un-experienced fighter and was loving every moment of it, revelling in the heat of the battle. He eyed me again. Lifting the heavy axe onto his shoulder he regarded me.

"Interesting! At first, I thought you were some lost human but I see you are something else." Sniggering, he raked a claw against one of his axe-heads. "You're not new to this, but far from experienced. He..he..he, I look forward to having you as my dinner" he declared, as he started swinging his axe at me again.

Doing my best to block and dodge the Griffin, who was unleashing a relentless assault of blows, swinging his axe wildly. Although he could hit hard, due to his size and the weight of his weapon, I had the advantage in speed and dexterity. However, if I was caught by his sharp claws they could leave a serious wound and if the axe hit any part of me, I was sure it would shave through bones with ease. He seemed to underestimate me as his axe blows were less forceful than he could have delivered, but I wasn't complaining. During his attack, an opening presented itself and I managed to cut his chest and draw blood. Backing off, the Griffin examined his wound and grinned. The wound was bleeding quite heavily but this only seemed to egg him on. He wiped his blood across his chest, caking his once black feathers which were now a dark red.

"You little devil!" he laughed, smiling maliciously. "First blood to you then but this is far from over." He licked his bloodied claws and adjusted his axe. "Perhaps you will give me the glorious death that I seek and send me to the Holy Battle Grounds of the Ancients" he said, pointing at me and still grinning.

Using his wings this time, he took to the air for a few moments, before lunging at me and knocking me to the ground. Bringing his axe-head down on me, I managed to move my head to dodge it before giving him a low kick, knocking him over. I readied my machete and attempted to stab him with it but he was faster than I thought and grabbed my arm, lifting me clean off the ground. I felt his claws dig into my soft skin causing a searing pain and spurts of blood. Laughing, he threw me across the room and I landed heavily on my right shoulder, dislocating it. With one arm out of action I could only hold my axe in my left hand and the Griffin was beginning to walk towards me.

Laughing, he smacked the ground with his axe. The sound echoed around the room and cracks appeared on the ground. I fixed my dislocated arm, grunting in pain as a click indicated it was back in place. Laughing again, the Griffin swung his axe around in the air. He displayed his skill as he fed the hilt between his claws. The steel axe seemed to sing as it glided effortlessly through the air and shone in the light of the moon.

Seeing that I was ready to continue, he brought the axe-head to the ground and raked it around in front of him. Sparks flew and the screeching sound it made was deafening as he prepared to strike. Clenching my teeth, I arranged my weapons in a guard-like fashion.

We both charged at each other with weapons raised, as steel, flint and rust collided. We both headbutted each other. Glaring eyes met, showing no sign of weakness or exhaustion. Both bodies were filled with adrenalin and were losing blood. Both minds were set on domination. This was no ordinary battle. Their weapons were ready, their minds and bodies prepared, their eyes were focused and unwavering. This wasn't just a fight, it was a death match. The first to fall....me or him?! Someone was going is die tonight.... "A҉̟̝̳N̵̪͚̞̪̘̰̠Ḓ̩͎ ̼̥̤̠̪͓̜A̝̗̞̼͍͇͘S̨ ̻̤̝̗̯SU̙̖̼̣͕͞R̖Ḙ̞̲̖͕͠ ͇͞A̡S͏͙ͅ ̶̗̯͖̞̬Ḥ̵̪̮̖È͖͖̩̬L̡̦L̨̬̠̺̘̹̺͕ ͍͙͉I͈T̯̭̰̬͖͍̯ ̹͢Ị̴̰ͅS̗̻̮͙͎̖N͢'̮͚̜̞͍̜ͅT͕͕ ̟̮͓̝̰G̵̲̥̪̺̞̞ͅǪ͙̙I͇̪̜N̮̪G͏̙̣ ̫T̜̥̝̦̳O͏͎̻ ́B̤̱̺̪Ẹ̟͉̤̪͙̟ ͎̱̜͕̫Ú̮̠S҉͉̗̝͙̩̲̳!̸̻ͅ."

At that point I felt, something mentally push me and suddenly I could not move. No matter what I did, my body would not respond. "T̝̺i͕͉̮̯̠m̱̱̣͜e̼͈̪͓̭̤ ̶͙̙t͔͕̠̖o̞͉͕̝̪ ͎͕̤̬͡ḩ̻̬̺͇̞͚̮a̗̼̱̳͎v҉̯̱̩̳e̞̻ͅ ͚̣͈͉̙͓ͅs̬̻̖͟ọ̵͓̗͕̮̼m̰e͙̫̬ ̫͍̠̠̺f͚͇̱̗̯̳̦͝u̠̙̞n̛̗̼̦.̜̱̟̞"

I gave a roar as I overpowered my foe, making him take step backwards, my bloodshot eyes now looking down at him, as I was now practically leaning over him wearing a twisted grin on my face. I knocked his weapon aside and tackled him to the wall. He clawed my back but the pain didn't register. I punched him in the gut and felt several of his ribs crack. I grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall. He coughed up blood, before I dragged him the length and then threw him across the breadth of the room. He coughed and spluttered large amounts of blood. Getting up, he tried to claw me but my body reacted quickly and I grabbed his neck. Lifting him clean off the ground this time, my right arm started to attack his already broken ribs and then whoever was controlling my body slammed him into the ground. Before he could get up my body pinned his shoulder to the ground as my right arm prepared to do a massive attack!

He moved his head, just in time, as my right fist slammed into the stone floor, causing a huge crack and unfortunately it also cracked the bones in my hand and a painful recoil shot through my entire arm. I wanted to cry out in pain but my controller didn't seem to care, as he picked up the Griffin using my left hand and threw him across the room again.

He then drew my axe to finish the job. "Į͇̮͈'͎͡m̹̬̪̝̲ ̛̻g͡o̢͙͎̭͇̫̰i̢̖̦̙͎̙͇ng̵̩̯̮̭̬̩͔ ̣̯̺̮͙t̶̰̰o̻̣͚̹̹͍̤͜ ̢̦̦̩̬̝͉s̠͙̟p͎̩͙̻͚̀ļ̭̱̥̥i̸̦̤͚̳̫t̢̳̰̣̤̘ ̳̞̩͔̗̜̯h̰̣̟͙̤̀i̭̘̳̻̳s̡̞̠̝̜̗ ̕he͈à͓̼̬̣̱̙d͟ ̹̟̙̯̳͚l̬̫̹i̤̜̝̩͉̭k̢̳̳͈̱̠̘e̞͠ ̸͇̟̼̫̪̩a̫̘͍ ̗̜̼̭̠̣̗w̷͚͎͚͇a҉̳̯͖͖̯͈̼ṯ̡͉͉̩̲̱e̷r̵͔̙m̘̻̪̭̗è͍͙̯̹̤̮l͖̮͚̮͙̥̜o̷̬͔̹n̡̺͍͎̘̦̩." I walked over to the Griffin grinning, as I saw him crawling towards his weapon. I gave a laugh that you would expect to find in an insane asylum. He managed to get up and grab his weapon but I was already upon him. He raised his axe but I was the quicker. I closed my eyes and swung. There was a cracking of bone followed by a gush of blood showering my face.

As he died he mumbled "Ancients take me".

As I regained my senses, I felt a weight in my hand and I opened my eyes. The Griffin's head was split open to his beak, giving me a ungodly sight of his brain. My hands shook violently as I realized what I had just done. Seeing that his body was being held up by my axe, I let go and the body fell to the floor with a thump. I looked in horror at his corpse and fell over and backed away. My breathing was fast and heavy. My skin was drenched in sweat. My back and right arm were burning with pain. Taking another look at his body, I threw up...heavily.

I spewed enough to fill a bucket and then to make matters worse, once I had emptied my stomach I began to throw up bile, which stung my throat and chest. After that ordeal, I just sat there in shock. Ever since I had made my axe and started that fight, I had been mentally preparing myself for when I had to kill. Nothing can prepare you for killing the first time. I was still coming to terms with the fact I had just ended a life. A part of me died inside and felt cold while mentally I felt the fires of rage burning.

After what seemed like hours, I shivered myself to reality and walked slowly over to the dead body. I knelt down beside him, closed his eyes and covered his head. I removed his armour from him and my weapon from his head which made a splatting sound. This almost making me throw up again. I then began wrapping the rest of his body in some tapestry which I tore down from one of the walls. I carried the body outside and then used his axe to dig his grave. Once the deed was done and the body was buried, I gave a prayer. I was never religious back home, I never bought into it, but now I prayed to whoever his god was to take him to the battle grounds that he deserved to go to.

******************

I walked back into the throne room and put my right arm in a sling from a piece of the remaining tapestry. I walked cautiously over to the cage, were this had all begun. Breaking the lock, I removed the cloth and was shocked to see what was underneath. It looked like a pony in form but was quite different. Instead of fur it had a black shell with a faint green sheen. Its legs had holes in them at here and there. It had insect-like wings and a small pointy tail. It had a small jagged horn on its forehead and two fangs poking out of its mouth. What was most shocking was how young it looked. If it was the size of a pony it couldn't have more than four or five years old.

Once I had taken the cloth off its small body, the creature stirred before opening its eyes. Again, I was surprised to see it didn't have an iris in its eyes as they were all one green color. This nymph, seeing as it closely resembled an insect, looked at me with its strange eyes, somehow filled with curiosity, as it made chirping and clicking noises. I carefully reached out to touch its head, which was rough from the dirt sticking to it. The little nymph leaned into my hand chirping happily and even more so I picked it up as cradled it in my arms.

After what had just happened, I burst into tears and hugged the nymph, not wanting to let it go. Clinging to what remained of my sanity, I needed something to fill the void I had lost at my first kill. I wept for a while, until I ran out of tears and looked down at the nymph again. It looked sad as it licked the tears from my chin. A soft smile adorned my face at the sight of such innocence.

A shiver went up my spine at the memory of the apparition that had taken control of my body....or whatever it was. Holding the nymph close, I made my was back to the servant's chamber and started attending to my wounds with some more cloth from the tapestries and water from my bottle. I used the remains of the cloth to use as a makeshift blanket to shield the nymph and myself from the cold. Nibbling on my left finger, the nymph began to drift off to sleep and soon after....so did I.