The Scent: Love of Mares

"How do I always end up in these situations?" I said aloud. Stuck in a cell and my body thoroughly soaked from the wake up call the guards had given me. I had yet to see neither hide nor hair of my captor. Worse still, the shackles on my wrists and ankles left me powerless as the simple task of moving was painful. The cell stank of rot and decay; countless rotting carcasses and skeletons of rodents littered the floor while fungi covered the walls and ceiling. The dim flickers of torches were my only source of light, allowing me to at least observe my surroundings. The dull sting left by the flames had eased over the first hour of my awakening to no more than a gentle throb. My body, despite the shackles, still possessed the strength to heal me.

The dull clank of metal pulled me from my thoughts as the sharp clang of a door being wrenched open brought a renewal of the dread and fear I currently felt.

"Against the wall prisoner, any funny business and I will run you through." a mare spat, adorned in ugly black armor as she unlocked the door. I felt the cold sting of her sword as it pressed against my back. "Move prisoner!" she hissed forcefully, spurring me forward. I had little time to observe my surrounding as I was forced down the corridor. "Queen Celestia and Queen Luna await for you inside. You will not speak unless spoken to and will bow whilst in their presence!" With a small nod, the mare pushed me forward, the door opening as I fell flat on my face. Grumbling, I struggled to raise to my feet as my restraints limited my mobility.

The dimly lit room instantly made me nervous as flashbacks of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters played in my mind. Two thrones sat at the back atop a mass of stairs, towering over the four guards stationed at the bottom.

"Step forward human." Queen Celestia gently requested, a dangerous smile on her face as her sister looked on with mild interest. As requested, I briskly made my way forward, constantly looking for any way to escape as I reached the foot of the stairs. "Despite my guard's clear instructions, you do not bow? Is it because of bravery or stupidity, I wonder, that you did not do as instructed?" The mare seemed to ponder, placing a lithe finger to her lips as she snorted at my neutral look. The guards grinned evilly as Celestia dismissed them, some whispering about what they would do to me if they caught me alone.

"Sister, I would very much like to beat him." Luna spoke up, her voice dead of any emotion as I inwardly shuddered.

"As would I! But it would be impolite. He is our guest after all." she chuckled, the two sharing a small smile as I recoiled in disgust at the bluntness of their conversation.

"I think we owe him a chance as he is not familiar to our customs." the larger of the two spoke, her sister nodding while resting her head on her hand as she studied me.

"One chance. I think that is fair, wouldn't you say? Though by the looks of him, one beating is all it would take to break this little foal." Luna chuckled, flashing me a toothy grin as her eyes lustfully gazed over my smaller form. I felt bile rising in my throat as I sorely wished that I was back in my Equestria. At least the sexists there were just slightly bigoted; these mares were insane.

"What makes you two think I will do anything for you?" I challenged, my eyes narrowing as Luna snarled.

"If you do not hold thy tongue now, we will personally see to it that your little brats are executed!" Celestia snapped, a maniacal grin on her face. I froze… my body shaking as rage flooded my system. I saw red as my body went into auto-pilot. I would kill these mares for that threat. I would not allow either of them to hurt my foals or for that threat alone, I would personally see to it that these two suffered.

"Try it, you sluts!" I snapped, my eyes narrowing as the two bared their teeth.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU... FILTH!" Luna spat, lunging at me as I smirked. With one swift movement, I brought my arms up in front of me. Her hand sliced though the shackles. Luna gave a cry of surprise as the cuffs fell to the ground. Darting forward I slammed my fist into her nose sending the mare flying. Not letting her sister recover from my attack I sent out a wave of magic. Pinning the mare to the throne.

With a sharp crack the throne gave way the mare vanished from my vision. Smirking, I turned my sights back to Luna, whom shakily held a sword pointed at me. With a look of disgust, I darted forward. My hand slammed into her stomach, making her whimper and drop the blade. I laughed, my hand holding her horn. She squealed in fear, trying to push me away as I wrenched her head to the side. Tears of pain and fear ran down the arrogant mare's face as she tried to push my hand off her horn, but her strength had severely weakened.

I grabbed the mare's muzzle and—with a snarl—twisted it. A satisfying crack sounded throughout the room as I broke her jaw and nose; the mare whimpered as I dropped her. Looking at the shivering mare, I slammed my foot down on her wings. A sickening snap—followed by a gurgled scream of pain—reached my ears as I rested my foot on the mare's horn. Snorting, I stepped over the cowering waste of flesh as she curled into a small ball.

"One down, one to go," I muttered with a grin, my eyes locking onto the dazed white alicorn as she hissed at me. My body was engulfed in flames as my armor materialized onto my body. The mare before me hesitantly circled around me. Despite the size difference, I could sense the fear coming from her. She was terrified of me and I planned on enjoying every moment of it. "What happened to the arrogance? As you are the one that revived me, destroying me should be a piece of cake." I taunted. The mare's eyes glowed as she released part of her seal, increasing her strength as I grinned.

The solar queen turned more demonic. Her flat teeth became sharp and dagger-like; her soft, feathery wings became leathery like a dragon's. She snarled at me as the transformation was completed. The mare struck first, magic exploding from her extended hand. I dodged and counter-attacked, lashing out with fire, magic and physical force. The mare quickly went into retreat, leading me away from her sister as I played with her. I forced her into a corner as the mare desperately tried to escape. Devastating blow after blow kept the mare boxed in as I played with her, taking delight in her fear. With a small clatter, the white queen's back met the wall as she realized she was trapped.

"Nowhere to run now," I purred, my eyes glowing menacingly. I lunged forward…

Nightmare Moon's POV

"That is the last of the guards!" Luna barked as I slammed a pegasus into a wall. Not confident to take on a whole reality by ourselves, we had brought back up. The Elements, as well as Discord, stood at the ready. Eris and Razorwing, who were equally concerned about Lachlan, had both come the moment they had received our message.

An earth shattering boom caused us to give pause. I looked to where I knew the main hall to be. These bitches had stayed in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters and that gave us an advantage since we knew this place like the back of our hands. I feared for Lachlan as I felt the power radiating from the whore that had kidnapped him.

"Damn it! That psychopath has removed part of her seal; I fear this fight will not be easy." I cursed.

"If it is necessary and ensures his safe return, I will do the same." Celestia spoke, causing me to pause and give her a disbelieving look.

"You could end up doing more harm than good if you do that. Please sister, only as a last resort."

"I am more than aware of what might happen Moon," she grumbled. With a mutual nod we charged, pushing the doors open as we gave our war cries. The cries died in our throats as we came to a stop.

On the floor lay what looked to be this world's Luna; her armor badly damaged and blood flowed from her wounds. A low groan from the beaten mare caused us to pause as she shakily looked up with her swollen right eye. Upon seeing us, she shakily dragged herself forward. I grimaced as I examined her wings lying limply at her side, bone extruding from the base. What could have done so much damage?

"Help…" she whimpered, her eyes rolling into her head as she passed out. A scream of pain rang out as the mare responsible for Lachlan's imprisonment crashed into a nearby pillar. She was bleeding heavily. Her jagged teeth were chipped and, in some cases, missing, her horn was charred black, and most of her dress lay in tatters. The mare looked exhausted as she collapsed onto her rear, panting as she weakly wiped blood from her eye and nursed her left leg.

"Surely you can put up more of a fight than that." the Liche chuckled, walking out from behind an overturned pillar. "Is this all an alicorn with her seal removed have to offer?" the Liche hissed, idly twirling the mares crown. The mare gave a small hiss as we looked on in horror. The Liche had beaten a fully unsealed alicorn and seemed to have suffered no injuries.

With a sharp crack the tyrant's crown shattered in his hands, a demonic chuckle sounding from him. "You are pathetic! Die now, Queen Celestia," he hissed, his arm rising to finish her off. Teleporting I grabbed the mare, barely dodging the lethal blast of magic from the Liche.

"How the buck did he got here?!" Rainbow Dash cried, the others panicking slightly as we got into defensive stances.

"I do not know, but I fear that this time we must kill him," I stated sadly. Some of the others grinned as Chrysalis chuckled.

"About time you came around," she stated, giving me a small pat on the back as I shrugged her off. I did not enjoy killing, but if Lachlan was nearby, this beast could potentially hurt or use him against us. I looked back toward the Liche. His cloak billowed in the freezing cold wind that flowed through the broken windows around the throne room. I shivered as the beast's eyes flickered over us, assessing us as we in turn, assessed him.

"We will help you tyrant, and may even spare your pitiful life. But you will tell us where our mate is." I whispered harshly, grabbing the broken mare by the throat as she snarled. The mare chuckled softly and I barely stopped myself from crushing her skull. "I warn you now. If you try to betray us or use Lachlan as a hostage, we will kill you!" I promised, dragging her to the back as Twilight went to work healing some of the damage done to her.

"Sisters, I fear that to have any chance with this beast, the four of us will have to unseal ourselves. Only slightly though. We need more power, but even I do not think I would be able to control myself if we fully unseal ourselves." Celestia spoke out, with Luna and Molestia nodding in assent. I knew full well that if any of us used our true power, we would run the risk of accidentally or purposely hurting our friends. The arrogant bastard that stood before us would be no match for one of us completely unsealed, but we could not afford to lose control. As it was, we only planned to release maybe 5% of our true power each. It would at least give us a fair advantage against the beast and lower the risk of killing each other. An alicorn, when unsealed, had four primary emotions: love, hatred, possessiveness and jealousy. The problem with this was that many alicorns of old had ended up killing herd mates and friends by accident as their minds were clouded by their own hatred. With a sigh, I mentally removed a small fraction of the seal; my body shook as the effect was instantaneous.

A white ring appeared over my body as I felt my power increase. A new found energy coursed through me. As the familiar buzz of power filled me, I felt my body grow in size and my teeth sharpen to a knife-like edge. It took me a few seconds to control my emotions and resist the temptation of fully breaking the seal as the taste of power left me longing for more. This power could very easily corrupt and control those that did not use it wisely. I briefly glanced over to my sisters, their smug grins indicating their readiness to test our strengthened bodies. The four of us, backed by Chrysalis and Eris, stared the Liche down. The creature, for the most part, looked on unimpressed. His body remained still as he waited for us to move.

"NOW!" Celestia roared. We all lunged forward—our speed greatly enhanced by our partial unsealing—but the Liche merely smirked at us. Just as we were about to strike, he suddenly vanished. I watched as he appeared behind Luna, slamming his hand into her spine sending her flying towards the ground.

The beast went for me next, slamming his fist into the side of my head. I gasped in pain from his sudden assault, falling backwards as I managed to recover at the last second. Just avoiding slamming into the ground.

I grabbed the far smaller being by the scruff of his neck and drove my knee into his gut, forcing a grunt of pain from him. His skeletal hands slammed into my muzzle causing me to wince as I pushed him back. With magic flaring in her horn, Celestia grabbed him from behind and blasted the Liche at point blank range. The beast slammed into one of the pillars, snapping the large structure in half.

Pulling himself free, he fired off lethal blasts of magic that knocked us back as we were forced to throw up hastily constructed shields. His magic tore through our barriers, sending us flying back. The tyrant queen—whose wounds had finished healing—joined the fray with dagger in hand as she slammed the blade into his shoulders. The Liche cried out in pain, yanking the blade free. Grabbing the mare by her mane, he repeatedly slammed her into a wall before throwing her across the room. I grimaced as the queen landed on her back blood pooling around her nose.

"We are still not strong enough. We need to release more of our power." Celestia grunted, barely managing to deflect a bolt of lightning sent by the Liche. I gave a reluctant nod in response as I noticed that he had already healed himself, removing the wound on his shoulder. Once again I allowed more of my magic to flow from the seal; my body shivered as I felt the instant increase in power. I felt new sensations beginning to flood my body: my fingers sharpened, my muscles grew and expanded, and my anger and frustration for the beast increased. As pure magic crackled around my horn, I focused on my desire to hurt the bastard and drive the smile off his face once and for all.

Celestia and Molestia lunged forward, snarling as our new power increased the aggression that we felt. The beast met the two halfway, the three slamming into each other with tremendous force. I watched the beast tremble but remain resilient under their combined strength. My eyes dilated as he started to push the two back, his arms shaking with exertion as the two alicorns hooves slid across the ground. The two mares had sweat pouring from their bodies as the beast took to the air. Grabbing the two by their manes, he casually tossed Molestia aside—slamming her into the nearby wall—while a struggling Celestia was left in his iron grip.
He seemed to know about our alicorn seals and our current state of minds because he was definitely taking advantage of our increased aggression. Chrysalis, who had been staying on the sidelines, darted forward, slamming her fist into the back of the Liche's head and disrupting his focus. With their opponent distracted, the two mares took the opportunity to escape and regroup. A swift back-fist from the monster sent Chrysalis crashing into Luna, whom had been focusing her magic on protecting the Element Bearers from stray magic.

Discord, having been watching for an opportunity, grabbed the Liche from behind and slammed him into a wall, showing off the true power of a draconequus. As we watch the two beings fight tooth and claw for the upper hand, the chimera's sheer display of ferocity reminded us that there was a reason why Discord had been feared for over a millennium. However, despite his colossal power, Discord was still a very old draconequus, and the Liche exploited that using his speed and stamina to wear his foe out.

*CRACK!*

Discord was sent flying, his head slamming into a wall, followed by Eris who came rushing to his aid.

"Fuck this!" I spat, tearing away the seals to my power as I allowed myself to be consumed by my rage for the beast. My body began to morph as my fur glowed, matching my mane as it took on an ethereal look. I laughed maniacally at the incredible power I felt. The others displayed looks of shock, horror, and awe as they witnessed my power radiating off of me in waves. Reaching the Liche, I slammed my fist into his face. A sickening crack rang out as his blood coated my hand. Landing on his back, the Liche gingerly touched his nose before shakily climbing to his feet. I noticed his power dimming slightly.

The Liche cautiously retreated as my sisters soon followed my lead, each removing their seals of power in order to access their full strength. The beast's attacks began to waver as the tide of battle—which, mere moments ago, had been locked in stalemate—was quickly turning in our favor. Then, the crux of the battle came when the Liche aimed a punch toward me. Celestia moved to intercept, the blow now on a direct collision course with her stomach. The two of us froze in fear as we considered the damage such a blow would deal to her unborn foal. But just as the fist came within a few centimetres of her stomach, it froze in place. The Liche's body began to shiver as he gently placed a hand on the alicorn's stomach. Celestia and I paused and looked at the Liche in confusion as he backed off, slightly cradling his arm. However, in their haste to kill the Liche, Luna and Molestia fired their spells at him without taking into account his speed. I knew that the Liche would teleport out of harm's way, leaving Celestia vulnerable. Even with my mind clouded by my full power, I still felt love and concern for my fellow sister; I tried to reach Celestia as the mere thought of her being injured scared me.

"NO, YOU FOOLS!" I roared, but it was too late to stop them. However, it seems my worries were for naught. In a split second, the Liche acted, pulling Celestia to him as he took the full force of the blast. The combined beams shattered his armor, forced a scream of pain from his mouth, and sent him and Celestia crashing to the ground with him lying sprawled on top of her. Celestia snorted in disgust, quickly throwing the being off of her. With my sister now safe, I stalked toward my fallen adversary like a predator approaching his injured prey. I loved the feeling this power had given me, and I planned to enjoy it to its fullest as I once again fired upon the Liche. In my current mental state, I never once considered why he had protected Celestia. As I blasted the beast again and again—tossing his body about like a rag doll—the others swiftly added there magic to mine.

The four of us fired at the Liche whilst he was shakily climbing to his feet; the four beams of magic obliterated the wall behind him along with half of the throne room. The throne room, or what very little was left of it, wavered as the remaining support beams groaned under the weight. The damage caused by our magic had torn a hole though nearly a mile of trees. A giant crater now lay where the magic had hit a nearby hill—a grim reminder to why we avoided unsealing our power in the first place. A muffled groan and a shifting of rocks made me go cold as the beast wobbly got to his feet. My fear morphed into a sadistic grin as I took in the exhausted beast. The fact he had survived was a testament to his power.

"How is this thing still moving!" Luna roared, her night blue fur tinged with red as it seemed to shift like a mirage. The mare gritted her teeth while an insane grin adorned her face. "It matters not. I will enjoy tearing you into pieces!" Darting forward toward the Liche, Luna slammed into him, taking advantage of their difference in height and reach. Blood matted the beast's robes as we watched Luna quickly gaining ground. Molestia, having decided to flank the beast, sank her teeth into his neck. Biting down hard, her jagged canines slashed though his armour and flesh. A small whimper escaped the Liche as he tried to shake the mare off, but as her sharp nails dug into flesh, his struggles weakened. Not content to miss out on the fun, I giddily slammed my fist into his arm, a wet crack ringing out as Luna used this to push the beast to the floor. The three of us focused a final blast of magic, all three beams hitting him as his limp body slid across the floor.

"Now, let us end this!" Chrysalis spat, grabbing the Liche by the throat as he weakly tried to pry her off. The changeling snarled, hitting the beast over the head as I smirked. Like vultures, our group circled him as Chrysalis delivered blow after blow. The gurgled cries of the Liche were drowned out by the meaty cracks of her fist against his face. I watched with a sadistic pleasure as the mare slammed his head onto the ground, grinning all the while.

Despite a small part of me telling me to stop, I could not stop myself from kicking him. I felt the urge to kill, rise as I watched his form slump against a corner wall.

"Not so tough now, are you, you freak! What? No response?" Chrysalis spat, punctuating her question with a vicious blow to his ribs.

"Stop...please!" he rasped, causing Luna to snarl as she sent another kick his way.

"Still thy tongue monster!" she hissed, flexing her hands. A bloodthirsty grin donned her muzzle as we watched the defeated creature squirm. Eris slashed the beast across his chest, tearing away part of the armor as the creature cried out in pain. His breathing was rasped as I looked at it with disgust.

"Why did you come here? Where is Lachlan?!" I snarled. The Liche remained silent, so I grabbed him by the throat and I slammed his head against the wall. "TELL ME!!!" I screamed, lashing out again. I was glad that liches could not die or pass out from blood loss. This was good as it allowed us to torture the freak longer.

"I...came here for answers!" he whispered, coughing as his blood coated the ground. Snorting I threw another kick at the beast.

"Answers for what?!" Celestia demanded, her anger subsiding slightly. "Why would a thing like you even come here for answers? What was there to gain?" Celestia asked, her eyes staring daggers into the Liche as he shivered. When the thing did not respond, I felt myself snap.

"ANSWER HER!" I screamed, grabbing the beast by the throat, slamming him into a wall, and throwing him to the other side of the half destroyed throne room. The beast groaned as he weakly tried to stand. Panting for air, he collapsed. No longer able to withstand the damage inflicted, his armor and hood began disintegrating. The group and I moved in curiously, wanting to see the beasts face as I realised that none of us had seen it.

The beast's shaggy black hair was heavily matted in blood; as he lifted his head, I froze. The familiar green eyes looked back at me with defeat and fear as he weakly tried to form a shield. Despite my alicorn side demanding his death, I crushed them instantly and rushed over to him. I gently brushed his shield aside unable to form words. He tried to retreat, his arms a mess as his legs showed more bone than skin. I pulled the dying human into my lap.

"Lachlan!" I croaked in horror. Fear coursed through me as the human looked back at me, tears running down his check.

"I guess... the cat, is out the bag." he weakly rasped, blood running down his chin as I gave a small sob. His hand lighting up as I tried to grab him.

"NOOOOO!!!!!" I screamed, but it was too late. His form vanished into thin air as my hands landed where he had just been. I sobbed uncontrollably as tears welled up in my eyes. Twilight muttered something to the elements and they took off, but I felt too numb to care. The power of my true form, which had given me such a great feeling earlier, now only left me feeling ill. My stupidity and cruelty had not only nearly killed the man I loved, but had also broken any trust or love he had for me or the rest.

Why had he hid this from us? Did he think we would hurt him if we had known? Dear Faust! The way we went on about trying to find and, in most cases, kill the Liche must have stressed him out to such an extent that the tyrant was able to manipulate him.

"I'm sorry…" I whimpered. Celestia placed a wing over me and pulled me close for a comforting embrace.
Behind me, I heard Discord sigh as he helped Molestia, whose face was soaked in tears, to her hooves. Like Celestia did for me, Eris pulled Chrysalis into a comforting hug. We had promised ourselves that we would not let the extra power destroy us, but it had done so much worse. It had destroyed our mate and any chance we had at healing our shattered bond.

The tyrant grabbed her sister, chuckling darkly as she vanished. Luna snarled as she barely missed grabbing the mare.

"Why didn't he tell us?" I whimpered.