Evil Never Dies

July 8th, 993 ANM

Whisper Wood. A small red pegasus mare with a flowing blond mane dashed between trees, giggling madly. A ways behind was her earth pony lover, Sweet Soda, a shining white stallion with a trimmed ocean blue mane. Whisper always had him chasing her through the forest in the middle of night. Soda didn't really need to keep up with her though, he already knew where they were going. They'd been to The Hideout a thousand times before.

"I thought earth ponies were supposed to be strong!" she teased.

"We are!" he asserted. "We're just not built for speed."

She giggled again and accelerated, her nimble hooves carrying her faster than Soda could ever hope to match. He groaned, wondering why they couldn't do this during the day so he wouldn't have to worry about crashing into a tree.

Whisper reached The Hideout at least five minutes ahead, but the wait for Soda was well worth it. He came waddling into the grass clearing covered in sweat and dirt, his tired glare just tickling her sides. Whisper couldn't control herself and proceeded to laugh hysterically.

"Oh ha ha," he huffed. "I got to go wash off."

As Whisper continued balling, Soda made his way to the pond. It was a warm water spring and the crystal clear liquid was constantly bubbling up from below. Cattails and tall grass surrounded the pool, but he bulldozed his way in and threw himself into the water. Although it was unusually hot tonight, he shrugged it off as a geological thing and quickly scrubbed down his coat before making his way out.

Whisper found the sight of him soaking wet laughable as well and broke down into chuckles once more. Soda narrowed his eyes, a malicious plan forming in his mind. With Whisper distracted by her own mad giggles, he was easily able to close the distance and tackle her. Whisper made a loud 'eep' when she was suddenly on her back, a dripping stallion standing over her. She glared at Soda who merely smiled back at her smugly.

"Looks like were both wet now," he said simply.

"You know pegasi hate to get wet."

"Funny, seeing as you love to dump rain on everypony else."

"That's our job," she defended with a roll of her eyes.

"So now what?" he asked.

"You could get off me."

"Sounds risky. How do I know it won't suddenly start raining?"

She smirked. "You'll just have to trust me, Soda."

He waited a few moments, acting as though he was really thinking about it. To Whisper's annoyance. Soda didn't even know what hit him before he was on his back with Whisper standing over him. She smiled proudly and puffed out her chest like a victorious general. Soda smiled weakly up at her in return, silently begging for mercy.

"It's beautiful out here tonight," she said softly.

He sighed, assured he was in the clear. "Yeah. It's always nice out here."

Soda tensed as he felt Whisper lie on top of him, her chest against his. The side of her head fell into the crook of his neck. "Tell me you love me."

Soda licked his lips. "I love you."

She pulled up, her muzzle hanging inches above his own. "You mad?"

He snorted. "Anger towards an angel is a sin."

Without warning, Whisper's eyelids were drooping and so was her head. Soda felt time stop. His heart pounded, her breath washed over his fur, and drops of water fell from his back into the grass. His entire future and all his dreams flashed before his eyes.

He would propose to Whisper and she would scream with joy and wrap him in her pegasi wings. The two would have an enormous wedding and invite relatives from half-way across the world. He would kiss her and pledge to be hers and she would do the same. They would buy a house together -- no! They'd build one! Then they'd have two beautiful foals. He would have a daughter, a pegasus like his wife, and a son, an earth pony like himself. Whisper would teach their daughter to fly and he would raise their son into a respectable stallion. They'd send their kids to school so they could spend the day together at home, cuddling on the couch. Maybe they'd do naughty things and quickly have to clean up before the children got home. He and Whisper would watch as their children grew older and they'd both cry as they attended the weddings. Then they'd laugh as they held their grandfoals. Finally, as a couple, they would grow old and retire together, giggling as they relished in memories and looked through weathered photo albums. He and Whisper would pass on and be buried side-by-side. The perfect happy ending to a long peaceful life.

Soda hummed, waiting for Whisper's sweet lips to meet his so they could start on the path of destiny. Seconds past before her voice broke his trance.

"Do you hear that?"

Soda pouted as he opened his eyes and found Whisper looking about, her ears turning this way and that as she tried to pinpoint the source of the noise that had disturbed her. Soda sighed, figuring it was just an animal, but he too began listening just for her sake. However, he too began to notice it.

"What is that hum?" he asked.

"I knew I wasn't hearing things!" Whisper declared. She jumped off of Soda and started hunting through the nearby grass for the source.

Soda got up slowly and did a quick circle on his hooves. "It's like it's coming from everywhere."

"I know, but what is it?"

Soda felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He blinked and looked behind him. "My fur... is puffing?"

Whisper turned towards him, then she looked at herself. "Mine... too?"

"Ow!"

"What!" Whisper cried in fear for her coltfriend.

He looked to her with wide eyes. "Static shock..."

Whisper suddenly knew what was going on. "The air is electrified."

"What does that mean?" Soda's ears continued to flick as the humming grew louder.

"Normally, it means a lightning bolt is about to strike. But..." she looked towards the sky but couldn't spot any clouds. Just a blanket of stars and a bright full moon.

"Could it be something else?"

Whisper struggled to think over the now blaring fog horn the whine had become. "It could be magic buildup. Like when a REALLY big spell is cast."

"Should we--" his question was cut off by a massive explosion that shook the ground.

The couple were thrown off their hooves, leaves were blown off the trees, and where the spring had once been was now a geyser of fire shooting up into the night sky. Clumps of dirt and stone rained down on the surrounding forest and the hum was replaced with the roar of an out-of-control inferno. Soda crawled to the prone form of Whipser and climbed on top of her to shield her smaller body from the gale of wind that was tearing across the clearing, painfully whipping at his coat. Peaking over his shoulder, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The flames were an otherworldly green and there were faint ghostly wisps lazily drifting through the air, as though unaffected by the destructive force.

And as suddenly as the insanity had come, it vanished, leaving a lone figure standing just outside the crater that had now taken the place of the fresh water spring.

Soda took deep breaths as he eyed him. He couldn't explain it, but there was something wrong with him. Not just the fact he had emerged from a volcanic eruption unharmed, but he seemed to emit an energy about him. On the surface he was a tall thin stallion with ash gray fur that appeared far too dry. His jet black mane was horribly overgrown and stretched past his knees. His muzzle was long and narrow too and, if Soda wasn't hallucinating, lined with sharpened teeth more appropriate on a vicious carnivore than a pony. His eyes were brilliant crimson and atop his head was a pointed spiral horn.

The unicorn, whose cutie mark was painted over with what looked like three black stripes of war paint, stretched his back and then each of his legs one-by-one. Lastly, he popped his neck before turning his gaze to his surroundings. He quickly spotted the couple. Soda felt his blood run cold.

"You," the stallion said with an aged voice, "what year is it?"

Soda, too afraid to even think of lying, replied honestly. "993."

"Over 900 years?" the stallion marveled. "My, I was gone a long time."

Soda helped Whisper to her hooves and the two proceeded to stare at the pony before them. He didn't seem to notice.

"I guess it's true, 'time flies when you're having fun'."

Without warning, he grunted in pain and a strange crack filled the air. Soda and Whisper took a step back as the stallion hunched over, his hooves wrapping around his middle. Two lumps grew in the middle of his back, slowly pushing outward against the flesh. Finally, when his skin could stretch no more, it tore open in a grotesque display. Two bloody sheet-like limbs emerged from the opening in his back and unfolded. Before their eyes, this stranger had sprouted a pair of draconic wings!

Soda could feel his jaw dangling, barely even still attached to his body. There was blood dribbling down the unicorn's barrel and his new wings shook twice, casually splattering the crimson liquid everywhere. He then stood straight, as though he was never in any pain at all. But then he turned to his hooves, where yet another impossible transformation was taking place. The hairs on his front legs were fusing together and hardening into scales. Soda and Whisper watched as natural armor formed along this impossible pony's legs, turning him into some kind of dragon-pony hybrid.

The stranger looked angry at these developments.

"My power seems to be unstable and acting on its own. The journey must have disrupted my magic frequency and thrown me out of sync." He paused for a moment. "How annoying."

He growled at the changes that had taken place, but they refused to go away. He then took notice of the couple and scowled at their dumb stares. The strange pony opened his jaw wide, revealing an orange glow coming from deep in the back of his throat. Soda found he couldn't help but lean forward just a bit to try and see what was in there. Then his world became pain as a wall of flame burst forth from the stranger's maw and set him ablaze! Whisper screamed as the fire completely obscured her coltfriend from view, only his desperate cries letting her know he even still existed.

What felt like an eternity later, the inferno ended and Whisper was able to gaze upon the steaming charred remains of her lover. Suddenly, she remembered who had done this to him was still here. She turned her head slowly to find his malicious horn glowing a terrifying red. Before she could even think of moving, a beam of magic tore through her skull, spraying brain matter across the ground. A second beam tore through her side. A third ripped off her front legs. As her bloody corpse tried to fall, it was endlessly peppered by dozens upon dozens of blasts coming from the stranger's horn.

Finally, when her corpse was nothing more than a pile of shredded hamburger, the attacks ceased.

The stallion looked up at his horn, a frown set across his face. "I told you to stop shooting after she hit the ground. You really are out of control, aren't you?"

He shook his head before spreading his wings and taking to the sky. Once he was well above the tree line, he easily spotted a nearby town about a mile away. A monstrous grin grew along his muzzle.

"If my magic is going to be fussy for a while, I can at least try to enjoy it." His horn began to glow as he flew towards civilization. "Soon, even the gods will bleed. Legion... has come home..."

The End?