The Entity

Since she had decided to cease the nightmare torment of herself, Luna had much more time to dream walk. Dreams happened faster than real life, so she could hop through a month’s worth of ponies' dreams in a single night. Even so, it was a full time position.

It was more of an important job than most realized. Those like the Elements were lightning rods to nightmare monsters. No matter how pure their hearts, a creature could sneak in through their dreams and endanger Equestria. The ‘Nightmare Rarity’ incident had taught Luna that.

She not only assisted the heroes, but also watched over their close friends and families, lest some being corrupt them by proxy. Even a minor issue could keep them from being aware at a critical moment.

This caused her guilt, however. She never assisted many of her subjects at all, so she sometimes would take a few days off to hop through dreams at random.

She did this tonight. She shifted from one dream to another and often stayed only a few seconds. She assisted however required and moved on without need for gratitude.

But suddenly she felt wrong. She couldn't push the feeling aside. It itched at the back of her mind. Did someone desire her attention?

She had to check. She hopped into Celestia’s dream first, as she was most likely to have called, but found her sister happily in cake land, so let her be. Next she moved to Twilight’s dream. Twilight was having a moment with her family as a filly, all embraced into a group hug. Seemed like a nice dream.

But something was still wrong. Luna looked into Twilight's eyes and saw vacancy stare back, as if Twilight didn't notice her. A ripple coursed through the dream hard enough for Luna to lose her footing. She fell to the floor as another struck seconds later. She was immediately in panic mode, because she knew what that meant. This only happened as a pony was dying.

Luna snapped awake in the waking world. An instant later her bed was empty, the sheet still settling as she arrived at a new location via teleport.

After she found Twilight’s bedroom empty, Luna violently burst into the hall. The door flew off the hinges and slammed into the opposite wall. Seconds later, Spike ran out of his room and looked at her with wide eyes. He looked awkward and unsure of what to say to the obviously disturbed princess.

"Princess Luna?" Spike asked.

“Twilight, where is she?” Luna asked in return.

“Twilight?” Spike smacked his head to push the sleep from his brain. It probably didn’t help his confusion that Luna was dressed in moon-patterned pajamas

“WHERE. IS. SHE,” Luna’s voice boomed, “NOW.” She had no time to be polite.

“At Fluttershy’s!” Spike stammered and stepped back and was then pushed onto his rear by the wave of uncontrolled magical rage.

“Do NOT follow,” Luna had not the time to apologize, and hoped Spike obeyed lest she have another to protect.

A moment later she flashed into existence within Fluttershy’s bedroom. She found it empty and the door already off its hinges. Not a good sign.

She rushed to check the bathroom before she ran down the stairs. She found Fluttershy, who appeared physically unharmed, but her psychological condition was anything but unharmed. The nude Fluttershy simply stared at the ceiling.

“Sir?” Fluttershy muttered, her eyes foggy as if barely able to see in her current state.

Luna quirked her ears as she recognized a magical signature. Somepony had teleported from this location mere minutes earlier. The signal was too weak to even devise whose magic it was, but she knew who it had to be.

Luna hated to think about what Fluttershy’s state implied, and wanted to assist, but as Fluttershy was in no immediate danger. Luna had to go to Twilight first.

It wasn’t easy to follow a teleportation signature; Luna was one of a handful of ponies who could have even considered the option. This one was unusually difficult to lock onto. It hadn't been a targeted teleport; it had been a ‘get the crap out of here’ teleport, so the signature jumped about randomly.

Luna flashed back into existence atop a freshly vaporized stump. Bits of wood were scattered about where the tree trunk had exploded and the top of it lay nearby. Her horn glowed brightly as she looked about in desperation.

There. She found where somepony had lay in the dirt and drag marks where they had been pulled away. Luna broke into a full gallop to pursue.

When she found Twilight, she was being dragged by her ankle by a timberwolf. The forest demon never saw Luna coming before its physical form burst apart, shattered into mere fragments.

Luna knelt beside her. Twilight was as nude as Fluttershy had been, but was covered in scrapes and bruises from being dragged, as well as bruised flesh atop her head as if she had been struck on the horn. She moved her hands to Twilight's chest, but could find neither pulse nor breath.

“No,” Luna muttered to herself, “I will not allow this, we will not lose another!”

Luna grasped air in a telekinetic field and forced it into Twilight’s lungs. Simultaneously she put her horn against Twilight’s and sent a jolt of energy through her like an ethereal drill. She paused, fearful that she had used too much energy as Twilight’s body convulsed, then continued with measured bursts of energy to try to restart the mare’s heart.

After a few minutes Luna became desperate enough to literally force a shard of her own soul into Twilight’s body. Twilight arched her back and screamed as she took a breath, or at least her body did so as Luna possessed it. She continued to jolt Twilight with bolts of energy as she searched Twilight’s mind for any sign of conscious thought.

She could only find one spark, barely detectable. She magnified it using her own energy.

She found what she needed. The dream had crept through the barest hint of consciousness, but cruelly, Twilight’s contentment inside the dream prevented her return. It seemed Twilight now only wanted to die in peace. Luna shattered the divine peace to leave Twilight in the void in her own mind. Luna gave her nowhere to go but reality.

Twilight began to function on her own again, and Luna pulled her energy back to give Twilight back control.

Twilight heaved and gagged more violently than ever. Her eyes opened and she shrieked loudly. Luna leaned back as the yell rang through her head, and allowed Twilight to come back to her senses.

“Luna,” Twilight said as her eyes focused, “I’m... am I dead?”

“No, young one,” Luna breathed deep with relief, “I will not allow you to escape life so easily. Though I also beg your forgiveness; I should have sensed your danger earlier.”

“Don’t beg,” Twilight barely got the words out.

“Twilight,” Luna said softly, “I know you need rest, but I must know what occurred. I found Fluttershy in distress and she did not recognize me. I fear her mind may be broken. I need to know what happened.”

“Something... a trans-dimensional being,” Twilight panted, “...raped Fluttershy... raped me when I tried to help... He wanted to murder me... threatened to blame her unless she agreed to be... his toy.”

Luna stared as Twilight spoke. Twilight would have used every technique she knew to stop the being, which meant it must be extremely elusive. Luna hadn’t encountered such a being since before her banishment; was this something she believed extinct?

“I apologize, but I need to query you further,” said Luna softly as she lay her hand against Twilight’s forehead, “Did it appear to feed on you in any way?”

“...felt it feed when I... climaxed,” Twilight choked as if the memory sickened her.

“I believe I know what must be done then,” sighed Luna, “I will take you to safety first.”

“I... help you,” panted Twilight.

“No, Twilight, you must rest,” Luna sighed, “Your body and mind are at a dangerous point. I need you to trust me and allow me to take care of you.”

“I failed,” Twilight choked on tears, “...don’t let Fluttershy know I'm hurt... she'll blame herself.”

“It is neither of your faults,” said Luna, moving a hand over Twilight’s eyes, “Sleep, child.” She recreated the peaceful dream inside Twilight's mind, pushing her back into sleep to enjoy it in safety.

Luna picked up Twilight’s limp form, concentrated, and with a burst of magic appeared back inside Twilight’s room. She lay the girl gently on the bed and turned to the door she had ripped asunder earlier.

In the doorway stood Spike and Starlight. Starlight appeared uncertain of how to address Luna, while Spike immediately ran around Luna to Twilight, crying as he climbed onto the bed to check on her.

“Please bathe her and put her back in bed, she will be asleep for at least a full day,” directed Luna, “Do not further her humiliation by seeking out others unnecessarily. There is no need as I am familiar with... how to deal with the fiend responsible. I will return soon to tend to her condition as much as is needed.”

“Yes, princess,” Starlight said hollowly and bowed slightly, appearing unsure if she should.

And with another flash of focused energy, Luna stood inside Fluttershy’s house. She leaned to retrieve the girl from the floor and carried her upstairs.

“I’m ready,” muttered Fluttershy, still unaware, “Please don’t hurt anyone else... hurt me.”

“Shhh,” Luna said gently as she lay Fluttershy on her bed.

Luna placed a hand on Fluttershy’s forehead and pushed her into unconsciousness as she had Twilight. A dream immediately formed in Fluttershy's head, one of her horrifying experiences, but Luna snuffed the dream out and instead filled her mind with a dream of a field with butterflies. She used her magic to lock Fluttery inside the dream, unable to awake for the time being. Luna couldn’t let Fluttershy witness what she had to do. She would not allow Fluttershy to blame herself for what must be done.

Luna sat next to Fluttershy on the bed and closed her eyes. She stretched out her senses and waited.

She could sense the entity draw near, but the devil hesitated to approach such a being. Luna showed no sign of having detected his presence, and perhaps this emboldened him, because he moved with less hesitation as he came closer.

She left her mind open for him to speak telepathically, but he didn't chance it. A pity; it would have allowed her to grab hold of his life force with less humiliation than the alternative. At least Luna was familiar with humiliation; perhaps it would not be as terrifying as it could be.

Luna opened her eyes. She could feel him. He stood directly in front of him, thought she could not see with her waking eyes. She took another breath and folded her hands in her lap. Patiently, she waited for him to be emboldened enough by her complacence to strike.

He moved away, and Luna hoped the coward hadn't decided to flee. It would be nigh impossible to find him again if he did so. But soon enough she detected his essence approach from behind once more. She took another deep breath and waited for him to strike.

He wasted no more time. There was an impact of something blunt and metal against her horn from behind. She had hoped he wouldn’t feel the need to do so, especially since the pain from such an impact was proportional to a horned one's power. What she experienced from each impact was many times what Twilight had. In the end it had been inevitable, she realized, and only hoped it wouldn’t seem strange to him that she hadn’t defended her most vulnerable bone more carefully in a dangerous situation.

Pain coursed through her body and turned her head only to feel another impact. She fell forward onto the floor from the two and for a moment could do nothing but feel her body convulse against the floor. The pain rang through her head repeatedly until she lost count of how many times he struck. She was barely aware of her surroundings when he finally dragged her onto the bed and lay her next to Fluttershy.

Luna regained her focus slightly and turned her eyes to Fluttershy. The pegasus shook as he attempted to wake her. No doubt he wanted to torment her with the humiliation of another, but Luna’s spell kept her peacefully ignorant. She hoped he would take it as Fluttershy's own exhaustion; Luna still feared he would become wise to her plan and flee.

One hand gripped her neck. He had strength she didn't expect, though perhaps her defenses were lower from the impacts to her horn. For a moment she believed he would crush her throat. She realized that he would be severely tempted to kill her outright rather than risk what she could do to him, but hoped his desire to get her energy would override such rash measures until he got it.

She appeared to be correct. His other hand grasped her shirt collar and ripped the front of her pajamas away, followed by her bra. He couldn’t help but to give her generous breasts a good squeeze before he slid his hand to grasp the inner seam of her pajama pants and panties, which he ripped away in one motion as well.

Even the moon goddess teared up as he groped her slit. His fingers pushed between her labia and fished around in her warmth. Her whole body flushed with anger and embarrassment, but at the same time, the experience faded into the background of her existing past like a tear drop into a raging river. She wouldn't have to endure long with any luck.

Perhaps she didn’t look weak enough, because the hammer lifted and impacted her head again shortly after. This time he literally hammered her horn like a nail against her head; the strikes that missed impacted her skull directly. She strained to keep her wits beneath the ocean of pain as her vision and hearing temporarily gave out. She did everything she could to hold on to the concentration she needed to end this.

By the time he stopped, she was reduced to a shivering mass of flesh. Her feelings surfaced from beneath the torment and felt his hands massaging her breasts. A thick slab of pulsing flesh pushed between the fleshy orbs as he enjoyed the larger mare’s body. He then slid his hips back down to be even with hers and licked her face as if to taste her tears.

His hands quivered against her at the power trip of doing this to one of the most powerful beings alive. His energy bore against her with his anticipation. His thoughts bled over into her mind at how he planned to feed before murdering her. Had she not been in such a state, it would have been enough to grab hold of him with her mind, but now she required a better connection.

Disgust rose within her as her plush lips separated slowly around his tip and he glided inside. She wanted to squeeze until she ripped his dick off, but instead relaxed her shivering body as much as possible to allow her tunnel to convulse over the invader. She sprawled and pushed her hips upward in an attempt to get her body churning despite her distaste and humiliation. She needed to give him something to feed on to get this over with quickly. Once she did so...

Nothing she attempted expedited her unwilling body’s reaction, but eventually it approached. She could tell he was aware of the approach as his strokes increased in speed. While his belly audibly smacked against hers, he reached both hands about her neck and squeezed again. He tilted her head slowly one way and another as he searched for the quickest route to a neck snap, and clearly intended to end her as soon as he had her energy. That meant she would have mere seconds to focus the connection. She hoped he didn’t strike her head again, because one more would have likely been too much.

Her body shivered with orgasmic non-bliss and she quickly concentrated. He made the connection and drained her energy, but she fed back through the connection to attach her energy firmly to his. She locked onto his life force and suddenly the entire room vanished as if it had collapsed into a void. An instant before a fatal neck snap, she gained control.

She stood on an airless plane of dust, rocks, and craters as she stared at the creature who now lay at her feet. The entity was nothing that should be seen with mortal eyes, but she suffered no such limitation. His body was twisted by the force keeping him visible, and he had multiple layers of scales coating his body. The inner layers could be seen due to each of the outer layers being in an increasingly decayed state. Even his eyes and ears had scaly flesh covering them, though his piercing gaze somehow penetrated the mass. The only thing that protruded was his fleshy shaft, which bobbed in front of him. It looked almost like an octopus tentacle, covered with suckers on all sides.

He thrashed initially, unaccustomed to being out of control or so vulnerable. He attempted to use energy he had consumed against her, but soon found that in the dream world, the more of Luna's energy he contained, the more power she had over him.

“I will wait for you to complete your futile struggle,” said Luna coldly. "You will find that your only option is to kneel before your nightmare."

“How?” the creature demanded, but fell onto all fours all the same.

“What did you think would happen?” growled Luna, “With who you were unwise enough to feed on, you’re lucky I caught you. If Discord had been the one to acquire you, you’d soon be neck deep in a fate worse than death.”

He laughed, “Why are you still naked? Can't dream up an outfit?”

Luna stepped one foot forward against his neck to push him against the dry ground as she sent a bolt of stinging energy through him. She knew how his crimes felt to his victims, and she duplicated it exactly. He screamed as she continued, but she didn’t cease the energy or pull her foot off of him until he went hoarse. Still, she did not clothe herself; she wanted to show that she felt no vulnerability.

Luna usually gained no pleasure from harming another, but all the same enjoyed dispensing justice in this case. Either way, she needed to put him in his place immediately so he would take her seriously. As she casually pinned him with the torrent of energy, she sifted through her mind for creatures like this. Now she had scanned him more completely and was almost certain that he was an incubus. She had believed them extinct before her banishment.

“Are you prepared to speak seriously, ‘sir’?” Luna’s voice echoed through the dreamscape, and probably his head.

“I can’t help it!” the creature bellowed, “I have to eat like any other! She was such a perfect food source, someone I could make submit and then feed on nightly. I would never go hungry for as long as I could feed on her.”

“You are an incubus,” Luna said. She stated, positive now.

“Am I?” asked the creature, “I’ve never seen another like me.” He was honest there; Luna could read him quite well now.

“You need to feed,” said Luna, “But that requires no torment, and certainly no murder. I know for a fact you can form a body in this world to feed through, and that your sources of food remain unharmed if the act is consensual. All you had to do to eat is pretend to be a prostitute.”

“Oh I've worked at many brothels,” he said, “But I can't solidify a physical form anymore. I don’t know if it’s age or something else, but I can’t. This pony was meant to be a long-term source of food, and I had to get her to submit, which torment allowed. Killing her friend would put her deep enough under my control to refuse further help from others. Though with you... I simply couldn't resist the opportunity.”

Not being able to take solid form sounded feasible, and would explain why he never came to their attention before, and after having scanned his body, she decided to accept it as truth for the moment. However, Luna could tell that he had derived pleasure from the added torture, whether he expected to before he began or not. He regretted his decision to challenge such a powerful being, but had no guilt for the acts themselves.

“Will I be executed?” he asked.

“Perhaps, or perhaps I shall simply leave you here to starve,” said Luna. She was tempted, but execution wasn’t something done in Equestria, and she couldn't hold herself to less of a standard than she held her subjects.

He laughed, “Well I suppose I can’t stop you now.”

Luna stared at him sharply, and he looked at the ground, unable to make eye contact. She had little pity for such a monster, but at the same time...

She had been there after the Canterlot Wedding. She attempted to keep the prisoners of war alive, but helplessly watched them starve to death. Starving to death, for an emotion eater, was like being burned would be to a pony, except it lasted almost a whole day. She would not wish such a fate on her worst enemy.

“I will keep you alive here, and... feed you myself so long as you continue to know your place,” said Luna, “I will work to locate an alternate source of food or a way to restore your ability, but I will not set you free when I do, not yet. You shall atone, and I will not make your atonement easy. Make no mistake: execution would be cleaner than the humiliations you will endure. If you are truly humbled, and I will know, I will release you after a century or so.”

“So be it,” the incubus went limp to simply lay on the floor.

Twilight rested safely under the watchful eyes of her assistant and student, and wouldn’t be awake to be comforted for a time. When she did awake, and found out he was an incubus, she would likely start research immediately despite the experience. She’d probably even want to assist Luna in her search for another food source. Psychologically, Twilight would hide her pain, and Luna respected such as she dealt with pain in the same way.

With Fluttershy though, it might well be weeks before she was capable of just functioning normally. Presently, Fluttershy still lay in the bed asleep as she had been when Luna left with her tormentor. The pulse of energy from the planar shift had awaken her, though she still merely stared at the ceiling.

“Sir?” Fluttershy asked instinctively, perhaps afraid he would be angered by a lack of greeting.

“Fluttershy, it is I, Luna,” Luna said, her title not appropriate at the moment, “I shall teleport you somewhere safe.”

Luna pulled Fluttershy with her as she teleported again. She appeared in another of the empty bedrooms in the Palace of Friendship. Fluttershy thrashed momentarily, but quickly went limp to simply float with Luna’s magic. Luna carefully placed Fluttershy on the bed, and covered her with one blanket. She would get Starlight and Spike in a moment, but wanted to make sure she knew she was safe first.

“Fluttershy?” Luna asked as she knelt beside the bed. Comforting wasn’t an area where she was skilled, “You are now safely located at the Twilight’s palace. She is also safe and not seriously injured.”

“Good,” Fluttershy said almost too quietly to be heard.

“You are safe from the entity,” Luna told her, “I have dealt with the monster.”

“I... don’t know what you mean,” said Fluttershy quietly, “I... I'm fine. I'll rest and then go home.”

No doubt he’d told Fluttershy not to tell anyone else, and Fluttershy was terrified enough by the attempt on her friend's life that nothing would convince her to do otherwise right now. Fluttershy would fear his return for some time regardless of assurances.

“You are safe now, regardless,” said Luna, “I will retrieve Spike and Starlight Glimmer and inform them that you are here.”

She left Fluttershy alone. It would be a long time until the poor mare felt safe again, but Luna would make sure she did.

The end?