So close.

He was so close to accomplishing his goals. So close to gaining absolute power...

And then that wretch decided to turn on him.

In retrospect, he should've seen it coming that using the soul of his host's dead girlfriend as leverage would backfire. After all, it certainly fueled him to slaughter his way through countless foes.

With his help, of course, but regardless.

Now he was trapped in Hell, still attached to his host. The Angelus had won.

...at least, for now.

The Darkness was not one to be foiled so simply. He had existed since even before the beginning of the universe, and he certainly wasn't going to accept fading away into obscurity.

It had been a long while, but he still remembered hopping from one plane of existence to another, neverending in his quest for destruction. It's just that he got... sidetracked by the wonderful brutality he could take part in on Earth.

It would take a lot of energy to make the jump, however, especially from Hell. His host would also be left behind, but at this point he was counting that as a positive.

At the moment, the accursed Estacado he was inhabiting had resigned himself to simply laying on the ground, no doubt still heartbroken over his pathetic girlfriend leaving him behind. Not that the Darkness cared for his well being.

As the Darkness started gathering the energy he had left, he ignored his host suddenly sitting up, no doubt noticing what was happening. He also ignored his angered shouts, and instead focused on choosing a destination. Hopefully, one with a much more... flexible host ready for him...

Eventually, he found one.

With one last scream, Jackie Estacado fell to the ground, no longer inhabiting the Darkness, and left alone in Hell.

Wood Bolt screamed, falling to the ground as his newly-splintered leg couldn't hold his weight.

"Sheesh, boss, hell of a swing you got there."

"Thanks, been workin' on it."

A baseball bat fell to the ground, and Wood looked up at the pony who was previously holding it, shrouded in the darkness of the room.

"Well, Woody ol' pal," the unicorn stallion said, bending down to bring himself to eye level with the broken pony, "remembering how you'll pay us back, yet?"

Wood just grit his teeth, breathing heavily through the pain.

"Well, that's a shame." The assailant delivered a quick kick to the unicorn's face, causing another cry of pain, followed by the slow drip of blood pouring from his no-doubt broken nose. "'Cause, see, we need that money back. And if you can't get it to us, where else can we get it?"

"You know, boss," the other pony in the room said, walking up to the two of them, "I think he's got a marefriend. Cute one, too."

"Oh, is that right?" the boss asked, smiling down at Wood, who gave the most hateful glare he could deliver. "Well, I guess it is, then! Tell me, Woody, you don't think she'd mind doing a little... community service for us, do you?"

"F- Fuck you," Wood struggled out, coughing some blood out of his mouth.

Embrace it

Wood's eyes widened slightly as he heard a faint voice in his head, but the stallion leering at him didn't notice.

"Duly noted."

"Want me to go pick her up?" the lackey asked.

"Nonsense, I'll get the boys together and pay her a visit myself." As the boss got up, he looked back at the two of them. "Oh, feel free to finish up here, Speakeasy. Don't be gentle, now!"

"Got it, boss," Speakeasy replied, before giving another kick to Wood's midsection, knocking the breath out of him.

Let me help

The voice was louder this time, but Wood ignored it in favor of glaring at his attacker. "I- If you lay a hoof on her I swear to-" He broke down into coughing, bringing up more blood.

"You'll what, tough guy?" Speakeasy asked, laughing as he delivered another kick, this one getting a much louder crack out of Wood.

You can't do it without me

Wood didn't get a choice in ignoring the voice this time, as the next kick was given to the back of his head, sending him into a daze, though he stubbornly held onto consciousness.

She will die if you do not accept

As Wood Bolt lay there, broken and bloody, only a breath away from death, his dazed mind focused on the face of his beloved Lily Leaf, the one mare he loved more than any other...

...and the fact that there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect her.

I... accept

A hoof rolled Wood onto his stomach, and he forced himself to look straight up at Speakeasy.

"Well, nice seein' ya, pal," he said, raising his front hoof into the air to finish the job.

THEN I SHALL-

"-FEED!" The last word forced its way out of Wood Bolt's mouth, as a mass of black tendrils suddenly shot out of his back. One of them intercepted Speakeasy's descending hoof, and his face broke into sheer confusion before turning into absolute terror as the tendril curled around his leg. With a sudden twist, his leg was no longer attached.

Both stallions loudly screamed into the room, one from the trauma of losing a leg, and one from the no-doubt-equal trauma of having broken bones and organs rapidly repair themselves. Soon, Wood's screaming died down, as he slowly stood up on his own legs, the tendrils still extending from his back.

Speakeasy continued to scream, now doing his best to drag himself away from the horrifying sight in front of him. Wood followed slowly, the mobster's screams only increasing in frequency and pitch as he got closer.

Once he was in range, one of the tendrils shot out and grabbed one of Speakeasy's rear legs, making his screams raise an octave in panic as he was hoisted into the air, face to face with Wood Bolt.

"How many went?" Wood asked, his voice packed with venom and absolute hatred.

"I- I swear I don't know!" Speakeasy yelled. "The boss just said he was fucking going there! What the fuck are you?!"

Disappointed with the answer, the tendril threw him to the ground, his screaming only stopping for a moment as he impacted the floor. It quickly started back up, however, when the same tendril loomed overhead, and both stallions noticed at the same time that it actually had a very, very nasty looking mouth at the end of it.

Ignoring the screams, the tendril shot straight into Speakeasy's chest, spraying the ground around him in blood as it just as quickly retracted, now holding a bright red, blood-covered organ, which gave a few more pumps before laying still in the tendril's jaws.

As Speakeasy's life faded away, the last thing he ever saw was that tendril biting down on his heart.

Wood Bolt let out a few shaky breaths, more from the adrenaline than anything. Part of him knew that what just happened was sick, unnatural, and just plain wrong...

...but he couldn't fight the sense of satisfaction he felt.

'Yesss...' the voice muttered. 'Now, go. Save your Lily. MAKE THEM SUFFER.'

Wood didn't need to be told twice, and he immediately began walking to the door, ignoring the spreading pool of blood below him. He didn't bother to open it his magic, instead sending a tendril to rip it open.

A pair of mobsters were on the other side. It looked like they drew close to investigate the screams, but quickly drew back as the door was torn to pieces.

"What the hell-" one of them managed to get out before a tentacle swept right by him, cleanly separating his head from the rest of his body. His partner barely had time to register what happened before he was hoisted into the air by the other tentacle. Both grabbed his rear legs in their jaws, and swiftly pulled him in half, replacing his screams of terror with the sound of rending flesh.

Wood simply walked by, not even paying any mind to the tentacles quickly grabbing and eating the hearts of the deceased as he passed.

He wasn't going to be stopped.

Not until Lily Leaf was safe.

Princess Luna awoke with a fright, catching herself mid-scream.

She knew what she felt, and while it had been many, many long years since she last felt it, she recognized what it was.

She ignored the guard who came inside to check on her, and rushed down the hall, immediately firing up a teleportation spell.

Once it was ready, she used it, sending herself to the throne room, where Celestia was interrupted as she was talking with a noble. "Ah, Princess Luna. To what do I owe the unexpected-"

"Sister," Luna said, her voice grave. "It has returned."

Celestia tilted her head. "What has returned?"

"The very thing that cursed me a thousand years ago."

That got her attention, and her eyes widened.

The noble, who had watched the exchange in polite, confused silence, simply looked back and forth between them. "Uh-"

"Day court is adjourned," Celestia rattled off, not even waiting for the noble to move as she teleported him right outside the doors, and then closed them. Once the two princesses were alone, she turned to Luna. "Please tell me this is some misguided attempt at a prank."

"Sister, I would not joke about this."

"Oh, heavens..." Celestia looked genuinely unsettled, something that she noted hasn't happened in quite a while. "What else do you know about it?"

"I know for a fact it is somewhere in Equestria," Luna said, pacing back and forth. "And that it has a new host."

"But where?" Celestia asked, following her sister as she paced.

"That's what worries me the most, sister. I have no idea." Luna stopped at one of the tall windows, and looked out into the sky. "And I do not know how long it will be until it makes itself known again, nor how much damage it will inflict in the meantime."

Luna released a shuddering sigh, and Celestia draped a wing over her. "Don't worry, I promise I won't make the same mistake as last time. I will do everything I can to find this new host, and free them from the Nightmare as soon as I can."

Luna took a while to respond, before she nodded. "Thank you, sister."

"I will immediately scramble the guards and inform Twilight. As soon as we have any sort of clue, I'll tell you."

With that, Celestia rushed out of the throne room, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts.

She knew her sister meant well, and she was greatly appreciative of that, but...

She pushed down the feeling within as she looked into the sky.

One day, perhaps sooner than she thought...

Author's Note

This counts as a good Valentines fic, right?
I mean, the game has a lot of heart