The Blacklight Prototypeby TheWingManChaptersArrivalComplicationsQuestions and answersInner evilArrivalAlex Mercer, The Blacklight virus. The prototype. Or as the military called him, Zeus. The being who had managed to kill the center of the infection what was currently spreading across Manhattan island, Elizabeth Greene. The being who had defied Blackwatch and the military, with the help of his sister, Dana, and a few others. Even super soldiers and a chemical gas known as bloodtox couldn't bring him down. The military was currently trying to nuke Manhattan, to stop the spread of the infection. The bomb being on a aircraft carrier known as the USS Reagan, which he had boarded. Blackwatch had nearly managed to kill him by injecting him with a "cure" to the virus, which he managed to repel, thanks to a certain doctor known as Ragland. His biggest mistake was re-using it against Greene by injecting it into her, making her body resist it and thus, creating a being known as the supreme hunter. Said being was now kicking his ass. He went flying across the aircraft carrier that he had boarded, hitting the floor hard. He winced slightly in pain and looked up to see the supreme hunter making its way over to him, killing marines and blackwatch on the way. It tried to trample him, but he managed to jump pack to his feet, dodging to the side. Then he heard something that he didn't want to hear. The bomb was going to explode in 30 seconds. He'd forgotten about that thing while he was wrestling with this big fuck. He noticed that the marines and blackwatch troops were all being evacuated off of the ship. "Oh shit, this isn't looking good." He shapshifted his arm into its blade form and tried to cut the supreme hunter's arm off, but the thing wasn't having any of that. It grabbed his blade and threw him against the deck once again, causing him to tumble and fall onto his back. He winced again and then he heard it. "10 seconds." Before he could react, he felt something pull on him. Something tugging at his body. Then whatever had a hold of him managed to blast him backwards. "WHAT THE FUC..." The last thing that he saw was the explosion of the ship and then...nothing. He felt nothing. Everything went black. Sat in her castle, Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship... Was reading. Nothing like a good book to pass the time, right? She heard the door open slightly, causing her to cease her written adventure, making her frown a bit. She didn't like being pulled out of a book mid reading session. Her expression softened as Spike, her assistant and best friend, came in. The little dragon walked over to her and sat next to her, peering at the book. "What you reading this time, Twi?" She smiled at his interest and closed the book, placing it on the table in front of her. "Oh, nothing new, really. Just re-reading some of the Daring Do books." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Them again, huh? When's the next one coming out?" She walked towards the door and turned to face him, still smiling. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Could be a while. We've not had any contact with A.K. Yearling for a while now." She put her hoof on the door and opened it, glancing through the door at him. "I'm heading to Zecora's now like I said earlier to pick up some herbs. I shouldn't be too long. Take care!" And with that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Spike alone with the book. He walked over to the table, picked it up and brought it back to the chair with him. He opened up the book and chuckled. "Daring Do never gets old." The Everfree forest. A place of solitude, a place of danger... A place what currently was confusing Mercer. He'd woken up in this place not too long ago. He had no idea where this place was or what it was, but something that he did know was that he had to get out of here. And fast. "Gotta make it back to Manhattan..save Dana...save Manhattan..." He stopped as his eyes widened in realisation. He got pulled back by...something. And then the bomb went off before he could stop it. He screamed in rage and punched the ground so hard that it made a massive hole. His sister, Manhattan...all of it was gone. He had failed. "Dana....no....I'm so sorry...I couldn't save you...I couldn't save Manhattan...I couldn't stop them..." Suddenly, a roar came from behind him. An animalistic roar. He cut off his anger fueled thoughts and turned around. To see a creature with what looked like the body of a lion, a scorpion's tail and a pair of wings what looked like dragon's wings from human folklore. He looked it at in shock and interest. "The fuck is that thing? This another creation of the virus?" It roared at him, charging him. He quickly reacted by jumping over it as it nearly collided into him. He looked at it and growled. He morphed his arm into its blade form and stared daggers at the creature. "I don't know what you are, but I'm going to kill you." Twilight sung to herself quietly as she made the trek into the Everfree forest. She knew how dangerous it was in here, but she didn't care. She was capable of handling herself when it comes to the creatures that lurked in there. For the most part, anyway. She eventually found the track to Zecora's house. She was about to start the walk towards it when she heard something that sent a chill up her spine. A roar. She turned around and stared in the direction where it had come from. Whatever did that sounded like it was in pain. Extreme pain. She was about to turn back around until she heard it again. Only this time worse. Much worse. And then she heard something that she didn't expect. A voice. A masculine voice. It sounded like it said something along the lines of "Hope you enjoyed that." She had a look of confusion on her face. What said that? And what did it mean by it? Were some ponies in here? No, no one really went into the Everfree. And even if it was that...what was that roar? Looking down and sighing, she turned once again towards the direction where she had heard all the commotion from. Her interest had raised too high now to simply ignore it. She galloped away, trying to find out what had made all of that noise. The creature was now bleeding on the floor, having lost both of its front limbs, it slowly succumbing to its wounds. Mercer, having morphed his arm back into its original form, looked at the creature in interest. "Wonder what you are. You made a bad choice by trying to attack me, I'm afraid." He suddenly fell to one knee, breathing heavily. The fight with the supreme hunter earlier had weakened him severely. He needed to recover. He needed more biomass. He looked towards the now terrified creature what was still bleeding profusely on the ground. Bingo. He morphed his arm back into its blade form and with one mighty swing, cut the creature's head off, not even giving it enough time to make a noise. Tendrils emerged from his body, pulling in the large creature into his own body. Even though it was bigger than him, he still managed to consume it, making him fall to his knee once again, clutching his head. He saw its memories. It was known as a Manticore. Manticore...where had he heard that before? Greek myth? He got to his feet and shook as his form changed. He roared as a pair of wings emerged from his back. He turned around to see that they looked like the Manticore's wings, except that they were covered in spikes and black biomass. He flapped the new addition to his form, lifting himself up into the air, testing them out. He landed back onto the ground and smirked. "Damn, didn't expect to get any new abilities. These babies will definitely come in handy." Before he could think of what to do next, a sound came from in front of him. Something that sounded like...a horse galloping? Galloping towards him. He used his new wings to fly up to a nearby tree, perching on a branch, waiting for whatever it was to show up. After a minute or so, a being came into view. It resembled a pony...but it was a purple sort of colour with a...horn and wings? He scoffed. "Where the fuck am I? Did I get sucked into a kid's show or something?" He heard something from down below him that caught his attention. The thing was coughing, sounding like it wanted to vomit. He looked down to see that it had found the pool of blood that was previously the Manticore. He chuckled slightly. "Seems like the thing doesn't like blood." He thought on what to do. Should he kill this thing and consume it? He did need more biomass. But then it spoke, "What in the hay happened here?" He stared at it in interest. Was he going crazy or did that thing just speak? Infected creatures didn't speak. Apart from the supreme hunter, anyway and that was only because it was able to copy the voice of whoever it consumed. A thought suddenly came to him. "If this thing is intelligent...maybe it can tell me where I am? And hopefully, how to get back to Manhattan." He knew it was a long shot, but what other choice did he have? He needed to get some answers. And if it wouldn't tell him what he wanted or was aggressive towards him, he could always just consume the thing and get his answers that way. He heard a voice calling to him. "Hey....hello? Can you hear me?" He looked back down to the see that the horse was currently staring up at him in shock and interest. "Well, fuck. That's my cover blown. Well done, Mercer." He shook his head in frustration and jumped down, morphing his body into its original state. He didn't need the wings right now. It stared at him, looking him up and down. "What...are you? Can you understand me?" He stood up and raised his head to look at it. "Yup, I can. Before I answer you, what's this place called?" It looked shocked at his response and slightly miffed off that he didn't answer its 1st question. It shook its head and looked at him again. "You're currently in the Everfree forest." Mercer looked at the creature in confusion. Everfree Forest? He'd never heard of that before. "Everfree Forest?" The thing nodded. "Yes...but more importantly, as I already asked...what are you? He cracked his neck, making the creature wince slightly. "Not really any of your business. I need to know how to get back to Manhattan." It tilted its head in confusion. "Man...hat...tan?" Mercer facepalmed. "Ah screw this...why am I talking to a horse? I'll find my own way back." He turned around and started to walk off, only to hear walk after him. He turned back around to face the creature and saw that it had an angry look on its face. Apparently wasn't very happy with his choice. "Now listen here, I don't know what you are and how you got here. I've never seen your species before and it's very clear that you are as confused as I am, but there's no need to be so rude. And anyway, the princess needs to be informed about any new species that ends up in Equestria, so I'd be grateful if you could at least tell me what your species is known as." Okay, now this thing was really starting to annoy him. He gave off an annoyed snort. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're really starting to piss me off. I need answers as to how I got here and how to get back...and you're really not helping. Now, you can either back off or...actually, I could do with the extra biomass..." He looked at it and smirked. It noticed this and backed away slowly, getting into a defensive stance. Its horn started to glow. "I don't know what you mean by that, but I suggest that you stay back. I don't want to hurt you but I will not hesitate to defend myself if you try anything." Mercer laughed and morphed his arms into their claw form, making the creature stare in disbelief and shake its head, slowly inching itself away from him. "Wha-t....what are you?" He smiled. "Your end." Author's Note So, this idea sprang to me the other day. I've played Prototype so many times over the years and it's one of my favourite games. Thought I'd try and do a fanfic on it. Tell me what you think. See ya and take care, guys and gals. ComplicationsAh, the Everfree forest. A dangerous place, but overall, a quiet one. Well, it would be quiet, if Mercer didn't just get blasted into a tree. He got up and dusted himself off, chuckling at the attempt. He looked towards the purple horse, who was now looking more concerned and worried than ever. "How....how did you shrug that attack off?" Smirking, he slammed one of his claws into the ground, cause the ground to shake in a certain direction. And that direction was towards the horse. It saw this and used its wings to dodge out of the way, turning back to see a massive eruption of spikes come up from the ground, exactly on where she was just standing a moment ago. The spikes disappeared and she looked towards him in fear and shock, seeing him pull out the claw from the ground. She flew into the air and tried to bash into him, protecting herself with a magical barrier. He noticed this and morphed his arm into its shield form, seeing that this made the horse try and pull up as to avoid his shield. But it was too late. Using his strength, he shield bashed against the force field, pushing her back, sending her flying onto the ground. She winced at the impact, looking up to see him jump over to her, landing just a few feet in front of her. Her mind was racing right now. "What do I do? This thing is just shrugging off my magic as if it's nothing more than a tickle....unless..." She charged up her horn again, noticing his smirk. She stood up before he could reach her and activated a different type of spell. Using all the magic that she could currently generate, she held him in place, stopping him in his tracks. Mercer looked at his body in shock. "I....can't....move..." It felt exactly like the force that had pulled him into this place. Albeit a lot weaker. He pulled himself towards the horse, trying to free himself of whatever was holding him in place. He grunted, using all of his strength to pull away from the force. "Come on. I've got to get...back....Dana...." With the thought of his sister, he used every ounce of strength that he had, eventually breaking the hold of the magic. The horse fell back, sweating profusely, looking exhausted. Having control of his body again, he walked over to it, staring down at it with a look of anger. "I don't know what the fuck you are, but I'm about to find out for myself." He morphed his arm into the blade form. The horse tried to crawl away, looking at him with a pleading look. "No...please..." He raised his blade and was about to cut its head off, before he felt something tug at his leg. He looked down to see that a lasso had made its way around his foot. "What the..." He felt it pulled on his foot, barely moving him. He simply stomped his foot down, cause the floor to crack., He looked behind him and saw 5 very strange looking horses. He chuckled to himself a bit. "More of these things?" A pink one, that currently looked shocked more than anything else. A white one with a curly purple mane and horn what was currently sending an angry glare his way. A cyan like coloured one with wings what was matching the white one's expression, this one looking like it was about to attack. A yellow one, which also had wings, which was currently hiding behind the others. And the culprit of the lasso that had tried to pull him back was an orange coloured one what was currently looking at him in shock and anger. It was wearing a....stetson hat? He laughed. "What the actual fuck is going on in this place?" The orange and the cyan one both stepped forward, getting ready to attack. The former one spoke up first. "Now listen here. I ain't the foggiest clue as to who you are, but if you so much as touch Twilight, you ain't going to like what comes next, ya hear?" The cyan one looked at his blade, having a concerned expression for a second, before stepping in front of the stetson wearing one, pawing its hooves at the ground and kicking up dirt. "Yeah! Step away from her, freak! Or you'll have to deal with me!" He looked between the two before bursting out in a cynical, dark laughter. They all looked worried, if only for a moment. He shook his head. "Twilight, eh? This must be this purple one's name." He looked towards them, his eyes shining. "Oh really? Well, when I'm done consuming your friend here, you're all welcome to try. I promise that it won't end well for you. If you all run off now, I might actually let you go. I'm sure this one here will keep me going for long enough to get out of this place." He turned around to face the pur...."Twilight", raised his blade and was about to decapitate her, before something bashed into him. Something that could hit hard. His back hit one of the trees, causing him to slump for a second. He looked up and saw the cyan one flying towards him at incredible speed. He morphed his wings onto his back and flew up, just missing the horse, causing it to pull up just before it hit the tree. It flew up to him and tried to once again bash into him, but this time, Mercer was prepared. He dodged in the air and morphed his arm into its whipfist form, sending it out to grab the annoying pesk. It dodged the first grab, but wasn't so lucky on the second. He grabbed it by the neck and pulled it in, pulling its face to his, smirking at it. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" It looked scared. Incredibly scared. He liked that. Using his strength, he gripped its throat tighter, causing it to start gasping for air. Before he could snap its neck, he felt something grip him. The same force from earlier. Once again, attempting to hold him in place. Only this time, it wasn't anywhere near as strong. The one in his grip used this as a distraction, getting free from his gasp, flying off only to come back and try to kick him in the face. Even though the force was still holding him in place, he transformed into his armor form, having the horse kick him in the face. Only for it to scream and fall to the ground, holding its back leg, it breaking from the impact. It cried out in agony as he saw the pink one and the yellow one rush to its aid. The white one took its attention off of him for a split second to look at the quivering mess that was its friend, giving him a chance to break free of its hold on him. Considering how easy it was to break the hold of this time, he assumed this one wasn't as powerful as Twilight. He used this opening to his advantage, flying down and stomping the ground, the shock wave sending the white one into the back of a tree, making a very sickening crack sound, indicating that its spine had broken on impact. It drooped to the floor, dead. The others screamed, rushing over to the now lifeless corpse of their friend. Twilight looked up in horror, a single tear coming from her eye, whispering to herself "No...Rarity..." While he was distracted, she lit up her horn, using her last bit of strength to send a message to the princess for help. He noticed that she had started moving again and kicked her in the head. "Stay down!" It went flying in a different direction, him now pulling his attention to the others, all of them now looking at him in fear and pure anger. The orange one was the next one to charge at him, running up to him. He stood there, amused, wanting to see what it would do. It attempted to buck him, but before its back legs could even make contact with his armored body, he stepped to the side, dodging the attack. Its face contorted into one of fear as he grabbed one of its legs, slamming it down on the ground, creating a mini crater. He looked down, seeing it convulse as blood poured from its mouth. He took this opportunity to look at the pink and yellow one, both who were staring at him in fear. However, the yellow one flew up into the air suddenly, gaining a look of hatred and anger on its face. "How dare you..." He laughed, before something nearly burst his ear drums. "HOW DARE YOU!" It flew down towards him, staring at him. He looked back. "What the fuck are you trying to..." He once again could not move. Only this time... It was much stronger. "What the fuck is...happening?" He fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. It kept staring at him. "Something about this things eyes.....I need...to look...away..." He used his last ounce of strength and raised his fist. He punched in the direction of the yellow horse, connecting with its face, causing it to go flying backwards, it landing somewhere in the distance. Feeling his strength returning to him, he shook his head and looked over to see the pink one shaking, cowering behind a tree. He jumped over to it, walking menacingly slowly towards it. It crawled away, its back hitting a tree. It looked up to him, tears in its eyes. "Please...don't...no more...why are you.....doing this?" He knelt down and returned to his original form, red tendrils covering his body for a second, causing it to look away and flinch. "My only concern right now getting out of this place, get back to where I came from and find out who or what brought me here. When I do find it, I'm going to rip it apart." He grabbed its throat, causing it to gasp for air. "Now tell me. What are you things and how were two of them able to restrain me without so much as raising a limb?" Before he could get an answer, he heard something shout out. "LET HER GO!" land behind him. Something big. He let go of the pink one, throwing it to the side. He turned around and saw that it was another horse. However, this one was white, had a multicoloured mane that seemed to flow by itself, had a horn and wings like the purple one and was the tallest one that he'd seen so far. It also had a smaller, blue one accompanying it. It also had wings and a horn. It gave him a death glare as more horses showed up behind them, these ones having spears and golden clad armour. The white one looked around, noticing the dead bodies of the orange and the other white one with the curly purple mane. Anger flashed in its eyes as its horn glowed. A large blast was sent towards him, but he managed to dodge out of the way just in time, looking back at the tree it had just hit. Well, the remains of the tree. He looked towards the two tall ones, them charging their horns for another attack. The tall white one spoke, anger rooted deep in its voice. "I don't know what you are or where you came from, but you have brought death and harm to my subjects. I will make sure that you are punished for your crimes." The, what he assumed to be guards of some sort, stood in front of the 2 taller horses and raised their spears, glaring at him, ready to charge. Mercer laughed, cracking his knuckles, activating his armor and musclemass forms, making the guards gasp in confusion. He ran at them and jumped into the air, slamming his fist into the ground, creating a giant shockwave which caused the guards to all go flying in different directions. One of the flying ones tried to stab him. Which it did. Only for him to grab the spear and swing his body, causing the horse to go flying into the air. He took this chance to remove the spear, making a squelching sound, throwing it into the air and impaling the horse. It fell down to the ground with the spear in its head, dead. He ran up to the two taller ones, hoping to finish this. That never happened. There it was again. That same force. He didn't think it could have gotten any stronger... But he was wrong. He felt himself pulled down to the ground, the two tall one's horns glowing. He tried to push himself up, making the horses sweat and grunt. They were straining theirselves and he could see it. "I just need to....break...free" But he just couldn't do it. Not this time. He was too exhausted from all the fighting. He should have consumed the pink one for the strength. He saw the blue one pull its head back as it fired a blast into him, his body going numb. "What is happen...." He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence as he was knocked out cold. The two tall ones sighed and looked around, staring at the devastation in the area. The white one looked around and shouted at the guards, who were still picking theirselves up and dusting theirselves off. "The creature is down! Make sure it doesn't get back up and get it one of the cells in the castle!" They all saluted and shouted "Yes, princess!" in unison. Multiple of them had to carry the creature in their magical grasp as it was too heavy for just one of them. The two tall ones looked at each other in shock and horror. Then, the white one started shaking. "Twilight....where is Twilight?!" She ran off into the forest, the blue one screaming her name behind her, it going completely on deaf ears as she ran through the forest. She eventually flew up into the air, trying to get a better view from the sky. After a few minutes of searching, she found her. She landed next to her crumpled body which was on the floor. "No..." She saw her breath, making her sigh in relief. She picked her up in her magic, flying back to the blue one, the latter of which looked shocked to see the unconscious body that she now held in her magic. "Celestia, is she alright?" The white one, known as Celestia, nodded. "She's breathing, Luna, but she's in bad shape. You get her to the infimary in Canterlot. I will see to our...guest and make sure that it doesn't cause any more harm to anypony." The blue one, known as Luna, nodded and took Twilight from Celestia's grasp, flying into the air. Celestia walked up to the now broken trees, noticing the two dead bodies. "Rarity....Applejack....how could anyone do this?" She heard a cry in the distance. She turned around and flew up into the air, seeing a yellow blob in the distance. She flew over to it and landed to find that it was none other than Fluttershy, one of Twilight's friends and another one of the element bearers. She had gotten her leg stuck in a spiked vine. Celestia quickly rushed over to her and used her magic to get rid of the vine, making Fluttershy look up at her in shock. "Princess...I....Rarity...Applejack...." The yellow pegasus burst into tears, causing Celestia to cry a little as well. She scooped her up in her hooves and nuzzled her. "It is alright, my little pony. I know. The creat...the monster, has been detained and will be sent to the cells in Canterlot. I will see to it that it does not harm anypony else. I promise." Fluttershy cried into Celestia's chest, causing the princess to hug her tighter. When she had calmed down, she looked up to her, tears still in her eyes. "What abo....what about the bodies?" Celestia flinched at the word, looking down at her. "Don't worry. I will personally see to them and make sure that they have a proper burial. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but just know that their killer will be punished. You have my word." Galloping came from behind her. She turned around to see that one of the other element bearers, Pinkie Pie, was stood there, shaking as she ran up to her. "Princess Celestia! A monst...came and...murdered..." She looked down, bursting into tears. Celestia walked up to her, comforting her by nuzzling her, Fluttershy still in her hooves. "It is alright, my little pony. You're safe now." She looked down at her, a serious expression on her face. "Pinkie Pie, can I ask, what exactly occurred? What caused that...creature to attack you all?" Pinkie walked up to Fluttershy, who was still being held by Celestia, nuzzling her. She sat down and wiped away the tears from her face. Celestia noticed that her mane had lost its puffiness. She looked up to her and spoke. "Spike came around to Sugarcube corner and asked....if we'd seen Twilight. He said that she'd gone to Zecora's for some...herbs or something and that she'd been gone for a long time. Too long. So, me and the girls...." She started crying again at that last word. Celestia put one of her hooves on her head, rubbing her mane softly. "It's alright, sweetheart. Take your time." Pinkie nodded and took in a deep breath, before looking back up to her, her eyes now bloodshot red. "So, me and the...g-g-girls went into the Everfree forest to look for her. We nearly made it to Zecora's when we heard a lot of screaming from somewhere in the forest. We found out where it was coming from and well...." Celestia cupped Pinkie's chin with her hoof softly, causing her to look into her eyes. "That is enough, my dear. You don't have to tell me any more. I will make sure that your friends will be honored for their bravery." Hearing that, she broke down again, Celestia looking at her sadly. Before she could say anything else, she heard wings flapping above her. Looking up, she noticed that two of her guards were flying down to her. They landed and saluted. "Princess, the creature is in a cell. It is still unconscious for the time being." She nodded in thanks and handed the quivering pegasus towards them, one of the guards grabbing her in his hooves. "Take Fluttershy to the infirmary. She has wounds that need to be attended to." She looked towards Pinkie, giving her the warmest smile that she could muster up. "Pinkie, sweetheart, if you could go with Fluttershy, that would mean a lot to me." The pink pony nodded and walked up to the guards, nuzzling Fluttershy, who was now unconcious. "Don't worry, Shy. Everything will be alright..." Celestia looked towards the guards with a stern expression. "As for me, I will collect the bodies of the....deceased." They looked at each other in concern, looking back to the princess. "Are you sure, princess? We can have a squad of guards come back for the bodies when we've gotten Miss Fluttershy and Miss Pinkie Pie to the infirmary." She shook her head in response. "No, I will see to it that the bodies are taken care of. They were two of the element bearers and two of Twilight's best friends, so I will personally make sure that they are seen to." The guards nodded in response, saluting and saying in unison "Yes, princess!" before flying off with Fluttershy, one of the guards grabbing Pinkie as well and proceeding to fly in the direction of Canterlot. Celestia looked down and sighed, a single tear trailing down her face. "I don't know why anyone would do something like this....but I will make sure that it knows what it has took from me, Twilight and everypony else." She flew into the air, heading for the direction of the bodies. "And I will get some answers." "Make sure that she gets the treatment that she needs, fair doctor. When she awakens, inform me and my sister." Luna said as she handed Twilight over to one of the doctors, them putting her on a bed. "Yes, princess Luna." She nodded in thanks and left the infimary, rethinking on the days events. "Whatever that thing was, it will pay, that is for certain. But why did I sense a strange force when me and Celestia confronted it? It felt a bit like something had pulled it in from somewhere. Something like..." She grimaced. "No....no, it couldn't have been that." Shaking her head, she took off into the sky, heading for Canterlot. "This thing will tell us why it did this and where it came from. It will pay for its crimes. If Celestia can't bring herself to do that, I will personally make sure that it does." Author's Note So yeah, chapter 2, kicking it off with a very....action driven start. I decided to make this story quite dark, so I hope that it is to your liking. Hope you enjoy. Again, constructive criticism is always welcome. Cheers. Questions and answers"Ugh...my head. Wait...where the fuck am I?" Mercer rose from what felt like...a mattress? He looked around him, taking in the scenery. It looked like a prison cell. A very small and dirty prison cell. He put his hand to his head. He felt like he'd just drank himself to death. "Need to..." Suddenly, it all came back to him. The nuke going off, the fight with the Manticore.... And then the fight with those oddly coloured horses, 2 of which he'd killed. He cracked his neck, sitting up and walking towards the steel bars that held him in the room. "Fuck...I probably shouldn't have attacked the purple one...no, Twilight, that was its name. I probably shrugged the thing off too soon. It might have been able to give me at least some information...but then again, it did seem clueless as to what I even was and had never heard of Manhattan.....whatever. I'll find someone who knows what the fuck is going on and if I have to tear them apart and consume them to get the answers, then I will." He knew Dana was no doubt dead after the explosion, but he needed to get back. To make sure. He turned around and face palmed. "I might actually have to co-operate with these things if they have any valuable information. I didn't think anything of Ragland, until he helped me cure myself from that parasite and helped Dana. Maybe these things can help me too? But I highly doubt they will, considering I just killed two of them. Their safety isn't my concern in any case. I just need to know how to get back. And if they won't give me the information that I need, then there's always another way to get it from them." He suddenly heard something coming towards his cell. He spun back around to see none other than the tall white horse from earlier. It looked him up and down, scowling, opening the cell gates using its horn. It walked up close to him, it not showing an ounce of fear. "Why?" He blinked. "Why wha..." It stepped closer towards him, its muzzle almost touching him. "This one seems to be able to control its emotions enough to not raise its voice, even under extreme stress and anger. Strange." "Why did you hurt and kill two of my little ponies?" He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at it. "Because they got in my way." It flared its wings out in anger, charging its horn and holding him in place with the same force that at this point, he had felt enough of. However this time, he didn't even struggle. He just watched as it stared at him, hate in its eyes. "They got in your way? Got in your way of doing what, exactly?" It increased its hold on him, causing him to have his back pushed against the wall. "Of trying to find a way back to where I came from." It released its hold on him, causing him to drop to the ground. It sighed, trying to calm itself. He got up and dusted himself off. It coughed, he assumed clearing its throat and continued. "And where exactly do you come from?" "Manhattan." It looked at him in annoyed confusion. "Manhattan?" At this point, Mercer had come to the conclusion, even though it sounded crazy, that he wasn't even on the same planet anymore. Manticores, talking coloured equines with horns and wings what were able to use an unseen force as a weapon and a restraint tool and god knows what else lingered around this place. He couldn't believe he was going to ask the next question, but he did so anyway. "What planet are we on?" The horse looked at him as if he'd gone crazy and then snorted in annoyance. "Are you telling me that you do not even know what planet we ar....hang on..." Celestia was doing her best to keep herself from ripping this thing to shreds for what it had done. But...she was a princess. Royalty. She had to try and keep her emotions in check. Not that she actually wanted to. The mons....creature had just asked what planet it was currently on. She wasn't sure if thing was crazy or if it...actually did not come from this world. She felt crazy assuming that thought. It was ludicrous. But...the things that it managed to do are nothing like she'd ever seen before. She looked up at it, a stern expression on her face. "Equis is the planet's name. We are currently in the land of Equestria. I cannot believe I am asking this, but....are you from this world?" It shook its head. "Nope, doesn't sound like it. The planet that I come from is called Earth. I have no fucking idea how that's possible, but..." Celestia shook her head. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. She slapped herself with her hoof, gaining a confused but amused look from the creature. Nope. She still wasn't awake. She took a deep breath in and let it out, calming herself slightly. "I don't really know how to take this all in at once to be honest, but I do want to say..." She looked at it in anger and hatred. "I want to say how much you have hurt not just the ponies that you attacked, not just the rest of the country, but me and my family. I do not care if you need to get back to where you came from, you attack...no, murdered two innocent ponies. Two ponies who have helped save this world more times than one. And because you're lost, you just thought to attack them, is that right?" The creature sat down and scoffed. "As I said, they got in my way. I tried asking the purpl..." She cut in, sharply. "Twilight. Her name is Twilight." It shrugged. "Yeah, that's it. I tried asking Twilight for information about where I was and how I could get out of this place. She was useless and quite frankly, considering that my sister has probably died due to a massive nuclear weapon that I was trying to stop before I got pulled into this world, I reacted aggressively." She pushed the creature against the wall using her magic, making it slump down to the ground. It looked up at her in anger. "Don't you dare call my student useless. I am not one for violence, but considering the circumstances of what you have done and how you are acting, if you so much as say that word again, I will make sure that you do not get out of this cell. Do I make myself clear?" It scoffed and stood up, making her shove her face in its face. "I said, do I make myself clear?" He, Celestia assuming it was a he at this point from the masculine voice, shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't want to kill your subjects. I wanted information and the pu..Twilight couldn't give it to me. I wouldn't have reacted to harshly if it wasn't for the fact that I'd just lost my sister and everything that I knew in a giant explosion." She looked at him, still angry, shaking her head. "What, you think trying to explain yourself will heal any of the damage that you have caused my ponies and me at all? You can't do anything to make up for what you've done, you....you..." Celestia breathed in deep, trying to compose herself. She nearly lost all control, however, when she noticed that the creature was now...smirking. "I suggest that you reallign your face to your normal proportions before I do it for you myself." He laughed. "Alright, that was a good one, I'll give you that. I was smirking in response to what you said about making it up to you. If you promise to give me some information about this place, I'll bring the ones that I killed back." She was about to stomp on his head before she suddenly realised what he had just said. "What? Are you crazy? How do you know necromancy?" Mercer shrugged and sat down. "I tested it once on a dead soldier after finding out from a scientist that the virus which I hold, well, what I am can regenerate cells and change them, like it did for me." Celestia now looked at him in confusion and horror. "You're telling me that you're....you're....a physical form of a virus? And that you came back from the dead? He slowly nodded, having a more serious look on his face. "Indeed I am and yes, I did. My name was Alex Mercer...I'm not sure if I can call myself that anymore. I'm not him. I thought that I was when I got brought back, but I found out my own way that I'm actually the virus itself. I'm just using his form." She looked even more worried now. "I see. Your name is...Alex Mercer. You're a shapeshifter?" Again, he nodded. "Whatever I consume, I inherit their DNA and absorb it. This means that I copy their biological properties, ergo, their form, their memories and their skills. I can also learn new abilties...depending on what I consume. And from consuming a scientist, I learnt that the Blacklight virus, which is what I am, can regenerate dead cells. Like it did for me. As I said, I tried it on a dead soldier and he came back. Albeit with...strange results." Celestia sat next to him, still trying to calm herself. She couldn't believe that she was even listening to this thing after what it did, but...if there was a chance that it could bring her ponies back...she would listen to what it has to say. For now, at least, until she decides what to do with it. "Strange results? Go on." He scratched his chin, laying back slightly. "The soldier was brought back, but he underwent significant biological mutations due to the virus editing his cellular make-up when it regenerated him. He could shapeshift, like me. Somewhat. Not as effectively. More a sub species of me, I suppose. In a weird sense. If I brought back your ponies, they would be alive again, but in a...different way. I couldn't tell you what affect it would have on them as you guys are a completely different species to me. Well, to what I was when I was human." She looked at him, the anger mostly being turned into intruige at the current moment. "I see...I would do anything for my little ponies back...and let me say, you are lucky that I haven't planned for you to be executed yet for what you've done. And I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you fully...but if you live up to the end of your bargain and bring them back...I shall see to it that I give you all the information that I can. I don't want this to end in more violence. Enough have suffered already." Mercer stood up and reached out his hand, Celestia standing up in turn and looking at him in a confused manner. He chuckled. "It's called a handshake. It's a signal of agreement and respect. Humans do it when they come to an agreement, mostly." She looked at his hand, reluctant to "shake his hand". But as she was about to refuse, she had a thought. "This creature will never understand the pain that it has brought me and my subjects. But, if it is true what it is saying...then I have no choice but to agree to its terms and listen. At least, for now. Even though this cre...Alex, started this...I don't want it to end in more blood shed. And if he can bring my ponies back, even if they are changed in the process...what choice do I really have?" She looked back up at him to see that he was nodding his head towards his hand. "Look, I know that no amount of apology will ever rectify what I did, but you have to understand, everything that I loved and cared for was took away from me in an instant. Which is the exact thing that I did to you and your people. Which is why I want to at least try and make amends for reacting in such an aggresive state. I didn't want to kill them, trust me. But after I thought about the high possibility that my sister is dead...I lost all control. I don't expect you to understand, but I want you to at least listen and give me a chance to rectify it to at least some degree. Deal?" Celestia thought about what she said earlier in her head. She really didn't have a choice here. If she follows what he has said, she might get her ponies back. If not, they'll be gone forever. She didn't trust this thing as far as she could throw it, but...she knew that she didn't have a choice right now. She took his hand firmly in her hoof and shook it, elicting a smile from him. "Alright...Mercer...you have a deal. But I will warn you, if you even think of double crossing me or bring any more harm to my subjects, I won't be as leniant as I have been so far. Understood?" Mercer looked at her and smirked, nodding. "Yes ma'am." She sighed, removing her hoof from his hand. "I will show you to their bodies." He nodded again. "Let's do this." Mercer thought to himself deeply. "This thing's threats doesn't scare me. However, if I want information about this place and possibly about how to get back, I'll have to do as I said. But if this thing or any of the others try to destroy me...they won't enjoy what comes next. But, for now...I'll live up to the end of my deal and try to stay calm. We'll see how this all plays out in time, I suppose." Author's Note So sorry that this has took so damn long to get updated. I just have not had the inspiration to write at all for the past year or so. Hopefully, I can get back on track with this fully, but I won't make any promises. Anyway, thanks for reading as always! Inner evil"Interesting indeed." Luna was currently walking through an empty void. Even though she was the watcher of ponies dreams, she didn't go through her own dreams that often. But this time, something felt...off. Like something that she'd buried was coming back to haunt her. "Hello, my sweet Luna. How've you been?" The moon princess gasped and looked behind her, noticing something that she'd rather not have. "You...why are you here?" In front of her was her old evil self, Nightmare Moon. Back when she and Celestia ruled all that time ago, back when Discord and King Sombra was still a threat, Luna had become jealous of Celestia and in turn, let said jealousy consume her. The end result was Nightmare Moon, a being of hate and evil. The now weakened being looked at her, grinning. "Why, to see how you've been, of course. Luna flew over to here and snarled, ready to face this demon head on. "Don't you even dare to try my patience, creature. You are banished inside me for a reason." The entity laughed, walking off and looking at the emptyless void around them. "As fun as ever, aren't we, Luna? How's the creature?" Luna gave a look of confusion and scoffed. "What creature do you speak o...." Then the sudden realisation hit her. "You....you... you sent that creature to Equestria?! What for?!" Now it was Nightmare's turn to scoff. "Oh, don't be so dense, my dear. What do you think?" She received a hoof to the face and fell back, letting out a yelp in surprise before quickly regaining her composure and laughing. "Hit a nerve, did I?" The nightmare then felt a hoof to her throat, Luna scowling at her. "That...thing has killed my subjects and caused me and my sister a great level of stress and sadness! Trust me, if I could kill you right now, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. Keep. Away. From. Us." Before Nightmare could react, Luna had disappeared. She started to grin and chuckle to herself. "That silly, pathetic mare. This creature has indeed proven itself very useful. Hopefully, it continues to show its worth. And when the time is right, I shall rise again and bring everlasting darkness to Equestria! All that could be heard now in the empty void was a deep, monotone laughter as the dream caved in on itself. Luna woke in her bed, a scowl still on her face. She grumbled as she rubbed her eyes, it being nighttime. "What does that monster intend to do with the creature? The creature is as evil as Nightmare, that is for sure. I don't know why Celestia has even bothered listening to it. If it was up to me, it'd be dead by now for the suffering that it has caused." Celestia had told Luna about the plans to ressurect the ponies that the creature had killed. Necromancy was not unknown to the princess of the night, but it was a dangerous operation. However, she knew that only bad things would come out of this. She had tried to inform her sister of her feelings on the matter, but she would not take heed of her worries. She still couldn't believe how her sister could even think of making a deal with the very creature that had killed her subjects. But, it is her choice. All she can do is keep an eye on the matter and make sure that the creature does not cause any more harm. Because if it did, there would be no negotations the next time around. She sighed as she got up and did her mane, rectifiying the mess that had been caused by the ever so comfy bed. She looked in the mirror, content with her work and moved to the door, looking at her bed one last time. "I need more sleep..." "Hmm...this shouldn't be too difficult." Mercer was rubbing his chin in thought, looking at the deceased. He looked over to Celestia. "As I said, I can do this, but they'll be changed." She sighed and nodded. "If that's what it takes for you to bring them back, then so be it." He nodded in response and morphed his arm into its tendril form. He split his tendrils into 2, one going in the orange horse, the other going into the white one. Biomass could be seen being pumped into their corpses, Mercer closing his eyes as he concentrated. Celestia looked away, unable to look at the scene any longer. After a minute or so, Mercer pulled out the tendrils, morphing his arm back into its normal form. As Celestia heard the sound that Mercer made when he shapeshifted back, she turned around to see Mercer staring at the two corpses of her little ponies. He looked over to her and nodded. "It's done. I'm not sure how long it will take, though. With a human, it happened in seconds. But considering you guys are a completely different species...I don't know." Celestia nodded and put them back in their coffins, getting the guards what were with them to carry the coffins away. "Make sure to put these in the castle basement. I want to personally see to this when.." she looked to Mercer with a skeptical look before looking back at the guards. "or if they do indeed wake." The guards saluted, having had their eye on Mercer the entire time. They trotted off with the coffins in hand. Celestia looked at Mercer and scowled. "I can't believe that I've even given you this chance considering what you've done to not only me, but my subjects as a whole. If this manages to work, I'm still keeping my eye on you. I should lock you up, but I feel as if it would only cause more harm to my subjects. But keep this in mind. As I said before, if any harm comes to them...you'll pay. Understood?" Mercer nodded, a stoic look on his face. "Yup, you've told me already. For what's it's worth, I'm sorry for what I did." The sun princess sighed and walked away, looking back at him. "Come. We must get back to the castle and update my sister on the situation." He nodded and followed, hoping that he'd be able to get back home soon and forget about all of this crazy nonsense. "The shit that I manage to get myself into..." Author's Note Hope you enjoyed this one! If you have any suggestions or want to just chat, feel free to add my discord! The Wingman#1849
ArrivalAlex Mercer, The Blacklight virus. The prototype. Or as the military called him, Zeus. The being who had managed to kill the center of the infection what was currently spreading across Manhattan island, Elizabeth Greene. The being who had defied Blackwatch and the military, with the help of his sister, Dana, and a few others. Even super soldiers and a chemical gas known as bloodtox couldn't bring him down. The military was currently trying to nuke Manhattan, to stop the spread of the infection. The bomb being on a aircraft carrier known as the USS Reagan, which he had boarded. Blackwatch had nearly managed to kill him by injecting him with a "cure" to the virus, which he managed to repel, thanks to a certain doctor known as Ragland. His biggest mistake was re-using it against Greene by injecting it into her, making her body resist it and thus, creating a being known as the supreme hunter. Said being was now kicking his ass. He went flying across the aircraft carrier that he had boarded, hitting the floor hard. He winced slightly in pain and looked up to see the supreme hunter making its way over to him, killing marines and blackwatch on the way. It tried to trample him, but he managed to jump pack to his feet, dodging to the side. Then he heard something that he didn't want to hear. The bomb was going to explode in 30 seconds. He'd forgotten about that thing while he was wrestling with this big fuck. He noticed that the marines and blackwatch troops were all being evacuated off of the ship. "Oh shit, this isn't looking good." He shapshifted his arm into its blade form and tried to cut the supreme hunter's arm off, but the thing wasn't having any of that. It grabbed his blade and threw him against the deck once again, causing him to tumble and fall onto his back. He winced again and then he heard it. "10 seconds." Before he could react, he felt something pull on him. Something tugging at his body. Then whatever had a hold of him managed to blast him backwards. "WHAT THE FUC..." The last thing that he saw was the explosion of the ship and then...nothing. He felt nothing. Everything went black. Sat in her castle, Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship... Was reading. Nothing like a good book to pass the time, right? She heard the door open slightly, causing her to cease her written adventure, making her frown a bit. She didn't like being pulled out of a book mid reading session. Her expression softened as Spike, her assistant and best friend, came in. The little dragon walked over to her and sat next to her, peering at the book. "What you reading this time, Twi?" She smiled at his interest and closed the book, placing it on the table in front of her. "Oh, nothing new, really. Just re-reading some of the Daring Do books." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Them again, huh? When's the next one coming out?" She walked towards the door and turned to face him, still smiling. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Could be a while. We've not had any contact with A.K. Yearling for a while now." She put her hoof on the door and opened it, glancing through the door at him. "I'm heading to Zecora's now like I said earlier to pick up some herbs. I shouldn't be too long. Take care!" And with that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Spike alone with the book. He walked over to the table, picked it up and brought it back to the chair with him. He opened up the book and chuckled. "Daring Do never gets old." The Everfree forest. A place of solitude, a place of danger... A place what currently was confusing Mercer. He'd woken up in this place not too long ago. He had no idea where this place was or what it was, but something that he did know was that he had to get out of here. And fast. "Gotta make it back to Manhattan..save Dana...save Manhattan..." He stopped as his eyes widened in realisation. He got pulled back by...something. And then the bomb went off before he could stop it. He screamed in rage and punched the ground so hard that it made a massive hole. His sister, Manhattan...all of it was gone. He had failed. "Dana....no....I'm so sorry...I couldn't save you...I couldn't save Manhattan...I couldn't stop them..." Suddenly, a roar came from behind him. An animalistic roar. He cut off his anger fueled thoughts and turned around. To see a creature with what looked like the body of a lion, a scorpion's tail and a pair of wings what looked like dragon's wings from human folklore. He looked it at in shock and interest. "The fuck is that thing? This another creation of the virus?" It roared at him, charging him. He quickly reacted by jumping over it as it nearly collided into him. He looked at it and growled. He morphed his arm into its blade form and stared daggers at the creature. "I don't know what you are, but I'm going to kill you." Twilight sung to herself quietly as she made the trek into the Everfree forest. She knew how dangerous it was in here, but she didn't care. She was capable of handling herself when it comes to the creatures that lurked in there. For the most part, anyway. She eventually found the track to Zecora's house. She was about to start the walk towards it when she heard something that sent a chill up her spine. A roar. She turned around and stared in the direction where it had come from. Whatever did that sounded like it was in pain. Extreme pain. She was about to turn back around until she heard it again. Only this time worse. Much worse. And then she heard something that she didn't expect. A voice. A masculine voice. It sounded like it said something along the lines of "Hope you enjoyed that." She had a look of confusion on her face. What said that? And what did it mean by it? Were some ponies in here? No, no one really went into the Everfree. And even if it was that...what was that roar? Looking down and sighing, she turned once again towards the direction where she had heard all the commotion from. Her interest had raised too high now to simply ignore it. She galloped away, trying to find out what had made all of that noise. The creature was now bleeding on the floor, having lost both of its front limbs, it slowly succumbing to its wounds. Mercer, having morphed his arm back into its original form, looked at the creature in interest. "Wonder what you are. You made a bad choice by trying to attack me, I'm afraid." He suddenly fell to one knee, breathing heavily. The fight with the supreme hunter earlier had weakened him severely. He needed to recover. He needed more biomass. He looked towards the now terrified creature what was still bleeding profusely on the ground. Bingo. He morphed his arm back into its blade form and with one mighty swing, cut the creature's head off, not even giving it enough time to make a noise. Tendrils emerged from his body, pulling in the large creature into his own body. Even though it was bigger than him, he still managed to consume it, making him fall to his knee once again, clutching his head. He saw its memories. It was known as a Manticore. Manticore...where had he heard that before? Greek myth? He got to his feet and shook as his form changed. He roared as a pair of wings emerged from his back. He turned around to see that they looked like the Manticore's wings, except that they were covered in spikes and black biomass. He flapped the new addition to his form, lifting himself up into the air, testing them out. He landed back onto the ground and smirked. "Damn, didn't expect to get any new abilities. These babies will definitely come in handy." Before he could think of what to do next, a sound came from in front of him. Something that sounded like...a horse galloping? Galloping towards him. He used his new wings to fly up to a nearby tree, perching on a branch, waiting for whatever it was to show up. After a minute or so, a being came into view. It resembled a pony...but it was a purple sort of colour with a...horn and wings? He scoffed. "Where the fuck am I? Did I get sucked into a kid's show or something?" He heard something from down below him that caught his attention. The thing was coughing, sounding like it wanted to vomit. He looked down to see that it had found the pool of blood that was previously the Manticore. He chuckled slightly. "Seems like the thing doesn't like blood." He thought on what to do. Should he kill this thing and consume it? He did need more biomass. But then it spoke, "What in the hay happened here?" He stared at it in interest. Was he going crazy or did that thing just speak? Infected creatures didn't speak. Apart from the supreme hunter, anyway and that was only because it was able to copy the voice of whoever it consumed. A thought suddenly came to him. "If this thing is intelligent...maybe it can tell me where I am? And hopefully, how to get back to Manhattan." He knew it was a long shot, but what other choice did he have? He needed to get some answers. And if it wouldn't tell him what he wanted or was aggressive towards him, he could always just consume the thing and get his answers that way. He heard a voice calling to him. "Hey....hello? Can you hear me?" He looked back down to the see that the horse was currently staring up at him in shock and interest. "Well, fuck. That's my cover blown. Well done, Mercer." He shook his head in frustration and jumped down, morphing his body into its original state. He didn't need the wings right now. It stared at him, looking him up and down. "What...are you? Can you understand me?" He stood up and raised his head to look at it. "Yup, I can. Before I answer you, what's this place called?" It looked shocked at his response and slightly miffed off that he didn't answer its 1st question. It shook its head and looked at him again. "You're currently in the Everfree forest." Mercer looked at the creature in confusion. Everfree Forest? He'd never heard of that before. "Everfree Forest?" The thing nodded. "Yes...but more importantly, as I already asked...what are you? He cracked his neck, making the creature wince slightly. "Not really any of your business. I need to know how to get back to Manhattan." It tilted its head in confusion. "Man...hat...tan?" Mercer facepalmed. "Ah screw this...why am I talking to a horse? I'll find my own way back." He turned around and started to walk off, only to hear walk after him. He turned back around to face the creature and saw that it had an angry look on its face. Apparently wasn't very happy with his choice. "Now listen here, I don't know what you are and how you got here. I've never seen your species before and it's very clear that you are as confused as I am, but there's no need to be so rude. And anyway, the princess needs to be informed about any new species that ends up in Equestria, so I'd be grateful if you could at least tell me what your species is known as." Okay, now this thing was really starting to annoy him. He gave off an annoyed snort. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're really starting to piss me off. I need answers as to how I got here and how to get back...and you're really not helping. Now, you can either back off or...actually, I could do with the extra biomass..." He looked at it and smirked. It noticed this and backed away slowly, getting into a defensive stance. Its horn started to glow. "I don't know what you mean by that, but I suggest that you stay back. I don't want to hurt you but I will not hesitate to defend myself if you try anything." Mercer laughed and morphed his arms into their claw form, making the creature stare in disbelief and shake its head, slowly inching itself away from him. "Wha-t....what are you?" He smiled. "Your end." Author's Note So, this idea sprang to me the other day. I've played Prototype so many times over the years and it's one of my favourite games. Thought I'd try and do a fanfic on it. Tell me what you think. See ya and take care, guys and gals.
ComplicationsAh, the Everfree forest. A dangerous place, but overall, a quiet one. Well, it would be quiet, if Mercer didn't just get blasted into a tree. He got up and dusted himself off, chuckling at the attempt. He looked towards the purple horse, who was now looking more concerned and worried than ever. "How....how did you shrug that attack off?" Smirking, he slammed one of his claws into the ground, cause the ground to shake in a certain direction. And that direction was towards the horse. It saw this and used its wings to dodge out of the way, turning back to see a massive eruption of spikes come up from the ground, exactly on where she was just standing a moment ago. The spikes disappeared and she looked towards him in fear and shock, seeing him pull out the claw from the ground. She flew into the air and tried to bash into him, protecting herself with a magical barrier. He noticed this and morphed his arm into its shield form, seeing that this made the horse try and pull up as to avoid his shield. But it was too late. Using his strength, he shield bashed against the force field, pushing her back, sending her flying onto the ground. She winced at the impact, looking up to see him jump over to her, landing just a few feet in front of her. Her mind was racing right now. "What do I do? This thing is just shrugging off my magic as if it's nothing more than a tickle....unless..." She charged up her horn again, noticing his smirk. She stood up before he could reach her and activated a different type of spell. Using all the magic that she could currently generate, she held him in place, stopping him in his tracks. Mercer looked at his body in shock. "I....can't....move..." It felt exactly like the force that had pulled him into this place. Albeit a lot weaker. He pulled himself towards the horse, trying to free himself of whatever was holding him in place. He grunted, using all of his strength to pull away from the force. "Come on. I've got to get...back....Dana...." With the thought of his sister, he used every ounce of strength that he had, eventually breaking the hold of the magic. The horse fell back, sweating profusely, looking exhausted. Having control of his body again, he walked over to it, staring down at it with a look of anger. "I don't know what the fuck you are, but I'm about to find out for myself." He morphed his arm into the blade form. The horse tried to crawl away, looking at him with a pleading look. "No...please..." He raised his blade and was about to cut its head off, before he felt something tug at his leg. He looked down to see that a lasso had made its way around his foot. "What the..." He felt it pulled on his foot, barely moving him. He simply stomped his foot down, cause the floor to crack., He looked behind him and saw 5 very strange looking horses. He chuckled to himself a bit. "More of these things?" A pink one, that currently looked shocked more than anything else. A white one with a curly purple mane and horn what was currently sending an angry glare his way. A cyan like coloured one with wings what was matching the white one's expression, this one looking like it was about to attack. A yellow one, which also had wings, which was currently hiding behind the others. And the culprit of the lasso that had tried to pull him back was an orange coloured one what was currently looking at him in shock and anger. It was wearing a....stetson hat? He laughed. "What the actual fuck is going on in this place?" The orange and the cyan one both stepped forward, getting ready to attack. The former one spoke up first. "Now listen here. I ain't the foggiest clue as to who you are, but if you so much as touch Twilight, you ain't going to like what comes next, ya hear?" The cyan one looked at his blade, having a concerned expression for a second, before stepping in front of the stetson wearing one, pawing its hooves at the ground and kicking up dirt. "Yeah! Step away from her, freak! Or you'll have to deal with me!" He looked between the two before bursting out in a cynical, dark laughter. They all looked worried, if only for a moment. He shook his head. "Twilight, eh? This must be this purple one's name." He looked towards them, his eyes shining. "Oh really? Well, when I'm done consuming your friend here, you're all welcome to try. I promise that it won't end well for you. If you all run off now, I might actually let you go. I'm sure this one here will keep me going for long enough to get out of this place." He turned around to face the pur...."Twilight", raised his blade and was about to decapitate her, before something bashed into him. Something that could hit hard. His back hit one of the trees, causing him to slump for a second. He looked up and saw the cyan one flying towards him at incredible speed. He morphed his wings onto his back and flew up, just missing the horse, causing it to pull up just before it hit the tree. It flew up to him and tried to once again bash into him, but this time, Mercer was prepared. He dodged in the air and morphed his arm into its whipfist form, sending it out to grab the annoying pesk. It dodged the first grab, but wasn't so lucky on the second. He grabbed it by the neck and pulled it in, pulling its face to his, smirking at it. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" It looked scared. Incredibly scared. He liked that. Using his strength, he gripped its throat tighter, causing it to start gasping for air. Before he could snap its neck, he felt something grip him. The same force from earlier. Once again, attempting to hold him in place. Only this time, it wasn't anywhere near as strong. The one in his grip used this as a distraction, getting free from his gasp, flying off only to come back and try to kick him in the face. Even though the force was still holding him in place, he transformed into his armor form, having the horse kick him in the face. Only for it to scream and fall to the ground, holding its back leg, it breaking from the impact. It cried out in agony as he saw the pink one and the yellow one rush to its aid. The white one took its attention off of him for a split second to look at the quivering mess that was its friend, giving him a chance to break free of its hold on him. Considering how easy it was to break the hold of this time, he assumed this one wasn't as powerful as Twilight. He used this opening to his advantage, flying down and stomping the ground, the shock wave sending the white one into the back of a tree, making a very sickening crack sound, indicating that its spine had broken on impact. It drooped to the floor, dead. The others screamed, rushing over to the now lifeless corpse of their friend. Twilight looked up in horror, a single tear coming from her eye, whispering to herself "No...Rarity..." While he was distracted, she lit up her horn, using her last bit of strength to send a message to the princess for help. He noticed that she had started moving again and kicked her in the head. "Stay down!" It went flying in a different direction, him now pulling his attention to the others, all of them now looking at him in fear and pure anger. The orange one was the next one to charge at him, running up to him. He stood there, amused, wanting to see what it would do. It attempted to buck him, but before its back legs could even make contact with his armored body, he stepped to the side, dodging the attack. Its face contorted into one of fear as he grabbed one of its legs, slamming it down on the ground, creating a mini crater. He looked down, seeing it convulse as blood poured from its mouth. He took this opportunity to look at the pink and yellow one, both who were staring at him in fear. However, the yellow one flew up into the air suddenly, gaining a look of hatred and anger on its face. "How dare you..." He laughed, before something nearly burst his ear drums. "HOW DARE YOU!" It flew down towards him, staring at him. He looked back. "What the fuck are you trying to..." He once again could not move. Only this time... It was much stronger. "What the fuck is...happening?" He fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. It kept staring at him. "Something about this things eyes.....I need...to look...away..." He used his last ounce of strength and raised his fist. He punched in the direction of the yellow horse, connecting with its face, causing it to go flying backwards, it landing somewhere in the distance. Feeling his strength returning to him, he shook his head and looked over to see the pink one shaking, cowering behind a tree. He jumped over to it, walking menacingly slowly towards it. It crawled away, its back hitting a tree. It looked up to him, tears in its eyes. "Please...don't...no more...why are you.....doing this?" He knelt down and returned to his original form, red tendrils covering his body for a second, causing it to look away and flinch. "My only concern right now getting out of this place, get back to where I came from and find out who or what brought me here. When I do find it, I'm going to rip it apart." He grabbed its throat, causing it to gasp for air. "Now tell me. What are you things and how were two of them able to restrain me without so much as raising a limb?" Before he could get an answer, he heard something shout out. "LET HER GO!" land behind him. Something big. He let go of the pink one, throwing it to the side. He turned around and saw that it was another horse. However, this one was white, had a multicoloured mane that seemed to flow by itself, had a horn and wings like the purple one and was the tallest one that he'd seen so far. It also had a smaller, blue one accompanying it. It also had wings and a horn. It gave him a death glare as more horses showed up behind them, these ones having spears and golden clad armour. The white one looked around, noticing the dead bodies of the orange and the other white one with the curly purple mane. Anger flashed in its eyes as its horn glowed. A large blast was sent towards him, but he managed to dodge out of the way just in time, looking back at the tree it had just hit. Well, the remains of the tree. He looked towards the two tall ones, them charging their horns for another attack. The tall white one spoke, anger rooted deep in its voice. "I don't know what you are or where you came from, but you have brought death and harm to my subjects. I will make sure that you are punished for your crimes." The, what he assumed to be guards of some sort, stood in front of the 2 taller horses and raised their spears, glaring at him, ready to charge. Mercer laughed, cracking his knuckles, activating his armor and musclemass forms, making the guards gasp in confusion. He ran at them and jumped into the air, slamming his fist into the ground, creating a giant shockwave which caused the guards to all go flying in different directions. One of the flying ones tried to stab him. Which it did. Only for him to grab the spear and swing his body, causing the horse to go flying into the air. He took this chance to remove the spear, making a squelching sound, throwing it into the air and impaling the horse. It fell down to the ground with the spear in its head, dead. He ran up to the two taller ones, hoping to finish this. That never happened. There it was again. That same force. He didn't think it could have gotten any stronger... But he was wrong. He felt himself pulled down to the ground, the two tall one's horns glowing. He tried to push himself up, making the horses sweat and grunt. They were straining theirselves and he could see it. "I just need to....break...free" But he just couldn't do it. Not this time. He was too exhausted from all the fighting. He should have consumed the pink one for the strength. He saw the blue one pull its head back as it fired a blast into him, his body going numb. "What is happen...." He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence as he was knocked out cold. The two tall ones sighed and looked around, staring at the devastation in the area. The white one looked around and shouted at the guards, who were still picking theirselves up and dusting theirselves off. "The creature is down! Make sure it doesn't get back up and get it one of the cells in the castle!" They all saluted and shouted "Yes, princess!" in unison. Multiple of them had to carry the creature in their magical grasp as it was too heavy for just one of them. The two tall ones looked at each other in shock and horror. Then, the white one started shaking. "Twilight....where is Twilight?!" She ran off into the forest, the blue one screaming her name behind her, it going completely on deaf ears as she ran through the forest. She eventually flew up into the air, trying to get a better view from the sky. After a few minutes of searching, she found her. She landed next to her crumpled body which was on the floor. "No..." She saw her breath, making her sigh in relief. She picked her up in her magic, flying back to the blue one, the latter of which looked shocked to see the unconscious body that she now held in her magic. "Celestia, is she alright?" The white one, known as Celestia, nodded. "She's breathing, Luna, but she's in bad shape. You get her to the infimary in Canterlot. I will see to our...guest and make sure that it doesn't cause any more harm to anypony." The blue one, known as Luna, nodded and took Twilight from Celestia's grasp, flying into the air. Celestia walked up to the now broken trees, noticing the two dead bodies. "Rarity....Applejack....how could anyone do this?" She heard a cry in the distance. She turned around and flew up into the air, seeing a yellow blob in the distance. She flew over to it and landed to find that it was none other than Fluttershy, one of Twilight's friends and another one of the element bearers. She had gotten her leg stuck in a spiked vine. Celestia quickly rushed over to her and used her magic to get rid of the vine, making Fluttershy look up at her in shock. "Princess...I....Rarity...Applejack...." The yellow pegasus burst into tears, causing Celestia to cry a little as well. She scooped her up in her hooves and nuzzled her. "It is alright, my little pony. I know. The creat...the monster, has been detained and will be sent to the cells in Canterlot. I will see to it that it does not harm anypony else. I promise." Fluttershy cried into Celestia's chest, causing the princess to hug her tighter. When she had calmed down, she looked up to her, tears still in her eyes. "What abo....what about the bodies?" Celestia flinched at the word, looking down at her. "Don't worry. I will personally see to them and make sure that they have a proper burial. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but just know that their killer will be punished. You have my word." Galloping came from behind her. She turned around to see that one of the other element bearers, Pinkie Pie, was stood there, shaking as she ran up to her. "Princess Celestia! A monst...came and...murdered..." She looked down, bursting into tears. Celestia walked up to her, comforting her by nuzzling her, Fluttershy still in her hooves. "It is alright, my little pony. You're safe now." She looked down at her, a serious expression on her face. "Pinkie Pie, can I ask, what exactly occurred? What caused that...creature to attack you all?" Pinkie walked up to Fluttershy, who was still being held by Celestia, nuzzling her. She sat down and wiped away the tears from her face. Celestia noticed that her mane had lost its puffiness. She looked up to her and spoke. "Spike came around to Sugarcube corner and asked....if we'd seen Twilight. He said that she'd gone to Zecora's for some...herbs or something and that she'd been gone for a long time. Too long. So, me and the girls...." She started crying again at that last word. Celestia put one of her hooves on her head, rubbing her mane softly. "It's alright, sweetheart. Take your time." Pinkie nodded and took in a deep breath, before looking back up to her, her eyes now bloodshot red. "So, me and the...g-g-girls went into the Everfree forest to look for her. We nearly made it to Zecora's when we heard a lot of screaming from somewhere in the forest. We found out where it was coming from and well...." Celestia cupped Pinkie's chin with her hoof softly, causing her to look into her eyes. "That is enough, my dear. You don't have to tell me any more. I will make sure that your friends will be honored for their bravery." Hearing that, she broke down again, Celestia looking at her sadly. Before she could say anything else, she heard wings flapping above her. Looking up, she noticed that two of her guards were flying down to her. They landed and saluted. "Princess, the creature is in a cell. It is still unconscious for the time being." She nodded in thanks and handed the quivering pegasus towards them, one of the guards grabbing her in his hooves. "Take Fluttershy to the infirmary. She has wounds that need to be attended to." She looked towards Pinkie, giving her the warmest smile that she could muster up. "Pinkie, sweetheart, if you could go with Fluttershy, that would mean a lot to me." The pink pony nodded and walked up to the guards, nuzzling Fluttershy, who was now unconcious. "Don't worry, Shy. Everything will be alright..." Celestia looked towards the guards with a stern expression. "As for me, I will collect the bodies of the....deceased." They looked at each other in concern, looking back to the princess. "Are you sure, princess? We can have a squad of guards come back for the bodies when we've gotten Miss Fluttershy and Miss Pinkie Pie to the infirmary." She shook her head in response. "No, I will see to it that the bodies are taken care of. They were two of the element bearers and two of Twilight's best friends, so I will personally make sure that they are seen to." The guards nodded in response, saluting and saying in unison "Yes, princess!" before flying off with Fluttershy, one of the guards grabbing Pinkie as well and proceeding to fly in the direction of Canterlot. Celestia looked down and sighed, a single tear trailing down her face. "I don't know why anyone would do something like this....but I will make sure that it knows what it has took from me, Twilight and everypony else." She flew into the air, heading for the direction of the bodies. "And I will get some answers." "Make sure that she gets the treatment that she needs, fair doctor. When she awakens, inform me and my sister." Luna said as she handed Twilight over to one of the doctors, them putting her on a bed. "Yes, princess Luna." She nodded in thanks and left the infimary, rethinking on the days events. "Whatever that thing was, it will pay, that is for certain. But why did I sense a strange force when me and Celestia confronted it? It felt a bit like something had pulled it in from somewhere. Something like..." She grimaced. "No....no, it couldn't have been that." Shaking her head, she took off into the sky, heading for Canterlot. "This thing will tell us why it did this and where it came from. It will pay for its crimes. If Celestia can't bring herself to do that, I will personally make sure that it does." Author's Note So yeah, chapter 2, kicking it off with a very....action driven start. I decided to make this story quite dark, so I hope that it is to your liking. Hope you enjoy. Again, constructive criticism is always welcome. Cheers.
Questions and answers"Ugh...my head. Wait...where the fuck am I?" Mercer rose from what felt like...a mattress? He looked around him, taking in the scenery. It looked like a prison cell. A very small and dirty prison cell. He put his hand to his head. He felt like he'd just drank himself to death. "Need to..." Suddenly, it all came back to him. The nuke going off, the fight with the Manticore.... And then the fight with those oddly coloured horses, 2 of which he'd killed. He cracked his neck, sitting up and walking towards the steel bars that held him in the room. "Fuck...I probably shouldn't have attacked the purple one...no, Twilight, that was its name. I probably shrugged the thing off too soon. It might have been able to give me at least some information...but then again, it did seem clueless as to what I even was and had never heard of Manhattan.....whatever. I'll find someone who knows what the fuck is going on and if I have to tear them apart and consume them to get the answers, then I will." He knew Dana was no doubt dead after the explosion, but he needed to get back. To make sure. He turned around and face palmed. "I might actually have to co-operate with these things if they have any valuable information. I didn't think anything of Ragland, until he helped me cure myself from that parasite and helped Dana. Maybe these things can help me too? But I highly doubt they will, considering I just killed two of them. Their safety isn't my concern in any case. I just need to know how to get back. And if they won't give me the information that I need, then there's always another way to get it from them." He suddenly heard something coming towards his cell. He spun back around to see none other than the tall white horse from earlier. It looked him up and down, scowling, opening the cell gates using its horn. It walked up close to him, it not showing an ounce of fear. "Why?" He blinked. "Why wha..." It stepped closer towards him, its muzzle almost touching him. "This one seems to be able to control its emotions enough to not raise its voice, even under extreme stress and anger. Strange." "Why did you hurt and kill two of my little ponies?" He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at it. "Because they got in my way." It flared its wings out in anger, charging its horn and holding him in place with the same force that at this point, he had felt enough of. However this time, he didn't even struggle. He just watched as it stared at him, hate in its eyes. "They got in your way? Got in your way of doing what, exactly?" It increased its hold on him, causing him to have his back pushed against the wall. "Of trying to find a way back to where I came from." It released its hold on him, causing him to drop to the ground. It sighed, trying to calm itself. He got up and dusted himself off. It coughed, he assumed clearing its throat and continued. "And where exactly do you come from?" "Manhattan." It looked at him in annoyed confusion. "Manhattan?" At this point, Mercer had come to the conclusion, even though it sounded crazy, that he wasn't even on the same planet anymore. Manticores, talking coloured equines with horns and wings what were able to use an unseen force as a weapon and a restraint tool and god knows what else lingered around this place. He couldn't believe he was going to ask the next question, but he did so anyway. "What planet are we on?" The horse looked at him as if he'd gone crazy and then snorted in annoyance. "Are you telling me that you do not even know what planet we ar....hang on..." Celestia was doing her best to keep herself from ripping this thing to shreds for what it had done. But...she was a princess. Royalty. She had to try and keep her emotions in check. Not that she actually wanted to. The mons....creature had just asked what planet it was currently on. She wasn't sure if thing was crazy or if it...actually did not come from this world. She felt crazy assuming that thought. It was ludicrous. But...the things that it managed to do are nothing like she'd ever seen before. She looked up at it, a stern expression on her face. "Equis is the planet's name. We are currently in the land of Equestria. I cannot believe I am asking this, but....are you from this world?" It shook its head. "Nope, doesn't sound like it. The planet that I come from is called Earth. I have no fucking idea how that's possible, but..." Celestia shook her head. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. She slapped herself with her hoof, gaining a confused but amused look from the creature. Nope. She still wasn't awake. She took a deep breath in and let it out, calming herself slightly. "I don't really know how to take this all in at once to be honest, but I do want to say..." She looked at it in anger and hatred. "I want to say how much you have hurt not just the ponies that you attacked, not just the rest of the country, but me and my family. I do not care if you need to get back to where you came from, you attack...no, murdered two innocent ponies. Two ponies who have helped save this world more times than one. And because you're lost, you just thought to attack them, is that right?" The creature sat down and scoffed. "As I said, they got in my way. I tried asking the purpl..." She cut in, sharply. "Twilight. Her name is Twilight." It shrugged. "Yeah, that's it. I tried asking Twilight for information about where I was and how I could get out of this place. She was useless and quite frankly, considering that my sister has probably died due to a massive nuclear weapon that I was trying to stop before I got pulled into this world, I reacted aggressively." She pushed the creature against the wall using her magic, making it slump down to the ground. It looked up at her in anger. "Don't you dare call my student useless. I am not one for violence, but considering the circumstances of what you have done and how you are acting, if you so much as say that word again, I will make sure that you do not get out of this cell. Do I make myself clear?" It scoffed and stood up, making her shove her face in its face. "I said, do I make myself clear?" He, Celestia assuming it was a he at this point from the masculine voice, shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't want to kill your subjects. I wanted information and the pu..Twilight couldn't give it to me. I wouldn't have reacted to harshly if it wasn't for the fact that I'd just lost my sister and everything that I knew in a giant explosion." She looked at him, still angry, shaking her head. "What, you think trying to explain yourself will heal any of the damage that you have caused my ponies and me at all? You can't do anything to make up for what you've done, you....you..." Celestia breathed in deep, trying to compose herself. She nearly lost all control, however, when she noticed that the creature was now...smirking. "I suggest that you reallign your face to your normal proportions before I do it for you myself." He laughed. "Alright, that was a good one, I'll give you that. I was smirking in response to what you said about making it up to you. If you promise to give me some information about this place, I'll bring the ones that I killed back." She was about to stomp on his head before she suddenly realised what he had just said. "What? Are you crazy? How do you know necromancy?" Mercer shrugged and sat down. "I tested it once on a dead soldier after finding out from a scientist that the virus which I hold, well, what I am can regenerate cells and change them, like it did for me." Celestia now looked at him in confusion and horror. "You're telling me that you're....you're....a physical form of a virus? And that you came back from the dead? He slowly nodded, having a more serious look on his face. "Indeed I am and yes, I did. My name was Alex Mercer...I'm not sure if I can call myself that anymore. I'm not him. I thought that I was when I got brought back, but I found out my own way that I'm actually the virus itself. I'm just using his form." She looked even more worried now. "I see. Your name is...Alex Mercer. You're a shapeshifter?" Again, he nodded. "Whatever I consume, I inherit their DNA and absorb it. This means that I copy their biological properties, ergo, their form, their memories and their skills. I can also learn new abilties...depending on what I consume. And from consuming a scientist, I learnt that the Blacklight virus, which is what I am, can regenerate dead cells. Like it did for me. As I said, I tried it on a dead soldier and he came back. Albeit with...strange results." Celestia sat next to him, still trying to calm herself. She couldn't believe that she was even listening to this thing after what it did, but...if there was a chance that it could bring her ponies back...she would listen to what it has to say. For now, at least, until she decides what to do with it. "Strange results? Go on." He scratched his chin, laying back slightly. "The soldier was brought back, but he underwent significant biological mutations due to the virus editing his cellular make-up when it regenerated him. He could shapeshift, like me. Somewhat. Not as effectively. More a sub species of me, I suppose. In a weird sense. If I brought back your ponies, they would be alive again, but in a...different way. I couldn't tell you what affect it would have on them as you guys are a completely different species to me. Well, to what I was when I was human." She looked at him, the anger mostly being turned into intruige at the current moment. "I see...I would do anything for my little ponies back...and let me say, you are lucky that I haven't planned for you to be executed yet for what you've done. And I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you fully...but if you live up to the end of your bargain and bring them back...I shall see to it that I give you all the information that I can. I don't want this to end in more violence. Enough have suffered already." Mercer stood up and reached out his hand, Celestia standing up in turn and looking at him in a confused manner. He chuckled. "It's called a handshake. It's a signal of agreement and respect. Humans do it when they come to an agreement, mostly." She looked at his hand, reluctant to "shake his hand". But as she was about to refuse, she had a thought. "This creature will never understand the pain that it has brought me and my subjects. But, if it is true what it is saying...then I have no choice but to agree to its terms and listen. At least, for now. Even though this cre...Alex, started this...I don't want it to end in more blood shed. And if he can bring my ponies back, even if they are changed in the process...what choice do I really have?" She looked back up at him to see that he was nodding his head towards his hand. "Look, I know that no amount of apology will ever rectify what I did, but you have to understand, everything that I loved and cared for was took away from me in an instant. Which is the exact thing that I did to you and your people. Which is why I want to at least try and make amends for reacting in such an aggresive state. I didn't want to kill them, trust me. But after I thought about the high possibility that my sister is dead...I lost all control. I don't expect you to understand, but I want you to at least listen and give me a chance to rectify it to at least some degree. Deal?" Celestia thought about what she said earlier in her head. She really didn't have a choice here. If she follows what he has said, she might get her ponies back. If not, they'll be gone forever. She didn't trust this thing as far as she could throw it, but...she knew that she didn't have a choice right now. She took his hand firmly in her hoof and shook it, elicting a smile from him. "Alright...Mercer...you have a deal. But I will warn you, if you even think of double crossing me or bring any more harm to my subjects, I won't be as leniant as I have been so far. Understood?" Mercer looked at her and smirked, nodding. "Yes ma'am." She sighed, removing her hoof from his hand. "I will show you to their bodies." He nodded again. "Let's do this." Mercer thought to himself deeply. "This thing's threats doesn't scare me. However, if I want information about this place and possibly about how to get back, I'll have to do as I said. But if this thing or any of the others try to destroy me...they won't enjoy what comes next. But, for now...I'll live up to the end of my deal and try to stay calm. We'll see how this all plays out in time, I suppose." Author's Note So sorry that this has took so damn long to get updated. I just have not had the inspiration to write at all for the past year or so. Hopefully, I can get back on track with this fully, but I won't make any promises. Anyway, thanks for reading as always!
Inner evil"Interesting indeed." Luna was currently walking through an empty void. Even though she was the watcher of ponies dreams, she didn't go through her own dreams that often. But this time, something felt...off. Like something that she'd buried was coming back to haunt her. "Hello, my sweet Luna. How've you been?" The moon princess gasped and looked behind her, noticing something that she'd rather not have. "You...why are you here?" In front of her was her old evil self, Nightmare Moon. Back when she and Celestia ruled all that time ago, back when Discord and King Sombra was still a threat, Luna had become jealous of Celestia and in turn, let said jealousy consume her. The end result was Nightmare Moon, a being of hate and evil. The now weakened being looked at her, grinning. "Why, to see how you've been, of course. Luna flew over to here and snarled, ready to face this demon head on. "Don't you even dare to try my patience, creature. You are banished inside me for a reason." The entity laughed, walking off and looking at the emptyless void around them. "As fun as ever, aren't we, Luna? How's the creature?" Luna gave a look of confusion and scoffed. "What creature do you speak o...." Then the sudden realisation hit her. "You....you... you sent that creature to Equestria?! What for?!" Now it was Nightmare's turn to scoff. "Oh, don't be so dense, my dear. What do you think?" She received a hoof to the face and fell back, letting out a yelp in surprise before quickly regaining her composure and laughing. "Hit a nerve, did I?" The nightmare then felt a hoof to her throat, Luna scowling at her. "That...thing has killed my subjects and caused me and my sister a great level of stress and sadness! Trust me, if I could kill you right now, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. Keep. Away. From. Us." Before Nightmare could react, Luna had disappeared. She started to grin and chuckle to herself. "That silly, pathetic mare. This creature has indeed proven itself very useful. Hopefully, it continues to show its worth. And when the time is right, I shall rise again and bring everlasting darkness to Equestria! All that could be heard now in the empty void was a deep, monotone laughter as the dream caved in on itself. Luna woke in her bed, a scowl still on her face. She grumbled as she rubbed her eyes, it being nighttime. "What does that monster intend to do with the creature? The creature is as evil as Nightmare, that is for sure. I don't know why Celestia has even bothered listening to it. If it was up to me, it'd be dead by now for the suffering that it has caused." Celestia had told Luna about the plans to ressurect the ponies that the creature had killed. Necromancy was not unknown to the princess of the night, but it was a dangerous operation. However, she knew that only bad things would come out of this. She had tried to inform her sister of her feelings on the matter, but she would not take heed of her worries. She still couldn't believe how her sister could even think of making a deal with the very creature that had killed her subjects. But, it is her choice. All she can do is keep an eye on the matter and make sure that the creature does not cause any more harm. Because if it did, there would be no negotations the next time around. She sighed as she got up and did her mane, rectifiying the mess that had been caused by the ever so comfy bed. She looked in the mirror, content with her work and moved to the door, looking at her bed one last time. "I need more sleep..." "Hmm...this shouldn't be too difficult." Mercer was rubbing his chin in thought, looking at the deceased. He looked over to Celestia. "As I said, I can do this, but they'll be changed." She sighed and nodded. "If that's what it takes for you to bring them back, then so be it." He nodded in response and morphed his arm into its tendril form. He split his tendrils into 2, one going in the orange horse, the other going into the white one. Biomass could be seen being pumped into their corpses, Mercer closing his eyes as he concentrated. Celestia looked away, unable to look at the scene any longer. After a minute or so, Mercer pulled out the tendrils, morphing his arm back into its normal form. As Celestia heard the sound that Mercer made when he shapeshifted back, she turned around to see Mercer staring at the two corpses of her little ponies. He looked over to her and nodded. "It's done. I'm not sure how long it will take, though. With a human, it happened in seconds. But considering you guys are a completely different species...I don't know." Celestia nodded and put them back in their coffins, getting the guards what were with them to carry the coffins away. "Make sure to put these in the castle basement. I want to personally see to this when.." she looked to Mercer with a skeptical look before looking back at the guards. "or if they do indeed wake." The guards saluted, having had their eye on Mercer the entire time. They trotted off with the coffins in hand. Celestia looked at Mercer and scowled. "I can't believe that I've even given you this chance considering what you've done to not only me, but my subjects as a whole. If this manages to work, I'm still keeping my eye on you. I should lock you up, but I feel as if it would only cause more harm to my subjects. But keep this in mind. As I said before, if any harm comes to them...you'll pay. Understood?" Mercer nodded, a stoic look on his face. "Yup, you've told me already. For what's it's worth, I'm sorry for what I did." The sun princess sighed and walked away, looking back at him. "Come. We must get back to the castle and update my sister on the situation." He nodded and followed, hoping that he'd be able to get back home soon and forget about all of this crazy nonsense. "The shit that I manage to get myself into..." Author's Note Hope you enjoyed this one! If you have any suggestions or want to just chat, feel free to add my discord! The Wingman#1849
