Alexander was frozen in shock as she processed what she had just heard.

“H-how many?” she asked in a whispered voice, hardly realising she had said anything.

“The town’s population was last recorded to be just over two thousand. Quite a good population size for a simple farming town.”

Alexander felt sick. An entire town's worth of people killed just to bring her here.

Two thousand souls that had been absorbed into her body; all stripped of any possible afterlife. And it had felt incredible. The thought of that on its own caused a strong sense of revulsion.

And she had thought just seeing one dead body was bad enough. Now there was an entire town of them around her, all because she had been brought here.

Alexander had to put a hand on the wall to stay upright as she almost lost her balance. She vomited as well or at least tried to. Nothing came up despite just having breakfast, not even a little. The best was a small amount of spit that dripped onto the ground. The dry heaving continued longer than she would have liked, her entire body shaking the entire time.

“th-their dead- and i-Inside me.” Alexander looked up at the cultist in front of her. Concerned about her behaviour, but uncaring about what they had done.

One of the people that had taken her away from her friends, home, and family. Stuck in a world that was promising to be a hell hole. All for what? Because they decided they should have power?

Anger mixed in with all the other emotions she was feeling. Grinding her sharp teeth together with a growl escaping her throat Alexander lunged towards the cultist.

She did not grab him, simply slamming her fist into the door frame, heavily cracking the wood. “You fucking murdered all of them!” Alexander did not notice the air slightly cool and frost around them.

Mister Dare stumbled back in shock. “I-I- But Mis-”

“I don’t care about what you have to say! You took me away from everything I ever knew and killed over a thousand innocent people to do it! On top of that, you stuffed them all inside me!” she practically yelled, looking right into the cultist's eyes.

“we-ll, th-they would ha-ve been absorbed-.”

She almost hit him then; yet before she could that same cold sweet smell filled her nostrils again. She could just see it now; a dim ice blue ethereal fog wafting off his body as he looked at her with apparent fear.

She was reminded that her body liked what had happened. The fear was a tantalising feast to her senses, the souls bliss unlike her had ever felt before.

Alexander felt almost just as disgusted with herself as she did with the cultists at that moment. She just needed to get away.

Mister Dare was thrown to the ground as Alexander ran past him. She forgot Night Ray was there as she ran past him, but his presence was inconsequential. She just needed to get away.

As soon as she was out of the building Alexander pivoted north and ran as fast as she could. She had to escape the town, escape all the dead present here.

She started crying at some point. When, she did not know, nor did she care.

Alexander ran past each house and building. She passed someone that yelped in surprise before running off somewhere. She did not care what the cultists would think of seeing her like this.

Alexander ran out of the village and into the forest. She kept running until she began to feel mildly tired. She could probably go a lot longer if she wanted, but her feet were sore from running without shoes on.

Alexander stopped beside a tree and collapsed, leaning against the trunk as she continued to breathe heavily.

“Why me? What did I do to deserve this?” All she did was drop something meant for someone else. Adventures in stories were almost always entertaining, but no one ever seemed to put much thought into what it would actually be like to be in them.

“Why would anyone want to go through this?” Alexander could not understand why this had to happen to her. Why her out over everyone that could have been summoned? Weren’t they're demons that should have come through more eagerly instead?

There were too many questions and not enough answers.

Alexander sat there shaking and crying. She wrapped her soft wings around her body while hugging the starry cloud that was her mane. She just remained there, headless of the sun slowly passing over her head and the figure watching her from nearby.

/---\

Rime scribbled down arcane writings into the blank book she had managed to find. “Mistress Nightmare Moon should find these spells useful.” They were mostly ones copied from her spellbook. She did not have access to much else, but it was more than enough for an introductory to Arcane magic. “Night Ray should be able to teach her the sorcery side of things.”

She found it strange their new mistress did not seem to know how to use much magic. Most creatures, especially divine creatures, had innate magic that came to them almost instinctually. Her age might explain that. Twenty-five what though? Rime was a little annoyed with herself for not asking for clarification. “She could just be holding back though.”

Despite all that, Rime Rose found herself a little giddy with excitement at their success. She thought their mistress was going to be a bit more demanding and aggressive than she turned out to be.

Not only that, but she was also incredibly beautiful. They could have easily got something far more monstrous, which was always a risk with summoning creatures from beyond; especially when it came to the pure creatures of the divine realm.

Rime’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in!”

Rime turned to face the wooden door as it opened. She watched a nervous-looking Mister Dare step into the underground room. “U-um, Speaker, may I have a word with you?” Mister Dare tapped his head with a gloved hand, a colourless glow emitting from the gloves as the sweat on his head vanished.

Rime raised an eyebrow at his behaviour. “Yes. What is troubling you Nightwalker Dare? We can’t be under attack; otherwise, you would have already said that with more urgency.”

Before answering he looked back out to see if anyone was around before closing the door and locking it, an action which surprised Rime. “I think we may have a problem…”

“What problem would that be?” She asked. If they were not under attack what could spook Mister Dare so much?

“I was out retrieving what magic items I could find at the blacksmith's residence. Mistress Nightmare Moon had decided to come along since she has nothing else to do.” He paused, seeing if his Speaker would interrupt him. When she did not he continued. “Everything was fine at first. We arrived at the blacksmith’s without issue and found more than I expected. But then Mistress came across the body of the blacksmith…”

“And?”

“She reacted quite badly. I would not think she would have had a problem seeing a dead body. Especially one whose soul she had consumed in the ritual. It was like she was unaware of what happened as if she had no choice in the matter.” He sighed, leaning back against the wall. “For a second I thought she might kill me.”

Rime frowned as she listened to Mister Dare recount what happened. This was sounding stranger by the second. “Why would Mistress be so disturbed like that? Death is a common enough occurrence, especially for a creature from the divine realm. Just what thoughts and feelings coalesced to give birth to her?” “Where is she now?”

Mister Dare looked back towards the Door. “She made a mad dash northward. I have no idea how far she has gone. Shadow Walker Night Ray has gone after her, but that is as much as I know.”

“I imagine no one else knows what has happened currently?” Rime asked.

“No. Everyone has been busying themselves preparing for our departure.”

Rime nodded. “Good. We would not want this to cause our brothers and sisters unneeded distress.”

“What would you like me to do now, Speaker?” Mister Dare said.

Rime Rose got up from her seat, picking up her spellbook and holding it under her arm. “For now you will continue with our preparations as if nothing is amiss. I will go see if I can sort this issue out myself.”

Mister Dare bowed. “Of course my Speaker. Oh! If it helps you find her quicker, I gave our mistress the blacksmith’s admittedly lackluster attempt at creating a flame tongue.”

“thank you, Mister Dare,” Rime said before both of them left the room and went their separate ways.

Rime took a moment to slip on some sandals before leaving the underground complex. “You are proving to be a strange mistress indeed.” Rime Rose could not help but smile at the thought. “Perhaps not the best for our plans, but our lives are sure going to be interesting because of it. Perhaps I’m being a bit too hopeful, but this might turn out for the best. Now, how was locate object cast again?”

/---\

Alexander felt like she had been sitting there for hours. She had run through her grievances with her situation several times in her head by now. Eventually, she tired herself out; stopping her crying. Alexander just sat there, feeling miserable, bundled up in her wings and mane.

As her temper cooled she had time to think about how she reacted to everything that had been happening. “I have never been so angry before in my life.”

“What’s going to happen to me now?” Alexander’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps disturbing the undergrowth. Her ears perked up instinctually and faced towards the sound.

Alexander looked up, moving her wings just enough so she could see who was coming.

Out of some bushes and trees behind her, Rime Rose stepped out. “Ah! Mistress there you are! I have been trying to look for you for a while. You were able to run quite far.” She was smiling. Though that looked softened as she saw the state Alexander was in. “You look like you have seen better days.”

Alexander growled at her and looked away. A little shocked at how feral her growl sounded. “Go away you fucking cultist.” She grumbled out loud enough for Rime to hear.

Instead of leaving, Rime slowly walked next to Alexander. She sat down on the grass two meters away.

They sat in silence for a few minutes with only Alexander’s mildly heavy breather to interrupt it.

“I heard you did not like the condition you found the blacksmith in,” Rime finally said, looking towards Alexander.

Alexander looked in the other direction, hugging her knees and grumbling out her response. “Well if you came across a dead body you would react the same way.”

Rime hummed. “I suppose. I did not react well to seeing my father run through with a sword.”

Alexander looked at Rime, Blinking a little in surprise and to clear her tears.

“The world is a harsh place. It’s one of the reasons I want to change it.”

Alexander scoffed. “And killing thousands of innocent people to do it is justifiable?”

Rime leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky. The sun was slowly passing over head, much closer to setting than it had been hours earlier. “Sacrifices need to be made sometimes. But I can tell that has upset you quite a lot.”

“That and you ripping me away from my home while shoving the souls of a bunch of dead people into me,” Alexander growled. She shivered as she reminded herself of what had happened to her.

“That’s another thing I don’t understand. Why are you so upset with your summoning? You accepted didn’t you?” Rime leaned over, propping herself up on her hands.

“No!” Alexander snapped, jerking to face the Rime. “I did not ask to be ripped from my home and get dumped in the middle of a group of maniacs!” Alexander’s wings partly flared out behind her.

Rime flinched from the sudden outburst but made no other notable reaction for a few moments. When she saw Alexander was not going to continue her outburst she continued. “I-I. It probably does not mean anything to you, but for what it’s worth I’m sorry Mistress. The ritual should not have been able to summon someone unwillingly.”

“Stop calling me that...”

Rime moved closer to Alexander, stopping when Alexander started leaning away from her. “I’m not sure… would you be willing to tell me what happened? If you do perhaps I can help in some way?”

“Could you send me home?” Alexander quietly asked.

Rime looked Northward. “Divine beings normally would have their own way back to their divine realm, or they would be sent there when slain on the material plane. I get the feeling that will not work for you?”

“I highly doubt it.” Alexander gave off a frustrated sigh.

“Well, Nightmare Mo-.”

“Don’t call me that either, even if I can respond to it.”

Rime blinked in surprise. “Can you explain? I cannot help if I remain ignorant to your plight.”

Alexander took a minute to debate whether she should tell the cultist anything. She was a little surprised she was being so willing to listen; especially after being willing to kill an entire town to achieve their goals. “I was not always like this. I used to be normal, at least normal for my world. I then became this.” Alexander gestured to herself. “After coming into contact with something called essence of nightmares. A week later I end up being pulled here against my will.”

Rime Rose adopted a thoughtful look as she listened to Alexander. “You are extraordinarily lucky to still be yourself as you are then. I have not come across the divine substance myself, but I have heard of what it can do if not handled properly. As for why you would be pulled through unwillingly… I can only imagine greater forces are at play here. What of your name?”

Alexander sighed sadly. “Alexander. I think I might have accidentally given myself a ‘true demon name’ when saying I look like Nightmare Moon. Who in my world is a fictional character.”

Rime nodded. “I see. That explains a few things. A named Nightmare is much easier to get in contact with and quite often stronger as a result. Again, I am sorry for what trouble we may have caused you.”

Alexander scoffed again and looked away. “I really doubt you are.”

The silence continued between the two of them for a minute before Rime moved again. This time she dropped her robe onto the grass and placed her spellbook on top of it; leaving her with nothing on but her thin, short white dress, and the silver pearl necklace.

She then crawled in front of Alexander, who leaned back into the tree in surprise. Rime’s clothing was mildly transparent, allowing Alexander to see that she had nothing on underneath them. “What are you-?”

Rime leaned forward and hugged Alexander, pressing her snout into her neck. Alexander almost threw her off, but the warm physical contact was too comforting after all the stress she had been under. She was still not very pleased with it. Alexander could not stop from blushing slightly as well.

Rime then pulled back a little to look up into Alexander's eyes. “Miss Alexander, I have been willing to give up a lot to get where I am now, to try and change things for the better. That includes giving myself wholeheartedly to my Mistress, which, if you have not noticed, is you.” She gave a soft and surprisingly sympathetic smile.

“All I have left are those you have already seen. I know this is not something you want… but would you be willing to stay with us? I will not ask you to do anything you do not wish to. That would not be my place even if you were what we expected. Just… Allow us to show you the world we live in, and then make your own decision about what you will do. Please?”

Alexander’s better judgment advised against continuing to interact with the cult and just take her chances on her own. But the fluffy pony was being a bit too cute to completely dismiss her. After some internal deliberation Alexander's need for physical contact and companionship won out.

She wrapped her arms and wings around the smaller pony and grumbled. “Fine, but that does not mean I am going to like you. Don’t expect me to help you do anything evil.”

Rime hummed in acknowledgement and nuzzled into Alexander's starry mane. “Of course Mistress. I am all yours after all~”

Alexander rolled her eyes. Not calling her mistress did not last very long. Both of them laid there under the shade of the forest trees. Looking up Alexander noticed that the sun had moved position from where it had been earlier. “Wait, does that mean the sun moves on its own here?”

That thought did not distract Alexander for long before her thoughts drifted back to recent events. She was still upset, but she could only be so mad and cry for so long. Now she was just emotionally exhausted and wanted to sleep. Testing if she could properly sleep in the dream realm would be her next objective then.

She looked down at the cultist hugging into her chest. She just seemed so innocent like this. More like a fairy tale princess in that moment rather than the leader of a cult. Then again that might be why she was the leader. Above all else, a leader needed great charisma after all.

Alexander mentally sighed and leaned back against the tree, closing her eyes. The two of them quietly stayed like that for a while, long enough for the light of the day to noticeably dim. For Alexander, this meant the saturation of colour around her began to lessen a little.

Eventually, Alexander gently pushed Rime off her. “Ok, enough of that. It’s getting late.”

Rime got up, rubbing her eyes. It looked like she had almost fallen asleep. She looked up at the sky before quickly levitating her cloak on and spellbook to her hand. Her horn and levitation aura glowed a teal ice blue colour. “you're right Mistress, we should be off before it gets dark.”

Alexander got up and dusted herself off, stretching before she started to follow Rime back.

They had only gotten a few meters before Alexander spotted Night Ray leaning against a tree while he silently watched them. She most likely would not have spotted him at all if it weren’t for her darkvision. “What. How long has he been there?”

Rime glanced at him for a moment as she walked. “He never left your side as far I know.”

Alexander looked from Rime to Night, who only gave a short nod as he fell in line behind them. Alexander grumbled as she realised he had been watching her the whole time. She was not sure to be angry he had been watching with her out her knowing, or be thankful he had had the presence of mind to give her some space.

Alexander shook her head, It was not important now. She then looked back to Rime as she was leading the way. “if I am going to be staying with you, no more sacrificing people.”

Rime stopped long enough to bow as she spoke, “If that is what you wish Mistress.”

Alexander frowned slightly. “I feel like you’re being too calm about all this. I can imagine I am not what you wanted when you summoned me.”

Rime shrugged. “We planned to summon someone to lead us against the tyrants of the world. That has technically not been proven false so far. It just might take longer than expected.”

“What if I decide not to?”

Rime paused as she thought. “I highly doubt you will Mistress. Not after you see our world for yourself. If you can find a way to solve everything without violence I will support that as well. But I doubt that is anywhere near the realm of possibility.”

Alexander sighed, looking towards the horizon as it began to turn orange and pink. She was still not sure what to think of the cultists overall. They had been surprisingly nice to her so far. However, it was evident that they could commit atrocities without batting much of an eye if they felt it necessary. “Perhaps I can keep them from doing that if they're so intent on listening to me.”

“Oh! And Mistress, If it’s alright we can start teaching you more about magic tomorrow. I think you would prefer to go to sleep tonight correct?” Rime said.

Alexander nodded, a little more sleepily now that she was thinking of sleep. “Sure. Just don’t wake me up too early.”

“Of course Mistress.”

Author's Note

(feels a bit weird after writing more emotional bits. Hope I'm getting things like characterisation right well enough