Monster

Monster

Intro

Darkness Falls

The air was deadly still, as though the wind itself had fled and hidden. No noise disturbed the shadowed trees. Despite the clarity of the night sky and the gentle chill in the air, not one nocturnal denizen stirred. The dark creatures that normally prowled the deepest reaches of the Everfree remained within their dens, trembling with terror and hoping they would not attract the attention of the far more vicious entity that lurked in their hunting grounds.

Suddenly, the sound of frantic, galloping hoofbeats broke the utter silence, accompanied by the rasp of terrified, gasping breaths.

She was darker than night itself, the majority of her body like a living black hole that devoured the light around her. A smoky mane and tail trailed behind her like smoke, billowing out from underneath glinting silver plates of armor. Her catlike green eyes held an air of promised vengeance and pain about them... or, at least they used to. Now they held only a look of pure, unadulterated terror within.

The living corruption known as Nightmare Moon galloped as fast as her hooves could carry her, eyes casting about in both desperation and fear as she searched for any sign of shelter or safe haven to protect her. Cold sweat beaded beneath her metallic helm, her rapid breathing broken by a small whimper. Countless leaves and branches flashed in her vision as she weaved through the trees, heedless of the small branches and bushes that scratched her as she passed or of the dirt and grime that had begun to build on her fur and armor. Further and further she ran, too terrified to stop for even the briefest moment.

A splash. Mud flew up from the ground, splattering against Nightmare's coat, but though she shivered from the sudden chill, she did not slow. A particularly sharp thorn buried itself into her shoulder, but the mare still ran onward, ignoring the thin line of red that had appeared down her side. The dark mare was barely aware of the stinging in her shoulder or the chill of the cold mud. There was no room for anything but fear and desperation in her mind.

Nightmare Moon's wings twitched as she contemplated taking flight once again, her panic stricken mind momentarily forgetting what happened when she tried it earlier. When the memory finally returned to the forefront of her mind, her wings snapped back against her side. No. No flying. Definitely no flying, not while... it was after her.

Then it happened.

One of the dark alicorn's hooves struck a root, tripping her up and causing her to tumble end over end and slide to a stop in the clearing. She did not rise, but simply lay in the mud, grass, and fallen leaves. Her eyes were shut tight and her wings were slightly extended but limp against the ground, and her soiled sides heaved with small choked sobs. The once feared Nightmare Moon now looked like nothing more than a pathetic, terrified little filly.

She opened her eyes with a start, sensing she was not alone, and was greeted with the sight of... shoes. Normally nothing to be afraid of, and in this case they themselves were nothing frightening. Their wearer, however, was an entirely different story.

Slowly, haltingly, Nightmare's hesitant gaze drifted upwards to a pair of pale, hairless legs, then to the rough shorts that the being wore, and the chain that hung on them. From there, she looked up to the torso and arms hanging at its sides; arms as thick as tree trunks, with hands like giant meat hooks, and a bare chest and stomach rippling with unbelievable amounts of muscle.

At last, her gaze reached the horror's head. Its true face was hidden, if indeed it actually possessed one to begin with, by a grinning, bleached white, skull-esque mask. The left eye socket of the mask was pitch black, leaving it unknown whether or not there was even an eye there. It's right eye glowed a blazing gold that pierced the fallen alicorn's very soul. The Monster glared down at Nightmare Moon, its one visible eye devoid of anything but cold conviction.

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and tremors ran rampant through her body as pure horror and despair overtook her. Tears welled in her eyes. She tried to scream, but only a tiny, pitiful plea escaped her.

"...P-please..."

The Monster wordlessly took a step towards her. Nightmare Moon's tears began to flow freely.

"N-no...no...p-please, no..."

It took another step. The mare's voice began to grow louder, more desperate.

"I'm b-begging you, don't... p-please..."

As it stepped yet closer, the Monster's gaze intensified even further. Nightmare began to scoot herself backwards with her hooves.

"P-please, g-g-give me a chance! Don't do this. Please d-don't do this!"

All too soon, the dark mare ran out of room. She backed into a tree, and immediately shrank down with the realization that she was trapped. The Monster loomed over her, its gaze as unblinking as it was murderous. There was absolutely no doubt as to its intentions. The Monster began to lean down, its enormous hands slowly reaching for her like giant meat hooks.

Nightmare Moon's panic leaked out of her as the horror grabbed her head and lifted her to its eye level. Despair and resignation replaced it. What could she do against Death? She’d tried fighting. She’d tried fleeing. She’d tried hiding. None had managed to slow it down in the slightest. Nothing could stop it. She looked into it’s one visible eye as it held her, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Why?" she sobbed. There was no more begging, just horror, fear, and despair. "I-I'm not a th-threat to them anymore."

The Monster did not answer. It only glared into her eyes without a single iota of pity.

"I s-spent a thousand y-years on the m-moon," she continued, though her body slumped as all hope of survival disappeared. "Is...I-is that not enough?"

Still the horror did not speak, but it continued to stare at her. In that, the shadowy alicorn found her answer.

Without ceremony or prelude, the Monster squeezed its hands together. The Nightmare's hooves flailed wildly and she screeched in agony. The dark mare's scream only intensified as audible cracks sounded and her helmet began to twist and warp. Thick red liquid began to leak from the corners of her eyes and where the Monster gripped her. As the punishment reached its apex, she screamed so loudly her throat began to bleed.

Crunch.

The incredible force being applied to the mare's head finally caused it to implode, showering everything nearby with blood, skull fragments, and brains. The now headless corpse collapsed to the ground in a heap. It twitched once, twice, and went still. The Monster looked down at the body without an ounce of pity or regret, and did not budge from its position. It was not time to leave...not yet.

The blood dripping from the tree trunks and leaves nearby halted its motion, as did the life fluids soaking into the ground. Immediately, the sanguine liquid around it began to flow not where gravity directed it, but towards the Monster. Blood poured even from the open neck of the late Nightmare's body, quickly draining its dead vessel. As it reached the creature, the liquid began to crawl up its body in a series of macabre channels until they reached the mask, where they seemed to just... disappear, as though the mask was feeding on the blood.

Within moments, the area surrounding the Monster was green once more, the only unusual feature being the dehydrated, headless equine corpse and the occasional bone shard. Rick Taylor turned away and began to walk deeper into the Everfree forest. A hundred fearful eyes peered at him from just beyond his field of view, but he ignored them completely, not sparing them even the slightest thought. As he walked, the shadows began to thicken around him as the canopy of trees overhead became denser and denser. Despite himself, Rick thought back to Nightmare Moon.

He still felt not the slightest hint of regret. He had given her many warnings, and she simply chose to ignore them. Hunting her down had been far from a split-second decision. The moment Princess Luna had become corrupted, even before her sister was forced to banish her, the Nightmare's fate had been sealed. Rick had been waiting in that ancient castle when she returned. He'd been there to see her challenged and defeated by the Elements of Harmony. He waited there for days afterward, unseen by all, until at last she grew bold enough to return to physical form, likely thinking that he'd forgotten about her.

The dark alicorn very quickly discovered how acute his memory was.

That moment a thousand years ago, the moment Nightmare Moon decided to ignore his warnings, had taught him something. For millennia, he'd been nothing but a myth to the inhabitants of this world, a make believe creature, the masked monster that hunted other monsters. Not one denizen of Equestria knew much about him, appearance included. Countless legends had been based on him, some with more truth than they were given credit for, others fraught with misconceptions and untruths. For the longest time, Rick had been perfectly content to leave it that way. There had been no need for him to remove any doubt of his existence.

But that was back then. This was now. It seemed that in this day and age, a myth was no longer enough. He'd faded from a terrifying, legendary Monster to an intriguing mythical creature from a time long passed.

Rick continued his stride, the darkness eventually swallowing him whole. Even his glowing eye disappeared. Soon, it became clear that he was no longer present within the Everfree. He had simply...disappeared.

A legend was no longer enough, so he would cease to be a creature of legend. Soon Yvithagn, the Avatar of Death, would become very real.