The Bearer of Kindness is the host for Darkness itself. This is going to be fun.
The Angelus has just left The Darkness in hell to rot. Literally. Well, we can't have that, Can we? So the Darkness uses a bit of trans-dimensional magic to get himself out of hell early and get a new host in the process. He should be more wary when using such magic though.
As far as the Multi-verse is concerned, Anything could count as an Estacado.
Burning brightness, wretched and foul. No darkness around, no respite, all shadows burned away by that vicious burning light.
Not even the pits of Hell are free from that wretched glow, and it's incessant burn. Trapped. Trapped down here with an idiot. An imbecile. An ingrate.
But. These minor setbacks are nothing. They will not, cannot anger me. This is nothing new. I am immortal, ageless. An entity beyond the grips of time itself, I have had my fair share of foolhardy morons who fall to that wretched light. Some may not be fond of the power I can offer, but what do they know. I am the ultimate embodiment of shadow and darkness, and I cannot be rid that easily. I will confess, I am not undefeated. But I am unstoppable. From the ashes and scorched earth I would arise with my host.
The looks on their faces are always almost palatable.
Their faces themselves are very palatable.
I have been placed in this trap once more, but I know how to leave.
The Age of Stone. For a brief moment, I met Myself. I did not dawdle in killing him, and claiming my territory. Before his demise, however, I learned something. A way to move between worlds, or dimensions. I would be restricted to the same host, albeit that of another universe. This is a greater gamble than it seems at first. I could, as one would hope, meet a more powerful "version" of my host. Someone stronger and more suited to accepting my power. Or I could find a version where that...wretched light inhabits the same host. You see my problem?
However, I must weigh my options. Spend centuries with this...idiot, or take a shot in the dark, heh, and at the very least I might not be trapped in hell.
I hope I meet a host with more teeth.
This is odd. I'm not used to this.
To say Fluttershy was having an odd day would be an understatement. The first thing Fluttershy woke up to was not the call of one of the many early rising animals. It was not Angel tossing something at her to get her attention. And it most certainly was not Discord attempting to juggle her and several animals without waking them. Again.
Today Fluttershy woke up to aching back pain.
She also noticed that Angel was not throwing some sort of tantrum or simply indifferent. He was looking at her, genuinely concerned. It was almost a nice surprise. The pain sure has dampened this change of pace thought Fluttershy to herself.
Shaking, she pulled herself out of bed, only to notice the pain had vanished. Suddenly and without any remaining aches, it simply stopped. Fluttershy stretched her wings out as she ruminated on how odd this was. She couldn't complain, since no pain was better than that, regardless of how strange it was for it to simply vanish. She did NOT like the strange feeling she had now, however. A very unusual sensation, almost as if a snake were worming around on her back. She'd had snakes ride on her back before though, and it did not feel like this. But this feeling was similar to that, in a way she couldn't quite place. This was something she would have to bring up with Twilight. Fluttershy didn't exactly want to burden Twilight with this problem, but spontaneous back pain in the morning was something to be concerned about, and the hospital might want to take samples and do tests. Fluttershy wasn't terribly fond of this idea. Angel was still looking at her, worried.
"Oh it's okay Angel dear, I'm fine really." she reassured the distressed fuzz-ball. "Now let's get you and our animal friends fed and seen to."
It took Angel a minute to consider and accept her reassurance, and he hopped down the stairs as Fluttershy followed.
She was disconcerted to find not only Angel was concerned for her. As rare as it was for Angel to show that he cared, it wasn't out of the question. The rest of her animal friends all seemed concerned aswell, and some were even afraid of her. That was terribly unusual. As she went about feeding them she had to constantly reassure them that everything was fine, but they seemed less convinced, and Fluttershy decided something was amiss. During her own breakfast, she decided Twilight might be able to help. After she was finished she headed out, to library to talk to Twilight. Halfway there however, she felt the pain in her back once more and stopped.
"Sssooooooonnn..."
Startled, she imediently jumped into a near-by bush in fright, forgeting about the pain which had gone almost as soon as it had came. She peeked out of the bush and looked around. "H-hello...is anyp-pony there?" she asked, quivering. But nopony was there. From the bush she couldn't see anywhere somepony could hide except for the bush she was currently hiding in, which immediately caused a shiver to tingle up her spine. She quickly made her way out of the bush and continued towards the Library, at a much quicker pace.
Fluttershy knocked on the door of the Library, Still spooked, and quickly glanced around her as she waited. After a few moments, Twilight answered the door and noticed her friend's obvious distress. "Fluttershy!" she said, concerned. "Are you alright? You're shaking!" She gestured for Fluttershy to come into the library, and as she did Fluttershy said "I-im alright Twilight, I just thought I heard something on the way here and it startled me." Twilight Sparkle was dubious at first, but Fluttershy was often nervous of most things. Rassured by this, Twilight gave a little grin. "Well as long as you're alright Fluttershy" Said Twilight. "Now, what brings you here? I was going to settle down for some tea. Care to join us?"
Fluttershy explained to Twilight about the strange pains and about how her animal friends were unusually worried around her. Twilight wanted to ask why she went to her instead of a Doctor, but Fluttershy wasn't a terribly complicated pony to begin with. She wagered Fluttershy wasn't the biggest fan of hospitals, but decided to recommend seeing a doctor anyway.
"Well, I figured you might know something more about it." said Fluttershy, eyeing her cup of tea. "I do live on the edge of the everfree afterall, and strange things do happen there. I would go to see Zecora but...she scares me." "Fluttershy, I understand, but I'm not sure I can help you with this. It doesn't sound like any kind of spell I know. I can try to have a look but I don't know what I can do, really."
With that, Fluttershy found herself enveloped in Twilight's magic, and she could feel it's tingling exporation. During this magical examination, she felt the writhing snake-like feeling again, and was dismayed to notice Twilight not picking up on anything. Twilight found nothing wrong with her, and strongly insisted she go to the doctor. That was exactly what Fluttershy didn't want to hear, but with her head hung low, she made way for that unpleasant place.
But the doctor could find nothing wrong with her either. They checked her back, and her wings, and found no medical faults or problems. She left the building a little peeved at that. She just didnt get it, Ponies didn't feel pain that just vanished for no reason. She decided that since she was in town, she would do a bit of grocery shopping. Again, she felt the squirming sensation, but thought little of it. After she was finished, She started to make her way back home. She had a long list of things to take care of. The animals all needed to be fed lunch, the shed in the back needed to be fixed, and she needed to stop Discord from turning the nearby river into some random liquid, as he did on every third Tuesday of every other month of a leap-year. His idea of 'Organized Chaos'. It was a disconcerting notion, but it kept him occupied and somewhat sated.
As the day went on however, fluttershy noticed it was getting hotter and hotter outside, Yet the weather schedule called for a nice cool breeze and it was fairly cloudy out. Yet Fluttershy felt as if it was the middle of Summer. Again, All the Animals seemed worried for the yellow pegasus, but she kept reassureing them that she was fine, she was just tired from working all day. That must be it she thought. Even as the sun began to set , she began to feel hotter. However, it was becoming much better. A comfortable heat, almost. Finally as the Moon was in the sky and she was heading in to make dinner for Angel and Herself, she paused for a moment to look at the moon. The large white orb almost seemed to have a calming effect on the pegasus and she took a moment to just relax is cool night breeze.
What wasn't relaxing was the return of that morning's back pain. Only this time it was far more intense. Fluttershy didnt have to feel it for very long though, as she fainted soon after.
Darkness. Total darkness. And that was just he way he- Suddenly there was light again. Well, as much light as you could get from Nighttime. Ah well, beggers cant be choosers. The Darkness swivvled a tentacled head around. He was near a cottage out by the woods. He could see quite a few animals cowering at the sight of him nearby. 'That was easier than I thought' He thought to himself. He began to let out a laugh but was cut short as he looked down.
He was greeted by the sight of a Small horse-like creature. That was yellow. With pink hair. That was a Small-Colorful-Horse creature that he was coming out of the back of. '...What?' he thought as the flow of memories from his...His...His host? came flowing to him. It was a Pony. Named Fluttershy.
No.
She was the Embodiment of Kindness.
NO.
In a land filled with Happiness, Kindness, and SUNSHINE.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" His scream of rage peirced the silence of the night, and he could almost hear The Angelus laughing at him.
I simply do not understand. This...pony is an... an alternate Estacado? This cannot stand. This is unacceptable.
I will not stand for this. This cannot be.
Wait. What am I doing? Denial? ME?
My host is a pegasus. A little... yellow... pegasus. The likes of which I haven't seen before. The last pegasus I saw was definitely more horse-like. And extinct.
This one is more alike a toy. It's yellow... and pink. A little plush toy that a child would have. Only this one is real, and I am now stuck in it.
I can't leave. I'm stranded. That wretched Angelus burned away most of my strength, I had to hide my power in this host, and the leap to escape hell consumed the rest. I have to focus. Get us...eugh
Get us into the cottage. A cottage. Like from a fairytale.
I feel sick.
Angel was worried out of his little mind. Fluttershy hadnt come inside yet. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, Fluttershy would often become a worried or remember something and spend the next 20 minutes triple checking over the animals again.
But today hadn’t been a normal day.
This morning Angel had woken up to Fluttershy writhing in bed. She had woken up soon after, looking worn and disheveled. Even though she reassured him that she was fine, something had seemed... off. He couldn’t exactly place what it was, because she wasn't acting strange, she just seemed odd. To put his mind at ease, he just chalked it up to whatever bizarre antics she and her friends were getting involved in. Or it was Discord pretending to be Fluttershy. Again. That glorified jigsaw puzzle was going to get it one day. Angel would make sure of it.
The day progressed otherwise normally, with Fluttershy going out to town to see Twilight Sparkle and run a few errands. She later got home and began her usual schedule of fussing over every animal within a 5-mile radius of her cottage, doting over their every need while she was visibly struggling. As time went on however, she seemed to tire out far quicker than usual. She was sweating like she was working in the middle of summer and as much as he just wanted to convince himself that she was fine and it was just whatever madness she had gotten herself roped into, something in the back of his head insisted otherwise. But she continuously reassured him and the animals that she felt fine and must've simply been working too hard.
'Bunny-crap' Angel thought to himself, remembering what she had been claiming all day. That was it, he was putting his foot down. He'd get a few other animals to help make dinner and make her lay down for the rest of the week. He hopped his way to the front door and saw the yellow pegasus, tentacles and all.
Hold on a second. That's not right. That's definitely not normal. That must've been what the problem was. He could clearly see the issue from here, and it concerned him greatly.
'Hey, ya know what sounds good right about now? Hiding under the furniture. Lets go with that.' Thought Angel to himself as he dove under the sofa.
Angel was by no means dumb. He knew his limits and his limits most likely included tentacles with what looked like blades and teeth on them. He peeked out from under the sofa hoping to see that Fluttershy okay, and that he was imagining things. What he saw however, was that she was actually unconcious. He started to go over his options at this point. He could run for help but locks on the windows and back doors were tricky, and he could open them with difficulty, but he didn’t want to chance that thing on Fluttershy’s back hearing him. 'Thanks alot, Mr.Raccoon' Angel thought, such locks being due to several animals that were used to scavenging well... scavenging in her house at night. He could make a run for it through the front do- Aaaand it had stopped dragging Fluttershy right in front of the door. That it had just shut AND locked. Fantastic. As he thought of bolting along the everfree border, he quickly realized what a silly idea it would be, for as tough as he was, he was still just a little bunny. And sometimes, he really hated that.
He turned again, to look back at the thing on Fluttershy's back. Or rather, where it had been. The vile thing had disappeared entirely. 'What' The bunny deadpanned. He cautiously made his way from out under the sofa and slowly made his way up to Fluttershy. She looked completely exhausted, and Angel briefly went over his options once more. He couldn’t really DO anything. All the other animals were outside and the few inside he knew of were probably asleep or scared out of their wits, not that he could blame them, and so it was that he could not get help moving her. With a little bunny sigh, he hopped to a nearby closet and managed to pull down blanket that Fluttershy kept around for emergencies. He brought it over to Fluttershy and, with a good deal of difficulty, tried to drape it over her. Whatever this was, it was going to have to wait until morning when most of the Everfree's predators weren't liable to be on the hunt.
Angel hopped up onto the sofa, and curling up on one of the cushions, he wished there was more he could do. At the end of the day however, he was stuck. He was just a little bunny after all.
Fluttershy opened her groggy eyes for a moment, as she came to. She was completely exhausted and either from a lack of caring or realization that she was on the floor, She tried to go back to sleep.
"Wake up, Flutt-" The Darkness said, sighing in disbelief of the ridiculous name his current host had before finishing "Fluttershy".
I am definitely going to be sick.
This had managed to wake Fluttershy up completely, while simultaneously scaring the evergreen daylights out of her. She shot upright with an ever-adorable 'Eep!' as the blanket that was covering her slid off. "W-what- err wh-whos there?" She said, terrified. Whatever it was that had spoken sounded absolutely horrifying, she thought. "As it should be".
Fluttershy's eyes went wide, because whatever it was, was right behind her! She ran into the kitchen and dove under the table, trying to see whatever it was that was behind her, but she didn’t see anything. She could hardly see at all as she had not the bravado to so much as move a hoof to brush her mane away from her eyes.
Mike Patton I MEAN The Darkness was tired of this. The events from the past few weeks had worn his patience thin and strung his temper high. "Turn around, you insipid creature." the Darkness growled. Fluttershy was petrified at the contempt and anger in its voice. Shaking, she slowly turned her head around to look behind her and was greeted by the absolutely horrifying sight of a snake-like head with teeth. Rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. Her eyes sank down along its snake-like body, and to her horror, she discovered the demonic thing was coming out of her back.
Fluttershy immediately fainted once more.
The Darkness wasn't even angry anymore. He had lost the capacity for anger at this stage. His rage had simply come full circle and allowed him to put things into perspective. Of course the little Pegasus had fainted at the very sight of him. He was most likely the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen! He needed her co-operation if he was going to regain enough strength to leave this horrid dimension, and for that he was going to have to sink to a level he hadn't sunk to in millennia.
He was going to have to be nice and understanding.
He shuddered, because as much as he hated the notion of being friendly to beings lesser than him, it was often a useful way to manipulate people. This ought to be easy. He'd just have to explain why he was here, allowing for a few omissions of course, get her to stay out of the sunlight for a few days and he'd be gone before either of them knew it. Unfortunately, his circular-rage-induced clarity wasn't quite enough to remind him of his need to consume the hearts of the evil. A rather important point that would surely complicate the situation.
Unbeknownst to him, a little rabbit had been woken up from the commotion, and had snuck out, bolting straight to the Ponyville library.
Fluttershy awoke. Her head was spinning and she was afraid to open her eyes, so blindly, she lifted her head.
Unfortunately, the stellar beginning to this stream of consciousness was marred by the impact of her head on the underside of the table she found herself under. Slowly opening her groggy eyes to see which way to crawl out from under it, Fluttershy dragged herself into the middle of the room, and turned her head to see what she was hoping was just an imagined monstrosity turning out to be very real.
And it was playing with cards.
"What?" said the freakish creature, still emerging from her spine. "I got bored."
Despite the varying rush of mixed emotions upon discovering the terrifying body-invader was real and definitely existed despite Fluttershy's best efforts to deny it, the feeling that rose to the top at the time was one of embarrassment.
"O-oh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have fainted on you like that." was the weak response she could just about muster in it's presence.
By the fires of Hell, this animal just apologized for it's own suffering. I am going to starve. This sickeningly colourful hell is going to be my undoing, and I'm going to be stranded here for all eternity.
Spitting out the cards, The Darkness suppressed his rage at his relatively grim future prospects. For his future to be genuinely grim would be uplifting and encouraging. In the current circumstances however, he was doomed.
"...It's fine" he muttered, careful not to betray his white-hot anger. Either Fluttershy was oblivious to it, or choosing to let it slip. Both of those worried him. Her worried stare and quivering lips also worried him. He hoped against all odds that she was simply working up the courage to speak, instead of being on the brink of tears.
He sagged with relief when it was the latter, as Fluttershy began to speak.
"So, uhm..." she started, her voice still quivering. "If, uhm...if you don't mind me asking...I'd uh, really appreciate you telling me uhm...maybe, who and what you are...and why you're inside my uhm, my back..." she managed, with much effort.
"Ah, yes." This might prove difficult. "I am known as The Darkness."
Sure, he could've lied. The Darkness could have created any name, and any story. He didn't have to tell the truth. But he also figured, with a demeanor like hers, that sticking a name on something with more teeth than the Osmond family didn't seem right. His time in this hellishly pleasant place was already getting to him, perhaps. He wasn't used to being subject to feelings of anything being 'wrong'. He did however hope against all hope that she didn't pani-
"Oh. Alright." she said, now more calm as she rose to her hooves.
Unholy shit, this woman is trusting. This'll be easier than I thought.
She had stopped looking at him, and was shakily moving about her home, rummaging gently through her cupboards. The Darkness could concede that something like food would help her to digest the situation.
"As for why I am here...that is an unfortunate accident. I attempted a method of travel I hadn't tried before, and I seem to be stuck inside a place I did not want to be."
The Element of Kindness snapped to attention at this. Her limitless compassion overrode her fear and apprehension, and her desire to help those in need took the reigns.
On top of that, helping this unfortunate monstrosity would likely benefit her as well, with it's removal from her body. It was a win-win. Fluttershy wasn't stupid afterall.
"Oh goodness you poor dear!" she gasped, feeling a welt of sickness in her stomach at the notion of calling this thing 'dear'. "Is there anything I could to help?"
If it was possible for the lipless abomination of all that is good and holy to smile, he would have. Instead he settled for a quiet deep internal rumble. He was effectively purring.
"Well now..."
Angel Bunny had finally reached the Ponyville Library Treehouse. What he thought would be his big break to salvage the horrifying situation Fluttershy was in, turned out to bring with it a new problem he had only encountered once before, with an irritating little dragon.
He was unable to utilize his array of communication abilities, such as stomping his tufted little rabbit feet and pointing his furry little paws in all manner of directions, to communicate with this supposedly intelligent pony.
"ANGEL!" barked the flustered royal, as she struggled to make sense of this rabbit's desperate flailing and squealing. "I DON'T SPEAK RABBIT! Just give me a few seconds! A FEW SECONDS! I can figure out a way to bridge this language gap if you just calm down and give me a moment to think!"
The rabbit seemingly placated with this promise, Twilight turned to her shelves, scanning for a particular spellbook. The problem with collecting spellbooks both new and old was that while the books themselves were systematically arranged, the spells within were not. And searching for a specific spell took a degree of memory that Twilight had not yet developed. Though her immortality would present the time needed, she had not yet lived through her own mortal life-span, and was therefore woefully under-equipped in the memory department.
In the time it took her to finally locate the spell she'd needed, Angel had scurried off into her kitchen, managed to raid her pantry, and was now snacking on a large turnip that Twilight had been saving for herself. She wanted to throw him out of her window and be done with it. But the rabbit seemed very earnest, and Twilight felt that if this irritating fuzzball had sought her ought and was attempting of his own will to actually communicate with her, then there was obviously something wrong. Against her better judgement, Twilight let his devouring of her turnip slide, and continued to try to help.
"Well, I found a spell, rabbit. According to this, I should be able to communicate fluently with all animal species for the next few hours." she said, while casting said spell. It was lucky enough that it was a spell which required no physical components or ingredients, and was simply a matter of applying the right focus. Immediately after it was cast, Twilight thought she heard some very faint whispers all around her, and figured it was probably the various critters and insects that lived in her tree nattering amongst themselves.
"Oith ta smartass, can ya hear me neow? Super smarty pants pony understand me now?" quipped the rabbit.
"Listen, rodent. Call me a mule again and I will seriously consider investing time into researching the efficacy of lucky charms. Starting with rabbit's feet."
A New Yoker. An angry, irritating little rabbit, is from New Yoke. Ofcourse. I don't know why I expected any different. I don't know WHAT I expected. thought Twilight, chuffing a little.
"Yes Angel, I can underst-" began Twilight, but was interrupted.
"AWESOME. GREAT. LISTEN. Fluttashy's in some kinda daynja. She's got some kind of ah...thingy...on 'er."
"Thingy?"
"Thingy. I dunno what it is okay? It's all black, looks like it's made a' knives an' other sharp things, eeaand it kinda smells like the everfree. Yanno. Death, decay, 'n bubblegum."
This caught the princess off-guard. The bunny had just described something completely ridiculous and attributed it to a genuine danger, but did the everfree forest really smell of bubblegum? Of all the thoughts surging in her mind at the time, it was the only one that held itself with any real importance. Despite Twilight's concern for her friend, she simply had to know.
"Bubblegum?"
"Yeeeah well, the ah, reason fer that is uh...WAIT NO THERE AIN'T TIME FER THAT RIGHT NOW!" yelled the ornery rabbit. "WE GOTTA GO!"
"Right! Don't worry Angel, I'll get us to her place in no time!" said Twilight, and with that, she enveloped the two in her magic, and with a loud POP! they were gone.
The act of teleportation, for those involved, was a longer and far more disturbing process than the outside observer would ever know. What lay in the veil between locations was a closely guarded secret, if only because there was absolutely no reason anypony else had to know about it. It was a place that the princesses had dubbed 'The Warp', and why was evident. The place was warped, by all accounts.
As Twilight and Angel entered the sickly pink place, they were surrounded on all sides by hideous amorphous entities and cold pink fires. Warped and upsetting sounds howled around them, and things that the two couldn't see even if they were to lay eyes on them, slithered around. The two were left untouched and undisturbed, though Angel was having second thoughts.
A small pink creature, hobbling on what would have been all fours if it's fourth limb wasn't on it's back, did approach Twilight, and made some sort of gesture with what had to be it's tongue, considering it came out of what was clearly the creature's mouth.
"Oh hey Slaanesh. Sup?"
"Blurghableh"
"Awesome. Later dude."
Angel was not exhibiting the level of nonchalant acceptance that Twilight was.
All he could say, repeatedly, was "What"
As they walked a little further, a blue steak of fire whizzed past them.
"Watch it Tzeentch!" called Twilight.
"What."
Angel jumped over a sickly looking pool of stinking slime.
"What."
"Hey Twilight" it said in a voice that sounded like endless vomit. "Good to see you again."
"Yo Nurgle. Where's Khorne?"
"Building."
"What."
"We're here." said Twilight, as Angel felt himself being enveloped by magic again.
POP! and the two emerged at Fluttershy's door.
"Nevermore..." quoth the rabbit.
"No! No I couldn't! Couldn't couldn't couldn't! No! No no no!"
The Darkness heaved a heavy sigh.
What he could have done with right at that moment was some ice-cream. Or some hearts. Or both. Mmm. Ice-Cream hearts.
But right now, he couldn't. He had attempted to explain to Fluttershy that in order to leave, he needed to eat hearts. Specifically the hearts of those condemned to an eternal suffering in hell, Tartarus as was the case here. He'd even tried giving it a sort of anti-hero spin. It didn't seem to have been successful however, as this had left the mare hiding under her table, sobbing. The Darkness wasn't even capable of anger at this point. He had tried thinking about what it would take to push this mare over the edge, and to break her into a thousand pieces so as to rebuild her to be used as a weapon.
He searched the depths of her soul and found nothing. This mare had no vices. She had an anger issue, sure. Unfortunately it was a misplaced misinformed type of anger that was gone as soon as it came. This baffled him. In the Darkness' entire existence, he had met no beings that simply had nothing corruptible about them. As far as he was concerned, this should be impossible. But here he was, somehow being the host of an uncorrupted being. He himself was the only form of corruption found in this creature now, and he couldn't use that.
What he didn't expect was a visitor. He swiveled his gangly appendage of a head toward the door that as now opening, only to lock eyes with yet another sickeningly adorable pony creature. It didn't seem to recognize that they were making eye contact however, which gave The Darkness a slight giggle.
Extreme Violence always works. This is why it is plan A. The first port-of-call, and the last line of defense.
The vile creature that was The Darkness was now wondering why it wasn't using plan A. As it wondered this, it decided to enact on the regret, and with a single movement, a tentacle hoisted the table between Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle into the air and at Twilight with great speed.
At which point Twilight caught the table in her magic, and crushed it into the most perfectly round wooden ball ever seen.
Thank you Plan A. You have been a vital companion this day.
But now The Darkness was left in a difficult position, and was going to have to... negotiate.
"This...uh, this isn't what it seems"
"...so what is this?" asked Twilight, as she tried to take in the hideous monstrosity before her, while it was seemingly grasping at straws.
"Well if you will allow me, I can explain this horrible misunderstanding." he ventured, disgusted at himself. He hadn't the strength to fight something that could turn what looked like a good, solid oak table into a bowling ball with force alone.
"C-...can we maybe talk about that uh...that freaky place we just were? I'd like ta talk about that maybe." asked Angel meekly as the chill continued to run up and down his little spine. "Like to a therapist maybe"
Twilight took a deep breath and stowed her aggressive display. The diplomatic and scholarly route awaits.
"Fine." she demanded, with her best attempt at royal authority. "Explain yourself."
"...which is why if you should try to kill or remove me, your little friend here will die first." he announced, with an air if desperation as he withdrew further and further into Fluttershy, who was now completely reliant on her new favourite word, 'No'. No was her friend and companion and she was certain that if she could keep denying it then reality wasn't going to keep being what it was right now.
The grim and upsetting revelation of what this creature before them needed to do for it to leave, an option it and they all sorely wanted took it's toll on Twilight and Angel, who had both chosen to respond with rage. Angel had to clear some distance to safely maintain his angry foot-thumping however, as an enraged royal was nothing to sniff at.
Literally, as the crackling energies and raw magic would easily give a bunny a nasty burn inside his nose.
Especially this brand of magic, which angel had never seen before. It was as black as the creature, and felt about as wrong.
"Eeaahh, Twilight...you should ah...maybe chill out a lil' hah?" he tried.
NO Twilight declared, unmoving, her now green smoking eyes fixed on The Darkness. That was no voice that Angel could identify. That was some sort of assertion, and reality just accepted that something had just been said.
I WILL NOT BE CALM. THERE IS AN ABOMINABLE CREATURE LIVING INSIDE THE BODY OF MY FRIEND AND IT WILL BE EVICTED.
"o-oh..uhm...o-okay" muttered the rabbit.
"I DID save her life you know!" ventured The Darkness. That got her.
Immediately, the rage and raw power present in the room vanished, and there stood Twilight Sparkle, skeptical detective.
"And how could you have done that?" she asked, chuffing derisively.
"Her heart exploded. She died and I repaired her heart, bringing her back to life." he said, the self-loathing only mounting further.
"W-wait, what?" Twilight stammered, caught off-guard. "You mean she had a heart attack?"
"No it actually exploded. Splat. Meaty chunks. Just chunks sitting in her ribcage." The Darkness said with a bit of irritation.
"Wait what?" added Fluttershy in the confusion.
"And...and how...or why, did that happen?" Twilight asked, still reeling but wanting to get the full story.
"She...saw me..." The Darkness muttered, somewhat hopeful.
"What...what made you think this would get sympathy from me?" Twilight deadpanned
"NOW LISTEN" he growled, now very angry. "I HAVE DEALT WITH MANY SPECIES IN MY EXISTENCE AND BY SOME CRUEL TWIST OF FATE YOU CREATURES ARE BY FAR AND AWAY THE MOST INTELLIGENT. I'M SOMEWHAT OUT OF PRACTICE HERE."
The Darkness was increasingly displeased with his surroundings. These...ponies, they seemed easily as gullible and pliable as the humans. Certainly they were fearful enough. But they were decidedly less selfish, and had a disgusting habit of ignoring their fears to help their...loved ones.
The fact that, considering the mystical and far-beyond-the-bounds-of-humans powers these creatures had, their fearless love made them a genuine threat was what made The Darkness sick to his stomach. If he had one, that is. It was a highly disturbing situation no matter which way he looked at it.
And during this consideration, The Darkness found himself, and Fluttershy, lifted from the floor, and this other one turning away, headed for the door.
But it was day. The sun was out.
"N-now hold on a moment" Began the Darkness with a hint of worry. Actual WORRY.
EVERYTHING. WILL. BURN. The Darkness thought, silently enraged that this dimension was causing him something close to fear. Very justified fear.
Ordinarily, Light would simply weaken him, forcing him back into the recesses of his host, unheard once completely withdrawn. In his weakened state, however, things were likely to be far more intense. And he was about to be carried out into the daylight before he could even protest.
Expectations proved accurate.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH" The Darkness roared in pain, the horrific sound startling everyone present.
Fluttershy then heard a whisper in her head, weakly asking her to leave the light.
But she wasn't enjoying the situation either.
Fluttershy let out a scream of agony, her entire body burning just beneath the skin. There wasn't even time for Twilight to lower her to the ground, and for her and Angel to come running to her aid, before the pain had vanished completely, not even a dull ache left behind. Her breathing had become ragged and sharp, though she tried to convince her friends that she was fine.
She then noticed that she wasn't hearing anything from The Darkness. It had vanished as entirely as the burning agony. "Uhm, T-twilight..." Fluttershy began, shaken. "I think... I think its gone..."
"H-Huh? Wha?" stuttered Angel.
"Just...gone?" asked Twilight, stunned by this. "Just...without a trace? No sign of where it went? No fiery death? No dramatic escape? Just gone?"
"Well...it hurt a lot...maybe that was the uh...fiery death part?" Fluttershy ventured meekly.
"Hey maybe it went to that freaky place" added Angel.
"Wha-eep!" Fluttershy yelped as Twilight lifted her once more in a field of purple.
"I don't like that. That's too suspicious and we're going back to the library to see if we can't figure this out. I felt that creature's presence and I don't buy that it's going to just leave. It said so itself. If it dies or leaves, you die, and you're still alive thank Celestia, so I don't buy that it's gone."
"Oh...okay" muttered Muttershy.
Angel saw Twilight prepping herself, and immediately jumped onto her muzzle to protest.
"NO!" he squeaked. "NO TELEPORT. NO. WE WALK"
"I don't see what your problem is" retorted Twilight, and Angel simply stared at her.
Having walked to Twilight's basement, Twilight had Fluttershy strapped down, and once you all pull your heads out of the gutter we can continue with the story. I can wait.
Alright.
In Twilight's basement, she had her patented Science Hat™, which to the untrained eye might look like a colander with lights on, set on Fluttershy's head, beeping and clicking and whirring away as it did it's business.
"This bettah not do anything funny to her" Said Angel for the third time.
Twilight had to spend about 30 minutes convincing the little rabbit that the machine wasnt going to melt her brain. That didn't happen anymore. While she mostly succeeded, the little rabbit continued to chime in with little threats and warnings. Twilight might've been offended if it was anything than a small rabbit. What could he possibly do?
Besides, his concern was adorable.
It was in that moment that an Image flashed before Twilight and left as soon as it came. She wasnt sure what it was exactly, but it almost seemed like a giant rabbit with white gloves. Shaking her head to clear the spots in her eyes, she then glanced at angel. note to self: Never underestimate a rabbit. Twilight Sparkle continued working with the machine, reading the results it gave, keeping an eye on the little colt with the happiness probe in his brain, and making sure Angel was satisfied that his owner hadn't melted or burst into flames so far.
That was always a promising start.
"Tw-Twilight? Are you almost done? I uh...I'm really grateful that uhm...that you're helping me...but it's been maybe an hour and...if you still need more time that's completely fine but I was just...asking..."
"Dont worry" Began Twilight "I'm almost done. So far everything has tested fi-" It was then that the Power went out. "...ne."
The silence that followed was interrupted by the distinct noise of Twilight hitting her head against a table repeatedly.
"Um, Are you okay Twilight?" Asked Fluttershy. Twilight lifted her head up. "Fluttershy, the power just went out! Why would I...be...Fine..." It was near the end of this sentence that Twilight noticed something new about Fluttershy.
Her eyes were glowing.
Twilight and Angel stared at Fluttershy. "So uhh" Fluttershy started, confused from the sudden attention "The power went out? But I can see just fine... I-is there something on my face?"
"Fluttershy, yer uhh... Yer eyes are glowin'" Said Angel.
Fluttershy tensed up at that. "M-my eyes are g-glowing?" Fluttershy said worriedly.
"Stay calm." Said Twilight "I'm going to see what's causing the power-outage and then we'll see what the glowing eyes are about."
With that she turned and climbed the stairs, headed outside.
The second the door shut, everything went to Tartarus.
A black tendril shot out towards Angel and wrapped itself around his mouth. Before Fluttershy had a chance to scream, Another one wrapped itself around her mouth, effectively gagging her.
Hands out of your pants. Now.
Listen. Carefully.
Fluttershy's eyes widened at the sound of The Darkness in her head.
I've had a long past couple of weeks. I am angry. So...so angry. Considering the circumstances, I've been incredibly nice.
Angel tried to struggle out of the Darkness' grasp, but it was a futile effort.
Despite what I've been put through today, I'm going to give diplomacy and negotiation one. Last. Try. I don't do this out of good will or some hidden goodness in my heart. I do this because you astound me. You shouldn't exist. The amount of time and effort it would take to truly corrupt you is absurd. Perhaps I do this out of some subconcious wish to challenge myself in that regard. So not tonight... but soon...we will hunt.
"So help me Celestia those fillies will earn their cutiemarks alright. In being DEA-NO Twilight, bad thoughts, bad thoughts! You're past that now!" grumbled Twilight, upon the discovery that the three little troublemakers had managed to wedge Scootaloo's scooter into Twilight's buggiest creation yet, the Surge Protector. It didn't take much to fix, but the hassle alone was strumming her already frayed nerves.
The tree-house was still dark as she made her way back in, and began the descent back down into the holding pen, where she had in her infinite genius decided was the storage place for the breakers that would restart the system.
"Alright Fluttershy, let me just get the power back on and we can con-" was all she managed before noticing that in her absence, the darkness had given way to The Darkness to act, and it was currently wrangling her friend and assistant.
But it saw her. Even with it's rage boiling over, and it's patience worn paper-thin, The Darkness had nothing with which to combat a force capable of crushing dust into diamond, save for a hostage. And so it took to the one card it had, and with a vile hiss, withdrew into it's host.
What it didn't expect was for Fluttershy at that moment to be freed. Twilight had simply opened her straps, which was odd since she hadn't said anything until:
"Fluttershy..." she mumbled, voice teeming with strain. Through the fear Fluttershy managed an answer.
"Y-yes...?"
"I'm going to need you all to leave the library right now. I need you to not be around as I erupt into a Royal Canterlot Breakdown. They're dangerous and you could get hurt."
That was odd indeed. The Darkness had thought itself a prisoner just moments ago, and now it was set free because it's captor was...upset?
"C'mon Angel, let's go." cooed Fluttershy as Angel Bunny began to protest, but within moments he was scooped upon a wing and Fluttershy jogged the two of them out of there. All Angel could do in that situation was quip.
"Da Magic of Friendship wins again.."
"THREE. THREE DAYS. CAN WE JUST GO THREE DAYS WITHOUT SOME KIND OF ANCIENT EVIL COMING TO RAVAGE THIS LITTLE WORLD?" was the last audible thing Fluttershy heard as she scarpered from the vicinity of the angry ranting. She'd been hesitant to rush out into the sun again, but as she tentatively prodded the outdoors with a hoof, there was no burning pain.
All she got was weak pleading against it, and as she stepped out, the voice of the darkness was just out of her hearing, grumbling and complaining. But still it's remaining presence was an upset.
"What are we gonna do Angel? Oh I can't keep spending every day like this, with this...thing in my back" she complained.
The Darkness had not the energy to respond, nor the desire to care.
Angel began squeaking and stomping his little feet. Although Fluttershy was able to 'get' him, his no longer being close to Twilight left him without language, but his attempts were met with a measure of success all the same, as Fluttershy had learned to include Angel's mime of 'that chair-stealing "butt" ' (Fluttershy was going to have to have another talk about proper language with the little rabbit) into her knowledge of his repertoire, and so Fluttershy realized who she meant.
"Angel you're a genius! Oh, why didn't I think of him sooner!" and she set off at a run, with Angel tucked tightly beneath her chin.
Angel practically melted in the affection. He was a bunny after all.
Fluttershy knew to head back to her house, because it was to be expected at this point that Discord would be there, and as if by a miracle or plot-device, he was indeed there.
"Uhm...Discord?" she timidly approached.
Discord was not one to turn down the approach of his one and only real friend, and so he quietly and calmly put down the trio of squirrels he was juggling, and removed their ballerina tutus, to address her approach.
"Why yes, Buttershutter, what can I do for you?"
"I uh, I have a bit of a problem.."
"Well now, I certainly cannot allow that. Tell me little buttercup, what is your problem?"
I uh...I have a creature of darkness and murder in my spine." she deadpanned.
"My my, that is quite the concern." Discord mused. "I trust you've already attempted to communicate with it?"
"Mhm."
"Could I try?"
"He won't come out in the light."
"tsk tsk. Not a problem dear Shutterfly. Allow me." he said, as he snapped his fingers, and about 12 feet above Fluttershy, a small replica of the moon appeared. The shadow it cast above Fluttershy was just large enough to cover her in dense shadow, which drew the attention of the interloper within.
And the localized nighttime drew the attention of a few mortals, but a god need not worry about them. His friend had a problem.
"Come out come out little atrocity. We must have words" cooed Discord, and deftly reached over Fluttershy's trembling head, and placed a top hat, upside-down, on Fluttershys back. He reached down into the hat, until a few moments later he pulled out one of The Darkness' readily identifiable heads from out of the top hat.
"TAH-DAH!" Yelled Discord.
Incidentally, Angel was insulted by this action for absolutely no obvious reason.
"What." he said confusedly, being held by one of his two throats, albeit non threateningly, by a face he hated the look of, for various far-reaching reasons.
But he got no direct reply. Instead he simply received curiosity.
Then he was let go, and reflexively, he withdrew quickly into the top hat, which quickly poofed away with him .
"I'm terribly sorry Flutters but there is nothing I can do about this particular creature." he stated, matter-of-factly, but with a deliberate hint of sorrow in his voice.
"...oh" mumbled Fluttershy, despondent, while Angel bounced up and down on the spot, most likely decrying the cost of his chair to one so very useless.
The awkward silence was want of an explanation, and Discord felt compelled to provide.
"Unfortunately Fluttershy, that creature that lives wrapped around your spinal chord is nothing from this plane of existence that I've ever seen, and I've seen some things. I have absolutely no idea what chaos magic of this universe could actually do to such a being, else I would have simply removed it with a snap." he offered, pleasantly.
And then he removed Angel from his ankle, so as to stop the vicious biting.
"And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Certain matters of chaos to attend to."
And with that, he grabbed ahold of the miniature moon, and mounted it. With a snap, a black Lone Ranger mast appeared on his face, with the accompanying hat, and the moon on which he sat floated up into the sky.
"Well" sighed Fluttershy, turning to Angel, who was doing a stellar job of blending his feelings of rage and sympathy.
"But I have to get back to tending the creatures. Their lives don't stop being important due to my problem."
"Why are we doing thisss again." asked what sounded like a clacking pile of chattering stones.
"Reconnaissance fool. We mussst gather information on their daily habitss, so as to make an inflitrationn." responded another.
"...That iss a ssstupid plan."
The edge of the Everfree posed endless and repeated threats to Ponyville. This time however, it was housing less a threat and more a foreshadowing, as a pair of chitin-covered scouts for the changeling hive were using binoculars to observe the parts of Ponyville that the Everfree faced.
As the Everfree was a bit ways off from Ponyville, this allowed the scouts to speak freely.
"You dare quesstion the queen!?" hissed Dagger to his partner, Cloak.
Maybe a bit too freely.
"Sssslightly! Do you know how difficult it will be to blend in here?" retorted Cloak, the stealth expert of the two.
"We sshall find a-"
"A clossse-knit rural country community! Everypony there knows everypony else!"
"We will find appropriate dis-"
"And what of those whossse forms we take? We'd have better chancesss just showing up and claiming to be desssserters of the hive!"
"DO YOU REALLY THINK ME SSSSO SSSTUPID!? THIS IDEA IS HORRIBLE AND WILL MOSSST LIKELY RESULT IN FAILURE BUT THE QUEEN HASSS ORDERED IT AND IT SHALL BE SO!" barked Dagger.
"Even if the idea isss flawed." he stated, bluntly.
The two of them took deep breaths and calmed themselves.
"Until further ordersss we are to sit here and reconnoitre the area. We will wait until our time is come..."
Dagger grinned, baring his lethal fangs. The tactical specialist of the two was somewhat excited to be trusted with stacked odds.
You don’t know the Darkness like I do. I’ve been following it for centuries. I’ve been tracking it from realm to realm. I’ve been to Hell and back to make sure it stops killing people. B-b-b-but it doesn’t. It can’t be stopped. It can’t!
I don’t know where it took me to this time. I don’t know where I’m even headed, not that this is new. I’ve been a billionaire in Manhattan. I’ve been a bum on the street. I’ve been part of Jackie’s crew. I’ve been the one he was out to kill.
Somehow…I’ve managed.
I only need to help this new host get rid of the darkness. I only need to tell him or her how to triumph. Here we go into the new realm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twilight walked into her home with a panicked white stallion behind her. He was shaking violently. Twilight was about to test him for epilepsy.
“Where did you find this guy?” asked Spike, confused. “And what’s wrong with him?”
“I found him in the center of town screaming ‘PONIES and other nonsense about shadows and this thing called an ‘Angelus”, Twilight replied, seeming fed up with recent events. “I don’t know why he’s here, but he seems a bit crazy.”
This crazy white stallion was shaking uncontrollably and looking all around, seeming like he was trying to make sense of everything.
“So…” began Twilight, speaking to this crazed stallion. “Where’re you from?” Twilight managed a half smile, trying to appeal to him and make him feel at ease.
The stallion began screaming again and stormed out of the house, screaming for the Angelus and screaming for the Darkness to reveal himself.
“Aren’t you gunna go after him?” Spike asked Twilight, jokingly.
“Nah, he’s better off just screaming his way out of tow- DID HE SAY DARKNESS!?” Twilight began walking towards her bed, only to jerk her head back towards the door suddenly, throwing out her neck.
Neck bent sideways, Twilight sighed and started running after this insane somepony she had no interest in other than helping her friend. Today was going to be a long day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why am I a horse? Of all the shit I’ve been before, I had to be a horse this time? Is the bloody darkness a horse? Is its host a horse? Why is there a realm just for horses?
I’ve been to Hell and I can’t even take this!
Okay calm down. Figure out who the host is. Stop screaming. Find out if they are aware of their powers yet. Stop screaming. Get back to that town you were at. Stop screaming. Figure out who can possibly help you. Stop fucking screaming! How long have I been screaming?
Shit, that crazy bitch is coming back.
“Sssstay back!” He said as Twilight began to gallop up to him. “I just want to do what I need to do and g-g-get outta here!”
“You said you wanted to see the ‘Darkness’? I can help you. It has revealed itself to my friend.” Twilight said, sounding quick and eager to get his help.
“Really!? Take me to him! Now!”
“She is my friend. What’s your name?”
“SHE!?”
“What’s your name!? If we are gunna help each other, we need to make this easier and know each other’s’ names.”
“Johnny. Johnny Powel.”
“That’s an odd name. I’m Twilight. Come on, let’s go!”
Twilight seems rather attractive… -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh shit, no no no no no! NO!
How did he follow me here!? He is the last thing I want to have here. He has only made things harder for me, he can’t be here! This is more of a Hell than…well Hell!
“Watch your language, Mister Dark…thing.” Fluttershy began to lecture the Darkness. “And who is here? How can we stop this bully?”
Oh that’s right you can hear my thoughts. Fuck…
The Darkness began making a plan.
Yes, a bully. This “bully” has only tried to help people get rid of me. He doesn’t allow me to make any …”friends” –the word burned on his hypothetical tongue. Might you help me stand up for myself? Could you help me get rid of this “mean…bully”?
The Darkness tried using its sarcastic generous tone, but it felt too much pain from its choice of words.
Damn you Mike Patton.
“Of course, Darkness! We will stand up to your bully. Mike Patton will leave you alone forever. I know just the trick to get rid of this guy!” Fluttershy grew a smile and to the door.
Oh well… I think you’re a bit con-
“Let’s go stop this bully!” Fluttershy opened the door with enthusiasm and began to gallop through the sunlight to find this bully in Ponyville.
The Darkness screamed the entire way in agony.
“I like your enthusiasm for this, Darkness!”
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! IT BUUUUUURRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNN --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fluttershy ran to Twilight’s house and opened the door, walking in and giving the Darkness some shade.
You imbecile! I hate the sunlight. Please don’t ever put me in the light again. It burns me intensely!
“Oh, I’m sorry, Darkness.” Fluttershy began, feeling guilty, but giving a quick and light chuckle.
Don’t do that, this is not funny. And I can hear your thoughts, do not start that crap with me.
Johnny followed Twilight into the room, still shaking and looking panicked.
“Fluttershy! I found somepony that can help us get rid of the-“
The Darkness revealed itself out of Fluttershy’s back, taking over the room.
YYYOOOOOUUUUUUUUU! WHY HAVE YOU FOLLOWED ME TO THIS REALM!?
“You leave my Darkness alone, Bully!” Fluttershy jumped forward with an irritated face.
Johnny jumped back to the wall and kneeled. “N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no I think you misun-un-un-understand! I’m not-“
“You leave us alone or I’ll…” Fluttershy paused. Her eyes filled with red. Dark red. Not blood, but the essence of pure hate and murder.
She began to stare at him.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAH”
Johnny ran out of the house, screaming uncontrollably again. A paper flew out of his back pocket as he ran away.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight was upset and confused.
“Mike Patton will never bother you again, Darkness.” Fluttershy said with a smile as the Darkness receded back into her back.
“His name is Johnny and he can get rid of the Darkness for you!”
“Oh…Oh no.” Fluttershy said, looking down and upset. “But he still bullies the Darkness and that is not okay!”
“He helps prevent the bad things from happening that the Darkness causes.” Twilight said, trying to place herself on Fluttershy’s level.
“Oh… I’m sorry Twilight. Darkness, you tricked me!”
No, you jumped to conclusions yourself. I simply guided them.
“That’s tricking me.”
No it isn’t.
“I’m not going to listen to this.” Twilight said as Fluttershy and her new curse began to argue back and forth. She noticed the paper on the ground and flipped it over to read it.
It was a phone number and a message. “You’re cute. Call me if I can even get reception in this god forsaken realm. I’m also scared. But still call me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Twilight has had enough of this interdimensional bullshit.
