Guardians of the Elements of Harmony

by mcb893


26. Temptations

A/N To [The Readers]: Sorry, no. There will not be any Human/Pony romance in this story. There will be special bonds (Father/ Daughter and Big Brother/Little Sister), but no romance. Sorry to disappoint.

That Night...

Moore awoke, although he couldn't distinguish why he was unable to sleep. Was it his PTSD? No, there was nothing to activate it, that couldn't be it. He felt like something was calling him, though he wasn't sure what. That's when he heard a voice in his head.

Staff Sergeant Moore is it? Please go to the Everfree Forest, I will be waiting for you.

Moore threw his covers off and looked around the room, searching for any source to the noise. He brought his hand to his head, he was sweating. But for what reason? He wasn't hot, tired, or stressed out. There was no reason for this to be occurring. Growling in frustration, he ignored the voice's request and tried to fall back asleep. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. His eyes opened wide once again, leaving him in his aggravated state. Looking to the right, he saw his gear and his rifle. Sighing, he threw his covers off of him and proceeded to put the gear on.

Moore checked the clip in his rifle, sure enough, it was still full. He hoped he wouldn't need it. Looking out his window, he saw that it was still the dead of night, so he packed the flashlight that had originally been attached to his weapon upon first arriving. That he knew he would need. Gently, he opened the door and stepped into the main lobby of the library. Twilight was more than likely in her room, sleeping. Moore hoped that it was true. There was no need to bring her into this. Besides, if what she said was true, that forest was no place for an innocent mare such as herself. Looking to the front door, he paused. Was this really necessary? Could this wait?

"No..." He thought to himself. This needed to be taken care of now. Even if just turned out to be a simple conjuration of his imagination, he had to check it out. For the sake of his men and the ponies. No reason he couldn't be too cautious. He opened the door slightly, still no attacks. The guards were patrolling the streets, but they didn't seem to mind him walking out. No one else was awake, which was fine by him. He looked out to the forest in the distance, wondering what could be waiting for him there...

Moore snuck past Fluttershy's cottage, last thing he wanted was her getting wrapped up in this, not even Adams, he had to face this alone. Looking into the forest, he heard the voice in his head again.

Well, what are you waiting for? Step on in.

Moore backed away slightly, taken aback by the mysterious voice. Why was it bothering him? Especially at this time of the day? Moore shook the idea out of his head and trudged onward, through the dark, murky swamp. The mud caused him to slip and slide, but he managed to avoid falling. Steadying himself, he looked around the forest, still nothing in sight. Maybe this really was just his nerves on edge.

"I can assure you it is not." A voice said. Jumping, Moore turned and aimed his rifle. The light from the flashlight revealed a large blob of floating darkness. Moore raises an eyebrow, and slightly lowers his weapon. What the heck was this thing?

"Now, now, there is no need for this. Allow me to introduce myself." The blob said. Slowly, the blob fell to the ground in a black goo, and bubbled. Moore felt a little queasy at the sight of this, but he kept his sights on it. Suddenly, the goo began to form a physical object, growing larger and gaining color as it did. Two claws formed, and it became blood red. Moore gulped, but kept himself steady. He noticed his sweating increasing, now he really was stressed out. The blob formed a red head, containing no nose, and a blacked out eye. Moore stepped back slightly. Finally, the blob formed what looked like talons for feet, and stood before him, completely formed. He was bald, and had the unforgiving eye of a snake.

"I... am Mercuito." The being said as it gave a slight bow. Moore stepped forward, keeping his weapon trained on the being.

"What do you want? Why did you call me here?" Moore growls. Mercuito raises and holds out a claw in a halting position.

"There is no need to ask me questions Moore. I need to question you." Mercuito said.

"I'm not talking." Was Moore's reply.

Moore stood his ground, staring angrily at the creature, who seemed to be undeterred by him. It rose it's claw, and a dark sphere formed in it's hand, growing larger as seconds ticked by. Moore slightly lowered his weapon, staring in confusion at the item Mercuito was creating in his hand. He noticed this, and gave a fiendish smile. In his hand, a miniature Chaos Bringer formed, causing Moore to bring his rifle back to it's original spot. Mercuito chuckled.

"So you are familiar with my creations?" He asked. Moore grew wide eyed. This was the man(or whatever it was) that was causing the Chaos Bringers to attack those innocent ponies?

"You better give me some good reasons for me to not put bullets into your head." Moore shouted in anger. He took the barrel of his gun and placed it between Mercuito's eyes. He grit his teeth, growled angrily. Mercuito moved the gun away, smiling fiendishly.

"Because you are no better than I." He said. Moore raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Tell me Moore, when your forefathers founded your land, did they treat the Native Americans well? Or did they slaughter them?" Mercuito said with a smug grin. Moore lowered his rifle and frowned. The Native Americans had been murdered brutally upon the arrival over 200 years ago. What had they done? Exactly what Mercuito was doing. The creature smiled and rose his head.

"That's what I thought." He said, his voice becoming more and more snakelike. Moore rose his eyes to Mercuito's, satisfaction obvious.

"Now, look, I am going to make you this offer once. Join me, my take over has already been delayed by your efforts. Abandon the ponies, honor you forefathers, do as they did! It is your destiny!" Moore looked back up, Mercuito had his claw stuck out, and his eyes were friendly, as was his smile. Moore wasn't deceived. In an instant, he kicked the creatures gut, and punched it to the ground. Before he could respond, Moore pulled out his Berretta and aimed it right between his eyes.

"I'm not my forefathers." He said with a solid voice. Mercuito looked upon him with disappointment, as if he was afraid this was how he would react. Good, now Moore could make his point more clear.

"I'm gonna make you THIS offer once... You stay away from these ponies, never bother them again, and I won't put a bullet between your eyes." Moore said as he growled. With that, Mercuito vanished, back into the black fog that he once was. Moore backed away, thought still determined, and ready for attack.

"You will regret this Moore... that is an promise I WILL keep." With that, the fog vanished, leaving Moore alone in the forest. Looking back to his pistol, he wondered how satisfying it would have been to pull the trigger right then and there. Why hadn't he done that? He growled and shoved it back to his side. Turning around, he looked to the night sky, illuminated by the stars. With fire in his voice, he spoke to the blackness, hoping that his message would get through to the coward.

"I promise that I will be the end of you Mercuito... Don't you forget it..."