//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Midnight's Shadow: The Bog Witch // by Ponibius //------------------------------// The fog settled heavily over the bog as the sun set. Between the darkness cast by the gnarled branches above and the near-impenetrable fog, we could only see a few steps in front of us. The blue glow from my horn only helped a little bit, and it took vigilance not to trip upon some root or hole in the soggy ground. Thankfully, relief came in the form of the Great Unkindness. The ravens had found the fools who had come into the bog of their own free will and a line of them in the trees led the way. If not for them, I might have ended up wandering the bog all night without having found anypony. Mine irritation grew as I was forced to muddy my hooves trudging through the swamp, and I silently cursed the ponies who were inconveniencing me. My mood was not improved by my companion. As I swiftly discovered as I carried her on a disk of ice, she was quite the talker and seemed determined to make sure that I never experienced even a moment of peaceful silence. For a period that felt like an eternity, I was inflicted with her endlessly talking about every little thing that came to her mind, including the various ... adventures of her friends. “...but instead of doing the trick like Gloom intended, the squirrel attacked him.” Sunny held up a hoof to her mouth as she snickered. “Poor Gloom, he started running around in a panic, but the squirrel kept ahold of him even as he flailed about.” “How unfortunate,” I groused as I was afflicted with yet another unrequested story. Considering the tasting of stories I had heard, it sounded as though Sunny’s friends regularly inflicted unfortunate incidents upon themselves. “We did warn him about not getting that peanut butter onto himself,” Sunny continued, oblivious to my thoughts. “Clearly.” I nearly tripped upon a root and stifled a curse. “And why wouldst thou court a stallion who regularly inflicts such incidents upon himself?” That drew a frown from Sunny. “He is sweet once you grow to know him.” “I do not see why he would be ... sweet.” Indeed, considering his tendency to use recreational drugs and the many self-inflicted accidents Sunny herself had admitted to, I could hardly understand her desire. A hint of anger entered her tone. “Because he is a kind soul and merely wishes to make me happy. He only got attacked by that squirrel because he wanted to make me smile!” “He was attacked by a small rodent and defeated,” I pointed out. “That does not speak well of his combat prowess.” Sunny shifted uncomfortably on the disk. “He's not really a warrior... But he still means well.” I ducked under a low-hanging branch that suddenly appeared out of the fog and lowered Sunny so that she would not hit it either. “Good intention can only go so far.” Sunny puckered her lips in a pout. “At least he cares. Not everypony does, and I would rather be with somepony who cared for others than somepony that is heartless.” I frowned as I considered that. “Caring is ... something. Still, care is best married with competence.” Her head cocked to the side as she studied me. “And what about you?” “Me?” “Does anypony set your heart aflutter?” My steps slowed a bit at that. “There are some.” Sunny smiled encouragingly. “Oh? Like who?” I frowned and continued forward. “I would prefer not to say.” “Aaaw.” Sunny’s ears wilted as she pouted. “I was curious.” I sniffed and raised my chin. “Such matters are very private, especially when fluttering hearts are not always appropriate.” Sunny sighed and rolled to her back. “That is no fun. I was curious who would interest a bog witch.” “Then thou shouldst ask an actual bog witch.” “But you live in the bog,” Sunny said. “And you seem to be some great spellcaster. So does that not make you a bog witch?” I scoffed at the idea. “Hardly. I do not live here, I simply have a task that has unfortunately placed me in this forsaken mire.” “Froggy Bottom Bog does not seem so terrible.” I glanced around at the fog-shrouded land, with its dirty, mucky mud, gnarled old trees, fetid waters, and annoying buzzing bugs and the flatulating belch of gases releasing from the ground all about us. “You are very strange.” Sunny glowered at me. “Have you looked yourself in the mirror?” “Often. Why dost thou ask?” Sunny wrinkled her nose and took a moment to respond. “Nevermind.” She let out a long sigh. “I do hope my friends are alright. That reve-thing gave us all a terrible fright.” “I am sure they will be, so long as they do nothing foolish.” Which based upon all I had heard of her friends, seemed a forlorn hope. “How long before—” A belch of swamp gas released from the ground and cut her off, and she coughed and hacked as the foul-smelling odors ascended to meet her nose. Thankfully, I was saved from her fate. The mask I wore protected me from the swamp gas, along with several other potential maladies. “Art thou well?” Sunny wavered back and forth as though drunk. “Oooh, my head feels light...” She started falling over, and I raised my legs to try and keep her upright. But she was bigger than me, and she merely fell off the disk and collapsed on top of me. I grunted at the impact, and the both of us went sprawling back into a bramble bush. I yelped as the thorns bit into me as Sunny’s body pressed down upon me, and my body instinctively convulsed to pull myself out of the brambles. Mud covered both of us in our jumble. I growled as I found myself even filthier than before. I worked to get my hooves under me, but several bramble branches clung to my cloak and coat. Finding myself stuck, I pulled out my dagger and started cutting the brambles to free myself. Sunny was, predictably, of no use. She lay in the mud and giggled as though hearing some fine joke. “There are so many colors that sound so pretty,” Sunny said as she stared at her hooves with great fascination. I huffed and kept chopping at the brambles. “Thou art delusional. It seems as though this whole evil bog has turned itself against us—and especially me.” It was only as I got myself free enough to stand that I heard a great gasp from behind me. “‘Tis her! ‘Tis the Bog Witch! And she has Sunny!” “What is she doing to her?!” “What do we do?! What do we do?!” I turned to face the newcomers and nearly strangled myself as the brambles clung to my cloak. Craning my neck, I got to see Sunny’s friends. Unsurprisingly, the bog had not been kind to them. Each of them was covered in dirt and mud, twigs and brambles were tied into their disheveled manes and tails, and they all sported a range of bruises and scrapes. What struck me as the greatest change in them was the haunted look in their shadowed eyes: it was the same type of harrowed expression soldiers got after seeing a terrible battle. They huddled together in fear of what stalked through the darkened bog. Whatever they had experienced, I could see that they were a long way from the carefree ponies that had entered the bog. Fools. I had warned them that there was nothing but evil in the bog, and they had not listened to me. Still, they were here now. Which meant I could escort them out of the horrid bog and then get back to my task. “Ah good,” I said, hacking with my dagger to try and free myself of the brambles. “Thou art finally here. Now we can—” The muscular one by the name of Dirge Caller took several aggressive steps forward and held up a torch as though to strike with it. “Let our friend go!” My head tilted as I tried to contemplate his actions. Why was Dirge acting so hostile? All I wished to do was escort all of them out of the bog for their own good. Clearly they were not enjoying their time in this accursed place. Had they not read my letter to them? Were they illiterate in addition to being fools? I opened my mouth to ask about their strange behavior, but the mare Penultimate spoke over me. “Oh my goodness! Sunny looks hurt!” Crimson Tunic, the pony with the red coat, jabbed a hoof in my direction. “What did you do to her?!” My nostrils flared at my unwarranted treatment. “I have done—” Sunny interrupted me as she started inexplicably screeching. Her eyes were wide as she stared at something only she could see. “The spider! ‘Tis too big! ‘Tis too big!” She scooted back until her back hit a tree and she kept right on screaming. If there was a spider, especially one of unusual size, I did not see it. Likely this was just a result of her inhaling the bog’s foul humors. “The Bog Witch is using her magic to hurt Sunny!” Crimson cried. “She must be giving her some sort of waking nightmare.” I wrinkled my nose as I was falsely accused. “Neigh, I would never—” “Or there’s a giant invisible spider that only Sunny can see!” Gloom Walker spoke over me. “We need to do something. Look, my grandmother came to me in my dreams, and she said—” Penultimate Day, the tall mare with the white coat, stomped a hoof to interrupt him. “Enough of thy damned grandmother! Thou wert merely taking leave of thy senses because thou wert partaking of thine herbs! We need to—” She was silenced as a coughing fit overtook her, and Crimson and Gloom moved closer to her with concerned looks. Getting a moment to see her, I saw that the swamp fever had taken her far into its embrace. Blue spots covered her, and a pair of tree branches were starting to grow out of her. That was it, this farce needed to come to an end. “Listen fools,” I called out in a commanding voice. “Thou wilt do as I say, or—” “Silence!” Dirge took a wary step forward before he backed up two more, his torch still at the ready even as he seemed unsure what to do with it. “End the curses you have placed on Penny and Sunny, and let us go. Otherwise I will—will do something!” My eyes narrowed at the insolent fool, but then something caught my attention. Swamp gas burped out of the earth, and a sinking feeling formed as my eyes flicked to the lit torch. “Put out that torch immediately or ‘twill be thy doom!” “You do not scare me!” Dirge cried out. That seemed accurate, insomuch that I was growing to suspect he was not so much scared as terrified of me. “Release my friends from your foul magics now! I swear my friends and I are getting out of the bog alive!” he said as he waved the torch. “And nothing is going to stop—” Another burp of swamp gas shot up from under Dirge. The torch lit the flammable gas, and a great conflagration consumed the poor fool. I barely got a shield up in time to protect Sunny and myself from the explosion. Still, I did not have much time to make it a stalwart shield, and while it took the brunt of the blast, the explosion blew both of us back. We landed in a muddy pool of water, covering each of us in yet more filth. I grabbed Sunny and swam to the surface of the pool. When I emerged at the surface, I coughed and spluttered as I regained my senses. The bog was on fire. With a blast of icy wind, I blew away the worst of the smoke to get a better look around us. The trees burned, and the flames set off yet more explosions as more gas was released from the bog’s foul depths. I could not see any sign of Sunny’s foolish friends. Well, except for Dirge, of which there was little left to speak of. Sunny coughed as she cleared her lunges of the swamp’s brackish waters. Her eyes widened, quickly sobering at the sight of the ruination before. “Why is everything on fire?!” “Thy foolish friend set the gas of the swamp on fire!” I coughed as the smoke threatened to overwhelm us. I grabbed Sunny and started swimming away before we all burned to death. Sunny did not resist me as she stared at the fires. “What happened to Dirge? And my other friends?” “He is dead, his body burnt to a crisp in an instant as the flames consumed his flesh. We must flee this place or share his fate.” I sighed as the muck covering the surface of the water started clinging to me. “Of course the swamp would be prone to catching aflame. 'Twas not terrible enough when 'twas merely a disgusting bug-infested mudhole...” Once we were safely away from the burning portions of the bog, we took time to recover and collect ourselves. More accurately, I recovered while Sunny mumbled to herself and rocked in place. It seemed that she had finally taken one too many shocks, but I could not allow myself the simple pleasure of letting madness overtake me. Not that I was about to let the bog have the pleasure of overcoming me. I left Sunny to her trauma. At least now she was not running around doing anything foolish, and I could concentrate on more productive actions. I sent the Great Unkindness forth to once again search for the fools before more of them got themselves killed, assuming some foul fate had not already taken them. After a couple of hours waiting in the fog shrouded bog, the High Marshall Trinket returned to report their findings. “We cannot find them, Raven Queen.” I blinked slowly as I took this news in. “How is that possible? You are the Great Unkindness.” Trinket fixed a feather in irritation. “Fog thick, evil fog, evil bog. Hard to navigate. Ravens get lost, not everyone reports in.” This was foul news indeed. I had never known the Great Unkindness to fail to find anyone given sufficient time. It seemed the evil in this bog was much more active than I would have desired. “That is concerning. The Unkindness is mighty.” The noble birds cawed in agreement with that, though there was a note of disquiet in their voices. Likely the filth of the bog was making them as uneasy as myself. “Um, what are they saying?” Sunny had come out of her traumatized stupor and looked up at me. “I do not understand them as you seem to.” “My minions cannot find your friends,” I said. “I fear they almost certainly went to their doom.” “What?! No!” Sunny bolted to her hooves and ran to me. “You need to do something!” “I have been trying,” I said, trying to keep my tone patient. “Is there anything you could do to help me find your friends?” Sunny’s ears wilted. “Not really. If we were in Canterlot then I would know where everyone spends their days, but in the bog...” I sighed and nodded. “Aye, thou art out of thine element. As are we all. Perhaps we could narrow our search to the few places in this damnable marsh that are less horrible.” Sunny hunched her shoulders and her gaze swept through the shadows as though any one of them might be hiding an unseen threat. “Like where? I doubt they will go back to Dirge's family cabin. 'Twas on fire last I saw it.” I had to wonder if it had been set on fire in an attempt to destroy the revenant or merely because of her friends’ incompetence. “True. Likely they would seek shelter elsewhere. Such as the cabin.” Sunny wrinkled her nose. “Why there?” “Because at least there they can get out of the mud.” I grimaced as I remembered the grime that now covered me. “Anything that seems like civilization would be welcome in a place such as this.” Sunny nodded. “And because they would think ‘tis safe.” “As a secondary concern, yes,” I agreed. “Though the cabin is terribly cursed and haunted, though they would not know that.” She stared at me for a long moment. “You really do not like the mud, do you?” “What sane pony does?” “'Tis just some dirt.” “Not just dirt. Mud.” I looked at my hoof and sneered in disgust at the mud that clung to it. “Right. Can we concentrate on helping my friends? After Dirge... Dirge...” Sunny sniffled and started to tear up. “Yes, saving their lives is my primary objective.” I waved for her to follow me. “I will have the Great Unkindness continue to search for them. In the meantime, we will return to the cabin. ‘Tis possible my magic will allow us to find them, but there are a few things I desire to gather before making the attempt.” We returned to the Bog Witch’s cabin. Darkness clung to the land every bit as firmly as the fog. And just as stubborn as the fog, the revenant was attempting to get back at its murderous ways. ‘Twas crawling over the ground, still badly burned from the fire I had thrown it upon, and ‘twas attempting to pull its dismembered parts together. I scowled down at it. “How irksome.” Sunny grimaced, as she half-hid behind me. “How is that thing not dead already? Ew! 'Tis crawling towards us!” “‘Tis only a ravenous undead beast that hungers for the flesh of the living.” I set it on fire once again, only this time I made the flame hot enough to burn flesh from bone leaving nothing but charred bones. I doubt ‘twould finish the undead, but ‘twould slow it down so that it could be dealt with later. As I finished making sure the revenant would not be a threat for the time being, Sunny turned her attention to a nearby tree that sat at the water’s edge. “Wait a moment, was that tree there before?” She was right, that tree had not been there before. I would have thought it some trick of the bog, but I realized the truth of it when I recognized the type of tree it was: a swamp fever tree. ‘Tis unique blue flowers with orange dots could hardly be mistaken for anything else. Given the tree had not been there before, I could well guess how it had suddenly gotten to its current location. That guess was confirmed when I saw an equine face within the bark of the tree. Sunny gasped as she covered her mouth with her hooves. “Th-that tree—it has Penny’s face!” “Aye, I am sorry to say that is thy friend.” “No! Penny!” Sunny ran for the tree, but I grabbed her by the tail to stop her. All ‘twould take is for her to get some of the tree’s pollen on herself, and she would become infected with swamp fever just like her friend. “Neigh!” I kept a hold of her with my magic despite her flailing. “There is nothing thou canst do for her. She is too far gone.” “B-b-but...” She turned to me, tears running down her face. “She is my friend!” “And now she is dangerous to thee.” Damnation, if only these ponies were not such fools. If I had gotten to her during our last meeting then I might have been able to do something for Penultimate. But then they had to go and falsely accuse me before setting half the bog on fire. Senseless. Faced with the truth, Sunny slumped down to the ground and wept. Watching her sob, I could not help but feel pity for her. She had lost two friends already, and two more were lost out in the dreadful bog. I considered trying to comfort her, despite that never seeming to work whenever I had tried it in the past, but then something odd caught mine eye. The cabin door was open when I could have sworn ‘twas closed when I left. Getting a sense of foreboding, I headed to the cabin to see what was transpiring. When I reached the doorway, I found Crimson kneeling by the trapdoor leading to the basement. He had already pushed the boulder off of the door, and he had used the rusty axe I had been using on the revenant earlier to break the thin chain holding the door closed. Damnation, what foolishness was this stallion getting up to? I stomped a hoof, causing him to jerk in surprise. “Neigh! Stop this at once!” Crimson nearly dropped the axe and he fumbled with it before regaining his grip. He held it aloft as though to strike me but he quivered terribly as he stared at me with wide eyes. “S-s-stay back! I have a weapon!” I growled as my patience with this fool ran dry. “I am not thy foe! Now cease this madness at once, else thou wilt surely die!” “Y-you cannot fool me,” he said through chattering teeth. “You blew Dirge up and then turned Penny into a tree! And now you have Sunny imprisoned in the basement.” I opened my mouth to contradict him with the truth, but a voice sounding like Sunny echoed from the basement. “Help me, Crimson! ‘Tis wet and dirty down here, and I think I saw a rat.” “Do not listen to that creature,” I told him. “That is not thy friend. Thou art being tricked by a foul monster.” “You think I would fall for such an obvious lie!” Crimson gripped the trapdoor’s metal ring. “I am taking Sunny, and we are getting out of here! And you cannot stop us!” The fool swung the trapdoor open, and not a moment later Sunny walked up to stand next to me by the door. She blinked at the sight of her friend. “Crimson, what art thou doing?” Crimson frozen. “Sunny? But if thou art there...” He looked down into the dark depths of the basement. “Then who’s down—” Tendrils, dark as night, struck out lightning quick and grabbed Crimson. They yanked him down into the basement, and before I could do anything, a wave of blood splashed over me and Sunny. Given the sheer amount of it, that was no doubt the end of Crimson Tunic. I sighed in annoyance as I examined the viscera dripping off of me. “I warned him, and this was my favorite cloak. Now ‘twill likely stain from all this blood.” Sunny shook in place, her friend’s lifesblood covering her, before she screamed and fled with all speed from the cabin. “Neigh, do not go running off. ‘Tis—” I stopped speaking when a low, unequine chuckle resonated from the cabin. The chuckle grew into an uproarious laugh that shook the cabin. “Finally! It required that I manipulate these simpletons, but now I have fed and can free myself from this wretched prison!” I let out a long sigh. “And now that fool has unleashed a horrifying ancient evil. How predictable.” An unnatural black smoke started to waft through the floorboards, and a black icor wept from the walls. “I am Daggoth the Destroyer! Fear me, little pony. Kneel before me and swear thine allegiance, and I will let thee live.” “I feel no such compulsion.” There was a pause before this Daggoth replied with a deep growl. “So be it. Soon I will possess a vessel, and then thou wilt dearly regret thy defiance. All of Equestria shall quake in fear of the might of Daggoth!” I lit my horn and prepared to cast defensive spells. “That strikes me as unlikely. What wilt thou do, make the whole kingdom damp and unpleasant?” I rolled my hoof to signal for him to get on with it. “Come on then, regale me with the no doubt exhaustive list of the horrors thou wilt unleash.” I had seen and heard enough incidents like this to know that this spirit would wish to speak endlessly of its plans. I intended to use that time to work on a plan to deal with it. A deep chuckle shook the cabin, and the dark mist started to flow around me. “I will—wait, art thou mocking me?!” “Neigh, I have merely met enough villains such as thyself to know how this goes,” I said. “In my experience, all of you enjoy the sound of your own voices and lording your supposed superiority over others.” Daggoth guttural growl rocked the cabin. “Thou wilt regret thy insolence, and—” “Yes yes, and no doubt inflict a thousand tortures on me, and so on and so forth.” I rolled my eyes. “I have heard it all before.” “See if thou art laughing once I have gained my full power!” At that, the mist flew past me and out into the dark fog beyond. I was now alone, with neither the spirit or Sunny within sight. I looked around, making sure that Daggoth was indeed gone and not playing some sort of trick upon me. “How unexpected. I had expected he would attack me, not go fleeing into the wretched bog.” Whatever this evil spirit was planning, I needed to stop it and save Sunny and her foolish friends. Or what was left of them, in any event. I could already tell this was going to be a long night. I was covered in wretched filth. There seemed not a spot on me that did not have mud, soot, or blood on it. I imagined that the bog would be terrible to experience, but the truth had been even worse than I imagined. Things had only been made worse by the fools I had been made to tolerate. Despite all my warnings and attempts to help them, three of them had gotten themselves killed, and now they had released the spirit calling himself Daggoth. Admittedly, everything was not their fault. Daggoth had been using his powers to provoke the evils of the bog into action, and I suspected that he was befuddling their minds as well. Likely I was dealing with some form of demon. That would explain the abilities I had seen thus far. Daggoth seemed to have great power in the bog, little surprise when ‘twas an evil place. Even the Great Unkindness was being confounded by Daggoth’s magic. Though I instructed them to keep close to me, I now found myself alone as I trudged through the bog. The ravens were not perfidious creatures, so their absence had to be due to an outside factor. Little wonder Archmagus Mossy Banks was so concerned about this threat. His considerable magical power was intensively tied to the bog, and the demon’s corrupting influence was of particular danger to him. Though from the sound of things, Daggoth’s primary objective was to gain a vessel for himself so that he could cause yet more death and destruction. At first I worried he had designs on me for that purpose and would aim to possess me. But then he had escaped out into the bog. That no doubt meant he had other plans, which meant I had limited time to stop him. I now had two goals: save the remaining foolish ponies and stop Daggoth. Pity then that I did not know where any of them were. Matters were not helped that the bog was nearly impenetrable ‘tween the fog, darkness, and other natural hazards. Good thing I had taken some precautions in the event Sunny left my company. With a lock of her hair, I could follow her with a tracking spell. Some time after I began my pursuit, I began to hear Sunny and Gloom’s voices. Though the nighttime bog played with sounds, and for some minutes I could not tell exactly where their voices were coming from or what they were saying, but in time I could tell that they were arguing, and the words of their disagreement became understandable to me. “Ow! Gloom! Stop pulling so hard on me! My leg is hurt!” “We need to keep running! The Bog Witch is on our trail, we have no time to dally!” “Gloom, where are we going?! Just answer me!” Gloom’s huffs from being out of breath echoed through the fog. “There is no time. Just trust me. I got a dream from my grandmother, and—” “Thy grandmother has been dead for years, Gloom!” “I know, I know! But she was a magus, and they, um, they can visit you in dreams after you are dead, right? That sounds like something a magus can do, and she told me in my dream how to beat the Bog Witch.” Such a thing was not unheard of, but extremely rare. More than likely, such a dream was the misdirection of some spirit. That did not even get into the threat from beings such as Nightmare Moon. Neigh, given the circumstances, I had my suspicions. I stumbled my way into a clearing in the bog, and for once the fog lifted just a bit to allow me to see further than a couple paces away. In the center of the clearing was a stone the size of a wagon, a jutting thing that was like a dagger pointed out of the ground at an angle. Arcane sigils were carved into its surface, though time had seen moss grow on the stone. Gloom and Sunny were standing next to the stone. Gloom brandished a knife and pricked his lover with it. Sunny jerked away from him. “Ow! Gloom?! Why didst thou do that?!” Gloom grimaced. “Sorry! Just trust me, okay. Everything will be okay.” He pricked himself with the dagger so that both of their blood was on it. “Ow! Okay, that hurt more than I intended. Ow...” “Do not trust that fool!” I stomped my way toward them, though the effect was somewhat ruined when one of my hooves fell right into an unexpectedly deep mud puddle. I growled and yanked my leg out of the sucking mud. “Stop this at once, or thou shalt surely die!” Gloom screamed in a manner unbecoming of a stallion and fell back against the stone. “S-stay back, Bog Witch! You have no power here! S-something bad will happen to you if you try and attack us!” I shook the fresh mud from my leg with an irritated flick and then continued my advance. “Fool! I am not thy foe!” Sunny stomped a hoof. “She's trying to help, Gloom!” Gloom froze in place. “What?” I closed the distance ‘tween us and faced the pitiful fool. “I am a Magus, and if thou dost not stay thy current course 'twill be thy doom!” Gloom digested this information. “Really?” “Yes!” Sunny cried out. “That is what I have been trying to tell thee as thou havest dragged me halfway across the bog!” Gloom’s gaze shifted ‘tween us. “B-but she blew up Dirge, turned Penny into a tree, and she splattered Crimson. I saw all that blood gushing out of the cabin!” Sunny groaned as she rubbed her brow. “Dirge’s torch lit some swamp gas, and there are trees here that can cause you to turn into them. Crimson, um...” She looked to me to explain, “Was devoured by a demon that was trapped in the basement—one he foolishly released despite my warnings. Really, if thou hadst listened to me from the start and not gone into the bog then none of thee would have died. At least within the bog. Given how foolish all of thee art, I cannot be responsible for all thy stupid decisions.” Gloom’s jaw worked wordlessly for a minute before his shoulders slumped. “I think I need to sit down.” He all but collapsed to the ground and dropped the knife. It clattered against the glyph-covered stone, and the blood upon it smeared onto the rock. Absorbing the transfusion of blood, the glyphs started glowing red. Red crackling energy struck Gloom and he let out a primeval scream. Sunny reached out a hoof to her lover. “Gloom, nooo!” I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Evidently, the whole world was out to irritate me now. Could I not have one normal conversation with these fools? Gloom twitched and convulsed frantically as the red lightning crackled through him. The ground beneath him shifted, and the very muddy earth started crawling up his legs. Tendrils consisting of mud, algae, and plants flowed to Gloom and covered him in the foul stuff of the bog. Sunny reached for Gloom, trying to pull him out of the growing foul mass, but only got herself sucked under the tide of mud. I backed up as the mound grew and grew until it towered over me. Then it started morphing, shaping itself so that it had arms and something vaguely reminiscent of a face. On the top of its head was a crown of branches, and up and down its body boils formed and burst, releasing small gouts of stinking water and gas. ‘Twas a disgusting mass of everything that I despised in this bog. This was some strange possession, no doubt, and I had a good idea what foul creature was responsible for this. It turned its head to stare down at me, and a wide grin of bark and stones spread. “Finally! My plans have come to fruition, and I now have the vessel I require. Soon the power of this bog will all be mine, and then... All of Equestria shall fear me, Daggoth!” I scowled up at the demon. “I doubt that. Also the ‘the power of the bog’ sounds pathetic. Dost thou hear thine own words?” Daggoth’s eyes narrowed, and a putrid yellow sap leaked from its eyes. “Dost thou mock me?” “I speak the truth,” I said. “I can hardly see Mother or Shadow fearing thee, much less Princess Celestia.” Hands of clay and mud flicked, flicking spittles of muck about. “They will learn the errors of their way soon enough. They will kowtow to Daggoth. My power is unfathomable, my dominions unimaginable—I am what ponies see in their darkest nightmares!” I lit my horn and prepared to defend myself. “I know what gives me nightmares. Thou art not it.” Daggoth roared, and muddy splittle splashed over me. “I will make thee pay for thy insolence!” “Unlikely.” I flicked some of the fresh mud off my chest, though by this point I was so filthy that it hardly did anything. “What could some minor wight like you hope to achieve?” “I will crush thee!” Daggoth charged me, feeling like a muddy mountain was intending to run me over. I threw up a wall of ice in front of him, and he slammed into it. With a great crack, the ice shattered, setting chunks of ice flying about the bog, but the demon’s momentum had been temporarily stalled. I gathered the deep shadows of the bog, with all its trees, shrubs, and holes creating darkness, and drew it around me as though I were manipulating pools of water. I threw the mass of shadow forward as several great lances. They punched right into the demon, creating large holes in its body, and sent the mass of mud staggering back. “Fool! Dost thou thinkest that such trifles will stop Daggoth?!” The demon drew yet more mass from the bog, repairing the damage I had done. “Foolish Magus, I will be thy doom once I—” “My doom? My doom?!” A snort escaped my lips as a giggle developed in my chest. The pressure of all the terrible ordeals I had been forced to endure became too much, and I exploded in a great cackle. I laughed and laughed, unable to control myself, and Daggoth shifted back. Eventually, I managed to speak again through bursts of cackling. “I have suffered through this miserably, muddy, damp, dirty, unpleasant, insect-infested swamp since long before I knew that thou e'en existed! I have been forced to endure the company of ungrateful children, and watch them run to their doom despite my very clear warnings of their fate if they did not stay their course. See the ruined state of my favorite cloak, my new hat, and the mask I love so dearly?! My doom? Neigh. Thou art merely an unfortunate speck of an insignificant being who had the misfortune to cross my path at the very moment my fury reached its peak!” I stalked toward Daggoth, and he backed away from me. “I may have made a mistake.” I smiled widely as I drew in the full measure of my power, and the demon quivered. “Aye, now accept thy defeat with grace.” I harnessed all my hate, my loathing of the bog. Before me was a concentration of everything I despised—the very manifestation of the filth and malevolent intelligence that had made my existence in this foul bog so awful. I use those baleful feelings to build my next spell. Shadows with a dark blue aura gathered around me. Crackles echoed about me as the ground started to freeze beneath me, and frost formed on the trees around the clearing. I unleashed the power I had gathered. The wave of shadowy blue energy struck Daggoth, simultaneously freezing his body and shattering him. Frozen chunks of dirt fell to the ground to shatter to yet smaller pieces. The magic parted upon Daggoth’s body, continuing into the bog where it froze the trees behind them. It covered the trees with ice and inflicted such a terrible cold upon them that many of them burst and splintered. Indeed, the magic had been potent enough to freeze many of the trees surrounding the clearing, and the shadows seemed all the deeper. All the while, Daggoth screamed an unearthly wail as his vessel was destroyed and his spirit was cast back into whatever foul pit it had come from. ‘Twas a satisfying experience. I stepped forward, my deep breaths misting in the unnaturally frigid air. When I was before one of the larger chunks of ice, I sent yet more magic into it to carefully shatter it. Sunny and Gloom fell to the ground. They shivered terribly, blinking in confusion as their gazes swept over the frozen devastation. “W-what happened?” Sunny asked as she tried to rub warmth into her shoulders. Gloom blinked dully as he tried to contemplate what had transpired. “We are alive?” I nodded. “Aye, despite thy vast incompetence, thou yet live, and the demon has been banished. With any luck, and assuming thou art done making matters worse than they need be, the danger has passed.” “Oh, good.” Gloom collapsed against Sunny, wrapping a leg around her shoulders. “I think I have had enough excitement for one night.” “So have I.” Sunny smiled and took his hoof. “And I know exactly what saved us from that demon!” Gloom smiled and squeezed her hoof? “Oh yeah?” “Indeed I do,” Sunny said. I puffed out my chest, ready to receive the well deserved praise I had earned for saving their lives. “Our love! It must have been the magic of love that banished the demon!” Gloom’s lips spread in a joyous smile. “Thou art right! My how blessed we are!” I blinked several times, scarcely being able to believe mine ears. “What? No! Dost thou not see when I...” But for all my protestations, the couple ignored me as they embraced one another and kissed. I sighed with great exasperation. What fools must I endure?