//------------------------------// // M. Bison Vs. Nightmare Moon // Story: The Heart of Battle // by Eagle //------------------------------// The darkness of the Everfree blocked all the light the moon would provide the land that night. The crooked, deformed trees and thick fog added to the evil atmosphere. But the man walking through it barely cared about all those details; he preferred it, actually. Bison had landed in the thick of the forest more irritated than anything, and had not seen any creature since. The forest he marched through in exploration seemed to be trying to scare him in some childish, futile effort. The darkness was his weapon that he would bend to his will, not the other way around. Each passing minute that he walked through the seemingly deserted forest he became more and more agitated. Whatever this world’s inhabitants were, they needed a good reason for wasting his valuable time. He did not like waiting on little weasels playing games of hide and seek. As he finally reached an open patch in the woods, one landmark noticeably stuck out. A large, dark looking structure, presumably a castle, rose above the woods a short ways away. Perhaps that was where they inhabitants lived. At worst he could at least get a higher vantage point. Tired of wasting time, he decided to simply teleport inside, phasing out of existence in the woodland and into existence inside the walls. Nothing living was to be found inside, either; it seemed deserted as well, and in ruins. Not even the scurry of a mouse could be heard. “Hmph, how useless,” he muttered. Even though nothing seemed to be there, Bison noticed an obvious presence. A form of bluish purple mist gathered into a small concentrated gust overhead, hanging there, as if to watch him. A ghostly voice followed, flowing through the large area as if it were riding on the wind. “Altar.” Bison looked around a bit and quickly noticed what the voice was talking about; the large altar with a set of steps leading up to it. “Altar.” Bison marched up the steps, wishing to investigate why the piece was so important. He could soon understand why, as he could sense some strange power in it. Bison had become quite accustomed to finding powerful things, and something very powerful was manifest on the altar. That power would be more than happy to use for his purposes once he gained control of it. “Altar,” the ghost continued. “Yes yes, enough of your whining,” Bison retorted. “I know what to do with this.” Bison’s Psycho Power, one of the greatest powers in the world, gave him many talents. The darkness of his soul gave him the ability to do what many trained for years to do. Teleportation, psychic attacks, and countless other powers had been gained easily. This would be no trouble. His hands began to glow with the evil purple energy as he began to gather the power. When he thought it to be sufficient, he pressed his hands against the flat stone surface, forcing the power into the stone. The altar began to glow purple from the power, then turned to blue, then to black as it began to shake. Before he could continue, there was a boom as the altar exploded. The shattered rock flew, along with Bison, across the room, coming to rest a short ways away. As the dust cleared, a form became present, one that was rather tall, and seemed to be standing on four legs. “Ugh, how dare you!” Bison growled, getting up and brushing the dust off of his uniform. Appearing from the dispersing dust was some sort of horse-like being, keeping an eye. It was largely black, with its hair, or what Bison assumed was hair, flowing is some kind constant breeze. It had both a horn and wings, and some form of armor over part of its body. “I suppose I should thank you for giving me a suitable form,” the horse replied in a female voice, stretching a bit. “I will remember this when my conquest begins; perhaps you can-” “Is this the paltry excuse for the world’s populace,” Bison interrupted in a mocking, laughing tone. “How sad. If this is your true form, then you may be served better floating about on the wind like the useless bag you are!” “What!? Watch your tongue you pitiful monster!” the horse snarled, flying off the stand and landing near him. “Do you not know who I am? I am Nightmare Moon! I am your greatest fear! If you step out of line again I will end you!” “Foolish little worm, you do not know the meaning of a nightmare,” Bison replied. “If you wish to live, you will serve me now.” “Now I will make you pay for your arrogance!” Nightmare charged a black shot of energy and fired it at Bison, incinerating the ground he stood on. However, when the fireball cleared, the human was not there. She heard a sound and quickly turned around to see a mass of black ink slowly form into Bison, floating there with a devious smile. “You have made the gravest mistake of your life,” he said, dropping to the ground and throwing off his cape. “For now you face the Mighty Bison.” Nightmare charged angrily at him, pointing her horn and planning to impale him. Bison move slowly in the same direction before dropping into one of his slide kicks. As the two collided, Bison ran right under her, knocking her off her hooves and sending her flying onto the ground while he returned to his stance in the opposite end, unharmed. He moved to attack again while his opponent was still on the ground, dropping into another slide kick, hoping to jab into the stunned demon. He was about to reach her before her horn glowed once again and some kind of energy shield appeared in front of her, but at a slanted angle. Rather than going through it or it stopping him, the angle cause him to slide up it and into the air. Noticing the trick, he tried to reverse, righting his body in the air in order to attack. Nightmare acted before he could get the chance, and fired a black orb of magic directly at him, hitting the dictator as he fell. Bison crashed onto the stone floor, trying to shake off the evil effects of the attack. “Is this your best? You are a sad excuse for an alien,” Nightmare taunted. “I will make you pay for your insolence!” Bison raged. Bison’s arms began to glow with their own power flowing into the hands. His fists built the power up to their blinding light in bright purple, and began firing his own orbs of Psycho Power at Nightmare. The shots went out very quickly, but not fast enough to make it to their target before she could throw up her own protecting shield, encasing herself and coming out of the exchange unharmed. As soon as the barrage was over, she launched her own counter, using her magic to hurl large chunks of the broken stone towards Bison. As the rocks hurtled forward, Bison chuckled deviously, crossed his arms, and began to shimmer. Just as the stone crashed into his spot, he vanished into the thin air. Nightmare Moon had noticed this trick from when he entered the castle, and did a fast one-eighty to see if he was behind her. She turned, but saw nothing at first and looking around her the grounds were empty, it seemed. She was left utterly confused until she heard the devious laugh again. Looking up, she saw Bison materialize, floating there near the dark roof of the room, legs next to each other in their military stance and arms crossed. Before she could react, he shot straight down, keeping his form, and landing right next to her. The force of the impact surprised her, and the shockwaves sent her slightly off the ground, just enough for Bison to catch her by the horn and hold her there. “Kneel before my Psycho Power!” he growled, ramming his free fist into her stomach. “Bow!” He released her horn, allowing her body to rest on the hard, curled up hand wedged into her form. The now free hand charged with its own power and shot forward, and as the other hand moved, this one took its place, causing a great deal more harm than the other regular punch. The finishing touch came when the built-up energy shot out of the fist like a gun, and into Nightmare, who crumpled to the floor in a daze. “And is that your best?” Bison laughed sarcastically. “You are not even worthy to clean your own blood stains from my boots.” This seemed to anger Nightmare so much that she shot up, in an angle, trying to impale him again. Luckily for Bison, or possibly her, she was off, instead moving between his legs and past him, the momentum causing him to tumble over her back and onto the floor. Bison tried to deliver a swift punch, but Nightmare beat him to it, kicking one of her back legs and hitting him in the chest hard enough to send him flying across the room. Bison got up and Nightmare turned again; both were enraged that the engagement had yet to fully go their way. Bison immediately shot forward to close the distance, and Nightmare fired another beam directly at him. Bison immediately turned left to dodge, but the laser seemed to adjust, as if it were homing on him. Again he was caught by surprise, and the shot hit him hard, sending him crashing into a far wall, which partially collapsed on top of him. “Well, I must say I admire your determination,” Nightmare Moon said, flying over and landing next to a groaning, partially buried Bison. “But it is far more annoying than admirable. Your limit is pitiful.” Bison immediately shot out of the rubble, giving Nightmare’s head a swift uppercut and stunning her. “Limit!?” he yelled in a sadistic fury. “My Psycho Power knows no limits!” He summersaulted forward whilst sticking his legs out, delivering a heavy scissor kick to her head, followed by two more in a quick row. Immediately after, he leaped forward into her, the purple aura encasing him again in the same Psycho Crusher move he gave to Ryu, delivering it directly to Nightmare. Instead of continuing straight, however, he aimed it up, carrying the two vertically into the air before stopping. As the two floated there for a second, he delivered another blast of energy into his foe, sending her hard onto the floor. Nightmare hoped that was the end of his brutal onslaught, but opening her eyes told her she was dreadfully wrong. Bison was coming down, again in his stomping form, and he was coming down directly on her. There would be no time for her to get out of the way, even if she was still capable of that. “This place shall become your grave!” Bison yelled, landing directly on top of Nightmare and crushing her beneath his boots. “Will that be all?” Bison asked the groaning demon. “Measly rat; only a handful of the greatest warriors of my world were able to defeat me. What makes you think you stood a chance?” “Because I am the same,” Nightmare said weakly, rising up again as if to challenge his claim. “Only a few here have ever defeated me. Ponies fear my name when it was uttered; at least they did.” “Hmpf, what a sad species,” Bison claimed, trying and failing to cover up his own tiredness. “Still, I suppose I can make something of them with a little… training.” “What training is this? Your powers are incredible; unlike any I have witnessed,” she said. “And you are unlike any creature I have ever witnessed. Most every creature immediately falls to my attacks, and yet you could fight so well.” “Do they now,” Bison asked, gaining an evil new thought. “Perhaps Gods like us have more in common than I previously thought.” “Indeed,” Nightmare Moon said, trying to move forward, but hurting a bit much to do so. “Tell me more of your planet and its beings,” Bison asked. “I believe we have a lot of work to do.”