Neither Created Nor Destroyed

by Sage Runner

Chapter Sixteen - Nighling

Twilight violently shook her head. Her horn's magical aura, which had been growing dim, flickered back to life. Sweat oozed from her every pour, and her head ached. "I know ya don't wanna hear this," Applejack said, "but I think you're reachin' your limit, Twi."

Twilight muttered something, and it wasn't until she repeated herself for the third time that Applejack realized what she was saying. "I can do this!" They had been walking for almost a day, and in all that time, they hadn't come across a single animal suitable to house Sieness' mind. Twlight's steps were now labored, but she refused Applejack's offer to carry her again.

"Sieness told me that something dangerous lives in the forest," she said. "If we're attacked, we'll both need to be on our feet."

Applejack shook her head. "You can barely walk, let alone run."

"At least I won't weigh you down."

Applejack grimaced. "If you think I'd leave anypony in danger, you're even more out of it than I thought."

"I—" Twilight stopped abruptly as her horn went dark. She clenched her eyes shut and collapsed.

"Oh horseapples!" Applejack knelt down next to her. "It's happenin' again!"

Twilight's eyelids opened. This time, the whites of her eyes were tinted with a sickly green glow. Her mouth curled into a smirk as she struggled to her feet.

"This is it!" Twilight spoke in a much raspier voice. "Your body is mine!"

"Tarnation!" Applejack scowled. "You get your wrinkly old kiester out of the front seat and give my friend back the reigns!"

"Or you'll what?!" Sieness spat back. "You wouldn't dare lay a hoof on your best friend, and you don't know any magic, so I'm afraid you're stuck with me if you want to survive this forest!" Suddenly, her horn flickered back to life. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief as she noted the lavender glow.

"Oh, come on!" Sieness said, stomping her hoof into the dirt. "Why won't you just give up?!" She shut her eyes and concentrated. After a few moments, a trail of neon green energy, originating at the base of the horn, began to spiral upward, cutting through the lavender light. Sparks flew as the green aura tried to expand, but after a few moments, it was forced back down. Her eyelids opened again, and Applejack smiled as she stared into the eyes of her old friend.

"I'm okay, Applejack," Twilight said as the magic in her horn stabilized. "I got my second wind."

"This is gettin' outta hand, sugar-cube." Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "The first two times, she was in control for about two seconds before you smacked her patootie into the back'a your head. I thought I'd lost ya this time!"

Twilight sighed. "I know." She shook her head. "You're right, we can't keep this up. There doesn't seem to be any fauna in this part of the forest, so I need to find another solution."

Sieness' voice echoed in her head. "What solution? You no longer have the strength to purge me."

"I already told you!" Twilight shouted. "We ponies don't do that!"

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "She still yammerin'?" she said flatly. She took a few casual steps closer to her friend, and leaned in. "You better pipe down in there if'n you know what's good for ya!" Twilight yelped as Applejack screamed directly into her ear.

"Applejack!" Twilight jumped back, her ear pointing down as she rubbed it gingerly. She could just barely hear Sieness' pained whimpers above the ringing in her ears.

"Sorry, Twi!" Applejack blushed. "I just can't stand to see ya bein' so nice to someone who's bein' so rotten to you."

"It'll be okay." Twilight grinned slyly. "At the very least, you got her to quiet down."

Just then, a shrill voice echoed from deeper into the forest. "Help!" it shouted. "Nighling! Nighling!"

Applejack's ears pricked up. "What in tarnation?"

"That sounded like a child!" Twilight said, eyes wide.

"Yeah." Applejack narrowed her eyes and bent her knees. "Yeah, it did. Stay here, Twi. I'll be back lickety-split."

Twilight shook her head and said, "But—"

Applejack glared at her. "Stay! Here! You're in no condition to run or fight!" She took off in a gallop without another word.

Twilight gulped and sat down, taking a moment to refocus the spell that was keeping Sieness at bay. It was then that she realized she wasn't encountering any resistance.

After a few minutes of silence, Sieness spoke. "Go."

Twilight furrowed her brow. "Excuse me?"

"Just what I said! Her brute strength is as useful to me as it is to you. I will allow you to run after her, just this once."

Twilight scoffed, but obliged, weakening the spell enough to free up some energy. She ran after Applejack.

"I'm a little surprised you believed me," Sieness said.

"I don't trust you." Twilight huffed. "But I do trust your sense of self-preservation. As you said, you need Applejack to survive."

"And you're willing to follow my commands in order to protect her! I can sense your humiliation." Sieness laughed.

"My friend is more important to me than my pride."

"If you were a little more ruthless, you wouldn't have to choose." They heard Applejack yelp just up ahead. "Did you hear that? It might be too late to preserve either." Twilight galloped faster.

They came to a clearing, and Twilight gasped. The first thing Twilight saw was the towering beast, fur black with bits of grime peppered throughout, teeth bared, saliva trailing down it's neck. Her eyes drifted to the prey it was looming over and her face paled. A teary-eyed child, canine in appearance, clutching a wounded and unconscious Applejack. The monster's claws had left their mark in her left side.

"It's too late, what a waste," Sieness said. "We'll need to press on by oursel—" Twilight shot a stream of magic straight at the beast's head, staggering it. It turned its vengeful gaze upon her.

"No! What are you doing?!" Sieness shouted.

The creature snarled. "More strange meat! Two here, two far away..." It stalked toward her.

"Are you insane?!" Sieness shouted. "Your attack did nothing! RUN!"

"No!" Twilight shouted. This seemed to startle the creature into quickening its approach, as it closed the remaining gap quickly.

"Look out!" the child shouted as she tended to Applejack.

"That's it, I'm taking over!" Sieness hissed through Twilight's mouth. Twilight felt the changeling's energy begin to overtake her, compelling her legs to move. Twilight countered with her suppression spell, locking them in a stalemate as the monster's claws hit their mark. Both Twilight and Sieness felt the sharp, burning pain in her left foreleg as the force of the blow knocked them down and sent them skidding.

"You'll kill us both!" Sieness said.

"I won't abandon my friend, or anyone else in need!" Twilight shouted.

"Oh for the love of—" Sieness would have spat if she still had a mouth of her own. "FINE!"

Twilight became enveloped in a familiar, green aura, recognizing it as the color of changeling magic. Twilight braced herself for another takeover attempt, but instead she felt an incredible energy flow through her, reinvigorating every muscle in her body. It began to concentrate itself in her horn.

"What in the world?!" Twilight shouted as the beast drew in for the kill.

"I'm lending you my power!" Sieness said. "It's the only chance I have!"

Given the circumstances, Twilight didn't argue. She prepared a final offensive spell, mixing her own magic with Sieness'. Mustering up everything she had, she unleashed a torrent of violet and green energy directly into the monster's chest. The child stared with wide eyes, mouth agape, as the creature was propelled up and away, yelping as it vanished from sight even before it started to fall.

Twilight rested her head in the dirt. "Huh." She panted. "I didn't think you had so much power left."

"How dare you," Sieness said. "Though I must admit, you surprised me as well. No wonder I've had so much trouble with you."

Twilight struggled to her feet. "So what now? We both recover and resume our struggle for control?"

"No."

"No?"

"You're going to get us killed if we keep this up here. Clearly we'll only be able to survive this place if we cooperate."

Twilight's eyes grew wide. "I can't believe what I'm hearing."

"I'm not stupid," Sieness replied. "It's our only option. We both want to reach Equestria, and it's there that I'll take your body and rejoin my daughter."

"Fine," Twilight said. "Until we reach Equestria, we'll work together. Then you're out of my body and back in your daughter's custody, after we've defeated her."

"Um, excuse me," the child said meekly. "Thank you for saving me, but... who are you talking to?"

"Oh!" Twilight said. "Applejack!" She gasped and ran over to her friend.

"She'll be alright for now," the girl said. She gestured to the three claw marks in Applejack's side. They weren't deep, but they were green around the edges. "As you can see, the wounds weren't deep, but nighling scratches are almost always deadly if left untreated. I was able to make a light antibiotic out of some herbs I collected, but she'll need more substantial medicine in order to be safe."

"I see." Twilight said, inspecting Applejack's injury. Her horn glowed green as Sieness' aura enveloped the wound. It flickered and went out.

"She isn't joking," Sieness said. "Those cuts are gravely infected. That... 'nighling'... as she called it, it must carry a lot of bacteria."

"Will she be alright?" Twilight asked.

"I just told you, she needs additional treatment!" the girl said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's as the girl said, she needs more than what we can scrounge up here."

Twilight tapped her chin. "I see." Just then they felt an intense burning in Twilight's leg, reminding them that they had been cut as well. The unicorn winced.

"Oh dear," the girl said, "here."

She gently laid Applejack on the ground and produced a small leaf, it's surface covered with a thin, khaki-green slime. "There isn't much left, but it's the least I can do. This'll sting a bit." She pressed the leaf against Twilight's leg. Twilight clenched her jaw as her eyes watered.

"I'm sorry," the girl said. "The pain should only last a moment." Sure enough, Twilight's face relaxed.

"Thank you," Twilight said.

"I should be thanking you," the girl replied. "I'd be a goner if it wasn't for you and your friend. You should've seen how hard she kicked that thing before it got her!"

"So what was that thing?" Twilight asked.

"One of the nighling." The girl removed the leaf and began to apply some sort of salve. Whatever it was, it soothed Twilight's pain. "At least, that's what they call themselves. Chief says they're made of dark energy or something. They live all over, and they'll eat just about anything. Or anyone."

"And who are you?" Twilight asked. "How long have you been stranded here?"

"My name is Penny, and I'm not stranded, I just wandered out too far," she replied as she returned her attention to Applejack.

"Shouldn't you bandage this?" Twilight said.

"That salve I created will harden and keep out germs for about a day," Penny said, glancing over her shoulder. "It needs to be exposed to the open air to work, though."

Sieness examined it with her magic. "She's right. I've never seen anything like this. The child is rather gifted."

Twilight nodded. "I'll say."

"You'll say what?" Penny asked.

"Nevermind," Twilight quickly replied. "So you said you weren't stranded. Does that mean you live out here?"

"Yes and no," Penny said. She grabbed a nearby knapsack and slung it over her shoulder. "I live in the Northeastern Treebark Village; we don't go to ground unless we need to gather supplies. That's what I was doing out here, looking for herbs."

"I don't suppose there's a chance we could find the medicine we need from there, is there?" Twilight asked sheepishly. "We'll find some way to pay for it, of course!"

"We never let outsiders in, none of the villages in this region do," Penny said. "But we also don't turn people away empty-handed. I'll get you what you need, I'll even administer it myself, so long as you don't mind recuperating at the base of the trees, below the village."

"Your village is in the trees?" Twilight asked.

"Yep! And don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe once we get close enough. Our archers have never let a nighling get near our home!"

Sieness spoke through Twilight, "You must take us there at once!"

"Sure." Penny recoiled from the abrupt change in voice. "Just... follow me..."

"Rude!" Twilight thought as she hoisted Applejack up on her back.

"I won't risk my life for pleasantries," Sieness replied. "Also, Applejack weighs a ton."

Applejack mumbled something inaudible as Twilight staggered forward.

"It's okay, AJ," Twilight whispered. "This time I'll carry you."

Her knees buckled just a little, and she frowned. "...Somehow."

Comments

[Bad_Seed_72]

Nice to see that this has been updated. I hope Twilight can find some proper help for herself and Applejack though. Good chapter!