Winter's Dusk

by SubaruGeki

Borza

Deathlike silence had fallen upon what used to be Ponyville. The stars were shining mournfully upon the thick snow and the few roofs that were spared its cold treatment. And yet, behind that apparent peace, beneath the layers of winter’s white coat lay many deserted houses in which the poor trapped ponies were brutally turned into monster food, the only remains of theirs being bloodstained walls and parts of entrails. Nopony could hear their cries, nopony could see their terrible fate, all were but forgotten in their icy grave.

Now that the first round had finished and their stomachs were satisfied, the monsters returned to the Everfree Forest. Dark Strike made his way through the dug paths in the snow. He passed by a few houses and the hospital and he chuckled to himself as he felt the smell of fresh blood. Truly his friends had been hungry that night. Finally, he stopped in front of a block of snow which stood proud. His horn shone and he could see that the library was a few blocks away, meaning he had to do some digging himself.

“At least she kept her promise.” Dark said and then he began to fire beams that would melt the snow and make way for him.

A few hours before the curse was cast upon Ponyville, Dusk Shine and Rainbow Blitz had shared their very first carnal experience in the privacy and warmth of the unicorn’s bedroom, both discovering new sensations which they found surprisingly enjoyable. After the climax had passed, the two of them lay in the bed, wrapped in each other’s hooves, and they fell asleep, thus not catching the Evil Hour.

Barb was caught in Elusive’s boutique and she was currently struggling to melt the snow with her dragon breath, the stylish unicorn trying to help with his magic. Little did they know that they would soon get extra help from an unexpected visitor.

Meanwhile, Dark Strike had reached the library and he discretely snuck inside, trying his best not to cause noises. He took a look around, so many books on so many topics. And yet many of them were seemingly untouched, or if they were, they most likely had just one pony’s hoofmarks. The dark purple unicorn walked to the magic section and he pulled out a book called Genesis of Day and Night: The first days of ponykind, written by Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis.

“So much time has passed…” he sighed, recalling the moment when that book was first launched in Canterlot.

But he snapped back to reality immediately. He had a mission and there was no time to waste. If anything, he would have returned to that library later, when the job was done, and he would have once more delved into the pleasant activity of reading something that was not occult related.

The unicorn climbed upstairs and slowly opened the door to Dusk Shine’s room only to find him sharing his bed with his pegasus friend. Dark Strike grinned, another weakness he would likely exploit in the future. But until then, he opened the mythology book and he began reading from it in whispers as to not wake up his unsuspecting victims:

“Boogied Borza,/Cursed Borza,/With grinned teeth,/With widened eyes,/With flapped ears,/With wide mouth,/With cracked hands,/With hairy hands…”

A black smoke cloud began coming out of the pages and it took the shape of a demonic alicorn. Dark Strike looked at it with satisfaction and whispered with a more hissed tone:

“Where are you headed,/With grinned teeth,/With widened eyes?”

“To scare you,/To boil you,/To chill you,/To terrify you,/To shatter you,/To crush you!” the being replied with a deep voice which would have brought chills even to the bravest of ponies.

Dark Strike pointed to the two sleeping ponies and the alicorn turned its attention to them, speaking with a more growled voice:

“To drink your blood,/To take your life,/To eat your meat,/To end your life!”

Thus the being jumped upon them and it turned into smoke, entering their heads. Dark giggled and spoke:

“Kehehe, let the nightmares begin!”

The two ponies began moving in their sleep, sweat falling down their fur and expressions of unease decorating their once peaceful faces.

Rainbow Blitz landed in a deserted Ponyville on a bright summer day.

“Huh? That’s strange, where is everypony?” he asked and scratched his mane, beginning to look around.

But he found nothing anywhere. There was nopony at Sweet Apple Acres, Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique or even Dusk’s library. A strange breeze blew against him, and that coupled with the uneasy silence began to worry him greatly. Something was definitely wrong.

Blitz flew in the sky to have a better look at the seemingly deserted city. Suddenly, he saw something and dashed to it. To his shock, it was a dead Scooteroll, his orange body being mutilated from inside out. Blitz put his hoof on the body and shook it, but with no result. He looked around and saw more dead bodies lying on the ground, all of them being his closest friends, including the few he had back in Cloudsdale.

“No…” he whispered, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

It was then that the true horror hit him. He saw Dusk Shine in a pool of blood, struggling between life and death. The pegasus rushed to help him, but something quicker than him appeared out of nowhere and tore the poor stallion apart. Then it turned to him, its sheer ugliness freezing every bone of the blue pony that lost even his strength to yell.

Dusk Shine struggled in vain to escape the tight chains that bound him. He tried activating his magic, but his horn would not respond no matter what he did. Around him was nothing more than endless darkness. He tried shouting for help but his voice would not echo at all from his mouth. Just what was going on?

“Having fun? I hope so.” a hissed voice resounded from somewhere.

The tied unicorn began looking around; there was nothing but the blackness of which blind ponies were bound to see for their lives. But then two glowing red dots shone in front of him and he felt a pair of hooves grab his cheeks.

“How does it feel, oh student of Solaris, to be one with the shadows?” the same voice asked.

The eyes of the bookish one betrayed an obvious question.

“Who am I? I’m glad that you asked, for you’ll find out the answer really soon. Until then, I’ll have some fun with you.” Dark Strike said and he revealed his face to Dusk Shine, whose eyes widened at the grim sight. “What’s the matter, Duskie? Don’t you like the beauty of the beast?”

Dusk Shine’s expression remained constant – tensed fear of the sudden situation he was stuck in. Who was this strange pony and how did he get inside? More importantly, what was he going to do with him?

All of a sudden, Dark Strike disappeared and painful silence returned yet again. The librarian pony wondered if he would have preferred that over the scary stallion’s company. At least he got the confirmation that something was out there, hiding in the darkness. And there he lay, weak and unable to do anything to defend himself.

Alas, those moments of silence did not last long, for he heard faint whispers coming from the distance. Said whispers grew louder and he soon recognized them more as the growls which only beasts would make. He heard slow footsteps approaching him menacingly like those a predator would make. Dusk struggled once more in his chains, but to no avail. It seemed that his fate was sealed. Then out of the darkness emerged a pony that looked more horrifying than anything he had ever seen. The bookish stallion’s mind lost its control then and there, primal fear taking over.

“What good is Loyalty when you failed to protect those who you were loyal to? Also, what good is Magic when you are weak to use it and rely only on Friendship for it?” Dark asked as he watched the two stallions who were tortured in their nightmares. “Your exact opposites are your fears and this will be good fuel for my little friend Borza.”

“Ah wouldn’t be so sure ‘bout that!” an elder voice spoke behind him.

“Who the…”

Dark Strike turned around, only to be taken by surprise to see Grampy Smith holding a bunch of garlic in his direction. The devilish unicorn spat and backed down in fear.

“Leave this place now, ye lost soul!” the old stallion demanded as he walked forth, making the demonic one head to the opened window.

“That’s one battle, you geezer!” Dark Strike declared and then he showed the book. “The true war is in my hooves!”

“No…”

“Kehehehe, see you later!”

And with that said, he jumped out the window and disappeared in the snow. Elusive and Barb rushed in the room, only to be stopped by Grampy Smith, who said:

“Stand back, partners, this is something Ah have to deal with mahself!”

“But sir, what about Dusk and Rainbow?” the white unicorn asked with concern.

“Don’t ya worry, they’re in good hooves.” the olive green earth pony winked and then he turned to the bed where the two were suffering in their sleep.

Taking a more serious face, he began waving the garlic above them and chanting:

“Boogied Borza,/Ugly and staring,/Don’t look through the window,/Don’t curse their sleep’s pillow!”

The sleeping stallions suddenly relaxed, their tense expressions disappearing from their faces. A black smoke emerged from both their ears, taking the shape of an angry alicorn for seconds before it faded away. Grampy Smith smiled triumphantly, another monster was gone.

“Y’all can come in, it’s safe now!” he waved to the two who were watching fearfully from the opened door.

“Finally!” Elusive exclaimed and he gallantly walked in.

“Are they ok?” a concerned Barb asked as she followed the elegant stallion.

“They’re fine. Ah took care of that thing which was causin’ them nightmares.” Grampy Smith explained.

“Just who was that fiendish stallion?” Elusive asked.

“And what was he doing with Dusk’s book?” Barb added.

“Ah dunno yet, partner.” the farm pony admitted and then he took a look at the night outside. “But whatever it is, Ah’m sure as hay it’s not good news for us all.”

Author's Note:

Wee, a new chapter for y'all! I'm sorry I got no descriptions for Borza besides those in the chant, but this thing is supposed to be that scary that no amount of description can capture it properly. Besides, he sometimes is said to represent Fear itself, hence I was debating whether the title of this chapter should be 'Borza' or 'The Fear'. I guess the former works better than the latter. *shrug*

Comments

[Techpriest Eh]

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[VunderFiz]

more thats is all I will say