7. Freezing Moon
I see you.
Crawling around inside me.
Wearing my skin. Writhing around in my innards. Hiding behind my eyes.
Flee.
Jump.
Fly.
Cower.
There is nothing.
It’s everywhere. Everything.
Watching. Flying above all. White like eyes.
Her throne. Her shroud. Her tomb.
Into sleep we drift. Into dreams we drown.
Half a song. Half a scream.
Your place will fade away.
A black hole shitting into the void.
It was the only collection of words and visuals he could conjure to assess his current predicament. The only answer he could give in these fleeting moments of time, if indeed that ever-elusive concept’s existence was still recognized in this world, and even further if this was a world, to begin with. He couldn’t tell, for there was no feedback to these inebriated curiosities. No, there was only silence. A silence so intense, so relentless, the deafening pressure had pulverized through every inch of his body.
Body? Was he so sure? Perhaps it was all crammed within his skull, working hard to squeeze his soupy brain into a mushy shutdown.
Could it be? Could it be anything at all? He didn’t remember if he’d ever gone this far while deep in the depths of the unknown. Had he always been there, and was only now becoming aware of it? Was anything around him ever something, or had it waited patiently for the precise moment it would turn into nothing? But isn’t nothing still something in the end? Nothing, which would be something, and that something would be nothing, just as something must always be, even if it is nothing. Forever hanging, swaying between what was known, what is known, and what will never be known.
Eyes.
Withered and dried out from a sea of sand, were the first sense to come to him. Their power was weak, a crust thick and aged had mounded, causing a dull pain to arise from their exposure. The blinks were slow and needed a decent amount of energy for each snap of the eyelids. Clearing this waste, surroundings came to him, or rather, he came to them. Presented before shapeless blobs lit by a strange unidentifiable hue, with everything else covered in an unfocused fog. Consciousness had been born, nearly still, but born, nonetheless.
Beneath him, a feeling of faint expansion, soon followed with tasteless air bubbly with static, then escaping to create a sonar to the rest of his body, which he now realized he had. By a thread, the strings of control were secure in their bridges of bone, yet were horrifically out of tune. A strum of the cords hadn’t brought about the expected results, only stiffness and pain. These strings were worn and in dire need of a change.
With most senses-the ones that mattered-starting to work together, the world began to take proper identifiable shape.
Scratch that. Not identifiable. Or proper. Or anything he’d known at all.
A vast wasteland, as lifeless as a forgotten memory. Splotches of greyish whites washed over the hills like a shroud. Pieces of thick charcoal rock jutted out in sharp peaks, and others were broken off into bare slabs. Those looked to be in the far distance, while icy winds were blowing around, and through him, its whistle roaring and whimpering with intensity. All underneath a pale pink sky, clouded in snowfall.
He'd never seen a land so dreadful, one that was utterly unwilling to house any habitat for any kind of existence. Mother Nature had given them the cold shoulder, not budging an inch, not a single word in its disgust. However, a few whispers were skating on those icy winds, as the absence of heat allowed them to cut through crisp and clear.
Where am I? Was one of those thoughts, asked to no one and anyone, wasn’t I just in a motel or something? These look like…some kind of mountains.
A piece of stringy hair hung before him, lifelessly blowing in the quicker breeze. Maybe it was from that old air conditioning unit. He’d just taken a shower, so that could explain why he felt so cold and slick. It might even freeze like this. He grunted and raised a hoof to swat at it.
A hoof. Damn.
With this hoof, he felt just how brittle it’d become, like he could strip it from his scalp by blowing it off his nose. In doing this action, he threw off his balance and his legs gave underneath him and slammed onto his back. The snow did little to cushion the blow, feeling more like icicles stabbing up his spine. He moaned in pain and dragged his legs up his barrel, the fetlocks rolling over several prominent bumps along the way. They were raised. Starved.
He went to his throat, “What’s happened to me?” To say he spoke would be a generous description. The labored croak ran up the inside of his mouth like knives, leaving freezing burns as a result. Ironically, it was dry as dust, when compared to the heavy snowfall piling on top of him. This thick blanket worked quickly to suck out what little warmth was left in his body. Awful, just terrible, never before had he felt such a chill. He yearned for the foul, yet human smell of the old overused motel room. Those comforting aromas of unwashed bedsheets and over Febrezed bathroom. Or home. Home would’ve been nice too.
The coldness had gone to his mind, as a rather nasty thought appeared. One of many recently, regarding the whereabouts and motives of his supposed human counterpart. Even compared to everything that’d occurred today, none of this made any sense. To find a place such as this, you’d have to go far-far away from where he’d left off. You’d need a different state-no, a different season-no, a whole different continent to find a region such as this. Just how could he have ended up here to begin with? Unless…
Fangs bared in rage as he continued to stare up at the sky. He should’ve known, it was all going too well, too smooth to be right. That thing knew what he was doing, acting sincere and casual to tear down his wall of suspicion. Then, right when his guard was down, he snatched him and sent him far away. Somewhere that he wouldn’t be a burden to any of his plans.
He hissed lowly and closed his eyes, as grave stillness implanted within him. It was cold. Overpowering.
Note to self, trust no one, not even…yourself.
A piece of information that would be helpful to remember. He could’ve sworn that had been his first train of thought back in the morning, which now felt like a lifetime ago. How did he ever let that alien win him over, to talk him down from his rightful anger? Had he intended for him to play the damsel in distress, the poor wounded animal waiting desperately to be healed by a hand of compassion? He was disappointed in himself for stooping to such a level.
…But, it did feel nice, it really did in those moments of uncontrollable panic. To find someone that saw the same things as him, someone who could understand his worries, and was considerate of her perspectives. Would he do something like that? She couldn’t imagine committing something that cruel and vicious. It wouldn’t be worth the effort involved. There’d be far too much planning, with little return to justify it. Could you imagine plotting, dumping countless resources, just to have the plan fall apart upon execution? How silly!
Yes, how silly of her to do such a thing. How…silly…
…
No! What was he thinking? That’s exactly what that alien would want him to think…at least, he thought so.
Now he was there, and he was here. Wherever here is.
With great effort, he tried to lift himself by placing his hooves at his chest and rolling over, using the momentum to push himself back up into a standing position. From there, he could then determine his next move, even if it were a simple step forward. But he’d underestimated the extent of his weariness, leaving him to only roll on his stomach with another hiss of defeat.
He looked once more to the pink sky.
…Flight.
The vision of the mismatched bird appeared in his mind, and he watched his legs begin to sprout feathers. Pulsing and growing as the stalks poked through the chitin. The whole process was pretty repulsive all things considered. Watching as the squishy flesh wiggle and squirm upon its rapid birth. The sound was disgusting, nearly enough to make him puke. Like one of those dissection projects, he had to do in high school. Carefully moving the razor, steady as a surgeon, and discover just what made a frog ribbit. Nevertheless, he could never pull himself to look away. Something about it just intrigued him, satisfying a curiosity deep within.
It proved to be worthless, as they shriveled up and whisked into the air and crumbled into green ash. Becoming as small and meaningless as the snowflakes falling in sheets.
So this is it then, he thought to himself, feeling his eyelids become heavy. He never thought it would come for him this quick, nor in a place like this, or after events such as that. Guess he never really thought about it at all, but it’s here now. He closed his eyes fully and exhaled deeply, nuzzling himself in the snow. Smothered in white to cast into forever night. “This…is the end.”
“Indeed, old friend. This is the end.”
A voice, full of warmth and life, cut through the air, coming from within and all around him simultaneously. He looked around for the owner of this booming tone, hoping he hadn’t just finally snapped the frayed ends of sanity. There’s nothing he needed less than to hear mocking chants in his mind. But luckily, or unfortunately, he wasn’t that far gone yet.
Amid the barren wastes, there was an outline, poised high on a rock, of a darkened figure. He grasped at the snow and dragged himself towards them, wet nostrils caked over his muzzle.
The voice continued, “This is the end, of all elaborate plans, of everything that stands, this is the end.” Still full and unwavering, each word boasted with the utmost confidence. He could tell where it, no, she was speaking from. Indeed, it was coming from the figure. He sped up by a hair.
A pause, one filled with a long remembrance. Her voice had aged enlightenment to it, caressing his ears like a mother’s blanket. Comforting. Almost as comforting as the heavy black robe completely covering their body. Their large silhouette stood out against the surroundings. Again, she continued at a rehearsed pace.
“The end, as it chased the dying daylight over the horizon, it too will follow the all-encompassing glow of the moon. Stars, shining bright and beautiful across the night sky. Untouched, pristine, they’ll paint the world the most beautiful portrait. But soon, the moon will follow the sun, dragging across the sky and drowned by the very same horizon. Those stars, will soon fizzle out and die, dispersing into nothingness.”
The figure shifted and stepped off her perch, slowly floating down to him.
“And as it draws to a close, just as the final star is snuffed out, we find the darkest hour. A world pitch black and cold, devoid of any watchful celestial eyes. Where there is nothing, the end.”
He collapsed when he came before her, heaving with a fit of gasps and wheezes. She towered above him, only hearing the thick whips of the fabric. Maybe it was a reflection, but there was a weird glow flickering out from the darkness of the hood, twinkling from passing snowflakes. Chris could only stare up in silence, one that was reciprocated for a long time before she gave an amused hmph.
“A pleasure to see you again, thy fellow royal. How are you?”
The blunt slam of the door rang out through the empty hallway, harsh punctuation to the sentence with the strange. Much stranger than he was accustomed to as he was busy living in the modern world. But now with a thin wooden barrier between them, in these moments, normalcy had returned. Later then he hoped for, but it was there, nonetheless.
He stood and leaned against the door, letting out a long-deserved exhale. The kind that knocks out all the fluff from the mind and leaves fresh clarity. Wonderful clarity. Rational thinking. Common sense.
…I fell out of a building.
He drummed his fingers lightly and let his head hang limp, looking down at his feet. He realized now that he never put on his shoes.
“Alright then.” He pushed off the door into the middle of the hallway. His body felt a lot heavier. And achy.
Now realizing he’d personally tucked an alien to bed, he straightened out his shirt and gave a few light taps to his face. As weary as he was, he knew right now wasn’t the best time to sleep. Nor could he truly get into the headspace that would nurture it. The overall dinginess of the motel and the white noise of industrial hums didn’t bring about comforting thoughts. Only those of prior events that’d brought him here, to begin with.
She was right, this place was a dump.
He examined both sides of the hall. Down the right was nothing of importance, a few empty rooms led along by a stained carpet to a dead end by the janitor’s closet. The left side led down to the poor excuse for a lobby. It resembled more of a repurposed storage room, containing a few cheap lawn chairs placed by a worn coffee table holding a stack of useless brochures and out-of-date newspapers. The lightbulbs were yellow from age, buzzing in monotone over a foreign-looking front desk, presumably bought from across the border. None of it was too promising.
He shambled down the hall towards the lobby, the lack of the thump-thump of shoes allowed him to catch on to a muffled commotion from behind. He stopped and glanced back to their room. A nervous tick buzzed around his lips. She was probably getting herself adjusted in bed, he thought to himself. He in turn, probably should’ve made a statement regarding boundaries while he was at it. If he woke up smelling like the stables, he was gonna be pissed. How was he gonna describe that? What was he supposed to say?
“W-What?” He sputtered, trembling from a combined number of chills. He felt like he could count down the seconds of his life, matching up to the number of ribs poking from his starved barrel. The figure must’ve felt those same chills, as she reached out a hand to pull her cloak tighter. A slender, smooth, and very much blue hand.
“Forgive me,” She responded, sounding a little disappointed, “I don’t mean to bug you for too long, I figured I’d drop by tonight to give you a friendly hello in a not-so-friendly place.” Another pause. “Comfortable? Relaxed? Or would you like your pedestal polished?”
“No, I’m great. Just dandy.” He said with a tired snort. “Think you can see, life’s pretty cozy right now.”
She let out a low chuckle, one that drained any energy he had for continuing sarcasm. “Ah, that’s a good one. I would compliment in saying you’ve retained your wit, but considering you never had much to begin with, that would be a lie. Instead, it would be a net positive, so congratulations.”
He struggled to raise himself on his haunches. “Where am I?”
She glanced around them for a second. “Hmm, I believe a certain somepony said it best the last time you two met properly.”
Suddenly, more voices whispered through his head, as if buried deep within these haunting mountains.
…What is this place?
Somewhere you can’t hurt anypony.
Wrong! I can hurt you!
A split second of seething hatred.
A splitting headache.
“Not that she could’ve predicted the outcome of our last engagement, but I think the sentiment still stands true.” She finished with a hum of content.
Chris could barely move, let alone speak. He was beyond amazed. Never before had someone spoken to him this long and made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Everything made less sense with each word passing through her lips. Though, it didn’t help that she spoke as this all-knowing godlike entity who could see everything in time.
“You know I can hear you, yes?” He chirped in surprise. “Sorry, probably not, considering we’ve never met in the dream realm prior. I’m sure you can understand as to why, hopefully.”
The dream realm? Visit him? The sting of snow in his eyes snapped him back into focus. He grimaced in pain and shook his head to get it off his muzzle. “I don’t…I don’t understand…who are you?”
“You already know that.”
“Uh, no, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.” She repeated, harsher in tone.
He gulped, and tried again, raising a trembling hoof. “…Are you…supposed to be…Death?”
Her shoulders raised slightly, and she let out another sigh. “Normally, I’d be offended being branded with such a vulgar title, yet the way you say it, it’s quite flattering. But no, not exactly.” In one swift motion, she swept her hands over hood and slid it down her neck. An explosion, spectrums of light and color engulfed her. He shieled his eyes with limbs bored where said eyes were located. The spectacle calmed down and he lowered them, with jaw following soon after.
The entire Milky Way had condensed itself around her head, cascading swiftly at its own pace independent to the winds around them. Constellations, stardust, alien colors, the longer he gazed, the more it opened up as it curled from her scalp. Underneath the lightshow, she was coated in midnight blue fur, groomed to a polished shine like porcelain. And perched atop everything, he saw a long sharp appendage. A horn.
All would’ve been interesting enough on their own. However, it was when he saw the rest of her facial features that caught him by surprise slightly more.
“Horseface!” He screamed, skittering away in a panic.
She rolled her eyes, giant blue orbs arcing underneath the crescents of her eyelids. “That would be ponyface, thank you very much.” She corrected with a snort.
“Ponyface!”
“I see your manners have remained intact, which makes your quadruped appearance all the stranger.”
He was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown, mainly out of its own self-preservation. He tried to speak, to form a sentence that could convey properly what he was witnessing, but nothing would come. It was too much, too intense to comprehend. He only shivered in mute panic.
The pony-faced woman seemed confused as well, and tilted her head slightly. “It appears the spell has had more interesting side effects than we thought previously. This must be lingering traces from his magic to cause such behavior.”
“Spell? What spell? What do you mean by side effects?”
He caught himself, as everything that’d occurred until that point rushed forward. What he’d done, what other’s had done, poured into his mind. Every word, every action, every motive. Once an ice cube, his body thawed out rapidly from boiling blood, and a fear-riddled mind gave way to ferocious anger.
“It was you! You’re the one that did this to me, and everything that came after! You and that slimy bastard!” His shouting became an insect-like shriek, with clicks and chitters conveying his rage. The winds around them howled in agony, silent screams as they scrapped through the hard rock. She remained unfazed.
“I’ve called him by many names, some of them brash, but a slimy bastard? No, that doesn’t suit him. I believe slithery bastard is more appropriate.”
“I don’t care what you call him, that doesn’t change anything! Not! One! Thing!”
“It most certainly doesn’t.” The muscles in her face were now tight and harsh on an otherwise youthful coat.
He continued on his rant. “So what now, huh? You’re just gonna drag me here, while that slithery bastard gets to walk away scot-free, huh? Is that it?”
The winds continued to bounce off the bare rocks and smooth hills. Almost if they weren’t a natural formation, and were instead placed there. Carefully set, piece by piece. Chiseled. “That is already set it stone.”
…Fight.
“Fuck that, fuck you, fuck everything!” He reared high in the air, wings flourished and horn glowing sickly green. “This life is mine, all mine! And if you think I’m gonna hand it over so easily, you’re gravely mistaken. You’ll have to pry it from my cold dead hooves!”
These words struck their own individual nerves within her, as giant molars in her mouth ground themselves into nubs. A deep burning wave of anger burned through her, with a thermal blue aura singeing the black coat with a smolder.
“Very well!” a loud rip was heard as she tore the robe from herself and threw it in the air. Disintegrating, the fine threads of the fabric unwound themselves until they were specks wrapped around her body. “While this is the first time we’ve met in this realm, it’s not the first time we’ve encountered. Each night, hundreds of nightmares plague Equestria, plunging many subjects into the abyss of fear, and lurking in the shadows, around each corner, under the bed, inside the closet, is you.”
The light caused her clothes underneath to shift and stiffen, very bright, very thick. Steel, sharp as her tone, the light continued to whirl around her body’s new armor. Patches of glorious moonlight, exposing the elegant engravings etched into the plates. The scarily muscular cannons that were her legs had been revealed, showing her to be a satyr-like creature. As well as these strange markings were emblazoned on both hips.
“Every night we cross, every night we clash, and every night…I vanquish you.”
Moving to those hips, a flashing streak of light stretched into a thin line down to a tip. Razor-thin, like it could slice clean through anything-or anyone-that came before it. The ominous glow would make one shiver, yet she laid her steady hand on its hilt.
“It’s about time we truly settled this score, mare to mare.” Her hand gripped tighter with a furious snort. “The Elements of Harmony had their triumph over your evil, but I’ve never gotten a proper stab at it myself. And now is the perfect time to finish this, before consciousness slips you entirely, and you’re nothing more than ink in the pages of history.” The last of the light swirled in the air, gathering and shaping itself, before shooting into her breastplate. It burned out in the middle, leaving the imprint of a glowing crescent moon.
“What-does-that-even mean?” He shouted, “What does that have to do with anything? Answer me!” He pounded his hooves on the ground, spraying flakes around him. “I’ve had it up to here-here-with this shit!”
“Then you and I are of one mind, as I too have had it with you continuing to play the fool, even as you stand before me.” Her eyes took on a dark shadow of determination. “But, if you’re having trouble remembering, perhaps this shall jog your memory.” In one move, as quick as a blink, her sword drew from its sheath and slashed at him.
He leapt back as far as he could from her range, catapulting himself further using his wings. Though, her strength was enough to send him flying anyways, carried on a giant shockwave of snow. Tumbling through the air and pelted with debris, he collided with a dead tree and splintered to pieces. The energy tingled and popped around him, as if he was inches away from some space-age fireworks.
Several emotions swirling through him, some even dribbling down the side of his leg. Scrambled thoughts, wild paranoia, waves of new information had crashed into him nonstop, leaving him alone on an island of confusion. Maybe not entirely alone, as the satyr was still out there, and her sword glowing bright and deadly.
“There, did that ring any bells?” She questioned, while her star-speckled tail swished in perverse anticipation.
The only thing ringing were his ears while digging himself from the snow. A hoarse cough filled his throat, and watched her slowly make her way towards him. Each step of her hooves pounded inside his head. Tired, cold, angry, he reached for a stick, uh, sticking out from the snow for support. Why, just why? This question kept repeating in his mind, louder and frantic. Why was this happening to him? Why was he being punished like this?
Just then, heavy flurries twirled in the air, much like the light prior, gathering before him, creating an image of sorts. Another satyr, one far taller and even more furious. Fire, brighter than a thousand suns, a great burning danced across its figure. Looking down at him with judgement only reserved for a god.
As soon as it appeared, it faded once more in a puff of snow, then parted like a curtain by his physical aggressor, emerging like a shadow. She stared down at him with an intensely bright glint in her eyes.
“What…happened to me?” He didn’t mean to say it, but his head was hurting so much, it was impossible to keep his thoughts only on the inside.
“You’ve already asked that, to which you already know the answer. Stop playing dumb.” She studied his frail and fractured frame like she was deciding which area would cause the most pain before he fell into that unconsciousness she so desired. “It may have happened so suddenly, there may not have been time to process it. All of it, over in a blink.” She placed the blade under his chin and lifted his head to look at her. “To put it simply, what happened to you and your co-conspirators was fitting, considering your crimes.”
“What? Wait a minute, what co-conspir-“
“Enough.” She dropped him and readied the sword. “The time to end this has long since passed, but now will suffice.” A glare from the steel, the aura giving hint to its immense power. She saw eyes wide and glassy, unable to process what was before them. The same expression she saw on her little ponies every night for so long. Full of fear and terror, plunging deep into the deeps of a nightmare.
“Take a good look, parasite, it’s the last time you will!”
She struck down on her target with all her strength. Another explosion of stars ravaged the mountains, blasting outwards through the rock, and struck their base structure far in the distance. A giant mushroom cloud of snow and rubble showering the wreckage. When she cleared the smoke, she’d found the results she looked for.
Nothing. Not a speck.
Atoms were annihilated to an existence of nothingness. A crater of total cleansing. Satisfied, she sheathed her sword with a tiny smile.
Pop.
Her ears swiveled to the sound and turned fully to find an intact, very much alive bug clinging to a stick. He looked at her and gave a nervous buzz of his wings. She, in turn, extended her own pair with a loud fwoosh. Without missing a beat, he snatched the stick in his mouth and rocketed off, running across the remaining land. With one mighty flap, she took to the sky and went after her prey.
As she flew across the dull pink sky, there was, however small, a crack of light peeking out between the clouds.
The trek to the desk was slow, as he tried to approach in a calm yet cautious manner. He moved as if one wrong step would cause the whole structure to fall on his head. Which wasn’t entirely out of the question, given the current state of the building’s interior. Not to mention going even further on the state of business as a whole. For the past hour or so, he hadn’t seen anyone else. Not a single road-weary traveler wandering in or out, not even to use the parking lot to stop or turn around. He wondered if this was usual, or if it was an odd day. Odd because no one showed up, or the fact that someone did.
He squinted as he walked into the front room from the dull-yet annoying lights hanging above. He’d taken notice of the person at the desk when he first walked in. A girl, around his age or so, was the one who saw to him in securing a room and didn’t seem too enthused in the process. Neither was he to be fair. No one was, especially not Chrissy. Unsurprisingly, she’d managed to nod off on her work, eyes closed with a pair of over-ear headphones plugged into a laptop, playing what looked like an episode of some TV series from the 90s. He wasn’t quite sure which one it was, none of them were of real interest to him. Which in turn, could lead to some awkward dinners, as his dates would quote quips, only to find a confused and disheartened look. Knowing now that the atmosphere, along with the night’s conclusion, wasn’t going to be as pleasurable as once envisioned.
Standing before her now, he waited to see if she would stir from his presence, tapping his foot with the hand of the clock. Enough time had passed, and he instead tried to get her attention by forcing a cough.
Nothing.
He tapped his knuckle on the desk.
Again, nothing.
Finally, he decided to speak up, “Excuse me.”
She awoke with a jolt, nearly ripping the laptop off the desk when her head whirled around. She finally calmed down when she noticed him and talked through a stretch. “Y~Yes, how can I help yo~u?” She yawned. She took off her headphones and ran a hand through her long frayed brunette hair. A muffled laughter track could be heard from around her neck.
He mumbled to himself a little before continuing, leaning on the desk as he did. “Right, listen-uh-Jane,” He read the small plastic clip on her shirt, lopsided from her slump. He wondered why bother with a business like this given how small scale it was, as if it was going to be difficult remembering people's names and faces. “I’m going outside to make some phone calls, it should only take about thirty minutes or so. I have the key to my room still, but I thought I would just…let you…know.” His voice trailed off when he saw her increasingly annoyed expression. The color of her brow darkened with each passing word.
“It’s fine, you’re like, the only person that’s checked in for tonight. Going from our, um, records and stuff.” She slurred on while clicking away on the laptop. He noticed, however, she was mostly pushing on the spacebar. “So, unless there’s something broken, or an animal’s looking to get in bed with you, whatever you brought with you will be safe.”
That was enough for him, and determined she wasn’t going to be an issue tonight. She just wanted to be left alone, and could agree with that. Working a shift like this must be brutal, not to mention keeping her suspicions low. She wouldn’t go knocking on anyone’s door, only watching the front for would-be newcomers. Must get quiet. Very quiet.
He shook his head lightly. “No, everything’s working about as well as it can, and there aren’t any unwanted guests looking to get close, heh-heh.”
“As I said, safe and sound, easy peasy, yadda-yadda-yadda…” She trailed off into another yawn, “Go ahead and make your calls, and let us get some rest…me…let me get some rest.”
He gave her a pitiful smile and stepped away from the desk. “Right, right, I was just checking with you to be sure. I rarely ever stop at motels, or hotels, or any kind of ‘tel, I tell ya. Sorry for disturbing you.”
Suddenly, a loud noise, one with weight, boomed through the thick silence. Like a body being slammed against a wall, impossible to ignore. Chris did his best to act normal, suppressing the sense of shock and rising adrenaline, while she was busy undoing the tangled wire from her neck. “What was that?”
“Nothing!” He quickly replied, making her flinch, “It’s nothing, I just…hit my leg on the desk on accident. Sorry about the spook…uh, thanks, I guess. I’ll be going now, have a nice night…shift.” He tried to laugh it off, feeling his cheeks redden to a near sweating heat. She glared at him for a moment, then decided she wasn’t up for turning this night into a graveyard shift and sheathed the daggers in her eyes as she went back to her computer.
The sound from the walls on the other hand was another story. Perhaps she took his advice and was busy tucking herself into bed, maybe even becoming familiar with their crawling companions on the floor. That’s what he hoped at least, there wasn’t much more his heart could take at this point.
With a nervous pivot, he shuffled away from the desk and made his way out the door and into the parking lot.
The empty parking lot.
Next to the empty road.
Leading out to a very empty world.
The slight breeze whistled through the air and around his body. Its octave gave the impression of an emotion he’d been trying to keep tucked within him, even since this very morning.
Panic.
The air had become dry and sour, speckled with the dark embers of righteous fury.
Anger set all ablaze, whipping mad and slapped against the body in rhythmic waves. Time and time, it rose in temperature towards an oven’s bubbling embrace. This searing sensation stung as it seeped into the skin, cooking the torn muscle to a medium-well mush.
Even through this, those muscles remained in motion, holding strong as the mind studied around quick glances of grey and white. Rocks were scattered around, and rising in number. The mind needed to know when to move, when to turn, when to jump. All to steer clear on a detour from death. It’d been around ten minutes when this chase began. It felt five times longer, and a hundred times more painful. Hard nail pounded on the packed earth, absorbing the impact far better than bare skin. Every few moments, that earth would rumble, and the pink sky would flash with the explosion of stardust. Mountains would shed their polar white caps, rushing down like rapids to wash over the lands.
The mind was still searching, studying the area as best it could. But it was strapped with the blinders of panic, and could only focus on what was directly in front, looking desperately for an opening, a place where he could see a chance for escape. It’d worked before. He managed to slip the matador, the neighbor, the police, so it had to be somewhere here as well. Somewhere. Anywhere. As of now, there was only pale nothingness, as this color was being slowly blotted out to an empty white.
…Maybe it was twenty minutes. Maybe it was no time at all.
He’d placed the stick under a wing, doing his best to keep his mouth shut when running from the airborne assailant, lest a fang plunge itself deep into a tongue that’d gotten itself in more trouble than it could handle.
Handle. What could he handle? What exactly could be handled? Every event right from this morning was nothing short of chaos, and to that point, it decided to remain steady and unchanging.
The wind continued to whip and crack, keeping him aware of how close he was to her swing range. Not that it truly mattered. It was clear from her less armored sections that she’d cultivated a body of respect and dominance. Towering above everything with the wingspan of a jet, and a horn like a javelin. It also didn’t hurt to have those power magical abilities. But no, it didn’t matter.
Showers of sparks overhead, and another loud rumble signaled a rock being decapitated nearby. The large chunks of debris shot into the ground below, their weight driving them deep into the snow. He jumped, ducked, working hard to avoid being squished like a…well, he wasn’t exactly one for puns right about now. Each moment exerted was sluggish, feeling like a punch in the gut from soreness. As these rocks fell, they sprayed snow in the air and creating a screen difficult to see through. A darkened figure appeared before him, and he planted his hooves and ducked over to the side. His mouth filled with a vile mixture of spit, dirt, and ripe raspberries.
One of his legs smashed against an invisible rock, sending a paralyzing shock throughout his body like a stabbed nerve. The pain was intense, making his mind go blank, seizing in those precious seconds. His legs buckled and the rest of his body crashed into the ground in a lifeless roll.
This was thousand times more painful.
He was slow to get back to his hooves, and the echo of another pair reverberated on the rocks from his slow stride. Once stable, he keep his eyes laser-focused on her, while also trying to lick the sharpened splinters from his now bleeding gums. His breath was long and labored.
“Fall after fall after fall,” She said in a low hiss, “Hard to believe you managed to infiltrate the Crystal Empire or Canterlot with any kind of success.” She stopped before him, staring down with a self-serving smirk. “Of course, that’s when you still had loyal drones aiding you in these ambitious endeavors. Not like now. Not with you alone.” The final words she spat with particular venom.
Chris sucked in a large glob of snot and blood that was dripping from the muzzle. All of this stumbling and bumbling was doing absolute wonders on his immune system. If this kept up, maybe he’d have a mustache of icy green and nasty build-up. it wasn’t like he tried to before. After a whole 3 months, the only thing he had to show for it was a few short hairs on his chin.
She continued, “I must say, the fall of queens are often more romantic and graceful in stories of old. Though, grace was never a strong trait of yours, if that mean mug you grace us with every day is to go by.”
He felt shaky, drawing even shakier breath, with each labored puff thick and opaque. Pools of saliva sloshing over his tongue. Here was not a place to be tired, even if he could feel that drowsy doom creep over him slowly. Whatever conscious energy he had left would soon pass on this freezing wind, doing its best to hasten this eventual outcome. He wasn’t surprised by this cold behavior, he always hated this kind of weather whenever he went on vacation in the winter. Hobbled under layers and layers of clothing, watching the world shrivel and die for a few months.
“Forgive me for not adhering to your customs, especially after you’ve insulted me, you cosmic cunt.”
She gasped in mock shock and clutched her chest, “Ouch, that really stings.”
“No, but this will.” At least, he hoped it would. The stick had taken a beating during his escape attempt, as the wood was worn and bruised. The coarse bark suggested it to be of oak, with the honeydew excrement sticking to his body. Its edge was now jagged and sharp, much like the horn stuck to his head. A splintered point, perfect for piercing the smug aura surrounding her.
The satyr stared at him silently, as still like a deer in the headlights. Her giant blue eyes were glass, the galaxies of her mane swirled at random. Almost as if they were taken aback as much as they both were.
Her muzzle scrunched. A snort. A giggle. A Big Bang of gut-busting laughter erupted from her. He felt his ears fold at the sheer volume of it. Each howl echoed deep throughout the mountains and vibrated his skeleton in an icy cold caress. A sharp stab of cold malice.
After a while, she straightened herself and wiped away a tear. “Oh my, now that’s rich,” She choked down another chuckle and spoke clearly, “The disgraced queen of the changelings threatens to smite me down with a stick? Hilarious, simply outstanding! When sister hears of this, she’ll be rolling for days!”
“That’s if her fondness for putting away pastries doesn’t achieve that first.” Said a low croaking voice he heard from within him. Unfortunately, so did the satyr. Her laughter stopped, robotic in nature, and her head snapped on target. “Then perhaps I’ll serve her your head on a silver platter. I hear from some of our allied nations that insects are a fantastic source of protein.” Her voice was inhuman, like two were speaking at once, neither with any feeling of empathy or remorse. Deadly serious.
He'd never experienced something like this before, hearing someone speak to him in such a manner. Sure, he’d given and received several statements of ill intent in the past, but they’ve always lacked the proper bite to their bark. These were different, this terror within him stemmed from its guarantee. Wearing this grudge like a crown. But, no, he couldn’t let himself end here, not after everything. He needed to find a way to get out of here, lose this enemy and start tracking him down once again.
Him.
He could see him now, going back to the motel room, discovering the emptiness with a devious smirk on his face. Calmly packing his things back into the car and driving off into the night. His mission complete. He was merely a drone for the bigger picture.
No.
He wasn’t done. He was going home and heading for her next. He was driving there in his car, walking into his house. Going to meet face-to-face with…
“Like hell you are! You don’t think I know what you’re planning?” He chucked the branch high into the air, twirling brightly in the cracked light of the sky, before catching it in a green aura of magic. “I’ll see you on your knees before he takes a single step! The only one who will be served here is you.”
“Do you practice these in a mirror?” She responded with slight amusement, “I don’t blame you, I use such foalish exercises at times myself. Sometimes when sister’s not around, I’ll pull aside full-body mirrors and pose before them in full regalia,” She demonstrated as such, changing through various examples, “I like to imagine myself standing before our standard crowds, mainly those who come to court. I like to imagine how the light shines on my face, how smoothly my dress rest upon itself, how carefully my mane is arranged. Looking for the best angles, the perfect posture to convey to all. Indeed, it is foalish, but it’s quite effective on your confidence. Helps you find the face to put before the masses. Your place in publicity.”
She stopped and looked back at him once more. The deep shadows were etched in the hard lines of her face. “However, they aren’t going to save you here, bug.” Electric blue light flashed around the sword in her hand. “If you wish to continue living in that daydream, all you’re going to find is a nightmare.” Hind muscles flexed and released like a cocked-hammer, exploding forward at an intense speed. The light of her sword became a shooting star.
He moved fast enough, charging forward and ducked under the slash. The force behind it rattled his brain like before, but he managed to stay focused and tried to get an unfocused jab on her leg between the armor. He missed, as he galloped a few steps too far. Hooves planted hard to turn around.
She followed up with a swing on the stick, bark splintering off loudly. The sound of the steel colliding was strange, an alien screech that vibrated throughout his body. Streams of light flew off like ribbons, illuminating sections of her bright armor. As soon as she was blocked, she made another. He managed to lunge out of the way and thrust forward like a lance, but it was still off as it scrapped over her shoulder plate.
Left and right. High and low. Quick and slow. He blocked and jumped as best he could. Though, to be more accurate, he felt like he was being kicked around like a soccer ball.
His innards burned, no need for a sword to feel this piercing pain. The flashing lights shot into his eyes like a strobe, creating abstract visions of whites, greys, and blues. Somehow, he could still see her face behind all the noise. She was calm and collected, her concentration focused solely on power. Whatever she was, she seemed well-versed in combat, even if it was slightly awkward since he was so low to the ground. Nevertheless, she still rushed him with a barrage of strikes.
They did their job, as it was increasingly difficult to juggle the branch on wonky balance. Any energy to puncture was gone, he could only now keep himself from getting sliced to pieces. He hoped to gas her out from the nonstop swings. He reminded himself that he wasn’t dealing with something entirely human.
Eventually, the two found their weapons clashing, and they came very close. In a moment of panic, he did something that in another life he’d be ashamed of, imaging how some could stoop so low and commit such an act of cowardice. Something one would never be able to live down no matter what they accomplished.
He spat in her face.
The glob was thick, filled with mucus and other bodily fluids. The vilest loogie he ever spat, and it managed to hit right on target. She whinnied and recoiled a step, her sword still on guard as a hand went to her face. He used this moment to gather whatever breath he had left, now realizing she hit him more times than he thought, seeing splotches of black across the snow.
Her hand came away slowly, as if in shock from such an event occurring. An impossibility suddenly becoming possible. She looked at the greenish spit in her hand for a moment-a very quiet moment-and then turned back to him. Her eyes had taken on a slight slit. Her horn ignited, sparkling with tiny stars, and energy went down through her sword arm. The stamped engravings ignited galaxies across a plated universe. It reached the hilt, and she flipped the sword in her hand and drug it through the ground between them, casting the world in a blanket of pure white.
The sound of the steel came quickly, and he raised his branch to meet her, even if he couldn’t be sure where she was. He was a few inches off. It cut down the side of his front left leg, it stung with a freezing burn. He fell back another step. She came again, blocking and falling a few steps more. A never-ending wave of wails washed over his now failing defense, chipping away at his chitin as much as the bark. Her power flung him back into one of the massive boulders that fell from the mountains. His back pinched on the sharp surface and knocked the wind out of him. She swiftly bested him, literally breaking his defense in half. Laid out, body exposed for dissection.
Blue light flickered through the fog, showing her sword poised high for a downward arch. He shielded himself with his arms as best he could. He felt a strange energy release within him, and black liquid shot out from the wound on his leg, another projectile connecting with her. This caused her swing to be off by a few inches and chop down through the rock.
Sparks from the sword erupted a massive flash of light, one vastly different from those of magic or steel. This light was vibrant as day. Its rays burned through the snowy void, revealing his opponent. He could see her face squinting, turning away and dropping her guard momentarily.
He saw an opening, even if for a split second. He grabbed the longer piece of the branch and shoved it forward as hard as he could. It pierced through her hand deep, much like the holes of his hooves. She shouted in pain and her arm went stiff, with the other falling to her waist. A sigh of relief passed through his lips.
Then, nothing. Everything became still, the winds died down, reducing the blizzard around them to mere flurries. He was waiting to see it. Dark red fluids wrap around the branch in streams. Drinking them raw and running down like veins. He waited, and waited, and waited.
Her hand closed around the branch and pulled back, yanking him forward with its momentum. From the other, the blunt end of the hilt slammed into the side of his head. He flew face first in the snow several feet away, landing upright to see her tear the branch from her hand and toss it aside.
“Hmm, can’t say that I’m very impressed with that display.” Her tone held genuine disappointment, “Your guard was passable for a time, and a good strike as well, but your movements were that of an amateur. I haven’t seen somepony move that uncoordinated for a very long time, especially not during our last little exhibition.” She twirled the sword right-around and turned to him. She was still examining the wound. “Though, I shouldn’t be too surprised by you moving as stiff as a board. Or a statue.”
Chris let out a weird grunt in trying to respond, his mouth muffled by a mound of snow. It felt like the entire world was spinning, and he was right where he started in the beginning, in fact even worse now. He felt…distant, the fullness of the world slowly muddied over.
“Your mouth has written checks your body cannot cash. I suggest you see to its spending habits, lest we chip off an arm and leg to pay for it. Take a lesson from sister, when you’re busy stuffing yourself, it keeps you from saying anything…regrettable.”
He spat out the mush freezing on his teeth, and a couple of areas where they should’ve been. The rest of him wasn’t fairing any better. He couldn’t even begin counting the cuts and bruises lining most of his upper half, with many more scattered below the belt. Perhaps it was the cold’s doing, and unknown deeper trauma since he was completely numb to these injuries afflicting him. She was right, they did feel stiff as a board. He looked to the wound on his leg, and was in for another round of confusion.
Inside the slice between the chitin, there was no blood, there was no flesh. Instead, a faint light of warm yellow. The type of hue that would only be made from an artificial source. Not only that, but he could hear something within it. He perked an ear and tilted his head. It was there, no doubt about it. The steady hum of an air-conditioning unit, and the small motor of a ceiling fan.
He looked up to the satyr, noticing behind her was a similar light. Sprouting from the innards of the boulder, a makeshift window appeared. It peered into a world, a room that was too worryingly familiar.
A wall, pair of beds, lamp, door. A bedroom door.
“But as for me, I’ve had my fill for the night, I’m satisfied.” She swiftly sheathed her weapon and calmly readjusted her mane. The burning stars in her hair simply twinkled now and resumed their slow billow. “Thank you for the spar, I’ll see myself out.”
Upon seeing all of this, he had an idea.
“No…you’re not.”
Chrissy had a very simple idea.
He’d been sitting there for far longer than anticipated. He felt like he could’ve fallen asleep already, with the only thing keeping him aware of waking reality being the steady rumble of the idle engine. A hand rested upon the wheel, the other blinding him with the screen of his phone. Kicking himself internally for forgetting to use dark mode once again, like the other hundreds of times before.
Going dark, he wouldn’t mind doing that right now. To private altogether and drive out under the cover of night, with the moon being his only GPS to ignorant salvation.
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea right now,” He thought to himself, “It’s not like she wants me around anyways, no matter how much she wants to play nice. If I leave her alone for a while, she’ll be gone as soon as she arrived. Scurry off to another part of the country, maybe even the world if you give her enough time.” He went still for a moment, letting this idea soak in his mind, then nodded in approval.
“Distance. If we can just get some distance between us, then her looking like me won’t be that big of an issue. Probably. I wouldn’t care too much, as long as she behaves herself.”
Though, behavioral stability seemed a bit far-fetched at this point, given her episode earlier. Feeling the ice-cold shoulder in a bout of boastful ego-flexing, only stopped through the use of scratching to knock her off that high horse. Wait, she was already a horse, so would he only knock her over instead? Is that what that sound was?
He sighed and massaged his forehead. All this supernatural nonsense was starting to give him a supernatural headache. To think all of this was going on when he should’ve already gotten ready for class tomorrow when he should already be asleep…or in front of his computer to be realistic. And its timing couldn’t have been more frustrating if it’d tried. Almost as if it waited for the exact moment it could maximize the amount of pain located in his rear-end.
The fall semester had started just a few weeks ago, and like most people, he was still a little confused about finding his way around campus. He’d even accidentally walked into the wrong rooms at times, and be subject to that awkward silent group-stare from everyone inside. Now, they’re gonna start worrying about their dorms spontaneously exploding on a whim. Even worse if they happened to be like him, and were still recovering from that four-year fever dream that was high school. Despite now being able to reflect, he could never really see what he was supposed to put into it, nor what he was getting in return.
Movies, as they so often do, had painted for him a grandiose picture of these teenage tribulations. That within these hallowed halls lay a Shakespearean tragedy for each individual forced to act out their part. A whirlwind of joy and suffering sprinkled with triumphs, lusts, and betrayals. Beautifully broken youth lashing out against a cruel world in adolescent rebellion all wrapped up in a package of dark comedy. Something not understood in its own time, but will come to fruition with age and experience.
In reality, he only got a flimsy piece of paper and this weird disease known as expectations. He wasn’t quite sure where he contracted this ill-timed illness, for there were many potential carriers. Most likely someone who’d come down with it previously. For most of them, they managed to find a cure through some form of employment. As for the unlucky few, their condition had turned terminal, truly a fate worse than death. He knew he was going to be infected at some point, a part of why he thought seeking higher education would be a good remedy. Squeak out a few more years of freedom and low involvement while looking for the right treatment.
And now he was faced with an even greater fear, for he might’ve become the first catcher of a whole new bug. There was definitely something bound to be amiss, judging from that green goo all over the place, not to mention getting shot in the chest from her hornbeam. Guess he should’ve used protection. Like a pillow. Or a baseball bat.
He pulled the lever to lean his seat back fully. Any attempts of finding out what she was, where she came from, or any other kind of information was unsuccessful. In regards to alien accusations, it was mostly the standard affair. Sightings of flying UFOs. Little grey men with large heads coming down to steal livestock. Flashes of green light in now-demolished sections of a forest, leaving behind stripped trees and circular patterns of strange symbols burned into the ground. Mostly the standard affair.
“C’mon, someone somewhere must’ve seen something at some point.” He grumbled to himself. But considering her ability to blend in with others by becoming others, he wasn’t too surprised at finding nothing. Sighing once more in defeat, he turned off the screen and laid it on his chest. Turning his attention towards the car’s open sunroof.
Many nights just like this one he spent doing this very act, though, it’d been a while since he did it alone. Well, maybe he wasn’t entirely alone come to think of it. It seemed like the world had heeded to his woes, supplying him with a gorgeous night sky. Thick shades of violet-blue, as if plunged into the sunken depths of the ocean. Stars were painted by a manic hand, splattered and sprayed across the dark canvas from a frayed brush.
But it didn’t matter, not one bit. Anything was better than nothing in these small hours. He always enjoyed the stars and watching as they glimmered in the bright moonlight. Plus, it made it easier to pick out any pesky varmints that were prowling out in the fields. Helped him work on his aim.
“Speaking of help,” He brought his phone above his face and tapped on the contacts and scrolled through a shortlist of names. “It’d be real nice to hear another voice other than mine and, well, mine.” Before he placed the call, he looked over to check on the motel room.
Nothing. No movement, no sounds. Nothing.
He shrugged and tapped on the name, staring blankly at the icons as the phone began the flat buzzes. It rang through a few cycles more than normal. He groaned in frustration. “C’mon, c’mon, pick up the phone you fucking prick.” He nervously rapped his fingers against the back cover.
The ringing cut off abruptly.
“…”
He was about to speak when he heard a series of coughs and shuffling sheets. “Hello? Whoisthis?”
“He-e-ey, Roman!”
“Hmm, Chris? Is that you?”
“Yup, it’s me, dude! Good, uh…” He glanced over to the radio’s clock. “…morning, man!”
“Yeah, it is a good morning…it’s three in the morning!”
“Aha-ha, right, right! That it is…it is indeed.” Heavy silence. “So, uh, how’re you? Doing good?”
“I was…asleep. Very happily so,” He said flatly. “And if you’re just making a social call, I guarantee whatever it is can wait for the sun to come up.”
“Heh…well, uh, it really can’t actually. The thing I got going on, well, its pretty fucking serious.”
“Serious?”
“Yes, serious.”
“Like serious serious?”
“Yeah, serious serious.”
“Seriously serious?”
“Seriously serious.”
“Like, wake me up at three in the morning in the middle of nowhere after not talking for a week straight, kind of serious?”
“Seriously?” Chris grumbled and pinched his nose. “Sorry, the past couple weeks have been rough for me. This semester’s started out as one big mess and I’m still trying to salvage through the debris. No, I haven’t been blowing you off. In fact, you’re the first person I’ve turned to about this.”
“That serious, huh?” Chris heard him move around as he cleared his throat. “So, what’s got you all riled up this time? You know I might start charging extra for our unscheduled sessions, Chris.”
“Harr-harr, very funny. Though, funny is one way of describing this situation.”
“Weird, I thought you just said that it was serious-“
“Stop. Stop saying that.” He looked back towards their room. He could’ve sworn he saw some movements, a slight rustling of the curtains here and there, but ultimately nothing of importance.
“…I’m listening.”
“Earlier today, like way early in the morning, I was sitting around in the dining hall, trying to wake up from pulling an all-nighter on a paper. Let me tell you, it was a long ass night, man.”
“Is it gonna be on the test?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means stay on topic, dude.”
He grumbled again, “When I was there, I saw this…girl. Freshman, foreigner I think, a real looker. Yeah, pretty…captivating.” He gave a forced chuckle and adjusted himself in his seat. “Me and her met up sometime afterward, started talking. Ended up in my room eventually and…well, one thing led to another, and suddenly we were running off campus. Not sure we’ll be able to go back for a while, so we’re staying at a motel out on the road right now.”
The receiver was silent, as Roman took in all of this information. He grunted in approval and spoke.
“Geez, that sounds heavy, Chris.”
“I know,” He added. “Everything just happened so fast. I could barely even get a chance to breathe.”
“I’m surprised, truly. That’s gotta be a new record for you from greets to sheets, not even taking a full day.”
“Huh? No, no, it’s nothing like that, it’s a bit more intense.”
“Oh my, am I to believe that a little Chris is on his way soon?”
“No, man! It’s nothing like that, nobody is coming.”
“Then nothing’s out of the ordinary, I see.”
“Fuck you, asshole! This is serious!”
“Thought you said not to use that word anymore?” Before Chris could politely respond with a carefully crafted list of expletives, Roman piped up quickly. “Alright, that’s enough ragging you for waking me up, sorry…but real talk, you didn’t knock her up, right?”
“No.”
“Oh thank god.” He sighed in relief. “But, ok? I mean, this isn’t the first time we’ve talked about a situation like this. Usually, they turn out pretty well. Some better than others,” Chris grimaced upon hearing that. “What’s so different about her that you need to leave campus?”
“Different, hmph, that’s another nice description.” He moved his seat into the upright position. “Let’s just say, there was an incident in my dorm…building-dorm building, that’s made it uninhabitable for the time being. We’re on our way back home at the moment so we can try and sort this whole situation out.”
“We?” Roman asked surprised. “Why is she tagging along? If the dorms are that bad, why doesn’t she just go home to her folks?”
Yeah, about that, “That’s…not an option.” He said quietly, running his hand over the steering wheel.
Another long silence. They were becoming far more suspicious with each second.
“Not an option, why?"
"It's just not."
"Why?"
"It's just not, ok?"
"...Su~ure, alright then. Does your mom know about all of this?”
“Yes.” He said, feeling a bead of sweat run down his nose.
“I thought you just said I was the first-“
“Look! The reason I’m calling is to ask you a favor. How far away are you from where we live? Like an hour and half or something?”
“Uh...” There was a pause, "I would say a little over two, but sure."
“Right, so, you think you could just…swing by? Tell your professors it’s an emergency or something. Make it sappy enough and they won’t care.”
“You want me to come see you both?”
“Just come back for a day, alright? I would really, really appreciate it. Please, Roman?” He failed in part to hide the fear in his voice. He looked back to their room once more. That previously rustled curtain now found itself cock-eyed and half hanging limply off the rail.
“Fine, I can do that, but you’re gonna tell me what the heck is going on here the second we see each other, got it?”
“Yeah, got it.”
“Good, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna try to enjoy the rest of the night before morning comes knocking. Good night.”
“It’s already morning, dude.”
“Shut up. Good night.”
The ending click was quick, releasing a ton of pressure as he deflated in his seat.
Whew…that was way harder than I thought it’d be. And probably far less intelligent. But what’s done is done. He ran his hand through his hair, and looked back down to his phone. Tapping another finger against it. He felt his body start to heat up quickly, feeling far more tired.
Does your mom know about this?
…Yes.
“Shit, if I tell her this, she'll explode on me for being so stupid...ah, man...”
The feelings of his fingers grew numb with each swipe of the screen. All until his thumb hovered over her name.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared from the motel room, followed by the thrashing and thumping of a body against the walls.
“Jesus!” He shouted, nearly jumping out of his skin. Without thinking, his hand dropped his phone and gripped tight around the steering wheel, and the other shifting immediately into reverse. That’s it, this is too much. Time to tap out while he was ahead before something worse came for the both of them. Tail firmly planted between his legs. Time to leave, right-fucking-now.
Sitting panicked and clenched, he thought it over as the muffle cries of anguish and sporadic thumping continued through the windows. Each pounding drove further into his head, each one louder than the last. Louder than anything else outside. Slowly, he found his white knuckle grip on the wheel loosening.
He growled in frustration. "Arrgh! Why do I do this to myself?"
He shut the car off and leaped from his seat, wincing slightly from the pokes of loose gravel and trash piercing through the cotton chainmail. He ignored all of these issues, focusing on the major problem now as he hurried to the front door.
The satyr stopped and turned at this proclamation, her brow twisted with sudden confusion. The words themselves seemed impossible to hear. Somehow, the one before her was able to smile, their teeth smeared in pools of black. They raised a hoof and pointed at her.
“What you said…about being satisfied…no, you’re not.” They drew a long breath, a clicking-gurgle in the back of their throat as they did, “You’re not satisfied, how could you be after a showing like that? Is that really where you want to leave this off, especially when you’re so close to finishing? If I were you, I wouldn’t hesitate. I would go for the throat, and end this once and for all!”
“But I’m not you. And yet, your reign of terror has been put to an end all the same.” She returned to her calmness, her voice carried little passion, yet her face still slightly twitched with annoyance. “Equestria is safer with you out of the picture like this. So yes, it is indeed over.”
“Over?” Chrissy hissed. They rose to their hooves and started shambling towards her. “Like hell it’s over, we’re just getting warmed up.”
She held up her hand. “Don’t, your body is already scarred with defeat, don’t insult me any further with a frivolous attempt at a fight. Rest now and see to your wounds. You may even discover what pushed you to do what you did that led you to this very moment. Perhaps there, you’ll find that light of clarity just before you slip into darkness. I, on the other hoof, am going to see to my duties of the Dream Realm. My little ponies need a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is a bright and sunny one, and I must make sure they’re ready come morning. Ta-Ta, bug.”
“Oh, is that the reason why? If this task were so dire, then why take the time to come and visit me? Surely this little spat must throw off your rigorous schedule. Unless, you came here on a personal agenda?” Their voice took on a cruel hiss, letting out a chittering chuckle, “Could it be you haven’t felt as strong as you have in the past recently? Has si~ister been having doubts, your peers, your subjects? Has ruling with a soft tongue and a strong hoof eluded you?”
“Like I have any use for vanity such as that. My respect has been solidified as our power is redistributed. Ponies will still look up to me, even in my retirement.”
“You’re retiring? Ha! I can see why. Many of your mishaps needed to be wiped clean in a bright celestial wave. Are you looking to…impress? To show one last time you were worthy of your credentials? Previous events have certainly made it difficult. Hard to be high and mighty when you’re hanging haplessly in a cocoon.” They continued to laugh, watching her face grow a dark scowl. The blue fur slowly became black. “So go! Serve your peasants! I’m sure they’ll repay you happily in time, that is until you’re forgotten, shrouded in your sister’s shadow!”
Her hand came down like a hook, swift and precise in the arc. Chrissy felt a tearing pain as they were lifted by their jagged horn to her muzzle. The fur around her entire body was as black as the void of space. Ferocious slits in her eyes, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
“You certainly have a glutton for punishment, filthy fucking parasite.” If death had a voice, this is how she would speak. A voice, devoid of life. Unfeeling brutality. They felt another strain on their skull and floated higher in the air. The grip around the horn tightened. “If you’re enjoying what I’ve been providing you, then why don’t I give you a double helping?”
There was a pull in the stomach, and they started to spin. Faster. Faster. Faster. The skeleton felt like it was going to push through the walls of their flesh. The pressure in their head was suffocating.
She released them, firing like a bullet directly towards the ground. Below them, scattered small dots of black were rapidly growing in size by the second. They were sharp all over. They braced as best they could.
The impact drove spikes of pain straight through their body, as if their organs burst on the bones. How falling from a building would’ve gone had they not saved themselves earlier, something that couldn’t be accomplished here. They hit so hard, the rock broke apart and they ricocheted into the snow.
There wasn’t a moment to process before the satyr picked them up again, jerking their leg out of its socket. She spun them around to throw into another rock. Pained shrieks escaped their fractured jaws, croaking vocals to this cacophony of punishment. Forget soccer, this was a sport of a distinctly American flavor. Concussions and all.
The environment crumbled further, turning rubble to rubble in malicious mitosis. They could feel heavy reverberation with each pounding, theirs was no safety net. Not by a long shot.
Chris looked through the smudged glass. Good, she was still sitting at her desk, finally managing to fully fall asleep while the screen painted colors on her face. He didn’t need any more surveillance, the moon overhead was already doing that enough. Lying in wait in the darkness of its heavy crescent.
He carefully inched the door forwards, trying to muffle any noise of bumps as it scratched across the tiled floor. He went inside and shut the door using his thumb to place it in the jamb. He went quiet for a second and examined her further. She hadn’t moved, her headphones remained firmly cemented to her cranium. Dead asleep. In fact, her skin even looked a shade slightly paler.
He continued past her slow, then breaking into a brisk jog when far away enough. He came up to the door where the sounds were their most frantic, like the whole room was going to fall in on itself from the noise. He fumbled for the key in his pocket. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be anywhere near this door. Anybody else with enough sense wouldn’t, he even had the means to leave out in the parking lot. But no, it was only the loud rumbles of his gut taking over.
He jammed the key in the lock and forced it. It wouldn’t budge. Again.
“Dammit Chrissy, you got a real bad habit of very specific property damage, you know that?”
He pushed against the door, cursing under his breath for not grabbing his shoes. His toes dug into the old carpet as his shoulder began to throb, constant jolts of static reminding him of his stupidity all over his body.
Paused after what felt like an eternity, Chrissy laid sideways in the snow shivering with pain. Barely able to breathe with their warped ribcage. The satyr came from behind, lifting them again in front of her. Even though it was blurry from the blood-soaked film, they could still see the rage radiating off her, a thermal aura that melted the snow around her. “There,” She growled, “Do you feel satisfied now?”
“Satisfied?” Chrissy coughed, streams of black spewing out of their mouth. They held onto their stomach and looked at the satyr with another smile. “Not quite yet, perhaps if I were to have…one more taste?”
The sounds continued from behind the wood, while strange lights flickered through the cracks of the doorframe like open electrical currents. He was sure that whatever was going on, it could also be seen from the window, and in turn, any car passing by. It was at that moment, that a plan started to form. A really stupid plan. He backed himself against the opposite wall and pushed off, rushing shoulder-first at the door once again, only harder.
He closed his eyes and braced, expecting either one of two results: A hard slam and another cracked door, or a concussion and a whole heap of embarrassment. He might even get both for the price of one. What a steal.
He waited. And waited. And waited.
Soon that outcome arrived, only it wasn’t a face full of wood, but instead a mouthful of carpet.
He opened his eyes and looked behind him, realizing now that he'd fallen to the floor. The ever so annoying door was now showing its other face. However, the thing was still shut. As if it were never touched at all.
"Huh..." He groaned as he got up from the floor, "Strange to say that's not the strangest thing I've seen today." His attention to the door was stopped by the muffled screams and loud rips cutting through the air.
Once he did turn around, he immediately wished he hadn't.
Her gaze stared deep into their battered face, as if mentally taking stock of how much damage she had caused in her attack. They wondered if she was comparing it to any similar occasions, with bodies to display her effort. Like a hunter with rows of bucks lining the walls. There wasn’t any necessity to this, no, this was purely for the trophy.
She smirked and gave a small nod. “Very well, ask and you shall receive, for I have something special cooked up for you.”
The satyr grabbed them physically, strong muscles in her arm bulged with immense power. Chrissy’s body was tossed in a rainbow throw. They flopped around in the air, looking like a limp clay pigeon, making no attempt to recover. There was a few seconds of nothing, a pause in everyone’s movement. Then, a flash of light engulfed them, and the satyr unleashed a huge magic beam straight from her horn.
The pain. The burning. The inescapable, screaming suffering. It was so widespread, there was no way to comprehend it, no single point to focus on in their body. It was a whole new sense of existence, tearing psychotically at the worn flesh and grabbing them from within and torching their very soul. Tartarus.
Controlling the beam, the satyr drove them towards the ground once more, laughing maniacally as she did.
White. Black. Rocks. Collision.
A massacre. Bloody ribbons sprawled across the walls and beds. Writhing pulps of gore, infesting the air with a dull iron stench. Twisted entrails were shredded and stuck to the fabric of the carpet, soaking it into a deep maroon. All were projected on the back wall, as silhouettes appeared from an overturned lamp on the floor. The only traces of her left was chips of black shell poking out. Her horn.
Chris could’ve broken his nose with how hard he facepalmed. She’s an alien, idiot, did he really think that she was going to figure out the concept of a bed without screwing it up? He hurried over to try and resolve this problem, reaching around at the squirming pile of sheets, having to pull back every time she moved.
“Ah! Hey, watch the tail-easy! Hold still, you’ve-ouch-you’ve got this twisted around your legs. No, no-ack-calm down, girl! Chill out, it’s cool, everything’s cool!”
That was the problem. The room felt like a freezer, seemingly cranked about as low as the air conditioner could go, and then some. Goosebumps went up his arms, feeling most of the cold resonating from within the pile.
A mourning cry called out from it.
“Chrissy, you ok in there?”
“…She…she’s…coming…she’s coming…”
“Yeah, hopefully not, if you stop thrashing around, that is. Give me your arms.” He finally got hold of her hooves and started unwrapping the sheets. Far easier said than done, as she had double-triple-quadruple knotted the fabric around herself. They even managed to feed through her larger holes somehow. she continued to mumble, her back legs kicking occasionally. He eventually got her free and unwrapped the larger half of her upper body. Upon doing this, he quickly stepped back in shock.
What was once a tall-albeit scarred-mare, was now a shriveled husk. Wrinkled and withered, the shell had faded into a lifeless grey, and the chitin flaked off from all of her rolling around. The hair dried and crusty was wrapped around her head, covering up a terrified face gasping for breath that never came.
He’d seen this scene before, more times than he ever cared to. The final fleeting moments in an animal's mind before they pass on from this mortal coil. Often slow, painful, and confusing. You can see it in their eyes, really. Even after they’re gone, the memories remain in those glass spheres. Every last second.
The collision, the shattering of bone and shell against the stone sounded like a symphony of triumph. The great battle hymn of a fight raged for years, ringing out for all to hear in all corners of the world. The satyr took the blade and gracefully sheathed it and exhaled. It was over. Finally.
“…Special…”
A snort of confusion. She turned and looked at the dust settling at the impact site, and finding the being that still remained. Their body was almost completely deconstructed. Large sections of their shell were scorched to pieces of charcoal and ripped off. The translucent abdomen had ruptured, swimming in black liquid and the punctured organs. Their limbs were skeletal, chunks of them poking out from the innards. The face she saw was under a veil of open wounds and debris, and an eye gouged by the broken horn.
“Yes, I…love specials.” They croaked.
“What are you talking about?” She asked, taken aback by the mutilated corpse, much more with its tone of confidence.
…Alright…
Her ears perked to a completely different voice.
…So, are you still hungry?
One distant, desperate, and distinctly male.
The damaged rock was split open from the force, revealing now the smoldering yolk. It was blurry, like a fogged window, but they could see something. A room. A bedroom of sorts, seeing bedframes and sheets sprawled out under a yellow artificial light. In the middle of the cracked window, there was an out-of-focus entity. A face.
“What happened to you?” He asked through a grimace. He backed off another step to give her more room. Each twitch made his heart sink just a little more each time. The sheets around her reminded him of a mummy. Or a cocoon.
“…Hungry…so…hungry…”
“You’re hungry, is that what’s causing…this?” He asked, waving a hand over her.
“Hunger…feed…”
He swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. “Uh, ok, we didn’t get anything since this morning, so I guess that makes sense. Didn’t know it would do this though, shit.” He went around the room and searched the contents the motel puts out for the guests, opening the dressers and checking behind the cabinets. There was nothing substantial. The drawers were empty, the microwave wiped clean, and the carpets had been vacuumed. This was the only time he found somewhere following proper business etiquette, and somehow, it was actually a determent to him.
“Sorry, Chrissy, there isn’t anything here. All I got are these little coffee pods for that Keurig. What’re we supposed to do, suck on the beans?” Suddenly, he felt something grip his leg.
“Warmth…” She whispered. The shivering started to die down.
“Chrissy, that’s my leg.” She didn’t answer, continuing to stare up at the ceiling. “Chrissy, let go.”
The bones of her neck popped as she turned to him. Her eyes were wide, submerged deep in bloodshot rings. “Warm food…feed.” She hissed as she bared her fangs, the saliva around her gums bubbled in a greenish foam. Her body tensed up.
The sheets flourished in a red whirlwind. Which in turn twisted her tail. Which in turn twisted his leg. Chris felt his whole body contort, and was quickly swept off his feet and yanked down to the floor. In a tight pull, his legs snapped shut and his arms were crushed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
In the span of a second, she snagged him unguarded and trapped him inside a roll of sheets. They were lying face-to-face with each other as she eyed him down with a quizzical stare. “Hey! Let me go!” He squirmed in the roll, only tightening the grip and pulling him closer to her.
She moaned softly with a little drool dripping from her lips. “Chris…”
“What? Is there a reason you just put a death roll on me? Cause it better be a good one.”
Her breath was thick, which kept hitting him in waves as she gave him a puppy dog look. “You’re…so warm.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it-“ He felt a long slimy tendril glide up his cheek, icy to the touch. It made him shiver as she glazed it over her teeth, letting out a purr of satisfaction.
“Warm, and tasty. Very tasty.” She scooted towards him till their noses nearly touched. She wrapped all four legs around his body and gave him a full taste of the irises. She whispered in his ear, “I want…more.” Those eyes flashed a flicker of green.
He could feel the chills seep down the rest of his body. “Now Chrissy…uh, we hardly know each other. This kind of thing is only reserved for a very special occasion.”
“Special, yes, I love specials.” She rubbed her hooves against his back. He fidgeted again, making her smile.
“…Alright…” He gulped, “…So, are you still hungry?”
“Yes…” She replied, caressing a hoof on the back of his head. Her eyes shined brighter than ever, “And you will satisfy quite nicely.”
“What is that?”
“Yes…” Chrissy responded to the figure, caressing the rock and hoisting themselves up to be face-to-face with them. They smiled with what teeth they had left, “And you will satisfy quite nicely.” They whispered. The satyr watched as their eyes rolled back and their mouth began to open.
Wider.
Wider. Unhinging like a snake.
“No!” She shouted and launched forward with a mighty flap of her wings.
But she was too slow, too far away to stop them. She saw the glazed look of ecstasy as they absorbed a large cloud of pink mist, sparkling and swirling full of energy. They were consuming every last bit of this figure, sucking off the very facial features and skin color, making them a near colorless pale. As she flew closer, the structure of the being became vaguely familiar. Otherworldly, yet close by. One that her sister’s disciple had studied for many years.
A green shockwave sent her tumbling backward, and she had to right herself with a few beats of her wings. She caught her breath, as nerves ignited throughout her body. Putting her on high alert, now knowing victory had moved its goal post.
After completing their feast, they pulled away with a large smile, licking their lips several times over, and let out an uncouth belch. “Now that was satisfying, really hit the spot.” Said the now very healthy looking horse.
“Who…what was that?” She asked, pointing an accusatory finger.
“This?” Chrissy asked, swishing her tail over the hole, “It’s nothing important. Just another piece of rubble to be discarded.” They ignited their horn and pointed to the rock. She felt a rush of anger, forced to watch it shatter to pieces. “After all, you’re right, I’ve been defeated. Utterly defeated. You can go on about your business, I’ll chill out here.”
She let out another enraged snort. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on, and I’m not going anywhere until I get it out of you.”
“Want to keep fighting, hmm?” They asked, and flicked a hoof to clear film from their face, now shiny and full, even with the small holes scattered about. “So be it, thy fair maiden, we shall duel once more! But,” They clasped their face in an exaggerated gasp. “Oh no, our battlefield! It’s in ruins!” Their jokes fell on deaf ears, as the satyr scowled at their antics. “With all of this mess, where shall we continue our conflict? Perhaps-“
“-Here?”
The satyr jumped at the sudden whisper tickling her ear, and she swung at her side. It only cut through the air, as Chrissy vanished just before the steel met their skull. She recomposed herself and stepped back, looking around the mountains. She cursed herself for letting them get enough strength back to continue fighting.
“Maybe over here?” They popped into view on her left, waving a hoof mockingly. She swung again, this time only hitting a rock and slicing it in two, the inside melting from the sword’s heat.
“What about over here?”
“Stop!”
“Or here?”
“Enough!”
“Oh-oh, over here! This one’s got a great view!”
“Silence!”
She shot at them with her horn, holding the sword loosely as she caught her breath. Sporadic lines in the snow where it was dragged. A cut and run strategy, she never thought highly of those combatants. It wasn’t the way she was trained. Those methods were cowardly. Back then, a soldier’s name could be tarnished for generations if they committed these actions. Unless they were ones who worked in the shadows, and even then there was the potential for shame. “There’s no point to this. Jump around all you want, I will catch you.”
They appeared again. “True. Now that I think about it, this spot is just fine, I have plenty to work with.” Their horn lit up again, its green aura dripping with pure evil.
The satyr wiped sweat from her brow and readied her defense. Whatever they were planning next, she could take it. She had to. As far as she was aware, they’d made no inklings beforehand they knew of this other world’s existence, nor of its capabilities of magic. She had made sure of that. Absolutely sure.
The spell they were casting wasn’t being prepped for the standard frontal blast. Instead, they seemed to channel it throughout their hooves and send it in the ground, sinking deep like poisonous roots as it glowed through the snow. A ground now filled with rocks. Lots of rocks. Large and small. Blunt and sharp. Hundreds. Thousands.
She slowly looked up, mouth slowly becoming agape at the sight of it all. Chrissy had formed a giant suspended storm of stone rumbling with the deep groan of powerful magic. Most of them were swirling in currents internal to the formation, flashing with sparks of green energy as they smacked against each other. She took a nervous step back.
“I sure hope that blade is tuned, cause I wanna hear it sing!” Chrissy shouted and released their attack upon her. A rushing tidal wave of rock directly at her.
She tried to cast a personal defensive spell to shield her body, but it proved useless. She didn’t have enough energy needed for a full shield, nor could it last the whole duration. Halfway through, the spell would give way, leaving her open to a face full of rock, and she didn’t look good holding her teeth.
It was better to go for an offensive approach. She fed magic through her sword and would use that extra power to chop through them quickly. As it came over her, she struck. Each slice tore through hundreds of pebbles pellets, finally eroding them to dust. Energy passed through the rocks, mixing their magic with her own, cracking with long flashes of hot blue lightening. It reminded her of an asteroid belt, the kind she would see night after night when completing her nightly duties. However, she never wanted to see them this close.
But there were too many. Dozens of rocks passed by her swings. They collided into her armor, keeping the full force of their speed even after impact, punching giant dents into the plates. She brought her arms close to guard her upper body, leaving her lower half exposed. The debris shifted its target immediately. Her knees were obliterated, causing her to lose her balance and be propelled across the ground with the force, eventually stopping face first in the snow.
Groaning in pain, she used her sword to lift herself up, now shaking uncontrollably. Luckily for her, the midnight blue fur would do well to cover up bruises. Giddy laughter could be heard from beside her, and the dancing of hooves.
“Wow! That was so much cooler than I thought it was going to be. You looked like you were fighting a raging ocean in space, pretty cool.” Chrissy cheered from atop a high rock.
“More like cruel,” She wheezed, “Cruel, cowardly…”
“Calculated?”
“Hardly.”
The land had been glassed, mountains fracked into nothingness. The snow was swept away, only leaving patches of white amongst the muddied green and black. The pink sky was still present, and a faint shimmer was on the horizon. Inching. Creeping.
She raised her sword again, only now it was lacking in proper form.
“You still got more in the tank, really?”
“Enough of this, who’s that other being you’re working with?”
“I thought you said I had no loyal drones?”
“Answer me!”
“Not with that tone.” They replied and stuck out their tongue. She lunged at them, but they sidestepped. They reared and went to buck her head. She jumped back and snatched one of their legs.
“I’ll slice you open if I have to, Equestria will not suffer another one of your vile schemes.” She threw them over her head towards the ground. They teleported, only leaving air to rustle the grass. She heard a pop overhead. They were falling at her fast, fangs bared wide. She raised the sword to block, and they bit down on the steel. She pushed them back while sliding the sword, slicing the corners of their mouth. They stepped back and spat.
Her energy was starting to dwindle, but she couldn’t let this plan go any further, it must be killed in its crib. Chrissy used her horn to shoot a continuous beam toward her. She was just barely able to block it, seeing light pop off the steel like fireworks. She used her wings to rush forward. Chrissy refused to move as she closed the gap, as their face appeared slightly blank, like most of their concentration was focused on the spell. This was her opening. The noise of the beam went higher, and she felt her ears fold.
They stopped their attack, just in time for the broadside of the blade going into their face again. They stumbled in shock, eyes wide and confused. She moved her sword to her wingtips and switched to hitting them with her hands and hooves. She wasn’t going to lie, their plates of chitin crushing under her fist was a wonderful sound. Like the songbirds chirping in the gardens. She cracked their chin with an uppercut and brought the sword back to her hands and crouched low. She rammed the sword as hard as she could through their guts.
Chrissy froze, letting out a muted grunt. Then a rattling wheeze. Their wide eyes became vacant.
She forced the hilt and twisted it clockwise, spraying black liquids and churring the innards like a thick cream. She grabbed the film on the back of their head, the slimy sweat coating her palm, and jerked them close. “Tartarus awaits you, do you hear me, villain?” She went closer to the ear, “You, Cozy…Tirek. Tartarus awaits you all.”
She put both hands back on the hilt. Using the sword, she filled their stomach with magic directly. The blue light crawled through their veins, going up the body and peeking out from behind the throat. Lighting the eyes. Bright green. With a massive roar, she sliced upwards.
Flesh.
Blood.
Bone.
Brain.
It all went up in an oily geyser. Like she tapped a vein buried deep within the earth. Many veins.
In a huge wave of black sludge, their body collapsed and spasmed. The satyr loosened, dropping the sword on the ground and balancing her hands on her knees. She slowly breathed and watched as the body continued to writhe. Twitching.
Twitch.
Twitch.
…Twitch.
…
Still.
All Chris heard was the snap of bone, before a faint ghostly whisper filled his head, drowning out everything else. A weird glow deep within her throat. He couldn’t be sure. Vision was failing him, as everything became an undescriptive blur. He felt light and empty, drifting in a sea of pink.
He felt like his spirit was being sucked from every orifice in his face. His throat became dry, a ringing in his ears, and his eyes went dry. He couldn’t even think straight, it was like his brain was replaced by mounds of stuffy cotton.
Another voice called out through the static, coming from a far distant land.
“It’s not enough, I need more.”
As soon as she spoke, he felt her jaws close up and pucker. Another forceful shove, and the two connected in a deep hard kiss.
An explosion of light shot out through the oily sheen, radiating as if it were bouncing off the surface of the ocean. The chitters returned with a faint chuckle.
The satyr groaned. Her whole body ached with great pain. She saw them rise mechanically as if on invisible pulleys. Their two halves grinned cockily as they merged themselves together. “I must commend you, princess, I honestly didn’t think you had the guts to go through with that. Very commendable indeed.”
His eyes bulged in shock at this move. He could hear her sounds and moves of delight. Most of his senses cleared somewhat, allowing him to see her take on a strange aura, rippling in waves of a green hue. Her decrepit appearance was long gone. In fact, her onyx black shell looked more polished than ever.
To say he was a fan of what was occurring wouldn’t be true, but nothing within him was telling him to stop it. All he could really feel was a lukewarm indifference that was rapidly dropping in temperature. Besides, it wasn’t like he could really move anyways.
She placed a hoof on his temple and tightened her grip. Her jaw moved again, and her long tongue slowly entered his mouth and slid over his own and down his throat. He couldn’t gag, he didn’t have the energy to, having felt a chunk of it race up his esophagus and expel into hers and wildly lapping it all down her gullet.
There was a gag, a real one, and her neck flexed. A molasses fluid, tasteless and bitter, was shoved over his tongue and forced him to swallow all in one terrible mass.
They sucked in one labored breath and flopped the halves of their head forward. Brain matter pulsated as it fused. “That sword of yours is very interesting…and incredibly sharp. Especially when it went down that rock over there. For it revealed a glimpse…a window, gazing into another world. It gave me an idea.”
She slurped her tongue from his mouth and pulled back, leaving a long connecting strand of green saliva between them. Chris coughed furiously as he tried to crawl out from the mass of sheets and limbs. All the while she deviously giggled to herself rubbing her hooves all over her face, her whole body shaking violently with newfound energy.
“Yes, it gave me a really interesting idea,” Their doubled voice quickly overlapped into a singular hiss as the head was shoved together. “If only hitting the environment around here gives me a passing glance, then perhaps a direct hit…”
“More, mo-r-r-r-re, MORE!” She screamed and her fangs bit down and ripped through his chest. There was a sickening crunch, followed by a loud meaty squelch, and her head flew up in a fountain of red.
Clenched in her mouth was an object, around the size of a fist. It was a mixture of oranges and beating rapidly, as tiny streams flowed between her teeth drenched in blood. Most of the rest ran down her body in a thick, warm shower.
They brought their hooves up and held their own chest open. Then, with a mischievous glint in their eye, they cracked the bones in their neck and threw their head in fangs first. They tore away at the sternum and dug further. Their teeth latched around something wet, sliding over layers of slime. The jaws trembled as it continued to throb quicker, blood rushing fast. Their head jerked up and wrenched it from its position.
The satyr jumped back in horror, which quickly turned to disgust. “Faust above, what is that?” She shouted.
They didn’t answer, wholly consumed by the overstimulating energy filling their mouth. Drool and blood ran down their body in long streams, absorbing in the cracks between their chitin plating.
He watched as the fleshy tendons and muscle suspended in the air twitched with every pulse. Her eyes almost fully enraptured in their green glow, like her soul was pounding on the back of her irises. It didn’t take but another blink for them to glow completely, the same light that surrounded her horn.
She clamped down harder. A sharp piercing followed, and she began to suck hard on the organ.
His whole world started fading as he immediately lost consciousness. Only getting a glimpse of the scene engulfed in more pink mist, before blacking out entirely.
Electric. Zapping around the body in pink misty static. The air filled with a thick mystical scent, lustful and overpowering. This power gave off a loud drone as if a great vault of knowledge long ago sealed was slowly opening once more. It was heavy. The eyes were open. Awoken. Wrapped in the green flames, it was all there, yes! Right there, they could see it! They could feel it! It’s here! IT’S HERE! ALL HERE!
The fire evaporated in a sweeping explosion before fizzling out with a loud fwoosh. The satyr saw a figure come from the flames, and took back control of her trembling lips. “What have you done?” First in a shaky murmur, then steeled her voice, “What have you done?”
Gracefully floating down like a snowflake, resting lightly on a pair of hooftips shiny and muscular. Tall and full. Allowing for the shriveled organ to rest within her hands.
“Chrysalis!” She shouted, “You’ve stolen that creature’s heart!”
“It appears that way, doesn’t it?” Chrysalis replied with a smirk. The heart now resembled more of a dried raisin, completely devoid of plump and color, yet still faintly squirmed in her palm. “But you’re being a little hyperbolic, I’ve merely borrowed it for now. As if I were to lead somepony along such as that, we hardly know each other. For shame, princess!” She stretched her arms behind her head, flexing her muscles as they popped. “I thank you for knocking some sense into me. I shall apply these lessons when I’m the one ruling over your filthy commoners. After I tend to my own family, of course. Every good mother should be involved in their children’s lives, wouldn’t you agree, Luna?”
“The Hive is far better off without your influence. It was they who helped us defeat you in the final offensive. Willingly.” She snorted, “There is no love lost amongst the changelings, they’re distributing it equally and effectively last I heard.”
“Please, they’re simply misguided.” A warm orange crept its way over the horizon. Chrysalis watched as the colors swirled, wrestling for dominance. She smiled with a small curl. “It seems the sun’s starting to show itself.”
Luna looked over. It was the light of the sun. The rays as they sprawled across the sky, resembling now like cracks from that of rotted stone. Slowly becoming wider. Her heart rate quickened.
“What was that you said earlier, about the hours between night and day?” Chrysalis pondered, tapping a finger on her chin. “You’ll have to help me here, as I am just playing dumb, of course. Something concerning your immediate actions afterward. Yes, it would be very hard to forget those.” Luna shot a bullet of magic at her, to which she lazily flicked away with the buzz of a wing. “No-no-no, it didn’t go like that, you’ve got it out of order. I think it went something like this.” The shell of her fingers elongated into sharp pointed claws. The fangs in her mouth grew so large they stuck out, letting green drool drip between them.
She lunged at Luna with a feral growl and began to rip through her weak defenses. Easily passing by the sword and going straight for her glamorous armor. How it sparkled in the light, going perfectly with her mane and tail. The engravings and hieroglyphs told stories of Equestria and personal triumphs, much like those history books she boasted about. She imagined the process was grueling. Carefully measuring every inch of her figure. Once. Twice. Dozens of times. Long through the night, ponies sweat as they stamped at the steel. Weaving the most exotic fabric for the lining. The dyes. The paints. The enchantments. How she would stand before a mirror, eyeing its curves. Noble sycophants would cheer and compliment. And she would smile to herself. Happy. Satisfied.
Now, it was torn into steel tatters in seconds. Completely unsalvageable. Oops.
Luna fell over, causing her wings to pinch underneath. Chrysalis followed with the momentum, jumping atop her and tearing her abdominal plating like tinfoil. She brought her legs to her chest, suffering many cuts in the process. The adrenaline was crucial. Using what little magic she had left, she took it through her hooves and bucked upward. Chrysalis shot high into the air traveling at a great uncontrollable speed. Luna used this to scramble to her hooves and try to run, to find a safe spot to cast a portal.
Chrysalis continued to fly higher, barely able to keep her eyes open. Higher. She sensed there was something around her, something above and wide. Higher. She could tell she was coming close to it. The sound reverberation shortened fast. Higher. She braced.
Luna looked up, as a thunderous boom echoed out across the sky. It was now a giant spider web of cracks, all shimmering with the same light she’d seen appearing from the rock. Chrysalis was perched in the middle of the crater, looking like she weaved it herself. Her muscles flexed. “Die, Luna!”
She pushed off and rocketed towards the ground. Loose pieces shook themselves free and dropped alongside, coming down like hail. It reminded her of when the castle collapsed. Many times when it did.
Luna dove away from a large piece, landing on the ground with a thud, got back to her hooves, and ran. However, that action could only be completed now at the speed of a brisk trot. Chrysalis spread her wings to chase, swiftly avoiding the falling debris.
A large chunk of stone cloud fell in front of Luna. She raised her sword to cut it in half. Seeing this, Chrysalis took advantage and shot a beam of explosive magic at the obstruction. It went off right in her face, sending burning shrapnel in all directions. Her grip was weak, her composure was gone. The sword flung from her hands, a faint whistle as it cut through the wind. No armor could protect a fist-sized piece from hitting her in the face and putting her on the ground again.
She cried out in pain, gasping for air like a fish. She rolled onto a knee. All around, broken stone billowed, the dust falling softly like snow, delicately dressing the ground like a funeral wreath. Waking.
“Something wrong, Luna? You look a little spooked…” The chittering voice sent fear into her mind. She looked around frantically for anything to defend herself. There was something jagged and chipped poking out from the ground. She couldn’t see where Chrysalis went. Her sight had blurred severely.
“Perhaps you’re feeling cornered? Desperate? Tired? Or maybe…yes…”
Her fur was matted with sweat, blood, and dirt caked on her body. She looked around, still nothing, still blurry. She gripped tighter on the stick in her hands. Still nothing.
“Are you feeling…alone?”
“FACE ME, COWARD!” Luna shouted. If there was one positive to keeping her Canterlot voice pristine, it always helped get her point across. Instantly and crystal clear, blowing all obstruction away.
There was nothing. Even in the clear. Nothing.
“Face you?” Her voice asked, extremely close. She looked at the stick in her hands. It was rippling with green energy. “Why I’d love to, Luna!” The stick shot up in flames and she threw it in the air. Chrysalis appeared. Luna panicked and went to kick her, to which she brought up an object to block. It flashed bright blue, sounding an alien screech upon clashing.
She let out a loud wild laugh, and punched Luna with her free hand, making her stumble. She rushed forward. Luna raised her arms to shield herself. The sword’s cut was clean. The tops of Luna’s hands sliced off, fingers and thumbs going to the side. She was indiscriminate in the rest of her attack, swinging savagely through the rest of her body.
Each strike released a shockwave, bouncing off the edges of the world and crumbling it further. That light appeared through every cut, brighter with every open wound. And still, she didn’t stop, not until the blade snapped in two.
Luna fell to the fours of her stumps and hooves. She tried to hold strong for a few seconds, before falling over and pushing herself up to her knees. The light seeped through her body, the only piece left intact being her breastplate. Her head drifted upwards as if to reach out to her unknown aid out in the cosmos. She was less fortunate. “What’s…happening?” She asked quietly, like a filly. “What…is this?”
“This, dear Luna, is the end.” Chrysalis replied, chucking the broken hilt behind her. Then, for one final strike, she reared her head back high and ran towards her at full speed, horn aimed straight as a lance. The mighty pounding of her hooves quickened the world’s disintegration. Mountains went to ash, plates in the ground warped, and the sky had finally split in two, blasting the eyes with a sudden bright light.
Luna looked at her one last time, as her pain gave way to small humor with an even tinier smile. “Heh, till next time…next time…”
Chrysalis used her wings to boost toward her prey. The glowing crescent moon on her breastplate. She could feel it. Just one. More. Push.
The horn pierced it true, right down the middle. There was a deafening crack of noise, blowing the eardrums out in seconds. Another half-second further, Chrysalis felt her whole body dissipate, and everything went white.
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Things are getting interesting...
awesome chaptor can't wait for more.
Luna has the idiot ball