Next thing I knew I was slowly waking up in some cave. Glowing moss grew out of the walls providing some light in the darkness. Water dripped from the ceiling and collected in small puddles, one of which I was now lying in. Fucking great. I couldn’t find anything else in my vicinity so I got up, making sure not to make too much noise.

“Ah good. Thou art awake.” I jumped at the feminine voice, instinctively going for my dagger only to find it was gone. Not only that but the rest of my gear seemed to have disappeared. “Your petty trinkets were barely worth the effort removing them.”

“Where are you?” I called out as my eyes searched the room I was in. An evilly playful chuckle echoed amongst the stone.

“My my, straight to the matter at hand. Thou art a stallion of action.” I heard a sound over the dripping of water. A pebble clacking against the ground. I spun around and threw fire at everything in the sound’s direction, only to be disappointed when the voice returned afterward.

“But an easily startled one. Dos thou jump at every noise in the dark?” I knew exactly what she was trying to do. She was getting under my skin, hoping that I’ll slip up in my rage. Not that it wasn’t working but I was in no mood to play her games.

“What are you waiting for? You could have killed me but you didn’t. That must mean you want something from me.”

“Observant as well. Perhaps one such as you would serve his queen.”

“Queen? Equestria has no queen as far as I know.”

The shadows around me seemed to grow darker as the voice growled. “That is because some commoners defeated us before our rule was complete, banishing us from our host body.”

“If you’re some kind of parasite than don’t think you can munch on me.”

“Thou dares to call us a parasite!?” The cave shook a bit as she screamed. “For a moment we contemplated mercy for thou but now thou shalt see none!” The shadows began to shift and stir gathering slowly into a solid mass in front of me. As more was added to the growing thing it began to take shape. Hooves sprouted from it along with a head on a long neck, its eyes slitted like a snake. Midnight blue armor created itself along the creature’s black body wrapping around its horn and wings. The remaining shadows became her mane and tail, ever flowing like every other alicorn.

“Since thou hast a mind unfit to serve, we shall use the body in its stead.” The alicorn look-alike leapt at me, tackling me before I could cast a spell. I felt something crawling under my skin as the creature’s eyes locked with mine.

“Sleep now. It shall be over soon enough.” My eyes suddenly felt heavy. Before I could even think to resist it I was gone.

* * *

I was running. From what I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I had to get out of the forest. Had to get away. The forest itself disapproved such an idea and struck out at me whenever it got the chance. Creatures of all kinds attacked, the earth quaked, and plants uprooted themselves just so they could attempt to crush me.

Get away. Keep running. Stopping is death. I kept running. I knew no other emotion but fear. Fear drove me to keep going, to stay alive. Fear told me to duck under branches and avoid the snapping jaws of a hydra. Fear was all I could listen to as what voices whispered through the forest would only distract.

Can’t stop. Can’t stop. Can’t… hang on a second. I stopped running for a moment in the middle of a clearing. The trees around me began to uproot themselves, using them as feet. I didn’t move though because I could tell something wasn’t right. Did the trees always have faces?

Each tree, for some ridiculous reason, had been given a face. I guess it would have been scary if I was nine years old or something but to me they just looked stupid. Wonder who thought that was scary? By now the trees were surrounding me and the creatures had caught up. The fear I had felt before was practically begging me to keep going but I could tell this entire situation was off somehow.

How did I get here? I’ve already been here once and found nothing. Suddenly a dragon dropped out of the sky, but not just any dragon. It was none other than Atrezal, the crazy one-eyed dragon who wanted nothing more than to spill my guts. Alright. Now I’m sure something isn’t right here.

Atrezal roared at me and then reeled back to breathe flame. I continued standing there as I shook my head of whatever haze seemed to be clouding my thoughts. I was looking for a nest, got in a bar fight, questioned some locals. How would I end up here? Just as Atrezal let loose his attack everything froze. The fire stopped in mid air just a few feet from my face.

I chuckled a bit as I walked around the jet of fire. Once I was at Atrezal’s leg I gave it a swift kick and he shattered like glass. The rest of the world soon followed as I began to feel like I was falling to my side.

What I hit when I landed was definitely not grass and dirt. Looking around at my new surroundings I was now in a prison. One side was a stone wall while the rest of the cage was made up of iron bars. Far below the cage was a pool of lava, the floor having been built to drop away at the pull of a lever.

“So you finally woke up huh?” I turned to the cage next to mine to see a figure I remember all too well sitting against the stone wall. He still looked just like I would if I decided to shave all my hair, only this time he was wearing rags instead of full plate armor. He gave me a glare that showed how pleased he was with the situation. “By the way, you are doing a great job being the Overlord. Getting possessed by another tattered spirit really shows commitment.”

I turned away and began pouring fire into the lock on my door. With no better way to pass the time I asked “Tattered spirit?”

“It’s what you are, and what she is. Incomplete souls. And don’t bother with the locks. You made them so that I couldn’t get out so there’s no way you can.”

I stopped my attempts at lock picking but grinned all the same. “So this is my mind.”

“Well of course it is. Why do you think I’m here?”

I ignored him as I began to focus. If this is my mind than I should be able to... I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. When I opened them I was back in my pegasus body. I hate this body but at least that confirms it.

“Ha. I should have known you were getting soft. You like being a pony don’t you?

I gave him a shit-eating grin as I said “Yep. Just love it. You want to know why?” How positive I was seemed to throw off my darker persona as his smile went away. With no answer and no care to continue our little conversation I told him. “Wings.”

With one buck I broke the latch that had been keeping the floor from dropping me to a fiery death. I had wings though so I came nowhere close to such a fate. Instead I flew up and around the fortress that represented my mind. It wasn’t long before I was at the entrance to the throne room, and you can guess who was sitting in my chair.

I changed back and donned the weapon and armor I had the last time I was here. The alicorn didn’t notice me as she was right now using my body, her senses focused outward instead of inward. Not wanting to give her another second of having such a handsome face I grabbed her by the neck and tossed her off the throne.

She shook her head as she got up from the floor. “How didst thou escape? Our nightmare was perfect.”

“Ya, for a child maybe. Anyone with brains could have told you it was a dream with all the impossibilities.”

She growled in frustration. “First thou hast called us a parasite, now you mock our craft? Thou art nothing more than a nuisance! The monkey body thou hast tis only but a tool in our reascension! We will plunge thou into such a dream that thou shalt beg for mercy at the hooves of your queen. Our will shall be done and this world will be plunged into-”

“Enough of this.” I pulled a dagger from my belt and threw it at her. She didn’t even have time to react, she was so enthralled in her speech. It sliced against her side, not cutting deep but enough to cause some blood to begin dripping out. She gasped at the wound and then glared at me.

“You dare!”

I grinned. “Bring it on your majesty. I’ve dealt with beings more evil and more prissy than you. On top of that I intend to destroy the princesses and have been training to fight alicorns ever since I returned to this world. What do you got other than some shitty nightmares and shadow tricks?”

She was absolutely shocked by what I said. “Thou wishes to kill those false rulers? How dost thou even expect to survive such a confrontation?”

“Don’t talk like you can do better. I can feel your power and it’s severely lacking for what one would expect from a queen.”

This seemed to hit her hard as she took a step back. “We… we don’t know what thou talks about.” Hang on. Pony without a body. Unicorns being drained of magic. I grinned once more as I put things together in my head. Now it all makes sense.

“I see what you’ve been up to. You found my nest didn’t you? You’ve been using it to keep yourself alive by feeding its magic to unicorns. Once it was magic you understood, you could drain it from them despite your lack of a physical form.”

She growled at me before firing a magic blast. I was too quick however as I dodged and returned the favor. A bolt of lightning sprung loose from my fingers and hit her dead center, sending her sliding across the floor. When she stopped she tried to get up but fell back over.

Well that was easy. Guess taking over my body took more out of her than I thought. I walked over slowly, electricity dancing across my arms as I readied to finish it until something hit my ears. Is she crying? She was curled up and turned away from me but from the sounds she was indeed sobbing.

“Damn it all. Why can’t we win? If we had the chance we would crush Luna for abandoning us but no. That whorse gets to live on while we are killed by some beast.” I felt my eye twitch at being called a beast but I held back my fury. This may be my stupidest idea yet but if it works… I cut off my magic and walked around to her front. She immediately tried to hide her crying behind bravado.

“Well creature? Finish it. If thou shalt not kill us than we will only take over again! Thou will never be safe.”

I looked down at her, my expression as blank as my tone of voice. “What did Luna do to you?”

She sniffed before speaking. “We were once with her in mind. She felt such malice and hatred toward the ponies for not appreciating the night. So strong were her feelings that they became us. We were defeated once and sealed away but Luna did not hate us for our failure. It wasn’t until we were purged from her that she abandoned us. We have heard what has become of her, how she has returned to her life with no problems. While us, a tattered soul, are left to rot. No being can understand what we are.”

“I’m a tattered soul as well.” While she looked at me in shock I began walking toward my throne. “If you had a body would you eventually regain power that can rival an alicorn?”

“We suppose. Our power was great before our fall. We aimed to regain it using thou and the magic object hidden beneath the town.”

“Do you want your body back?”

I heard her growl as she began to stand up. “No. We would much rather see Luna destroyed with it than to just seal her away.”

As I took my seat I allowed a toothy grin to form on my face. “Then I think you and I can come to an understanding.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s simple really. I need power to rival two alicorns. I defeated one a couple thousand years ago but two might be too much for me even with my full power. I’ll need an ace in the hole, so to speak. That’s you.”

She looked at the ground for a second before glancing back up. “Why art thou offering this to us? We could just try and take back your body later once we have regained power.”

“You could, but you wouldn’t be able to use my magic as I’m not naturally magical. With your power alone I’m sure you can’t defeat both sisters as you will inevitably have to. The only way either of us is going to get what we want is to work together.”

“Fine, but we are queen so we will be in control.”

“I’m afraid that won’t work either. You see, I have minions that follow my command and I’m sure they will be able to tell the difference. My advisor could tell how different I acted compared to the previous Overlord within the minute or so we first met.”

“We refuse to sit in your mind like a dog waiting to be called!”

“Than you’ll watch things through my eyes and ears and give me advice. You’ll allow me access to your magic and you will teach me how to use it. I might even allow you control of my body at times depending on the situation. You’ll have a very active role in what I do and I have no doubt your presence will keep me alive longer.”

She looked rather shocked at this proposal. “Dost thou understand what you suggest? Thou art allowing us full access to your mind.”

“If it ends with the princesses dead I don’t care. Just don’t try to redecorate the place and you’ll be fine.”

She glared at me as if she were looking for something before speaking again. “Very well. We accept these terms.” As she finished speaking my vision quickly blurred into darkness.

* * *

I woke up with a sense of deja vu as I was once again lying in a puddle in the cave, though my gear having been returned. Ugh, again?

“Well it wasn’t like we had time to take a seat when thou interrupted.” I heard the mare speak in my head. Going to have to get used to that. I heard what I assumed was a huff as I looked around at my new surroundings. I was in a different, much bigger room of the cave. This one had a lot more glowing moss, bathing the entire room in a neon light. In the center of this room was a large chunk of rock that glowed a faint yellowish orange. Erected on the sides of it were chunks of metal and wood as if someone had tried to build off of it. Without magic to sense its power one would think this is just a piece of junk.

I have to admit, I was expecting something a little more evil looking.

“And just what would an evil nest look like?”

I thought about it for a moment before responding. Huh, you got me there voice in my head.

“We are Nightmare Moon, not just some mere voice.”

Nightmare Moon? Where have I heard that before?

“Twas from that mare thou met when thou first arrived in this world.”

Twilight? Oh ya, she said she and her friends kicked your ass. Wait a minute, how did you know that?

“We warned that thou would give access of the mind to us. That includes memory.”

So you can help me recall anything I forget? That’s really useful.

I suddenly felt like I had been slapped across the face. “We are not here to keep thou head on straight. We will aid thou when needed but do not expect such menial tasks from us. Besides, we have no wish to look through the memory of such a creature.”

Alright, I get it. Just don’t hit me or whatever you just did. Her response after that was just evil giggling. I rolled my eyes and looked around the cave. So how do we get out of here?

“Dost thou not want your object? Is it not why thou are here?”

Well ya but I can’t carry it. I need to go find Zecora and get her to open a portal. Besides, you and I can both agree that heavy lifting is for minions, not Overlords.

“True. There is an exit down that tunnel on the left but it has been blocked off. Thou will have to clear it as we never had to bother as a spirit.”

Easy enough.

* * *

I managed to get back to town just as Zecora was beginning to freak out about my disappearance. Apparently losing track of your dark master is a pretty big deal. When she questioned me about what happened I just told her “I found the nest. Let’s go.”

“Why does thou not tell the zebra about us? I sense no fear of thine so thou must have strong reasoning.”

I’m being careful. I don’t want your existence to get out somehow. The element of surprise is my greatest strength right now and it applies for you as well.

“We suppose that is reason enough. If Luna were to hear of our survival we have no doubt she would scour Equestria to find us.” It was a short walk back to the cave. One portal and a couple minions later the nest was heading down to the spawning pits. Gnarl looked absolutely giddy.

“Oh excellent, master! Now that we have a nest, we can begin spawning minions and clean the place up. It will take some time but this fortress will become a proper hub of evil just as it was in the old days.”

“I trust you can take it from here than?”

“But of course sire, and do not worry about the cost of repairs. All the materials we need can be found here.” I nodded and stepped back through the portal. Half an hour later we were leaving the tavern all packed up. We had no clue where the next nest was but who knows how quickly Evermore was going to react. Unless I wanted some real carnage, and a small part of me did, we would have to get going.

* * *

“Everyone fan out and search the town. Do not attempt to fight the thing on your own.” A chorus of confirmations came from the thirty ponies under the command of Snowflake Bastion. They all wore armor of the royal guards, stolen from the barracks in Canterlot so that they would have no trouble from the locals.

It had only been two days since one member of their scouting team in town had reported in and giving them the news Bastion had been waiting for. The dark one, a being that once held incredible power and was the opposite of the Faust they prayed to, was sighted in the town of Murky Bottom. Though the scout had done her job she had still been reprimanded for attempting to fight the creature with only three of them. This information would have gotten to them much sooner if their team hadn’t gotten cocky.

Despite it being late, the news still put a grin on Bastion’s face. Ever since the Evermore, the true followers of Faust, had gotten word of the dark one’s return she had been itching to take it down. Striking down such a beast, even in the weak state it was in, would be no small show of faith. Praying to the goddess was one thing but fighting was her talent, as shown by the crossed swords and shield that adorned her flank.

The stallions and mares she had sent off to search the town began returning in groups of three. “Report!”

“Nothing yet.”

“No sign of them.”

“He isn’t here.” Each group came back with similar news as Bastion’s grin became a scowl. By the time a group had returned dragging a unicorn with them she was in no mood for any games.

“What is this? Report!”

“This is the bartender of the tavern our scout mentioned. He claims he never saw anyone but I can tell he’s lying.” Bastion rose an eyebrow at this before turning to the pony held by magic. He was sweating profusely as she stared him down.

“Well? Talk.”

The bartender gulped before shakily replying “I-I-I don’t know w-w-what you mean. I-I’m just a bu-bu-business-stallion, noth-thing more.”

“A business stallion huh?” He nodded rapidly causing sweat to be flung around. Bastion just grimaced as she walked over to the doors of the tavern. “So this is your business. Seems you just had some repairs done. A shame considering what happened today. Ember Glow!” The unicorn stepped forward. “Burn it to the ground.” The unicorn only nodded before angling his horn toward the doors. Small balls of flame shot out, breaking through the windows and setting the wood aflame.

Bastion turned back toward the bartender, his gaze locked on the bonfire that was his tavern. “Now, would you like to suffer the same fate your business has or are you going to tell us what we want to know?”

Author's Notes:

I've decided to add some third person bits here and there just to give a break from the main story. First person will always be Don though.