Manehattan was awful in the rain.
No matter what Nightshade did, it was awful. She adjusted her umbrella; tightened her jacket; raised a leathery wing up to block a spray from a passing cab, but the bat pony was still soaked to the bone, and the winds chilled her core. Her outfit clung to her damp, dark fur, and pale purple locks stuck to her face. Her tail was filthy, long as it was, acting like a sponge for runoff and grime alike.
Nightshade was miserable.
A long walk laid ahead of her, glimpsed by teal eyes every few moments as she looked up to make sure she didn't run into anybody. Not that there was anybody walking that night. Lucky her that the streetlamps were on, even if they were dimmed by the rain.
She stopped at an intersection, automatically slamming a fist on the crossing button she needed. Better safe than sorry, after all. A moment passed, and even with empty streets, the signals stayed as they were.
Nightshade glared, as if it would change anything. She glared at the stubborn signals, at the darkened facades of the surrounding buildings, and she glared at her own two hooves, for deciding to go on her little trip regardless of the weather.
Nightshade slammed the button again.
Her ears shifted as a door opened behind her, followed soon after by a deep voice. "You alright, Miss?"
Nightshade looked over her shoulder to find the source. An older, pale green unicorn had opened his door, safe from the rain under an awning, with the bright glow of the building's lights framing him in a halo. The storefront itself was nothing to note, just another template with its shutters drawn for the night covered in a large, dimmed neon sign.
Eyes as silver as his mane looked her over, and a brow raised at her damp state as the unicorn took her in. "Get caught in the rain?"
"Thought I could get some errands done before the downpour," Nightshade called back. She shook her wings, casting a small spray of water onto the damp sidewalk. "Lucky me."
Concern bloomed over the unicorn's face, only to be smoothed over a moment later by a warm smile. "If you're not in too much of a hurry, you can rest here for a bit. I've got an enchanted heater, get your stuff dried out." He eyed the mess that was her tail. "Maybe wash up, too?"
Nightshade hesitated. It would be nice, yes. Dry and out of the damned rain, freshened up for whenever the rain stopped. On the other hand, she didn't know who in any hell the man was. Equestria or not, she had every right to be on edge, especially with the news, as of late.
Her discomfort with the rain won out.
"Yeah, alright." Nightshade turned away from the crossing and stepped over to the awning, resignation clear as day in her features. She pulled her umbrella closed as she did, pointing it handle-first at the man as she stepped into safety. "Hold this? I'm gonna wring out my tail, don't wanna trail this gunk all over the place."
The unicorn nodded as he took the umbrella, still giving her that warm smile. "I'll leave it in the rack, just inside the door for when you leave."
Nightshade barely nodded as she set to work.
Jade tried not to slam the umbrella into the rack.
Another one of those things was on his doorstep. As if enough of those rats with hooves weren't plaguing Manehattan.
Those monstrous eyes were there when he looked back, and the beast as a whole lightly shook in an effort to get any loose water off of its hide.
He took no small amount of pleasure in watching it flinch at the lights as it came in. Still, Jade kept the warm smile on his face.
"Shower's just up the stairs, second room on the right." The winged demon nodded its thanks as it followed his directions.
It took every ounce of his will not to growl when it took a proper look at his shop. If he had to guess, it was picking which gemstone would be best to steal or feast upon.
Jade waited until he heard the sound of the door to the living area open. Then he lit his horn, covering his hooves in the glow of a silencing spell.
He supposed he had to consider himself lucky.
The others took time. Learning patterns, knowing their routines. Plans to put down the beasts.
This thing walked right up to his doorstep.
Jade glanced down at the umbrella. Oh, what delicious irony it would be.
The umbrella came free from the rack without a fuss. Jade's steps were utterly silent as he followed the monster into his home.
A small nudge pushed his front door out of the way, just as the door to the bathroom opened and the thing crept inside.
Jade slunk down the hall, still careful despite the carpet and his spell.
The bathroom door was slightly open, had been halfheartedly pushed closed by the thing he had let in. Through the gap in the wood, he could see it peeling off its jacket.
He had to move. Now.
Jade shoved with his shoulder, slamming the door open to its fullest.
The beast turned, just in time for the handle of its umbrella to meet her temple with a snap of wood. The poor handle almost shattered under the force.
Jade didn't let the damned creature recover as it staggered against the wall. His horn lit, and with an angry growl, he pulled it off the tiles.
With a noise closer to a roar, he slammed the beast back down.
Its head met the tiles first with a satisfying crack. The rest of its body followed after, and a dull crunch announced the shattering of its neck.
The corpse collapsed on its back, eyes staring lifelessly into the ceiling. Trickles of blood seeped onto the tiles from both wounds, staining the pure white a vibrant red.
Jade grinned to himself. Sure, he'd have to move it, patch up the wounds if only to contain a bigger mess, maybe replace the tiles.
But another demon off the streets made him happier than anything.
"Back to hell with you," he muttered, pride seeping from his tone. Another injustice cleansed at his hands.
The tension slowly left Jade's body as he turned to leave. The sooner he got rid of the body, the sooner he could go to sleep and bathe in his accomplishment.
Jade paused as he stepped up to the doorway.
His fur stood on end as everything suddenly felt wrong. The air felt thick. The lights seemed to dim. Even the rain seemed to quiet in the presence.
Every fiber of his being screamed at him to run and never look back.
Jade looked.
The corpse was still there, same as it was a moment ago. Jacket still half on, form still soaked from the rain, eyes still—
Those slit pits of teal were staring at him.
Jade didn't jump. He didn't.
He squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, and faced forward again.
He took a step—
—and something squelched beneath his hoof.
Jade looked down.
Flowing from the bathroom was a stream of black ichor, dotted with little spots of white. Strands of pale purple and teal flowed through it, like a liquid nebula.
Jade looked back again.
The corpse was still there. The eyes were still looking at him.
The wounds flowed black.
Jade felt the color drain from his face. He saw the color fade from the flesh and hair of the corpse, turning a lifeless gray as the ichor flowed.
A voice emanated from the remains, deep as night and smooth as silk. "You know, I really thought you would have let me have the shower."
The jaw flexed and moved with the voice, spilling out more of the inky black.
Jade tried to step back. The ichor clung to his hooves, rooting him in place.
"But, I suppose, you just can't help yourself, can you?"
Jade tried to speak around the thick air. Nothing but a rasp escaped him, carrying what little rage he could muster.
Those teal eyes still burned into him.
"We'd better fix that."
The corpse grinned. Teeth upon teeth stared back at Jade, sharp and eager.
Finally, he managed to find his voice. "We?"
A claw dug into his leg.
Jade hissed in pain as his attention was stolen. A moment later, so was his breath.
A hand had emerged from the ichor. Pale blue fur covered the limb that dug in deep and heaved.
A face came up next. The first. A female thing that he had picked off between its shifts at a nearby bar. He'd dumped its body in a trash compactor, and still its bones stuck out of its skin.
The glare and sneer roiled with rage, eager to return the favor.
Teal eyes glowed up at him.
"You've heard the phrase 'face your demons', yes?"
A second claw emerged, bright yellow, reaching far to claw his sides—one that was playing the part of a school teacher, marred by deep burns.
A third, as gray as the corpse across from Jade, stuck into his other leg. Once a crossing guard, now missing half of its face.
A faded orange and a deep green reached for his arms, siblings in the university, missing their wings.
Jade knew each and every one of his hunts.
All five of them pulled at him. All five of them bore teal, seething eyes.
They'd barely gotten their upper halves out of the ichor before they sank again.
The claws in his flesh brought Jade down with them.
"No! No, you freaks won't have me!" He swung the umbrella hard at the blue thing.
He could only watch as it glanced off, and the green hands digging into his left arm pulled harder.
Jade's knees sank into the ichor as he lit his horn for the third time. A bolt of unfocused magic loosed at the yellow male behind him. "Get the hell off of me!"
The bolt dissipated around it and faded into the pool around Jade as his hips vanished into the black.
Jade had enough. If he was going, he'd still get a few hits in, go far from quiet.
He swung the umbrella again at one of the sinking heads.
It jolted his arm as it struck hard against the tile under the ichor. When his hand slipped under the glossy film, the umbrella fell over with a simple clatter.
With only his head still above the black, Jade roared, thrashing against the claws.
Ichor filled the open space as his jaw sank beneath it.
His scream was muffled as the rest sank beneath. Jade was reduced to a silvery mane and a pair of ears, lost in a liquid star field.
And then, he was gone.
The ichor receded. Back onto the tiles. Back into the wounds.
The corpse regained its colors as the last drops returned. The wounds stitched themselves together again, leaving no trace of the injury.
The claws moved, gripping the wall to pull the form up, sitting alone on the tile floor. Another round of dull cracking reverberated around the bathroom as the vertebrae in its neck repaired and realigned themselves.
Nightshade rolled her neck to get everything back into the normal flow. So much for a long walk, good riddance.
The dark mare returned to her plan for her stop. Her clothes were peeled away and left in the rack of the dryer. A quick wash pulled the grime and rainwater away from her fur and hair.
Nightshade stepped out of the shower fresh and revitalized. A quick stop in the warmth of the dryer left her coat feeling fuzzy as the dampness left and she redressed.
She spared a glance at the umbrella.
Ironic, she supposed, that her small friend for the night brought her down for a moment. Still, she picked up the poor tool and ran a thumb along the cracks in the handle. They glowed a muted teal as they were mended, almost good as new by the time she was done.
Nightshade stepped out of the bathroom and set to turning out the lights in the building. It wouldn't do to waste power, after all, not when the previous tenant wouldn't be returning.
Oh, those five had jumped at the opportunity to help. So eager to pay back what Jade had given them.
A low laugh, closer to a cackle, followed the bat pony down the stairs as she made her way out.
And then, a dark shop behind her, she stood under the awning again. The rain was still pouring, showing no sign of letting up.
It didn't matter. Nightshade dissolved where she stood, umbrella and all, collapsing into a mass of smoky shadow.
Swirls of purple and teal and pinpricks of light dotted it as it drifted on the wind, leaving Manehattan far behind it.
Written June 23, 2023