Phobovoreby Flint-LockChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 1John scrambles through the dark forest, trying his best not to trip. It’s easier said than done. His flashlight only shows a small part of the trail at a time, every inch of which is covered with roots, holes, and vines more deadly than any landmine. He isn’t so much running as he is dancing. It is a dance that is slowly wearing him out. John’s legs burn from fatigue. His mouth is drier than dust. He can’t keep this up much longer. John risks a quick look behind him. The monster is featureless, shrouded by the night, but John can hear the sound of countless snapping mouths coming from its body. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they’re hungry for. John’s feet kick into overdrive. His body overrides all pain signals, all demands for a rest are put on hold. John sees the headlights of a car in the distance. Somehow he know that it’s his. He gains a second wind, his joy overcoming his exhaustion. Just as he’s about to reach the car, John’s foot catches on something, sending him sprawling face-first onto the dusty trail. He flips himself over to see the creature leaping towards him. He screams… - “GAH!” John awoke with a nervous start, his body dripping with sweat. The 24 year-old hugged himself, half-expecting to see the monster staring down at him. It was just a dream, it was just a dream it was just a dream…. he repeated to himself like a monk chanting a mantra. scanned his tiny apartment with the scrutiny of a detective. He drank in the dingy apartment; every crack in the wall, every stain, every piece of cheap furniture was like a powerful medicine, purging the nightmare from his brain. Once John felt at home in the sane world, he slumped back onto his bed. He looked at his ancient clock radio and groaned. It was fifteen minutes past three; about four hours since he went to bed. Last night it had been 3:30 With a zombie-like groan, John peeled off the sweat-soaked bed sheets and picked himself out of his secondhand bed, his joints popping like strings of firecrackers. He dragged his body over to his tiny bathroom and splashed himself with water. As an afterthought, he looked into the mirror; To put it lightly, John was a wreck. His mud-brown hair looked as though something was using it as a nest, and his eyes looked as though he’d been using saltwater for eye drops. His eyelids were underscored by large, almost raccoon-like dark patches, making him look like he‘d just applied eye shadow. The hell is wrong with me? John rubbed his bloodshot eyes. Every night for the past week, he’d been having almost the exact same nightmare: he’d be chased by a monster, he’d trip, the monster would jump, and he’d wake up in a puddle of nervous sweat. No matter what he did, the dreams kept coming. Warm milk, going to bed early, sleep aids: all useless. A toothbrush rested in a glass, its bristles frayed worn by countless brushings. John picked it up, squirted a little toothpaste onto it, and brushed. Now that he thought about it, there was something weird about the dreams. Last night there hadn‘t been a car, or a flashlight. And the night before there hadn’t been a forest, just a featureless black void. It was like a blurry image that was slowly coming into focus. John spat into the sink and sent the spit-toothpaste mixture to oblivion with a twist of the handle. That wasn’t all that was weird. Usually his dreams evaporated the moment he woke up, leaving behind a few vague memories and nothing else. Not these ones. These nightmares stuck to the mind like hardened molasses. John could remember every single bit of them down to the tiniest rock on that trail. A jaw-cracking yawn erupted from John‘s mouth. With a resigned sigh, he plodded back to his bed and laid down. He knew all too well how this was going to work. He’d try to go back to sleep, but he’d be so worked up by the nightmare that his brain would refuse to shut down. Most likely he’d spend the rest of the night studying his ceiling and counting down the hours ’till dawn. Really gotta see a psychiatrist. John thought as he plopped his scrawny frame onto the bed. Yeah, a psychiatrist; one of those Sigmund Freud-types with the couch and the questions about his mother. They’d be able to fix whatever the hell was going on in his head. He was pretty sure his insurance would cover it. John rested his head on his pillow and stared intently at the ceiling, drinking in every crack, every ridge. He turned his head towards the clock radio: 3:48. It was going to be a looong night. - Elsewhere… A blue winged unicorn flies/swims through the dreamscape, searching for her prey. The dreams of a trillion different races from a trillion different universes float around her like soap bubbles. The gauzy, impossible bubbles are in constant flux, bubbling out of the dreamscape, drifting for a while, then popping into scraps of feathery dream-stuff. Winds of ideas and emotions blow around her, pushing the dream-bubbles wherever they please. The alicorn sniffs the dreams- her unique senses, attuned by centuries of experience, detect the scents of countless different dreams: the sweet perfume of pleasant dreams, the heady musk of…erotic dreams, and the charged, fear-sweat smell of nightmares. The alicorn turns her head towards the dreams of her own people, both a thousand lightyears and a single footstep away. Normally she would be tending to those dreams, using her vast experience to soften nightmares, maintain pleasant dreams and make sure the erotic dreams do not get too out of hand. It is her duty. Always has been. Always will be. But not now. With great reluctance, she turns her head away, leaving the dreams to play out without her guidance. Nightmares play through unmitigated, while pleasant dreams and erotic dreams twist themselves into bizarre shapes. She has something far more important to do first. - Chapter 2John hopped off the bus, his jaw aching from almost constant yawning. “Hey buddy!” The bus driver yelled. John slowly rotated his head. “Yeah?” “Ya’ really oughta go to bed earlier. You almost slept through your stop.” John grunted; he didn’t have the strength for a response. The bus driver shrugged. “Just sayin‘.” With that the bus drove off, leaving John in a cloud of sooty exhaust. John plodded zombie-like down the rain-soaked sidewalk towards his apartment, cradling a bandaged hand. A massive yawn almost cracked his jaw in half. If only it were that easy… - John hadn’t slept a wink last night. Not for a lack of trying of course; he’d tried every trick in the metaphorical book to get his brain to shut down. First he’d tried thinking relaxing thoughts, but every time he tried, he his thoughts inevitably turned to the nightmare. When that had failed, he’d tried a glass of warm milk, and had spat it out when it turned out to be sour. As a last resort, he’d tried the age-old technique of counting sheep; he’d reached 357 then gave up. Defeated, John had just laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling and counting the hours until dawn. John looked at his bandaged hand. Work at the foundry had been murder. The intense heat had made his sleepiness even worse; during his shift, he’d drained a whole pot of coffee and two energy drinks and that’d only taken the edge off the drowsiness. Near the end , they’d worn off entirely and, in his sleep-fogged state, he’d absent-mindedly touched an ingot which hadn’t completely cooled. John rounded a corner plodded into the dilapidated apartment complex. He walked down the hallway to his apartment. “Hi.” John turned around. It was his neighbor, Maria. “Oh, hi” He mumbled, then yawned. “Been a while.” “Sorry. They’ve been having us work double shifts at the hospital.” Maria said “Just got off this morning actually.” The dark-haired latina noticed his hand. “Are you all right?” She gasped, examining his bandaged hand. “What happened to your hand?” “Nothing’.” John said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “ Nothing. Just a little stupidity on my part. Nothing serious“. “Sure looks serious.” Maria peered in for a better look. “And what‘s with your eyes? You look terrible!” She put her hands on her hips. “C’mon. tell me what‘s going on.” “S’nothing. I’m fine.” “Like hell it is!” Maria shouted. “You look like you haven’t slept in days!” John tried to walk away; she didn’t need to get involved in this. Maria grabbed John’s hand in a vice-like grip. “I’m not letting go until you tell me what’s going on!” John rolled his eyes and told Maria about his nightmares. Maria was a good friend; maybe the only true friend he’d ever had, but sometimes she could be a little…overbearing. More like a second mother than a friend. Maria held up a hand. “Wait right here.” Maria dashed into her apartment. John could hear her digging through a cabinet, muttering something in Spanish. With a groan, John leaned against the wall, waiting for her to find…whatever it was she was looking for. You should really ask her out. The stray thought cleared John’s sleep-fogged mind for a minute. Ask her out? No he couldn’t. They weren’t like that, not at all. He and Maria were just friends, nothing more. You’ve been “just friends” with her for two years. You talk to her practically every day. You smile every time you see her. Face it, you like her. You really like her. John slumped, defeated by his own mind. He couldn’t deny it any longer: what he felt for Maria went way beyond friendship. Maybe it’s time to take it to the next level. Ask her out on a date. John nodded. Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do. The first chance he got, he was going to ask her out on a date. Maria rushed out of her apartment. In her hand was a pack of gel capsules. “Here.” She said, pressing the foil-sealed pack into John’s hand. “They’re left over from a little bout of insomnia I had a while ago. They’re a little old, but they should still work.” John nodded. “Thanks Maria.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he’d already tried sleep aids. Maria smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You should probably also see a doctor or a psychiatrist while you‘re at it“ John couldn’t’ help but smile back. Screw the common cold; Maria’s smiles were the most contagious thing on Earth. She looked at her watch “ I’ve got some time to kill. There anything you want to talk about?” This is it John. The moment of truth. John silently groaned. That phrase was so overused. “Well, Maria I…” He stopped. “I…I…” “What is it?“ Maria asked. John tried to force the words. He couldn’t do it. It was as if someone had sealed off his throat with a caulk gun. “I…I…just wanted to say, uh, haveaniceday!” With that, John dashed back to his apartment and slammed the door shut. He slapped himself repeatedly. “Dammit!” “Dammit Dammit Dammit!” John sauntered over to his bed, picking his way through piles of dirty laundry and empty soda cans. He sat down; he’d done it again. Fate had handed him a golden opportunity on a silver platter and he’d blown it. Story of his life really. John fluffed his pillow and laid down. Maybe a little nap would help clear his fogged-up head. - Two hours later found John staring into a microwave, watching a bowl of ravioli spin around on a greasy platter. A yawn forced its way out of John’s mouth. He rubbed his eyes; the nap had done diddly-squat for his exhaustion. If anything, he felt worse than before. Beep! John grabbed the little bowl of pasta and carried it over to a cheap card table. He sat down and started slurping the reheated food down. Funny. He thought, licking sauce off his spoon. I’ve got the feeling that there’s something I need to be doing. Something clicked in his head. Oh right. Call a psychiatrist John grabbed his phonebook and turned to the “P“s. He whipped out his cellphone, and started dialing the number of every psychologist in town. It was frustrating, to say the least. Most of the local psychiatrists were either booked solid or were on some long vacation. It was as if the universe was conspiring to keep him from getting help. Finally, after what must have been an hour on the phone he managed to reach one. He’d have to wait about a week for the appointment, but it was better than nothing. A warm blanket of relief settled over John‘s mind. Maybe then he’d get some answers. And some pills. John looked around his tiny apartment. “Now what?” His eyes fell on an old typewriter on a secondhand writing desk. “Might as well finish revising that manuscript.” John muttered. He poured himself some Rockstar and scanned the manuscript like a machine. The story had been years in the making. It had first taken root in high school, when boring classes had clashed with John’s overactive imagination. Back then, it had been a pleasant fantasy, something to kill time until class let out. Now, it was a massive, 500-page epic-his magnum opus. John skimmed through the pages, giving the little manuscript one final look through. He’d revised the thing more times than he‘d cared to count, plugging plot holes, tightening up dialogue, even throwing out whole chapters that he’d thought were unnecessary. There was very little of the manuscript that hadn’t been altered in some way. And now it’s perfect. John beamed like a father seeing his firstborn son graduating. Yes, it was perfect. Perfect dialogue, perfect imagery, perfect characterization, perfect everything. John reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a thick envelope. He started stuffing the bulky manuscript inside. Enough revisions, it was time to submit this mutha’. What if it isn’t perfect? John frowned. No, that was ridiculous. He’d polished this thing ‘till it shone like a mirror. Trying to make it better would be like trying to make the sun brighter. You sure about that? Keep in mind it’s your manuscript. True. He could hardly be an objective editor when the work he was reviewing was his own. What was flawless to him might be utter crap to someone else, and the last thing he wanted was to submit something less than perfect. A terrifying thought bubbled up from John’s subconscious. What if it was crap to begin with? What if the story he’d been working on for years was so mind-bogglingly stupid that the editors wouldn’t give it a second glance? John pulled the manuscript out. He flipped through the pages; trying to make up his mind. Submit it. Don’t submit it. Submit it. Don’t submit it. Submit it… John opened his desk drawer and slipped the manuscript inside. Maybe he should wait a little while to submit it. At least until he could find someone else to review it. John yawned and looked at his clock. Half past 11. He’d been at this for hours and he was exhausted. A spike of fear arced through John’s system. No, he didn’t want to go to sleep. The nightmares would come back; stronger and more vivid than ever. He just wanted to stay awake. Stay awake and the nightmares couldn’t get him. John shook his head. No, he had to get some sleep. Nightmares or no nightmares, he had to get some sleep. With a resigned sigh- one of many he‘d made that day-John plodded over to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then laid down on his bed. He clasped his hands together. Lord, I know we haven’t talked in a while, but could you please please help me get a good night’s sleep? That’s all I ask, Lord, a good night’s sleep. As an afterthought he added Amen… With that, John closed his eyes and let his conscious mind dissolve into oblivion… - The winged unicorn stomps her featureless hooves on a dream-stuff platform. She has scoured the dreamscape for her quarry, sniffing the nightmares of countless species from countless worlds. So far, nothing. The unicorn lets out a frustrated snort. She has to find it before it’s too late; before it infects another world. Suddenly, the ethereal winds shift. The unicorn catches a whiff of her quarry and gags. The stench is unbelievable; to a human, it would be like standing upwind from a landfill during mid-summer. Nevertheless, it is a trace, the strongest she’s ever smelled. The unicorn braces herself and launches her equine body through the dreamscape, following her prey’s trail like a bloodhound. The dream-winds blow a cluster of bubbles into her path. The unicorn flies through them without a second though, shredding the dreams into feathery scraps. Beings from a thousand worlds wake up, their dreams cut short. The stench grows stronger. The unicorns eyes begin to tear up, the stench is so great. Each tear floats off, transforming themselves into blobs of mercury and gold before fading into the ether. Steeling herself, the unicorn follows the scent trail. Finally, she locates the source of the stench: a newly-formed nightmare with an all-too familiar fear-smell. The unicorn’s horn glows. With an expertise few can match, she carves a hole in the nightmare-bubbles’ skin with her horn and squeezes her way through. She will not let it get away. Not again. Author's Note This one's more about character development than scares. Hope you don't mind. Chapter 3John scrambles through the dark forest, desperately trying not to trip. It’s not easy. His flashlight is weak- almost dead. Its feeble orange light is barely enough to see by. What little he can see of the trail is covered with the vague shapes of holes, roots, and rocks. Each one deadlier than any snare. John risks a quick look behind him. Despite the near-pitch blackness of the forest, he can see the creature as plainly as if it were in broad daylight. The creature looks vaguely like a man; two arms, two legs and a head. Not that it would ever be mistaken for one; the creature’s body is covered with thousands of tiny snapping mouths, each ringed with needle-like teeth. Instead of hands, the creature has two fleshy “flowers” on the ends of its arms, each covered with serrated spikes. John’s heart kicks into overdrive. Every cell, every atom in him screams for him to run. John is inclined to obey them. Two lights appear in the distance. John’s heart leaps; it’s his car! He doesn’t know how he knows it, but it’s his car! John gains a second wind. His body overrides all cries for rest. Aching muscles scream for relief, but John’s brain shouts them out. Suddenly, John’s left foot catches on a tree root, sending him to the ground. John flips himself over. The creature tenses. It lowers its spindly legs and prepares to leap… “WE HAVE FOUND YE AT LAST, FOUL CREATURE!” A brilliant blue light lit the forest like a sun. The creature’s thousand mouths screamed at once like an unholy choir. “NOW FACE OUR HOLY WRATH!” A beam of blue light shot out of nowhere and impaled the creature like a skewer. The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek, then exploded in a flash of unnatural black light. John lay were he fell, too stunned to move. He heard something walk up to him. “Are you unharmed?” John looked up. A fuzzy equine shape floated next to him. “Do not be afraid.” The shape said. “I will not hurt you.” John slowly picked himself up. “Who…who are you?” he croaked. The shape wavered for a second. “I do not enough time to explain. We must leave, immediately!” The shape nodded. Something like a swirling ball of mercury appeared in front of John. “Hurry, enter the portal. It will be back soon!” John gathered up what little courage he had left, took a deep breath, and jumped into the pool. 0000 Chaos. Pure, unfiltered chaos. That was the only way John could describe the place he floated in. All around John, thought and feelings took physical form. Clouds of happiness wafted by him, blown about by winds of sorrow. In the distance, John saw/smelled islands of tranquility being buffeted by hurricanes of rage. John could feel his own thoughts start to join the mix. Like streams of liquid plastic, thoughts and ideas leaped from his head. In the blink of an eye they ballooned into disorganized, illogical worlds. He saw decaying ruins became shining cities which then crumbled to dust. Rocky plains became lush forests which became desert which then became toxic wasteland. Sapient species returned to the primordial soup, then came back as beings of pure energy. John looked down at his body and gasped/screamed. Whatever insanity ruled this place was affecting him as well; one second his body was made of glimmering, metallic crystal. The next it was a shapeless blob of green/gold scales, and the second after that, it was both. John’s mind rebelled at this insane place. Then it became fearful. Then it became unusually content. He could see his sanity bleed from him in droplets of pink wax.. “Hold fast, mortal!” Shouted/whispered the voice from before. “Try to focus on a single shape!” Single shape? How could he have a single shape? How could anything have a single shape? He’d always been like this. Had he always been like this? The voice was lying. Was it lying? Everything was lying! EVERYTHING WAS A LIE! John felt/tasted something slapping him across the face. The sanity droplets flowed back into him. He forced his shifting brain to work. Ok,ok, one shape. . John imagined himself pushing everything out of his mind, like a man cleaning junk out of his attic. He tried to focus on what he thought his normal body was like; two arms, two legs, one head, brown hair. two arms, two legs, one head, brown hair. two arms, two legs, one head, brown hair. John repeated the image again and again. His fluctuating body slowly began to stabilize; his arms and legs shrank and grew at random, and his hair cycled through all the colors of the rainbow, but otherwise he was stable. “We are almost there mortal” John heard/smelled the voice say. He felt a slight pressure pushing against his body, as if he was being pressed against a thin rubber sheet. As if in response to his thoughts, a sheet of rubber as big as a galaxy and as small as a proton materialized around him. As he pushed forward, the pressure grew greater and greater, pushing against his chest, squeezing at his stomach. As the pressure grew, the sheet grew thicker, becoming heavy cloth, then wood, and then steel, and then… Pop! - John found himself laying flat on his face, his mouth full of grass. "Ugh.. "John groaned, spitting out the strangely sweet grass. Whatever that place was, it had left him with a killer headache. It felt like crazed lumberjack had used his skull as a chopping block. He was lucky a headache was the only thing he got from that place. John flipped himself, his head pounding like a kettledrum. Spitting out the last of the grass, he turned his head towards the sky and instantly forgot his pain. - Back home, all the light pollution turned the sky into a uniform black sheet; if John was lucky, he might see one or two very bright stars, along with a few planes and helicopters. Here, the sky was packed with stars of all shapes and sizes, from tiny, twinkling stars scattered about like handfuls of glitter, to glowing spheres the apparent size of baseballs. Some of these stays were connected by lines of pure light, forming countless constellations The stars weren’t alone in the night sky. Here and there were massive, colorful nebulae, looking like smudges of colorful paint on a black canvas. Accompanying the dusty clouds were thousands upon thousands of planets, ranging from tiny balls resembling miniature models of Earth, to massive, rainbow-colored gas giants, some of whom sported rings that would’ve given Saturn a run for its money. Lording over it all was an elegant spiral galaxy, slowly spinning like a cosmic pinwheel. John heard someone laugh with a sound like tinkling bells “I see someone is impressed with our night sky.” John looked around. All he could see was a field of beautiful, silvery grass, broken here and there by electric-blue flowers. “Who’s there?” That voice sounded like the one that had brought him here, only not as angry god-like. The voice giggled. “Of course. Where are our manners? Let us make ourselves visible.” There was a flash of light, and a dark blue horse appeared on the field. John looked more closely. No, not a horse. Not any he’d ever seen. Its feet, if one could call them that, were more elephant than equine; short and stumpy, with no visible hooves. Its muzzle was much blunter than a real horse, and its eyes… its eyes were huge! Seriously, John had seen anime characters with less disproportionate eyes! The horse creature took a step towards John. Its mane looked as though someone had taken a chunk out of the night sky and pasted it to the creature’s head. Topping off the creature’s odd appearance was an icicle-like horn and two comically small wings. All in all, it was the least disturbing thing he’d seen that night. “Who, what are you?” John asked. The unicorn/Pegasus/horse thing pointed a stumpy hoof at itself and bowed slightly. John noticed that its mane blew without any noticeable breeze. “ I am Princess Luna, alicorn princess of the night and co ruler of the fair land of Equestria. May I ask thy name?” “John.” John dropped to his knees. “My name is John, your, uh, highness majesty omnipo…” Luna put a hoof to John’s mouth and smiled. “Tis no need for such formalities here. ‘Luna’ will suffice.” “Ok…Luna.” John pushed himself up. “Where am I?” Luna waved a hoof over the landscape; “This is my personal dream bubble. ’Tis my place of rest amidst the chaos of the Sea; my port in the storm, so to speak.” “The what?” The blue alicorn turned herself around. “I realize that thou has many questions, and I will answer all of them to the best of our ability. But first let us go someplace more suitable.” Luna waved a fore hoof. A cobblestone path bubbled out of the ground. She motioned with her head “This way, please.” John followed Luna down the path. As he walked, a gentle breeze blew across the path, bringing with it the scent of what John could only describe as calm. He could something inside him unwind, like a twisted rubber band slowly untangling itself. The trail wound into a forest of towering indigo trees- Luna seemed to have a thing for blue. As the duo walked through the ethereal forest, John found the alicorn’s appearance less and less alien. Maybe it was those massive, expressive eyes, that ethereal mane, or that slender, feminine body. Whatever it was, he was starting to find her cute. Maybe even beautiful. John heard Luna laugh. “What’s so funny?” “’Tis nothing. I am simply flattered that thou considers me beautiful.” John tensed. The alicorn could read minds! He quickly cleared all thought from his head, turning his mind into an empty bookshelf. “Do not fret.” Luna said. “ I am only reading your surface thoughts at the moment. I would never pry into one’s personal thoughts.” John relaxed. Good. After all that’d happened tonight, the last thing he needed was someone rooting around in his noggin. The forest gave way to a grassy meadow, bisected by a silvery creek. Luna waved a stumpy forehoof, and an elegant marble gazebo rose from the ground, accompanied by a wrought iron table and a chair. “Please, do take a seat.” John pulled out a wrought iron chair and sat down. At least he thought it was wrought iron. Whatever it was, it was surprisingly comfortable, more like plush than anything else. Luna stood at the other end of the table. Her horn glowed again, and an elegant china teapot and cups appeared on the table. “Would thou care for some tea?” John nodded. The teapot floated over one of the cups and tipped itself over, pouring a stream of milk-like liquid into the receptacle. The cup then floated itself over to John , planted itself on a saucer, and placed itself into his hand. John stared at the milk-like tea for a bit. He shrugged. Oh well, down the hatch. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip, swishing the cream-like tea around in his mouth for a bit, then swallowing. It tasted…it tasted like serenity blended with calm, with a dash of optimism thrown in for taste. John took a bigger sip. He could feel the tea-whatever it was, circulate through his system; soaking into every nook and cranny of his being. It was as if his blood had been replaced with liquid peace. “How is our secret recipe?” John just smiled. He felt good. Real good. It was like his soul had been given a relaxing massage Luna took a sip herself. She sighed in contentment and set her cup down. “Now, I suppose tis time to answer your questions.” “Ok.” John said, gulping down the rest of the tea. He wasn’t in any real hurry; might as well learn a little about Luna. “Can you tell me a little about yourself? Your home, your family? You know, that kind of stuff.” “Certainly. Do make yourself comfortable though, as this may take awhile.” John leaned back and absentmindedly toyed with his cup, listening as Luna told him about her world. It seemed like an interesting place, to say the least. In her world, what she called “Equestria”, magic was a part of everyday life. It raised the sun and the moon, it changed the seasons, and it let the inhabitants, the “ponies”, warp natural laws at will. It sounded like a nice place to visit, but he wouldn’t want to live there. In return, John told Luna what he could about Earth. He tried to make it as balanced as he could, describing both humanity's achievements and its atrocities. Thankfully, Luna didn't seem too fazed by the latter; apparently, Equestria had had its share of black marks, though admittedly, not as many as Earth's. As the conversation continued, John found himself increasingly endeared to the alicorn’s personality. She explained things formally, but not in a way that made them boring. When she explained a concept for John, she did so in a way that made it easy for him to understand, but didn‘t insult his intelligence. She would have made an excellent teacher back home. That, and one hell of a prankster. “…thus, when our sister took a bite of the cake, the spell was triggered and the baked delicacy exploded in her face!” John doubled over laughing. Booby-trapped baked goods. Classic. Luna smiled. “Tis good to see you’re feeling better. When you first arrived, your soul was glutted with fear.” John agreed. He hadn’t felt this good in a very long time. The alicorns' voice took on a more serious note. “John, we fear that we must change the subject now." She poured herself another cup of tea." If I recall, you asked about that chaotic realm we passed through ?” John nodded. How could he forget? “In my land, we call it the Sea of Dreams." Luna said. "‘Tis a realm where matter and thought blend into one; where nothing and everything changes.” Luna took a sip of tea. “It is from this chaotic sea that the dreams of mortals are made” “As princess of the night, it is thy royal duty to guard the dreams of our subjects. When nightmares arise, we soften them, when a pleasant dream appears, we maintain them.” John decided not to ask about more…erotic dreams. John raised an eyebrow. “Why do you only look after their dreams?” Luna frowned. “I beg your pardon?” “There's a lotta other universes out there who could use your help. Why don‘t you look after their dreams?” Frankly, it sounded kind of selfish to him. “Methinks you underestimate the sheer size of the realm.” Luna said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “The Sea is home to the dreams of trillions of intelligent beings from countless billions of worlds. To look after so many dreams from so many worlds is beyond even my ability.” John shrank back in his chair. “Sorry” “No matter”. Luna continued. “Despite its chaotic nature, the Sea is not lifeless. On the contrary, it teems with life. The majority of them are like jellyfish made of pure thought; floating throughout the ether and feeding on the scraps of long-dead dreams.” Luna’s voice turned grave. “ However, there are some who have evolved less benign ways of finding sustenance.” “Uh, Luna, what does this have to do with my nightmares?” Luna looked John in the eye. “Tell me, John. Did you notice how your nightmares grew clearer and clearer each night? Did their increasing amounts of detail draw your attention?” John nodded. He had a bad feeling about this “That’s because they were not nightmares. Not natural ones at least. No, John, those were feedings.” Chapter 4Feedings… John’s feeling of tranquility wilted like old lettuce. His treacherous imagination conjured up an image of some horrible, fleshy leech attached to his head, sucking at his brain. His throat turned as dry as dust. “fee…dings…?” He squeaked. Luna poured John another cup of tea. “Here, drink some more.” John snatched the cup and chugged the tea without even tasting it. As quickly as it came, the image dissolved, while the fear dulled to a strong concern. “I apologize”. Luna said, hanging her head. “ I should not have broken the news quite so dramatically.” John waved his hand dismissively “ ’sall right ’sall right.” He said, taking slow, deep breaths. “I’m feeling better. “ He set his cup down. “What…what exactly is feeding on me?” Luna waved a fore hoof, and an image of something like a blob of soap film appeared in front of him. The instant John saw it, he looked away, his eyes smarting. Another wave and the image disappeared. “It is called a Phobovore.” Luna spat, as if the word were a foul taste. “In the tongue of the ancient Equestrians, it means ’ Fear Eater‘”. This…thing is a monstrous emotional parasite, latching on to its victim’s minds and tormenting them with horrible nightmares. These nightmares flood the hosts soul with fear, which the Fear-Eater absorbs as food.” John could see Luna grow tense. “As the foul beast feeds, its appetite for fear grows. The nightmares become increasingly more vivid and detailed, flooding the victims soul with even greater amounts of fear. Soon the victim finds it impossible to fall asleep. Following that are dementia, hallucinations, seizures, psychosis, and” Luna closed her eyes.”…death.” Tears trickled down Luna’s cheeks. “When that vile creature attacked my world, it murdered several of my subjects and nearly drove my beloved sister mad. Like a coward, it fled before I could obliterate it entirely. And now it infests your mind, feasting on your fear…” Luna’s eyes lit up with what John could only describe as a righteous fury. “NOT AGAIN!” John found himself pinned to his seat by the force of Luna’s voice. “NOT ONE MORE INNOCENT SHALL FALL TO THEE, ABOMINATION! WHEN NEXT WE MEET, WE WILL BURN EVERY SHRED OF THINE UNHOLY ESSENCE FROM EXISTENCE!” Luna stomped with the force of an earthquake, cracking the gazebo in two. Luna’s expression softened. She turned to John and pointed a fore hoof at him. “But I can not do it alone.” John raised an eyebrow “What?” Luna looked like she could crack a mountain in half with a thought. Why would she need help? “The Phobovore anchors itself to its victims mind by latching on to their greatest fear. Once it is entrenched, it is effectively invincible. I could destroy it a thousand times over and it would still return” “Then how do we kill it for good?” “The only way to sever the creatures link is for the host to destroy its dream form. The only way to accomplish this is for the host to overcome their greatest fear.” John leaned back in his chair, digesting Luna’s words. Face his greatest fear. What was his greatest fear? “Uh, Luna? We may have a problem?” “What is it?” “Well, I kinda sorta don’t know what my greatest fear is.” John said worriedly. He was afraid of a lot of things: spiders, the dark, driving, his landlord, and the like, but he didn’t know which one of them was the greatest. The alicorn princess hung her head. “I am afraid I cannot help you with that. Searching that deep into your mind could cause terrible damage to your conscious.” Luna sighed. “ ‘Tis something you will have to discover on your own.” “Uh, yeah, and there’s another problem; I’m not what you would call a fighter.” He held out one of his scrawny arms. “Seriously, does that look like the arm of a fighter?” “I am getting to that.” Luna said. “You are correct in your assessment of your fighting skills. But keep in mind that you, or rather, your conscious, is not bound by the laws of reality. Physical limitations are nothing.” “Unfortunately, even so you are still too weak to face the creature. “ Luna’s eyes furrowed. “During its lifetime, the Phobovore has absorbed the fear of countless innocents. When it fed on my sister, its power rivaled my own. Now, with all the fear it has absorbed from your soul, its power is even greater than that.” Luna continued. “Worse, the creature is now aware that you know of its existence. When we reenter the dream, it will attempt to defend itself. While I may be able hold my own against the creature, in your current state, you would be swept away like a candle before a rising tide.” Luna’s horn glowed. The gazebo dissolved, replaced by a stone brick altar. Four polished granite erupted from the ground around it, each topped by a sphere of polished blue stone. “However, there is a way to make you stronger.” Luna’s horn glowed with a soft blue light. “There is a spell known only to my sister and I. One that can temporarily bestow a non-magical creature with alicorn powers.” John’s eyes widened. “You mean, I’d become as powerful as you?” Luna nodded. “The spark that is your soul will become a raging fire, almost as bright as my own.” John crossed his arms. “Let me guess, there’s a catch?” There always was. A spell that would turn him into a near-omnipotent demigod had to have a few strings attached. Luna nodded again. “ You are correct. Non-magical creatures were never meant to wield the powers of an alicorn. There is a sizable chance that the power might utterly consume you. Both your body and soul would become naught but a pile of ash.” John suddenly started having seconds thoughts about the spell. Eldritch abomination is his head or not, being burned to ashes did not sound like a pleasant way to die. John shook his head. It didn’t matter. If he didn’t kill the unwelcome guest inside his mind, he was already dead. The only difference was that one method would be much, much faster. “Alright.” He said slowly. “Lets do this.” Luna motioned towards the altar. “Stand in the middle of the four pillars”. “Alright...” John climbed onto the stone platform with the eagerness of a condemned criminal walking towards the gas chamber. He could feel the stone pulse with power like a massive stone heart. “Okay, now what?” “Take off your shirt, hold your arms out and stand perfectly still.” John complied. “Good. Now, let us begin!” Luna closed her eyes and began chanting something in some melodic, incomprehensible tongue. Chains of what appeared to be solid stone shot out from the pillars, each one wrapping itself around one of John’s limbs. The spheres on top of the pillars split into halves, which split into quarters, which split into eights and so on and so on. Soon the spheres were nothing a spherical clouds of fine dust. Luna began to chant faster. Her horn glowed as if there was a star balanced on its tip. The dust clouds rearranged themselves into shining, diamond-shaped crystals, each pulsing with all the colors of the rainbow. Geometric patterns etched themselves on John’s bare chest, drawn with what appeared to be liquid light. The crystals gave off a bright pulse of light, and something like a liquid rainbow oozed down the chains at an agonizingly slow pace. The impossible liquid neared John’s limbs and hesitated, as if it were having second thoughts, then hurled itself into John’s body. - John stood motionless on the altar, his body wracked with the incredible power flowing through him. Pain, unimaginable pain surged through his nervous system. . Every cell, every molecule, every atom screamed in agony. John tried to scream, tried someway to vent the horrible agony flooding into him. It was no use; the bizarre rainbow held him in place like a fly on a sheet of flypaper. Even the act of blinking was a Herculean task. “HOLD FAST, JOHN!’ Luna shouted. John would have shot back with an “Easy for you to say!” but his body was somewhat preoccupied at the moment. Suddenly, the pain stopped. John slumped on the chains, gasping for breath and basking in sweet, euphoric relief. Then another rainbow oozed down the chains into John’s body, submerging him into another ocean of pain. After that there was another, and another, and another. Pain washed over him like a series of tidal waves. John’s body screamed for death. He nerves felt as though they were being deep-fried by some insane fry cook. Finally, his body could take no more. The world went black and John slipped into sweet, sweet oblivion. -- “John?” “ John? “John please wake up!” John slowly forced himself to open his eyes. Luna was standing over him, a look of strong concern on her face. “’M’all right, Luna.” John lied. The alicorn let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank the Queen! When you collapsed like that I had thought your essence extinguished.” “Sure…feels like it has.” John groaned, trying to push himself up. His body ached; it was as if he’d just been stomped by a herd of elephants. Elephants wearing cleats. Luna’s horn glowed. A dark blue aura surrounded John, gently pulling him off his feet. “Not really sure the spell worked.” John moaned. If anything, he felt weaker than… John felt something inside him. A sort of warmth in his stomach, like a small fire. The fire began to grow, turning from a small fire into a raging inferno, then a blast furnace, then a star. The aches vanished from John’s body. “Luna!” I, can feel it!” He felt as though his blood had been replaced by liquid lightening. No, not lightning, lighting was but a spark compared to this. It was as if someone had liquefied a small star and injected it into his veins. John raised himself into the air, laughing like a child playing with a new toy. He stretched out an arm and snapped his fingers; chunks of earth wrenched themselves from the ground and orbited around him. John held out a palm and concentrated; a beam of intense white light shot out, vaporizing an unlucky tree. As John played with his new powers, he began to cackle evilly. Lightning smashed into the ground around him, turning the grassy around him to glass. He raised an eyebrow, and an army of glass men rose from the vitrified ground and bowed before him. He was mortal no longer. He was a god! Chapter 5John floated in the middle of the orbiting dirt chunks, reveling in his newly-gained power. The newly-minted god looked at his body and sneered. This pathetic body may have suited him when he was still mortal, but to a god it was an insult. He needed a new body; one better suited to his ascended status. John snapped his fingers; columns of white light fell from the sky like cylindrical stars. His body warped and molded itself like putty until it reached his desired shape. “John..?” The now god-like John looked over his new body and grinned. His formerly scrawny arms were now slabs of solid muscle and sinew capable of smashing boulders. His chest and abs rippled with muscles that would have put a body builder’s to shame. The mass of greasy brown string that he’d called hair was gone; in it’s place was a flowing mane of golden locks. “John!” The newly-born god turned to the impudent creature, sneering with contempt. How dare she address him by his mortal name! “IMPUDENT BEING!” John boomed with a voice like an earthquake. “I AM JOHN NO LONGER! FROM NOW ON, ALL SHALL ADDRESS ME AS…” A bolt of blue lightning cut John off mid-sentence. He felt something close inside him, his mind conjured up an image of an armored safe closing, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Chunks of earth rained around him, while his crystalline worshipers turned to shards of broken, dirty glass. Luna trotted over to John’s side. “I am sorry, but I did not quite catch your name.” She said with a smirk. John looked at himself. His body had been returned to his original scrawny state. “What…what did you just do to me?” The alicorn gave a resigned sigh. “I had hoped your race to be less susceptible to corruption than my own. However, it appears that was not the case.” Probably shouldn‘t have sugarcoated human history so much. John mused “Therefore, I had no choice but to contain the power within you. Thankfully, as a non-magical being, you were not used to handling such power, so it was relatively easy to penetrate your spiritual defenses” John picked himself up. He could still feel the power within him, but it felt contained, isolated; as if someone had sealed a supernova inside a bottle. “So, what, I can’t use the power anymore? How’s this work?” “No, you can still use your power. Just not all at once.” John raised an eyebrow. “I don’t follow.” “How do I explain this? The power is still within you, but now there are limits. You can only use a certain portion of your power at a time. If you wish to use anything larger, it will have to be with my permission.” “So basically, you’re putting me on a leash.” Luna dipped her head. “I apologize, but it was the only way.” John didn’t really blame her. What he’d done during his little power trip scared him. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of empowerment. Contained or not, having the powers of a demigod really did wonders for one’s self-confidence. His soul was a coat, and the power was a gun tucked into a pocket. “So now what?” John slammed a fist into his palm. “Are we going to go kick that things’s ass?” He felt like he could take on an army with a tire iron. Luna held out a fore hoof. “Not yet. First we must prepare ourselves for battle.” “Battle?” John said. “Why can’t we just go into the dream, wave our hands, and blow that thing to bits?” Luna sighed. “How do I explain this? While dreams do not follow the laws of the physical world, they still have their own sets of ‘rules‘, so to speak. Any alteration that breaks those rules will be quickly reverted.” “Naturally, that creature will have control over the rules of its dreamscape. Not total control, otherwise our battle would be lost before it began, but it can still make our quest very difficult.” “So, we can’t just enter its dreamscape and destroy it by snapping our fingers?” Luna said “We could not simply enter its dream and wish the Phobovore dead with a thought, though I greatly wish we could. We will have to fight our way past the abominations’ defenses in order to slay it.” John frowned “Then what‘s the point of having all this power?” Luna grinned. “We may not be able to alter the creature’s dreamscape directly, but we can certainly alter ourselves.” Luna’s eyes lit up with a blinding light, as if the gelatinous orbs had been replaced by stars. A coat of dark blue chain mail appeared out of nowhere, wrapping itself around the alicorn like metallic saran wrap. An elegant cuirass materialized on the alicorns’ chest, inscribed with a silvery crescent moon. Azure grieves and shinplates fastened themselves to the alicorns’ legs, while her stumpy hooves were capped by wicked-looking sabatons. Luna’s flowing mane cropped itself until it was the pony equivalent of a crew cut. Topping it all off was an elaborate metal helmet, studded with precious jewels. John’s face broke out in a wicked grin. Oh hell yes! Luna motioned to John. “Now it is your turn.” “Uh ok.” John stood there. “What do I do?” “ Just concentrate on what you want to look like. Your power will take care of the rest.” After a minute of searching, he found something. It was kinda old- something he’d come up back in college. But it’d do. “Ok, I’ve got something. Hit me!” “Why would you want me to hit you? I fail to see the purpose in it.” John rolled his eyes. “Just let me access my power.” Something inside John opened. It was as if someone had opened a valve in his soul, letting the power flow freely. Eldritch energy crackled around him like static. The crystal-clear skies turned dark with clouds. Thick bolts of lightning slammed into the ground around John like tendrils of liquid light. John could feel the power swirl around him, bending and molding itself according to his will. He could feel the power twist and harden itself into something solid. There was a final flash of light, and John found himself standing once again on the plain, staring like an idiot. Luna just stood there, her already disproportionate eyes were practically bulging. John reeled Everything felt, smaller. When he’d arrived, Luna had about the same size as him. Now he towered above her, as if he’d suddenly put on stilts. Stilts, and a lead overcoat. His body felt much heavier than before. It was as if he was wearing a lead-lined coat. “So Luna. John said. He started. His voice had changed. It was much deeper, much raspier than before; sort of like Clint Eastwood with a bit of Chuck Norris. The blue alicorn shook her head. “ Why don’t you see for yourself.” A gold-framed mirror rose from the ground. John grinned. “Sweet.” John’s new form was everything he’d imagined it to be. His scrawny, featherweight body was now encased in a blocky exoskeleton, plated with slabs of thick grey armor. His hands were encased in massive powered gauntlets, while the scrawny sticks that he had called legs were encased in blocky, piston-like grieves. The only part of his body that wasn’t completely encased in armor was his head, which was covered with a hood of metallic scales like an astronaut‘s cap. Some would’ve called it overcompensation. John just called it awesome. A string of what felt like bee stings traveled up John’s back. He winced. “All you all right, John? What is the matter with your armor” “ Nothing, Luna.” John said through clenched teeth. “Just the neural interface plugging into my spine.” ” Probably shoulda left out that part.” Finally, the stinging stopped. The heavy armor suddenly became like a second skin. He could feel the cool night air blow across his titanium-composite skin, could feel the armor’s quantum tap reactor as if it was his own heart. Something behind John’s eyes twitched, and lines of text began to scroll across his vision. MARK III ARMORED COMBAT EXOSKELETON INTERFACE COMPLETE.WELCOME USER:JOHN. BEGINNING SYSTEMS CHECK The armor began listing armor systems, from jumpjets to weapon power feed. Icons began to pop up in John’s vision, representing everything from armor status to weapons selection. “Such…interesting armor.” Luna said. “But surely you will not attempt to face the creature unarmed.” “’course not.” John reached behind his armored back. Were they there? Should be; they were one of the best parts of the…Yes, there they were! John unclamped two massive, blocky pistols from their niches on his armor. The gunmetal gray weapons looked exactly like they had in his imagination; big, bulky, and masculine. A faint tingling sensation flowed into his arms as the pistols interfaced with his armor. In seconds, two targeting reticules appeared in his field of vision. Luna raised an eyebrow. “Boxes? You mean to fight the creature with those strange boxes?” “Not boxes. Lasers.” John gave one of the guns a twirl. “Mark XV Directed Energy Pistols to be exact” John said. “Give me some targets and I’ll show you how they work.” Luna raised a fore hoof. Six straw targets rose from the ground, each painted with a blue bullseye. “Watch.” John centered the crosshairs on the closest target. He squeezed the firing studs; six beams of electric-blue light lanced through the straw target, each striking dead center. John raised an eyebrow. Guess I’m a better shot than I thought. He trained his guns on the five remaining As if by reflex, his arm jerked from target to target, lancing each with a beam of coherent light. In seconds, each target had a smoldering hole in its center. The hell? The first shot he could understand, but six in a row? No way. “Impressive weapons.” Luna said, clearly impressed. She tilted her head. “What is it? Why are you so surprised?” Luna said. John held out the guns. “Luna, I’ve never fired a gun in my life, and yet I just nailed six bullseyes in less than five seconds!” He’d expected he’d need a least a little practice before he got used to the things. “You forget, this is a dream.” Luna chided. “You can be as skilled or as unskilled as you choose.” John grinned. He had the combat skills of a seasoned veteran, nay, a supersoldier, despite never having fought in his life. Awesome. “Now, while those “lazers” of yours seem effective,”- Luna materialized a katana the size of a man-“What would happen if the enemy drew too close for you to use them? “Way ahead of you.” John clamped the pistols to his waist and thought-clicked an icon on his HUD. Two massive, mirror-like blades popped out of his gauntlets. John held up a hand “Watch”. He strutted over to a tree and slashed with his right gauntlet. The paper-thin blade cut through the dream-tree’s trunk like air in the middle. For a second, the tree stood there, as if nothing had happened. Then the two halves slowly slid apart. The look on Luna’s face said everything. John sheathed his blades. “Right, we’re all set. Lets’ go kick some ass.” “One second.” Luna walked over to John. “Please kneel.” John obeyed. He felt the Princess touch her horn to his forehead. It wasn’t anything like he’d expected; more like cartilage than bone. He felt a slight tingling sensation trickle into his brain. [There. Our minds are now connected.] John reeled. [What the hell?] [Apologies for the disorientation. This will help us communication much easier during combat.] John rubbed his head. It made sense. Being able to communicate instantly and discretely would be a huge advantage on the battlefield. “So are we ready now?” A globe of liquid mercury appeared in front of them. “Yes.” Luna stepped up to the sphere. “ Let us purge this monster from your mind!” John slammed a fist into his open palm. It was time for some payback. Chapter 6John and Luna glided/slid through the chaos of the Sea with the focus of a laser. To John’s relief, the Sea wasn’t nearly as harsh as it was the first time. His armor would change color every so often, and his voice would randomly shift its pitch, but that was all. In fact, now that John thought about it, the Sea was actually kind of beautiful. Not in the conventional sense of beauty- something that mundane had no place in the Sea. It was more like a…it was like the whole sea was a massive, blank canvas- a sort of sea of what-might-be. [It is the power] John turned/flipped his head at Luna [what?] [Your newly-received power is protecting you from the worst of the Sea] [ Now you can see it for what it truly is] Something like an impossible soap bubble appeared in front of them, swirling with colors both vibrant and subdued at the same time John pointed/commanded an armored finger at the “bubble”. [That one of those ‘dream bubbles’ you were talking about?”] [Yes.] Luna said/heard. Her body began to sweat hot pink droplets of awe. [Are they not beautiful? ‘Tis a shame mortals cannot see them as they are.] John nodded. Beads of awe started dripping from his armor. The impossible orbs, small as protons and as big as planets, had the same, indescribable beauty as the rest of the Sea. They were brightly wrapped presents, filled with possibilities. The duo drifted/fell through a cloud of dream bubbles. [Luna.] John asked/answered. [What can we expect when we get to the creature’s dream bubble?] [I do not know for certain. When last I fought the Phobovore, it defended itself with an army of Nightmare Moons.” [What?] A dark grey bead of regret trickled out of Luna‘s eyes [Over a thousand of my years ago, I grew jealous of the attention my sister received. That jealousy turned me into a being of pure darkness known as Nightmare Moon.] [To save Equestria from eternal night, my dear sister was forced to banish me to my beloved moon for a thousand years.] More tears of regret trickled from Luna’s eyes. [Though I was eventually redeemed through the magic of friendship, my sister feared that someday she might lose me again. The Phobovore sensed that fear and latched onto it. When we attacked it, it used every one of my sister‘s fears against us.] Luna turned/twirled to face John. [That is what the phobovore does. The foul thing knows what will scare you, and it will probe your mind for anything it might use as a weapon. ] Black droplets of fear popped out of John’s skin. That…was kind of a downer. The princess placed a hoof on John’s armored shoulder. [Do not worry. Powerful as the creature may be, it is not omniscient.] [It knows that we are coming, but it does not know of your newly-gained power. When it attacks, it will find itself woefully unprepared.] The fear-droplets dissipated. A light blue mist of confidence built around John. The etheric winds shifted, blowing clusters of dream bubbles out of the way. Ahead, lay a strange, distorted dream bubble. [That the one?] Luna nodded/bobbed. Pea-green globules of disgust leaked out of John’s armor. This dream-bubble looked tainted. Instead of the impossible rainbow the other bubbles were colored with, this one was an impossibly dark pitch-black. It was an infected limb; one that desperately needed to be amputated. [Brace yourself, John!] Luna’s horn glowed with an eldritch light. She pumped/beat her majestic wings and charged at the bubble. The unholy blackness rushed up to meet them. [WHOOM!] John and Luna hit with the force of a small meteorite. The bubble’s skin gave way, then began pushing back. It felt like steel and flesh and rubber somehow fused together. Luna pressed her razor-sharp horn against the bubble‘s skin. She grunted/moaned [I cannot cut through this membrane by myself!] John thought-clicked an icon, and his arm blade extended. With a roar as loud as an earthquake and a quiet as a mouse, he thrust the paper-thin blade into the bubble’s membrane and slashed at it. A hairline slice appeared in the thick membrane. Luna’s horn glowed, and streamers of ethereal blue energy rushed into the cut, spreading it open like a hole in a rubber sheet. [GO!] John thrust himself into the darkness beyond the hole. His mouth seemed to fill with ash. Something squeezed his body like a vice, and then….POP! - John came to on the shores of a strange red lake, his body aching like it’d just been put through a wringer. Again? John groaned, pushing his armored body up. He didn’t know how Luna did it. She’d been doing this every night for centuries. She must have ached all over when she woke up. John thought-clicked a red cross icon on his HUD.He felt a sharp sting, and the aches in his body slowly eased away. John started. Luna, where was Luna! “Luna!” He shouted. “Luna!” Something tickled the edge of John’s conscious. He wasn’t sure, but it could have been Luna. John looked around for a sign of the blue alicorn. All he could see were white sand dunes, a pinkish sky, and that strange, red lake. John’s curiosity got the better of him. He clomped over to the edge of the lake and dipped a hand into the strange red water lapping at the shore. He cupped a little of the strange liquid in his hand and gave it a quick sniff. What is this stuff? John thought. It wasn’t water, whatever it was. It smelled of salt and rust. Rust, or… John thought-clicked an icon. A hair-thin pipette snaked from his left gauntlet and drank the droplet, sucking it into his armor. A red circle appeared on his HUD. It blinked for a few seconds, then turned green with a cheerful ‘ting‘. ANALYSIS COMPLETE A list of elements scrolled across John’s vision like a theater marquee. A diagram appeared- whatever the stuff was, it was made up of tiny, tire shaped disks in a water-based solution…wait a minute. John recoiled. He fell backwards onto the white sand. Blood! The red water was blood! John! John winced. Still haven’t gotten used to telepathy. “LUNA, LUNA WHERE ARE YOU?” Over... here! “Where’s ‘over here’”? A green dot appeared on his HUD. Here! Stuck...need help! “Hang on , Luna, I’m coming!” John clambered up one of the sand dunes. Luna sounded desperate there. He had to get to her before… John’s body froze on the spot. His jaw dropped as if it were weighted down. “Good…God…” - Before this night, John had thought he’d seen it all; lovecraftian monsters that fed on fear, extra dimensional realms that told the laws of physics to take a hike, and a strangely beautiful talking horse. All of that looked normal compared to what he saw now. The Phobovore's dreamscape looked as though some maniac had dissected a giant and stretched its flesh across an infinite plain. Forests of bone rose from the meaty surface, their surfaces covered with gristle and veins. Scattered about the dreamscape were monstrous organs; tire-sized hearts that grew from vein-trees, beating in spooky unison; stomachs the size of automobiles that churned and gurgled. In the distance rose mountain-sized ribs supporting an faint pink sky. To John, they were like the arches of some grotesque, fleshy cathedral. A unique mix of nausea and horror bubbled up in John’s gut. The sheer, alienness of this place was getting to him. He was in the bowels of the Phobovore- doomed to spend the rest of eternity wandering its gargantuan innards. “JOHN!” Luna’s cry snapped John back to his senses. He whipped his head around; there was Luna, stuck to a fleshy membrane stretched between two bone-trees. He could see the edges of the membrane slowly start to curl up. “Hang on, Luna!” John whipped out his arm blades and slashed at the membrane. The rubbery tissue parted like water, and Luna fell to the ground in a heap. “Thank you John.” Luna said weakly, struggling to get on her hooves. She snorted. “That…. membrane… was poisoned… somehow. I…could… not focus enough… to use my magic.” John helped the armored princess up.“You ok?” “I am…recovering.” A light blue glow spread over the alicorns’ body. She sighed. “There.” John looked around the flesh-covered dreamscape. “Luna, you sure this the right place?” Luna burned the remaining membrane off of her back. She stuck her navy-blue muzzle in the air and sniffed. “Yes. This is the place.” John took a whiff himself and gagged. The air reeked of blood, vomit, and waste.“ You sure? ’Cuz this doesn’t’ look like any forest I’ve ever seen.” “Why should it?” Luna said. “Now that you know of the Phobovore’s existence, it no longer needs that scenario.” Luna scanned the dreamscape. “ In its stead, it created a world designed to unnerve and terrify you.” “And it did a good job.” John shivered. Luna pointed a forehoof towards a forest of bone-trees. “The creature‘s foul odor wafts from beyond that forest.” She motioned John forward. “Come. We cannot afford to dally here.” With that, the princess reared up on her hind legs and galloped across the fleshy plain, leaving a trail of blood-filled hoofprints. John followed as best he could. The two plowed their way across the dreamscape like a pair of bulldozers. Anything too large to go around, they simply cut their way through. There was no time for subtlety. No time for diversions. “Hey Luna…?” John said as the two scythed their way through a bramble patch of pulsing arteries. “Yes, John?” Blood sprayed over John’s armor. The red liquid slid off John’s shining armor without a stain. “What will happen if we fail?” “I am not certain”. Luna said, charring the bone trees ahead of them to blackened stumps. “‘Tis most likely that the two of us will simply wake up as if from a bad dream.” John smiled. That didn’t sound so bad. “However, were that to happen, it would be weeks before we could attempt another attack. I doubt that you would last that long.” That did. “So.. no pressure, right?” “No, there is a great deal of pressure! If we fail…” John rolled his eyes. “It’s a figure of speech Luna. I know what you mean.” The bone-forest gave way to an open, fleshy plain. John’s boots and Luna’s hooves squish, squish, squished on the fleshy ground. Luna stopped. She held out a hoof. “What is it, Luna?” The alicorn held up her muzzle and took a deep sniff. “Wait here.” She crouched down and pushed herself into the air like a rocket. For a few minutes, Luna circled around; a hawk searching for prey. What do you see? A blue dot appeared on John’s HUD. There, on the horizon. One of John’s optical sensors zoomed in on the horizon. The fleshy ground was moving The coward has sent its underlings to fight us. Can I see? An image of a strange, spiky carpet appeared in John’s head. Uh, Luna. What am I looking at? Watch. The “carpet” grew closer. Luna flew closer to whatever it was for a better look. Something in John’s stomach clenched. “Of course…it had to be spiders.” Well, not really spiders. Whatever these things were, they resembled spiders the same way Luna resembled a horse. Instead of eight legs, these things had six bony limbs, each tipped with a nasty-looking spike. Their bodies were the color of dried blood, and was covered with a spiky, crab-like carapace. Even worse, these things had faces. Human faces. His face. Every muscle in John’s body locked up. It was too much. Fear crushed him in an oppressive hug. It coiled around his soul, squeezing it tighter and tighter. John! John couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. He was a statue of flesh and metal, made rigid by pure fear. John, listen to me. The creature wants you to be afraid! Every bit of fear in your soul is a banquet to it. John couldn’t muster the willpower for a response. Luna landed next to John. She looked him in the eye. “At this moment, the creature sees you as prey; something it can hunt down and drain until there is nothing left to drain. Is that what you are, John? Prey?” A blue aura surrounded John’s pistols and yanked them from their clamps. Luna held the bulky weapons in his face. “Do you see these weapons, John? Does prey take arms against its attacker? Does prey attack a beast in its own lair?” The guns floated over to John’s hands and pressed themselves into his armored gauntlets. You are not prey, John. No, you are a hunter! The fear began to melt away. The ice in John’s blood dissolved, replaced by a raging fire. Luna stood tall. “DO YOU HEAR US, FOUL BEAST?!” She boomed with a voice like a mountain. WE DO NOT FEAR THOU IN THE SLIGHTEST! THOU ART PREDATOR NO LONGER. NO, NOW THOU ART PREY! The fire rushed into John’s lungs. “YOU GOT THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH?! WE’RE GONNA MARCH INTO YOUR LAIR AND WE ARE GOING TO BURN. YOU. OUT! YOU HEAR ME?” Adrenalin surged through John’s system like liquid lightning. “YOU THINK YOU’RE SO SCARY, CLINGING TO PEOPLE‘S MINDs AND SUCKING OUT THEIR FEAR? HAH! YOU’RE NOTHING BUT AN OVERGROWN LEECH! John held out a hand. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE DO WITH LEECHES BACK WHERE I COME FROM?!” WE PULL THEM OFF, “John clenched his hand into a fist. “AND WE CRUSH THEM!” John stomped with the force of an earthquake. He could feel it. He could feel the adrenalin surging through him like a boiling river. He raised his pistols. “DIE!!!” He roared, charging towards the horde. John’s one-man rampage was interrupted by light blue aura. “Tis good to see you so eager.” Luna said. She pulled him back. “…but charging blindly into the fray will only serve the creature‘s purposes“. She materialized her sword and sliced a bone-tree in half. The bony trunk floated over to them and planted itself into the fleshy ground. Blood welled up from the wound. “Here.” Luna said, lifting John onto the trunk with her magic. “This shall be our high ground. Do not move from this spot, no matter what.” “You mean I’m just gonna stand here and shoot them ?“ Luna stretched a fore hoof towards the horizon, “John, we are hopelessly outnumbered. To attack the enemy directly would be foolhardy, nay, suicidal.” She pointed a forehoof at him. “You will stay here and whittle down their forces and I shall soar above them and rain death on this unnatural horde “Good plan.” John interfaced with his pistols. Twin targeting reticules appeared in his field of view. The horizon began to grow fuzzier. John could see individual spiders now. Each one was baring a mouth full of fangs. A meter ticked down the distance until they were in range. John paused for a second. “Luna, mind letting me use my power a little?” “Why?” “I think I might be able to thin their ranks a little.” Luna nodded. The power inside John began to leak out of its containment. At a thought, two blobs of dark-grey metal sprouted from the suit’s back, molding themselves into two massive missile launchers. Red, curving lines appeared on John’s HUD, each representing optimal trajectories. [MISSILES ARMED. AWAITING YOUR COMMAND.] John grinned. “Rain hell”. SHHREEECH! SHHREECH SHREEECH SCHREECH SCHREECH SCHREECH Within seconds, six fat missiles burst from the launcher with a sound like two steel blocks sliding against each other.Within seconds, six missiles arched over the horde, leaving ominous black trails in their wake. The artificial meteors pointed their blunt noses skyward for a second, then plunged one-by-one into the horde. WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM Six shockwaves slammed into John, nearly knocking him off of his bony perch. Luna was almost knocked to the ground. Geysers of flesh, blood, and pulverized chitin soared skyward. From Luna’s eye in the sky, he could see spiders turned to bowling pins by the blast, their shells cracked and their innards pulped. Boulders of flesh and bone rained down on the horde, crushing spiders by the scores. It was strangely beautiful. Small, reddish shards began to hail around John, cracked and charred like burnt porcelain. John ignored them and trained his targeting reticules on the spiders closest to him. He squeezed the firing studs. “EAT LIGHT!” Thick rods of light leaped from the pistols’ emitters and lanced into the horde, turning a clump of spiders into sprays of chitin and superheated ichor. The battle for his mind had begun. - From his perch on the impromptu high ground, John was a god of death. With all the targets around him, the power-armored human didn’t even need to aim; he just pointed the emitters in the general direction of the hoard and sprayed it with light. With each burst, a dozen or so spiders popped like nightmarish popcorn kernels. A counter at the bottom of his HUD ticked upwards with every spider killed; already it had reached triple digits. As John unleashed hell on the horde, Luna slashed at the nightmarish mob from the air. The kind yet mischievous princess he’d had tea with was no more. In her place was an vengeful angel of death. Time and time again, the blue alicorn swooped down over the horde. With every swoop, a fat bar of blue magic lanced into the mass of spiders, turning everything it touched to ash. At the nadir of her descent, Luna slashed with her katana, dicing spiders by the dozens before returning to the air to recharge. Despite the carnage, the spiders marched forward. They clambered over mounds of scattered limbs and burned chitin, fangs bared. Luna’s slashes dug gaping trenches in the flood, while John’s enthusiastic use of his laser pistols slowly ground them down. As the battle wore on, John realized something: he was having fun. A huge smile nearly split his face in two. This was just like those light gun arcade games he’d played as a kid, only cooler. In his mind, he could see scores popping up every time he killed a spider; already he’d racked up one hell of a combo. *Pop pop pop pop pop* Combo x 3 *poppoppopop* combo x6 He thought to himself as he mowed down spiders by the scores. He’d forgotten everything; the nightmares, the phobovore, the certain doom if he failed. All he knew was that he was killing lots of spiders, and was having a hell of a time doing so. “YOU LIKE THAT!” John shouted, pumping more light into the horde. “HERE’S SOME MORE!” He laughed. “HEY PHOBOVORE!” he shouted. “I’M LITERALLY BEATING YOU IN MY SLEEP! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?!” Must you? Luna groaned as she hacked at a clump of spiders. Hell yes! John shot back. A spider scuttled up the bony trunk and ground its teeth against John’s armor. “Wonder how I missed you?” John said. He bashed the abomination with the butt of his left pistol, and hurled it over the horde. In a flash, he shot it in mid air, spraying the horde with ichor and chitin. Time lost all meaning as the battle went on. Minutes and seconds were replaced by ever-increasing numbers of kills on his counter and growing piles of body parts. Spiders popped like popcorn on a skillet, peppering John with bits of chitin. The muzzles of his pistols grew red-hot, their cooling systems struggling to dump the excess heat. Eventually, the flood of spiders finally tapered off. What few survivors remained scuttled away in fear. “Whew”. John hopped off his perch and landed on a pile of charred spider parts. He looked over the battlefield and smiled. “That all you got?” John blew invisible smoke from the barrels of his pistols. His kill counter registered 20,045 kills. Luna touched down next to John, her coat matted with sweat. “Wadda’ya think, Luna?” John twirled his pistols and clamped them to his sides. “Too easy?” “Yes…” Luna panted. She took off her helmet and wiped her brow with a fore hoof. “Do not be overconfident. We caught the creature off guard. It will surely…” John peered towards the horizon. He saw something: a squat, menacing castle of bone and gristle. If that wasn’t an evil lair, he didn’t know what was. John unclamped his pistols. “C’mon, Luna. Lets go and kick this bum outta my head!”. He dashed towards the castle, pistols raised. “John, wait!” John didn’t bother to stop.This creature had been lounging around in his head for far too long. It was time to serve an eviction notice. Chapter 7John studied the nightmarish castle, trying to determine the best way to bust his way in. The citadel itself was like a massive slab of raw meat; a massive egg-shaped tower covered in fat and gristle and pulsing veins. At the top of the structure was a ball of flesh covered in eyes. Surrounding the disgusting structure was a monolithic wall of bleached bone, like a cliff of polished chalk. John wasn’t a betting man, but he would’ve bet his armor that that was the creature’s lair. Seriously, something that ugly had to be an evil lair. John placed a gauntleted hand against the bone. His touch sensors gave the impression of glazed ceramics. Now how should I bust in? He could blast his way through the bone with his pistols, but that would take time, and he was really itching for a fight. There was a possibility that he could leap over the wall with his jumpjets, but that wall was pretty high. Jumping over it would use up a lot of fuel that might be needed later. In the end, John decided to take the direct approach. SHLING! At a thought, the arm blade slid out of John’s gauntlet, like a sword made of solidified mercury. John pulled his arm back and thrust the paper-thin blade into the bone, slicing through it like wet paper. Like a knife through dough, he sliced a man-sized plug of bone out of the wall. He clenched his gauntleted right hand into a fist. “WHOOM!” The plug flew inwards, John stomped in, pistols raised and adrenalin pumping. “KNOCK KNOCK!” He yelled, a wicked grin plastered on his face. “ANYONE HOME?” As if on cue, swarms of spiders popped out of the walls. They swarmed towards John, jaws wide open. The armored human shook his head. “You just never learn, do you?” He centered his targeting reticules on the nearest spiders and his guns spat out a volley of light. Spiders popped by the scores, showering the polished white bone with blood and carbonized chitin. Seriously? John thought as he sprayed the spiders with light. These are the Phobovore’s defenses? He was annihilating these things by the scores. All around him, spiders popped like walking popcorn kernels. The little monsters couldn’t even get close. How this thing managed to hold off Luna and her sister was beyond him. Needless to say, the battle didn’t last very long. After a few minutes of charging towards the living meat grinder that was John, the arachnoid horrors limped away, nursing laser scores and severed limbs. John twirled his pistols and clamped them to his sides. “THAT ALL YOU GOT, YA’ SHCMUCK?!” His blood burned in his veins, itching for a real fight. The creature must have heard him. A patch of pink-red flesh in front of the tower grounds began to pucker and dilate until it became massive, fleshy hole. A dry, leathery smell wafted out of the hole… and a leg the size of John climbed out. John unclamped his pistols. Oh, this was going to be good! The leg was followed by another leg. And another leg.And another.The chitonous appendages gripped the edge of the holes, and a spider the size of a garbage truck hauled itself out. The creatures’ piston-like legs were tipped with spear-like spurs, while its massive head sported jaws that looked like they could rip through tank armor. John grinned like a kid at Christmas. “That’s more like it!” John took aim with his pistols and blasted the mega spider- an apt name in his opinion- right in its ugly face. Electric-blue rods of light punched into the red chitin, leaving black, steaming holes. The creature stumbled slightly, then righted itself. The holes slowly began to close, leaving only faint scorch marks. John raised an eyebrow. “Looks like ya’ finally learned something.” He clamped the pistols to his side again and unsheathed an arm blade. “Guess I’ll have to do this the fun way!” The massive spider let out an ear-piercing shriek and charged John. John ducked and rolled out of the way, and the oversized spider crashed into the wall, cracking the stone-hard bone. “Missed me!” John taunted.” The spider picked itself up and charged at John again, jaws outstretched to meet him. At a instant, John slid underneath the megaspiders’ body and hacked away at the nightmare’s belly. Each swing dug deep into the creatures, spraying John with bloods and globs of things best left unmentioned…until the wounds sealed themselves shut. With a roar, the mega spider swiped at John with a leg and slammed him into the side of the wall. Pain shot through John’s body. His HUD flickered for a second. Ow…. John thought-clicked the cross icon again and the pain slowly dulled. John picked himself up and charged the Megaspider again. The creature slashed at him with a foreleg. John sidestepped and sliced the bony limb off with an arm blade. The creature stumbled, waving its stump of a leg. Gotcha now. The stump quivered for a second. The bleached bone turned to something like wet clay, then reformed itself into a fresh, undamaged leg. The mega spider lunged at John. He ducked out of the way, but not before the creature left a deep scratch in his armor. This isn’t’ working. John groaned. He stood up and faced the mega spider. Time to get creative. John did a thought-clicked an icon. Small vents opened up in his boots. Fire. At John’s command, two pounds of metastable helium flowed through his armor and into his boots. White-hot jets of flame spurted from the vents, and John shot towards the light pink sky like a homesick rocket. Cut The jets cut off. The armor suit lurched upwards for a little bit, as if it were straining towards the sky, then plummeted towards the ground, a meteor of metal, composites, and raw testosterone. The ground and the spider rushed up to meet John. He bent his knees and clenched his fists. The mega spider grew larger and larger. It looked up for a second; John swore he could see a look of astonishment on its ungodly face.Then… FOOM! Half a ton of armor slammed into the spider like a Monty Pythonesque foot. The shockwave rattled John’s teeth like a baby’s toy. The mega spider didn’t stand a chance. The suit smashed right through the oversized arachnoid, crushing chitin, and pulping internal organs. The spider’s body cracked like a china teapot, spraying the bony citadel with blood, chitin, and viscera. John picked himself out of what was left of the mega spider, his armor painted with blood and innards. I always did love crushing spiders. John chuckled, wiping liquefied mega spider off of his face. He winced. A diagram of John’s body appeared on his HUD, portions of his legs flashing red. WARNING! FRACTURES DETECTED IN LEGS. BEGINNING AUTOMATIC MEDIC PROTOCOLS. A slow, dull warmth spread through John’s legs as the suit slowly reknit his cracked legs. “JOHN!” John turned to see Luna flying over the bony ramparts. He smiled and waved. “ Hey Luna! ‘Fraid you missed out on all the fun!” Luna looked around the castle. “I apologize for my absence, but my reserves of magical energy required recharging.“ The alicorn looked around. “Though it appears my presence was not needed.” John thought-clicked an icon. DECONTAMINATION PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED The suit glowed white hot. Caked gore and blood turned to fine ash which fell off in a flurry of black grit. “Wish you could have seen it Luna. It. Was. Awesome.” John flexed an armored arm. His body floated in euphoria. This, this was what it was like to be strong, to be powerful. Luna noticed the pulverized mega spider. Her eyes widened. “I will take your word for it.” She said, bemused. She pointed a hoof at the castle. “John, I do not like this.” John raised an eyebrow. “What do ya’ mean?” Luna waved a hoof around the devastated castle. “Look around you. This is supposed to be the creature’s foul lair, yet you managed to penetrate its defenses and destroy its guardians without any help? This is clearly a trap!” She started tugging at John. “Come, we must leave this place before the creature chooses to spring it.” John pushed Luna away. “So? We can take it.” Luna’s eye twitched. “…what?” “Luna, the two of us took on an army by ourselves. And I…” John gestured towards the mega spider corpse- “just single-handedly killed a guardian in the most awesome way possible! This thing doesn’t stand a chance against us.” “I already told you that we caught the creature off guard. It will certainly adapt!” John waved his hand. “So lets kill it before it does. Luna looked John in the eye. “ John, never underestimate the Phobovore. During its foul lifetime, it has acquired countless millennia of experience against foes far greater than us.” John raised an eyebrow. “Your point…?” Luna gritted her teeth. “My ‘point’ is that this creature is not to be taken lightly. It knows…. John rolled his eyes. “Whatever.“ He shoved the alicorn aside, and clomped towards the central tower. “I got a monster to kill.” Luna popped in front of him in a flash of light. A shimmering gold aura surrounded John’s feet, freezing him in place like an iron shell. “Hey, lemme go!” Luna clopped over to John‘s side. She touched her horn to his forehead. “Tis as I feared. Your soul is not accustomed to such large quantities of battle-lust. Now that it has gotten its first taste, it craves more.“ The alicorns’ horn began to glow; a slow pulsing ache began to grow in John’s skull. “What are you doing?!” “The battle-lust is clouding your judgment, but it may be possible to siphon it from your conscious before its effects become deleterious. It will only take-” “No.” Luna opened her eyes. “What do you mean ’no’?” John snarled. Stupid horse, keeping him away from his target.“ I mean I want you to stay the hell out of my head, you bitch.” Luna gasped. “John!” John sneered. “That’s right, I called you a bitch. What are you going to do about it?” “John, listen to me!” Luna said. A tear trickled down her cheek. ”You need to…” John slapped the alicorn with the back of his gauntleted hand. “No YOU listen to ME,! If you’re scared, fine. Sit this one out. But I’M not going to run away ’cuz it might be a trap. No, I’M GOING TO GO IN THERE AND KICK THAT THINGS’ ASS! DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Luna’s eyes began to glow. John swore he could see a tear trickle down one of her cheeks. “Do not test us, John. We bestowed thou with alicorn power, and we can just as easily take it away.” Is that a threat? John growled. He let some of his power flow into his suit. An icon appeared on John‘s HUD.“’Cuz I don’t like threats.” A compartment opened in John’s plastron. John thought-clicked the new icon, and a mass of tangled black wire shot out and stuck to Luna’s neck. “What trickery is…” At a thought, the wire came to life, wrapping itself around Luna’s body like an overfriendly octopus. The alicorn fell to the ground, her body as rigid as a statue. “Shouldn’t have threatened me, Luna.” John unclamped one of his pistols and pointed it to the alicorns head. He let some of the power flow into the weapon. A flash of green light shot out of the emitter, and the struggling princess went limp. John lowered the pistol. That’d keep her quiet until he got back. He raced towards the fleshy tower. It was time to close in for the kill - Shlick The atom-thin blade bit into the fleshy wall like wet tissue. Shlink Shlick Shlick John sliced at the bony wall, his arm blade a blur of shining metal. WHOOM! A plug of foul-smelling flesh flew into the tower. “You ready Phobovore? Here I come! John leaped into the impromptu door, pistols raised and heart pumping. The interior of the castle was like stepping into a living body. The fleshy walls quivered and twitched, as if they were in pain. The bony floor was crisscrossed with veins, pulsing land quivering like blue-grey worms. In short, it was really, really icky. John scanned the area. There, in the middle of the chamber, was a massive spiral staircase, like a DNA molecule made of bone. A tiny seed of doubt formed in the back of John’s mind. There was nothing here. No guardians, no spiders. Just the staircase. He knew he’d killed most of the defenders, but he expected something. John crushed the seed. He slowly, clomped his way up the massive staircase, his heavy footsteps reverberating throughout the tower. Halfway up the staircase, a membrane of rock-like flesh extended from the side of the staircase, blocking John’s path. Snapping, slimy jaws emerged from the wall, snapping at John like rabid dogs. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” John burned each mouth with a blast from his pistols. A few slashes from his arm blade later and the wall parted like a ripped curtain. “You thought that you could use my fear against me, huh? Make a world catered to my greatest fears?” A tentacle of muscle and sinew extended from the wall. It whipped itself at him. John caught the tentacle and sliced it apart. The tendril screeched in pain, spurting blood everywhere. “I’ll admit, for a second, it almost worked…” A few shots from John’s pistols seared the tentacle to ash. “…Almost.” John continued clomping up the staircase. His heart raced. The adrenaline flowed through him like molten lava. He resisted the urge to rush up the staircase guns blazing. He wanted to savor this. Finally, after a lengthy climb, John reached a fleshy orifice. This had to be the creature’s lair. “You feed on other being’s fear, huh? Well it’s time you started making some of your own! John slashed at the orifice and rammed his way into a cavernous chamber. There, on a blob-like throne, was the Phobovore. - John smirked. Seriously? He’d thought this thing was scary? The Phobovore looked much like it had in his nightmares; roughly humanoid, gaunt, and covered with snapping mouths. Back then, John had found it the most terrifying monster ever. Now it was pathetic. John towered above it by at least a foot. John stuck out a hand and motioned with two fingers. “Well, what are you waiting for?” The Phobovore slowly rose from its fleshy throne. It raised its sucker like hands and charged, its thousands of mouths howling in an unholy choir. John extended an arm blade and charged with a cry born of raw adrenaline. The two beings grew closer. The Phobovore leapt. Shlick The Phobovore stopped. John’s arm blade was buried up to the hilt in its abdomen. John twisted the blade like a key in a lock. The creature writhed for a few seconds, spraying John and the rest of the room with thick grey ichor, then went still. John threw the creatures’ body off of his arm blade. The body crumbled into powder which quickly evaporated away. The seed of doubt returned. This time bigger than ever. Something wasn’t right about this. This hadn’t been a fight at all. It was almost as if the creature wanted him to win. Drip John started. What was that? A wet, fleshy gurlge erupted out of nowhere. The chamber began to squeeze and contract. John reeled, trying to keep his balance. A drop of clear liquid splattered on the palm of his armored hand. The instant it touched, the armor began to hiss and steam. Intense, searing pain shot up John’s arm. Acid! They were drops of acid! John looked around. Where was it coming from? John noticed that the walls of the chamber were covered with thick fleshy ridges. There was something familiar about them. He’d seen something like them before; an anatomy textbook he‘d read out of boredom. What was it again? John’s heart stopped. It had been a textbook on the digestive system. Rivulets of acid began to pour from the walls, slowly filling the chamber. The air filled with a sour, bitter scent, like that of vomit. John dashed for the exit. The muscular sphincter instantly regrew, closing itself tight. John extended his arm blade into the thick orifice, and slashed it open… and it regrew instantly. John pulled the blade out. Gotta get out gotta get out. He could feel the acid begin to slosh around his boots, raising wisps of white smoke. John raced over to the nearest wall, splashing through hissing puddles of acid. He hacked at the wall with his arm blade like a murderer in a slasher film. The thick tissue parted like water, only for new flesh to fill in the gap just as quickly. “C’mon, c’mon!” An idea flashed into John’s mind. Quickly, he pressed his right boot against the wall and thought clicked an icon. Fire.Strength low. Two small jets of bright blue flame squirted out of the boot vents. The fleshy wall charred and blackened, crumbling to ash as the flame touched it. John pushed himself through the scorched hole, trying not to gag on the smell of burnt flesh. He was at the very top of the Phobovore’s tower. The ground seemed impossibly far away. The flesh around the opening began to grow back. John could feel it press against his hands. Looks like I don’t have much of a choice. John stepped out of the hole, and into empty space.No italics or quotations if this is a thought or comment on john's part. Otherwise, switch to third person. It was originally in italics. When I transferred it to Googledocs it undid that. Something's wrong here. You're going to need a space here. No need to put these sentences on separate lines, they'll be fine next to each other. 1) Is this going to be one word(megaspider) or two words(mega spider) like you said two paragraphs ago? Be consistent. 2) The apostrophe should come before the 's'. 4 periods instead of three. On the other hand, do you really need an ellipsis here? Also, you lost your italics again. Was this part supposed to have italics? italics italics? Were italics supposed to be here? No period. Or italics. You should probably add this to the rest of the preceding paragraph. period missing here. period missing here. Where there supposed to be italics here? This could work if said verbally too. You might want to add an 'I' though.-"I always did love crushing spiders." Add quotation marks to the end and remove the space between the first quotation and the word 'Hey'. adrenaline* Again, add an 'e' to the end of that. Should probably be italicized. All of the onomatopoeia things should. also is this 'shlick'? seen* When making up words, remember to adhere to the rules of the English language. The word would be 'muscley' double space. italics. while, two 'C'mon's are okay, they always say it three times in the aforementioned slasher films and the like. Add a space. Was this supposed to be bolded? Italics. Author's Note Enjoy!
Chapter 1John scrambles through the dark forest, trying his best not to trip. It’s easier said than done. His flashlight only shows a small part of the trail at a time, every inch of which is covered with roots, holes, and vines more deadly than any landmine. He isn’t so much running as he is dancing. It is a dance that is slowly wearing him out. John’s legs burn from fatigue. His mouth is drier than dust. He can’t keep this up much longer. John risks a quick look behind him. The monster is featureless, shrouded by the night, but John can hear the sound of countless snapping mouths coming from its body. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they’re hungry for. John’s feet kick into overdrive. His body overrides all pain signals, all demands for a rest are put on hold. John sees the headlights of a car in the distance. Somehow he know that it’s his. He gains a second wind, his joy overcoming his exhaustion. Just as he’s about to reach the car, John’s foot catches on something, sending him sprawling face-first onto the dusty trail. He flips himself over to see the creature leaping towards him. He screams… - “GAH!” John awoke with a nervous start, his body dripping with sweat. The 24 year-old hugged himself, half-expecting to see the monster staring down at him. It was just a dream, it was just a dream it was just a dream…. he repeated to himself like a monk chanting a mantra. scanned his tiny apartment with the scrutiny of a detective. He drank in the dingy apartment; every crack in the wall, every stain, every piece of cheap furniture was like a powerful medicine, purging the nightmare from his brain. Once John felt at home in the sane world, he slumped back onto his bed. He looked at his ancient clock radio and groaned. It was fifteen minutes past three; about four hours since he went to bed. Last night it had been 3:30 With a zombie-like groan, John peeled off the sweat-soaked bed sheets and picked himself out of his secondhand bed, his joints popping like strings of firecrackers. He dragged his body over to his tiny bathroom and splashed himself with water. As an afterthought, he looked into the mirror; To put it lightly, John was a wreck. His mud-brown hair looked as though something was using it as a nest, and his eyes looked as though he’d been using saltwater for eye drops. His eyelids were underscored by large, almost raccoon-like dark patches, making him look like he‘d just applied eye shadow. The hell is wrong with me? John rubbed his bloodshot eyes. Every night for the past week, he’d been having almost the exact same nightmare: he’d be chased by a monster, he’d trip, the monster would jump, and he’d wake up in a puddle of nervous sweat. No matter what he did, the dreams kept coming. Warm milk, going to bed early, sleep aids: all useless. A toothbrush rested in a glass, its bristles frayed worn by countless brushings. John picked it up, squirted a little toothpaste onto it, and brushed. Now that he thought about it, there was something weird about the dreams. Last night there hadn‘t been a car, or a flashlight. And the night before there hadn’t been a forest, just a featureless black void. It was like a blurry image that was slowly coming into focus. John spat into the sink and sent the spit-toothpaste mixture to oblivion with a twist of the handle. That wasn’t all that was weird. Usually his dreams evaporated the moment he woke up, leaving behind a few vague memories and nothing else. Not these ones. These nightmares stuck to the mind like hardened molasses. John could remember every single bit of them down to the tiniest rock on that trail. A jaw-cracking yawn erupted from John‘s mouth. With a resigned sigh, he plodded back to his bed and laid down. He knew all too well how this was going to work. He’d try to go back to sleep, but he’d be so worked up by the nightmare that his brain would refuse to shut down. Most likely he’d spend the rest of the night studying his ceiling and counting down the hours ’till dawn. Really gotta see a psychiatrist. John thought as he plopped his scrawny frame onto the bed. Yeah, a psychiatrist; one of those Sigmund Freud-types with the couch and the questions about his mother. They’d be able to fix whatever the hell was going on in his head. He was pretty sure his insurance would cover it. John rested his head on his pillow and stared intently at the ceiling, drinking in every crack, every ridge. He turned his head towards the clock radio: 3:48. It was going to be a looong night. - Elsewhere… A blue winged unicorn flies/swims through the dreamscape, searching for her prey. The dreams of a trillion different races from a trillion different universes float around her like soap bubbles. The gauzy, impossible bubbles are in constant flux, bubbling out of the dreamscape, drifting for a while, then popping into scraps of feathery dream-stuff. Winds of ideas and emotions blow around her, pushing the dream-bubbles wherever they please. The alicorn sniffs the dreams- her unique senses, attuned by centuries of experience, detect the scents of countless different dreams: the sweet perfume of pleasant dreams, the heady musk of…erotic dreams, and the charged, fear-sweat smell of nightmares. The alicorn turns her head towards the dreams of her own people, both a thousand lightyears and a single footstep away. Normally she would be tending to those dreams, using her vast experience to soften nightmares, maintain pleasant dreams and make sure the erotic dreams do not get too out of hand. It is her duty. Always has been. Always will be. But not now. With great reluctance, she turns her head away, leaving the dreams to play out without her guidance. Nightmares play through unmitigated, while pleasant dreams and erotic dreams twist themselves into bizarre shapes. She has something far more important to do first. -
Chapter 2John hopped off the bus, his jaw aching from almost constant yawning. “Hey buddy!” The bus driver yelled. John slowly rotated his head. “Yeah?” “Ya’ really oughta go to bed earlier. You almost slept through your stop.” John grunted; he didn’t have the strength for a response. The bus driver shrugged. “Just sayin‘.” With that the bus drove off, leaving John in a cloud of sooty exhaust. John plodded zombie-like down the rain-soaked sidewalk towards his apartment, cradling a bandaged hand. A massive yawn almost cracked his jaw in half. If only it were that easy… - John hadn’t slept a wink last night. Not for a lack of trying of course; he’d tried every trick in the metaphorical book to get his brain to shut down. First he’d tried thinking relaxing thoughts, but every time he tried, he his thoughts inevitably turned to the nightmare. When that had failed, he’d tried a glass of warm milk, and had spat it out when it turned out to be sour. As a last resort, he’d tried the age-old technique of counting sheep; he’d reached 357 then gave up. Defeated, John had just laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling and counting the hours until dawn. John looked at his bandaged hand. Work at the foundry had been murder. The intense heat had made his sleepiness even worse; during his shift, he’d drained a whole pot of coffee and two energy drinks and that’d only taken the edge off the drowsiness. Near the end , they’d worn off entirely and, in his sleep-fogged state, he’d absent-mindedly touched an ingot which hadn’t completely cooled. John rounded a corner plodded into the dilapidated apartment complex. He walked down the hallway to his apartment. “Hi.” John turned around. It was his neighbor, Maria. “Oh, hi” He mumbled, then yawned. “Been a while.” “Sorry. They’ve been having us work double shifts at the hospital.” Maria said “Just got off this morning actually.” The dark-haired latina noticed his hand. “Are you all right?” She gasped, examining his bandaged hand. “What happened to your hand?” “Nothing’.” John said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “ Nothing. Just a little stupidity on my part. Nothing serious“. “Sure looks serious.” Maria peered in for a better look. “And what‘s with your eyes? You look terrible!” She put her hands on her hips. “C’mon. tell me what‘s going on.” “S’nothing. I’m fine.” “Like hell it is!” Maria shouted. “You look like you haven’t slept in days!” John tried to walk away; she didn’t need to get involved in this. Maria grabbed John’s hand in a vice-like grip. “I’m not letting go until you tell me what’s going on!” John rolled his eyes and told Maria about his nightmares. Maria was a good friend; maybe the only true friend he’d ever had, but sometimes she could be a little…overbearing. More like a second mother than a friend. Maria held up a hand. “Wait right here.” Maria dashed into her apartment. John could hear her digging through a cabinet, muttering something in Spanish. With a groan, John leaned against the wall, waiting for her to find…whatever it was she was looking for. You should really ask her out. The stray thought cleared John’s sleep-fogged mind for a minute. Ask her out? No he couldn’t. They weren’t like that, not at all. He and Maria were just friends, nothing more. You’ve been “just friends” with her for two years. You talk to her practically every day. You smile every time you see her. Face it, you like her. You really like her. John slumped, defeated by his own mind. He couldn’t deny it any longer: what he felt for Maria went way beyond friendship. Maybe it’s time to take it to the next level. Ask her out on a date. John nodded. Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do. The first chance he got, he was going to ask her out on a date. Maria rushed out of her apartment. In her hand was a pack of gel capsules. “Here.” She said, pressing the foil-sealed pack into John’s hand. “They’re left over from a little bout of insomnia I had a while ago. They’re a little old, but they should still work.” John nodded. “Thanks Maria.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he’d already tried sleep aids. Maria smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You should probably also see a doctor or a psychiatrist while you‘re at it“ John couldn’t’ help but smile back. Screw the common cold; Maria’s smiles were the most contagious thing on Earth. She looked at her watch “ I’ve got some time to kill. There anything you want to talk about?” This is it John. The moment of truth. John silently groaned. That phrase was so overused. “Well, Maria I…” He stopped. “I…I…” “What is it?“ Maria asked. John tried to force the words. He couldn’t do it. It was as if someone had sealed off his throat with a caulk gun. “I…I…just wanted to say, uh, haveaniceday!” With that, John dashed back to his apartment and slammed the door shut. He slapped himself repeatedly. “Dammit!” “Dammit Dammit Dammit!” John sauntered over to his bed, picking his way through piles of dirty laundry and empty soda cans. He sat down; he’d done it again. Fate had handed him a golden opportunity on a silver platter and he’d blown it. Story of his life really. John fluffed his pillow and laid down. Maybe a little nap would help clear his fogged-up head. - Two hours later found John staring into a microwave, watching a bowl of ravioli spin around on a greasy platter. A yawn forced its way out of John’s mouth. He rubbed his eyes; the nap had done diddly-squat for his exhaustion. If anything, he felt worse than before. Beep! John grabbed the little bowl of pasta and carried it over to a cheap card table. He sat down and started slurping the reheated food down. Funny. He thought, licking sauce off his spoon. I’ve got the feeling that there’s something I need to be doing. Something clicked in his head. Oh right. Call a psychiatrist John grabbed his phonebook and turned to the “P“s. He whipped out his cellphone, and started dialing the number of every psychologist in town. It was frustrating, to say the least. Most of the local psychiatrists were either booked solid or were on some long vacation. It was as if the universe was conspiring to keep him from getting help. Finally, after what must have been an hour on the phone he managed to reach one. He’d have to wait about a week for the appointment, but it was better than nothing. A warm blanket of relief settled over John‘s mind. Maybe then he’d get some answers. And some pills. John looked around his tiny apartment. “Now what?” His eyes fell on an old typewriter on a secondhand writing desk. “Might as well finish revising that manuscript.” John muttered. He poured himself some Rockstar and scanned the manuscript like a machine. The story had been years in the making. It had first taken root in high school, when boring classes had clashed with John’s overactive imagination. Back then, it had been a pleasant fantasy, something to kill time until class let out. Now, it was a massive, 500-page epic-his magnum opus. John skimmed through the pages, giving the little manuscript one final look through. He’d revised the thing more times than he‘d cared to count, plugging plot holes, tightening up dialogue, even throwing out whole chapters that he’d thought were unnecessary. There was very little of the manuscript that hadn’t been altered in some way. And now it’s perfect. John beamed like a father seeing his firstborn son graduating. Yes, it was perfect. Perfect dialogue, perfect imagery, perfect characterization, perfect everything. John reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a thick envelope. He started stuffing the bulky manuscript inside. Enough revisions, it was time to submit this mutha’. What if it isn’t perfect? John frowned. No, that was ridiculous. He’d polished this thing ‘till it shone like a mirror. Trying to make it better would be like trying to make the sun brighter. You sure about that? Keep in mind it’s your manuscript. True. He could hardly be an objective editor when the work he was reviewing was his own. What was flawless to him might be utter crap to someone else, and the last thing he wanted was to submit something less than perfect. A terrifying thought bubbled up from John’s subconscious. What if it was crap to begin with? What if the story he’d been working on for years was so mind-bogglingly stupid that the editors wouldn’t give it a second glance? John pulled the manuscript out. He flipped through the pages; trying to make up his mind. Submit it. Don’t submit it. Submit it. Don’t submit it. Submit it… John opened his desk drawer and slipped the manuscript inside. Maybe he should wait a little while to submit it. At least until he could find someone else to review it. John yawned and looked at his clock. Half past 11. He’d been at this for hours and he was exhausted. A spike of fear arced through John’s system. No, he didn’t want to go to sleep. The nightmares would come back; stronger and more vivid than ever. He just wanted to stay awake. Stay awake and the nightmares couldn’t get him. John shook his head. No, he had to get some sleep. Nightmares or no nightmares, he had to get some sleep. With a resigned sigh- one of many he‘d made that day-John plodded over to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then laid down on his bed. He clasped his hands together. Lord, I know we haven’t talked in a while, but could you please please help me get a good night’s sleep? That’s all I ask, Lord, a good night’s sleep. As an afterthought he added Amen… With that, John closed his eyes and let his conscious mind dissolve into oblivion… - The winged unicorn stomps her featureless hooves on a dream-stuff platform. She has scoured the dreamscape for her quarry, sniffing the nightmares of countless species from countless worlds. So far, nothing. The unicorn lets out a frustrated snort. She has to find it before it’s too late; before it infects another world. Suddenly, the ethereal winds shift. The unicorn catches a whiff of her quarry and gags. The stench is unbelievable; to a human, it would be like standing upwind from a landfill during mid-summer. Nevertheless, it is a trace, the strongest she’s ever smelled. The unicorn braces herself and launches her equine body through the dreamscape, following her prey’s trail like a bloodhound. The dream-winds blow a cluster of bubbles into her path. The unicorn flies through them without a second though, shredding the dreams into feathery scraps. Beings from a thousand worlds wake up, their dreams cut short. The stench grows stronger. The unicorns eyes begin to tear up, the stench is so great. Each tear floats off, transforming themselves into blobs of mercury and gold before fading into the ether. Steeling herself, the unicorn follows the scent trail. Finally, she locates the source of the stench: a newly-formed nightmare with an all-too familiar fear-smell. The unicorn’s horn glows. With an expertise few can match, she carves a hole in the nightmare-bubbles’ skin with her horn and squeezes her way through. She will not let it get away. Not again. Author's Note This one's more about character development than scares. Hope you don't mind.
Chapter 3John scrambles through the dark forest, desperately trying not to trip. It’s not easy. His flashlight is weak- almost dead. Its feeble orange light is barely enough to see by. What little he can see of the trail is covered with the vague shapes of holes, roots, and rocks. Each one deadlier than any snare. John risks a quick look behind him. Despite the near-pitch blackness of the forest, he can see the creature as plainly as if it were in broad daylight. The creature looks vaguely like a man; two arms, two legs and a head. Not that it would ever be mistaken for one; the creature’s body is covered with thousands of tiny snapping mouths, each ringed with needle-like teeth. Instead of hands, the creature has two fleshy “flowers” on the ends of its arms, each covered with serrated spikes. John’s heart kicks into overdrive. Every cell, every atom in him screams for him to run. John is inclined to obey them. Two lights appear in the distance. John’s heart leaps; it’s his car! He doesn’t know how he knows it, but it’s his car! John gains a second wind. His body overrides all cries for rest. Aching muscles scream for relief, but John’s brain shouts them out. Suddenly, John’s left foot catches on a tree root, sending him to the ground. John flips himself over. The creature tenses. It lowers its spindly legs and prepares to leap… “WE HAVE FOUND YE AT LAST, FOUL CREATURE!” A brilliant blue light lit the forest like a sun. The creature’s thousand mouths screamed at once like an unholy choir. “NOW FACE OUR HOLY WRATH!” A beam of blue light shot out of nowhere and impaled the creature like a skewer. The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek, then exploded in a flash of unnatural black light. John lay were he fell, too stunned to move. He heard something walk up to him. “Are you unharmed?” John looked up. A fuzzy equine shape floated next to him. “Do not be afraid.” The shape said. “I will not hurt you.” John slowly picked himself up. “Who…who are you?” he croaked. The shape wavered for a second. “I do not enough time to explain. We must leave, immediately!” The shape nodded. Something like a swirling ball of mercury appeared in front of John. “Hurry, enter the portal. It will be back soon!” John gathered up what little courage he had left, took a deep breath, and jumped into the pool. 0000 Chaos. Pure, unfiltered chaos. That was the only way John could describe the place he floated in. All around John, thought and feelings took physical form. Clouds of happiness wafted by him, blown about by winds of sorrow. In the distance, John saw/smelled islands of tranquility being buffeted by hurricanes of rage. John could feel his own thoughts start to join the mix. Like streams of liquid plastic, thoughts and ideas leaped from his head. In the blink of an eye they ballooned into disorganized, illogical worlds. He saw decaying ruins became shining cities which then crumbled to dust. Rocky plains became lush forests which became desert which then became toxic wasteland. Sapient species returned to the primordial soup, then came back as beings of pure energy. John looked down at his body and gasped/screamed. Whatever insanity ruled this place was affecting him as well; one second his body was made of glimmering, metallic crystal. The next it was a shapeless blob of green/gold scales, and the second after that, it was both. John’s mind rebelled at this insane place. Then it became fearful. Then it became unusually content. He could see his sanity bleed from him in droplets of pink wax.. “Hold fast, mortal!” Shouted/whispered the voice from before. “Try to focus on a single shape!” Single shape? How could he have a single shape? How could anything have a single shape? He’d always been like this. Had he always been like this? The voice was lying. Was it lying? Everything was lying! EVERYTHING WAS A LIE! John felt/tasted something slapping him across the face. The sanity droplets flowed back into him. He forced his shifting brain to work. Ok,ok, one shape. . John imagined himself pushing everything out of his mind, like a man cleaning junk out of his attic. He tried to focus on what he thought his normal body was like; two arms, two legs, one head, brown hair. two arms, two legs, one head, brown hair. two arms, two legs, one head, brown hair. John repeated the image again and again. His fluctuating body slowly began to stabilize; his arms and legs shrank and grew at random, and his hair cycled through all the colors of the rainbow, but otherwise he was stable. “We are almost there mortal” John heard/smelled the voice say. He felt a slight pressure pushing against his body, as if he was being pressed against a thin rubber sheet. As if in response to his thoughts, a sheet of rubber as big as a galaxy and as small as a proton materialized around him. As he pushed forward, the pressure grew greater and greater, pushing against his chest, squeezing at his stomach. As the pressure grew, the sheet grew thicker, becoming heavy cloth, then wood, and then steel, and then… Pop! - John found himself laying flat on his face, his mouth full of grass. "Ugh.. "John groaned, spitting out the strangely sweet grass. Whatever that place was, it had left him with a killer headache. It felt like crazed lumberjack had used his skull as a chopping block. He was lucky a headache was the only thing he got from that place. John flipped himself, his head pounding like a kettledrum. Spitting out the last of the grass, he turned his head towards the sky and instantly forgot his pain. - Back home, all the light pollution turned the sky into a uniform black sheet; if John was lucky, he might see one or two very bright stars, along with a few planes and helicopters. Here, the sky was packed with stars of all shapes and sizes, from tiny, twinkling stars scattered about like handfuls of glitter, to glowing spheres the apparent size of baseballs. Some of these stays were connected by lines of pure light, forming countless constellations The stars weren’t alone in the night sky. Here and there were massive, colorful nebulae, looking like smudges of colorful paint on a black canvas. Accompanying the dusty clouds were thousands upon thousands of planets, ranging from tiny balls resembling miniature models of Earth, to massive, rainbow-colored gas giants, some of whom sported rings that would’ve given Saturn a run for its money. Lording over it all was an elegant spiral galaxy, slowly spinning like a cosmic pinwheel. John heard someone laugh with a sound like tinkling bells “I see someone is impressed with our night sky.” John looked around. All he could see was a field of beautiful, silvery grass, broken here and there by electric-blue flowers. “Who’s there?” That voice sounded like the one that had brought him here, only not as angry god-like. The voice giggled. “Of course. Where are our manners? Let us make ourselves visible.” There was a flash of light, and a dark blue horse appeared on the field. John looked more closely. No, not a horse. Not any he’d ever seen. Its feet, if one could call them that, were more elephant than equine; short and stumpy, with no visible hooves. Its muzzle was much blunter than a real horse, and its eyes… its eyes were huge! Seriously, John had seen anime characters with less disproportionate eyes! The horse creature took a step towards John. Its mane looked as though someone had taken a chunk out of the night sky and pasted it to the creature’s head. Topping off the creature’s odd appearance was an icicle-like horn and two comically small wings. All in all, it was the least disturbing thing he’d seen that night. “Who, what are you?” John asked. The unicorn/Pegasus/horse thing pointed a stumpy hoof at itself and bowed slightly. John noticed that its mane blew without any noticeable breeze. “ I am Princess Luna, alicorn princess of the night and co ruler of the fair land of Equestria. May I ask thy name?” “John.” John dropped to his knees. “My name is John, your, uh, highness majesty omnipo…” Luna put a hoof to John’s mouth and smiled. “Tis no need for such formalities here. ‘Luna’ will suffice.” “Ok…Luna.” John pushed himself up. “Where am I?” Luna waved a hoof over the landscape; “This is my personal dream bubble. ’Tis my place of rest amidst the chaos of the Sea; my port in the storm, so to speak.” “The what?” The blue alicorn turned herself around. “I realize that thou has many questions, and I will answer all of them to the best of our ability. But first let us go someplace more suitable.” Luna waved a fore hoof. A cobblestone path bubbled out of the ground. She motioned with her head “This way, please.” John followed Luna down the path. As he walked, a gentle breeze blew across the path, bringing with it the scent of what John could only describe as calm. He could something inside him unwind, like a twisted rubber band slowly untangling itself. The trail wound into a forest of towering indigo trees- Luna seemed to have a thing for blue. As the duo walked through the ethereal forest, John found the alicorn’s appearance less and less alien. Maybe it was those massive, expressive eyes, that ethereal mane, or that slender, feminine body. Whatever it was, he was starting to find her cute. Maybe even beautiful. John heard Luna laugh. “What’s so funny?” “’Tis nothing. I am simply flattered that thou considers me beautiful.” John tensed. The alicorn could read minds! He quickly cleared all thought from his head, turning his mind into an empty bookshelf. “Do not fret.” Luna said. “ I am only reading your surface thoughts at the moment. I would never pry into one’s personal thoughts.” John relaxed. Good. After all that’d happened tonight, the last thing he needed was someone rooting around in his noggin. The forest gave way to a grassy meadow, bisected by a silvery creek. Luna waved a stumpy forehoof, and an elegant marble gazebo rose from the ground, accompanied by a wrought iron table and a chair. “Please, do take a seat.” John pulled out a wrought iron chair and sat down. At least he thought it was wrought iron. Whatever it was, it was surprisingly comfortable, more like plush than anything else. Luna stood at the other end of the table. Her horn glowed again, and an elegant china teapot and cups appeared on the table. “Would thou care for some tea?” John nodded. The teapot floated over one of the cups and tipped itself over, pouring a stream of milk-like liquid into the receptacle. The cup then floated itself over to John , planted itself on a saucer, and placed itself into his hand. John stared at the milk-like tea for a bit. He shrugged. Oh well, down the hatch. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip, swishing the cream-like tea around in his mouth for a bit, then swallowing. It tasted…it tasted like serenity blended with calm, with a dash of optimism thrown in for taste. John took a bigger sip. He could feel the tea-whatever it was, circulate through his system; soaking into every nook and cranny of his being. It was as if his blood had been replaced with liquid peace. “How is our secret recipe?” John just smiled. He felt good. Real good. It was like his soul had been given a relaxing massage Luna took a sip herself. She sighed in contentment and set her cup down. “Now, I suppose tis time to answer your questions.” “Ok.” John said, gulping down the rest of the tea. He wasn’t in any real hurry; might as well learn a little about Luna. “Can you tell me a little about yourself? Your home, your family? You know, that kind of stuff.” “Certainly. Do make yourself comfortable though, as this may take awhile.” John leaned back and absentmindedly toyed with his cup, listening as Luna told him about her world. It seemed like an interesting place, to say the least. In her world, what she called “Equestria”, magic was a part of everyday life. It raised the sun and the moon, it changed the seasons, and it let the inhabitants, the “ponies”, warp natural laws at will. It sounded like a nice place to visit, but he wouldn’t want to live there. In return, John told Luna what he could about Earth. He tried to make it as balanced as he could, describing both humanity's achievements and its atrocities. Thankfully, Luna didn't seem too fazed by the latter; apparently, Equestria had had its share of black marks, though admittedly, not as many as Earth's. As the conversation continued, John found himself increasingly endeared to the alicorn’s personality. She explained things formally, but not in a way that made them boring. When she explained a concept for John, she did so in a way that made it easy for him to understand, but didn‘t insult his intelligence. She would have made an excellent teacher back home. That, and one hell of a prankster. “…thus, when our sister took a bite of the cake, the spell was triggered and the baked delicacy exploded in her face!” John doubled over laughing. Booby-trapped baked goods. Classic. Luna smiled. “Tis good to see you’re feeling better. When you first arrived, your soul was glutted with fear.” John agreed. He hadn’t felt this good in a very long time. The alicorns' voice took on a more serious note. “John, we fear that we must change the subject now." She poured herself another cup of tea." If I recall, you asked about that chaotic realm we passed through ?” John nodded. How could he forget? “In my land, we call it the Sea of Dreams." Luna said. "‘Tis a realm where matter and thought blend into one; where nothing and everything changes.” Luna took a sip of tea. “It is from this chaotic sea that the dreams of mortals are made” “As princess of the night, it is thy royal duty to guard the dreams of our subjects. When nightmares arise, we soften them, when a pleasant dream appears, we maintain them.” John decided not to ask about more…erotic dreams. John raised an eyebrow. “Why do you only look after their dreams?” Luna frowned. “I beg your pardon?” “There's a lotta other universes out there who could use your help. Why don‘t you look after their dreams?” Frankly, it sounded kind of selfish to him. “Methinks you underestimate the sheer size of the realm.” Luna said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “The Sea is home to the dreams of trillions of intelligent beings from countless billions of worlds. To look after so many dreams from so many worlds is beyond even my ability.” John shrank back in his chair. “Sorry” “No matter”. Luna continued. “Despite its chaotic nature, the Sea is not lifeless. On the contrary, it teems with life. The majority of them are like jellyfish made of pure thought; floating throughout the ether and feeding on the scraps of long-dead dreams.” Luna’s voice turned grave. “ However, there are some who have evolved less benign ways of finding sustenance.” “Uh, Luna, what does this have to do with my nightmares?” Luna looked John in the eye. “Tell me, John. Did you notice how your nightmares grew clearer and clearer each night? Did their increasing amounts of detail draw your attention?” John nodded. He had a bad feeling about this “That’s because they were not nightmares. Not natural ones at least. No, John, those were feedings.”
Chapter 4Feedings… John’s feeling of tranquility wilted like old lettuce. His treacherous imagination conjured up an image of some horrible, fleshy leech attached to his head, sucking at his brain. His throat turned as dry as dust. “fee…dings…?” He squeaked. Luna poured John another cup of tea. “Here, drink some more.” John snatched the cup and chugged the tea without even tasting it. As quickly as it came, the image dissolved, while the fear dulled to a strong concern. “I apologize”. Luna said, hanging her head. “ I should not have broken the news quite so dramatically.” John waved his hand dismissively “ ’sall right ’sall right.” He said, taking slow, deep breaths. “I’m feeling better. “ He set his cup down. “What…what exactly is feeding on me?” Luna waved a fore hoof, and an image of something like a blob of soap film appeared in front of him. The instant John saw it, he looked away, his eyes smarting. Another wave and the image disappeared. “It is called a Phobovore.” Luna spat, as if the word were a foul taste. “In the tongue of the ancient Equestrians, it means ’ Fear Eater‘”. This…thing is a monstrous emotional parasite, latching on to its victim’s minds and tormenting them with horrible nightmares. These nightmares flood the hosts soul with fear, which the Fear-Eater absorbs as food.” John could see Luna grow tense. “As the foul beast feeds, its appetite for fear grows. The nightmares become increasingly more vivid and detailed, flooding the victims soul with even greater amounts of fear. Soon the victim finds it impossible to fall asleep. Following that are dementia, hallucinations, seizures, psychosis, and” Luna closed her eyes.”…death.” Tears trickled down Luna’s cheeks. “When that vile creature attacked my world, it murdered several of my subjects and nearly drove my beloved sister mad. Like a coward, it fled before I could obliterate it entirely. And now it infests your mind, feasting on your fear…” Luna’s eyes lit up with what John could only describe as a righteous fury. “NOT AGAIN!” John found himself pinned to his seat by the force of Luna’s voice. “NOT ONE MORE INNOCENT SHALL FALL TO THEE, ABOMINATION! WHEN NEXT WE MEET, WE WILL BURN EVERY SHRED OF THINE UNHOLY ESSENCE FROM EXISTENCE!” Luna stomped with the force of an earthquake, cracking the gazebo in two. Luna’s expression softened. She turned to John and pointed a fore hoof at him. “But I can not do it alone.” John raised an eyebrow “What?” Luna looked like she could crack a mountain in half with a thought. Why would she need help? “The Phobovore anchors itself to its victims mind by latching on to their greatest fear. Once it is entrenched, it is effectively invincible. I could destroy it a thousand times over and it would still return” “Then how do we kill it for good?” “The only way to sever the creatures link is for the host to destroy its dream form. The only way to accomplish this is for the host to overcome their greatest fear.” John leaned back in his chair, digesting Luna’s words. Face his greatest fear. What was his greatest fear? “Uh, Luna? We may have a problem?” “What is it?” “Well, I kinda sorta don’t know what my greatest fear is.” John said worriedly. He was afraid of a lot of things: spiders, the dark, driving, his landlord, and the like, but he didn’t know which one of them was the greatest. The alicorn princess hung her head. “I am afraid I cannot help you with that. Searching that deep into your mind could cause terrible damage to your conscious.” Luna sighed. “ ‘Tis something you will have to discover on your own.” “Uh, yeah, and there’s another problem; I’m not what you would call a fighter.” He held out one of his scrawny arms. “Seriously, does that look like the arm of a fighter?” “I am getting to that.” Luna said. “You are correct in your assessment of your fighting skills. But keep in mind that you, or rather, your conscious, is not bound by the laws of reality. Physical limitations are nothing.” “Unfortunately, even so you are still too weak to face the creature. “ Luna’s eyes furrowed. “During its lifetime, the Phobovore has absorbed the fear of countless innocents. When it fed on my sister, its power rivaled my own. Now, with all the fear it has absorbed from your soul, its power is even greater than that.” Luna continued. “Worse, the creature is now aware that you know of its existence. When we reenter the dream, it will attempt to defend itself. While I may be able hold my own against the creature, in your current state, you would be swept away like a candle before a rising tide.” Luna’s horn glowed. The gazebo dissolved, replaced by a stone brick altar. Four polished granite erupted from the ground around it, each topped by a sphere of polished blue stone. “However, there is a way to make you stronger.” Luna’s horn glowed with a soft blue light. “There is a spell known only to my sister and I. One that can temporarily bestow a non-magical creature with alicorn powers.” John’s eyes widened. “You mean, I’d become as powerful as you?” Luna nodded. “The spark that is your soul will become a raging fire, almost as bright as my own.” John crossed his arms. “Let me guess, there’s a catch?” There always was. A spell that would turn him into a near-omnipotent demigod had to have a few strings attached. Luna nodded again. “ You are correct. Non-magical creatures were never meant to wield the powers of an alicorn. There is a sizable chance that the power might utterly consume you. Both your body and soul would become naught but a pile of ash.” John suddenly started having seconds thoughts about the spell. Eldritch abomination is his head or not, being burned to ashes did not sound like a pleasant way to die. John shook his head. It didn’t matter. If he didn’t kill the unwelcome guest inside his mind, he was already dead. The only difference was that one method would be much, much faster. “Alright.” He said slowly. “Lets do this.” Luna motioned towards the altar. “Stand in the middle of the four pillars”. “Alright...” John climbed onto the stone platform with the eagerness of a condemned criminal walking towards the gas chamber. He could feel the stone pulse with power like a massive stone heart. “Okay, now what?” “Take off your shirt, hold your arms out and stand perfectly still.” John complied. “Good. Now, let us begin!” Luna closed her eyes and began chanting something in some melodic, incomprehensible tongue. Chains of what appeared to be solid stone shot out from the pillars, each one wrapping itself around one of John’s limbs. The spheres on top of the pillars split into halves, which split into quarters, which split into eights and so on and so on. Soon the spheres were nothing a spherical clouds of fine dust. Luna began to chant faster. Her horn glowed as if there was a star balanced on its tip. The dust clouds rearranged themselves into shining, diamond-shaped crystals, each pulsing with all the colors of the rainbow. Geometric patterns etched themselves on John’s bare chest, drawn with what appeared to be liquid light. The crystals gave off a bright pulse of light, and something like a liquid rainbow oozed down the chains at an agonizingly slow pace. The impossible liquid neared John’s limbs and hesitated, as if it were having second thoughts, then hurled itself into John’s body. - John stood motionless on the altar, his body wracked with the incredible power flowing through him. Pain, unimaginable pain surged through his nervous system. . Every cell, every molecule, every atom screamed in agony. John tried to scream, tried someway to vent the horrible agony flooding into him. It was no use; the bizarre rainbow held him in place like a fly on a sheet of flypaper. Even the act of blinking was a Herculean task. “HOLD FAST, JOHN!’ Luna shouted. John would have shot back with an “Easy for you to say!” but his body was somewhat preoccupied at the moment. Suddenly, the pain stopped. John slumped on the chains, gasping for breath and basking in sweet, euphoric relief. Then another rainbow oozed down the chains into John’s body, submerging him into another ocean of pain. After that there was another, and another, and another. Pain washed over him like a series of tidal waves. John’s body screamed for death. He nerves felt as though they were being deep-fried by some insane fry cook. Finally, his body could take no more. The world went black and John slipped into sweet, sweet oblivion. -- “John?” “ John? “John please wake up!” John slowly forced himself to open his eyes. Luna was standing over him, a look of strong concern on her face. “’M’all right, Luna.” John lied. The alicorn let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank the Queen! When you collapsed like that I had thought your essence extinguished.” “Sure…feels like it has.” John groaned, trying to push himself up. His body ached; it was as if he’d just been stomped by a herd of elephants. Elephants wearing cleats. Luna’s horn glowed. A dark blue aura surrounded John, gently pulling him off his feet. “Not really sure the spell worked.” John moaned. If anything, he felt weaker than… John felt something inside him. A sort of warmth in his stomach, like a small fire. The fire began to grow, turning from a small fire into a raging inferno, then a blast furnace, then a star. The aches vanished from John’s body. “Luna!” I, can feel it!” He felt as though his blood had been replaced by liquid lightening. No, not lightning, lighting was but a spark compared to this. It was as if someone had liquefied a small star and injected it into his veins. John raised himself into the air, laughing like a child playing with a new toy. He stretched out an arm and snapped his fingers; chunks of earth wrenched themselves from the ground and orbited around him. John held out a palm and concentrated; a beam of intense white light shot out, vaporizing an unlucky tree. As John played with his new powers, he began to cackle evilly. Lightning smashed into the ground around him, turning the grassy around him to glass. He raised an eyebrow, and an army of glass men rose from the vitrified ground and bowed before him. He was mortal no longer. He was a god!
Chapter 5John floated in the middle of the orbiting dirt chunks, reveling in his newly-gained power. The newly-minted god looked at his body and sneered. This pathetic body may have suited him when he was still mortal, but to a god it was an insult. He needed a new body; one better suited to his ascended status. John snapped his fingers; columns of white light fell from the sky like cylindrical stars. His body warped and molded itself like putty until it reached his desired shape. “John..?” The now god-like John looked over his new body and grinned. His formerly scrawny arms were now slabs of solid muscle and sinew capable of smashing boulders. His chest and abs rippled with muscles that would have put a body builder’s to shame. The mass of greasy brown string that he’d called hair was gone; in it’s place was a flowing mane of golden locks. “John!” The newly-born god turned to the impudent creature, sneering with contempt. How dare she address him by his mortal name! “IMPUDENT BEING!” John boomed with a voice like an earthquake. “I AM JOHN NO LONGER! FROM NOW ON, ALL SHALL ADDRESS ME AS…” A bolt of blue lightning cut John off mid-sentence. He felt something close inside him, his mind conjured up an image of an armored safe closing, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Chunks of earth rained around him, while his crystalline worshipers turned to shards of broken, dirty glass. Luna trotted over to John’s side. “I am sorry, but I did not quite catch your name.” She said with a smirk. John looked at himself. His body had been returned to his original scrawny state. “What…what did you just do to me?” The alicorn gave a resigned sigh. “I had hoped your race to be less susceptible to corruption than my own. However, it appears that was not the case.” Probably shouldn‘t have sugarcoated human history so much. John mused “Therefore, I had no choice but to contain the power within you. Thankfully, as a non-magical being, you were not used to handling such power, so it was relatively easy to penetrate your spiritual defenses” John picked himself up. He could still feel the power within him, but it felt contained, isolated; as if someone had sealed a supernova inside a bottle. “So, what, I can’t use the power anymore? How’s this work?” “No, you can still use your power. Just not all at once.” John raised an eyebrow. “I don’t follow.” “How do I explain this? The power is still within you, but now there are limits. You can only use a certain portion of your power at a time. If you wish to use anything larger, it will have to be with my permission.” “So basically, you’re putting me on a leash.” Luna dipped her head. “I apologize, but it was the only way.” John didn’t really blame her. What he’d done during his little power trip scared him. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of empowerment. Contained or not, having the powers of a demigod really did wonders for one’s self-confidence. His soul was a coat, and the power was a gun tucked into a pocket. “So now what?” John slammed a fist into his palm. “Are we going to go kick that things’s ass?” He felt like he could take on an army with a tire iron. Luna held out a fore hoof. “Not yet. First we must prepare ourselves for battle.” “Battle?” John said. “Why can’t we just go into the dream, wave our hands, and blow that thing to bits?” Luna sighed. “How do I explain this? While dreams do not follow the laws of the physical world, they still have their own sets of ‘rules‘, so to speak. Any alteration that breaks those rules will be quickly reverted.” “Naturally, that creature will have control over the rules of its dreamscape. Not total control, otherwise our battle would be lost before it began, but it can still make our quest very difficult.” “So, we can’t just enter its dreamscape and destroy it by snapping our fingers?” Luna said “We could not simply enter its dream and wish the Phobovore dead with a thought, though I greatly wish we could. We will have to fight our way past the abominations’ defenses in order to slay it.” John frowned “Then what‘s the point of having all this power?” Luna grinned. “We may not be able to alter the creature’s dreamscape directly, but we can certainly alter ourselves.” Luna’s eyes lit up with a blinding light, as if the gelatinous orbs had been replaced by stars. A coat of dark blue chain mail appeared out of nowhere, wrapping itself around the alicorn like metallic saran wrap. An elegant cuirass materialized on the alicorns’ chest, inscribed with a silvery crescent moon. Azure grieves and shinplates fastened themselves to the alicorns’ legs, while her stumpy hooves were capped by wicked-looking sabatons. Luna’s flowing mane cropped itself until it was the pony equivalent of a crew cut. Topping it all off was an elaborate metal helmet, studded with precious jewels. John’s face broke out in a wicked grin. Oh hell yes! Luna motioned to John. “Now it is your turn.” “Uh ok.” John stood there. “What do I do?” “ Just concentrate on what you want to look like. Your power will take care of the rest.” After a minute of searching, he found something. It was kinda old- something he’d come up back in college. But it’d do. “Ok, I’ve got something. Hit me!” “Why would you want me to hit you? I fail to see the purpose in it.” John rolled his eyes. “Just let me access my power.” Something inside John opened. It was as if someone had opened a valve in his soul, letting the power flow freely. Eldritch energy crackled around him like static. The crystal-clear skies turned dark with clouds. Thick bolts of lightning slammed into the ground around John like tendrils of liquid light. John could feel the power swirl around him, bending and molding itself according to his will. He could feel the power twist and harden itself into something solid. There was a final flash of light, and John found himself standing once again on the plain, staring like an idiot. Luna just stood there, her already disproportionate eyes were practically bulging. John reeled Everything felt, smaller. When he’d arrived, Luna had about the same size as him. Now he towered above her, as if he’d suddenly put on stilts. Stilts, and a lead overcoat. His body felt much heavier than before. It was as if he was wearing a lead-lined coat. “So Luna. John said. He started. His voice had changed. It was much deeper, much raspier than before; sort of like Clint Eastwood with a bit of Chuck Norris. The blue alicorn shook her head. “ Why don’t you see for yourself.” A gold-framed mirror rose from the ground. John grinned. “Sweet.” John’s new form was everything he’d imagined it to be. His scrawny, featherweight body was now encased in a blocky exoskeleton, plated with slabs of thick grey armor. His hands were encased in massive powered gauntlets, while the scrawny sticks that he had called legs were encased in blocky, piston-like grieves. The only part of his body that wasn’t completely encased in armor was his head, which was covered with a hood of metallic scales like an astronaut‘s cap. Some would’ve called it overcompensation. John just called it awesome. A string of what felt like bee stings traveled up John’s back. He winced. “All you all right, John? What is the matter with your armor” “ Nothing, Luna.” John said through clenched teeth. “Just the neural interface plugging into my spine.” ” Probably shoulda left out that part.” Finally, the stinging stopped. The heavy armor suddenly became like a second skin. He could feel the cool night air blow across his titanium-composite skin, could feel the armor’s quantum tap reactor as if it was his own heart. Something behind John’s eyes twitched, and lines of text began to scroll across his vision. MARK III ARMORED COMBAT EXOSKELETON INTERFACE COMPLETE.WELCOME USER:JOHN. BEGINNING SYSTEMS CHECK The armor began listing armor systems, from jumpjets to weapon power feed. Icons began to pop up in John’s vision, representing everything from armor status to weapons selection. “Such…interesting armor.” Luna said. “But surely you will not attempt to face the creature unarmed.” “’course not.” John reached behind his armored back. Were they there? Should be; they were one of the best parts of the…Yes, there they were! John unclamped two massive, blocky pistols from their niches on his armor. The gunmetal gray weapons looked exactly like they had in his imagination; big, bulky, and masculine. A faint tingling sensation flowed into his arms as the pistols interfaced with his armor. In seconds, two targeting reticules appeared in his field of vision. Luna raised an eyebrow. “Boxes? You mean to fight the creature with those strange boxes?” “Not boxes. Lasers.” John gave one of the guns a twirl. “Mark XV Directed Energy Pistols to be exact” John said. “Give me some targets and I’ll show you how they work.” Luna raised a fore hoof. Six straw targets rose from the ground, each painted with a blue bullseye. “Watch.” John centered the crosshairs on the closest target. He squeezed the firing studs; six beams of electric-blue light lanced through the straw target, each striking dead center. John raised an eyebrow. Guess I’m a better shot than I thought. He trained his guns on the five remaining As if by reflex, his arm jerked from target to target, lancing each with a beam of coherent light. In seconds, each target had a smoldering hole in its center. The hell? The first shot he could understand, but six in a row? No way. “Impressive weapons.” Luna said, clearly impressed. She tilted her head. “What is it? Why are you so surprised?” Luna said. John held out the guns. “Luna, I’ve never fired a gun in my life, and yet I just nailed six bullseyes in less than five seconds!” He’d expected he’d need a least a little practice before he got used to the things. “You forget, this is a dream.” Luna chided. “You can be as skilled or as unskilled as you choose.” John grinned. He had the combat skills of a seasoned veteran, nay, a supersoldier, despite never having fought in his life. Awesome. “Now, while those “lazers” of yours seem effective,”- Luna materialized a katana the size of a man-“What would happen if the enemy drew too close for you to use them? “Way ahead of you.” John clamped the pistols to his waist and thought-clicked an icon on his HUD. Two massive, mirror-like blades popped out of his gauntlets. John held up a hand “Watch”. He strutted over to a tree and slashed with his right gauntlet. The paper-thin blade cut through the dream-tree’s trunk like air in the middle. For a second, the tree stood there, as if nothing had happened. Then the two halves slowly slid apart. The look on Luna’s face said everything. John sheathed his blades. “Right, we’re all set. Lets’ go kick some ass.” “One second.” Luna walked over to John. “Please kneel.” John obeyed. He felt the Princess touch her horn to his forehead. It wasn’t anything like he’d expected; more like cartilage than bone. He felt a slight tingling sensation trickle into his brain. [There. Our minds are now connected.] John reeled. [What the hell?] [Apologies for the disorientation. This will help us communication much easier during combat.] John rubbed his head. It made sense. Being able to communicate instantly and discretely would be a huge advantage on the battlefield. “So are we ready now?” A globe of liquid mercury appeared in front of them. “Yes.” Luna stepped up to the sphere. “ Let us purge this monster from your mind!” John slammed a fist into his open palm. It was time for some payback.
Chapter 6John and Luna glided/slid through the chaos of the Sea with the focus of a laser. To John’s relief, the Sea wasn’t nearly as harsh as it was the first time. His armor would change color every so often, and his voice would randomly shift its pitch, but that was all. In fact, now that John thought about it, the Sea was actually kind of beautiful. Not in the conventional sense of beauty- something that mundane had no place in the Sea. It was more like a…it was like the whole sea was a massive, blank canvas- a sort of sea of what-might-be. [It is the power] John turned/flipped his head at Luna [what?] [Your newly-received power is protecting you from the worst of the Sea] [ Now you can see it for what it truly is] Something like an impossible soap bubble appeared in front of them, swirling with colors both vibrant and subdued at the same time John pointed/commanded an armored finger at the “bubble”. [That one of those ‘dream bubbles’ you were talking about?”] [Yes.] Luna said/heard. Her body began to sweat hot pink droplets of awe. [Are they not beautiful? ‘Tis a shame mortals cannot see them as they are.] John nodded. Beads of awe started dripping from his armor. The impossible orbs, small as protons and as big as planets, had the same, indescribable beauty as the rest of the Sea. They were brightly wrapped presents, filled with possibilities. The duo drifted/fell through a cloud of dream bubbles. [Luna.] John asked/answered. [What can we expect when we get to the creature’s dream bubble?] [I do not know for certain. When last I fought the Phobovore, it defended itself with an army of Nightmare Moons.” [What?] A dark grey bead of regret trickled out of Luna‘s eyes [Over a thousand of my years ago, I grew jealous of the attention my sister received. That jealousy turned me into a being of pure darkness known as Nightmare Moon.] [To save Equestria from eternal night, my dear sister was forced to banish me to my beloved moon for a thousand years.] More tears of regret trickled from Luna’s eyes. [Though I was eventually redeemed through the magic of friendship, my sister feared that someday she might lose me again. The Phobovore sensed that fear and latched onto it. When we attacked it, it used every one of my sister‘s fears against us.] Luna turned/twirled to face John. [That is what the phobovore does. The foul thing knows what will scare you, and it will probe your mind for anything it might use as a weapon. ] Black droplets of fear popped out of John’s skin. That…was kind of a downer. The princess placed a hoof on John’s armored shoulder. [Do not worry. Powerful as the creature may be, it is not omniscient.] [It knows that we are coming, but it does not know of your newly-gained power. When it attacks, it will find itself woefully unprepared.] The fear-droplets dissipated. A light blue mist of confidence built around John. The etheric winds shifted, blowing clusters of dream bubbles out of the way. Ahead, lay a strange, distorted dream bubble. [That the one?] Luna nodded/bobbed. Pea-green globules of disgust leaked out of John’s armor. This dream-bubble looked tainted. Instead of the impossible rainbow the other bubbles were colored with, this one was an impossibly dark pitch-black. It was an infected limb; one that desperately needed to be amputated. [Brace yourself, John!] Luna’s horn glowed with an eldritch light. She pumped/beat her majestic wings and charged at the bubble. The unholy blackness rushed up to meet them. [WHOOM!] John and Luna hit with the force of a small meteorite. The bubble’s skin gave way, then began pushing back. It felt like steel and flesh and rubber somehow fused together. Luna pressed her razor-sharp horn against the bubble‘s skin. She grunted/moaned [I cannot cut through this membrane by myself!] John thought-clicked an icon, and his arm blade extended. With a roar as loud as an earthquake and a quiet as a mouse, he thrust the paper-thin blade into the bubble’s membrane and slashed at it. A hairline slice appeared in the thick membrane. Luna’s horn glowed, and streamers of ethereal blue energy rushed into the cut, spreading it open like a hole in a rubber sheet. [GO!] John thrust himself into the darkness beyond the hole. His mouth seemed to fill with ash. Something squeezed his body like a vice, and then….POP! - John came to on the shores of a strange red lake, his body aching like it’d just been put through a wringer. Again? John groaned, pushing his armored body up. He didn’t know how Luna did it. She’d been doing this every night for centuries. She must have ached all over when she woke up. John thought-clicked a red cross icon on his HUD.He felt a sharp sting, and the aches in his body slowly eased away. John started. Luna, where was Luna! “Luna!” He shouted. “Luna!” Something tickled the edge of John’s conscious. He wasn’t sure, but it could have been Luna. John looked around for a sign of the blue alicorn. All he could see were white sand dunes, a pinkish sky, and that strange, red lake. John’s curiosity got the better of him. He clomped over to the edge of the lake and dipped a hand into the strange red water lapping at the shore. He cupped a little of the strange liquid in his hand and gave it a quick sniff. What is this stuff? John thought. It wasn’t water, whatever it was. It smelled of salt and rust. Rust, or… John thought-clicked an icon. A hair-thin pipette snaked from his left gauntlet and drank the droplet, sucking it into his armor. A red circle appeared on his HUD. It blinked for a few seconds, then turned green with a cheerful ‘ting‘. ANALYSIS COMPLETE A list of elements scrolled across John’s vision like a theater marquee. A diagram appeared- whatever the stuff was, it was made up of tiny, tire shaped disks in a water-based solution…wait a minute. John recoiled. He fell backwards onto the white sand. Blood! The red water was blood! John! John winced. Still haven’t gotten used to telepathy. “LUNA, LUNA WHERE ARE YOU?” Over... here! “Where’s ‘over here’”? A green dot appeared on his HUD. Here! Stuck...need help! “Hang on , Luna, I’m coming!” John clambered up one of the sand dunes. Luna sounded desperate there. He had to get to her before… John’s body froze on the spot. His jaw dropped as if it were weighted down. “Good…God…” - Before this night, John had thought he’d seen it all; lovecraftian monsters that fed on fear, extra dimensional realms that told the laws of physics to take a hike, and a strangely beautiful talking horse. All of that looked normal compared to what he saw now. The Phobovore's dreamscape looked as though some maniac had dissected a giant and stretched its flesh across an infinite plain. Forests of bone rose from the meaty surface, their surfaces covered with gristle and veins. Scattered about the dreamscape were monstrous organs; tire-sized hearts that grew from vein-trees, beating in spooky unison; stomachs the size of automobiles that churned and gurgled. In the distance rose mountain-sized ribs supporting an faint pink sky. To John, they were like the arches of some grotesque, fleshy cathedral. A unique mix of nausea and horror bubbled up in John’s gut. The sheer, alienness of this place was getting to him. He was in the bowels of the Phobovore- doomed to spend the rest of eternity wandering its gargantuan innards. “JOHN!” Luna’s cry snapped John back to his senses. He whipped his head around; there was Luna, stuck to a fleshy membrane stretched between two bone-trees. He could see the edges of the membrane slowly start to curl up. “Hang on, Luna!” John whipped out his arm blades and slashed at the membrane. The rubbery tissue parted like water, and Luna fell to the ground in a heap. “Thank you John.” Luna said weakly, struggling to get on her hooves. She snorted. “That…. membrane… was poisoned… somehow. I…could… not focus enough… to use my magic.” John helped the armored princess up.“You ok?” “I am…recovering.” A light blue glow spread over the alicorns’ body. She sighed. “There.” John looked around the flesh-covered dreamscape. “Luna, you sure this the right place?” Luna burned the remaining membrane off of her back. She stuck her navy-blue muzzle in the air and sniffed. “Yes. This is the place.” John took a whiff himself and gagged. The air reeked of blood, vomit, and waste.“ You sure? ’Cuz this doesn’t’ look like any forest I’ve ever seen.” “Why should it?” Luna said. “Now that you know of the Phobovore’s existence, it no longer needs that scenario.” Luna scanned the dreamscape. “ In its stead, it created a world designed to unnerve and terrify you.” “And it did a good job.” John shivered. Luna pointed a forehoof towards a forest of bone-trees. “The creature‘s foul odor wafts from beyond that forest.” She motioned John forward. “Come. We cannot afford to dally here.” With that, the princess reared up on her hind legs and galloped across the fleshy plain, leaving a trail of blood-filled hoofprints. John followed as best he could. The two plowed their way across the dreamscape like a pair of bulldozers. Anything too large to go around, they simply cut their way through. There was no time for subtlety. No time for diversions. “Hey Luna…?” John said as the two scythed their way through a bramble patch of pulsing arteries. “Yes, John?” Blood sprayed over John’s armor. The red liquid slid off John’s shining armor without a stain. “What will happen if we fail?” “I am not certain”. Luna said, charring the bone trees ahead of them to blackened stumps. “‘Tis most likely that the two of us will simply wake up as if from a bad dream.” John smiled. That didn’t sound so bad. “However, were that to happen, it would be weeks before we could attempt another attack. I doubt that you would last that long.” That did. “So.. no pressure, right?” “No, there is a great deal of pressure! If we fail…” John rolled his eyes. “It’s a figure of speech Luna. I know what you mean.” The bone-forest gave way to an open, fleshy plain. John’s boots and Luna’s hooves squish, squish, squished on the fleshy ground. Luna stopped. She held out a hoof. “What is it, Luna?” The alicorn held up her muzzle and took a deep sniff. “Wait here.” She crouched down and pushed herself into the air like a rocket. For a few minutes, Luna circled around; a hawk searching for prey. What do you see? A blue dot appeared on John’s HUD. There, on the horizon. One of John’s optical sensors zoomed in on the horizon. The fleshy ground was moving The coward has sent its underlings to fight us. Can I see? An image of a strange, spiky carpet appeared in John’s head. Uh, Luna. What am I looking at? Watch. The “carpet” grew closer. Luna flew closer to whatever it was for a better look. Something in John’s stomach clenched. “Of course…it had to be spiders.” Well, not really spiders. Whatever these things were, they resembled spiders the same way Luna resembled a horse. Instead of eight legs, these things had six bony limbs, each tipped with a nasty-looking spike. Their bodies were the color of dried blood, and was covered with a spiky, crab-like carapace. Even worse, these things had faces. Human faces. His face. Every muscle in John’s body locked up. It was too much. Fear crushed him in an oppressive hug. It coiled around his soul, squeezing it tighter and tighter. John! John couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. He was a statue of flesh and metal, made rigid by pure fear. John, listen to me. The creature wants you to be afraid! Every bit of fear in your soul is a banquet to it. John couldn’t muster the willpower for a response. Luna landed next to John. She looked him in the eye. “At this moment, the creature sees you as prey; something it can hunt down and drain until there is nothing left to drain. Is that what you are, John? Prey?” A blue aura surrounded John’s pistols and yanked them from their clamps. Luna held the bulky weapons in his face. “Do you see these weapons, John? Does prey take arms against its attacker? Does prey attack a beast in its own lair?” The guns floated over to John’s hands and pressed themselves into his armored gauntlets. You are not prey, John. No, you are a hunter! The fear began to melt away. The ice in John’s blood dissolved, replaced by a raging fire. Luna stood tall. “DO YOU HEAR US, FOUL BEAST?!” She boomed with a voice like a mountain. WE DO NOT FEAR THOU IN THE SLIGHTEST! THOU ART PREDATOR NO LONGER. NO, NOW THOU ART PREY! The fire rushed into John’s lungs. “YOU GOT THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH?! WE’RE GONNA MARCH INTO YOUR LAIR AND WE ARE GOING TO BURN. YOU. OUT! YOU HEAR ME?” Adrenalin surged through John’s system like liquid lightning. “YOU THINK YOU’RE SO SCARY, CLINGING TO PEOPLE‘S MINDs AND SUCKING OUT THEIR FEAR? HAH! YOU’RE NOTHING BUT AN OVERGROWN LEECH! John held out a hand. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE DO WITH LEECHES BACK WHERE I COME FROM?!” WE PULL THEM OFF, “John clenched his hand into a fist. “AND WE CRUSH THEM!” John stomped with the force of an earthquake. He could feel it. He could feel the adrenalin surging through him like a boiling river. He raised his pistols. “DIE!!!” He roared, charging towards the horde. John’s one-man rampage was interrupted by light blue aura. “Tis good to see you so eager.” Luna said. She pulled him back. “…but charging blindly into the fray will only serve the creature‘s purposes“. She materialized her sword and sliced a bone-tree in half. The bony trunk floated over to them and planted itself into the fleshy ground. Blood welled up from the wound. “Here.” Luna said, lifting John onto the trunk with her magic. “This shall be our high ground. Do not move from this spot, no matter what.” “You mean I’m just gonna stand here and shoot them ?“ Luna stretched a fore hoof towards the horizon, “John, we are hopelessly outnumbered. To attack the enemy directly would be foolhardy, nay, suicidal.” She pointed a forehoof at him. “You will stay here and whittle down their forces and I shall soar above them and rain death on this unnatural horde “Good plan.” John interfaced with his pistols. Twin targeting reticules appeared in his field of view. The horizon began to grow fuzzier. John could see individual spiders now. Each one was baring a mouth full of fangs. A meter ticked down the distance until they were in range. John paused for a second. “Luna, mind letting me use my power a little?” “Why?” “I think I might be able to thin their ranks a little.” Luna nodded. The power inside John began to leak out of its containment. At a thought, two blobs of dark-grey metal sprouted from the suit’s back, molding themselves into two massive missile launchers. Red, curving lines appeared on John’s HUD, each representing optimal trajectories. [MISSILES ARMED. AWAITING YOUR COMMAND.] John grinned. “Rain hell”. SHHREEECH! SHHREECH SHREEECH SCHREECH SCHREECH SCHREECH Within seconds, six fat missiles burst from the launcher with a sound like two steel blocks sliding against each other.Within seconds, six missiles arched over the horde, leaving ominous black trails in their wake. The artificial meteors pointed their blunt noses skyward for a second, then plunged one-by-one into the horde. WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM Six shockwaves slammed into John, nearly knocking him off of his bony perch. Luna was almost knocked to the ground. Geysers of flesh, blood, and pulverized chitin soared skyward. From Luna’s eye in the sky, he could see spiders turned to bowling pins by the blast, their shells cracked and their innards pulped. Boulders of flesh and bone rained down on the horde, crushing spiders by the scores. It was strangely beautiful. Small, reddish shards began to hail around John, cracked and charred like burnt porcelain. John ignored them and trained his targeting reticules on the spiders closest to him. He squeezed the firing studs. “EAT LIGHT!” Thick rods of light leaped from the pistols’ emitters and lanced into the horde, turning a clump of spiders into sprays of chitin and superheated ichor. The battle for his mind had begun. - From his perch on the impromptu high ground, John was a god of death. With all the targets around him, the power-armored human didn’t even need to aim; he just pointed the emitters in the general direction of the hoard and sprayed it with light. With each burst, a dozen or so spiders popped like nightmarish popcorn kernels. A counter at the bottom of his HUD ticked upwards with every spider killed; already it had reached triple digits. As John unleashed hell on the horde, Luna slashed at the nightmarish mob from the air. The kind yet mischievous princess he’d had tea with was no more. In her place was an vengeful angel of death. Time and time again, the blue alicorn swooped down over the horde. With every swoop, a fat bar of blue magic lanced into the mass of spiders, turning everything it touched to ash. At the nadir of her descent, Luna slashed with her katana, dicing spiders by the dozens before returning to the air to recharge. Despite the carnage, the spiders marched forward. They clambered over mounds of scattered limbs and burned chitin, fangs bared. Luna’s slashes dug gaping trenches in the flood, while John’s enthusiastic use of his laser pistols slowly ground them down. As the battle wore on, John realized something: he was having fun. A huge smile nearly split his face in two. This was just like those light gun arcade games he’d played as a kid, only cooler. In his mind, he could see scores popping up every time he killed a spider; already he’d racked up one hell of a combo. *Pop pop pop pop pop* Combo x 3 *poppoppopop* combo x6 He thought to himself as he mowed down spiders by the scores. He’d forgotten everything; the nightmares, the phobovore, the certain doom if he failed. All he knew was that he was killing lots of spiders, and was having a hell of a time doing so. “YOU LIKE THAT!” John shouted, pumping more light into the horde. “HERE’S SOME MORE!” He laughed. “HEY PHOBOVORE!” he shouted. “I’M LITERALLY BEATING YOU IN MY SLEEP! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?!” Must you? Luna groaned as she hacked at a clump of spiders. Hell yes! John shot back. A spider scuttled up the bony trunk and ground its teeth against John’s armor. “Wonder how I missed you?” John said. He bashed the abomination with the butt of his left pistol, and hurled it over the horde. In a flash, he shot it in mid air, spraying the horde with ichor and chitin. Time lost all meaning as the battle went on. Minutes and seconds were replaced by ever-increasing numbers of kills on his counter and growing piles of body parts. Spiders popped like popcorn on a skillet, peppering John with bits of chitin. The muzzles of his pistols grew red-hot, their cooling systems struggling to dump the excess heat. Eventually, the flood of spiders finally tapered off. What few survivors remained scuttled away in fear. “Whew”. John hopped off his perch and landed on a pile of charred spider parts. He looked over the battlefield and smiled. “That all you got?” John blew invisible smoke from the barrels of his pistols. His kill counter registered 20,045 kills. Luna touched down next to John, her coat matted with sweat. “Wadda’ya think, Luna?” John twirled his pistols and clamped them to his sides. “Too easy?” “Yes…” Luna panted. She took off her helmet and wiped her brow with a fore hoof. “Do not be overconfident. We caught the creature off guard. It will surely…” John peered towards the horizon. He saw something: a squat, menacing castle of bone and gristle. If that wasn’t an evil lair, he didn’t know what was. John unclamped his pistols. “C’mon, Luna. Lets go and kick this bum outta my head!”. He dashed towards the castle, pistols raised. “John, wait!” John didn’t bother to stop.This creature had been lounging around in his head for far too long. It was time to serve an eviction notice.
Chapter 7John studied the nightmarish castle, trying to determine the best way to bust his way in. The citadel itself was like a massive slab of raw meat; a massive egg-shaped tower covered in fat and gristle and pulsing veins. At the top of the structure was a ball of flesh covered in eyes. Surrounding the disgusting structure was a monolithic wall of bleached bone, like a cliff of polished chalk. John wasn’t a betting man, but he would’ve bet his armor that that was the creature’s lair. Seriously, something that ugly had to be an evil lair. John placed a gauntleted hand against the bone. His touch sensors gave the impression of glazed ceramics. Now how should I bust in? He could blast his way through the bone with his pistols, but that would take time, and he was really itching for a fight. There was a possibility that he could leap over the wall with his jumpjets, but that wall was pretty high. Jumping over it would use up a lot of fuel that might be needed later. In the end, John decided to take the direct approach. SHLING! At a thought, the arm blade slid out of John’s gauntlet, like a sword made of solidified mercury. John pulled his arm back and thrust the paper-thin blade into the bone, slicing through it like wet paper. Like a knife through dough, he sliced a man-sized plug of bone out of the wall. He clenched his gauntleted right hand into a fist. “WHOOM!” The plug flew inwards, John stomped in, pistols raised and adrenalin pumping. “KNOCK KNOCK!” He yelled, a wicked grin plastered on his face. “ANYONE HOME?” As if on cue, swarms of spiders popped out of the walls. They swarmed towards John, jaws wide open. The armored human shook his head. “You just never learn, do you?” He centered his targeting reticules on the nearest spiders and his guns spat out a volley of light. Spiders popped by the scores, showering the polished white bone with blood and carbonized chitin. Seriously? John thought as he sprayed the spiders with light. These are the Phobovore’s defenses? He was annihilating these things by the scores. All around him, spiders popped like walking popcorn kernels. The little monsters couldn’t even get close. How this thing managed to hold off Luna and her sister was beyond him. Needless to say, the battle didn’t last very long. After a few minutes of charging towards the living meat grinder that was John, the arachnoid horrors limped away, nursing laser scores and severed limbs. John twirled his pistols and clamped them to his sides. “THAT ALL YOU GOT, YA’ SHCMUCK?!” His blood burned in his veins, itching for a real fight. The creature must have heard him. A patch of pink-red flesh in front of the tower grounds began to pucker and dilate until it became massive, fleshy hole. A dry, leathery smell wafted out of the hole… and a leg the size of John climbed out. John unclamped his pistols. Oh, this was going to be good! The leg was followed by another leg. And another leg.And another.The chitonous appendages gripped the edge of the holes, and a spider the size of a garbage truck hauled itself out. The creatures’ piston-like legs were tipped with spear-like spurs, while its massive head sported jaws that looked like they could rip through tank armor. John grinned like a kid at Christmas. “That’s more like it!” John took aim with his pistols and blasted the mega spider- an apt name in his opinion- right in its ugly face. Electric-blue rods of light punched into the red chitin, leaving black, steaming holes. The creature stumbled slightly, then righted itself. The holes slowly began to close, leaving only faint scorch marks. John raised an eyebrow. “Looks like ya’ finally learned something.” He clamped the pistols to his side again and unsheathed an arm blade. “Guess I’ll have to do this the fun way!” The massive spider let out an ear-piercing shriek and charged John. John ducked and rolled out of the way, and the oversized spider crashed into the wall, cracking the stone-hard bone. “Missed me!” John taunted.” The spider picked itself up and charged at John again, jaws outstretched to meet him. At a instant, John slid underneath the megaspiders’ body and hacked away at the nightmare’s belly. Each swing dug deep into the creatures, spraying John with bloods and globs of things best left unmentioned…until the wounds sealed themselves shut. With a roar, the mega spider swiped at John with a leg and slammed him into the side of the wall. Pain shot through John’s body. His HUD flickered for a second. Ow…. John thought-clicked the cross icon again and the pain slowly dulled. John picked himself up and charged the Megaspider again. The creature slashed at him with a foreleg. John sidestepped and sliced the bony limb off with an arm blade. The creature stumbled, waving its stump of a leg. Gotcha now. The stump quivered for a second. The bleached bone turned to something like wet clay, then reformed itself into a fresh, undamaged leg. The mega spider lunged at John. He ducked out of the way, but not before the creature left a deep scratch in his armor. This isn’t’ working. John groaned. He stood up and faced the mega spider. Time to get creative. John did a thought-clicked an icon. Small vents opened up in his boots. Fire. At John’s command, two pounds of metastable helium flowed through his armor and into his boots. White-hot jets of flame spurted from the vents, and John shot towards the light pink sky like a homesick rocket. Cut The jets cut off. The armor suit lurched upwards for a little bit, as if it were straining towards the sky, then plummeted towards the ground, a meteor of metal, composites, and raw testosterone. The ground and the spider rushed up to meet John. He bent his knees and clenched his fists. The mega spider grew larger and larger. It looked up for a second; John swore he could see a look of astonishment on its ungodly face.Then… FOOM! Half a ton of armor slammed into the spider like a Monty Pythonesque foot. The shockwave rattled John’s teeth like a baby’s toy. The mega spider didn’t stand a chance. The suit smashed right through the oversized arachnoid, crushing chitin, and pulping internal organs. The spider’s body cracked like a china teapot, spraying the bony citadel with blood, chitin, and viscera. John picked himself out of what was left of the mega spider, his armor painted with blood and innards. I always did love crushing spiders. John chuckled, wiping liquefied mega spider off of his face. He winced. A diagram of John’s body appeared on his HUD, portions of his legs flashing red. WARNING! FRACTURES DETECTED IN LEGS. BEGINNING AUTOMATIC MEDIC PROTOCOLS. A slow, dull warmth spread through John’s legs as the suit slowly reknit his cracked legs. “JOHN!” John turned to see Luna flying over the bony ramparts. He smiled and waved. “ Hey Luna! ‘Fraid you missed out on all the fun!” Luna looked around the castle. “I apologize for my absence, but my reserves of magical energy required recharging.“ The alicorn looked around. “Though it appears my presence was not needed.” John thought-clicked an icon. DECONTAMINATION PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED The suit glowed white hot. Caked gore and blood turned to fine ash which fell off in a flurry of black grit. “Wish you could have seen it Luna. It. Was. Awesome.” John flexed an armored arm. His body floated in euphoria. This, this was what it was like to be strong, to be powerful. Luna noticed the pulverized mega spider. Her eyes widened. “I will take your word for it.” She said, bemused. She pointed a hoof at the castle. “John, I do not like this.” John raised an eyebrow. “What do ya’ mean?” Luna waved a hoof around the devastated castle. “Look around you. This is supposed to be the creature’s foul lair, yet you managed to penetrate its defenses and destroy its guardians without any help? This is clearly a trap!” She started tugging at John. “Come, we must leave this place before the creature chooses to spring it.” John pushed Luna away. “So? We can take it.” Luna’s eye twitched. “…what?” “Luna, the two of us took on an army by ourselves. And I…” John gestured towards the mega spider corpse- “just single-handedly killed a guardian in the most awesome way possible! This thing doesn’t stand a chance against us.” “I already told you that we caught the creature off guard. It will certainly adapt!” John waved his hand. “So lets kill it before it does. Luna looked John in the eye. “ John, never underestimate the Phobovore. During its foul lifetime, it has acquired countless millennia of experience against foes far greater than us.” John raised an eyebrow. “Your point…?” Luna gritted her teeth. “My ‘point’ is that this creature is not to be taken lightly. It knows…. John rolled his eyes. “Whatever.“ He shoved the alicorn aside, and clomped towards the central tower. “I got a monster to kill.” Luna popped in front of him in a flash of light. A shimmering gold aura surrounded John’s feet, freezing him in place like an iron shell. “Hey, lemme go!” Luna clopped over to John‘s side. She touched her horn to his forehead. “Tis as I feared. Your soul is not accustomed to such large quantities of battle-lust. Now that it has gotten its first taste, it craves more.“ The alicorns’ horn began to glow; a slow pulsing ache began to grow in John’s skull. “What are you doing?!” “The battle-lust is clouding your judgment, but it may be possible to siphon it from your conscious before its effects become deleterious. It will only take-” “No.” Luna opened her eyes. “What do you mean ’no’?” John snarled. Stupid horse, keeping him away from his target.“ I mean I want you to stay the hell out of my head, you bitch.” Luna gasped. “John!” John sneered. “That’s right, I called you a bitch. What are you going to do about it?” “John, listen to me!” Luna said. A tear trickled down her cheek. ”You need to…” John slapped the alicorn with the back of his gauntleted hand. “No YOU listen to ME,! If you’re scared, fine. Sit this one out. But I’M not going to run away ’cuz it might be a trap. No, I’M GOING TO GO IN THERE AND KICK THAT THINGS’ ASS! DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Luna’s eyes began to glow. John swore he could see a tear trickle down one of her cheeks. “Do not test us, John. We bestowed thou with alicorn power, and we can just as easily take it away.” Is that a threat? John growled. He let some of his power flow into his suit. An icon appeared on John‘s HUD.“’Cuz I don’t like threats.” A compartment opened in John’s plastron. John thought-clicked the new icon, and a mass of tangled black wire shot out and stuck to Luna’s neck. “What trickery is…” At a thought, the wire came to life, wrapping itself around Luna’s body like an overfriendly octopus. The alicorn fell to the ground, her body as rigid as a statue. “Shouldn’t have threatened me, Luna.” John unclamped one of his pistols and pointed it to the alicorns head. He let some of the power flow into the weapon. A flash of green light shot out of the emitter, and the struggling princess went limp. John lowered the pistol. That’d keep her quiet until he got back. He raced towards the fleshy tower. It was time to close in for the kill - Shlick The atom-thin blade bit into the fleshy wall like wet tissue. Shlink Shlick Shlick John sliced at the bony wall, his arm blade a blur of shining metal. WHOOM! A plug of foul-smelling flesh flew into the tower. “You ready Phobovore? Here I come! John leaped into the impromptu door, pistols raised and heart pumping. The interior of the castle was like stepping into a living body. The fleshy walls quivered and twitched, as if they were in pain. The bony floor was crisscrossed with veins, pulsing land quivering like blue-grey worms. In short, it was really, really icky. John scanned the area. There, in the middle of the chamber, was a massive spiral staircase, like a DNA molecule made of bone. A tiny seed of doubt formed in the back of John’s mind. There was nothing here. No guardians, no spiders. Just the staircase. He knew he’d killed most of the defenders, but he expected something. John crushed the seed. He slowly, clomped his way up the massive staircase, his heavy footsteps reverberating throughout the tower. Halfway up the staircase, a membrane of rock-like flesh extended from the side of the staircase, blocking John’s path. Snapping, slimy jaws emerged from the wall, snapping at John like rabid dogs. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” John burned each mouth with a blast from his pistols. A few slashes from his arm blade later and the wall parted like a ripped curtain. “You thought that you could use my fear against me, huh? Make a world catered to my greatest fears?” A tentacle of muscle and sinew extended from the wall. It whipped itself at him. John caught the tentacle and sliced it apart. The tendril screeched in pain, spurting blood everywhere. “I’ll admit, for a second, it almost worked…” A few shots from John’s pistols seared the tentacle to ash. “…Almost.” John continued clomping up the staircase. His heart raced. The adrenaline flowed through him like molten lava. He resisted the urge to rush up the staircase guns blazing. He wanted to savor this. Finally, after a lengthy climb, John reached a fleshy orifice. This had to be the creature’s lair. “You feed on other being’s fear, huh? Well it’s time you started making some of your own! John slashed at the orifice and rammed his way into a cavernous chamber. There, on a blob-like throne, was the Phobovore. - John smirked. Seriously? He’d thought this thing was scary? The Phobovore looked much like it had in his nightmares; roughly humanoid, gaunt, and covered with snapping mouths. Back then, John had found it the most terrifying monster ever. Now it was pathetic. John towered above it by at least a foot. John stuck out a hand and motioned with two fingers. “Well, what are you waiting for?” The Phobovore slowly rose from its fleshy throne. It raised its sucker like hands and charged, its thousands of mouths howling in an unholy choir. John extended an arm blade and charged with a cry born of raw adrenaline. The two beings grew closer. The Phobovore leapt. Shlick The Phobovore stopped. John’s arm blade was buried up to the hilt in its abdomen. John twisted the blade like a key in a lock. The creature writhed for a few seconds, spraying John and the rest of the room with thick grey ichor, then went still. John threw the creatures’ body off of his arm blade. The body crumbled into powder which quickly evaporated away. The seed of doubt returned. This time bigger than ever. Something wasn’t right about this. This hadn’t been a fight at all. It was almost as if the creature wanted him to win. Drip John started. What was that? A wet, fleshy gurlge erupted out of nowhere. The chamber began to squeeze and contract. John reeled, trying to keep his balance. A drop of clear liquid splattered on the palm of his armored hand. The instant it touched, the armor began to hiss and steam. Intense, searing pain shot up John’s arm. Acid! They were drops of acid! John looked around. Where was it coming from? John noticed that the walls of the chamber were covered with thick fleshy ridges. There was something familiar about them. He’d seen something like them before; an anatomy textbook he‘d read out of boredom. What was it again? John’s heart stopped. It had been a textbook on the digestive system. Rivulets of acid began to pour from the walls, slowly filling the chamber. The air filled with a sour, bitter scent, like that of vomit. John dashed for the exit. The muscular sphincter instantly regrew, closing itself tight. John extended his arm blade into the thick orifice, and slashed it open… and it regrew instantly. John pulled the blade out. Gotta get out gotta get out. He could feel the acid begin to slosh around his boots, raising wisps of white smoke. John raced over to the nearest wall, splashing through hissing puddles of acid. He hacked at the wall with his arm blade like a murderer in a slasher film. The thick tissue parted like water, only for new flesh to fill in the gap just as quickly. “C’mon, c’mon!” An idea flashed into John’s mind. Quickly, he pressed his right boot against the wall and thought clicked an icon. Fire.Strength low. Two small jets of bright blue flame squirted out of the boot vents. The fleshy wall charred and blackened, crumbling to ash as the flame touched it. John pushed himself through the scorched hole, trying not to gag on the smell of burnt flesh. He was at the very top of the Phobovore’s tower. The ground seemed impossibly far away. The flesh around the opening began to grow back. John could feel it press against his hands. Looks like I don’t have much of a choice. John stepped out of the hole, and into empty space.No italics or quotations if this is a thought or comment on john's part. Otherwise, switch to third person. It was originally in italics. When I transferred it to Googledocs it undid that. Something's wrong here. You're going to need a space here. No need to put these sentences on separate lines, they'll be fine next to each other. 1) Is this going to be one word(megaspider) or two words(mega spider) like you said two paragraphs ago? Be consistent. 2) The apostrophe should come before the 's'. 4 periods instead of three. On the other hand, do you really need an ellipsis here? Also, you lost your italics again. Was this part supposed to have italics? italics italics? Were italics supposed to be here? No period. Or italics. You should probably add this to the rest of the preceding paragraph. period missing here. period missing here. Where there supposed to be italics here? This could work if said verbally too. You might want to add an 'I' though.-"I always did love crushing spiders." Add quotation marks to the end and remove the space between the first quotation and the word 'Hey'. adrenaline* Again, add an 'e' to the end of that. Should probably be italicized. All of the onomatopoeia things should. also is this 'shlick'? seen* When making up words, remember to adhere to the rules of the English language. The word would be 'muscley' double space. italics. while, two 'C'mon's are okay, they always say it three times in the aforementioned slasher films and the like. Add a space. Was this supposed to be bolded? Italics. Author's Note Enjoy!
