A Human Horror

Just another day of this monotony, thought the lone man, as he sat in his cell. He sat cross-legged in the center of his tiny room. It had been like this for some time now, however, just how long was lost to him. He had long since lost track of how much time he had spent in his cell, so he sat there, day in and day out, occasionally moving to eat or find some way to distract himself from his immense boredom. How long until my sentence is over again? I give it another fifty years. As he sat with nothing better to do, he casually joked about his life-sentence, most of which he will likely be spending in solitary confinement, as attacking both guards and fellow prisoners is not a good way to get out early on good behavior. If spending the rest of his life in a box was a cause for any distress, there was no way of telling. His expression seemed to be in a permanent state of disinterest and boredom.

Truly, it seemed as though nothing interesting would ever happen to him again, until he saw it. A flicker in the air, nothing more. Vanishing as quickly as it appeared. Something seemingly unsubstantial, that most would dismiss as a trick of the light. This caught his attention. Watching where the possible hallucination was, he saw the very air itself begin to move and waver in place, almost rippling. The phenomenon soon started to grow, and the prisoner stepped back away from the disturbance. Not out of fear, but so he could try and see it in its entirety. Eventually the phenomenon stopped growing, when it was as tall as its observer, and twice as wide. For a while he merely stared at it while speaking to himself.

"How curious. I wonder what this could be... May haps I have finally gone mad, though there are plenty who would say I already was."

Satisfied that he wasn't going to miss anything by taking a closer look, he stepped forward. The moment he did the disturbance tore itself open, revealing a twisting green vortex! Glowing green chains flung themselves from the vortex, wrapping around his limbs and dragging him through! This whole display happened so quickly, he only had time to say one thing before being pulled through time and space.

"Oh, okay."

Truly insightful words that would greatly impact the lives of any fortunate enough to hear them, of which there were none. Out of all the possible emotions one would normally experience in this situation, whether it be fear or confusion, the only thing he felt during all of this was relief. I don't know where I am going, but it has to be better than where I was. Now I might get to have some fun. He was pulled through into a dark place. A place so dark and empty he could only barely see by the glow of the chains. There was no floor, at least none that he could feel as he was pulled to who-knows-where, but everywhere he looked he could see twinkling lights in the darkness. He couldn't help but think they looked a lot like stars.

Am I in space? How am I not dead, and where exactly could these things be taking me?

With nothing better to do, he decided to look around. More specifically, he looked behind him, hoping some answers would lie in where he was pulled from. To his surprise, what he saw was no cell, planet, or anything even slightly identifiable. All that he saw was a large glowing sphere, at a guess it was about ten times his size, but it appeared to be shrinking rapidly. Wherever these chains were taking him, they were pulling him there much faster than he would have even thought possible.

More questions. To be moving at this speed would require a lot of force. How have these chains not torn my limbs off yet? One would think I would at least feel some discomfort, but nothing. These things have about as much weight to them as a feather. If I couldn't see them, I wouldn't even know they were there.

As he pondered to himself he heard a voice. It was faint, almost too faint for him to hear. It seemed to be coming from his supposed destination. At least he thought that was his destination. It appeared to be another glowing orb, identical to the one he was pulled out of. The only real differences were the voice and that the chains were attached to this sphere, and pulling him towards it.

"Yes! The spell is almost complete!"

Spell?

He had no more time to think on this, as he was rapidly approaching the sphere. Instinctively, he raised his arms to protect his face from the inevitable impact. However, when he hit the sphere nothing much happened. He just stopped. He didn't smash into it. He didn't break anything. He didn't even feel any pain, and he didn't go into it. He just stopped upon hitting it, as though the laws of physics no longer applied and all the force of his journey was pulled away in an instant. He began inspecting the orb he was now chained to, hoping for some kind of answer. Anything to explain what was going on.

What?

At first the orb's light began to dim, and instead of a glowing sphere it became more like a crystal ball filled with fog. As the fog parted he still could not see anything within, except for two strange figures. As he watched these figures from above, the image became clearer. Standing upright like humans, but with certain features resembling  animals, equines to be specific, very colorful equines. These anthropomorphic creatures seemed to be in some type of conflict, as a tall purple furred woman with long hair of a darker shade of purple that had a brighter streak going through it, and a matching tail, glared at what he assumed was her foe. The purple woman wore an elegant yet simple dress that seemed to have been specially tailored to match her hair in both color and in its simple straight style, it even has the highlighted streak going down its side. Upon her head was a spiky golden crown with amethyst points that instantly made him think back on the various fantasy novels and games he had enjoyed before his imprisonment. As if none of this was strange enough for him, she had a long spiraling horn protruding from her forehead, and very large wings sprouting from her back.

Am I being pulled into a furry fantasy world? Eh, could be worse.

Standing across from her, and glaring right back, was a tall and slender woman. She easily dwarfed the purple one in height, and, as opposed to her opponents purple fur, he could see the shine of her smooth black skin. She also had a horn and wings, but her wings were like those of an insect. She had long wavy teal hair and tail, and one more distinct feature that he simply couldn't ignore.

The hell happened to her? Why are there holes... everywhere. None of them are bleeding. I'm not really sure what that means.

Indeed, along her hooved legs, her arms, her hair, horn, tail, and even wings there were strange holes straight through her, and, quite unlike the purple one's conservative yet somewhat stylish dress, they were all on display as she stood there completely naked. What really caught his attention though, even more so than the nudity, were the glowing green chains wrapped around her arms and legs that reached upwards through the surface of the orb, and connected to the ones around his own limbs. She also seemed to have some strange teal plating around her midsection, the purpose of which he couldn't make out from his current position. The purple woman was the first to speak, her face set into a glare of grim determination.

"You've gone too far this time, Chrysalis! I don't know where you got that much power, but your foolhardy spell has affected the entire world! What could you possibly hope to gain from pulling a creature of the outer planes here!?"

Chrysalis' glare shifted into a maniacal grin as she responded.

"Why else? With this creature's power and knowledge at my disposal, I will become strong enough to rule not just Equestria, but the entire world! Mnahahaha!"

"You know as well as I do what could happen if you bring that thing into our world! You are tampering with a forbidden magic that even Sombra wouldn't dare use. Conjuration is dangerous and unpredictable! There is no telling what monstrosity you're summoning! You don't even know if you can control the thing! For once in your life, just listen! You don't need to finish the ritual. You can just walk away. Stop this before you do something we all regret."

"Oh Twilight... That was a nice speech, but it came a little too late. You see, I do have a way to keep it under control. I already bound myself to it. So if it does go on a rampage, I will be perfectly fine. It can't hurt me without hurting itself. Why do you think I would be here without any guards? You on the other hand, have no such protection. It sure is a shame about those sudden attacks from the Griffin Kingdom. Who could have possibly~ predicted their completely~ unprovoked attacks at seemingly random cities, or that the attacks would keep almost all of Equestria's most powerful beings busy and separated during the same time as me performing my summoning."

The sarcasm in her voice was so thick you could cut it with a knife. As realization dawned on Twilight, her grim look faded into surprise, then shifted further into horror.

"Y-you didn't, you couldn't have-"

"Being a changeling is fun! Now back to the matter at hand, it would be too late stop anyway. It's already here!"

"What!?"

"That's right! It's waiting just outside the door, and all I have to do now is let it in!"

I... I think they are talking about me. Oh now this is amusing. They seem to think I am some Balrog like beast, though I really don't know what is going to happen next, and that worries me.

"Now Chrysalis, lets be rational about-"

"Fuck rational!"

With that, her horn began to glow the same color as the chains that connected the two, and the orb was torn open. As he fell, he could see the world around him with remarkable clarity. The three of them were alone inside a large cavern. There only seemed to be one way in or out, and Twilight was standing in the way. He also could help but notice just how jagged and rocky it was in here.

This is going to hurt isn't it?

He hit the ground with a loud *Splat*, but, much to his surprise, he felt perfectly fine.

Huh, I expected *much*-wait a minute. Why did I go splat? That is most definitely not the right sound for "perfectly fine."

Before he could try and find the cause of the peculiar noise, his attention was caught by a frightened shriek.

"What in Celestia's name is that!"

Great, now "Twilight" is screaming. Now lets see why she would be screaming about-oh please no.

As he tried to look in the direction of the two bizarre creatures, he began experiencing a terrible case of double vision. Fearing the fall may have been the cause, he tried his best to correct his sight, only for it to quadruple, then octuple.

What the fuck?

After a few tries, he finally managed to make some sense of what he was seeing. Chrysalis looked absolutely ecstatic. Twilight, on the other hand, looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. It seemed as though the poor little thing was about to have a heart attack at any moment.

Wait, little? Wasn't she taller than me a moment ago?

His vision slowly corrected itself as he focused on her, and what he saw baffled him. Instead of the tall regal figure she appeared to be before, she was simply puny. She looked as though he could hold her in one hand now, like a toy.

"Hehehe, it seems to have noticed you, princess."

What is going on here?

He instinctively reached up to scratch his head, only to be even more confused than ever. His arm was gone, and in its place was a large gelatinous mass with five tentacles slowly beginning to grow out of it. The tentacles began to take vaguely the same positions as a set of fingers.

What?

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Really? After the things you've been through? I would have that you had a stronger stomach than that."

As Chrysalis continued to mock Twilight, he began to move around a bit more, trying to find out just what has happened to him. His arm wasn't the only thing that changed. The entirety of his body had been changed into a massive misshapen blob of unknown origin.

Why am I green slime? Well that explains the eyes, I guess? Am I a shoggoth? I'm so confused.

"Enough of this!"

Whoa, that was a sudden change. What has come over Princess Purple I wonder?

"I can't allow that thing to threaten Equestria, and I know just how to stop it."

"I-You do?"

Things sure have taken a turn for the bickering midgets.

Chrysalis was now starting to look a little worried by Twilight's sudden change in demeanor. Gone was the nervous wreck that she was mocking mere moments ago, but there was no trace of the regal image she held before, instead she looked resigned. As though she was going to do something she would regret.

"Since you were kind enough to tell me about your binding, all I have to do to stop this thing is to get rid of you."

"What!?"

To accompany her grim declaration, her horn began to glow brightly. She stood straight, attempting to keep some semblance of professionalism, but she couldn't hide the sorrow she felt at having to perform such a drastic action, even if it meant the safety of her home.

"You somehow gathered an unimaginable amount of power to summon that creature, but you used all of it. Didn't you?"

"I-uh-"

"Which means I can put an end to this right now before that thing has a chance to cause any damage... I'm sor-"

Twilight's speech was suddenly interrupted by a large green tendril erupting from the beast, and swinging faster than she could react. The large tendril slammed her into the cavern wall. As the tendril retracted, she rose from the rubble with a pained groan. Then she heard it. The strange creature began to speak, though how was beyond anyone at this point. It sounded like nothing she would have expected from a creature with such an origin. It wasn't some distorted voice full of malice. It didn't sound hysterically insane and bloodthirsty. It sounded... lazy. It was a slow methodical way of talking, with a somewhat fitting low, tired voice. Even what was said baffled her beyond reason, this was nothing like she expected.

"You talk too much."

One could almost see Twilight's brain rebooting. Those are the first words she would hear from the gargantuan multi-eyed slime demon she so feared? She prepared herself to end a life if needed, only to get swatted by a lazy glob of ooze? Because she talked too much? The sentient blob would have smiled if he still had a mouth, as he saw her shudder when she finally realized she was now covered in slime.

Hmm, I can move faster than I thought. That's good. Anyway, if my life is somehow tied to this "Chrysalis," I suppose that means I need to keep anything from happening to her. I may not know what is going on, but I do know that this is *much** more interesting than where I was. So shoggoth or not, I'm here to stay.*

Seeing all of this happen, Chrysalis began to laugh. She laughed long and loud. A joyous laugh celebrating her triumph.

"Yes! Everything is just perfect! Now my reign of-"*Splat*

"You too."

Chrysalis wasn't really sure what to make of this. It didn't hurt her, but it did interrupt her victory monologue by swatting at her. She just kind of laid there, pressed into the ground by a large tentacle of slime. The tentacle proceeded to wrap around her plated midsection and lift her into the air. For lack of a better term, he seemed to have "slapped the crazy out of her." She finally looked like she understood the situation she was in. No more was the maniacal grin. She just looked around herself wide-eyed, as though she recently had an epiphany.

"I am being held by a slime demon's tentacle. When did my life go so wrong."

This is so weird. At least I have figured out some control of this weirdness. Though... I still don't know how to move my main body. Should I just drag myself? Or will that leave a trail like a slug? At my size, I would lose a lot of mass quickly if that is the case. How would I replenish myself? How do I eat like this? What do I eat like this? Questions for later. For now, I need to grab Princess Purple to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid.

Looking over to where Twilight was when he slapped Chrysalis, he found nothing. She was already gone. This only confused him more. Unlike with Chrysalis, he wasn't gentle at all when he struck her. He thought for sure "Princess Purple" wouldn't be able to move after a hit like that, much less that quickly, and without leaving any trace or making any noise.

"Where did the purple one go?"

His answer came from an annoyed Chrysalis, still within his grasp.

"You fool! She teleported away the moment you turned on me! She is probably well on her way to gathering reinforcements to attack us!"

...

"She can teleport?"

"I hate my life. Well with her gone, I suppose we can do this properly. We still need to form the contract after all. *Ahem* Eldritch horror of the abyss! I have summoned you to aid my people! No more shall we hide in the darkness! With your help, the changelings shall grow into a mighty empire! I ask that you serve me as my familiar, and with our combined might we shall conquer this world!"

So I *was** pulled into a furry fantasy world. That still doesn't explain why I turned into a shoggoth. That is a question I intend to find the answer to, but for now it might be wise to play along.*

"You do know that these dealings are never without a price, right? What do you offer for my service?"

At this, Chrysalis' expression turned solemn. She did know about the costs of such deals, but with how little research there is on this type of magic, there was no way of separating fact from fiction. She had a slim hope that it wouldn't come to this, but she knew what she was willing to give for her people.

"Anything."

The silence that followed that word ate at her nerves. She had staked everything on this working, but only now did it occur to her that whatever she summoned might just say no and go away. All she really knew about the bond she placed on them was that it would prevent him from hurting her, but beyond that she was at a loss. This thing had her. She was powerless after her spell, and, thanks to a certain loud-mouth princess, he knew it too. Finally, the silence was broken.

"I don't feel like it."

At first, she didn't say anything. What could she say? Everything had fallen apart with that one sentence. So she hung there in his grip, jaw fallen slack from the shock. Eventually, she felt something. She had risked everything, and lost it all because of some demon's slacker tendencies. This realization cause something inside her to snap.

"You don't feel like it!? What kind of an answer is that! The fate of my people, no, the entire world hanging in the balance, and you are too lazy to get off your bloby ass to do anything about it! Even after I offer you the world on a silver plater! Everything is right there, ripe for the taking, and you refuse!? No! I've come too far and risked too much for you to ruin everything simply because you "don't feel like it!" So you listen to me, and you listen well, because you are going to get your slimy rear in gear, you are going with me to my hive, and you are helping me take over this world, or so help me I am going to end you! I will make you wish that I could kill you right now if you so much as think "I don't feel like it"! Understand!"

He actually reared back from the ferocity of the unexpected verbal assault, and the tentacle holding her had stretched itself out in an instinctive attempt to get her away from him. When she had finally finished, he did something he hadn't done in a long time. He started to laugh. His many eyes closed as his new body shook with mirth. Literally. Chrysalis could see and feel the slime rippling from the laughter. His laugh was boisterous and deep. Eventually though, it began to die down. He spoke to the still fuming Chrysalis with mirth filling his formerly tired voice.

"Very well Chrysalis, I agree to your terms and shall hold you to them!"

This seemed to stun Chrysalis even more than being denied, as she muttered to herself while the slime took his time recovering from his laughing fit.

"That actually worked? I really just told off an eldritch horror, and it actually listened?"

Overhearing her muttering, he couldn't help himself. He burst into laughter once again. Thinking on the chains that were still attached to him, how they connected him to this bold and crazy woman. Truly, this was going to be very interesting.