Ghost in the shell: Equestrian architecture

The electronic tunes boomed and rang heavily in Moon Dancer’s ears. Her muscles tensed and her short nails dug into her sweaty palms.

What am I doing here? Moon Dancer asked herself as a cold lump of ice grew in her stomach. She wanted to lift her foot of the ground and exit the club but something held her in place.

All around her people were dancing, flailing their arms and jumping in chaotic fashion. Moon Dancer pressed into a corner to get away from the thick crowd. Their blank faces shined with warm sweat in the colorful, scanning spotlights. The woman took another step back and felt the wall pressing against her back. She heard the soles of her shoes grinding against the floor as she moved forward against her will. The pattern of hydrogen atoms that was covering the floor moved towards the wall as if it was consumed. The crowd moved slowly closer with the shifting floor.

Moon Dancer pressed against and tried to push the wall back by digging her heels into the floor, but it didn´t work. The wall pushed her ever so slowly forward and the crowd turned towards her, they stared at her with blank, colorless eyes.

“Get away from me!” She shrieked and felt a cold object pressed into the back of her shoulder. A shiny metal point pierced through the skin above her left breast. A warm, thick, crimson liquid dripped from the point.

Moon Dancer screamed at the sight of it.

And woke up in her bed. The sheets were soaked with smelly sweat and stuck to her skin. With her breath racing she ripped her shirt of and checked her shoulder. The skin was warm and moist with sweat, but otherwise unbroken.

“Oh, thank god.” Moon Dancer drew a sigh of relief before she put her knees up to her chest and salty streams rushed down her cheeks.

“Are you alright?” A voice asked inside her head.

“I had another nightmare.” She sniffed and wiped the tears away with the backs of her hands.

“What happened?” The voice asked with a cold tone.

“You can just read the files.” Moon dancer plugged cables into the ports on her upper neck. While still sitting in her bed she turned on the lamp. The light blinked a few times before it stayed on. Her room had a collection of thick rubber wires crawling across the floor, like a shoal of black eels and gathering up on the humming computer that reached from up to the roof. The floor was covered in cold, green liquid.

Moon Dancer sat back down on bed and closed her eyes. She floated through an ocean of hovering text and numbers. Flying around like a bird soaring through the city. She eventually found herself walking down a marble street. The sun was spreading warm light over the desolate road and the soft summer air was filled with the scent of lilies. Moon Dancer sat down on a soft patch of grass and began to drink it all in.

“Felling better?” Asked the voice again. This time it was not in her head, it was next to her and came from a man with soft, curly, golden brown hair. He had a kind smile drawn across his soft face.

“Much better.” Moon Dancer felt her smile grew has she pulled him in for a hug. Through his thin shirt she felt his relaxed muscles on her cheeks. “I´ve missed you, Silverstain.”

“I´ve missed you to.” His tone was stiff and cold as ice.

The two of them sat in the field for along time. Moon Dancer sat still with her face pressed against his chest. The man gazed up to the artificial blue sky.

And a creature looked back. It slithered across the sky dome with four different kinds of legs. “It will be my pleasure.” The creature said and cackled with laughter.