Photophobia (An RPG story)

by Tjtbomb

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Bat Pony, Comedy, Profanity, Random, Violence, Princess Celestia, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 9711

The Fear of Light. Or rather, in my case, extreme searing pain due to light. Same thing really.

This is a journal, I guess. If you can call a metaphysical shadow record that no one else can read, a journal, that is.

Really just the tale of a light-fearing sentient tar creature thing.

Hey, name’s Pitch.

==================================================================================

Partly Inspired by the anime: That One Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime
Partly inspired by my own twisted imagination.

There will be RPG characteristics thrown in, like stats, cooldown times on skills, a skill chart, level, and so on.

Featured 3/13/19!
4/8/19!

Published 2019-03-03 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-06-14 06:05:21 UTC

01- Game Start

System Activated.

Game Load Sequence Initiated.

Loading World Seed...

ERROR -- World Seed not detected.

Analyzing... -- Secondary World Seed Detected.

Loading Secondary World Seed -- [File Name: EQUESTRIA]...

56564729879687618094%83986896769478374--567490818872674631...
6487687592003...
7058%57558430957487589020...

World Seed Loaded.

Loading Player [File name: REDACTED]

ERROR -- Player Not Loaded.

Random Number Generator Activated... -- Number Chosen

Player [#000000002] Chosen.

Loading Player...

9858098488374987982901871687088577%987474726--74678637981--4676876237918%27764876277817...
6647647677989849 -- Player Resisting System -- Countermeasures Initiated -- 889709248829...
3982909891 -- Resistance Terminated -- Resuming Load -- 8787587098097499891...
7478949289834728940758%28948794--73482797918997238801...

Player Loaded.

Creating Avatar...

ERROR. Avatar [File Name: Human Hero] Not Found.

Calculating Solution...

Solution Found -- Player [#000000002] Will Be Constructed Suitable Avatar Based On Level Cap.

Evaluating Player Mind/Memories/Personality/Potential To Determine Level Cap...

Evaluation Complete.

Mind -- 60/100 Human Intellect. Evaluation: Strong.

Memories -- 27/80 Human Lifespan. Evaluation: Largely Inexperienced.

SYSTEM INPUT -- Erase Non-Essential Memory Information.

Acknowledged.

Memory Erased.

Memories -- 4/80 Human Lifespan. Evaluation: Retains only Language, Reasoning, Personality, And Learned Knowledge.

Personality -- 95/100 Will. Evaluation: Elite. [Exceeds Normal Human Limitations]

Potential -- *̷̻̗̫̯͚̌̋̎̆̉̏̇́̋̈́̕͘͠ͅȄ̷̹̲̭͉̔͒̄͂̿̔͗̒͘̚Ŗ̵̖̦̪͇̥͙͈͉͗͗͋͋͂̔̿̇̕͠ͅŖ̶͇̳̈́͂̏͘̕Õ̸̞̗̼͓͔̩̰͍̪͔͘͝R̸̯̰̟͔̦̺̬̃̀̈́̓͝*̴̩̬͂͐̏̇͊̈́̈͝ ̶̜͍̗͋̃̐̋5̶̯͔͙̐9̵͚̯͖͕̮̘̃͌́̂͐̅̅̒͠8̷͎̭̞̯̮̖̼̈́̋̓͊͛͂̈́̄͐̓͝͝5̸͎̯̝̙̎̾̐̓̀͌̍̂̂̓͊́̈́̊͜͝7̸̥̅́̎̆͆̃̈́̄̆̋0̶̲͗̋͊͌6̸̩̳̣̘̱̳̞͙̩̖͍̰̥̓͋͒̓̎̅̓8̵̧̲͉̼̜̥̔̊̄̎̄̐̀̈͒̓͠͠͝͝͠0̵̩̪͉̟͚̬̞̫̭̪̪̬̈́̌̀̈́͜ͅ9̴̢̧͔͙̭͎͚̬̗̞̯̐̔̀̇͜ͅͅ2̵͉̱͔̻͔̦̥̼̻̬̥̠̂ͅͅͅ8̵̜̩̟͔͍͓̻̟̉̋͠3̸̧̧̞̲̮̹̘̣̥͔̱͍̤̩̤̅͌̔͂͗͐́͊̈̏͐̋͘8̷͙̣̗͈́̌̈́̂͑̆̀͝9̸͙̤̪̱̏̀̍̔̒̇̊̔̃̃̑͜͝͝4̸̡̼͈̪͇͇̘̬̫͕̼̮̩͉͇̊̌̌7̸̢̡̛͓͈͚̫͍̖̤̜͚̈́͑̑̔̀͛̀̓̽͜ͅ9̶̞͕͈́̄5̴͚̰̙͓͚̟̫̤̣̿̃̈̊̏̀͝͝8̴̦̻͍̮̟̗̙̱̇ͅ8̴̛̤̤̣͖͈̓͌̈́̎͛̑̈́̄̎́͘̕̕͝5̴̭̦̟̹͖̦͋͆̇͆́̓͗͜5̴̨͎͇̞̞̺̖̰̲̭̑̀̇͗̍͒͜͝8̵̪͍͑̍͊̄̈̃̔͐̈̽͗2̷̨̖͈̠̗̫͓̣͇̳̰͇̰̰̻͋7̷̲̰̺̻̯͓̗̦̰̑̏͂̆̽͝9̵̙̈́͒́͊̓̂̀̉́͝8̷̨̛̺͍̞͓̳̱̺̦̻̤͉̗̹̍̑̓͗7̷̨̛̭̠̟̩̘̺͖̯̦̈́̚͜ͅ5̴̰̣̖̤̮̀͆͌ͅ.̴̧̡͉͖͓͓͚̦̬̠̈͊̓̿̓̅̏̈̔͌͜ͅ.̷͓̟̖̺̜̩͉̜͉͉̺̪̟̂ͅͅ.̵͓̮̝̺̩͓͕̞͍̖̜͚̅̓̀͌̄̈̇̏̚̕̚͝͝͠͠ͅ/̵̡̨͔̥̼̲͎̺̱̭̥̈́͂͒̈͊͆̈ͅ1̶̧͇̯̞̳͂̄̃̕0̵̢̢̥̪̺̙̣̮͓͎̪̍̈́͒0̶͔̳͍̮̙͈̰̀ ̴̧̳̯̞͉̙̤̞̩̗̲̞̉̑̽̚͝͠ͅ*̴̢̛̛͙̘̺̝͕͉̱̬͙͕̞̝́̽̂̆̈́̏͂̉̋C̵̨̦̠̹̦̟̗͎̫̩͊́̒̎̇̎̑̇̀̍̕͠R̸͈̭̻̪̙̉ͅÍ̶̺̎̈́͒͝T̶̡̗̼̦̔̈́̚I̵̧͉̳͉̯̘̟͎̗̬̥̟̺͚̍͂̿͛C̷̛͓̗͔̫͓̫̣͓͔̗̆͒̀̾͗͌͆̐̈͛̕͜͝Ȁ̶̡̲̑L̸͙͒̄͆̓̀̃͛͊̍̎̈̕͝ ̴̫̜̘͖͈̦̲̐̃͂̄̀̋͑͐̈́̐͂͝͝Ȩ̴̫̮̬͍̘̟̺̠͇͉͍͍̑̀̿̄̈́̅̈́̂͝ͅͅR̴̡̼̬̘͚͙̜̬̮͍̫̭̜̪̫̽̌̑̒̽̈́̆̾͑̽̈̆͠͝R̷̙̟͓͒̍̈́͌̅̆O̶̧̠̥̣̪̼̺̲͒͜͠R̵͇͓̰̲͇͈̥̗̝͈̙̟̱̍̓̾͑̓̈͜ͅ*̴̮̬͒̊͜

S̵̲̻̩͖̮͖͍̼̮͗́̃́̾̔̂̀̇͝͠y̸͈̙̖̗̘͓̳̦̞̘̫̹͗͐̑͐̽͜ͅͅs̸̛̟̤͉͈͈̦̥͉̪͊̓̈́̍̒̐͆͒́̂͘t̷̡̨̡̰̼̦̭̫̩̗͙͙̆͊͆̑̊́̉͜͝͝ẽ̴̛̘͚̯̺͈̱̀̑̌̑̏̈̃̏͂́͒̕͝m̵̡̢̻̹̗̻̻͖̰̈ ̴͇̦̫̜̻̼̘̈̿̑͋͘͠L̸̨̤̙͔͈͑̔̋̈́͘ͅi̶̡̻͖̣̞͔̹͈̜̥͆ͅm̶̧̨̖̤̞̹͛į̷̳͇͔͙̙̠͉̯̗͖̔̕ͅţ̵̙͑̊̃̾̉̓̀̿͛́͂̓͝͠͠s̴͙̹̤̼̣̲͕̮̼͖̰̘̽͐͛͆̀̅̃̾ͅ ̵̣͔̬̲̞̫͉͙̟̟̬̏̈́̇͗́͋͋̐́̔͆Ę̶̘̭̞̮͖̘̫̜̒͐͐̊̎͗̌͗̕͝x̸̢̢̛̩͇͙̻̱̠͔̯͇͈̯̤̺͋̏̈́̉̀̆̒̈́͛̉͠c̸̢̛̛͓̗͚͔̭̱̖̺̔̑͒̏̔̃̀̇̚e̸̠̖͙̝̤̭̭̮̫̟͈̟̰̓̓͗͆̓̈́̅͋̀̑͊͌̚̕͜͠ͅe̷̡̛̝͎̿͊̉̍̋̕͝d̸̨͔̭̠̹̤̲̼͍͔̪̺̔̎͊͐͂̌̈́̅̄̓̇͑ę̷̺̖̪̪̯̣̖̥͇͙̘̃͒̋͜d̵͇͒̇̿͂͌̇̏͆̑̎̂̕͠.̴̨͚̟̹̜̮̱͂̐̈́̅͌̈́̿͘͝ ̶̰̲̙̖̜̊̀͆̐͐̈́̐̑̀́̈́̀̚͘͜͝Ṟ̵͉̳̌͊ę̶̗̼͙̎̐͒͋̉̄͑́̆͐̚͜͝b̶̳͍͔̩̦̱͕̲̞̝͎̬̣̖̌̀̀ơ̶̡̡̛͙̙͇̺̬͙̗͕̈͗̈́̉̋̑͑͌o̶̩̜̻̓̓̓̈́̑̿̀̕ṭ̸̡͕̘̯͍̿͛̐̐̑̈́̈́̏̒̏̋̽͛ ̸̥͚͖̙̟̣͔̤̳͈̀̐̈́̓̓̄͘͠I̴̧̯͕̩͐͒̆͐͐̊̉͋́̆͆͝n̸̡̦͇̱̺̜̮̭͈͖̜̭̺̏̈́͊̋́̂̚i̴̗͔̤͇̤̖̹̬͆̈́̈̃̕ͅt̶̗̟̥͎̩͑͒̀̕į̵͙͓̒͌̀̒͗̎̅̓͘͠ạ̵̛̼͆͌͒̊̔̾̇̃͌̈́t̸̛͕͎̱̹̥̙̗̫̪̲̓̒͌̽̀́̓͘̕͠é̴̛͇͉͙̫͇̑͊̉̿͑̇͛̈͝͠d̴̡͇̖͍̪̹̩̯̘̫̼̜͒̾̋́̌̏̀̊͝͝.̷̨̹͚̺̖̯̗̠̘̪̙̲̳̮̹̄̋͛̈́̈́̔̏͐̉͌̿͘

......

System Reboot Complete.

Error Log: Player Potential Exceeds System Limitations.

Calculating Player Level Cap...

Calculating...

Calculating...

Conclusion Reached -- Player will have #E̷͍̭̤̰͎̭̗͍̗͌̌̓͌̅̊̂̓̀̓̐͂͘Ř̶̞̳͎͎̫͎̝̦̝̗̻̯̍̑̉R̴̛͔̺̭̲͛̄̑̋͋́͒̀͘̚Ơ̵̢̙̣̲̐̽́̈͆̊͐͋͂͛́̇̊R̵͙̬̩̗͉̀̉̅̃̑͊̒̅̂͘͜͝͠ Level Cap.

Calculating Compatible Avatar...

Avatar Selected.

Rendering...

24798237948728910379407692747298%3626449278687949117797981--68769789986981...
67636598797 -- SYSTEM OVERRIDE CODE INPUT -- AVATAR MUST HAVE WEAKNESS -- 75840583702...
6764509870893987 -- INPUT ACKNOWLEDGED -- IMPLEMENTING -- 74785795987287...
5763786598975087842 -- 5689346578%3279879%9749879477108...

Avatar Rendered.

NPC #1-9999999999999998 Active.

Weather Pattern Initialized.

Seasons Initialized.

Magic Initialized.

Preparing for System Launch.

Avatar Checks Complete.

World Checks Complete.

NPC Checks Complete. [Rampancy Within Acceptable Parameters]

Weather Pattern Checks Complete.

Seasons Checks Complete.

Magic Checks Complete.

Time Initiated.

SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT -----

STATS:

?????

Lv. 01

Health: 100/???

Attack: 1

Defense: 5

Speed: 30

Magic: 0

SKILLS:

???? -- Unkown Skill

???? -- Unkown Skill

Unlimited Potential -- The ability to grow stronger.

Author's Note

For those of you who have not seen the anime, the premise is that one has endless potential, but is not necessarily invincible. It will be a long road before our protagonist could hope to survive against many things, starting at level one and all. But let's see where it goes, shall we?

Also, I will be using the author notes to display stats at the end of each chapter.

02- The hell am I supposed to be? -- Tutorial Level

I didn't wake up, persay.

It was more of a sudden realization, like coming out of deep thought, with things I really didn't think I could have known swimming into my mind. And otherwise? Nothing seemed... right. It was a somewhat lackluster realization that whatever I was now, it was not what I used to be. Does that make sense?

First thing's first, did I remember anything? No. Nothing personal at least. But I did have coherent thought, and with it, a language, which is always a good thing to have. I don't know what language it was name-wise, but I understood it, so it was a level above abstract thought.

My progress was very slow at first, as it took me quite a while to even figure out exactly what I was. To put it simply, I felt as if I was basically a fat bubble sitting on what felt like stone... maybe. I couldn't feel very well yet either. Upon more investigation I decided I was not just a bubble, but more of a... big water droplet. A filled bubble? There was some word for it, I just couldn't... remember it...

A Slime.

Uh... okay? That felt... weird.

Once I figured out my form, I set about trying to move it. I instinctively tried to move a limb that wasn't there anymore, just making my bubble self twitch for a moment and reminding me that this body was not my usual one.

Thinking about how a droplet of water moved, I willed my form toward one side of the bubble as hard as I could.

A brief moment of terror went past as I accidentally hopped into the air, followed by joy because I had learned to move.

I willed myself in a horizontal fashion and found I could roll, or perhaps just "amoeba" my way across the floor.

Unlocked: Speed: [30]

What the hell? I don't think in brackets. I unlocked speed?

I took a moment to ponder the strange voice before deciding to leave it be. It seemed instinctive, at least at the time, to welcome any help I could get, considering I couldn't even see yet.

Ignoring the voice, I thought long and hard about how I could learn to see. Realizing I didn't have any manner of reference for such a thing, with no memories after all, I focused on the one thing I did have, touch.

It took who knows how long, but eventually I could sense the outer reaches of the floor and walls. It wasn't much, but it would do.

Skill Gained: Sense

Very helpful, anonymous voice. Is there anything else you can tell me?

Skill List Activated:

Oh Shit, that worked.

Sense: The Power to Sense objects without direct touch. An extension of the senses.

Unlimited Potential: The Power to Become Stronger

Two Unknown Core Skills to Be Discovered

I processed the information for a bit, still unsure if I was crazy or if the mental voice was real. I could 'feel' a distinct difference between my own, natural thoughts, and the almost robotic feed of information into my mind, like it was forcefully placed there.

Not too long after, I decided to move about the hall I awoke in. It was not very wide, but seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction. I didn't really have anything to go off of, so I picked at random and set off at a slow crawl, picking up speed as I grew used to piloting this strange body of mine.

The hallway continued for what seemed like an eternity, and it might as well have. With no apparent fatigue appearing and nothing but smooth stone walls to show the way, I could have been rolling along for years and never known.

To my relief, I eventually encountered a prison door, though I could only tell because of the bars. I considered the idea of me being a prisoner, but as I easily slipped through the bars, I dismissed the idea as my form melded back together effortlessly.

I sensed around the small jail cell with as much scrutiny as I could, finding a few things on the floor as well as a larger object in the corner. I approached the smaller objects first, rolling over each of them and letting the lot of them float around inside me. It was a very bizarre feeling, but it felt right somehow. All at once, they suddenly disintegrated, tasting of dust and metal, and my helper began talking to me again.

Core Skill Discovered: Consume -- The Power to Assimilate any object or creature and enhance the user with its properties.

Consumed:
Metal Can (2) -- Increased Defense -- Increased Attack -- Increased Physical Resistance
Stale Bread (1/4) -- Increased Health
Small Rock (4) -- Increased Defense

Quite happy with the results, I moved on to the mysterious lump, checking it for signs of life first of course, before enveloping it in my mass as well. It didn't last as long, vanishing almost instantly as I actually tried to eat it this time. Oooohhh... Delicious~

Consumed:
Unicorn Pony Corpse [Long Deceased] -- Magic Stat Unlocked -- Memory Bank Increased -- Health Increased

Core Skill Discovered: Mimic -- The Power to recreate the parts, abilities, magic, and form of any creature consumed by user.

Magic Discovered: Magic Shot -- Raw magic with no elemental affinity capable of mild destructive force.

Ugh... It feels kinda strange that it tasted so... amazing, but at least this Unicorn thing was already dead before I ate it. However, this mimic thing is extremely useful. My apologies, strange (possibly sentient) creature, but your body will be used to further my own.

With a bit of concentration, I finally managed to manifest eyes, and opened them eagerly. I was extremely grateful to have actual sight back, even if there was only stone walls and darkness to greet me. Instead of a voice, a half dozen little lines of text flashed across my line of sight as I began summoning other senses back to me.

Skill gained: Sight
Skill gained: Vocal Speech
Skill gained: Smell
Skill gained: Hearing
Skill gained: Magic Sense

Merging Sense Skills...

Combo Skill Created: Omni-sense: All Available senses significantly boosted.

As that last, brighter text faded, I could suddenly see every inch of the cell in pure detail, the dark vanishing completely. I contorted my form a bit to look at my own eyes, and murky white slits greeted me. I widened them a bit to increase my vision range and decided it looked better anyway. I took note they also let off a faint white glow, probably a magic thing, but I knew with a bare minimum of light, creatures with advanced vision could see perfectly well in the dark. So I had somehow developed...

"Night Vision. Nice."

I looked to my own form, finally able to see it, and was surprised by pitch black nature of it. Even when I spread it across the floor as thin as I could, it might as well have been tar.

Race Discovered: Shadow Slime

Race Skills -- Body Manipulation -- Ability to eat any substance -- Affinity for Dark Magic -- High Defense against Dark Magic -- Level Capped Body Regeneration

Race Weakness -- Weak to Light Magic -- Weak to Direct Sunlight Exposure

Well shit. I sound like a monster. An evil one at that. It was likely that if I encountered any sentient creatures, especially the diurnal (day fairing) ones, they would condemn me as mindless evil and destroy me. I knew that the strange voice in my head wasn't normal, and the fact that my body didn't feel natural or instinctive was a good tip off that most slimes are mere animals.

Vowing to be extremely careful around sentient beings, as I was considered a beast, I returned to the door of the cell and consumed it as I passed through.

Consumed:
Rusted Metal Door -- Increased Defense -- Increased Attack -- Increased Physical Resistance

Level 2 Reached -- Adjusting Form...

I was forced to stop moving for a moment as my form shifted in on itself, rippling violently. It stopped almost as soon as it started, and I was left with the disorienting state of being... more substantial... heavier, with more mass, but seemingly the same size.

A level? Why not! Nothing else makes sense...

I continued down the seemingly endless halls for longer than I can remember, not encountering anything for the longest time. I extended the full use of my senses and the only thing I could guess was that I was headed in the right direction. I could vaguely smell water far ahead of me, while the passage behind smelled only of dust and stone. Even more unsettling and infuriating was the fact that there was absolutely nothing else down here except me. What or who had made this endless hall? and why was it SO DAMN LONG???

The good news is that I had become adept at moving, now able to cross about twenty of the stones that made up the floors in just a few seconds. I had started at a fraction of that, barely able to cross five in the same time.

.....

I was just beginning to wonder if I had encountered a certain pebble for the fifth time, when I finally noticed the mark on the wall. It blended in almost perfectly with the murky gray stone. Barely distinguishable even when one stood still.

Actually squinting my vision somehow, despite having no actual eyes, I finally made out faint pictures.

A small equine facing to the right, with an arrow pointing to the left. To the left of the arrow, a sun.

If I had ever eaten the pebble and moved on, I would never have seen it; my only way out.

If I had the limbs, I would have smacked myself for my stupidity. Long ago, my 'guide' had mentioned unlocking a magic stat. Key word magic. I should have guessed there was some trick to an endless hall. If I'm right, when one faces the exit, the way a mindless creature would always do, you can never leave. But if you turn away from the exit and walked backwards, as if you were entering the hallway, you fool the system.

I quickly faced the way I had come and moved back at full speed, extending my other senses behind me. It took barely a minute for me to finally come across something new. A turn in the tunnel. I faced it immediately and sped around with no small amount of glee. FINALLY SOMETHING NEW DAMNIT!

A large cluster of rats sniffed around in front of me, totally ignoring my presence. They weren't much, and nothing else seemed different about the tunnel ahead, but I was prepared to start screaming just five minutes before just to hear something.

A very natural thought occurred soon after. At least, to a slime.

How tasty are you?

Author's Note

STATS:

Shadow Slime
Lv. 02
Health: 155/???
Attack: 13
Defense: 35
Speed: 35
Magic: 10

SKILLS:

Consume -- The Power to Assimilate any object or creature and enhance the user with its properties.
Mimic -- The Power to recreate the parts, abilities, magic, and form of any creature consumed by user.
Unlimited Potential -- The ability to grow stronger.
Omni-Sense -- All Available Cardinal senses significantly boosted. (Includes Magic Sense)

MAGIC:

Magic Shot -- Raw magic with no elemental affinity capable of mild destructive force. (3 Magic to cast)

SPECIAL:

Physical Resistance -- Basic buff - Additional Defense against physical attacks.
Weak to Sunlight -- Race Debuff - Take gradual damage in direct sunlight despite any Defense Stat. Effect cannot be nullified with Mimic Skill. Indirect sunlight does not cause this effect, refracted light though glass the sole exception.

03- Out of the Dark -- Level 1 (Player 2)

Scarlet Dusk was not having a good day. Or rather, night. Or any night, for that matter. Her job sucked.

Her accomplices in the night guard certainly didn't make it any better. With the lowest score in every class, just above failing, -except for combat class- and the newest member in her squad, meant she got stuck with the worst jobs. All the past month after she had graduated from the academy she had been pulling the longest shifts and the ugliest jobs that could be assigned. Grunt work, for the guards that the higher-ups decided weren't real guards.

It was all the work that never got checked over by anypony willing to give her good marks. It was always the pony just barely above her, and the stuck-up colt would never allow their places to switch, from air conditioned hallway to deep dungeon midnight watch. So, any hope of promotion was sucked down the drain the moment that royal-blooded foal was assigned a single rank higher than her.

Scarlet groaned and shifted her weight again to ease her aching hooves. There wasn't even a single chair down here, let alone any prisoners these days, so why was she even down here? She had had half a mind to march straight to the Night Guard Captain's quarters and at least get a reason for her deathly boring watch in front of the only door to the lower dungeon, but that could also just as easily get her fired. The noble-to-be constantly gave her bad marks, so she was not in the best of graces with the Captain, and usually tried to avoid him.

At least there was a single torch by the door to give her some light and warm her freezing bat-like wings. Granted, it didn't go very far, but any light was a godsend to a thestral. With natural night vision, they could see as far in the dark as a regular pony with only a bare minimum of light.

Anypony else would have quit, but Scarlet Dusk was a Thestral!

... Yeah there was basically no job for a Thestral other than the Night Guard. At least it payed the bills.

It was barely a fraction into the eight-hour shift ahead before the door behind her creaked open and a familiar and infuriating face poked through it. The brown furred, blue eyed, blond mane unicorn she had come to know as Perfect Gem was anything but true to his namesake. How and why a day pony managed to get into the night guard she never knew, least of all how he managed to stay in it. He was out of uniform any time he could, and had somehow managed to keep his normal sleep schedule despite being in the NIGHT guard.

He had on a shit-eating grin as he spoke just how you would expect him to: sickly sweet, and oh so fake.

"Hello Dusky~ How are we this lovely night? Just thought I'd drop in and fill out this report before I turn in. This paperwork is so exhausting to lug around you know. Doing fine? Don't care. Let's see... mmm... scuffed up armor, that's a bad mark, blunt spear, Check! Disrespectful posture, and refusal to salute a superior officer? Check, check! What else...? Oh, I see it now. Tipsy on the job, eh? Oh, I understand completely dear. So stressful to be down here all the time. Sadly, I'll have to report that. Can't be lying to the captain, now can I? I could be demoted if I covered for you, and worse, fined! You simply must get your act together dear. Ah well, chin up, I'm sure you'll get that promotion one day. Goodnight~!"

He departed with a haughty laugh and his flimsy little clipboard.

Scarlet Dusk sighed and glanced down at her perfectly polished armor, statuesque guard stance, and wickedly sharp spear. Perhaps the only thing she was guilty of was the salute thing. She would never salute that bastard for as long as she lived.

She also knew for a fact that there wasn't any alcohol in her system, but as she grabbed a hidden pouch from under her wing she smiled grimly and chuckled a bit.

"Just because I'm not drunk doesn't mean I'm not high."

In Scarlet's defense, she was the model guard in every other way, and she hadn't taken up "Nightsmoke" until long after Perfect Gem had slashed any chance of bettering her life. The fine blend of herbs calmed her and had kept her from assaulting her superior many times over. While there was a huge misconception among most ponies that the stuff caused hallucinations, if used in the correct doses, the worst it could do was just slightly dull the senses in terms of negative effects.

Scarlet was actually under the opinion that it made her a better guard, because while other ponies asked for vacation days to alleviate the "Intense" stress of being a guard (probably nobles, rich bastards), Scarlet had never asked for a day off, and always came out on top when the monthly stress checkups went around.

She really didn't see much point in not smoking the stuff while she was down here. No pony else was anywhere near her, let alone smell it through the door, so she breathed easy as she puffed away, leaning on her spear.

She was still standing the exact same way a few hours later as a faint noise echoed through the otherwise quiet hallway.

Scarlet instantly perked up her ears, swiveling them aggressively as she spat out the blunt and stomped on it with an armored hoof. She peered into the dark tunnel ahead, searching for any sign of movement. She flinched as a rat suddenly skittered around a corner, running towards her. She sighed in relief as she saw it was just a harmless vermin and began wondering what scared it so badly.

SQUEA-!

It's tiny cries where suddenly cut short as a large blob suddenly darted around the corner, far faster than the rat, and abruptly closed slimy jaws on it.

Scarlet Dusk nearly tripped in surprise at the sudden appearance of an actual monster, but recovered and readied her spear, eager to do battle with an actual monster. She recalled her monster identification course better than others, though she somehow managed to get bad grades anyway, and was able to identify a shadow slime pretty easily.

She held her ground warily as it slowly rolled into the light of the torch, revealing two big white streaks of white almost like eyes adorning its front. She only grinned wider at this. A slime with a unique marking or coloration outside of the norms was identified as a Titan Slime, a proper mid-tier monster. If she could manage to slay this little beast, and show her work to the Captain, she could earn an instant promotion and be away from her little nightmare of a superior.

"Come here little titan slime~ Come to Scarlet~"

It surprisingly stopped at her words, and she could swear the streaks actually squinted at her. This gave her some pause. Everything she had read about slimes depicted them as mindless food seekers, consuming what they could to get by, but this thing had completely halted and seemed to be... staring at her, somehow.

She shook off her hesitations after a moment and flapped her wings, boosting her speartip forwards, centered on the slime's body. A single good jab at a slime usually killed them, and while a titan was certainly tougher, a full stab through the middle killed any variety.

She blinked once in midair, and somehow missed the sudden build of magic on the slime as a white energy blast completely shattered the upper half of her spear. She landed again and threw aside the useless stick before drawing her sword and lunging forwards. The slime simply vanished from her sight in an instant in a blur of speed and her sword banged painfully off the stone floor. She reflexively dropped her sword in pain and rolled away to put some distance between her and the woefully underestimated and incredibly dangerous titan slime.

She popped up to her back hooves, ready to beat the thing into submission with her bare hooves, only to realize that her helmet was missing. She gulped as she watched the slime very slowly and deliberately collect her fallen sword and helmet and consume them before her eyes, as if daring her to stick a hoof in it. She instinctively took a step back from the apex predator in the room, and it almost seemed to nod appreciatively before abruptly slamming itself through the door behind it, shattering the old wood easily and vanishing into the outside hallway.

Scarlet could only think of one thing to say.

"...Did I just get owned by a BUCKING SLIME!?"

She turned to grab her spear before going off in pursuit, but caught sight of the now useless stick and groaned before flying through the open doorway empty-hooved and hot blooded.

"I'm SO bucked when the Captain finds out about this..."

Author's Note

STATS:

Shadow Slime
Lv. 02
Health: 180/150
Attack: 30
Defense: 50
Speed: 55
Magic: 7/10

SKILLS:

Consume -- The Power to Assimilate any object or creature and enhance the user with its properties.
Mimic -- The Power to recreate the parts, abilities, magic, and form of any creature consumed by user.
Unlimited Potential -- The ability to grow stronger.
Omni-Sense -- All Available Cardinal senses significantly boosted. (Includes Magic Sense)

MAGIC:

Magic Shot -- Raw magic with no elemental affinity capable of mild destructive force. (3 Magic to Cast)

SPECIAL:

Physical Resistance -- Basic buff - Additional Defense against physical attacks.
Weak to Sunlight -- Race Debuff - Take gradual damage in direct sunlight despite any Defense Stat. Effect cannot be nullified with Mimic Skill. Indirect sunlight does not cause this effect, refracted light though glass the sole exception.

03- Have confirmed, ponies no likey the slimey -- Level 1 (Player 1)

Quick update: Rats are surprisingly tasty. Chewy, with a hint of brine and a nice earthy taste.

Regardless of taste, I was gonna eat them all anyway, seeing as I no longer have a gag reflex. How I knew I had a gag reflex, I don't know. But any sense of nausea or the like was definitely nonexistent as I chased down and consumed a large crowd of rats.

The idiotic things seemed abnormally dumb to me, not even batting an eye until I scooped up half a dozen of them at once. Even still, they just ran in a straight line away from me, not bothering to even scatter properly, which made my ~~job~~ meal much easier.

I used Mimic a bit and formed a big jaw and some teeth to help the process along as I basically just shoveled rats in with limbs that I extended like a funnel to fill the hall.

Finally, there was only a few left, and I retracted the limbs and forged ahead to catch them one by one. I didn't technically need the jaws, but there was something oddly satisfying about scooping rats into a toothy maw and grinding them into a paste... You know, I'm probably more unstable than I thought, considering...

I closed in on the last one and clicked my jaws together in surprise as it suddenly rounded a corner I hadn't seen coming. I growled under my 'breath' and charged after the delicious little morsel. I snapped it up and froze in place as I took in a sight I wasn't expecting. I hardly even registered my log.

Consumed:
Dungeon Rat (47) -- Increased Speed -- Increased Health -- Mimic Acquired

A peculiar mix between what looked like a bat and a pony stared back at me in clear surprise. It wore dark blue and purple armor and a helmet to match, and could clearly see me in the shadows with oddly golden eyes. It blinked a split-second later and leveled a spear at me with a surprising amount of dexterity and a pleased little smile.

I moved closer cautiously, not wanting to piss this thing off before I could slip through that door behind it.

It suddenly grinned wider as I reached the light and called sweetly in actual words, revealing that she was definitely female with her tone.

"Come here little titan slime~ Come to Scarlet~"

Considering the fact that "Scarlet" over there also brandished her spear a little more eagerly when she said that, I made a hard pass and just stopped where I was. Maybe her vision was based on movement.

She raised an eyebrow after a moment, actually getting my hopes up for a second before she shook her head and lunged at me. I pulled the first thing I thought of.

MAGIC SHOT (-3 Magic)

A burst of energy gathered inside me, and I directed it toward the spear in front of me as it released. A flash of light later, the pony landed in surprise with a much shorter spear. To her credit, she was able to continue her attack a moment later with a shortsword that would probably split me in half.

It was a weird moment when I realized I had suddenly gotten much faster as I easily outpaced her swing and winced (if a slime can wince) as the sword clanged off the stone floor, which definitely was not a pleasant feeling to run through her hooves. She let out a little bat shriek as she dropped the sword and rolled away from me defensively, losing her helmet in the process. She stood on her back legs defensively and hopped like a boxer until I slowly approached.

She stepped away then, clearly afraid, even she didn't want it to show on her determined face.

It was that little act right there that made a very important decision for me. Right then, I decided to draw a line in the sand. No eating sentients unless I had to.

I couldn't have her coming after me, so I made a point to stare directly at her as I slowly and deliberately Consumed her sword and helmet, delivering a silent message.

Don't try it.

Consumed:
Night Guard Helmet (1) -- Defense Increased -- Physical Resistance Increased -- Blueprint Acquired
Scarlet Dusk Hair Fragment -- Thestral Mimic Acquired
Night Guard Shortsword -- Attack Increased -- Blueprint Acquired

A moment later I was already speeding away, leaving little bits of broken door in my wake and a frustrated guard pony.

"...Did I just get owned by a BUCKING SLIME!?" Echoed after me.

Yes, yes you did.

I screeched to a halt just before a turn as I saw torchlight coming closer, and instinctively collapsed into the corner, quickly working my mass into the cracks until I was just a shadow in the hall. Perhaps a puddle. I spread a bit of my mass onto the floor, looking all the world like a puddle of something you didn't want to question.

Race Skill Acquired: Concealment -- Ability to blend into most environments via body manipulation.

Armored hooves marched around the corner in military step as a larger, definitely male bat pony passed by me with a mere glance of disgust. One of his two escorts stepped through me, shaking their hoof for a moment before following their superior. All of them wore the same armor as the mare from before, but the larger one's was definitely more ornate in its design.

They weren't a patrol, and seemed extremely professional in comparison to the guard I had left behind. I didn't know what they were doing down here, and I didn't care either. Once I sighted the mare from before rushing to meet them, I shed my little disguise and slipped around the corner.

I heard a cry as I moved, and sped away on the off chance I had been spotted, towards more torches and a distant set of stairs going up. I looked back as I reached the stairs and found I wasn't being chased after all. I looked back up the stairs with no small amount of glee. I bounced once in excitement and sped towards the only heavens I knew, the next floor.

Let's get the hell out of here!

Author's Note

STATS:

Shadow Slime
Lv. 02
Health: 180/150
Attack: 30
Defense: 50
Speed: 55
Magic: 7/10

SKILLS:

Consume -- The Power to Assimilate any object or creature and enhance the user with its properties.
Mimic -- The Power to recreate the parts, abilities, magic, and form of any creature consumed by user.
Unlimited Potential -- The ability to grow stronger.
Omni-Sense -- All Available Cardinal senses significantly boosted. (Includes Magic Sense)
Concealment -- Ability to blend into most environments via body manipulation.

MAGIC:

Magic Shot -- Raw magic with no elemental affinity capable of mild destructive force. (3 Magic to Cast)

SPECIAL:

Physical Resistance -- Basic buff - Additional Defense against physical attacks.
Weak to Sunlight -- Race Debuff - Take gradual damage in direct sunlight despite any Defense Stat. Effect cannot be nullified with Mimic Skill. Indirect sunlight does not cause this effect, refracted light though glass the sole exception.

04- Oh, Buck Me... -- Level 2 (Player 2)

"I'm SO bucked when the Captain finds out about this..."

"Indeed, Scarlet Dusk."

Scarlet ground to a halt, if one can grind to a halt while in the air, and dropped to the ground to salute her unexpected captain.

"C-Captain Silent Watch, Sir! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Her mouth snapped shut as the ominously quiet Captain of the Night Guard simply raised a hoof. He was not the Captain for nothing. One of his personal aides continued, speaking for his superior being one of his primary duties.

"Yes, yes, the Captain knows you didn't mean to be so negligent in your duties. Abandoning your post on top of everything else, and where is your helmet and weapons private? Not to mention the deplorable state of your armor."

Scarlet nearly choked.

"Wha- S-sir, I assure you I always have my equipment on hand, but I was just in a bad fight with a titan slime, sir! Surely it must have passed-"

"There was no slime, private," the annoying aide interrupted her, "And I question whether or not you believe yourself. Not a scratch on you, you are filthy, and the idea of a slime fleeing is simply ridiculous. Even if there was a slime, you are a trained guard, though that seems to have been a waste on you, you should have dispatched it easily."

Scarlet gawked at him, but gritted her teeth and fought to keep her voice steady, knowing exactly why -or rather who was responsible for this. All those bad reports against her, plus her current state working against her, all but confirmed the rumors about her.

"Sir, I assure you there was a titan sli-"

She blinked as she saw what looked to be a puddle suddenly move around the bend behind them.

"SLIME!"

She took two steps before she was promptly pinned to the wall with all the air in her lungs forcibly ejected. The other aide, who had hardly moved before, now had her in a shockingly strong grip against the wall, holding her hooves between her wings. The condescending one walked into her sight again, with a disappointed look on his face.

"Tsk, tsk. Trying to avoid punishment now? Shameful. Of course, not nearly as shameful as this little baggie that just so happened to fall out of your armor."

Scarlet could scarcely breathe, let alone defend herself.

"Nightsmoke? Certainly explains your 'slime' encounter. Just look at those red eyes of yours, how high are you?"

A single stomp from the Captain wiped the grin off his face, and he quickly snapped to attention and produced a scroll from his pack. Scarlet registered the official seal and sighed internally as he unrolled it and read, adding notes along the way.

By this Order Signed by Both Captains of the Guard, Captain Shining Armor and Captain Silent Watch, and the Authority of the Two Crowns, Private Scarlet Dusk is to be removed from the service of the Night Guard for negligence of duty, incompetence, lying to a superior officer, disrespecting a superior officer, working shifts while under the effects of hallucinogens, resisting arrest, and attempting to file a false monster report for personal gain.

These acts are in clear violation of multiple core laws of the Night Guard Code and are Grounds for Dishonorable Discharge.

Upon hearing this proclamation, Scarlet Dusk will have until daybreak to return any and all gear provided by the Lunar Crown in the service of the Guard. Failure to do so will result in a trial by Court Martial and a fine of 50,000 Bits.

~ Captain Shining Armor
~ Captain Silent Watch

"How does the accused plead? It won't change a thing, but it's for the record."

Scarlet bit back tears and swallowed hard at the injustice of it all, and all but growled her answer at him.

"Buck it. Guilty. What reason do I have to stay? Life is hell here. Good luck with that slime."

She was released immediately and the trio left the way they had come. The Captain paused to stare into a certain corner. He glanced back at her for a moment but shook his head and continued on.

==============================================================================================

Scarlet stumbled down the hallway, with all that was left of her guard apparel - which was basically just the chestpiece and the hoof guards.

This was it. Without the pay from guarding, and the guard barracks to sleep in as part of the job, she had nowhere else to go. Veteran Night Guards in their elder years had a hefty sum to fall back on if their retirement bonus got cut, but a discharge meant she didn't even get severance pay. She had a few hundred bits at most, and that would just barely get her back to Nightvale, the nearest Thestral village.

She walked somberly into her squad's bunkroom in the castle's lower levels, and walked over to her meager living space. She had one nice outfit, one that she quickly tossed aside. Dresses were not her thing. She groaned and glanced around the room in disgust. Her eyes settled on the plump little bag of bits half-hidden under a certain prick's bed.

Her moment of hesitation was very short as righteous revenge came to fruition.

She giggled and quickly tore Perfect Gem's pillow in half and took a piss on what was left. She started laughing and continued her rampage before she was discovered.

She pulled a duffel bag out from under her bed and filled it with anything that would fit. "Anything" Included her former squad's stuff. Into the sack!

Shampoo and junk, 3 knives, a set of brass horseshoes, 4 mangoes from the fruit basket gift on another bed, this bottle of cheap wine, 82 ironically unguarded bits, a sharpening stone, a flint, some expensive looking jewelry, and some space left over.

She tugged open a conspicuously heavy pillow and found a hefty bag of Nightsmoke. YOINK!

She made sure to leave traces of the purple leaves in every bed except her own, incriminating evidence and all. And for the finishing touch, she dumped out a bottle of red hoof polish and wrote "REDRUM" over Gem's bed.

The room in shambles and smelling of piss, she barricaded the door and left through the window, whistling a jaunty tune as she strutted over to the armory with a bulging duffel as the horizon started to glow.

She could scarcely contain her laughter as she passed her old squad heading back to the bunks. Thankfully, they somehow didn't notice her as she hurried over to the armory.

She trotted in with a few scant minutes before dawn proper, and the quartermaster, an old friend named Stained Steel, smirked as she walked in. He was her combat instructor/practicing blacksmith and had retired to the armory about a year back. Hell, he had practically raised her. Thestrals weren't big on family once you moved out, so he was practically her only parent.

"Cutting it a bit close, uh? Heard what happened, sorry to see you go, you always took good care of my babies."

Scarlet froze mid-smile as she remembered the fate of three of his "children." She chuckled nervously and inched back. Steel raised his eyebrows and knit them together.

"Ach, no! Don't tell me...!"

"Sorry S.S., lost a fight with a crazy slime. The spear... exploded, and my helmet and sword got eaten by the dumb thing. Can I make it up to you somehow?"

The grizzled stallion waved a scarred hoof, disregarding the offer.

"It's fine, my little redmane, but I need to file this report in about... one minute! They can check that you know, and I can't hide the absence! They called for all of your equipment- What are you going to do? If I pay your fine I'll go bankrupt!"

"U-uh," Scarlet glanced around as Steel panicked and saw a smithing hammer on the ground. "Oh! Quick! Get beside the forge ya old stallion!"

"I'M NOT OL-hey! Don't shove me! I'm old!"

He groaned and turned away as she struggled with the hammer.

"So that's it then? You gonna be a criminal, running from the law, livin' off the land, being a general no-good?"

Scarlet crept up and nuzzled him lovingly as she gave a snarky reply.

"You expect anything less? Neither of us can pay the fine. I could get stuck in public service for twenty years on what they get paid. Frankly, I can swear on Luna's tits that I would snap and kill somepony in a week!"

He barked a laugh, nuzzled her back, and glanced at the clock on the far wall.

"HAH! Sounds about right for a little scoundrel like yourself! You don't be robbin' innocents now, ya hear?"

Scarlet wiped a little tear away and hefted the hammer higher up.

"I hear... Dad."

Steel sniffed and grabbed his tools to look in character. He gave a shuddering sigh and turned his back to her.

"Damnit... you got me blubbering now too! Just give me a new bump on the head already!"

Scarlet let a few tears fall as she hefted the hammer and said bye to the stallion she thought was the best dad she could ask for. He choked through the old Thestral saying.

"I send my young to the world ahead, to forge their own path and find their own purpose. Should we cross our lives again, I will offer my advice, my support, and my love, but never again can I offer my hoof in help. For it is the path of the young to stand against the world alone and conquer its ways. May you find your own clan one day, whether in good or bad, and never betray those you love, for that is the lowest of things. Farewell, my kin, may the wind be in your favor and your heart guide you true to your moonlit horizon."

Scarlet sobbed and moved the hammer down upon this old stallion who loved her more than he ever said.

"Good luck Redmane, My little Scarlet Dusk."

CLUNK!

She checked him for a concussion and rushed out the door with a new sword on her flank.

A good stallion lay unconscious, but smiling peacefully as the sun rose.

A small shadow peeked from a hole in the bottom of a moving duffel bag, and made a promise for the stallion.

And a young Mare wiped her trailing tears and sped away, towards the growing sun, and promised to live.

Author's Note

Foregoing the Stats this time around. Felt improper to touch that moment even though I wrote it.

Guh... the FEELS

05- I am the Sneakiest of Slimes... or Spiders, that works too — Level 2 (Player 1)

I leaped up the stairs as fast as I could before pausing just below the top.

SENSE

I focused my perception forward and could make out the vague shape of another guard facing away from the steps. I quickly inched my way over the last step as quietly as possible and snuck close behind the unaware guard.

I froze when one of her ears twitched, perhaps picking up my near soundless movement. I immediately flattened and melded into the shape of her shadow on instinct as her head turned, revealing a roaming eye taking a glance down the hallway. If she had noticed her darkened shadow, she didn’t think much of it and soon turned forward again.

Thank God for instincts...

I slumped in relief and wondered how I could get around her. Trying to just move outside of her vision wouldn’t work- at least not yet- I was still too loud as a slime. The only path left was to take her out of the equation before she raised the alarm.

I didn’t want to kill her, as my unfamiliar, but apparently very strong moral code dictated, so I’d have to knock her out and hide her. A convenient door was down the hall from her, it would have to do.

I slinked forward, very slowly and very low to the ground until the bulk of my mass was directly under her. I lifted up my mass bit by bit and slowly climbed up her armor, gradually shifting my weight so I didn’t alert her. After a minute of adding more and more of myself onto her armor, she shuffled her hooves uncomfortably and glanced down.

“What the-“

In a rush of movement I snapped up around her muzzle, completely covering it and cutting off her air. The rest of my body stiffened and held her prisoner in her own armor, keeping her from jerking about and making noise.

Within a minute she finally stopped grunting and went limp, so I let her drop to the floor. I listened carefully to see if anyone had heard but it seemed I was lucky. Wasting no time I picked her up with a tendril and opened the door with another to reveal a broom closet.

Well, that’s convenient.

I unceremoniously dumped her inside and paused as I was about to close the door.

Faint clinking was coming from the stairs. Those three ponies that had come through before were coming back.

I glanced back to the unconscious guard. They would notice she was gone, having just come through, so I needed to cover my tracks. I stripped her of her equipment and promptly consumed it.

Consumed:

Night Guard Helmet -- Defense Increased
Night Guard Chestplate -- Defense Increased -- Blueprint Acquired
Night Guard Hoof-Guards -- Defense Increased -- Blueprint Acquired
Night Guard Short Sword -- Attack Increased
Guard Spear -- Attack Increased -- Blueprint Acquired

Now that that was out of the way, I needed to get my game face on.

MIMIC

With a ripple and a momentary delay, I quickly shifted into a nondescript Thestral, albeit one with a red mane. A moment later armor covered any distinguishing features.

I stumbled awkwardly for a moment, but it seemed I was given knowledge of walking and normal body language when I used the mimic.

Kicking the door shut, I quickly got back into the post the original Guard was at and formed a spear in my left hoof.

A bare moment later I allowed my fake ear to pivot as if I had just heard the approaching guards, and a small white dot on the tip of the ear allowed me to watch them as well. I snapped to a stiffer attention as the looming senior officer gave me a nod as he walked past. A few steps later he hesitated in his stride and glanced back at me for a moment. Did I miss a salute or something? Did he notice I don’t look like the real guard?

My fears faded as he shrugged to himself and continued walking.

That was too close. I got lucky with the first mare, and the second one I ambushed, but I didn’t fancy taking on three trained soldiers at once. I didn’t know the protocol, so I needed a better disguise. One that was too small to be noticed, or one that was easily explained.

They finally turned a corner and I dropped the stance and set off in the same direction, reabsorbing the spear along the way.

I soon came to what I believe is called a dungeon, though with a noticeable lack of prisoners. I wasn’t sure where I got the information, but I felt like there was usually more than one or two ancient ponies in these things.

I walked past each cell, casually and confidently looking in as if I was just on patrol. Until I came to another wooden door. There was bright light coming from the crack beneath the door, so it was likely a more common area compared to sub basement hallways/dungeons.

It wouldn’t normally give me pause, but the little blip on my “radar” prompted me to stare into a high corner.

A small, fat spider sat silent among the cobwebs, its long legs able to climb walls and move at a frightening pace despite it’s small size. It’s venom powerful enough to paralyze it’s prey before it dragged it away.

In short, exactly what I needed.

Glancing back, I made eye contact with an old stallion pony who was watching me. I winked at him and he gaped in surprise as I suddenly melted into my usual blob self.

He shuffled farther back into his cell as I snapped a tendril at the spider, seizing it and consuming it in a heartbeat.

Consumed:

Black Jumping Spider [1]— Health Increased — Mimic Acquired

With a thought, I shifted into a frighteningly large spider, with long hairy legs that looked like they were covered in razor sharp spines as opposed to hairs because of their sheer size. Having eight eyes and eight legs was disorienting at first, but newfound instincts yet again helped me compensate.

The old stallion tried to stay as invisible as possible as I shrunk down to about half the size of a pony and took to a wall with ease.

Shrinking might be the wrong word. It was more like I willed my mass away somehow, and I could probably do it in reverse to make myself gigantic. I don't know how it works, but it's magic. Magic ain’t gotta explain shit.

With a single leg I pushed open the door slowly and peeked into the next hallway, noting the single guard looking suspiciously at the half open door. In the shadows of the torchlight and his belief that someone would walk through at any moment, I quickly slipped through at the top of the doorway and made a beeline up the wall.

It was then I made a startling discovery. Not only do my mimics give me a disguise, they give me the strengths of the creature I ate on top of my own. Spiders are naturally very swift for their size, and when added onto my own extra speed and the fact that I was a much larger spider, I nearly slammed into the ceiling in my haste.

After taking a moment to compensate, I adapted to my speed and sped across the roof easily until I was directly over the guard. After a minute, he turned forward again, facing a long hallway, and muttered something about drafty halls and loose doors. I could move on ahead, but the hall was long enough that there was a good chance he'd spot me in his peripheral vision.

Planting myself flat against the ceiling, I worked my spider mandibles into the stone until I had made a small pebble. I snagged with a tendril and let it hang on a long string. I whipped it far out into the hall and slung it back, being sure to reabsorb the whip-like appendage. The pebble flew true and zipped right across the guard's nose.

He snorted and recoiled before planting his spear back towards the dungeons, yelling out angrily.

"WHO GOES THERE!? SHOW YOURSELF!"

He soon charged off down the hall, determined to arrest an escaped prisoner, leaving my quietly cackling spidery self to skitter away.

I came to a few crossroads, and picked the paths that smelled like fresh air. It was rather easy to avoid the moving guards, because I could traverse any hall just by following directly above their heads.

My luck could not last forever though, for as I finally found another set of stairs going up, I was also discovered.

"Hey Look! A Star Spider! Kill it, quick!"

A spear rebounded off the stone just inches away from me, and I skittered forward with all haste, simultaneously dodging another spear as the small patrol of three took chase. After another few close calls, one of them flew up close and punched me, intending to crush me against the ceiling. To be fair, he did, but the end result was far different than he was expecting.

-15 Health

I let go of the ceiling as his hoof retracted and suddenly melted onto his form, engulfing his leg and going after his wings for a quick takedown. He shrieked in surprise and struggled in the air.

"What the hay is this!? Help me!"

With a thought, my mass suddenly quadrupled, dragging the thestral down and giving me enough mass to lash out and seize another of the trio. I spread out other tendrils to suspend my main body in the air and moved quickly on the last guard. Once my signature "eyes" came back, I looked all the world like a giant, inky, octopus.

Understandably, he screamed.

I snatched him up as well and muffled his yelling, but I could already hear a large amount of metal stomping toward me. I quickly started climbing, taking the three guards with me and doubly muting their yelling. I flattened myself against the ceiling once more, and remained absolutely still as a large party of guards came thundering through. One paused and picked up a fallen spear left by one of my prisoners. He glanced about in confusion, at one point even looking directly at me, but he only saw deep shadows, so he soon rejoined the rest.

Feeling a bit like a horror movie, -whatever that is but the reference feels right- I plastered the three guards to the ceiling with some of my mass, leaving them gagged and staring at me with wide eyes.

System Message: Excess Health removed.

I dropped back to the ground with a wet thud, and shrunk down again before their eyes. Once I had the appropriate mass, I shifted back into an armored thestral and continued on my way, leaving the struggling guards to be discovered later.

After leaving behind a dozen more turns, I came across what had to be bunk rooms, as a quick glance into one revealed minimal possessions and - well - bunks. Just where one would expect guards to stay.

I soon heard some commotion from down the hall and came across some very familiar laughter. A peek into the room revealed the first thestral I had encountered tearing the room apart and stealing its more valuable contents. I got a sudden sense of deja vu, like I had seen something similar before, though, once again, I had no idea what had happened in my past.

I flicked a pony ear as someone else approached. They might have already found the guards and figured out my little trick, so I quickly slipped in as Scarlet's back was turned. I slipped down to the ground in a puddle and silently closed the door behind me.

Even as Scarlet tore the room apart before me, I kept a careful watch on the approaching guards with my other senses. They stopped at the end of the hall and began checking rooms.

Right before they reached the room Scarlet and I were in, another guard called out to them from down the hall, running toward them loudly. I could just make out his words despite the nearly sound-proofed door.

"Sergeant Firefly Sir! We found the missing squad! It's bizarre sir, but we found them stuck to the ceiling in black gunk. They say a mutant shadow slime has infiltrated the guard and is headed toward the surface, SIR!"

His superior answered instantly with a strikingly calm voice.

"Private, what do you mean by "infiltrated?" It should be rather easy to pick out a slime."

"Sir! They said after it trapped them, It shrunk and reformed into a thestral guard, armor and all, Sir!"

"Shape-shifting? Private! Return to your squad. Be certain you watch your flank. I don't need doppelgangers mixed into this mess. Corporal Wings! Notify Captain Silent Watch immediately. Let him know we have a "Mimic Slime" on the loose and that we await his orders."

This was very bad for me, they had caught on to my little trick and would be suspicious of any of my mimics. I glanced back into my room and found Scarlet was just about done destroying it. I moved to her duffel bag and mentally grinned as I clung to the bottom, having found my way out. Scarlet soon dropped the last few valuables in and zipped it up before pulling it out the window with her.

I found myself being carried through an open training field, outside at last, and toward a distant bunker-like building. The sun was slowly rising and I could barely see a sliver of the giant golden orb. I dropped down after a group of ponies passed and began to sneak away from my ride, toward some bushes across the way.

Or at least I would have if the sun hadn't suddenly accelerated its climb. In a sudden burst of movement, the sun had fully risen.

-5 Health
-5 Health
-5 Health
-5 Health
-3 Health

I am extremely glad I didn't have vocal chords at that exact moment, as I would have revealed my location to the surrounding three miles. I turned a desperate 180, streaked back to Scarlet, and dove straight through the bottom of the duffel bag into sweet, sweet darkness.

Imagine the most painful thing that has ever happened to you.

My pain can curb-stomp your pain.

This was equal to being stabbed through the dick by a dull, rusty sword- that was just in a forge- covered in lemon juice. Twice! With a little twist and a sprinkle of lava!

Remind me to suddenly develop a healthy paranoid fear of sunlight and all it stands for. Oh wait, nevermind.

I suppose I'll hang here for awhile.

Author's Note

STATS:

Shadow Slime
Lv. 02
Health: 127/150
Attack: 34
Defense: 56
Speed: 55
Magic: 8/10

SKILLS:

Consume -- The Power to Assimilate any object or creature and enhance the user with its properties.
Mimic -- The Power to recreate the parts, abilities, magic, and form of any creature consumed by user.
Unlimited Potential -- The ability to grow stronger.
Omni-Sense -- All Available Cardinal senses significantly boosted. (Includes Magic Sense)
Concealment -- Ability to blend into most environments via body manipulation.

MAGIC:

Magic Shot -- Raw magic with no elemental affinity capable of mild destructive force. (3 Magic to Cast)

SPECIAL:

Physical Resistance -- Basic buff - Additional Defense against physical attacks.
Weak to Sunlight -- Race Debuff - Take gradual damage in direct sunlight despite any Defense Stat. Effect cannot be nullified with Mimic Skill. Indirect sunlight does not cause this effect, refracted light though glass the sole exception.