There are many theories about what happens after one’s death; heaven, hell, valhalla, the underworld, the cycle of reincarnation. Many religions had many versions of the afterlife, you had been a staunch Christian, you have read the Lord’s word, committed it to heart and memory, followed his law and will without hesitation or doubt.

So then, why, oh why were you forsaken so?

Every little movement brought untold agony. Every breath was a herculean struggle. through the fog of pain and panic you could barely feel something off about your surroundings, but you could not muster enough focus to discern what was happening, all your mind knew was agony.

then, as quickly and abruptly as it happened, it stopped, and you slipped into blissful oblivion.

Awareness came to you slowly, just the act of shifting on your side was a struggle. You coughed, choking on nothing and fighting to draw the slightest breath.

After a couple of minutes of struggle, you finally managed to open your eyes, something became apparent, and you screamed. fatigue all but forgotten, you scrambled to your feet, or, well, at least tried to; the only inconvenience being that:

Pick only one

[] You were nothing more than a twisting mass of vegetation! ( woodlands affinity, weakness to fire, greater chance for nature related perks )

[] You were some kind of underwater abomination! ( sea affinity, weakness to arid land, greater chance for sea related perks )

[] You were an icy monstrosity! ( cold affinity, weakness to heat, greater chance for frost and snow related perks )

[] You were an abomination of molten rock! ( heat affinity, weakness to cold, greater chance for earth and fire related perks )

[] You were nothing but a roiling mass of pure darkness and smoke! ( darkness affinity, weakness to light, greater chance for darkness related perks )

[] You were a monstrous thing, a walking sin, an undead, blood drinking monster! ( night affinity, weakness to day, greater chance for undeath related perks)

And that wasn’t even the worst part, because before you could properly have a panic attack, you were assaulted by what could only be described as.

Pick only one

[] A yawning abyss within your very being, gnawing on your very soul, demanding to be satiated! ( diet: reality )

[] A horrible pang of hunger, so great and terrible it forced you to twist and curl into yourself and howl in agony! ( diet: flesh )

[] An unquenchable thirst that forced a choked, hoarse scream out of your dry throat ( diet: blood )

[] A void within your soul, a deep yearning for something that left you feeling restless and unsettled ( diet: mind )

You howled and screamed and screeched into the night. Your mind fading with every twitch and breath, giving way to primal instinct ‘the hunger! it hurts, it hurts! make it stop!’ Then, when the last scraps of conscious thought were being overtaken by the feral desperation, a short, horror filled sound caught your attention.

The creature was some sort of colorful humanoid equine. You couldn’t quite tell why, but you felt as if you should know what it was, but your withered mind could only focus on one thing ‘Hunt! Feed!’

Without hesitation, you lunged at the creature as fast as your body allowed. It screamed, turning and fleeing. It was quick but you were fueled by sheer desperation and the feral urge to hunt down the fleeing thing.

The chase had lasted for a while now. The moon was past it’s zenith. The creature knew the terrain, ducking and weaving to try and throw you off it’s tail, but it couldn’t hide from you.

Pick only one

[] You could smell it, smell it’s fear ( enhanced senses, initial perk)

[] It was like a flame, bright and alluring, calling to you with it’s siren song ( soul sense, initial perk )

It looked back at you, the terror in it’s face only spurning you further. It screamed something, but you couldn’t recognize the words, nor did you have enough cognitive capability to care. All you cared about was getting ahold on your prey.

But just as the prey was within grabbing distance, a different kind of pain splashed against your side!

You screeched, writhing for a moment before turning to face the threat. It was more prey, clad in metal, some had wings, others had horns, others were bigger, it did not matter, you would feed all the same!

One of them barked and shouted at the rest, the prey moved to surround you, but you did not care, charging at the closest one. It tried to raise a round metal piece, but you were too fast. The loud crack it made as you sent it flying was oh so satisfying, but it also sent a painful spike through your body, the creature had nicked you with it’s sharp metal.

Roaring you made to lunge at it and finish it off, but a blast of agony reminded you of the presence of the others. Hissing you jumped away from another blast of not-fire, growling at the prey that was hurling them at you.

They had you surrounded, the big ones with sharp and round-ish metal closing in, the winged ones flying up with wooden things, and the horned ones beginning to make more of the not-fire. You roared, leaping over the big ones.

The flying ones shot wooden sticks with glowing metal tips, they hurt but far less than the not-fire. You caught one of the flying ones by the leg, it screamed as you brought it down, landing atop it but having to leap away to avoid more of the not-fire.

Getting frustrated, you charged the horned ones, dodging the glowing sticks and the not-fire as much as you could; only to stumble as the big ones charged into you, sending you in a tumble with a indignant yelp and growl.

More shouts, they closed in again, and you had to dodge sharp metal, glowing sticks and not-fire. You would not be able to beat them all, but your hunger demanded being sated. Then, you spotted your chance, the first big one you charged and the winged one you caught were being taken away.

Roaring, you launched yourself at the big ones! bowling them over and running at full speed towards the horned one taking your prey away. They shouted and screamed, and you felt pain shoot through your back as the not-fire and glowing sticks impacted your body!

Powering through the pain with sheer rage, you crashed against the screaming horned one. It was done! you had your prey! But you would need to flee, and you could not carry all three.

Pick only one

[] The earth pony

[] The pegasus

[] The unicorn

There was no time to hesitate, your grip tightened around your chosen prey, and you fled as fast as you could, the other creatures tried to give chase, but you were running away as fast as your body allowed, and soon their shouts were nothing but an echo in the distance. Your catch screamed and struggled, but your greep was firm, it would go nowhere.

Author's Note

so, yeah, another quest, couldn't help myself.

this character was inspired by the "creature of the night CYOA" (can't link, it shows blood so i dunno if it's allowed)