Dormitabis

"Here, human. Have some soup. It will help your nerves loose their droop."

The Inventor gave a confused look to the cloaked Zebra as she had taken him back to her home in this... forest. This strange forest in an even stranger world. He couldn't recall much from a time before today, or even last night, but he knew for a fact animals aren't meant to talk, much less stand on two feet. Not ALL of them, at least.

Hesitantly, he reached out, taking the bowl from the generous anthro and tipping it back against his lips. Drinking down the soup, he felt the gnawing ache in his stomach soothe, something in this liquid meal making him calm down. Yet, despite his nerves loosening, his mind still buzzed with questions. Picking up on this, the Zebra took a seat.

"I see your mind still lingers questions. Perhaps, some answers will simmer your mental aggression?"

The Inventor gave another glance at her, now figuring out that she'll only speak in rhymes. Rolling his eyes, he took another sip of the soup before sighing out in content, now calm enough to ask without freaking out.

"... Where am I...?"

The cloaked Zebra tilted her head.

"To answer your question, there are many suggestions. If you are searching for where you reside now, you sit within my home with your chow."

She motioned towards the outside.

"If you are curious about the country, then I will give the name bluntly. The Kingdom of Equestria is where you stand, and no longer in the time and space of which you were planned."

Equestria... That's the name of this place? That explains the horse-like homosapiens. With a name like that, he can only assume that this world, or maybe even just this so-called Kingdom, is inhabited by those Pony girls. Seems like it was strictly a female society as well, which the Inventor didn't really know how to feel about. Taking another sip, he eyed the Zebra.

"Who are you...?"

She turned her hand around, ushering with her fuzzy fingers towards herself.

"I am Zecora, ancient one. I live out here in the midst of this forest, procuring my potions and brews in weather either the coldest or hottest."

"Zecora... Hmm..."

"Would you care to tell me your name, human...?"

The Inventor blinked as he turned his gaze forward. Try as he might, he couldn't even remember THAT. Feeling a sharp pain whenever he'd try to dig deeper, he shook his head.

"I... I don't know... I don't know my name."

"You... do not?"

He shook his head.

"I can't... I can't remember. It's like a thousand needles pricking my brain every time I try. It's so... fuzzy. All I can remember clearly is a white light, then the next I can recall is feeling a... some kind of..."

He gritted his teeth as he gripped his head, dropping the empty bowl as he growled. Zecora looked him over, watching as something seemed to squirm from beneath the blankets that cover his back. Tensing at the wavelengths of hatred they gave off, she gently soothed the human.

"Be still, human. You mustn't let your nerves consume you, even if you do not have a clue."

She picked up the bowl, bringing it over to her cauldron and setting it down on the desk beside it.

"Within you is a nasty parasite, one that stems from hatred and spite."

The Inventor calmed himself down again when hearing this, feeling it leave the moment he registered what she said.

"Hatred and spite...? But, I don't know what I hate? I can't really FEEL spite for anything. All I am is just... confused, and hungry."

"Hunger is but a side effect to the purpose of the sludge..."

She lifted up a small vial of the same substance that was once wrapped around the human in his monstrous state. The thick liquid didn't seem agitated, but it was, indeed, alive.

"For this is a legend with a grudge..."

The human looked up at the small bottle, seeing the slime push up against the glass nearest to him. He could feel it... calling to him, ushering him closer so it could take him. He shook his head, clearing his mind of the voice and shifting away.

"I can remember the time I was in... that. I don't know what it is, but it... someone was there before I became that. Before I felt that... unbearable hunger and..."

He slowly widened his eyes before standing.

"Oh god...! The people! The people I...! Oh fuck, what did I do...?"

"Calm yourself, my little creature. I can assure you that an innocent's death is not part of this parasite's feature."

He turned to her as she poured a drop of the thing into her cauldron, stirring it quickly so it could dissolve into the other products thrown in with it.

"It would appear that your leech favors leaving its victims alive. So caring for a beast who uses others' magical essence to thrive."

She brushed her hand under her chin as the human walked to the window, staring out into the foliage beyond the hut.

"... I need to find out what happened..."

Zecora looked back at him as he trudged towards his seat.

"I don't know what it is, but... SOMETHING... wants me to know. Like a part of myself is screaming at me to remember."

Zecora was quick, pulling the blanket back over the human and guiding him towards the bedding beyond the seat.

"In your condition now, I am afraid your ambition for adventure I must disallow. You are frail as you are, and some rest is needed to cure everything within you that is bizarre."

She sat him down again, ensuring that everything she had was, at the very least, comfortable.

"When you awaken, if you are feeling well, we will discuss whether venturing is forsaken. I know I am no parent or guardian to you, but in this land, such a creature as yourself is nonexistent and will surely find females coo."

The Inventor ran her words through his head, trying to piece together what she was saying. Then, it hit him. She said that Equestria was an all-female society. Nowhere in this country is there a single, sentient guy. Having him just walk around freely would guarantee the stress and anger provoking the... thing that he was earlier, or even worse, get him captured by the wrong people of the wrong group.

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right... I'll take a minute, at least for right now. I need a minute to try and think, anyways..."

He turned over and laid down, using the extra blankets as pillows to lay his head against as the throbbing in his skull continued. Zecora, watching him, gave a sympathetic frown beyond her shadowed head. Brushed her fingers through the human's hair, she offered her two cents to comfort him.

"You will be safe here. Nopony would find you out this way, for not many wander so far within these woods without a seer."

The human didn't react, but Zecora could feel him loosen up the rest of his nerves. Giving a small smile, she brushed her hand over his arm before standing and leaving him to slumber. Returning to her cauldron, she eyed the dark liquid within the vial before glancing at the contents within the large, steel bowl.

"So volatile, yet... so calm. Perhaps this "Venom" sees Pony kind with no qualm..."

She hummed before flipping the pages in an old book.

"I shall give this a closer inspection in my research..."

Within his dreams, the Inventor saw nothing but a blur of oranges and red. Flickering lights were all around, teasing him through a lens that made everything less focused than it was. He couldn't make out the shapes, but the colors, the way the oranges and reds flicked and twitched about on certain things. He was almost sure he was standing... somewhere, and all around him, the buildings were set ablaze. It was his most logical guess, as the heat emanating from them was almost unbearable.

"You never stood a chance to begin with..."

He turned around, seeing an equally-blurry figure striding towards him.

"Not now... nor when you first opposed me."

He turned down the other way, seeing the figure closer than he was before, and now walking from the other side of this burning path.

"All of your attempts to escape my grasp have failed, just as your attempts to stop me have failed... and now..."

The sound of shearing metal made the Inventor step away from the figure.

"You will-"

*FLASH*

The Inventor quickly rose up his arms as he was assaulted by the flash of what appeared to be from a VERY large camera lens, or perhaps even a flashbang. Shaking his head as the light faded, he found himself elsewhere. Somewhere that was more... peaceful. He was in a roofless house under a beautiful, brightly lit night sky. The furniture, the rooms, and even the overall aura of the place felt homely and snug, as if he was already wrapped in blankets full of love. Shivering at the feeling, he brushed his hands over one another as he wandered the home, looking out the windows and seeing that same starry sky all around. It didn't take long for him to deduce that his dreams carried him unexpectedly to this tiny house in the middle of a rather comfortable void.

With the previous scenario forgotten, for now, the human reentered the living room after exploring the kitchen, glancing about once again as the stars above the house seemed to... move. It was faint, and looked to be very weak. When it became noticeable, the human turned up and watched the twinkling dots as they seemed to gather at one point, then gently circle around one another. In their circling, they formed a full moon shape with their speed, and as they revved up their power, the blinding light returned. This time, no more than a second passed before a new presence filled the area. A sense of regalness that was missed for a couple centuries at best. With that moon shape turning a vibrant light lavender, the blue hue peeled away and floated down to a hill that could be seen on the other side of the roof, despite the rest of the ares looking like a void. As the illuminated sphere touched down, a low hum came as it faded, allowing the human to meet, face to face, with one of the many he'd come to regret his actions towards.

"You..."

The dark blue Alicorn didn't acknowledge the human at first. She was too busy relishing in the fact that, despite it being a thousand years, and most of her natural power had been devoured, she was still able to travel to and from the dream realm. Her mane, which was still just discharged blue locks and bangs, drifted to the side in the nonexistent wind, showing signs of the strands, unlike her sister. This alone proved she still had a long way ahead of her before she could be at her full potential again.

"Hmm... Such a peaceful aura this area carries."

She rolled over onto her back, placing her hands on her stomach.

"And yet, despite this setting, I have only been able to find you through your incredibly weaker link to the dream world than the others that drown in slumber amidst my nights."

The Inventor stared up at the horse lady as she turned her head back, eyeing him curiously through her upside-down vision.

"How strange. Here we believed when we stripped thou from thine current dream, we would see no less than a monster in need of punishment."

She rolled back over, blinking at him before giving a small, playful smirk.

"And yet, we see not a monster, but a wandering dreamer in need of correction."

She flapped her wings, bringing her into the air and spreading them out to allow her a glide to the house. Landing upon the table gently, she gave a curt and respectful bow to the human.

"Greetings, ancient youngling. We are ever so delighted to see thy is no horrendous monstrosity."

"Erm..."

The Princess looked up, spotting the human sizing her up.

"It's... you. You were that... that horse lady in black... weren't you...?"

"Hmm...? Thou doesn'th remember?"

She gave a small flap to right herself, folding her wings as she tilted her head.

"It was thou who hath saved us from the clutches of our mistakes, no? We remember you quite well, especially after the fact."

She ushered to his face, drifting a small star to his cheek and trailing it down to his arm.

"Your halved face, and thou arm. We saw it in thine panic. We apologize for appearing before you in... circumstances last night, but we have made many an error, and it resulted in our downfall."

Now the human was intrigued. With his own identity cast second to hers, he tilted his head back as he walked to the side a bit to get a better look at this anthro woman.

"Downfall...? Who are you?"

The female smiled as she ushered to herself.

"Thou shalt refer to us as Princess Luna Solaris. We are... were one of the two co-rulers of the Kingdom many know as Equestria. Back before our banishment, we were known as the Goddess of the Moon, and the Guardian of Dreams."

She turned her hand up, gesturing the colored moon.

"Our job was to raise and lower the moon so that our sister could do the same with the sun. Through this cycle, we bring about day and night for our Kingdom and others."

"Wait, you RAISE and LOWER the Sun and Moon? That... is both really weird and kinda cool..."

Luna tilted her head again.

"Thou is an ancient species upon this planet, dear human, but thou cannot tell us that thou hasn'th been around before Equestria was founded."

"Well... That's the thing. I don't... I don't remember where, or even WHEN I'm from. I know my age, what I look like, and a lot of other things about where I'm from, but..."

He grunted as he tried and failed once more to recount any closer memories.

"It's like something's keeping me from remembering my more... personal memories. The memories that tell me who I am... I know for a fact that where I come from, there aren't any like you, Princess."

"Any like... us? What dost thou inquire?"

The Inventor merely shrugged back.

"I could be eluding to anything at this point. I'm so frustrated, confused, and scared shitless that I wasn't even making sense when I woke up after... all of that."

He turned and threw his arms out as Luna's face became more serious and firm, her mind calculating what she's being told and trying to piece anything about it together, as if it were evidence, or a piece of a bigger puzzle.

"I mean, for crying out loud, I don't even have a single CLUE what this Kingdom is! I was just told its name SECONDS ago right after I was also privy to the fact that I'm carrying some sort of goddamn hate sludge in my body!"

He groaned as the said sludge slithered from his back, crawling over his clothes before disappearing back into him. Luna, watching this, shook her head.

"Thou mustn't let thy anger control your state of mind, human. Compared to it, and how much of it you have, the dark magic can easily contort your urges, your mind's basic carnal desires. After all, it has done so with us."

The human turned back to Luna as she walked towards him, being slow as she didn't want to alarm or provoke him.

"For a thousand years, we have been trapped in the moon, isolated from the world because our own rage and jealousy overpowered us. It changed us... morphed our mind... into something darker. Just as it did with you, it sought for its own goal in our mind as well. A hunger for fame, for recognition. Unlike thou, we were only so spiteful to generate but a drop of the ghastly amorphous magic my sister and her subjects call "Venom"."

She took his hands into her own.

"But thou hast freed us, human. Even if unintentionally, we are forever grateful for your actions in our last encounter. The darkness no longer lives within us, but now swims within your bloodstream. Thus, we have approached thou in thine dreams to speak with thee."

The human noted how Luna's speech seemed to change in subtle ways between olden and modern. He guessed in the day she's been back, she already grew accustomed to using words like "you" instead of "thou" on occasions.

"Why would you want to speak with me, Princess? If I really am this... monster, why would you want to approach me, knowing the risk of either being devoured, or given back that darkness, this... "Venom"...?"

She gave a short giggle in return.

"Dear human, thou cannot transfer such harmful magic mentally. While it is true that our projected states can still feel mental anguish from these magical tantabi, our bodies must be within the appropriate distance to transfer the magic."

She released his hands, bring hers around behind her and shifting her wings uncomfortably.

"And as for our reasons to confront you, we have come for two reasons. We wish to extend our friendship to thee."

"Friendship...?"

She nodded.

"Aside from myself, there are no others who are... out of their element. Much less, we both do not know Equestria as it is today. It would be beneficial to bond with one another by learning the ways of this new culture together, no...?"

She twiddled her thumbs before clearing her throat, looking less like a Princess now and more like that shy Pegasus the human saved whilst within this... "Venom" thing she kept referring to.

"In other words, we have come to make peace between our sex and our species, if that makes any sense to thou."

The Inventor kept his long, confused stare centered on the lunar entity for some time before he shook his head.

"The first thing we're gonna do is get you acquainted with modern English-"

"Equus."

"-whatever. Deal?"

She beamed as her wings spread in joy.

"Thy terms shall be accepted, dear human! Dost thou have a name we can call you?"

"Uh... Not really. I don't really remember that, either. Why don't you just call me..."

He thought back onto himself in the present. Without the costume, he could vaguely remember some more instinctual parts about himself. Common knowledge that came with experience from a time and place sealed away behind that headache-inducing force.

He was good with gadgets. Inventions that he can make by simply putting two simple items, right down to the tiniest bit of scrap, together. The same can be said with mixing drinks together with the strange purple vials he found in his torn blazer upon waking up in Zecora's hut.

Thinking on this, he came up with an alias that's been hinted at his occupation throughout this venture into the unknown.

"Inventor. Just, for right now, call me the Inventor."

She nodded, fluttering up into the air happily. It hadn't been no more than a few hours since her return, and she's already found a friend to call her own. Granted, her sister wanted him captured, as she felt the human posed too much of a danger to modern Equestria's society, and while she is right, Luna can aid the Inventor in controlling who to target and lock the hunger of the "Venom" suit on. After all, letting it run rampant will ensure she and Celestia get thrice the Scrolls about monster attacks than they do right now.

The Inventor watched her float and giddily dance around the room, noting how childish she's being while also keeping a regal and graceful posture while doing it. It was almost like she was... prancing.

...

'Oh, right. Ponies...'

Shaking his head as he took a seat on the couch, the eager Princess landed on the other across the coffee table.

"Shall we begin the lessons, fair Inventor?"

The Inventor, feeling more relaxed and comfortable around THIS mare over the others, let some of his snarky personality show.

"As long as it gets you to stop referring to yourself as "we", then yes."

Almost instantly, the lunar Princess buzzed with a pout.

"You do not respect the Royal We? It is tradition to speak and address ourselves as such, and to use--"

"--THIS MUCH VOLUME WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS!!!"

The Inventor felt the wind slam against his face as the couch toppled over.

"OOOOOOH... SHIT...!!"

He pushed himself over, getting himself back up before pointing at her.

"OKAY, lower the volume, first of all. That is WAY too much."

"Too much? I do not understand."

"Wh-What?!"

He pointed to the couch.

"Whaddya mean, you don't understand?! You tipped over the couch on the first try."

She pouted at him again as he chuckled, his hands on his knees as he recuperated. Grabbing the couch from behind, he threw it back up.

"Alright, let's try this again..."

"Oh, dear..."

Zecora glanced over her notes as she flipped the pages of the old book, biting her lip as she delved deeper and deeper into the logs and findings of the scientist's notes from long ago. Having had the book on "Venom" ever since it came out, the knowledge of the bestial slime came almost instantly to Zecora. She knew of its corruption factor, what it can do, what it wants out of each and every host, and most importantly: how powerful it was.

And while there was a case later reported that Nightmare Moon, the entity that was said to be vanquished recently, held a small amount of "Venom" after generating it, she pales in comparison to the human. In every case, only a drop or two was made, as Ponies were normally such docile and friendly creatures. She could expect a pint or more from a Dragon or a scorned Griffon. The findings, however, all stated that the incidents back then, and the incident with Nightmare Moon, all held traces of "Venom" that was very, very faint.

But the human... The amount of the liquid magic he holds can fill up a gallon container, and that was the BEST case scenario. Never in the history books on this creature, nor in the research that was publicized, was there ever a reaction like the one that occurred with the human. She had not seen the monster itself, but rumors around Ponyville, and even a picture taken by a photographer going through town, showed Zecora just how big and how lethal this incarnation was...

And it wasn't pretty. Not by a long shot.

Stepping away from the book, she turned back to the vial full of the hate sludge. Picking it up and giving it a light shake, it took exception and lunged at the glass, trying to break through. Frowning, she knew it would be of no use to study this matter. It was too volatile, too unstable. Only the human could ever hope to tame this vile blackness long enough to recede it. Unlike her own spirit, his was strong enough to become the dominant will in the symbiotic relationship, even if he is driven by a ceaseless magical hunger.

Pouring a specific amount of other potions into her cauldron, Zecora boiled it until the concoction turned a bright orange, and sizzled with enough heat to pass off as magma, or heavens forbid, unfiltered lava. Holding the vial up, she glared into the glass before dropping it into the large dome of steel.

"This dark matter is too dangerous for study, for the results of testing further will be quite bloody."

Watching it as it melted within the searing brew she mixed into being, she let out a defeated sigh.

"Only a will as strong as an ox can control such a deadly thing. I hope, in his mission to do so, that his gentle nature will not hang by a string."

As she stepped away from the cauldron, she made her way across the room to clean up her utensils, closing everything down for the night to get some well-deserved rest. As she turned away from the human, she failed to notice, when the sludge had been burned to nothing in the lava-like potion in the large pot...

He twitched.

"See? Here. You say it like this, and with a level volume, too. Do that too much, and you'll scare away anyone you approach by notoriety alone."

Luna leaned over the table, glancing to where the Inventor was pointing to. Squinting her eyes to read the sentence, she was so focused that she didn't see her new friend twitch.

As for the Inventor, he suddenly couldn't move, or more or less, he could...

"What the-"

*SMACK*

His body just wouldn't follow HIS commands. With his arm flying up, he not only smacked Luna, but threw her through the air, making her hit the podium between the living room and the kitchen. She gagged as she hit the ground, looking up as she spotted her new friend approaching her.

"Y-You hit... You would strike... your new friend...?"

The Inventor looked horrified. Not only because he hit Luna hard enough to make her bleed out the nose and down the side of her head, but by the fact that he couldn't move himself. Something else had control over his arms and legs.

"T-That wasn't me! Luna, I-"

He choked on his breath as the Princess could barely see, just past him, the tendrils she bore witness to in the "Venom" creature ensnaring his arms, his legs, his torso, and the back of his head.

"Luna...! I can't move...! What-What's going on?!"

The Princess of the Night quickly stood up, seeing the face of the demon within his heart.

"Do not worry, new friend! I... I will help you!"

That was a lie. She knew, in her current state, she couldn't do anything to aid him. In body and mind, he was too powerful for her, even as Nightmare Moon.

But, for him, for their friendship, she had to try. Reaching forward quickly, she aimed to magically chop the tendril on his right arm. The Inventor strafed to the side, avoiding her swing and looking to the side to avoid the rounding enveloped magic. Taking her extended arm, he pushed his hand into her chest and shoved her backwards violently, making her crack the counter and bounce her back forward.

Grunting at the pain in her back, Luna grasped the counter top and shot her legs towards the human, aiming for the tendril stuck to the back of his head. She gasped when he leaned backwards, dodging with a limbo and taking her legs before she could retract them. Twisting her over onto her stomach, she was slammed to the wall it was attached to before thrown over into the kitchen.

Whatever had control over the Inventor moved him through the doorway. He no longer could do anything but stare and speak, horrified that he was hurting the first connection, the first companion, he's made in this world.

"U-Um... Okay, uh... Luna, we can figure this out. Just-"

The force shoved him forward towards the collapsed mare, picking her up by her still-physical mane and smashing her face into the corner of the other side of the podium.

"Oh, god da-"

The Inventor did a double take behind him as his body yanked her mane back, ripping her from the podium and sending her crashing into the cabinets, breaking the doors and dropping a few plates out of them.

"Ho-Holy f- What the FUCK?!"

He was forced forward again, picking up plates and glasses along the way and shattering them upside her head as she tried to get up. On the fourth plate, she fell to the floor, slipping on the broken shards. Taking a step back unwillingly, he could see her with the moonlight cast over the room.

The fur on her face and the sides of her head were completely drenched in red. Her roman-styled white dressed was stained with her blood, and he could see that he'd broken a bone in the frontal area of her skull. Even a fuckin RIB was popping out.

Luna opened an eye, looking up at him as he gulped, looking down at her with shock and horror. She knew he wasn't doing this. She couldn't blame him. He will be forgiven for what happens tonight.

Still, she needs to act, lest her dream self be killed, and she would be thrown out of his mental space.

The Inventor subtly shook his head as he saw her try and get back up.

"Oh god, no. No, no, no. Luna, stay down. Please. Please, don't! Don't get u- STAY DOWN, Princess...!"

His words were unheeded and ignored as the Princess rose to her feet, grabbing the only thing she could use as a cutter for the tendrils. Taking up a kitchen knife, she took a swing and managed to cut the tendril holding his left arm, but its influence allowed it to heal almost instantly, retaining control as the other hand grasped her wrist and turned it. Feeling a crack in her elbow, she let out a cry as the knife dropped into the Inventor's other hand and went right into her shoulder.

"AAAAUGH!!!"

"OOOOH!!!"

Both parties in this dreamscape screamed out, either in pain or in shock as the Inventor's blade dug into the blue Pony's flesh, twisting past bone and shearing away at her tendons.

"J-Jesus Christ!!"

He watched as Luna staggered back into the living room, holding her shoulder as she tried to pull the knife out. She gasped again when her friend's hand took the blade's handle and ripped it out in the most unclean and painful way. He kicked her down to her knees, putting the blade to her mouth.

Before she could do anything else, his knee pressed on her back and the knife cut into her mouth and up, taking off the front part of her face.

In that instance of death, she awoke.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Celestia's eyes shot open the moment she heard the loudest Canterlot Voice she'd ever experienced, both before and after her sister's banishment. Sitting up her gold-colored night gown, she looked towards her sister's chambers, then quickly threw the covers away. Not caring for her attire, nor any of her regal wears, she sprinted to her little sister's room, where multiple guards were gathering around.

"Out of my way! Clear the area!"

The guardsmares did as they were told, making way for Celestia as she slammed open Luna's doors.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

"Get my sister to the clinic!"

She stomped her foot into the floor when they weren't on it the second after that command was given.

"NOW!!!!!!"