Man in the Monster

 The air around you is very tense. It's uncomfortable, and makes you shift in your seat.

 You had just come to minutes ago.  The Voice of Reason explained to you what was happening without cracking even one smart comment.

 So the situation was pretty serious.

 He's been controlling your body for days while you were gone. Somehow, he ended up in your body while you were in his. And he really doesn't like what he's seen.

 For one, you've gotten yourself a possible life in prison.

 Aaron, your trusted friend and lawyer, has always remained confident in these types of things, and has always been able to get you out of sticky situations.

 You don't think you can say the same for today.

 "Zach, did your eyes just change color?" He looks a little startled.

 The Voice of Reason controls your tongue as you try to get your bearings. "I... don't think so. I can't see them, so I wouldn't know."

 He looks a little annoyed at your last comment, and mumbles something about needing glasses. He looks down at his papers and back up again, studying you.

 "Zach, remember, don't have that 'swag' look in court today. You need to look innocent, and use your troubled past to your advantage."

 Your head isn't on straight, and your trial is today. Definitely a bad omen.

 This time, you speak. "Yeah Aaron, sure..."

 Your seeming lack of interest frustrates him. "Zach! They want to put you in prison for LIFE! Your

whole future depends on this!"

 You're a bit surprised by his outburst. Aaron has always been a calm guy, and only rarely has he ever yelled. He's obviously stressed.

 And when Aaron's stressed, it's bad news.

 "Sorry, Zach. I'm just a bit edgy right now. I'm really worried about you. I'm worried that you're going to waste your whole life in prison. I always hoped that someday you would have a job, a life, maybe even a family..."

 For the first time in years, you feel something. Disappointment. Guilt.

 He sees the sudden emotion in you and looks shocked. He's obviously surprised that after going this long without a single tear and barely ever a smile, your face is now showing

sadness.

 You decide to go with it. "I-I'm sorry, Aaron. I just always felt the need to prove myself worthy. That's why I joined the gang. But in the end," you look at your orange prison suit, "I did the opposite."

 A guard pokes his head through the door, ruining your bonding moment. "Five minutes. You should probably head out now."

 Aaron stands up and holds out his hand. He puts on a forced smile and says, "Good luck."

 You shake his hand. "No need for that. I'm dead already."

 The trial turned out as expected.

 Aaron's case was crushed.

 The jury decided you were guilty.

 You were to serve life in prison without parole.

 What did you expect? This wasn't the first time you had killed someone, and you wouldn't have expected any different if it was.

 As you are lead down the court hallways and into a squad car, you think about your friends, the ones you failed, and the gang.

 The gang.

 You hoped if they hadn't already, that they would go into hiding. The police were bound to be looking them.

 -Why do you defend your gang? They got you into this mess.

 You would think that. But I'm clear from emotions driving my thoughts, so I'm a bit more shrewd. I know it wasn't their fault. It was my choice to join them in the first place, and so I messed up my own life. I deserve this.

 -Zach. You have two lives now, so it doesn't matter if one of them is messed up. But I don't think I do.

 What?

 -I've been stuck inside your body for three days. You came back, but I can feel your soul slipping away right now. Let's face it. We're switching lives.

 You feel a twinge of guilt. You've not only failed everyone you know, but now you've pulled another soul into this mess.

 I'm sorry for all of this.

 -It's okay. Just don't forget that it's my body that you'll be controlling, so don't mess it up.

 Somehow, even in this dire situation, he still manages to fit in a joke.

I won't mess up. I promise.

 -And also, remember this. I'm there to fight for you when you need me.

 You try to inquire more of him, but are sucked backwards suddenly, everything becoming a tiny speck surrounded by a huge, dark void.

 You are Rainbow Dash, and something is wrong with you.

 It was after the party that you first felt it. It was like another presence was with you, trying to free itself from the deepest corners of your mind.

 At first you dismissed it, even though the thought of something else in your head was very eery.

 Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash. Don't be such a scaredy-hooves.

 Then, three nights later, you had a dream.

 In your dream, you were walking in a meadow of flowers, something you would never admit to doing if other ponies were around.

 That's when an unusual being walked up to you. It wore a funny torn garb, and walked on two legs. It had no fur, aside from a small a patch on its head.

 It walked up to you, curiously. It cocked his head and examined you.

 You didn't know what to think. You've never seen such a strange-looking creature before. It didn't seem very threatening, but you kept your guard up.

 Then it spoke. "Is this heaven?"

 From its voice, you guessed it was male.

 You couldn't help but give him a look.

 "Um, no."

 He looked around.

 "Where am I then?"

 You looked around too. You actually didn't know where this was yourself.

 Odd. "I don't know. We're probably somewhere on the edge of Ponyville."

 "Ponyville?"

 You raise an eyebrow. "You're not from here, are you?"

 "Obviously not." He gestures to himself, pointing out the differences between you and him.

 "Okay okay, don't get smart about it. After all, I'm the one who's going to find our way home."

 "Fine."

 "Here, let me fly up and observe the area. I'll probably be able to see Ponyville, and then you can ride on my back all the way there."

 His mouth is agape. "You can fly?"

 You extend your wings and roll your eyes. "Naww..."

 He frowns. "At least now I know for sure this isn't heaven."

 "And why's that?"

 "Because you're no angel."

 You give him an angry look, but then laugh.

 This kid's actually pretty funny.

 "I like you, kid." You fly up to his height and ruffle his mane (if you can even call it that). You then fly up as high as you can.

 Just flowers and trees as far as you can see.

 If we're in the Everfree Forest, Ponyville should be north, so I can probably tell which way to go from the sun.

 It's afternoon, so the sun should be west.

 You put the sun on your left and search for any signs of your town.

 Still just flowers and trees.

 You fly back down to your new friend, and tell him what's up.

 He gives you a nod, and starts walking north.

 "What are you doing?"

 He stops and looks at you.

 "I thought we were heading back to Ponyville."

 "Yeah, but we can't walk. That would take too long."

 "Well, I don't have wings. What do you suppose we do?"

 "You can ride on my back."

 He gives you a skeptical look. "Don't you think that would be a bit... hard for you?"

 "What do you mean by that?"

 "Well, I'm like three times your size. No offense, but I don't think you're strong enough."

 You huff and bend your back legs slightly, beckoning him to climb on. "Try me."

 He sighs, sits on your back and wraps his arms around your neck.

 He -is- pretty heavy, but not too heavy for you.

 You start out slow. You warm up your wings, then slowly increase the speed that they're flapping at.

 They get faster, faster, and faster. The creature on your back is starting to get nervous.

 All of a sudden, you give one large, hard flap, and jump. You're high in the air, with the one who doubted you gripping your chest for dear life.

 You start doing barrel rolls, flips, and dives. He's screaming now, and is giving you an unimaginable squeeze that you would have never expected to come from such skinny limbs.

 You decide to show him the big guns. You fly high, very high, higher than the clouds.

 You look back at him once you get to the desired elevation. He's looking at you with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

 You smirk at him, feeling triumphant. "Ready?"

 Somehow, his eyes get bigger. "Please don't..."

 You take a nosedive, and he screams for mercy. You ignore him, and flap harder, trying to gain as much as much speed as possible.

 The air whistles through your feathers, getting higher and higher in pitch. It creates a kind of tickling sensation, one you've always loved.

 You're going so fast that you can no longer hear him screaming. Your eyes dry out, and the air around you vibrates.

 Suddenly, it happens.

 To you and him, it's an absence of sound.

 To anyone within earshot, it's a boom loud enough to shatter glass.

 You curve your flight so that you're flying parallel to the ground. You can just imagine the poor guy's astonished face, marveling at the multitude of colors forming an ever-expanding ring.

 That was likely his first-ever sonic rainboom.

 After a couple minutes, you've slowed down to a stop. You land, but the thunderstruck creature is frozen, mouth agape and clinging on to you tighter than ever before.

 You swing your mane. "Hey, big guy, ride's over."

 He shakes his head and steps off of you. He then walks over to a log and sits down, trying to comprehend what just happened.

 "Must be your first sonic rainboom, huh?" you say in an indifferent tone.

 He finally speaks up. His voice is raspy at first, but he clears his throat and expresses his amazement. "Yeah... I didn't know it was possible to break the sound barrier without machines."

 "I know, I was gr- say what now?"

 "Well, what you did back there has been accomplished by my humans, back on Earth, using machines. Although I've never seen it happen, I've heard-"

 "Wait wait wait... Where did you say you were from?"

 "Earth... more specifically, Los Angeles." He explains. " I'm assuming this isn't Earth, because, well, you're here. Your kind doesn't exist in where I'm from."

 Earth... That's the place that Zach was telling you about. Neither you nor any of your friends believed a word he said, but now you were seeing one of the monkey-like figures he described, standing in front of you.

 "What's your name?"

 He smiles at you. "Sam. And what's yours?"

 "Rainbow Dash." You contemplate just how to ask your next question. "Uh, just curious. Do you know a guy by the name of Zach? I think his full name is Zackarismith, or something like that."

 His eyes go wide. "Zach. Zachariah Smith..."

 You're a little uneased by this. "Yeah, Zachariah Smith."

 "How do you know him?" he urgently demands, seizing your shoulders.

 "I-I met him, a couple days ago. I haven't seen him in a bit though." Regaining your composure, you shove him away from you.

 His face goes pale. "S-so... He's here too?" His voice is shaky.

 "Yes. Why, what's wrong?"

 He moans and stumbles around, tripping over things.

 "Sam!"

 He loses his balance and faceplants on a boulder. Blood runs down the rock, soaking into the dirt below.

 You rush over to him and turn him over. He's bleeding from his nose and eyes, and you can tell there's something wrong with the bone above his nostrils.

 Suddenly, a wind rushes over you. You see it all; Zach brutally hitting Sam in the face with a stone. Sam's plea for mercy, the sadness in Zach's eyes as he took his one final hit.

 The vision came with mixed emotions of pain, anger, fear, and for some strange reason, pity. Not for Sam, but for Zach. It was as if you could feel everything Sam felt in his dying moment.

 And then you woke up.

 It was all a nightmare, you tell yourself. Just a bad dream you had after too many late nights of pizza and video games.

 Still, it scares you. Sam, the human from Earth, such a kind creature, being beat to death by a stone.

 And what was worse, the one weilding the stone.

 You try to shake it off. You've had stranger dreams, you tell yourself.

 As you search the pantries for breakfast, you rub the pressure at the back of your head, the feeling similar to a small knot just wanting to untie itself and stretch around the perimeter of your skull..

 I wonder how Fluttershy's doing?

 Pinkie Pie is flaming mad.

 You and her walk down the path to Fluttershy's house, seeking an explanation as to why both her and Zach didn't show up to the party, and then not show their faces for three days.

 You've never seen Pinkie this angry before, except for the time Applejack broke a Pinkie promise; and luckily, she isn't as mad now as she was then.

 But she' still furious, to say the least.

 "I mean, seriously, couldn't they at LEAST have told me they were just going to ditch the party? I mean, come on, I put all that work into it and they-"

 Suddenly, she stops, her chatter ending abruptly.

 So you stop too.

 "Pinkie? Are you alright?"

 "Twilight..." she gasps, "Look!"

 You follow her gaze to a sight that horrifies you.

 There's a huge hole in the front of Fluttershy's cottage, and a flock of ravens comfortably going in and out.

 Your fur turns a lighter shade of purple as you realize what ravens mean.

 Dead meat.

 You and Pinkie Pie bolt to her house and through the giant hole, disrupting the flock.

 You almost fall into a gap in the floor, but Pinkie grabs you.

 An overwhelming stench fills your nostrils as you look down, afraid of what you'll see.

 It's a dead bear, covered in a swarm of buzzing flies.

 Pinkie Pie pulls you back to her, and reciprocates a worried face after peering into the hole.

 "Let's go downstairs and have a look at what happened," you suggest.

 The two of you went around the side to the double-door basement entrance, and walked in.

 Noses plugged, you searched the room for clues.

 The bear had maggots, which meant it had been dead for a couple of days.

 There was blood everywhere, but what surprised you was the amount that was on Zach's bed, particularly his pillow.

 There was also an I.V., and a dirty bowl on his nightstand.

 From what you could tell, there had been a bear attack, and either Fluttershy or Zach got hurt.

 There were many questions in your head, the most important being: where are they now?

 This has been the most enjoyable time you've had in awhile.

 This morning, you woke up to a stench that reached the high heavens. It put you in a bad mood at first, but then you opened your eyes and saw Fluttershy sleeping soundly on your chest.

 And your first thought?

 'Is that smell coming from Fluttershy???'

 But then you remembered there was a dead bear in the room.

 Oh.

 So, you started stroking Fluttershy's mane. It was so soft, like running your hands through strands of silky length.

 You were saddened to see the claw marks on her left cheek, still not completely healed. You hoped they wouldn't make a scar.

 She woke up with a start, and when she saw that you were awake, she squeed.

 That's literally the sound she made.

 She hugged your neck, and you remembered just how soft her body was.

 You returned the hug, and while in your embrace, continued to stroke her neck.

 She's a little startled by this, as if no one's ever done that before, but seems to enjoy it nonetheless.

 After you two were done hugging, you suggested going for a walk, not just because you wanted some fresh air, but... Because you wanted some -sanitary- air.

 While on your walk, Fluttershy pointed out all the different animals that you would have never noticed if she hadn't called them to your attention.

 Tasty-looking little animals.

 Get ahold of yourself. You don't want to scare off Fluttershy, especially with all she did for you.

 She hadn't said anything, but you could tell from the I.V. and the bandages that she had been taking care of you while you were unconscious.

 You were guessing you had been out for three days.

 "So, Fluttershy, what kind of bird is that?" you say, pointing to a big, red, elegant-looking one standing on a branch, eyeing the both of you.

 "Ooh! That's a phoenix! I haven't seen one of those around here in years!"

 A phoenix?

 "Wait, does that mean it can throw fire?"

 "Yes, which is why we shouldn't get too close. They normally won't attack you, but also don't like to be bothered."

 You nod. Interestingly enough, you had heard about these back on Earth, but over there, they were just considered mythical creatures.

 Which made you wonder. Had someone else ever entered this world as you did, then come back with stories that eventually evolved into myths such as this?

 You were pretty sure you had heard of manticores back on Earth, too; which were one of the things you had talked to Fluttershy about.

 You would never believe that -she- took on a full-sized manticore until you had proof. And that's what you told her.

 Fluttershy just tried to push you into a lake for that comment.

 You're grinning ear to ear at her, trying not to burst out laughing. Essentially, all she managed to do was smack her face into your side as if she flew into a brick wall.

 She falls to the ground, dazed.

 You can't take it anymore. You start laughing, and she scowls at you.

 "Why did you do that?" you manage to get out between bursts of laughter.

 "Because, you smell and need a bath." she retorts.

 Well, that elevated quickly.

 She realizes she just insulted someone, possibly for the first time in her life, and covers her mouth with a hoof.

 Better do something before she starts crying and rebuking herself.

 You grab Fluttershy and throw her in the lake before she can react, then jump in yourself.

 When come back up, Fluttershy is trying to glare at you.

 'Trying' being a key word here.

 "Excuse me, Zach, but why the heck would you throw me into a lake?? If it's no big deal, of course."

 That had to be the worst attempt at anger you've ever seen.

 You lazily swim backwards. "You said I smell and need a bath."

 "So we're taking a bath together then?"

 You stop your swimming and look at her. Realizing what she just said, she blushes, and looks at you from the tops of her eyes.

 You take a good look at her now, and see her mane, wet and covering up the side of her face with the scar. And her eyes; a beautiful shade of blue, glistening with the reflection of the lake.

 She's blushing profusely now. She knows you're staring.

 You can't help it. You pull her into a kiss.

 Her eyes widen, and she squirms for a second, but gives up under your strong hold.

 Realizing she was trying to get away from you, you let go, feeling rotten for forcing her into that.

 "I-I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I really didn't mean to..."

 "It's okay, Zach." She averts her eyes for a second, then looks up at you again. Suddenly, she grabs you, and pulls you into a kiss.

 Her legs wrap around you, her lips and tongue are as soft as her body. You feel every part of her, and when she breaks the kiss, you look into her eyes, and ask, "Are you ready for this?"

 She squeezes you and whispers, "Oh Zach... Yes."

 But then she lets go. Her eyes hold a hint of uncertainty.

 You know what this means. You've seen that look before.

 Fun time's over, buddy. You've lost your chance with her.

 "Let's get out of the deep end of the lake. I really don't want to drown."

 You look at her, dying to know her intentions. "And then...?"

 "And then we finish what we started."

 You and her swim to the edge of the lake, and she lies on her back, her wings fully extended.

 You had never noticed the red and blue patterns on the undersides of her wings before.

 She rubs her hip seductively. "I'm ready."

 She grins as you kneel down, ready to do what you've both been craving for.

 You and Twilight have been following a set of footprints for a couple of minutes now.

 You two had figured they were Zach's. They came out of the basement and lead into the woods.

 You were hoping to find Zach, and maybe Fluttershy, and ask what happened. It was worrying you.

 The footprints seemed to stop abruptly near near the lake.

 You and Twilight search for clues. Twilight searched the lake, and you searched the trees, knowing very well that diamond dogs loved to climb trees.

 Twilight didn't seem to agree with you, but what does she know about diamond dogs?

 You hear Twilight calling to you now. "Hey, Pinkie! I think I see-" she gasps, as if she has just witnessed something terrible.

 You shoot down the tree and stand at her side.

 "Where are they- Oh my."