Man in the Monster

  Filling your vision is a white expanse, with seemingly no end, littered with black, hovering orbs. There are some walls in random spots, but they're extremely hard to see, as they match perfectly with the pure white of their surroundings. You would camouflage too, if it weren't for your black beady eyes and outline.

 Another thing: you're trapped to one of these walls by a black, sticky web.

 ------------------

 Welcome to my world.

 Or whoever's world this is.

  They thought I was dead. Gone. I admit, I did too. I have no idea where I am, except that I am in the far corners of another being's mind. I have escaped these binds before, but now struggle to break free of the strong, silky substance keeping me strapped to this spot. If I ever find a way to escape, they won't catch me again.

 Your nail, if you can call it that, has found a weak spot in the black web trapping you against the wall. You pierce it, snapping the sticky ropes that hold you down.

 A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same goes for this web, which you now tear open with ease.

 An alarm sounds, startling you, although you knew all too well that it would happen.

 Whatever is in this being's subconscious is what you'll find. And by now, you know her well enough to expect pony guards.

 Your host. What was her name? Ah, yes. Rainbow Dash. You met her once, in her dream. Those were the first moments of being in her head. You had no idea where you where, but it was nice to have a friend.

 She's a nice person- er, pony, from what you've seen. She would certainly let you free if she knew you were in here; unfortunately, that's not the case. You're going to have to force your way out.

 Guard ponies seem to be appearing from nowhere, fading in from the vast white expanse. You're not worried; now that you know what to expect, you can deal with these guys.

 Streams of magic fire from the unicorns' horns. One beam passes dangerously close, singing you and taking down a flying pegasus behind you.

 You realize there are maybe a dozen pegasi coming from above. You zip towards the ground, the guards close behind.

 You weave between the ponies on the ground, but know that you can't dodge them for long. You lock onto a slightly smaller guard, and brace for impact.

 You slam into him full force, knocking him off his feet and sending you both tumbling to the ground.

 He's kicking at you and firing off beams of magic. In order to avoid being his attacks, you slip around to his back.

 It's now or never.

 From there, you grab his top jaw and pull upwards. Knowing you're vulnerable to attack from other ponies, you quickly make yourself as thin as possible and slide into his mouth.

 You're a little wobbly at first, but regain your balance as your natural instincts come into play.

 Wow. I didn't think it would work.

 I took control of a guard.

 Maybe I could sneak out of here in this body. They don't seem to notice...

 They all turn towards you suddenly, seeming to be able to detect something off about their comrade.

  Crap.

 You sprint for a random hole that sits in the middle of nowhere.

 Experience tells you that the holes are always the best way to go.

 The guards haven't followed you any further.

 You don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

 You've been walking in what seems like a tunnel, pulsing with streams of white light on the sides.

 Suddenly, warm memories wash over you.

 Rainbow Dash's memories.

 Huh. She's an orphan. Not surprising, considering her apparent inferiority complex.

 Gosh. These memories could really ruin her if anyone else found out.

 I may not have lips, but they are sealed.

 Oh no... Please don't show me that... Oh gosh Rainbow Dash! That's disgusting!

 Huh... There's more...

 She seems to be a real hero around these parts...

 The Element of Loyalty.

 Looks like I manifested myself into the right pony.

 You suddenly get a prickly feeling. At first you assume it's part of the memories, but it becomes extremely painful and just doesn't fit in.

 Reacting quickly, you jump out of the guard pony in time to see him disintegrate.

 What are those??

 Black iscoceles triangles stick to the body of your former host. Other triangles hover mid-air, and seem to be watching you.

 This can't be good.

 You jump out of the way as the triangles swoosh by, piercing the ground below you.

 They unstick themselves and are after you in hot pursuit.

 The tunnel you're in seems to have just one straight path. No other ways to go. These triangles, however, are much faster than you. They're going to catch up.

 You wait until one catches up to you, and punch it on its flat side. It snaps in half, and vaporizes.

 You look behind you with a victorious smirk.

 That's right. I'm so badazz I can smirk without a mouth.

 You feel a sharp slicing on your side. You see a triangle, this one smaller than the others, working its way underneath your skin.

 You do your best to grab it, but the sides are razor-sharp. They slice through your hands, leaving wide, black gashes on your palms.

 You pull, and the back part of the little monster snaps off, leaving the point embedded into your skin.

 You silently scream as the piece evaporates in a cloud of steam, cooking your tender wound.

 More come, and you do your best to dodge them. But one strikes you in your ghostly stomach, and heats up, causing your flesh (or whatever it is) to boil.

 The pain is too unbearable. You can no longer suspend yourself. You fall, and wanting the pain to be over, rocket towards the ground as fast as you can, trying to smash yourself against the ground.

 You hit the ground -hard- but, instead of dying, you crash through the floor.

 That light. So bright.

 Fluttershy and you walk, dripping wet, from the edge of the pond.

 You grin at her, and she giggles.

 Is it wrong that I just bucked a pony?

 Nah. Human rules no longer apply.

 What about pony rules?

 She doesn't seem to think it was wrong. In fact, she's smiling at you now.

 She could just be-

 Your musings are interrupted by a rustling in the nearby bushes.

 The two of you glance at eachother.

 "Hello? Who's there?" You walk over to investigate. Probably just a squirrel, but you never know-

 You trip over something, and land in the bush.

 Something is squirming around underneath you, and startles you.

 You jump off, and once you regain yourself, realize it's Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie.

 Do they know...?

 Their looks give it away.

 Sh*t.

 "You guys... Saw everything, didn't you?"

 Twilight gulps and nods her head. Fluttershy walks up, eyes wide.

 "Girls, what are you doing here?"

 Twilight looks from you to Fluttershy, and back. Fluttershy blushes profusely.

 Twilight stands and brushes herself off. "Fluttershy, we need to talk... Privately."

 Oh Celestia... I feel as if something just snapped in my head...

 You take a flanksprin (pain medication) and sit down on the couch. Your mind is jumbled with feverish thoughts, not even seeming to be your own.

 -Ugh... Nasty headache.

 Tell me about it.

 You shake your head. Talking to yourself is one of the first signs that you should go see a doctor.

 -Talking to yourself? You still don't get it, do you?

 Okay, wtf brain??

 -I'm not your brain. It's me, Sam.

 You jolt upright, causing the pain in your head to worsen.

 After your headache dies down a little, you think about it. That didn't seem like something you would say.

 Yep, definitely should call a doctor.

 You reach for the phone.

 -No, wait!

 Something stops you. Your foreleg. You can't move it!

 No matter how hard you try, it just hangs suspended in mid-air. Cautiously, as if someone were controlling it, it goes back to your side, and hangs limp.

 How strange.

 You lift it up and wiggle it around,  testing to see if it works properly.

 Whatever happened, it seems to be fine now.

 You pick up the phone and try to dial again, but your hoof won't press the buttons. It just hangs there, like with your other arm.

 -Please. Rainbow Dash, it's Sam. Don't freak out, you're not crazy. Just listen.

 That certainly had the opposite effect.

 You jump off the couch and flap your wings in excitement. You shoot up a couple of hooves, but the pain overtakes you and you fall back down. Stars shoot from your peripheral vision into the middle of your eyes.

 This headache... I think I'm gonna pass out.

 As your vision fades to black, you get up and start walking.

 Oh Celestia, what's going on?

 You and Twilight sit in silence as you watch Pinkie Pie lead Zach back to your cottage.

 You can tell this isn't going to be a pleasant conversation.

 Twilight finally breaks the silence. "Fluttershy, I'm concerned."

 You do your best to put on an quizzical face. "Why?"

 "Well, you've shown no interest in anypony ever since Ruby Eyes left, and now, suddenly, you just meet this- stranger- and decide to have sex with him."

 The mention of Red catches you off guard more than her frankness about your having sexual relations with Zach. However, you toss your head in an attempt to appear unconcerned. "Well, maybe I'm finally getting over him."

 Twilight sighs. "I don't think so. Red and Zach are just so alike, so much that it makes me think- I mean, I'm not accusing you of anything- but I feel like you're just using Zach to replace Red."

 Your mouth is agape. Not because you're mad at Twilight for making such an outrageous statement, but... She may be right. He reminds you so much of the diamond dog that you used to know, that you cared so much for. You've been alone for years, and finding somepony that you really liked has been a blessing in every way. But it just doesn't feel right anymore. You realize now that you're just using Zach to replace Ruby Eyes; and that isn't fair to Zach.

 You sigh. "Okay Twilight, I understand."

 Her face shows no relief.

 "Twilight, don't you believe me?"

 "I course I believe you, Fluttershy... But there's something else I need to talk to you about. It's about Zach again."

 Your eyes widen. "Is something wrong with him?"

 She gulps. "I'm sure you know that he couldn't possibly have 'happened' naturally, right?"

 "I had my suspicions."

 "Well, if he's a new species, there's a lot we don't know about him."

 You raise an eyebrow.

 "I don't think he's grown to his full size yet, Fluttershy."

 There's no way that can be true. He's so huge already! "But, how would you know that?"

 "I've been studying the anatomy of diamond dogs for the past couple of days. He doesn't fit an -adult- diamond dog, and almost doesn't seem like a diamond dog at all. You can only see it if you look carefully, but his back paws are almost hoof-shaped. His canine teeth are unusually large, and I'm positive he's growing a horn!"

 She says those last words a bit emphatically, as if trying to hit you with the realization of those words. It works, and you freeze in place.

 She's right. He's not as muscular as Red was, and his canine teeth almost stick out of his mouth. You don't know if the other things she said were true, but she's been right so far.

 She sees you in your shocked state, and nuzzles you in an attempt at comfort.

 "I'm sorry I had to tell you that, Fluttershy. I really am. We just have to know the truth sometimes. But there's one last thing you need to know about Zach."

 She stuttered those last few words, as if having to force them out.

 This can't be good.

 Dry-throated, you nod at her to continue.

 "When I first met him, I noticed his eyes were flickering red. A lot like Ruby Eyes's."

 You had noticed this before too, but you're still not sure where she's going with this.

 "It reminded me so much of him, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Then today, Pinkie and I walked into- well, you know what. I thought I saw it. And then, when he tripped and fell on us in the bush, I saw it again, and knew for sure it was there. After that, I knew for sure it was there."

 This is confusing. "Saw what? What was there??"

 Twilight rubs one foreleg with the other. "Fluttershy, remember that burn Red got during Applejack's birthday party?"

 You remember all right. Red had tried to light a firework, one of the small ones that would sit in one spot and spit sparks up into the air. He accidentally dropped the candle, and the flame from the candle lit the base of the fuse. He had no time to react, and within seconds was being sprayed with red and blue sparks. The fur on the underside of his arm caught fire, and it left a scar on one spot near his forearm that never went away.

 Wait a minute. That scar...

 The realization of it hits you with such a force that you vomit.

  After you're done, Twilight pats you on the back.

 "We need to find who's doing this. Who knows how many 'monsters' will be made, or worse, how many ponies will be killed if we don't look into this."

 You nod. Words can't describe the feelings you're having right now.

 One thing's for sure: you'll never look at Zach the same way again.