//------------------------------//
// The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters 
// Story: Extremely Loud, Intensely Bright, Drastically Tense, Exceedingly Tight 
// by h4ns 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 43: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

Bryce was running through the apple orchard, trying to keep out of reach of the montrous bull that was hot on his tail. 

The bull had to be close to his height and had horns that were much thicker than his forearm. Each horn ended in a point sharp enough to pierce all the way through a tree like a hot knife through butter.

As time went on Bryce began to wonder how long it had actually been. He didn't dare stop to take a look at his watch, he had to keep an eye on what was in front of him. Any split second mistake could mean his death, or worse. The only thing keeping Bryce going was that if he could reach the farmhouse he could get somepony to help him. 

But he might as well have been going in circles. Bryce had been running for his life since the sun was high, but it might as well have been days, weeks, or longer. No matter how Bryce ran, nor how best he tried to evade the giant bull it still kept a bead on him, and there was nothing to indicate if he were going in the right direction. 

All he could do was run for his own life.

After a while, Bryce finally caught eye of something. It wasn't the farmhouse, but it was something that would be able to get him off the ground.

It was a treehouse, a very old and decrepit structure. From what he could see the wood it was made from had long since passed its prime and had nails jutting out. Regardless of its current condition, Bryce saw no other option. 

Running up onto the gangway, he barely made it onto the balcony before the aged plank of wood could fall out from under him. Throwing open the door, Bryce sprinted inside and huddled up into a corner. 

Almost immediately the entire structure shook violently. Again and again the bull forced itself into the trunk of the tree, trying to scare out the bipedal being inside. The glass that remained in the windows cracked and fell onto the floor, further breaking into smaller shards. It was a wonder the treehouse was able to hold up in its current state.

Almost as quickly as the shaking had started it suddenly stopped, without warning.

There was silence.

Bryce continued to sit in the corner, slowly taking in air in an attempt to calm himself. 

As he sat there, Bryce listened to hear if there was anything outside. 

He counted the seconds in his mind, not daring move until he reached a hundred. 

There was nothing. Not a creak; a shift; only his slow, rhythmic breath.

Slowly moving on his hands and knees, Bryce made his way over to the hollow window, the glass sinking into his palms as he inched closer.

Bryce craned his neck up and down, left and right, trying to see if there was hair or horn of the bovine. But there was nothing out there, except for the setting sun, and the thousands of apple trees which ran off into the horizon to meet it.

Taking one more quick look, Bryce fell back into a sitting position, with his legs spread out, and sighed in relief.

It was then he heard something. It came from directly under him.

It was the sound of something scratching the bottom of the treehouse.

Bryce's breathing instantly accelerated, and his heart felt like it were going to jump out of his chest.

From below a massive horn erupted between his legs, narrowly cutting the fly of his shorts.

Bryce pushed himself away in a circular shape. The bull's horns pressed up through the floorboards where he had been a split second ago each time he pushed himself back.

Eventually his back met the same corner he had started in. Pressing himself as far back as he possibly could, Bryce gave a silent prayer, thinking the worst was yet to come.

When the bull last jammed its horn through the floor it had a hard time getting it back out. It bellowed in protest, twisting its trapped horn in every direction possible.

Bryce din't waste time. Pressing his back against the wall he kicked the horn full force.

The bull down below howled in pain with each kick. After a few more kicks the tip of the horn finally broke off at the base and the bull bayed a cry which shook the foundations of the treehouse.

After the bull's cry of pain ceased the area again went silent.

It was a deafening silence, much quieter than the previous one. 

Bryce again counted the seconds, reaching 100. 200. 500. 1000.

There was nothing; not a single sound to tell that the bull was still under him.

Reaching forward, Bryce jiggled the detached horn back and forth until he could pull it out. The bottom end was smeared in a thick coat of blood that dripped down through the warped floorboards.

Sneaking a peek through, aside from a small pool of blood, there was nothing but hoofprints and wood splinters littering the grass.

Using the horn to stand himself up, Bryce stuck his head through the window. Again there was nothing.

He looked through another window, and again nothing.

It was then Bryce decided to tempt fate. The best way to make sure the bull was gone would be to take a step outside.

Gripping onto the heart shaped hole, Bryce slowly pushed the door outwards.

From where he could see, the bull was nowhere at the front of the treehouse. Gripping hard onto the horn, Bryce took a single cautionary step onto the balcony, jumping as the wood creaked in protest.

After a short minute to catch his wits, Bryce took a second step out. 

Slowly looking to the left he could see nothing, just more apple trees.

Switching to his right again nothing but acres of apple trees brimming with the sweet, tart fruit.

With the horn pointing away from him, Bryce carefully dropped down onto the ground, prepared to run for his life in any direction.

After getting both feet on the ground, Bryce almost expected this to have sent out an alarm to the bull, telling the giant bovine where the human was, ripe for trampling and gouging.

Holding the horn out at length, he stepped away the treehouse, circling around as he went.

No matter where Bryce looked he was still the only living thing in the entire orchard as far as he could tell. There wasn't a single hoofprint or blood stain lining the grass. Nothing, but him and the treehouse.

Taking the free moment to look the treehouse over, Bryce was almost beyond belief to see the structure still sitting in its current position. After the bull's constant gouging of the floor one would have though the place would come crashing down.

As if reading his inner thoughts, the treehouse then came crashing down towards him.

Thinking it the work of the bull, Bryce turned tail and ran off, dropping the horn in the process.

He continued to run, sure that the bull wasn't too far behind. At least he thought it was.

When the bull had been chasing Bryce before he could clearly hear the bovine trampling towards him. Now there was only the sound of Bryce running. 

Could it be he had wanted it to have been the bull, or was it his already tightened nerves playing on him?

If he were in an open field then he would look back without a second thought. But he was in an orchard, just a single lapse in his attention could send him barreling into a tree, with the bull following soon after to skewer him.

That was the bad outcome, but doubt still clung to his mind. 

Bryce would tire eventually. He had been going for hours. 

No better choice than to tempt fate.

He looked back, but there was nothing. He wasn't sure if it were something to find relief in, or more terror.

Bryce then slammed himself into a tree. Falling on his back, Bryce could only watch as he was pelted with apples. 

The fruit did indeed hit him, but each one that touched him bounced off leaving no sign of contact.

There had to have been about a dozen apples that had fallen on him, but when they connected they bounced off of him like it was nothing. Bryce didn't even feel them hit; no pain at all. Come to think of it, hitting the tree had no effect on him either. He just fell on his back, no real agony to speak of. Then there was back in the treehouse. He had his hands sink down into the glass, but his hands showed no sign of being cut. And he had been running from that bull for hours, but felt he could run a marathon in less than 2 hours.

Something wasn't right.

Standing back up, Bryce checked himself over. Then the tree he had hit.

It showed no sign of damage of any kind. Not even any chipped bark.

Looking up into the foliage Bryce was met with yet another strange sight.

The entirety of the apples that stuck out amongst the leaves were all an assortment of pastel colors. They had patterned appearances of stripes, polka dots, and plaid.

From off in the distance he heard a pair of voices. 

"I'm done with my half, how are you going with yours, Pinkie?"

"I'm just about done. I'm going to call this one Apple, Number 2,653. Has AJ noticed yet?"

"Not yet. I gotta say, this is the best prank you've thought of yet. I had my doubts about yuh, but I'll say it again: You're not as annoying as I thought."

"It just goes to show you: Don't judge a Pie by its crust. It's the ooey-gooey filling that matters most."

The whole time the two voices were talking Bryce had been making his way to their location. He had doubts of who they were, but the tones would be hard to replicate. 

Clearing his way past a few more trees, Bryce finally found them: Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, both wearing matching berets with a paint brush in mouth and a painter's palette in hoof.

"Pinkamena, you thought of this? It's a damn good prank! See, Blitzkreig, it goes to show if you take the time you can create a damn good-"

"Oh, I think there's a few we missed near the house," Pinkie stated, acting as if Bryce had said nothing.

"Yeah, if we're gonna do this then let's do it great."

They both ran at Bryce, acting as if he were invisible. Before Bryce could even move they both phased cleanly through him, their pace keeping constant.

This was enough to finally blow Bryce's mind. He knew good and well what was happening, but there was only one thing which could tell him for certain.

Covering his watch with his opposing hand, Bryce snuck a peek. The watch was normal, except that the hands were turning at an hour every few seconds.

It was Bryce's tell, his way of separating this world from reality.

Bryce was in a dream, there was no doubt left in his mind. If that were so, and he was now aware of it, he had full reign.

Closing his eyes, Bryce imagined the land covered in snow, complete with a frozen lake he could ice skate on.

He opened his eyes, and there it was in front of him. There was even an ice sculpture of a pegasus leaping up from the lake for a better effect.

Bryce then had a hay day, skidding freely across the ice, preforming majestic feats which could only be done on the ice. He danced with himself at times while classical music played in the background. In real life he wouldn't have had this grit. What he feared most was the possibility of falling on the ice and breaking something. Something irreversible. 

For now, Bryce was going to live in the moment. For now, he was going to ice skate.

The moment soon took on a darker tone.

It started when Bryce made a cycle around the ice pegasus. It was cold; a cold like he had never felt before.

It happened so fast, and he couldn't recall if he had imagined it up into the world. 

Bryce had developed a high tolerance for the cold a long time ago. Hell, he would often have a cold treat in place of a warm beverage on certain occasions.

But this cold was something else. He thought if he were to throw a cup of boiling water into the air it would turn to snow the second it came in contact with the air.

But it was no problem, Bryce just imagined himself in the hoodie Rainbow had gotten for him. It was enough to take the edge off. 

With that taken care of, Bryce continued his skating.

After a second cycle around the ice pegasus, he again felt the cold pierce him. It felt to be piercing him to the bone; a cold that sent a bolt of pain down his lower back.

Stopping and holding his arms close to his body, Bryce closed his eyes and imagined a roaring fire. Once he opened his eyes there was a fire, but it was a full football field away. 

Bryce became frightened. In all of his lucid dreams the world had never misbehaved to this magnitude. He had imagined a fire, a big fire. A fire a respectable distance away, not something more than a stone's throw.

But he couldn't worry about that now. He was getting colder by the second, and the wind that was beginning to pick up didn't help matters.

Each step Bryce took a step forward the fire off in the distance appeared to be getting further and further away. At the same time the wind blew faster, and harder, threatening to blow Bryce over.

It was then he took notice of something. The sound of the wind seemed odd. It was roaring past him, but it sounded wrong. It was like the roar of a feral animal, deep in combat with its prey right before it dealt the killing blow.

After what felt like an eternity, Bryce finally reached the fire. It was a small camefire with a long log going parallel with it.

Taking a seat down on the log, Bryce slowly brought his hands away from himself and took in the warmth the embers let off.

It was short lived when, without warning, a large, grotesque beast stood in place of the fire for a split second. For a second it was there, then it was gone, leaving no trace. The camefire, and his seat went as well, sending Bryce falling back into a blanket of snow. 

Pressing himself up, Bryce looked at where the fire. Where the beast had been.

Even though it only appeared for a split second, Bryce had seen its features perfectly.

It had looked almost exactly like... a wildebeest.

Yes, a wildebeest, but the head was much larger, and looked more simiar to a head one would see on a boar.

But there was a much more sinister feature that stuck out above everything else. It was the beast's eyes; its large, hellfire red eyes. No matter how hard Bryce tried to forget he could say, with great certainty, those eyes were still looking at him. Not from in front of him, but from everywhere.

It then dawned on him why he was dreaming. The wildebeest, he remembered it so clearly now. 

After looking into its eyes he felt a blinding pain in his brain, he blacked out, and then... A large bull was chased him through the orchard. There was nothing that he could bring up which connected the last two events.

Trying to shake it off, Bryce noted how the scenery had changed. There was still snow on the ground, the wind had all but ceased, and the frozen lake had disappeared. Now all there was was an endless abyss of snow illuminated by Equus' full moon. The Mare in the Moon lay up there, looking down of the landscape, but she appeared more sinister from Bryce's perspective.

Slowly standing up, Bryce looked around for anything that could possibly give an end to the void.

There was something off in the distance.

Not taking time to make it out, Bryce ran towards it as fast as he could. 

Once he had cleared the distance he slowed down to a walk. 

The structure looked to be a large building in the process of construction. All that had been put together were the timber beams, the rafters, and the stone foundation. There were other building materials a short distance away from the site, but they were all scattered on the snowy ground as if put there by a being of tremendous power.

There was something else, too. Hanging from one of the beams was a length of rope.

The end was tied in a knot Bryce had seen in many Western films: A hangman's noose.

It was a little more than a head higher than his own, almost as if it were at the height specifically for him. 

Reaching a hand up, Bryce touched the length of rope with great caution. The second the rope met his touch a shock ran through Bryce's form. 

It was short lived as the rope broke off from the beam and came to rest at his feet.

Bryce's reaction was to take a large step away, thinking the rope would come alive like a snake.

Looking back up, Bryce could see what remained of the rope tied to the beam. It looked to have been torn apart, with the strands frayed apart.

When Bryce looked back down the noose had disappeared. A bull's horn had taken its place. The same horn he had kicked off the bull.

From behind him there came the sound of something hard running across the hard stone foundation. 

Bryce's heart leaped up into his throat, but the rest of him stood as still as a statue.

Mentally counting to three, Bryce looked back slowly.

Standing behind him was the bull which had began this dream standing a few yards away. The bovine had a single horn sticking out from its head and a bleeding wound on the other side. The air it exhaled filled the space around its body like a broken steam pipe.

Even though Bryce knew this was a dream, he felt as if the danger the bull let off were as real as anything. If he died here he may die for real.

Looking back ahead, Bryce mentally prepared himself. 

The skrimish that was soon to take place could possibly be a fight for his own life. He could beat this creature, as long as he kept his mind clear. This bull may be in his dream, but this was still a dream. 

In HIS dream. Here, Bryce could bend to world to his will as he saw fit.

Turning back around, Bryce stared eye to eye with the bull, and the bull stared just as hard back.

While Bryce curled and uncurled his toes the bull stomped the ground, letting out a roaring that echoed across the void. 

Bryce's response was to inhale a big breath and let it out as fast and as much as he could, trying to match the fog the bull released.

For a second, the entire scenerio took a pause before the bull charged at Bryce, pulling out all the stops. 

Bryce had known this would happen, but he stood his ground.

The bull kept coming, giving no sign of stopping.

When the beast was less than a full foot away, Bryce took action. Taking the bull's horn off the ground in a telekenetic grip, Bryce brought his hands up and somersaulted over the bovine, pushing himself up the rest of the way from the bovine's back. 

The bull skid to a halt, confused at where the biped could have gone. Turning from side to side, and fliping around there was no trace.

From above came a bird call.

Turning its attention upwards, the bull saw Bryce perfectly balanced on one of the rafters, its disembodied horn floating in the air beside him.

"Hey, big boy, lookin for little old me?" Bryce said with a smirk.

The bull ignored Bryce and rammed the timber that held up the beam he was standing on. Before he could fall down, Bryce jumped over to a neighboring beam, but the bull just crushed that timber as well. 

Eventually they both reached the end of the line, and Bryce jumped down close to the scattered building materials, tucking and rolling as he hit the ground. The lapse in concentration made him loosen his telekenesis on the horn and it flew out of sight.

The bull took note of where Bryce had landed and charged again. 

Acting fast, Bryce levitated up a piece of wood, tripping the bull and making it fall on its side.

The bull began kicking about, trying to find enough traction to stand itself up as it bellowed in protest.

Not wasting time Bryce looked around for something else to use as a weapon. He found a spade laying close by and levitated it into his hands.

By then the bull had set itself up right and charged again.

Bryce took a knee, planted the shaft end of the spade into the ground, and held it out to meet the bull.

The bull noticed this and swiped its head to the side and smacked Bryce away, sending the human flying, leaving itself unharmed.

Bryce winced in pain, trying to mentally block it out before the bull could charge again. He didn't have long to plan as the bull did just that. 

Knelling a second time and planting the shaft, Bryce decided to do the only thing he could think of.

As the bull swung its head back, Bryce brought up the spade horizontally and forced the shaft down on its forehead. The spade's handle held the bull at bay, but Bryce could feel the bovine slowly whittling him down. If he was going to take down this creature he had to think of something fast.

Off to the side Bryce saw something reflect in the moonlight. It was hard to distinguish from the white snow, but the crimson red end made it clear what it was. It was the bull's horn from the treehouse. A plan quickly formed in his mind, but if it were to work he would need that horn. 

Sinking his shoes as best he could into the snowy surface, Bryce pushed back on the bull with all his might and sent it tumbling to the ground.

Dropping the spade, Bryce ran over to the horn. His stop was less than graceful and he fell down and skid. He was only just able to grab the horn as he past it.

When Bryce looked back he saw the bull standing over him. The bull bellowed before standing up on its back hooves, its fore hooves pointed directly at him.

Holding the horn to his chest, Bryce rolled to the side as the bovine's hooves came crashing down. Quickly pushing himself up and grabbing the wide end of the horn, Bryce reached forward and thrust the point through the back of the bull's front knee.

The bull immediately fell forward and bellowed in pain.

Bryce pushed himself back to escape being held down under its weight.

The bull made countless attempts to try and reach Bryce, but its own dismembered horn lodged inside its knee caused it to be near impossible. After about the hundredth try the bull finally stopped and rested on the ground.

For a moment the two could do nothing except stare back at the other. 

The bull stared intently, wanting more than anything to crush the piped in front of him, but knew that would be impossible in its current state.

Bryce could only stare back speechless. He shivered, not from the cold, but from the fact at what he had just done. For years he had so often fantasized about doing something like this, but never felt he could go through with it again. He could see the evil in the bull's eyes. No matter how much Bryce beat it down he could tell it would try again and again to end him. If he left it now it would just pop up later in full. Bryce had to end this now.

Picking himself up, Bryce walked over to the spade. Staring at the tool, he dredded what he was about to do, but knew it had to be done at the same time. He knew when the battle had started he would have to take the bull's life, but not in as disgraceful a way as this.

Picking up the spade, Bryce stepped back over to the bull and looked down. The bull continued to eye him, not once even taking his gaze away. 

Hyperventilating, Bryce brought the spade up, with the blade facing the bull, and bore down full force into its ribcage.

The bull bellowed out, but still clung to life.

Lifting up the spade, Bryce stabbed down into the bovine's flesh again, and again, and again. After a while Bryce began bludgeoning the beast, banging it on any part that was visible. No matter how much Bryce tried the bull refused to give in to its own mortality.

Bryce had lost his patience. Taking a stand on the bull's side he position the edge of the blade perpendicular to its neck. Swinging the blade outwards, Bryce brought it back down, sinking the blade deep, but not cutting all the way through its thick neck.

The bull gave one more bellow. It kicked its legs every which way, trying to hold on as long as it could. It was pointless. The bull kicked a few more times before all its movement ceased. The blood of the giant beast flowed out from its neck forming a large pull in the pure white snow. 

The bull was dead.

Releasing his grip on the shaft, Bryce carefully stepped down from the bull's corpse, distancing himself from it as much as he could.

He could hardly believed what happened.

No matter how much Bryce tried he could have seen any better alternative. The bull wasn't going to stop. Even with its own horn jammed in its knee it had still tried to thrust itself at him, and for no apparent reason.

A few steps back, Bryce was forced to stop when his back connected with a hard, scaled object.

A gruff, cruel voice came from behind. "Your mind is much more powerful than I had thought, biped."

Stepping forward and turning around, Bryce came face to face with the thing that had been behind this whole ordeal: The boar-headed wildebeest.

"W- What the fuck are you!?"

"I am that which shall bring you to your end."

"No, I meant... What are-"

"What I am is of no importance. There are things more pressing to you than my identity." The wildebeest stopped to hold its large head up to look a Bryce. "I have not faced a foe of your mentality in years. I see now you cannot be broken from within. I shall have to attempt other methods. Atypic methods."

"Well... you'll find I'm not like your average human, or little horse thing. You may be here, but I am god of this world."

The wildebeest let out a sound that sent a chill down Bryce's back. It was odd, but if he had to guess it would be the wildebeest's laugh. "Perhaps you are in this world, but once you awaken you will be as weak as a worm, skewered on a hook by a fisherman to serve as a means to get his next meal. Here you may be a god, but when you wake the 'power' you held here will be nonexistant, and I shall then take my prize from your corpse."

"What prize?"

"That which binds your soul to this earthly plane."

"So are you going to do the same to the girls?"

"No. They heeded my warning, and shall go unscathed. Had you done so as well you would have went unharmed. But as most mortal beings do you refused to listen to reason."

"So you're going to kill me because I-"

From every direction, the wildebeest's voice shouted at Bryce. "YOU WERE WARNED!!!" 

As its shout continued the landscape began to melt away in nothing, leaving only a bright light that soon grew in intensity until Bryce could see nothing else.