H.P. Lovecraft meets the MLP universe in this cosmic-horror fanfic.
When a trip into another dimension goes horribly wrong for a group of scientists, the only survivor is accidentally transported to the land of Equestria... but he is not the only one.
It has been little more than two weeks since I arrived in Equestria, and I fear that my presence can only mean bedlam and destruction for the pony civilization. Apart from being the only human in this world, I arrived under unusual and rather deadly circumstances; circumstances that threaten to tear the very fabric of reality and existence as we know it. For when I came to this vibrant earth via the wormhole that I had been testing, something of another race… or another dimension came with me.
Before I was transported to Equestria, Ponyville to be exact, my colleagues and I had been working on developing a wormhole to explore the possibilities of other universes. It seems that humankind has come a long way in arts of science and technology. We have a better understanding, and greater fear, of the universe now than we ever had before. And as we begin to scour the galaxy for new minerals, sources of fuel, and life, we now have a larger sense of the utter insignificance of our race, expendable more now than ever before. The new age of intelligence has, in a way, crippled our morale as an intelligent species, but it has not made us race of complete pessimists, either. If anything, our newfound interest in the ways of science and reasoning has given us a chance to move forward as a civilization to a utopian future, much like the one here in Ponyville. However, my new equine companions have little understanding of the universe and physics and such, but what they lack in knowledge, they make for in what the human race could never grasp or come to understand: honor.
The ponies seem to have it all right. This world they call Equestria seems to be the paradise that my home can only wish for; a fleeting dream that, due to the human condition, we may never achieve. There is no disease or poverty, and war seems to be nonexistent in this universe. These facts stem from the study of their history through the books read to me by the pony named Twilight Sparkle. The ponies seem to speak English, but they have a completely different system of writing from us. It appears to be a combination of the Russian alphabet and Japanese characters, so I am unable to read it myself. Twilight has been helping me to figure out why I am here and how to return me to my world; but to no avail. “There’s a way, I’m sure,” Twilight says,” but we just haven’t found it.” She has even informed of my presence to their monarch, Princess Celestia. She is a god-like mare who is said to have unbelievable magical powers. It is also said that she is the one who raises the sun in the mornings. I challenged these facts with speculation and demanded proof. If this were true, it would defile the very laws of physics themselves. This would also give me a chance to study the cosmic workings of another universe as well. It is, with great, dumb luck, that I was able to witness the Princess raising the sun during the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot a few days after my initial arrival. Needless to say I was stunned and left in a haze of disbelief and… wonder. In this universe, magic exists. There are gods among them. That is the reason… that is what made it possible for the abomination to follow me here.
There are things that the ponies here do not, and should not, understand. What they have here is beautiful and pure, and I’m afraid what I have done could spell doom for their species, for when I came through the wormhole… something came with me.
As I said before, my colleagues and I had been experimenting with the possibilities of inter-dimensional travel via wormholes. At first we believed it to be exciting… but we soon discovered that some things, or beings, are better left undiscovered. On our first trip through the wormhole, we discovered something that should not exist. We breached through the fabric of time and reality and arrived in what appeared to be a desolate, nightmarish wasteland. The ground beneath us was a viscous yet solid mass that reeked of the putrid stench of death and sulfur. Above us the sky appeared to be a solid stone mass with cracks and crevices from which a blood-red liquid leaked. In front of our group laid an endless stretch of nothingness, polluted by a black fog that was rising up from various vents in the ground. The very notion of any chance of life occurring here was absurd; for there was not even a sun… but by some strange force, there was somehow light for us to see where we were going. We walked on for what seemed like an eternity never passing by as much as a pebble. We walked for some time, until we came to the first solid thing we had seen since leaving our dimension.
It appeared to be a mountain of some kind, black, rocky and jagged. It was not steep, though. In fact, it was sloped enough to ascend semi-comfortably. As we began to climb the fortitude, we encountered some odd spectacles. The vents in the ground no longer spewed forth the noxious mist that had given the landscape its bleak atmosphere. Instead, they became geysers that erupted with the blood-like substance that had trickled from the “sky”. As horrified and appalled as my partners and I were, we decided to continue climbing out of sheer morbid curiosity. It wasn’t until we had reached near the top that the hellish land began to take on an even more sinister theme. Bones of strange and alien creature lie strewn about the ground, rotting and decaying in the blood and the smog. There was a new stench in the air, too. A fouler smell has not crossed my nostrils since… and hopefully never will again. The stink of burning corpses and blood laced the air and even the mist changed its color: it was now red like the rain. Many of us gagged with smell and the sights around us, but we could not turn away. Even though we wanted to turn and run, we could not.
When we finally reached the top, we discovered that it was no mountain we had climbed; it was a crater. Deep and wide, the crater stretched farther than any of us could see. There was no solid sky above us anymore, only a night sky; a black and empty vastness that appeared to be the eye of the universe, looking down on us as if we were gladiators in the cosmic coliseum. Inside the abyss, however, resided a creature beyond anything the human mind could comprehend. I began the descent down the slopes into the canyon below and the rest followed behind me. The amount of bones and carcasses began increasing as we descended further, and so did our terror. But as we got closer to the bottom the bones soon turned into freshly killed corpses that looked to have been half-devoured by something of enormous size and stature. All of these mysterious bodies had one thing in common: the eyes had been gouged out and the throat had been slashed; and judging by the size of the lacerations, no ordinary animal had committed these atrocities. The smell was getting stronger and our stomachs grew weaker.
We arrived at the bottom only to encounter a diabolical and scarring surprise. In front of us sat a lake of blood. Upon the sight, a few of my associates vomited; their stomachs and limits strained by the journey through this nightmarish land. “We need to leave at once,” one of them spoke as they wiped the bile from their mouth. “I agree. I’ll ready the return device,” I replied, my voice shaking from the terror before us. Our return device resembled a remote control used for televisions with some minor adjustment. As I began to type in the coordinates that I had designated for our universe, I heard something in the distance. It sounded like the roar of a lion, except deeper and more guttural. “What was that,” one of my colleagues enquired. The voice sounded very close; almost too close. And then it spoke… "Nyat’chigurl kotgn’agual… gtolhulu shlyar’skreth… b’fagl… xiar… xiar…"
I have no idea what was said or what had said it, but following the unintelligible sounds a great and ungodly cacophony of a roar erupted behind us; and it belonged to a creature borne of the darkest realms of the human imagination. It resembled, from what I can recall, a towering, 12-foot tall grub standing upright with the aid of a mass of tentacles. The beast’s eyes were replaced by a mass of wrinkled skin, and its large, carnivorous teeth grimaced in a wicked smile that trickled with the blood of past slaughters. The creature’s arms were of another world themselves. They were long and wretched with the atrocious beings hide only covering the latter part of the appendage. Its hands, if they can even be called that, were the tools of which it used to slaughter and eviscerate its prey. Both appeared to be carved out of the fiends own bone; the right resembled a simple spear, while the other had been somehow crafted into a scythe-shaped blade.
The attack came swift and occurred within a matter of seconds of the monster’s utterance. Without a moment’s notice, the being impaled one of my associates with the spear and beheaded him with the scythe. Reveling in the success of a fresh kill, the abomination bathed in the fountain of blood it had made of out of the prey, draining my poor friend of every drop of his precious fluids and devouring the cadaver he left in a single bite. And then it spoke again, only somehow we could understand what was being said…
"I am By’hagn’gyl, the Messiah of Pain, and I demand my tribute... "
The rest… is a blank space... The only thing I remember are the horrible screams and a symphony of carnage; the splashing of blood, the cracking of limbs and the ripping of flesh. All I remember of that moment are the horrendous cries of pain and unimaginable suffering as my colleagues were torn asunder by the Blind Horror… By’hagn’gyl.
I recall, however, reaching for the return device and finishing the coordinates for my universe and jumping through the portal that would eventually land me here in Equestria. But somehow, the passage stayed open long enough for By’hagn’gyl to follow after me. It was not my intention to bring any harm to the world in which I found safety, nor was it to bring the god to my world either, but by some small chance… it happened. I brought this hell-fiend to a place far less deserving than that of the realm of humans. If left unchecked, By’hagn’gyl’s reign of terror will spread from his nuclear blood-world of pain and suffering to the utopian land of Equestria, ensnaring the pony-race within his grasp and wiping out their kind in a gluttonous holocaust of bedlam and utter destruction. Celestia help me, I must not let this happen.
The trip through the nightmarish land had worn my nerves and my sanity, but it was portal that almost did me in, for the wretched god-beast had followed me with unrelenting tenacity. He had wounded me as well, with a swift and merciless slice to my calf muscle. I almost fell when the creature struck me, but I quickly regained composure as I was running on fear and adrenaline, trying to escape the bastardized creation of the cosmos and its home world. I finished the coordinates and activated the portal, tearing a hole into the very fabric of reality itself. This neither phased nor discouraged my pursuer as he clamored after me in a haze of bloodlust and hedonistic savagery, blindly swinging and jabbing with his tools of destruction. I jumped through the portal and instantly found myself free falling a distance of about 15 feet or so and landing in the middle of a forest. I knew the creature had followed me… but I would not know where he landed. There was a catch with inter-dimensional travel that my fellow men of science had not yet solved. If two beings entered the portal at two different times, no matter how slim the time frame, they would end up in two separate places; same universe, just different areas. I had reached the doorway a good three seconds before he was able to enter it himself, so our distance would be great between each other, but it would not be far enough.
I had landed on my stomach as well as the remote, which now lay before me in a million shattered fragments. I did not care, as I was still under the assumption that I was on earth and that I had just landed in an unknown forest. I picked myself up and began limping to the nearest sign of shelter. My calf was bleeding profusely and I desperately needed medical attention. To make due until I had proper care, I had ripped off the sleeve of my shirt and fashioned a make-shift tourniquet. It was night, wherever I was, and I began to pick up my pace so as to avoid any confrontations with any predatory creatures of the night. My survival instincts were kicking in and I wanted to go faster, but my leg simply wouldn’t allow it. I began to panic for it seemed I was getting nowhere and the thought of the horror god’s perturbing grimace haunted my every thought as I staggered through my evening purgatory. All hope appeared to be lost… but then I heard someone chanting.
The voice was not far off and as I walked the voice became louder and clearer. The voice could only be described as belonging to a woman of African descent, which was peculiar considering where I was, or rather where I thought I was. Closer and closer I carried myself to my vocal salvation, the incantations music to my ears. Finally, I arrived at the source of the sounds. It was a tree which had been converted into a home. The tree was relatively old for the trunk had grown tall and wide enough to house a person. Crude, circular windows had been carved from the body of the tree as well, revealing light from the inside and illuminating the outside to reveal other details of the abode. On the outside moss that clung to the tree painted the areas it was applied to various shades of green and brown. From its branches hung colored bottles of innumerable shapes and sizes, swaying as multicolored hangmen from aged gallows. The door was nothing short of primitive itself; this did not matter, for I had begun to grow faint as I was losing blood and time. I almost collapsed on the earthen doorstep, my vision growing blurry and the pain increasing with each passing moment. Three times I knocked, and of all things, a befell its face.
“What… the… fu-…” I began to say, but everything went black.
By’hagn’gyl became the supreme lord of my dreams that night; every horrifying moment replaying in my head as if I were watching a film. The sounds and the sights that plagued my thoughts before I arrived began to come back and torment me further, pushing the boundaries of my sanity with the greatest measure of unimaginable terror. I saw him, the Blind Horror, and the only thing I regret is that I live to remember and recall each horrible, gruesome detail.
“What is it? I’ve never seen a pony like this ‘round here before,” a southern voice spoke.
“He’s not a pony, Applejack. My book says that he’s a ‘human’, but I always heard they were just an old pony’s tale,” another spoke, except in a more refined tone of voice.
Pony’s tale… Applejack… Where the hell am I?
“Are ‘hue-mans’ dangerous? I mean, if he wakes up, will he be all like, ‘RRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR! I’M GOING TO EAT YOU ALL!!!’, because he looks really scary to me and…”
Good god please shut this one up! Her voice is so loud and obnoxious! And don’t they know what a human being is? What is going on!?
“No, Pinkie, he’s not going to eat us. I read that they do eat meat, but not of ponies. I may not have a lot to go one about them, but humans are not supposed to be like that at all,” the learned one spoke again.
Finally, a voice of reason!
A quieter and softer voice began to reply, “But Twilight, you just said that you didn’t know much about them… What if you’re wrong? I mean I trust you and all but…”
“I say we get him out of here ASAP! There’s no telling what could happen with that thing around. For all we know your books could be wrong and we could have a crisis on our hooves! Would you like that Twilight?! How about your next letter to Princess Celestia going somethin’ like this: ‘Dear Princess Celestia, today I set loose a human in Equestria and now we are on the brink of disaster,’” another, more brash individual impeded.
“Goodness, What happened to its leg, Zecora!?” This one’s tone was prissier and unreasonably dramatic.
“From what I can tell, he was cut very well. The wound is deep, and it will take some time, but he should be able to walk just fine.”
All of this was very confusing of course. So to fully comprehend what was going on, where I was and who had rescued me I began to open my eyes. “I think he’s awake. Keep an eye on him,” the brash one said. When my eyes finally adjusted to the morning light, I could scarcely believe, even now, what I saw. I was surrounded by what I thought was nothing more than a mere hallucination brought on by significant blood loss: Technicolor ponies.
“Well, good morning! How are you feeling,” a purple unicorn spoke. Now I knew who was the most educated among them.
Needless to say I was in shock. Nothing could have prepared me for this. I’d feared that my nerves had finally snapped and that my collected state of mind had gone out the window. I was reluctant to answer, as most of us would, for I was feeling many things… and well certainly not one of them.
“Can ya speak,” an orange pony wearing a cowboy hat asked.
“Y-yes…” I replied. My voice was trembling with uneasiness. What was I doing here? How did I get here? I thought I had typed in the coordinates correctly, but from my current standing I was sorely mistaken. My mind began to collapse around me. None of this made sense…
There they stood; staring at me for what seemed like forever, never breaking the silence for even a moment. Then I spoke,” Who… What are you? Where am I?”
“Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle and you are in the Everfree Forest in the home of our friend Zecora. She’s the one who saved you.” The violet pony raised her hoof and pointed to the zebra that stood beside me. I looked to my rescuer and reached out to see if she was indeed genuine. Her fur was soft and warm… inviting, almost. I quickly retracted my arm and apologized, fearing that I may have made the creature uncomfortable. “It is alright, you need not fear. You are still adjusting, my dear,” she replied. “I’m still trying to process what’s happening here,” I directed my attention to the purple unicorn once more,” perhaps you can help me here. Where am I? Who are they? What is-“
Then a blue pony with wings descended from the air with great force and speed and barked, “We should be the ones asking questions, human! What’s your name? Where are you from? Are you a spy?”
“Spy!? I don’t even know where the hell I am,” I exclaimed. “All I remember is walking through these woods, bleeding like a stuck pig and collapsing on this zebra’s doorstep! For Christ’s sake! I don’t even know if I’m on earth anymore!” My nerves had finally snapped. With the devil on my back and the presence of these polychrome equestrian anomalies, I wasn’t sure what was even real any more. I began to shiver and weep. The pain in my leg wasn’t even half as distressing compared to what was happening in front of my eyes. “Just tell me where I am… please,” I quivered, pushing back the tears.
“You’re in Equestria, in the Everfree Forest located outside of Ponyville, where we all live,” Twilight replied.
“Okay,” I answered,” and who are the rest of you?”
“I’m Applejack. Pleased t’ meet ya, stranger.” She extended a hoof and we shook.
“I’m… um… Fluttershy,” a yellow Pegasus bashfully spoke.
“Rarity; charmed to meet your acquaintance Mr.-…”
“Kain Slasor; and it is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Rarity.” Her name suited her demeanor perfectly, for in spite of her species, she was a sight to behold. Her pearly-white, iridescent coat shone elegantly in the sunlight and her mane was of celestial and immortal origins in itself. The only things that could have rivaled these other traits were her eyes. They were large, glimmering ocean-blue stars against an uncompromisingly beautiful sky, eternally lustrous and bedazzling.
“And I’m PINKIE PIE!!!”
A blast of confetti and party horns rang through the air as the pink pony began to sing and dance with much rejoicing. Though the initial sound had startled me, I began to smile and laugh with much relief in my heart. Then my cerulean Pegasus interrogator from earlier swooped down and came face-to-face with me, putting my wits on end once again. She had a look of distrust in her eyes and the air between us became instantly uncomfortable. “Kain is it,” the Pegasus inquired.
“Y-yes,” I uneasily replied,” and you are?”
“The name’s Rainbow Dash… and I’ve got my eyes on you.” She hovered even closer to my face than before and squinted at me, making sure that I wasn’t going to make any sudden movements. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Dash,” I retorted as I once again extended my hand in friendship. She looked at it, and then looked at me. She cautiously presented her hoof, shook my hand, and flew away slowly.
“Zecora, I must thank you properly. If it hadn’t been for you… well… I might not be having this strange encounter right now. Thank you,” I said to the zebra at my side. There was something strange about her, though; something mesmerizing. I caught myself staring at her a second time and I quickly snapped back to reality. What was happening to me? Could I… no… it cannot be so.
“You are welcome, Kain. I did what I could. But what could have done that out in this wood.”
“Yeah,” Twilight pondered,” how did you hurt your leg like that?”
I was at a dangerous dilemma. Should I tell them about my lurid ventures in the Horror Realm or should I dismiss it as nothing more than a wound from an encounter with a rabid animal. I felt that there would be a time for them to truly comprehend and understand what I had went through and what I saw; but for now, I would have to lie about the horrendous origin of my wound. But what will I say when that bastardization begins to grow mad with hunger? How long will it be before I can return? Will I be able to correct my mistake… or will I have doomed them all?
It was not long after we had all met each other that I was taken to see one of their physicians in Ponyville. They carried me on a makeshift sled constructed of branches and vines that somehow supported the weight of my body. As we came out of the Everfree forest, I became astonished at the sights that befell me. The colors were vibrant and beautiful and full of life. The sky was a blanket of light blue speckled with a cloud or two and birds chirped and relished in the sun’s warm glow. This was a blatant contradiction to where I had been only hours ago. Suddenly, in that moment, I was once again thankful to be alive.
I was taken through the town and I attracted quite a following. As we made our way to the hospital, ponies of innumerable shades and hues gawked at the sight of me. It was obvious that they had never laid eyes on a human before. Just as the air was thick with curiosity and wonder, it wasn’t long before whispers began to grow amongst the community. It was somewhat uncomfortable and rude, but I was not in a position to make any objections. I desperately needed proper medical care, whatever that might be for the equestrian population. “We’ll be there shortly, Kain,” Twilight reassured me.
The pain was beginning to take its toll; an agonizing, tormenting pain that indicated a possible infection. How ironic that in their attempt to save my life, my strange and well-intentioned acquaintances would be the key instruments in my inevitable demise. My bandages began to drip blood and leave an ominous trail behind my “pre-funeral” procession. Better to be buried with dignity, I suppose, than to be eaten alive and turned into god-shit.
My arrival at the hospital drew even more attention and worry from the doctors when they beheld the alien speaking to you now. They were concerned about the fact that none of them had ever healed a human before, let alone lay eyes on one.
“I’m not sure if we’ll be able to help him. The laceration has already shown signs of an infection and we’ve never-“
“-operated on a human before. I know there’s something you’ve got to do. At least help with the infection so that it might have a chance to heal,” Pinkie interrupted.
“We could prescribe him something to stunt it, but we can’t promise it will work. His body composition is totally different from our own. We’ll do what we can but there are no guarantees. The best we can do for him now is stitch it up and try and kill the infection as quickly as possible,” the doctor replied.
“Just do your best, please . . . ,” Fluttershy briefly commented, a desperate and worried look befalling her face.
“We’ll have to start right away.” I was soon rushed away to be treated and put under some similar substance to anesthesia and remained asleep for several hours.
Grotesque, haunting thoughts plagued my mind and acted out their depraved and blood-laced scenes with abysmal glee that only Hell’s supreme torturers would understand. By’hagn’gyl’s presence perverted my only sanctuary with crystal-clear visions of the apocalypse he would bring to the Pony world . . . Corpses . . . all of them . . . Nothing to be said or done. Mutilated, mangled, and devoured in the blink of an eye without a second thought or action. Fire consumed the village and the surrounding terrain with a fierce, burning lust that began to turn Equestria into a world of blackened glass; devoid of any and all life. The sky turned into dust and the ground shook with fury. I then found myself in an all-too-familiar landscape. Viscous ground, blood geysers, the stench . . . Then Him.
(Soon, I will come . . . on Wings from beneath black Bahg’nethlo’ux . . .)
I awoke to find myself alone and in a void of silent, devastating darkness and covered in a cold sweat. The room soon revealed itself to be accommodations in the recovery wing of the hospital; a single, large window cast the burning lamp of the night into view and winds of violent and wild origins made the wooden frame of my abode creak with an eerie laughter. I was desperate, despite my fragile state, to feel the cool and deathly embrace of the night’s breeze. Hobbling clumsily out of my bed, I approached the window reluctantly with the bare-wood floor joining the symphony of moaning and groaning that now ran rampant through the building. When I finally reached the window, I began to feel as if it were a mistake to open it; fearing some unknown specter of ancient and evil pits of blackness to manifest itself or slither with ghastly glee into my company. Heat and sweat finally made the decision for me and I undid the latch, pushed the bottom up, and soon began to suckle from the teat of mother night’s eternally infinite body. It was bliss and peace at last . . . but only for the moment.
As I peered out over the land I heard the familiar roar, guttural and deep as though it had been conceived by only the blackest depths of the underworld. Malice and bloodlust filled the evening atmosphere and I soon realized I was no longer safe. The damned creature of unholy dimensions was not far off, and it would not be long before his hunger would lead to the slaughter of the countless innocents as I had foreseen.
The earth-shattering calls faded away as the night progressed and I proceeded to lie back down to try and obtain as much rest as possible.