Shion was still reeling from the whole, inhaling a bad mushroom time, that he had decided to take a rest and stay clear of the mushrooms. No more, he won’t be fooled by the pretty lights and the nice shapes. He had wanted to bite one earlier, too, but the horse was clever. Ish. He held back, and simply walked forward with his head lowered, staring at the ground, carefully mapping out where he was going - until he heard something. Rocks, falling. His head snapped up, and he saw something at the end of the tunnel. It was around his size, with a large mane, full of… white…? Fiber?

His mouth fell open, when the thing did the same, and he realised it was a carbon copy of himself, minus some new add-ons. White hair, white pupils, and fungal growth along the legs and the throat. The horse mirrored the step back that Shion took, but in reverse. If Shion went left, the horse would go right, like a terrible mirror. It was when Shion turned around and took a step to leave, that the fungi seemed to mirror Shion perfectly -

And it ran after him.

“Nope nope nope!” Shion cried out, giggling hysterically, “There’s a mushroom. Nope. Haha… Help!!” He called out, and he tripped over a rock, hearing the fungi do the same. But it seemed to be getting closer, and Shion ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him until…

“Bark!”

A hound went from around the corner, and it barked loudly at the monster, growling and snapping its jaw toward it. The fungi seemed to understand it was in a bad position, and it tried to step forward, until it slowly transformed into a hound and started to mirror it. The real hound didn’t find it funny, but together with Shion, they managed to drive back the monster. When calm reigned once again, the horse looked at the huge hound, and felt relief swim in his stomach.

“Thank you.” He whispered, nudging it. The dog happily waggled his tail, and licked Shion’s face. “I’m sorry, but I am definitely adopting you now.”

The hound sat back, blinking with its dark eyes, before letting out a soft bark. Shion considered it a yes, and he glanced toward the end of the tunnel, where the mushroom had left. Huh… He could swear it was still watching them.