//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: The Terror Below Hayseed Manor 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

Another flash of light and another deafening crash of thunder resounded throughout the manor as I stepped over the threshold and into the dark room. That unknown, but powerfully malodorous stench which I'd been ignoring up until now with middling success, was strongest here in this room, and I couldn't help but gag as the scent seeped into my mouth and nostrils.

Somewhere ahead of me I heard Moon Dancer give another small chuckle before assuring me I'd grow used to it in time. I had no intention of growing used to anything remotely related to this place, but I held my tongue and said nothing. There was a sort of horrible tension in the nearly pitch black room that made my hairs stand on end, and I had to suppress a slight shudder at the sensation. I'd been so distracted by the chilling oddities that had been plaguing me that I'd all but forgotten my illumination spell.

I went to cast it once more, but had no need as Moon Dancer's own horn bathed the room in a pink-grey light. It didn't last long, and a brief moment later the pink-grey glow was replaced with the soft orange-yellow of a lit gas lamp that sat atop a cluttered desk in one corner of the room. Everything within the room was suddenly thrown into sharp relief and I could now see that the room had been far smaller than I realized.

One glance was enough to tell me that this had been somepony's private study, and though I've never been one to bet, I'd put all my bits on the room having belonged to Lucerne Hayseed herself. Looking around me, there could be seen the old wooden desk with the closed and brightly lit gas lamp, several stacked and rolled pieces of parchment, an inkwell, complete with a quill still wet with ink, and  and two books, both of which sat open side by side and one of which looked terribly familiar.

Further observation revealed a mess of even more parchment that had been discarded and scattered about the ground around the desk and chair, a dry rot ridden bookshelf that took up most of one wall, and a large globe that sat atop an old dresser. The bookshelf, like the other shelves in the library, was full of crusty old tomes, but what grabbed and held my attention to the point that I felt almost spellbound, was the far wall opposite the entrance to the room.

Each of the walls aside from the one behind the large bookshelf had some manner of old family portrait or chart affixed to it, and there had even been an old fashioned blackboard similar to what Moon Dancer had in her own study. All these walls held something, save for the wall opposite the entrance, which was left completely and suspiciously bare. As I stared at that wall, my head began to pound painfully and that malefic, alien voice swelled in my ears.

This time I could almost make it out, but before I could fully understand what I'd heard, Moon Dancer chose that moment to speak. She moved over to the desk and sat herself on the chair before turning back to me, one hoof atop the book next to what I knew to be the mysterious tome, and another raised to her face to adjust her glasses.

"Evening Star had been right to send us to that old stallion. He had exactly the thing I needed to decipher the script within the tome. As it turns out, Lucerne kept a journal, and in it, she documented all her discoveries about the tome she'd originally gotten from that curio shop. Everything that had to do with that tome and what she did with it, it's all here.

"You see, Lucerne loved to collect all kinds of foreign or exotic things. It was a hobby of hers as a foal. When her parents died and she became head of the family, that never changed, and even as a grown mare she never stopped collecting weird knick-knacks, but it wasn't just strange exotic baubles she collected. She also had a pretty big collection of rare tomes, a lot of which you can see right over there on the bookshelf."

I resisted the urge to look, not wanting to humor the mare or give in to my own curiosity. What she was saying was far more important, and when Moon Dancer saw that my attention was still firmly focused on her, she gave a dismissive shrug and continued.

"As I said, the mare collected rare tomes, and according to her journal, she'd been given this tome by Sound Mind, who'd been running the curio shop at the time exactly as Kickshaw said. I don't know Sound Mind's true identity, but I know the stallion back then is the same stallion that passed the tome to me, and I'm also fairly certain he isn't a pony—not like you or me.

"That aside, Lucerne took the tome and, like the two of us, she tried to decipher it. She tried for months, spending a ridiculous amount of embezzled bits on resources and traveling the world looking for answers, but like us, she failed. She became obsessed, but didn't find her answers until she went back to see Sound Mind at the curio shop..."

Moon Dancer paused suddenly and turned back to the journal, magically flipping through its worn yellow pages. She stopped on a single page and read it a moment before speaking again, her eyes scanning the page and her voice carrying a slow thoughtfulness.

"She doesn't say what happened during the visit, only that whatever it was, was 'like experiencing a thousand nightmares made real', but when she next left the shop, she could read the tome, so I suppose it must've been worth it. No... it was worth it!"

At this, she hopped out of the chair and moved closer to the opposite wall that held a strange thrall over me only a few moments ago. She wrapped the tome in her magic and dragged it over to her before flipping it open and searching the pages. As she did so, she picked back up her explanation, the excitement once again seeping into her voice.

"She actually did it, Twilight! Once she knew how to read the language in this tome, Lucerne actually took the time to translate it all into Ponish, and documented the entire translation in her journal... but then she made a horrible mistake..."

She stopped flipping through the tome, apparently having found what she was looking for, then looked towards the wall and gave a visible shudder. I couldn't see her face, turned away from me as she was, but her next words were quiet and troubled.

"I was able to memorize enough of the language to read the tome, and some of the things I learned... the terrifying rituals... the gruesome sacrifices... There's so many awful things I found in here, but the knowledge I've gained in return more than makes up for it. There are gods that exist, Twilight... actual gods that exist in realms and dimensions we can't possibly fathom!

"The Great Dreamer who sleeps beneath the sea of a distant world... the Black Goat of the Woods which bears a Thousand Young... the Opener of the Way... The Crawling Chaos... the Blind Idiot God, and so many more besides, and they all exist, Twilight! They're as real as you or me, and their existence can be proven through this tome!"

I watched with growing horror as Moon Dancer worked herself into a frenzy. Her mane had come undone, her glasses had long since fallen from her face, and her eyes were wild. She shivered, lost in, and blinded by, the ecstasy of her discovery. The mare had become completely unhinged, driven mad by the 'truth' she coveted so much, and still she continued on. 

"There are other things too! You saw them here in the tome, even if you couldn't read it, even if you didn't know... you saw those creatures! Some of them aren't gods at all. Some of them can be summoned, contained, controlled even! There are rituals meant to do just that... I've seen them, read of some of them in the tome. While you were still trying to catch up to me, I found the ritual Lucerne had intended to use, I compared her notes to the actual ritual in the tome! Here, take a look for yourself!"

Still holding the tome aloft, she grabbed up the journal from the desk, brought it over to her and opened it in her magic. She turned page after page until she found the section she was looking for, then, with a manic smile on her face, she thrust the open journal toward me, nearly pressing it to my muzzle in the process.

Out of reflex I took the journal in my own magic and, spurred on by some dark and morbid curiosity, I read. I wanted to look away and deny Moon Dancer's request, but my eyes were pulled toward the words, and I took in the knowledge of the despicable rite Lucerne had inacted. I read of how she'd had a basement built below the manor in secret, how she, with the help of a hired mage, used a combination of old alchemy and modern magic to make a powerful entrapment seal.

My face paled as I read of how she'd intended to head down into that basement and, upon the completion of the ritual chamber which she'd erected below, sacrifice in cold blood the very mage who'd helped her accomplish her blasphemous endeavor. My eyes widened with horror, disgust, and a twisted fascination as I continued to read of the nameless thing she hoped to summon forth from realms unknown with ancient words not meant to be uttered by any sane creature with the capacity for higher thought.

The words written in the old journal came to an end without resolution. Whether or not she'd succeed in her rite remained unanswered within those pages, and that, along with her documented disappearance under mysterious circumstances, led me to believe she'd failed and suffered unspeakable consequences as a result. But what then of the entity she meant to bring to Equestria from beyond? Was Wispy Willows telling the truth? Had she actually succeeded as far to summon the creature and perished once she'd tried to control it? 

As I finished the last sentence, that voice which had eluded my understanding since I'd entered the library rose once again to fill my ears with its unsettling, unearthly tone. It mingled strangely with Moon Dancer's own words, giving them an odd, almost alien quality. 

"She almost had it... complete control of that formless beast from another plane. But she faltered at the last moment and paid for her failure. I'm smarter than that, though—stronger than that, we both are! Help me finish what she started, Twilight, please! Lucerne already did most of the work... she's already made the necessary sacrifice! W-we won't have to get our hooves dirty! The only thing needed now is just to break the seal a-and give the command in the ancient tongue.

"I know the words, I studied them before you arrived. She never completed the full ritual, but I know we can! I told you I'd find the whole truth, and now I have! Now I can show you what lies beyond the veil of our limited understanding! Together we can accomplish what Lucerne tried and failed to do so long ago!"

She turned back to the blank wall and the pink-grey light around her horn brightened considerably. Several pieces of the wooden paneling that made up the wall briefly radiated the same light before shifting slightly. A complex and sizable magic sigil burned itself into the wooden panels, briefly glowing white hot with pent up mana before fading to a blackened imprint upon the wall. Then with a soft click, the panels slid back and to the side to reveal a steep wooden stairwell leading downward into foreboding darkness. 

"The basement... the ritual chamber... it's here, just down these steps. I've unlocked the seal... it's a powerful seal to be sure, but relatively simple to undo if you know the underlying principles... now we can go to where it lies sleeping below and I'll speak the words, then you'll see... so many possibilities..."

With the tome floating beside her, Moon Dancer started forward and down the steps like a mare possessed, murmuring and muttering of limitless potential, scientific miracles, and world changing revelations all the while. Despite her proclivity to include me in her plans, it looked as though Moon Dancer had all but forgotten me; in her psychosis, she hadn't once looked back to see whether or not I would follow.

I watched her sink further and further into that black abyss, both physically and mentally, and decided now was the time to act. The extent to which she'd fallen nearly broke me, and I could no longer suffer the sight of her in that state. Fear, panic and dismay flooded my veins, and in the throes of my distress, I made to pull her back from the stairs and send us both away from the dreadful manor via teleportation. Try as I might however, the magic wouldn't come.

In its place came a migraine so great that I crumpled to the floor, whimpering in agony. My vision began to blur and swim in and out of focus, and I momentarily lost all sense of time. I couldn't tell if hours had passed by or if it was mere seconds that I lie there in the study, and then there were the formless twisted shapes that began to dance in my periphery. In my sudden delirium it was impossible for me to tell reality from nightmarish hallucination.

Somewhere in my mind I was convinced I was the one going mad, and that fear only became more prominent as the demoniac voice filled my mind and blotted out nearly everything else from existence. Here is where I feel my sanity begins to fail me, and I can only speak of the things I thought I saw and heard in that moment of pure hysteria.

As I said before, it was impossible for me to tell how long the maddening affliction affected me, and as it went on, the horrific visions began to worsen considerably, but that was only the beginning—the prelude to my inevitable flight from the manor. Eventually the voice began to quiet enough for me to hear something far worse.

Floating up from the basement far below, I could make out the sound of not just one, but several flutes piping strange and discordant notes. The tone was incredibly unpleasant to the ear and brought forth ghastly images of creatures that even now I cannot and will not describe for fear that I might fall into another violent fit.

Still worse than even that was the unmistakable voice of Moon Dancer, whose manic cry I could also hear from below. She shouted and ranted and raved as if in a fever, and the words she spoke were so bizarre and otherworldly that I could scarcely believe it came from any language spoken by the many sapient creatures that inhabited this planet. As I write this, I can still remember the words as they practically tore themselves from Moon Dancer's lips.                   

"...nafl'fhtagn, mgepogor nyth'drn ot Mgepoghnahh... nafl'fhtagn ng mggoka'ai ya uln! nafl'fhtagn ng ahnyth mgepnah uh'eog!"

These uncanny words she bellowed over and over again, chanting them with a fervor bordering on absolute fanaticism, and before long, I heard a response. Something began to stir beneath the floor, the sound of it like the rumbling of an oncoming landslide. Its movements alone were enough to shake the very walls around me, but Moon Dancer seemed to pay it no heed as her infernal chant continued to rise from the basement.

What came next was an appalling cacophony of squelching and sloshing that brought to mind some kind of gigantic slimy mass, and the smell! In the pandemonium that followed Moon Dancer's descent into the the basement, I'd almost forgotten how horrible the stink permeating the manor had been, but now it intensified to the point that I could no longer hold back my bile and was forced to purge the contents of my previous meal from my stomach.

A strange cry caught my attention as I wiped the sick from my mouth and struggled to rise to my hooves. It took me a moment to realize that the cry had a similar, almost one-to-one property to the odd piping I'd heard before, but this time, I swore that in my addled state, I could hear words repeated within those haunting tones.         

Tekeli-li... Tekeli-li...

The words repeated themselves again and once more, growing louder each time. Still somewhat indisposed and crippled by fear, pain and twisted visions, I could only listen as Moon Dancer's distant voice grew more frantic and fearful, wavering more and more with each repetition of her sinister chant. Then, all at once there came a deafening alien wail whose reverberations were enough to shatter the ancient windows of the manor. Immediately following the horrid cry were Moon Dancer's last desperate shouts, hysterical pleas that would forever haunt my waking thoughts.

"Ah'hri ya... ah'hri ya! No, why isn't it working?! Why isn't this working?! Somepony help... Oh Celestia h-help me! Twilight! Twilight, where are you?!"

Her words quickly devolved into blood-curdling screams that shook me like no other experience ever had, or ever would again. The grisly sounds which followed were enough to finally stir my violently trembling legs to action, and, fighting the pain in my head and the dark twisting shapes in my eyes, I turned from the basement and ran.

Another cry of those strange musical words rang out behind me and as I reached the door on the opposite side of the room and pulled it open, another bout of foolish and morbid curiosity overtook me and I paused, turning my frightened, teary gaze back toward the stairwell. 

The squelching, sucking, and sloshing grew louder and louder, and as I watched, now completely frozen by boundless terror, some formless shape began to ooze its way up the stairs and into view. More and more of it rose up out of the depths of the basement and spilled into the study. The sight of it was hideous on a level that could not be fathomed by any rational pony, and I was far from rational. Nothing about the situation was rational.

I felt like I was in a surreal nightmare, unable to properly comprehend the vile mass whose monstrous snapping jaws, many bulbous eyes and other gruesome protrusions morphed and bubbled, constantly shifting from place to place upon its amorphic, gelatinous flesh. It wailed again as more of its slimy bulk erupted from the stairwell and into the room. I was broken free of my statue-like state, and with my last remaining shred of reason, I turned away and fled the study.

As I tore my way through the library, I could hear the walls begin to creak and groan. Another wail followed me, but I didn't dare look back this time. On the edges of my vision I could see more of that repulsive ooze pushing its way through the walls and shelves, knocking over books and cracking apart the marble from the walls, floor and ceiling. At some point I made it out of the library and into the hall, and soon enough, I was back in the foyer and heading for the main entrance at a breakneck pace. I gave no thought to whether or not the nameless terror had followed after me; I was too far gone, reduced to the baser instincts of a prey animal fleeing from a predator on the hunt.

Lightning and thunder flashed and cracked across the sky as I barreled through the front door of the manor and out into the torrential downpour that had settled over the swamplands. I ignored it all, my broken, fear ravaged mind focused only on escape and survival. Thus was horror of the blackest depths and madness of the highest order born deep within the bowels of that old manor... horror and madness enough to send me screaming back into the putrid swamplands with what little remained of my own sanity... and that horrible cry echoing through the howling wind and rain...

Tekeli-li... Tekeli-li...