//------------------------------// // The Sundered Veil. // Story: Seeing Monsters // by Hopefullygoodgrammar //------------------------------// Seeing Monsters ************************************************* Daring Do looked out the window of the train: the sky was swollen with dark, gray clouds that vomited torrents of rain down upon the dreary countryside. She was glad that she had decided not to fly to her destination; she wouldn’t have lasted long in this weather. The weather pegasi had better have a good reason for all this. she thought as a jagged spear of lightning sliced through the dark sky, followed by the roar of a thunder clap. Daring shivered, she had always been fine with storms, she even used to sleep through them when she was a filly, but this storm was… different somehow: it seemed to her that night had come early and would be lasting a good while. Sighing, the tan pegasus glanced down at the neatly-folded note in her hooves, it had arrived the previous day and its contents had been enough to call her away from writing her newest book. The note had come from Hoofington, and read: To Miss. Daring Do My name is Dr. Helping Hoof and I am the administrator of the Hoofington Insane Asylum. Three weeks ago a new and rather… unique patient was brought to us, The authorities said that he had been spotted wandering the marketplace in one of the outlying villages in Saddle Arabia. They told me that he had been nearly dead from dehydration and malnourishment, I agreed to take him and found him to be of a very unique and somewhat infamous race: an Ahuizotl. I’m sure that name brings up some bad memories, but it is true. You may also be thinking “Maybe it isn’t the Ahuizotl that I’ve met, maybe it’s a different one.” But this particular specimen IS the one that you’ve encountered so often: his physical description is matches the one which you’ve given in each of your books and he seems to know who you are. We’ve tried all that we can for him, he’s in very bad shape at the moment, but he’s refused all treatment and says that he wants to talk to you and you alone. It’s gotten to the point where he screams out his demands and slams his head into the walls and floor. I’ve tried everything I can, but I’m afraid for his life as he’s already given himself a minor concussion and has managed to bite off several of his fingers. I know that you’re enemies, but Mr. Ahuizotl is my patient and I must uphold my hippocratic oath and care for him as best I can. Please, Miss. Do, help him, help him for my sake as well as his own. I’ve enclosed a map to the Asylum, I hope that you can respond as soon as possible. Respectfully yours Dr. Helping Hoof. Daring had read the note several times over, searching for any sign of Ahuizotl’s trickery, but the more she read it, the more she became convinced that the note was legitimate. She had known Ahuizotl for as long as she had been adventuring and she knew him as well as he knew her. Ahuizotl was physically powerful, as the many times in which she had been punched, kicked, or introduced to a wall, could attest and, although he was quite the brilliant mind, subtlety was not his forte.  It was like he had been overtaken by the spirit of a comic book villain. He got himself a posse of felines, abandoned his scientist garb for… nothing, constantly tried to show her up even though he was perfectly capable of finding his own ancient ruins, and he always, always monologued when he could have just killed her or knocked her out. It had become so cliched, so tiring to her over the past years. She often found herself wondering if her “arch-nemesis” had similar thoughts to hers, but she often dismissed that notion, thinking that he had delved far too deep into the role of super-villain to have any real, intelligent thoughts beyond plots for world domination and the care of cats. Daring leaned her head against the window, letting the cold glass numb her cheek. She was feeling tired again and there were no distractions for her outside of looking at the storm raging outside. I still have an hour or two, so I might as well get some sleep. she thought as she closed her eyes and drifted off into Nod. An hour later she awoke with a gasp, her body soaked with cold sweat. She couldn’t remember most of the nightmare that had invaded her mind, she could only recall glimpses of darkened tunnels and deep pools of crimson. She shivered and rubbed her hooves across her shoulders, trying to get some warmth back into her limbs. She had never been much of a dreamer (a fact that she was sure annoyed Princess Luna to no end), so the nightmare had caught her completely off guard and, what was stranger, Luna hadn’t come to stop it.   Daring was jolted out of the stupor that she hadn’t realized she had fallen into by the shrill screech of the train wheels coming to a halt; she had arrived in Hoofington. The rain froze Daring to her very core, but she still refused to take a cab. The Hoofington Insane Asylum wasn’t too far away from the train station, after all. Kinda weird that they’d build an asylum a few blocks away from a train station. she thought, I mean, isn’t that asking for trouble? She tried to muster a smile at her own joke, but the oppressive atmosphere of the town was far too distracting. She had thought that the countryside had been dreary, but Hoofington, with its slimy cobblestones, grimy buildings, potholes and seemingly perpetual state of fogginess had proved her wrong. The tan pegasus pulled her cloak tighter around her lithe body as the tendrils of fog reached out for her like the tentacles of some ancient sea monster. This place feels… wrong. she thought to herself as she trudged onwards, This place feels like- like some of the old tombs that I’ve raided. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t realize that she had come under the heavy shadow of the asylum until she had gone halfway up the steep road that led to the massive, wrought-iron gates. She blinked and then let the image in front of her wash over her like flood waters. The Hoofington Insane Asylum was massive, almost the size of a castle. It had many turrets which rose towards the sky like jagged teeth, the many windows that dotted the facade were all glowing with a sickly yellow light and the grounds were a tangle of weeds and odd-looking plants. It looks like the kind of place that Dr. Frankenstallion would live in…. I wonder if I’ll find this Dr. Hoof hunched over some hulking thing underneath a bloody sheet.  thought Daring snidely as she made her way towards the building. She trotted up to the heavy-looking iron door and tentatively knocked with a soaked wing.  A second later the door was opened by a lanky, blue-furred unicorn stallion wearing a rumpled doctor’s uniform. When he saw her, his face- which bore the tell-tale signs of extreme exhaustion- brightened up. “Miss. Do!” he said with a smile, “I’m so glad that you actually came!” “Thank you.” she replied with a smile of her own. “Oh, where are my manners, I’m Dr. Helping Hoof, at your service.” he said, sticking a hoof out. “Daring Do, but you already knew that.” said Daring, returning the shake. She stepped in and allowed the unicorn to levitate her coat off and hang it up on a wall of pegs that were really no more than large nails that had been crudely hammered into the wooden walls. The doctor turned to her, “I know, I know: this place is a ruin, but it’s home… at least for me and my patients.” Daring gave him a knowing look “I understand, times are getting tougher in these parts.” Dr. Hoof gave her a wan smile, “Yes, quite. Ahuizotl is on the third floor, I’ll escort you there.” Daring nodded and followed the doctor down the dimly-lit hallways of the first floor. As they walked the adventurer took the time to take in her surroundings. The asylum was old, of that fact there could be no doubt: the walls were stained with brownish spots, the tiles of the floor were chipped and framed by lines of black grime, the ceiling was dusty and every little nook was filled with thick, silvery spiderwebs. On top of that, the whole place reeked of mildew and disinfectant. I’ve seen hostels in third-world countries that were better-looking than this. thought Daring as Dr. Hoof led her up a flight of dirty steps that led to the second floor. “I’m afraid the elevator is out at the moment, so we have to take the stairs at the other end of this wing.” said Dr. Hoof, “I’d also advise that you stay close to me, we’ll be passing some of the patient’s rooms and although the second wing has the least violent patients, they can be unpredictable at times.” “Alright, whatever you say, doc.” said Daring, moving closer to the haggard doctor. Their walk down the second wing and their trek up the stairs that led to the third wing were uneventful, much to Daring’s relief. Her relief was short-lived, however, when they actually entered into the third wing. The lights overhead flickered in a steady rhythm as they made their way down the long hallway, the doors that flanked them were thick, made of iron, and locked with padlocks. At first there were no noises from the rooms, They must all be asleep, or drugged out of their warped minds, or something like that. thought Daring as she passed the first few doors. She was just starting to adjust to the creepiness of the place when the first scream rang out from the room exactly to her right. It was a long, shrill scream, filled with raw anger and maybe even pain. Daring leaped back out of sheer reflex and bumped into Dr. Hoof, the sound sound of their collision drew even more screams from the patient in the room. Then the other patients began to add their own sounds to the mix, making the hallway ring with a  cacophony of roars, bellows, barks, caterwauls, incoherent gibbering, agonized shrieks and insane laughter. It took all of Daring’s willpower not to flinch at the sudden flood of mad sound. I’ve faced far worse than a few crazies, damn it!  she scolded, Besides, they’re all locked up. Though I’m sure I could take ‘em if they got out. That thought calmed her, though she knew that it was very unlikely that she’d be able to fight Celestia-knows how many psychotic asylum inmates. “We’re here.” said Dr. Hoof, startling her. She looked at the door that he was pointing to; it was the same as the other doors, the faded, black numbers that had been painted onto it read: 357. Dr. Hoof levitated a large set of keys from a pocket and placed one in its corresponding hole, but, before he turned the key he turned to her. “I must warn you that his physical condition is…. abnormal to say the least.” “I know.” said Daring, “You mentioned it in your note.” Dr. Hoof shook his head, “I only mentioned a small portion of his physical state. It’s much, much worse than some missing fingers and the outlines of a few ribs.” “I understand.” “And you still wish to see him?” Daring shot the doctor a look, “Do you even need to ask?” Dr. Hoof nodded, then he turned the key and opened the door. The smell was the first thing that caught her attention: it was a suffocating mixture of sweat, disinfectant, burning dust and barely-concealed excrement. Daring pulled a wry face as she stepped into the room. There were only three pieces of furniture in the room: a rusty metal bed frame that housed a stained mattress, a grungy toilet and a small desk with pieces of yellowed parchment strewn about haphazardly. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for any sign of Ahuizotl and not seeing him. She started to turn- thinking that she may have fallen into a trap- when she saw it: something shifting slightly under the bed, something that was a shade darker than the rest of that space. “I see you, Ahuizotl!” she declared, momentarily slipping back into her adventurer persona. Silence. Daring sighed and crouched down to get a better look, her mind going through different scenarios that would fit the way her long time enemy was acting; any possibility of him tricking her withered into nothingness when she saw him. Her mind selected four physical traits of Ahuizotl’s ruined body: the raised lumps of his spine, the missing ear, the raised and raw-looking scars, and the stump at the end of his whip-like tail. “Ahuizotl?” she asked, not sure if it was really him that she was seeing. The figure under the bed reached out and a thin hand- a hand that was missing a finger- came into the light with the rest of his maimed body following. Ahuizotl stood up shakily, his joins popped and cracked as he lowered himself onto all fours, Daring noticed, with some grim fascination, that he didn’t wince when he puts pressure on his mangled hands. He turned to Daring, his cut lips pulling back over jagged teeth in a hollow facsimile of his usual evil grin. Daring looked away from the smile and gasped when her eyes met his: his eyes, which had been a sickly greenish yellow color, where now as white as snow, with no pupils or sclera to be seen. He’s blind. she thought, But why do I get the feeling that he can see me? “I can see you, Daring Do.” he said, his accent made all the more obvious by his raspy voice, “I can see the being that you truly are. Would you like to know what your true self looks like?” Daring felt like her lungs had been filled with gaseous ice; every breath was cold against her tongue and she found herself unable to speak. “You’re smaller than this facade around you, you’re almost like… a scrawny little mousey in the gut of a hollow tiger. You have wings of bone, hair like rose petals and the teeth of a chimera in heat; yet your little eyes blaze like Celestia’s fiery soul.” That’s…. poetic.” said Daring, running her eyes over his wretched body and noticing something that she hadn’t previously noticed before. His scars, which had been merely a small part of some terrible whole to her the first time that she looked at him, now came into better view in the dim light. Some of his scars were straight or slightly curved like normal scars, but others were full curves, or deep gouges that almost looked like dots, when her turned her head a certain way, she could see crescent moons and stars framed by smaller cuts that formed- Runes…. he has runes carved into his flesh. she thought breathlessly. Ahuizotl seemed to notice that she was gazing at the scars, because he smiled and winked at her. “I’ve been preparing, my dear Daring Do.” he said. “For what?” asked the adventurer. “For darkness.” replied he, smiling at her as if she knew exactly what he was talking about. Daring swallowed hard, then asked, “What happened to you?” Ahuizotl furrowed his brow, “I was…. somewhere- Saddle Arabia, I think, I was with Dr. Cabelleron and his group.” his voice became monotonous as he continued, as if he were slipping into a trance, “We found a place in the sand, a deep, dark place made from the blackest stone, stone like a starless night.” He pointed to a piece of parchment that had been tacked to the wall. Daring cantered over and looked at it: it was a detailed drawing of a twisting, black spire emerging from the desert floor like a tombstone. It’s so detailed. she thought, But why didn’t he add a shadow around the spire?  She turned back to Ahuizotl as he resumed talking. “We dug and dug and dug for days, but we had water, lots of water, and food aplenty. Though I doubt that It would have let us stop. Not after it had felt us in its land.” He began to sway back and forth like a living pendulum. “After forever had fallen we entered into It’s belly and began our dark descent through its mangled, twisted guts. The place smelled like rot and silk and wormy death and water from deep below…. below…. I like that word, it’s a perfect match for It, like lovers intertwined.” He paused to let out a long cackle that set Daring’s teeth on edge before he continued. “We walked until out hooves and paws bled, but we didn’t stop, we couldn’t because IT wanted us to move, so we did. We saw lots of things down there: living shadows with teeth that ate tumors with birds wings, which in turn ate little heads with too many eyes and no mouths. We saw worlds of scorched earth and things drinking blood from the dead and devouring them and we saw the heads of loved ones on spikes and-” He stopped suddenly and began to shake like a leaf, he held up his hands and pressed them to his thin face as he began to whimper. “W-we were pulled into an altar room that was floating in another galaxy, then IT spoke to me and it’s voice- oh sweet Celestia it’s voice!” He broke down completely after that, his shoulders and back heaved with the force of his sobbing. Daring was stunned speechless, she didn’t know whether or not to comfort him. It was true that he was her enemy, but he just sounded so… traumatized by what had happened to him. It must have been awful to get him to replace those memories with something so ridiculous as the things that he’s saying. But Ahuizotl wasn’t done talking. “IT told me that I was going to be a witness, t-then Dr. Cabelleron and the others started to get thirsty. The water was gone, but there was this- this pool of green liquid at the center of the altar, I tried to stop them, I really did, but they all drank from it and… and…” He raised himself up and gave a bone chilling howl before finishing, “They fell to the ground as their blood pumped out of every orifice in their body! Their bones snapped and tore through their flesh! Their teeth sharpened and they gnashed their lips to bits! They grew wings and extra eyes and new legs and tails and chitin, and skin! They became monsters!” He fell to his knees and clasped his head, “They tore my cats apart in front of me and I couldn’t do anything because…. for the first time in my miserable life… I was scared. I was drowning in pure, unfettered Fear.” “Then they came for me, but I ran, I let the Fear lead me out, lead me back to the wonderful sun.” Then he turned to her and she could see tears running from those white eyes of his. “But something happened when we entered that room. The veil between this world and the Other was ripped, gashed open; a wound in the universe. Now They have returned, do you understand? They have returned!!”. He leaped forward and came inches from her before Dr. Hoof conjured a force field around him. Daring looked into Ahuizotl’s milky, tearful eyes and asked, in a trembling voice, “What has returned?”  Ahuizotl released a shuddering breath, then said: “The Children of Darkness.” Then he fell forward in a dead faint. It took Daring Do a few hours to properly recuperate from her ordeal. It had all been so utterly terrifying: the creepy asylum, the crazed patients and the state of her former arch-enemy all weighed heavily on her mind. What do I do? she thought to herself as she drained another mug of hard cider. The bar that she was in was quiet and peaceful, the sound of the rain striking the roof made her feel a bit more at peace. But only a bit. Everything that he said is far beyond me. she thought as she called for another glass, There’s just too much weird- weird shit for me to handle alone. I’m gonna need some help with this. She finished her drink, paid her tab and then hopped off the bar stool. She walked to the front door, pressed a hoof to its cool, glass surface to push it open, and then stopped. There were five ponies walking past the bar, five very familiar ponies. That’s Dr. Cabelleron  and his little posse. she thought as she watched the dark-brown earth pony and his cohorts pass a small apple cart. So Ahuizotl WAS lying about them turning into monsters, that’s one issue out of my mind. Maybe I should go say “Hello”. She thought this last part with a small smirk. She reached out again... and then stopped. Dr. Cabelleron was looking right at her from across the way. And his eyes were pure red, like orbs of congealed blood set in too-small sockets. Daring felt her blood turn to ice as the monster wearing the thug’s face winked at her coyly before it turned and disappeared into the shadows if a nearby alleyway. Daring fell onto her rump, feeling like she had been punched in the gut. For a second she wondered if her mind had been playing tricks on her, but she hadn’t drank enough for that to be possible. And there’s no way that a trick of the light could be responsible for that.  she thought as she gazed at the dark alleyway. It was then that she realized fully that she would need help. But, at the moment, she didn’t feel like leaving for a good while. So Daring Do stayed in that bar for a full 9 hours as the rain fell outside and the sky stayed as black as it had been a few hours previously.