//------------------------------// // The Circle Of Agony // Story: Seeing Monsters // by Hopefullygoodgrammar //------------------------------// Over the course of her many years as an adventurer, Daring Do had awoken to some very hairy situations: she had awoken in the web of a giant spider, strapped to an altar in some ancient ruins, freefalling out of an airship and many more things besides. But she had never once awoken to such a ghastly and horrific situation as this. The first thing that she noticed upon her awakening was the smell. It assaulted her nostrils and immediately made her want to retch. It was a foul, cloying stink that reminded her of the butcher shops in the Griffon Lands; it was the stench of fresh and not-so-fresh blood and viscera. She tried to move, but, as was expected, she was restrained. The choice of restrain this time around felt like thick chains and sturdy wire; the cold metal forced a shudder up her spine and made her poor wings ache. Finally, after calming herself, she opened her eyes... and immediately wished that she hadn’t. She was in a massive, circular room made entirely out of rusted metal, the support beams that held up the grated ceiling were pitted and wrapped with wires and chains from which hung the  skulls of countless animals; Daring realized to her horror that the skulls had been bronzed. The object that she was bound to, which she realized was a thick sheet of metal riveted to a thin frame, hung from a thick, barbed chain that was, in turn, connected to the ceiling by a system of pulleys. Daring heard a low groan to her right and turned to see that Ahuizotl was in a similar state of restraint and both were only a few inches apart from each other. Daring examined him and gasped when she saw that the Facsimiles had hammered iron spikes through his tail to keep it from moving. As she watched, Ahuizotl whimpered and turned his head to look at her with tear-filled eyes that silently begged her for help. The sight of her former foe-turned friend in such an agonized state brought tears to her eyes and filled her heart with anger. She began to pull and tug at her bonds, trying to use sheer muscle to break them, but that, of course, didn’t work in the slightest. Daring slumped back and exhaled loudly, trying to calm herself and assess the situation properly. She reopened her eyes and began to examine the room more carefully, looking for any structural weakness. She looked down and caught a faint glimmer through the grating of the floor, Daring narrowed her eyes and strained them to get a better look. There’s water below us. she realized as she saw the glimmer shift and ripple the light hit it. What’s illuminating it? she wondered, looking up at the ceiling, but not seeing any light source. “Why was I expecting this place to make sense now?” she asked herself, growling in annoyance. “D-Daring?” The adventurer turned back to Ahuizotl and tried her best not to look at his tail, “I’m here, Ahuizotl.” she said as calmly as she could, “Daring… I-I’ve hurt you… I’ve tried to kill you and your friends so many times. I know I’m a monster, I’ve suffered for my stupidity, but-” his voice began to get teary, “but I know that my suffering will never, ever make up for what I’ve d-done to you.” Ahuizotl began to let out whimpering breaths as he continued. “I-I’m a m-menace…. a freak…. I don’t even have friends, all I had were my cats and they were r-ripped to p-pieces. Dr. Cabelleron was a-always talking about me behind me back, pl-plotting to kill m-me and take my w-wealth.” Big, fat tears began roll down his cheeks and he heaved a shuddering sigh. “Even when I was younger I didn’t have friends and my parents couldn’t have cared less… all th-they ever did was h-hit me.” “Ahuizotl…” whispered Daring. “I am so, so, so sorry, Daring!” he wept, “I’ve done so much evil in my life, now I’m paying for it, but -but I’m scared!” He raised his head and let out a high, miserable wail. Daring felt the last shreds of animosity fade away as she watched her former enemy break down utterly. “Oh, Ahuizotl” said Daring, her voice full of empathy, “I forgave you a while ago.” She could tell that her words reached Ahuizotl, because his wail slowly died out and was replaced by low sniffling. After a few minutes he asked, “R-really?” “Really.” confirmed Daring, directing a small smile his way. There was silence from his end for a moment, then he whispered, “Thank you, Daring Do.” ‘What are friends for?” asked Daring. She heard him gasp lightly, then he scoffed and said, “You’re only saying that because we’re going to die soon.” Daring shook her head, “We’re not gonna die, Ahuizotl. We’re going to make it out alive, I promise you that.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” replied Ahuizotl hollowly. Daring sighed and began to look around again, but all she could see was metal, rust and the glimmering pool below her. She heard Ahuizotl shift on his restraints, then let out a yelp of pain as he agitated his poor, impaled tail. Daring turned back to him and glanced at his wounds, which were leaking blood and had grown slightly inflamed as infection was beginning to set in. Oh, no, I bet he’s gonna need to get that amputated. she thought sadly, When this is all over I’m gonna give him a hug… he needs one. She was about to return to her search when something caught her eye: one of the spikes had been torn loose from its fleshy mooring and now stood at a crooked angle. Daring gazed at the gory spike as an idea formed in her head. “Ahuizotl.” she said softly. “Yes?” came the weak reply. “I think I have a way to get us out of here, but I need you to hold still for me, okay?” There was silence, then “O-okay.” Daring slowly arched her back, wincing as her vertebrae popped, and slowly extended her wing, hissing in pain as the soft flesh scraped the hard steel. She reached out towards the crooked spike with her feathers, but, to her frustration, the distance was a few inches to great. “Damn.” she snarled. ‘What is it?” asked Ahuizotl. “Hold on a second.” said Daring as she started to think, “I need a second.” Ahuizotl quieted and Daring began to go through solutions in her mind: She could dislocate the wing, but that would mean sacrificing control of her feathers, which would make grabbing the spike impossible. She could use her whip if she had it with her, but it was gone along with her bag. She couldn’t use her hooves and she couldn’t see any bits of metal that could be used to get at the spike. Sighing in frustration, Daring slumped back, making the slab swing slightly on its chains. Daring felt the stirred wind on her fur and smiled when she realized what she could do. Daring readied her limbs, then she hurled herself violently to the left, causing the frame to swing on its chains. Smiling smugly to herself, Daring Do threw all of her weight to the right and swung the frame towards Ahuizotl. Just as her frame struck Ahuizotl’s she reached out with her feathers and grasped the loose spike tightly, hoping against hope that the blood covering it wouldn’t make it too slippery. Her frame swung back to the right and the spike came out in her feathers with a sickening wet splatter. Ahuizotl let out a gasp and Daring began apologizing profusely. “I’m so, so sorry, but I needed to get that spike in your tail. I’m sorry.” Ahuizotl clenched his hands into fists and said, through gritted fangs, “It’s alright. Are you going to pick the locks to your cuffs with that?” Daring nodded and Ahuizotl burst into a peal of laughter. “What?” asked Daring, not liking the hysterical, weepy tone of the laugh. “Heeheehehehehe...Those cuffs don’t have keyholes!” he giggled. Daring blinked, then she looked at the cuffs around Ahuizotl’s wrists and saw that he was right. “Are you kidding me?!”  she bellowed angrily, feeling the urge to abandon herself to her fury and the utter hopelessness of the situation. Her anger died out and was replaced with fear when she heard something moving towards them in the darkness and she slipped the spike into the folds of her feathers just as the thing entered into her field of vision. Daring assumed that the creature that stood before her was a Facsimile, but it had removed its disguise and now stood before her in all of its repulsive glory. It was tall and thin-limbed, with pure red compound eyes, like those of a fly, set in a bulbous head. It’s skin was furless and oily, and shot through with a latticework of thick blue veins that pulsated and squirmed like eels. Upon its back lay a set of four wings that were folded tightly across its protruding ribs and in place of a tail there was a barbed tentacle. Daring narrowed her eyes when she saw her bag slung across its back. “Hello, Daring Do and AHuizotl.” it said through a lipless maw filled with fangs that were begrimed with black bile. “Hello yourself, fugly.” said Daring. The Facsimile chuckled wetly, “Flattery will get you everywhere, like a grave or my belly.” “I doubt I’d taste very good.” she said with a smirk, “I bet my wings would choke you.” “I’ve eaten far bigger than you, pegasus.” it hissed. “What… what are you going to do to us?” asked Ahuizotl, gaining the Facsimile’s attention. “First we’re going to saw your limbs off, then we’ll insert tubes into your wounds, followed by a round of hot pokers, well-placed needles, whips, hooks and several types of spells that are so potent you’ll wish for death by fire over the agony that you’ll feel-” “Is that what you did to Dr. Hoof?” asked Daring in a low voice. The Facsimile giggled girlishly, “No, no, no. He’s a unicorn, so he gets ‘special privileges’.” “What do you mean?” asked the tan pegasus. “Maybe I’ll show you.” said the creature as it moved close enough for Daring to smell its vile-smelling breath, “That is, after I’m finished having my fun with you, Daring Do.” Daring felt anger rise up in her gut like hot bile at those words, the insinuation of such an unspeakable act was enough to make what she was about to do almost enjoyable. Over the course of her adventures Daring had picked up a few useful traits: lock-picking, how to box, how to move silently and be stealthy, advanced puzzle-solving. And knife-throwing. With a yell, Daring let the bloody spike drop into her feathertips, then she raised her wing and through the spike in one fluid motion. The spike flew through the air and struck the Facsimile dead in the eye, sliding in up to the top and splitting the eye down the middle. The Facsimile howled in pain and fell to its knobby knees, the split in its eyes leaking rancid yellow blood and gray vitreous humor. The thing’s tail whipped around frantically as it tried to pull the spike out. Daring sucked in her gut just as the dagger-like tip of the tail came within a few inches of disemboweling her, cutting the wire across her gut as instead, then she ducked her head as the tail whipped back and sliced the air where her ears had been… as well as severing the cuffs on her hooves. Daring fell to the floor, wincing at the grating sliced into her hooves. She got up, cracked her wing joints, and sprinted at the Facsimile just as it started to rise to its hooves. With a furious yell, Daring twisted her body and bucked the insectoid monstrosity in the face, sending it flying backwards into one of the skull-encrusted pillars with a loud BANG! The vile creature started to rise, but Daring was on it before it could fully do so, grabbing her bag and pulling the straps over its scrawny neck, then pulling as hard as she could. The Facsimile gagged and choked as it continued its attempt to get up, but Daring increased the pressure and pressed one of her back hooves into its back for leverage.  “I’ve got you now, you ugly son of a mule!” she snarled into the hole that served as its ear. Then the strap snapped and the Facsimile fell to the floor. Daring tossed the bag to the ground and started to open it, hoping to get to her whip, but the Facsimile was quicker, pinning her to the pillar in a flash of slimy black skin and rank breath. “I’ll eat your soul, you worthless roach!” it roared. Daring’s hooves scrambled over the pillar as the creature’s teeth began to descend towards her face. Her hooves brushed against something hard and smooth, and she yanked whatever it was free, bringing it up over her head and slamming it down in the creature’s skull. The Facsimile groaned and fell back to its knees. Daring looked at the object and immediately dropped it when she saw that it was a large feline skull. The distraction caused by the skull gave the Facsimile enough time to regain its hooves and charge. Daring turned and caught the attack full in the shoulder, sending her to the ground with a cry of pain. Then the Facsimile was upon her once again, its four wings buffeting her and its hooves pummeling her stomach. Oh no you don’t! she thought as she warded off several blows, I refuse to be killed *ummph!* by a giant bug! Daring coiled her fore and back limbs, then she drove all four hooves into the creature’s fleshy stomach, feeling disgust fill her gut at how squishy and slippery its skin was. But the hit did the trick and the Facsimile was launched off of her. Daring seized her opportunity and grabbed the skull, then she strode up to the fallen Facsimile, raised the heavy piece of bronze over her head, and brought it down in its head with all her might. There was a sickening CRUNCH! and the Facsimile’s head split open like a ripe melon, sending yellow blood and clumps of wet tissue everywhere. Daring backed off and then fell to her rump. She gazed at the still-twitching body of the abomination for a full minute, then she turned her head and vomited. After she had pulled herself together, Daring used a different skull to bask Ahuizotl’s cuffs off, then she used a small switchblade that she had in her bag to slice the wires off and leverage the remaining spikes out. After that was done, the duo left the metal chamber and found themselves in a very different setting. They were in another large room, but this one was made of stone, rather than metal, and it was barren, save for several glowing torches and a large design carved into the center that, upon closer inspection, was revealed to be a very complex transmutation circle. There was only one other door, so their choice was easy. The next place that the entered into had a more sinister air to it.  It was another spacious room, but this one was made from the same odd, shimmering black stone that composed the outer portion of the ruins and the torches within glowed a light blue that made the shadows dance and writhe. This time they were faced with two doors. Daring started for the left and Ahuizotl went for the right, bit of them opened their doors at the same time and peered out. “I see  another corridor.” said Daring. “I see a room full of spikes.” said Ahuizotl flatly. “Left it is, then.” said Daring with a small smile, a smile which Ahuizotl actually returned. The duo entered into the corridor and immediately stopped when they realized that the corridor was made of glass, but the only thing that they could see was a mass of swirling, red fog. Shaking their heads, the duo walked straight to the door, not looking directly at the fog for fear of alerting whatever unspeaking thing lurked beyond its smoky veil to their presence. They got to the door, opened it, and were greeted by a gust of frigid air and set their fur on end. Daring took the lead and entered into the next room with Ahuizotl following behind. This room was shrouded in darkness, save for a cluster of small braisers that held blue fire. Daring immediately noticed how utterly silent it was, the only sounds that she could hear was the light scuffing sounds of her hooves and Ahuizotl’s paws on the stone floor and their hearts beating slightly out of sync. The next thing that she noticed, as they moved towards the blue light, was the smell. It wasn’t like the room that she had woken up in, but there was something… off about it all the same: it was sweet, too sweet, like sugar and vanilla and every other pleasant smell mixed into a slightly nauseating potpourri. Something about this smell is familiar… and not in a good way. thought Daring. “This place smells of dark magic.” said Ahuizotl. “I thought I recognized it.” said Daring turned to him and seeing that his eyes were wide and his hands were trembling slightly.   “Don’t worry, Ahuizotl, we’ll-” She cut herself off as her ears detected a small sound that came from outside the blue glow of the flames. Daring moved forwards, pulling out her flashlight as she did, wondering what had caused the sound and readying herself for another fight.   She stepped fully into the ring of blue light and began to move closer to the darkness, which was made far darker by the light as they cast shadows that were swallowed up and assimilated to form a kind of blackness rarely found outside of the cold depths of space. “Daring, wait!” called Ahuizotl, rushing up to her side. “What is it? What’s wrong?” asked the adventurer, her hoof going for her whip. “Just… don’t go into the shadows, please.” pleaded the cryptid, gazing fearfully at the darkness that lay not ten feet from them. “Alright.” said Daring, feeling that her friend was probably not gibbering and was able to sense something that she couldn’t. “Look!” said Ahuizotl, pointing at something, “There’s another light over there!” Daring looked to where he was indicating and saw that there was indeed another, much larger set of blue lights that mixed with a pale, greenish light. The tan pegasus looked around in her bag before pulling out a large book. Ahuizotl gave her a curious look, but then exclaimed in understanding when she placed the top end into the fire, creating a makeshift torch. “I think that this fire has some kind of special property” said Daring “probably an enchantment that will keep the darkness at bay… y’know, more so than normal torches.” Ahuizotl nodded silently and followed Daring as she walked into the darkness, surrounded by a medium-sized circle of blue light. All around them the darkness pulsed and quavered like an animal being teased by a morsal. The soft sounds that Daring had heard were no omnipresent, echoing from the black all around them, yet she still couldn’t figure out what it was. And it made her very uneasy. Daring and Ahuizotl finally reached the large circle of light just as the book had started scorching her hoof. The instant they stepped into the light Daring was able to get a good look at the source of the green glow. It was a large, deep-looking pool filled with murky green liquid that bore no smell and didn’t give off any fumes. The surface of the pool was still, save for the small ripples created by several dozen sets of clear tubes that were dripping red liquid into its depths. Red liquid? thought Daring, What the hay is…. that? “Oh…. my Faust!” exclaimed Ahuizotl in a voice that was positively dripping with unmitigated terror and disgust. “What is it?” said Daring, staring into the darkness. “Don’t look, Daring… p-please don’t look.” he whimpered, covering his white eyes with his hands. “C’mon, Ahuizotl, I’ve seen plenty of nasty stuff today.” said Daring, reaching for her flashlight. She stopped, however, when she saw the pleading look in her friend’s eyes. Daring sighed, “Alright, I won’t look okay-” There was a massive Whoosh and the blue flames shot up into blinding columns that illuminated what lay beyond. Almost like the fire knew what we were saying… thought Daring, turning away from the glaring, blue light. And came face-to-face with Tartarus itself. They were everywhere, laid out along the stone walls, strapped down in what looked like glass coffins from which tubes ran to the green pool. Their raw, red flesh glistened in the pale light and the only movements that came from them were their chests rising and falling slowly. They were all ponies, that much Daring could tell from their hooves and muzzles, but other than that they were completely unrecognizable as equines. And that was because they were all flayed. There was no fur or skin, just dripping muscle and exposed nerves. And they were Alive. Every. Single. One Daring wanted to vomit, she wanted to pass out, to run, to die, ANYTHING but be a witness to the monstrosity that lay before her. It was unimaginable, unnatural and unprecedented in the world of dark deeds and vile exploits. “Sweet Faust.” said Daring, feeling tears well up in her eyes as her gorge rose. She sank to her knees, unable to look away, unable to take her eyes off of the breathing bodies. “Who could do something like this?” she sobbed, “Why are they still alive? How can we help them?!” She pressed her hooves to her eyes, then felt a pair of thin, but warm arms wrap around her. She looked up into Ahuizotl’s weeping face and abandoned herself to tears. They sat like that for what felt like an eternity before Daring was ready to face the horrible sight again. Drying her reddened and puffy eyes, the adventurer walked closer to the flayed ponies and looked at the tubes that fed into the pool. “I’m so, so sorry.” she said to the nearest one, whose thick jaw and limbs made him out to be an earth pony. She reached in, but stopped, then she retracted her hooves and said, “I can’t break his neck, Ahuizotl. We need to find another way.” The cryptid nodded grimly, “I think that we can kill them if we erase those runes on the sides of their coffins, there.” he pointed and Daring saw a smaller replica of the transmutation circle that they had stumbled across. Daring nodded, reiterated her apology, and then cracked the glass where the rune was, creating a deep split through the circle. The skinless earth pony gave a gasp, then slumped forwards, dead at last. Daring heaved a shuddering sigh, pushed her tears back, and kept going. She cracked each transmutation circle, watched each of them die, and apologized to them each time. Finally Daring had only one left. She approached the skinless form, noticing, to her disgust and horror, the severed horn lying in a jar of the same green liquid as the pool. “I’m so, so sorry.” she said, meaning it as much as she had the first time. Then the eyes of the unicorn opened. “Daaaaarrrrrinnngggg…..”  it moaned in a very familiar voice. “D-Dr. H-H-Hoof?!” asked Daring, feeling like she had been punched in the gut. “Daarringg…” repeated the shell of the good doctor, “l-l-lissten to… me.” “A-alright.” said Daring, letting the tears leak down her eyes. Dr. Hoof’s last words were labored and pained, but Daring never once interrupted him, knowing that she had to respect him in his last moments. “I’m… sorry… I was greedy… I was a t-t-terrible doctor...I was a terrible husband… I even c-changed m-my last name to-to run away… like a coward…. my real last name issss….. Lulamoon… Benvolio Lulamoon.” He took a deep, shuddering breath, then continued in a far steadier tone. Daring felt her a faint sting of admiration at his willpower. “Listen to me, Daring… when you get out, go to my house… there is a box under m-my bed that has everything that I once was. There is a locket… a locket with a pi-picture of my wife, Edna, and my daughter…. Trixie…. I want you to give the locket to Trixie, she’ll a-appreciate it more than Edna will.” He took another breath, but Daring could tell that the end was near. “But there is something that Edna would like… the ticket stubs to the first real play that she was ever in.” his mangled mouth turned up in a faint smile, “Just… just tell her that I’m sorry… I’m so… so sorry.” “I will.” said Daring solemnly, trying not to fall apart when her friend needed her the most, “I swear to Celestia and Luna and Faust that I will do everything that you asked me.” The smile widened, “Th-thank you…. Daring… Do…” Then Benvolio Lulamoon died as the transmutation circle was broken. Daring didn’t realize that something dangerous and grand was happening until Ahuizotl shook her out of her mourning-induced stupor and showed her what was happening. The pool of green liquid was bubbling and boiling. The glue fires had become waves of flame that were crashing over the stone and turning it to ash and, in the distance, Daring swore she heard something large and malicious cry out in agony. Daring Do and Ahuizotl exchanged frightened glances, then they ran as fast as they could as the temple began to fall apart. They ran down the glass corridor, watched by evil eyes from the fog. They ran past the large transmutation circle, which bled in streams. They ran past their prison as it fell apart in a symphony of crashing metal. They ran through the doors into the long hallway, which was cracking and groaning like an ancient beast. They ran and ran and ran. Letting the Fear guide them. And then they were out, free from the ruins of Tambelon, but they still ran as the howling of the wind behind them became angry screams and the blackened sands rose up against them in wrath. They ran until they were out from Tambelon’s sphere of wicked influence. They ran until Celestia’s sun rose in the sky, and then they fell into deep sleeps that were plagued by nightmares that didn’t phase them. For the true nightmare was over.