Seeing Monsters

by Hopefullygoodgrammar

The Mourning Bells

Daring Do awoke to the sun on her face and the warm sand on her back.

She sat up, groaning as all of the injuries that she had sustained, the burned hoof, the bruised ribs, the raw neck and the sore wings, all came back to her in a painful rush.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the mental pain.

The eldritch ruins with their physics-defying architecture and materials, the hungry and beastial shadow, the door to another world and the fate of Dr. Hoof and dozens of others. The memories welled out from within the slumbering depths of her mind like blood from a punctured artery.

Daring fell back to the ground as the tears poured out from between her clenched eyelids and whetted her cheeks.

She had never felt more terrified in all her time spent adventuring. She had fought genocidal madmen who had gotten their hooves or paws on ancient artifacts, giant insects and arachnids, even full grown dragons for Celestia’s sake!

She had plumbed the darkest depths of the earth and had developed a will of iron in the process.

Or so she had thought.

Now she felt like someone had hollowed her out and replaced her innards with molten metal. Her mind was on fire and she wished that something, anything, would put an end to it.

She didn’t even realize that Ahuizotl was shaking her and calling her name until he roared into her face.

She sat up quickly, almost butting heads with the cryptid as she did. Ahuizotl scrambled backwards on his hands and paws.

“It’s alright, Daring.” he said, “We got out, we’re alright.”

Daring sighed and hung her head, “The doctor didn’t.”

Ahuizotl nuzzled her, “I know, but you ended his misery. You did the right thing.”

“Did I?” asked Daring, looking at the cryptid with eyes that were taking on a certain hollowness. A hollowness that made Ahuizotl shudder inside. He almost opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it, thinking that Daring might need to talk some more.

He was right.

“I….killed a pony, Ahuizotl.” she said softly, averting her eyes, “I killed a dozen ponies… a-and I know that they were suffering, but-”, the tears began anew, “-but I wish that I couldn’t have saved them!”

Ahuizotl wrapped her in a tight hug as she began to sob with such force that the cryptid worried that she might tear her vocal chords.

He sat there for a a while, gently rubbing Daring’s heaving back and feeling her hot, tear-soaked face burrow deeper into his fur for comfort. Ahuizotl ran his remaining fingers through Daring’s silky, short hair and whispered that it would be okay.

After a few more hours had passed, the adventurer fell asleep in the warm embrace of her former enemy, and Ahuizotl picked her up and began his trek back to civilization.

---

They arrived at the nearest inhabited village just as twilight had fallen.

Daring still hadn’t woken up and Ahuizotl felt his heart break a little every time she whimpered in the throes of some nightmare.

Ahuizotl ignored the fearful or curious stares of the locals and sat down on a bench that lay before the train station. he didn’t have any money, but he did have very good stealth skills and had snuck aboard more than a few trains in his lifetime; when you’re a villain it comes with the territory.

But, can I really call myself a villain after all that’s happened? thought Ahuizotl, looking down at the sleeping pegasus in his lap.

A part of him, however small and feeble it was at this moment, demanded that he leave her and go back to his home to plan out more schemes.

But he ignored that part and let it fade away into obscurity.

I doubt that a life of villainy would suit me now. he reasoned, Now that I’ve seen how true evil operates, most of my little schemes would be completely pointless and would only serve to add to the misery of the world…. and Faust knows there’s enough of that already.

He sighed and stared up at the tapestry of twinkling stars above him.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” said a voice from his lap. Ahuizotl looked down and saw Daring looking at him with tired, but less hollow, eyes.

“What’s weird?” he asked, genuinely not knowing.

“That, even after all of the horror and all of the unpleasant stuff that’s happened in the past few days, the day and night are still so beautiful. But then again, what do they care about us? They’re so far away…” she stared up at the moon with longing.

“I see that you’re well enough to be philosophizing.” said Ahuizotl with a slight snicker.

Daring snorted, “Yeah, right. I’m just sayin’ what I think.”

Ahuizotl nodded and leaned back on the bench, expecting Daring to vacate her spot on his lap, but, to his shock, she only nuzzled his stomach and stayed put.

The cryptid blushed furiously, partially because the nuzzle had really tickled, but mostly because Daring seemed so… beautiful-looking in the moonlight.

Was she always like that?

Ahuizotl shook his head frantically, trying to dislodge the thought from his mind.

“Do you know how we can find this… Trixie pony?” asked Daring suddenly, managing to provide a distraction that Ahuizotl was wordlessly grateful for.

‘I heard about some pony named Trixie in the news.” said Ahuizotl, “She apparently caused some very serious trouble in Ponyville… twice!”

“Oh?” asked Daring, grateful for a distraction, though not for the same reasons.

Ahuizotl nodded, then he proceeded to tell her about the incidents involving an angry Ursa Minor and the Alicorn Amulet. At the end of it Daring hung her head and sighed sadly.

“That sounds like his daughter, alright. I wonder if he was disappointed in her when he heard about all that.”

Ahuizotl shook his head, “No, Dr. Hoo- I mean Dr. Lulamoon didn’t seem like the type who could ever hate his own flesh and blood.”

Daring nodded in agreement, “I think you’re right, I saw a few pictures of him with his wife and Trixie when I was investigating the house… they all looked so happy.”

Ahuizotl placed a comforting hand on Daring’s back as the sound of tears hitting the pavement came to his ears.

“I think I’m broken.” she said suddenly.

Ahuizotl’s mouth fell open, “Wh-wha- can you repeat that?” he stammered after taking in what she had said.

“I said: I’m broken.” she growled, looking him in the eye, “Are you deaf?”

Ahuizotl furrowed his brow, then, as quick as lightning, he reached out, clasped her hooves in his hands and pulled up so that they were eye-to-eye.

“Listen to me very carefully.” said Ahuizotl in a low, shaking voice, “You are not broken, you may be traumatized and you will have scars from what happened, but you are not broken. You’re Daring Do, you have a will of iron, you’re as tough as leather and as strong as a thousand ponies. You will never be broken, because you’re strong, stronger than I am, stronger than anypony else.”

Daring’s mouth hung open by the time that he had finished. She stared at her former foe with a look of shock and awe.

Ahuizotl noticed this and grew concerned, he opened his mouth again to ask her if she was okay, but Daring placed a hoof to his lips to shush him.

“Thank you for that.” she said with genuine relief, “I’m glad that I have a friend like you.”

Now it was Ahuizotl’s turn to looked shocked and awed.

Daring snickered and petted his head. Then she turned and hopped off the bench as a train rolled into the station.

Ahuizotl watched her go with a heavy heart. He started to get up to leave when Daring turned back to him.

“You comin’ or what?” she called out.

And he was by her side in a flash.

Daring laughed openly at this display, and it was the first real laugh that she had given in what felt like ages.

The two snuck aboard the train that was heading for Equestria as, high in the glittering sky, the full moon shone brightly.

---

In the shadows of the ruins, the Facsimiles stood in a small circle and gazed upon the remains of one of their own.

“Why did you send him to his death?” asked one.

“Because he was young, foolish, soft.” said the First, “I was getting sick of foalsitting him. He let his sadism get the better of him on many occasions, this was just his unlucky day.”

“I see” said another, “Why did you let the interlopers escape?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” sneered one who wasn’t the First, but acted like he was, “He let them escape because his creation is a stupid and feral dog.”

The First shook the cluster of tentacles that served as its head, “No, the Shadow isn’t one of my creations, it was just something that came from the Valley and made took up residence in the darkness.”

“But why didn’t you stop them?” asked one.

“Because they didn’t impede our plans.” stated the First.

“Hmmm…. I see.” exclaimed another, “And… does that mean we have it?”

Had the First possessed a normal mouth, it would have smiled, “Yes… we have it.”

The First opened the slit in its chest and deposited the object upon the blackened sand. The others gathered closer and gazed at it with the kind of hateful mirth that a cat gets when its taken the limbs of a mouse before it has its meal.

“It’s beautiful.” said one.

“Hmmm.” exclaimed another, “It is perfect.”

“How many?” asked a new one.

“Exactly one-hundred.” said the First.

One of them gave a moan of pleasure, “Oooohhh, I can taste the pain.”

“As can I.” said the First, reaching out with a tendril and placing the object back into its body, “We still have work to do. What progress has the Order made?”

“Plenty.” said one, “Though one of them went rogue.”

“That doesn’t matter so long as this rogue does His work on this plane of existence.” said the First dismissively.

The Facsimiles exclaimed their understanding.

“Praise Grogar.” said the First

“Praise Grogar!” echoed the others.

Then a shadow passed briefly over the moon and they were gone, leaving only the remains of their fellow entity.

But even that, like the rest of the Temple of Tambelon, would soon be swallowed by the ever-shifting sands.

Author's Note:

Stay tuned for the Epilogue, everyone :)

Comments

[DemonWriterX]

so much Daruzotl!
but seriously I really really enjoyed this chapter and that ending!
I cant wait for the epilogue.

[Hopefullygoodgrammar]

4741075 Thank you very much

[Hopefullygoodgrammar]

4741350 yup

[Hopefullygoodgrammar]

4741358 I'm glad that you like this... :D

[RiskyBingo221]

This chapter answered my questions on the previous. I smell a SEQUEL! The shadow beast meeting was interesting seeing as how at first they seemed like wild predators. I'm kinda glad Mr. Comic Book had his brains splattered all over the floor. I cant wait to see how the epilogue plays out.
P.S. The leader shadow beast reminds me of Shadar from Ni No Kuni for some reason.
P.S.S. I like applesauce. (because we all need a Billy and Mandy reference in our lives)

[Hopefullygoodgrammar]

4743950 Not just a sequel... an entire "Verse...hopefully.