Author's Notes:

This section was conceived specifically for the sake of listing and defining the monster in The Silence; their names, where they come from and what their nature is. In some cases, the background will spoil events in the story, so if you haven't read the story and don't want spoilers, by all means do not read this chapter.

My thanks to Evil Council for suggesting this.

Welcome to the Monster Glossary of The Silence. In this chapter, I talk about the assorted creatures that appear in the story; how they were conceived and what they stand for. The monsters come in four distinct types: Passive, Minor, Major, and Bosses. This chapter will be divided into sections for each type. Note that at the time of writing, this list isn't complete. From here on in, it is my intention to add two monsters to the list for every chapter written. If I catch up to all the monsters that have appeared thus far in the story, then I will add monsters as they appear.

Aside from the four types, monsters also come in two specific varieties: Name and Fear.

Fear
These monsters are based upon a given fear. This can be something as simple as a fear of spiders to something as complex and uncommon as a fear of lust. Fear-based monsters are far more common than Name monsters, as there can be many individuals out there who share the same fear. Fear monsters are, therefor, the primary type of monster shown in The Silence.

Name
These monsters are unique to the individual who spawned them, and thus are named for that individual. Named monsters are based around specific aspects of that character and may not solely be based upon established fears. Due to their unique nature, they tend to be viewed as a much higher threat, but not all of these monsters are more threatening than your average Fear monster.

These monsters are no immediate threat. Indeed, some may not be a threat at all. Most will remain perfectly harmless even when approached, but some hold secret dangers that only become known at the right – and worst – moments. It's best not to confuse 'passive' with 'friendly.'

Appearances: Sickness 2: Fluttershy

These wretched creatures appear as a sitting pony, except that it is physically fused to whatever he or she is sitting on. Unable to move and barely conscious, it remains in place mumbling about needing to be somewhere, assuming it has yet to lose its capacity for communication at all. In and of themselves, the Lost are harmless. However, they radiate a constant aura of despair and failure, leading to those that remain in their proximity for extended periods of time to feel similar emotions. Ponies that remain near a Lost for too long will ultimately become Lost themselves, surrendering their will to live. Given that this transformation is extremely slow, most Lost are easily recognizable from their original selves, unlike most monsters in The Silence.

Monsters that are extremely common. The term 'minor' is not to be misconstrued for 'less dangerous,' as some of these monsters are indeed extremely dangerous even in small numbers. The term 'minor' is purely mean to indicate how common they are in the Veil.

Appearances: Sickness 2: Fluttershy

Representative of a general fear of death and the afterlife. Beyond lurk in reflective surfaces such as windows and mirrors, trapped and unable to escape. Longing to be part of the living once more, the desperate creatures constantly bang and thrash against their prisons in an attempt to get the attention and aid of the living. When such a pony comes near, the Beyond bursts from its prison to grab the victim, hoping they will be pulled free. Instead, the victim is pulled into the prison themselves, where they quickly asphyxiate. Even if a pony isn't dragged into the prison, the touch of a Beyond alone is enough to drain the life energy of the victim, rapidly leading to death if the pony doesn't get away swiftly.

Appearances: Conception 3: Babs Seed

Conceived for those who fear the dark. Completely black, the have the appearance of a bat's wing with a thick, oval form in the center. This 'body' contains a single circular mouth rimming with sharp teeth that allow it to clamp onto prey and saw off flesh via a rotating motion. The creatures tend to form massive swarms that blend in perfectly with the night and shadows, making them extremely difficult to see under the right conditions. They tend to swoop in and engulf prey from all sides, much as darkness does, and can consume a pony in seconds through sheer numbers. Like darkness itself, they are extremely silent, making it incredibly easy for them to surprise the unwary. The only warning they offer of their presence is that a pony with good eyesight may see their teeth in the dark, but these can be easily confused for the movements of shadows from, for example, a tree.

Appearances: Conception 2: Coco Pommel, Conception 4: Spitfire

Based upon a fear of falling from great heights, this monster takes on the general shape of a teardrop. The shape itself is meant to symbolize the act of falling. Heights possesses two long, double-jointed arms with which it holds on to high surfaces. Its head is located at the bottom of its bulbous body, giving it a perfect view of the land below and never letting it forget its dangerous position. It longs to return to safety, but lacks the strength to pull its massive body up.

Heights watched the area below, waiting for someone to appear. When it detects someone close by, it takes the risk and lets go in the hopes that whoever is below it can catch it or otherwise bring it down safely. Its arms, accustomed to holding its own significant weight, has little difficulty latching onto smaller things and not letting go. Unfortunately for all involved, Heights is so incredibly heavy that it inevitably falls to its death, bringing whatever poor soul it caught down with it.

Appearances: Conception 3: Babs Seed, Conception 7: Princess Cadance

Themed around a fear of starvation, Hunger's design is akin to that of an emaciated diamond dog that is missing the lower half of its body. This forces the creature to crawl along the ground with its innards dragging along the ground, symbolizing both the way hunger tends to creep up on people over a long period of time and how it produces a constant, terrible agony. It possesses extremely small eyes that limits its vision, representing how hunger can limit the focus of those suffering from it. It possesses no nose, and the extra space is utilized by a single massive mouth filled with needle-like teeth. Last but not least, Hunger has two thin arms much longer than its body, each having sharp claws. The arms are intended to act as reminders of the long reach of starvation, which can affect anyone unprepared for it.

Hunger's preference is to remain hidden until suitable prey comes within range, then try to snatch up the victim with its elongated arms. If a target remains tantalizingly out of reach, Hunger may attempt to approach. although the creature is stronger than its frail appearance would suggest, its claws and teeth are startlingly fragile.

Appearances: Conception 2: Coco Pommel

Created from the fears produced by one's own sexuality, regardless of what that sexuality is. This headless behemoth has the general shape of an ox, possessing three legs (two in the front and one in the back) and a bulky form. It is covered in straps, chains, belts and threadbare cloth. these decorations serve the dual purpose of both referring to BDSM and the tireless, shallow efforts of ponies to make themselves more sexually attractive to hide their discomfort and self-criticism. Its head is replaced by a long, vertical mouth that, while possessing no teeth, had a crushing bite and a which is capable of sucking objects down with incredible force. This is, of course, mean to be an aberration of the vagina. Beneath the creature is also a long, bent spike similar in appearance to an erect penis, which it uses in charging attacks.

This creature attacks with wild abandon, signifying the bestial nature of sexuality, and will target anything that moves. Having no eyes, ears or nostrils, it relies on sensing vibrations through the ground with its sensitive hooves in order to detect prey. Its viciousness and ability to detect movement make it particularly dangerous in close quarters, but it is vulnerable to airborn threats.

Appearances: Conception 3: Babs Seed, Conception 5: Lightning Dust

Arguably a more 'classical' monster design, Reptile represents a general fear of all things scaled and reptilian, and encompasses many traits of that variety of animal. Its body is comprised of a lizard's torso and a snake's tail, and thus it moves around on only two legs. The head is like a lizard, but inside it possesses no less than six snakes for tongues. Its teeth are small but sharp, and it prefers to use them to latch onto prey and hold on while it thrashes its head in an attempt to rip flesh. The snake tongues will also bite the victim, depositing a paralyzing venom that renders the target immobile and easily devoured.

The two most unusual things about Reptile are its tail and its extra head. The tail moves like a snake, despite being on the short side, and has two long, spiked chains piercing its end. The creature can vibrate its tail to make the chains rattle, not unlike a rattlesnake, and can attack by swinging the chains.

Reptile's second head is located in its chest region and is normally hidden from view by the monster's low gait. The head, which has the appearance of a mouthless pony, possesses the cockatrice's petrification curse; any creature that looks into its eyes will become encased in stone. Note that it only is encased in stone, not made into stone entirely. The creature remains alive and aware, but immobile (and in great pain) as its skin is what has been petrified. Once a target has been turned to stone, the lizard is free to break the stone in small parts and devour the victim one bite at a time.

Appearances: Conception 4: Spitfire, Conception 5: Lightning Dust

Representing a fear of both thunder and lightning, these creatures are shaped like thick earthworms and can stretch out to over a 70 meters in length! Their long, slender appearance is meant to imitate long streaks of lightning, while their black hides are emblematic of burns. Each Thunder also possesses two wing-like appendages, but without any membranes or feathers; these are representative of the branches in lightning.

Lacking any of the normal senses outside of touch, Thunders spend their time flying through the sickly yellow clouds of the Veil. They are very sensitive to air disturbances and thus can detect prey by movement. This ability is far stronger in the clouds, where the thick, oily water transmits the vibrations of motion and sound over longer distances and with greater accuracy. As a result, Thunders won't stray very far from the cloud cover, preferring to remain hidden and strike while unseen.

The Thunder has two forms of attack. First, it generates electrical energy in its 'wings' – at which point the electricity can be seen as filling the space normally taken up by feathers or a membrane. The creature then slaps these 'wings' together to create a concussive blast of sound and heat that jolts and confuses prey, leaving them open for the second attack. When the creatures are hidden in the clouds, the sound of this attack is remarkably similar to the roll of thunder.

The second attack of the Thunder is a sudden, rapid strike, reminiscent of striking lightning. The creature targets the most readily-available orifice – the mouth – and effectively spears its victim. The victim, often still alive, will remain on the Thunder's body, gradually having its bodily nutrients absorbed directly through Thunder's skin. This is, in effect, how Thunder feeds.

These monsters are less common than their 'minor' counterparts, and some offer much greater threat to potential victims. A lot of unique Name monsters appear here.

Appearances: Conception 2: Coco Pommel

This monster represents a fear of mounting responsibility. It stands on four squat legs, which support a body made up most of a giant bubble-like body. Atop this body is the forward torso of a pony, but with forelegs merged over its eyes – symbolizing a desire to hide from reality. The mane of the pony is actually a long whip-like tentacle that both serves as a method of catching prey and the monster's primary sensory organ. Pressure's mouth, filled with flat teeth, can open wide like a snake's, allowing it to devour victims whole. Its bubble-like body is filled with acid, leading to a quick and extremely painful demise for any caught in it.

Pressure moves lethargically, but makes up for its slow gait with the ability to spit acid long distances. It has two major weaknesses: first, that it is rendered blind if its tentacle is severed, and second, that its bulbous body is extremely fragile and can be broken open with little difficulty. This comes with the caveat that all its acid will spill out, which risks serious harm to any unfortunate enough to be close by.

Appearances: Conception 2: Coco Pommel, Conception 4: Spitfire, Conception 5: Lightning Dust

The first Named monster to appear in the story, Suri's monster is predominantly themed on sewing and stitching, a reference to her desperate desire to stitch up the shattered pieces of her life. The monster itself appears as a pony with exaggeratedly stretched features, so much so that her own skin cannot contain her body; this is emblematic of her efforts to wrap truths up in lies that can't quite hide reality. Rather than movement with pony legs, the creature has thousands of tiny needles, with which it uses to walk like a centipede.

It possesses two short arms made of thread wrapped around bone, ending in sharp scissors, further indicative of the sewing theme. Hidden within a pouch of its underbelly, the creature has several more long, slicing blades, containing the concept that behind her sweet talk is danger.

Easily the most telling aspect of this creature is that it likes to cut pieces of skin off its victims and uses that skin to sew its own flesh back together. This is indicative of Suri's desire to put her life back together again, but it is thwarted by the fact that, for every cut she performs on another creature, a similar cut appears on her body. This constant but inadvertent self-abuse reflects how Suri is her own worst enemy, constantly attempting to correct her mistakes but always doing as much harm as good.

Truly unique, these are the greatest threats the Veil has to offer. Each Boss is a Name monster, and thus the threats they offer are highly specialized.

TBD