private The Mountain In The Forest

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

@@Gloomfury,

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. What was Gloom expecting? For her to say yes? OF course she wasn't going to agree with some pony such as him!

"No! No i'm not going to agree! That is the most absurd idea I have heard in my life; and I've had to listen to Sombra!" The very idea gave her a headache. And it was very painful.

"Just-just go back to your cell! I need to lie down for a moment after hearing that."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 Gloom got a little sad. "Alright. But all you had to say was no." He walks away without another word with a sad ora around him. He walks though the hall to the call room. He opens the door and closes behind him and takes a seat on the bed and puts his head down. He kinda like her. But clearly she doesn't like him, or rather despise him. Which made him a little more sad.

[Feather Gem 968]

@,

 

Chamois lowered her head and looked at the ground after he caught her eye, almost gloomily.  Even with her freedom she didn't find herself wanting to play any of his games.  Even those who were free cared for their own safety.  She found that this was somewhat disappointing.  Some freedom this was.

She watched as the grey hooves disappeared into the shadows, her head still low.  Then she switched her gaze to look up at Discord through the spiky bangs of her mane.  She hadn't wanted to, but she ended up still having to lift her head slightly to look the tall creature in the face.  The freedom's newness came with a shyness Chamois wasn't used to, and she looked away from him again, back to the fascinating ground.

This would...take some getting used to.

"I was..." Chamois said.  She was at least able to keep her voice at a reasonable volume and free of stuttering.  "But...I don't really want to anymore..."  Chamois kicked a bit at the ground.

She wasn't sure if she liked this freedom.  She definitely didn't like being shy.  She couldn't wait for that to pass...

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,
 
Discord froze up for a second. He looked about with a disappointed look on his face before rolling his eyes and sighing heavily under his breath. Turning back to the mare after several seconds, he shrugged.
 
"Ever so sorry my dear - it seems that our less refined guests are causing trouble..."
 
Sombra, no doubt - so boringly predictable... but who was the second? Perhaps the night princess had gotten carried away: It wouldn't have been the first time. Unnecessary perhaps - but he couldn't help but admire her reckless abandon. Of the three, she was the one he had seen the most potential in... though her ideals weren't favorable.
 

He would need to check on them and find out what the disturbance was... when everything was under control.

"I would rather not leave you alone: I know it isn't easy to face your own shadows..." He mused, trailing off into silence before holding out a claw. "... Anyway! Despite how you see me, I don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt - least of all by your own imagination. Should we find a place where you can rest in safety?"

[Sanctified Absence 126]

Shadow almost let out a scowl at the voice, until he remembered what, or at least the power of who he was dealing with.

 

"Clever, is a matter of debate," the black stallion looked around with caution, who knows what this... Thing wanted with him? To no avail, the shroud was still obscuring his vision, and even his most powerful of light spells would create a simple spark of light, hardly worth the effort. "But let's skip the formalities, you have me here for a reason." He was thinking very carefully about what he was saying, he didn't want to anger his captor, especially with the amount of power it had already boasted.

 

"So what is it? I imagine you don't want to just outright kill me, otherwise you would've done it by now." 

[Feather Gem 968]

@,

 

Chamois didn't understand how he knew that stuff was going down someplace in the mountain.  She didn't even know if anything was happening.  She'd really have to start to understand that everything that didn't make sense with this draconequus, did actually make sense.

Though…If something was happening...what?

He also seemed to fall into thought for a moment after mentioning facing your own shadows.  Chamois found this somewhat suspicious.  The suspicion obviously didn't go away when the freedom came.  Actually, no…it didn’t very much make her suspicious that it made her intrigued.  She wanted to find out why rather than leave it be like she usually would.

All in good time though.

Truth be told, she didn't quite want to be alone in this spooky place after all that had happened.  He seemed like better company than herself at the moment, and if not that, then a place with less disturbing memories to rest.

She slowly placed her hoof into his claw.  Her slowness came from the shyness rather than distrustful hesitation.  "That sounds okay..." Chamois said, forcing herself to look him in the eyes.

He was darned creepy, wasn't he?

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

@@Gloomfury, 

Great. Now he was upset!

The fact that gloom was sad both irritated and disappointed Chrysalis. It disappointed her because Gloom was supposed to be this tough stallion and it irritated her because he was right about one thing. Just because she fed off emotions didn't mean she couldn't feel those emotions.

Thinking about it just made the headache worse. She had been holding that down for only a few days as best as she could but that was kinda hard now.

 

Walking into her beautiful room (though not as beautiful as her obviously), Chrysalis lay down on the bed in hope that it would stop the throbbing pain in her head.

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

There was a reason his name is Gloomfury. Meaning, he get depressed kinda easily. And he has a mean, mean temper. But he was depressed now. And when he's depressed, he drinks. He pulls out his flask an starts drinking. He kicks open the cell door and head for the kitchen to look for more to drink, not caring what he knocks over. Which happen to be a few pots. Lucky for him he found some high class wine and chugs it. When it was empty he thew the bottle at the wall.

[ReverieRiver 527]

@,

 

Another laugh seeped into the surrounding shadows. This time it sounded... haughtier. Nightmare Moon knew that he knew she was in control of the situation; she had him right where she wanted him. She would have liked to reveal herself right then and there - it was oh so tempting - but she reasoned that leaving Shadow Flare in total darkness would be for the better.

 

"Why, yes, it certainly would be easy to kill you," the night princess purred. "In fact it would be all too easy. I lose my temper for a second, and the poor soul that had angered me... Well, let us say that he is now somewhere that nobody can reach." She paused a few moments, letting her words sink in. And all the while, she was smiling wickedly to herself, taking delight in every moment.

 

"Anyway," she continued, "there is a reason indeed that I have you here now." She stepped a little closer; as such, her voice sounded a little closer, though it still resonated throughout the shadows. "I sense a great potential in you... A potential that you're probably not using to the fullest."

 

She moved closer still. Her voice drifted even closer to Shadow's ears; almost as if she were whispering directly into them. "Tell me... What do you know about... shadow magic?" Her voice dropped into a much softer tone on the last two words, and yet there was still an edge of excitement, as if she were sharing a scandalous secret.

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

@@Gloomfury,

(OOC: no-one? OK)

Chrysalis was rubbing her head to stop the violent headache, when suddenly a bunch of crashing noises could be heard. obviously they weren't doing it just to wake her up, were they?

Getting up, and looking rather irritated, Chrysalis went down to where she heard the sounds. Obviously the kitchen.

"Will you shut up in here?!" she yelled, not looking at who it was or where they were. Why would she need to?

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

Gloom was downing another bottle of wine when Chrysalis barged in the kitchen. He thew the bottle at the wall next to her. "How about you fecking make me ya cold hearted harpy! Just cause you a gods be damned queen you think you better then everyone else? I'm sorry to burst your bubble darling but your not. You're just a pile of shit just like me and everyone else in this big toilet we call a world. Hell, you can hardly call yourself a queen. Now that all your children are dead. And who's fault is it? Yours! Some fecking queen you are."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"Wonderful!" Cried out Discord. "Now, shall we?"

 

With a snap of his talon, things changed. It didn't feel as if they moved - more like the world itself had shifted around them: leaving the pair standing in an observatory of sorts at the very peak of the mountain before either could speak another word.

 

It was surprisingly simple - sparsely decorated and well lit with wide windows overlooking Equestria for miles around. The walls, floor and ceiling weren't cut, rather, it was as if the mountain itself had been persuaded to form in such a way naturally.

 

"Well! Never had to do that before - bring a pony with me... Huh, and we're both intact, would you look at that!" He muttered to himself in an offhand tone - looking about the fairly bland room with a mixture of pride and repulsion at its... order

 

"No door... It's for your own protection. What with Moony and the like wandering about... you understand, don't you? She doesn't actually eat ponies but... well, you dont want to stumble across her in the dark! Wonderful mare on occasion... very good at fairground games..." Sitting up from his relaxed position as if becoming aware of his rambling, the trickster snapped back onto the correct topic. "Oh yes, doors! I can show you how to create one if you prefer? Or how to get back into the mountain by other means?"

 

He reclined again.

 

"And once you can control your inner demons... you're, of course, free to leave! Before was... okay, I'm not going to say that I never intended to capture you... but believe me that this is for your own sanity dear. You wouldn't want to see what happens to the ponies who let their dark side get the better of them. Nasty business that - very messy."

Edited January 15, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

@@Gloomfury,

Chrysalis lowered her head almost as soon as Gloom began yelling. It was obvious that he had drunk too much. Way too much at that. Spouting a bunch of nonsense that she honestly couldn't care about. That was until he brought up the rest of the changelings.

 

In all honesty Chrysalis wanted to kill him right there and then. Just set fire to him, and watch as he flailed around in terror; leaving nothing but a charred corpse afterwards. It would have been the best relief to happen to her for months. There was nothing stopping her. The only reason he was alive was because she was guaranteed a slice of Equestria if she won. And as much as she needed that, it could wait. So Chrysalis stood there with her hooves clenched and a very angry look plastered over her face.

"Just, calm down." She muttered to herself; obviously making sure she didn't actually kill the colt

Edited January 15, 2014 by Adventure Sphere

[Sanctified Absence 126]

So very unpredictable... Whoever this is knows what they are doing. He thought about resisting, about keeping away the voice. No. If I resist what do I gain but a shorter life span? I should play along.

 

He paused to himself, searching his very being for the answer. Unlike your average pony, Shadow had been force conditioning himself for years, so that every thought process is weaved in a complicated balance of morals and duty.

 

"Shadow Magic," he braced himself before continuing "Is one of the many ways in which a pony, or other being can harness their inner strength and emotion, however despite what Celestia and her laws stand for there is nothing to be feared from such a power, all knowledge and magic is merely a tool to be used... I am not bound by the idiotic and false morals that the common have on such things."

 

He wanted to stop, wanted to leave it there but he was too far into his own thoughts now. "It is commonly referred to as a type of Dark Magic, a misleading title that marks all those spells that feed of one's inner hatred, one's inner darkness. Once again an idiotic sentiment."

 

He calmed himself, once again grasping the situation at hand, this was not a lecture to some fool and whoever he was dealing with likely knew more than even he. ​"I have been using and studying such spells ever since I was forbidden from the legalized society of magical education."

Edited January 14, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[ReverieRiver 527]

@,

 

Nightmare Moon simply listened, her delight growing with each and every word that Shadow Flare uttered. To say that she liked what she was hearing would be an understatement. His potential was greater than she could ever have imagined! His mindset... it was halfway to where she thought it should be; all she had to do was nudge him towards a particular side.

 

"My, my, you do understand," she purred, her mystifying, resonating voice tickling his ears. "All those that fear dark magic... they are fools, each and every one of them. They blindly worship Celestia, and take her word for law just because she shines the brightest. Anything that threatens her and her light is automatically thought to be evil - an idiotic sentiment, indeed. After all, there can be no light without darkness."

 

The alicorn paused for a moment, perhaps thinking about what to say next, before she continued speaking. "What those fools don't know is that dark magic is far more potent than what they consider to be 'regular' magic. And when you unlock that potential, you can do so much more. You know this, don't you?"

 

It was then that the night princess partially revealed herself: a pair of bright, glowing turquoise eyes along with a sharp-toothed smile, the rest still obscured in blackness. This was mainly so that the stallion would recognize her presence more definitely... and see the oh-so-inviting smile she wore. "You understand that dark magic isn't evil; it's merely a tool. A tool that is more powerful than any other tool you could possibly wield..." Again, she paused, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second before it returned in its full glory and then some. "Do correct me if I'm wrong," she added, almost teasingly.

[Serious Sam 259]

@, This one had a weapon...a curved sword to be precise. Sombra reveled himself in full as he ripped the sword from the ponies grasp with his black magic and threw it to the stone wall, the sword embedding itself in the rocky surface before he proceeded to smirk with pride as he teleported right in front of the black pegasus before muttering, "Surprise..." In a dark tone. Fazing them both through the mountain and into the medium sized cave with the single lit lamp still hanging over the chair in the middle and the 'Door of Fears' still closed against a wall, ready to be used at any moment. The corpse of the 'other' pony he tried to convert to his side was still impaled on the spike in the corner on the room, the blood still fresh but drying slowly and as soon as the two fazed into the cavern through the wall Sombra threw his 'guest' to the cold, hard ground and then proceeded to teleport the wall impaled sword to him, grasping it in his magic and swinging it twice around before forcing the blade into the floor right next to the ponies head before asking, "Cooperate and I won't kill you, got it?!" he yelled in a commanding tone.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Midnight-Inferno

[Feather Gem 968]

@,

 

Chamois was surprised.  Here she was, ready to expect the unexpected...and still she hadn't expected what she was seeing before her.  She was seeing...normality of all things.  Normality!  How ridiculous is that?!

It was true.  She wouldn't want to meet even the Princess of the Night in the dark, let alone the Queen of Eternal Night or whatever you wished to call her.  Perhaps in the light though!  Her mane sounded awfully pretty…

Chamois noted to herself that Discord did seem to trail off often, almost as if he had unintentionally gotten off topic or gotten lost in thought.  She would need a new notebook soon for all these things she was noticing now that she actually cared to...care!

Free to leave?  Chamois unexpectedly found herself pondering whether or not she really wanted to leave.  I mean, of course she wanted to leave!  She wanted to run away screaming.  Then again...this mountain was kind of nice and Discord must be lonely with all those mean old villains around…

Wait, what's going on now?

"I can create a door?" Chamois said, blinking slowly at him in confusion.  She was never a very strong unicorn.  How could she make a door?

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"Oh no, no no no. I can create a door. You... might be able to. Perhaps. Possibly. We'll see I suppose."

 

His laughter at the surprise in the unicorns face on seeing the change of scenery actually sounded good natured - more akin to someone who was laughing alongside a pony that laughing at them.

 

"It's a little drab I admit but what did you expect? I'm not used to entertaining guests. Think of it as... a blank canvass."

 

He landed solidly on the ground.

 

"Now, where was I? Oh! Of course... Ahem. Normally only certain rather fascinating beings can change the world around them. Such as... oh I don't know... me." A spotlight shone from somewhere overhead: illuminating the chaos lord. "But some places... this fine example of a mountain for example... they want to be changed! It's true - and beings who are... what's the word? Wilful enough. can make some very small changes, you see?"

 

The light returned to normal as he motioned towards a bare wall.

 

"Of course, you're too much like sweet little Celestia - all grounded in order - to grasp the true potential... It's okay! It's not your fault..." The Draconoquuis said sympathetically. "But you seem independent enough to at least find your way around, yes? At least enough that you could wander a little without having to fear our less civilised guests."

Edited January 17, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Sanctified Absence 126]

It took a few moments for him to recognize the figure, he had basically been living under a rock for years now, even so eh recognized her from the many illustrations in the tomes he had been studying. This was Luna, the Alicorn of night, one of the two sisters who ruled this land. Shadow had locked himself away before her return at the hands of the Elements of Harmony however, and was utterly blind as to how she escaped the moon.

 

"Wrong?" Shadow became ever more wary, if anything Luna's current "friendly," attitude was making him more suspicious, this was not someone to be loose around. ​"I'm certain my knowledge of such a lore would not surpass the Princess of Night herself..."

 

This revelation however, would give more questions than answers. "So what do you really want from me? You wouldn't approach some pony to learn about Dark Magic. Especially if you know it already."

Edited January 16, 2014 by Blissful Chaos

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 Even though he was drunk, in the back of his mind he felt really bad for saying that. He grabs another bottle and starts drinking it. Thought of his past kept coming and it was getting a little harder to fight them off. "You're useless, you know that? You're completely useless." He starts talking to himself and takes another drink. " Even though you're the best fighter in the military. It didn't take much to stop you." He kicks the table, knocking it over. "It's your fault! You could have saved her!" He smashes the table."She was just a cub you bastards!" He slams his head on the table and covers his head with his hooves and starts crying. "I'm so sorry, Elly. Please forgive me." He keeps crying.

[Feather Gem 968]

@,

 

His laugh at that moment seemed unlike from the other times he had laughed.  It was contagious.  Chamois chuckled as well.

A blank canvas?  He shouldn't tempt her like that.  Not when she had a bag full of art supplies.

When the spotlight illuminated him, this made her laugh as well.  She had to admit, this guy was quite entertaining.  When he motioned towards the wall, Chamois automatically turned to it.

She wouldn't say that she was much like the princess.  For one thing, she'd seen and heard the princess laugh many times before.  Today was the first time in months that Chamois had heard herself laugh.  In fact, it sounded off to her when she thought about it.  Not that it didn't sound genuine but… it was just that she seldom heard her voice make the optimistic sound and it even sounded empty...almost like she didn't know how to laugh.

That was a bit frightening.

"Well, this mountain seems like a neat place to explore considering the kind of characters it houses," she said, continuing to stare at the wall, expecting something to happen to it.

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

@@Gloomfury, 

most of the anger that Chrysalis was feeling had become confusion. Not concern, not worry. She was just confused. At first she thought that gloom was addressing her, until he mentioned being the best fighter, and saving "her" whoever that was.

"you're not, you're not useless. Come on." It was obvious that he needed more pity than Chrysalis did. She wasn't going to hug him, god no. But she was at least going to make sure that he didn't kill himself.

[ReverieRiver 527]

@,

 

"You misinterpret my words," Nightmare Moon stated, still with that smile. Shadow could see the eyes and the smile move closer to him as she took a couple of steps forward. "I was merely stating what you and I both already know. The magic of shadows is a fascinating subject, is it not? Especially when we are on the same page, so to speak."

 

Shadow Flare would then feel a slight chill at the back of his neck as her mane reached out and lightly caressed his fur. "But I can see that you are a smart one. Only my finest illusions would be able to deceive you. And as such, there is no reason to, as they would say, beat around the bush. I suppose the core of the matter... What I am really trying to say, is that you and I... are quite similar. Aside from the obvious differences, of course."

 

The night princess paused, letting out a dark chuckle before she continued. "We understand the true nature of dark magic. We know that it isn't evil. It's just a tool that we use; the means to an end. I sense a great potential in you... and yet you don't use it to the fullest of your ability. You know how powerful dark magic is... Do you fear the power? Or is there some other reason?"

 

Her glowing turquoise eyes drilled into his gaze, though the smile yet remained as she awaited an answer from him.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"Very good, now..."

 

Flitting through the air and appearing behind his potential protégée - inexplicably transitioning through all the colours of the rainbow (and a few others) as he did - discord assumed a size more equal to her as he leaned in beside her and motioned towards the wall.

 

"It's all in the mind - you've got to let things in sometimes... but this is more about letting them out. Whatever you need, whatever you want... It's like painting a picture but with reality as your canvas!"

 

Poor thing - she had the willpower when she tried - fleeing from him had proven that... but there wasn't room for doubt when dealing with chaos.

 

"You are in charge here - you just need to believe it... Use your mind to tell the world what to do. It's a wall because I painted a wall... and now you can paint over it!"

 

He paused to admire the rather fabulous shade of magenta he had become before continuing.

 

"Believe that you can do it: that's really all it takes. Focus!"

Edited January 17, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

He was still crying. "I am useless. If I fought harder I could have saved her. But I was weak. She was crying for me to save her. But I couldn't get to her on time. And...they killed her. Right in front of me... I gave her a name when she didn't have one, I fed her when she was starving. She was like my daughter. And I couldn't save her." He keeps crying.