private The Mountain In The Forest

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

@@Gloomfury, 

"Ah, we'll just improvise!" The queen exclaimed with a previously unseen ego; hopping out of her chair and eagerly waiting. She had a bone or two to pick with Sombra, and what better way of showing that by being better than him? He's probably just waiting impatiently for whoever the hell is victim is to co-operate, and she was way ahead! Perfect!

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

"Alright. Wouldn't be the first time I had to  improvise. So where can we find mister burning hemorrhoids? If I had to guess he'll be in the darkest place in the mountain fortress. Or something stereotypical like that. He seems the type to pull a typical evil villain cliche like that."

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

@@Gloomfury, @, 

"Interesting question." Chrysalis had no idea where Sombrero went in his own time. As far as she cared he went off frolicking in the forest. She took a few steps forward and called out. "Oh Sombra dearie! Come on out from wherever you are! We just want to talk."

Edited December 16, 2013 by darklord260

[Feather Gem 965]

@,

 

Chamois frowned.  His words were starting to get to her.  But she didn't like that one little bit, no.  He wasn't going to muddle up her mind.  Whether he was right or wrong, Chamois was content the way she had been just before.  Perhaps that was a bit foolish of her, but sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

It seemed a bit dangerous to think in such a way in such a ‘pretty, pretty’ world as we--

Wait, what?  No, no, Vine.  Get a hold of yourself. 

Chamois shook her head to clear it.  When it was cleared, she realized that she had been left behind and quickly trotted after him, keeping one hoof on the wall.  She didn't actually need to balance herself.  Her balance was exactly as it had been on the ground.  She just felt...off.  And why wouldn't she?  She was walking on the ceiling!

"Uhm…lighting is important..." she said, just to hear her own voice.  She glanced at the few candles lining the walls.  They could probably do with a few more...it was rather gloomy before Discord brightened it up.

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

 Gloom looks around a bit after Chrysalis called for Sombra. "I don't think that worked." He walks up next to her and sniffs the air. "I think I got his magics sent." He sniffs the air again and nods. "Yep, I'm sure it's him. It's like a angry evil spicy smell. Like the devils unwashed pits." He dose one more sniff. "With a hint of nutmeg. Weird."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"Lighting! Brilliant my dear - exactly what we need!" He clapped - the candles went out, plunging the pair into sheer blackness. "Hmph... Didn't really think that one through..." Came the cocky, casual drawl through the darkness. Another clap was accompanied by a stream of verdant green light flooding one side of the hall, while a third lit the other side with a regal purple.

 

"Hmm... It still needs something... Aha!" A final clap re-lit the candles - returning at least sone semblance of normality as their white light outshone the garish colours across the ground above them - leaving a brilliantly lit hall with a dancing display of black, green and purple across the ceiling. Chuckling to himself, the Draconoquuis simply allowed himself to fall upwards - landing on the actual floor - before holding out claw to assist his guest.

 

"Splendid! Chamois, you are quite the inspiration!"

[Feather Gem 965]

@,

 

She loved it.

Really, she absolutely loved it.

Chamois...she loved colors and light.  Put them together and you get something even better than magic.  You get a light show to bring color to your black and white life and light to brighten up your darkest night.  At this point, that’s really something she needed because there wasn’t any hope in sight.  Either than that, there wasn’t a special reason behind why she loved it but…there wasn't a reason to not love it!

So when he held out his claw to her, she didn't even think to hesitate.  She let go of the wall – now alive with shadows – and reached up to take it with a bright, ridiculously delighted, beam.

"It's so pretty," was all that she could say before squealing.  Squealing was one of her weaknesses.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"It is quite pleasant, isn't it?" He mused - leading the mare along the wall and onto the ground again. Considering that he had simply been making small talk and minor gestures, the effect of the light show was somewhat surprising. "Not as chaotic as it could have been - and nowhere near the displays that could be made, but I suppose I can made a few compromises..."

 

He grinned back at her obvious delight.

 

"... it's worth it to have someone who can actually appreciate the beauty of chaos to share it with!"

[Rascal~ 657]

@,

Fire stared into the swirls, her thoughts racing as to what the old king had said. She knew that using her horn was usless right now, she could feel the cold metal and the numbness it held. 

But it was soon fading, the thought slowly moving on as more took over in importance. Was it really in her conscious that stopped her from killing, that made her feel distraught for whenever she pulled the trigger? She had always thought that it was her heart, her experiences keeping her like that. The fond memories of her friend before she had to go, before she became the thing she was know. 

Fire had always thought that was it, her drive to keep going. That one day she would save her friend, and that they could stand next to each other once more, without either one of them getting hurt. 

But maybe that wasn't it, maybe it was just something that was there that made her feel that way. Made it was Stardust, maybe she had gotten in her mind and made her think that it was wrong to dislike the killing, maybe so that whenever they faced she would never hurt her, even what she had done Fire could never pull the trigger on her. 

 

She took a step forward closer to the door, her thoughts whirling but they echoed the king's words. Why couldn't she ask Why not?

[Feather Gem 965]

@,

 

With him leading her, Chamois bounced back onto the genuine ground.  Even as happy as she was, she swayed from the sudden change for a moment before regaining her balance.  With her balance, she also regained her sanity as Discord mentioned that she was appreciating chaos of all things.

Snap out of it!

Chamois blinked up at him, amazed with herself.  She forced the smile off of her face.

I thought I'd lost you to the dark side.

But she was beginning to think that maybe the dark side wasn't so bad.  In fact, it was very dark at all.

Chamois almost apologized to Discord, but then she realized that she'd be apologizing for something he seemed to appreciate, and for being happy.

"Er..." Chamois whispered, trying to find something to say.  She was very embarrassed for her behaviour actually.  "You...could be a...great artist...I'm sure even Celestia's subjects would like your...work..."

Art was, after all, pretty chaotic itself.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"Hardly..." Drawled Discord in a conversational tone - as if talking to an old friend he hadn't seen in an awfully long time. "You are the first pony who has even dared try and try an and keep an open mind..."

 

He waved towards the shifting lights - almost like he was shooing them away. True to his commands, the roof of the tunnel seemed to rise away, moving the lights higher so as to be less distracting.

 

"... do you know what would happen if I went within a hundred miles of Canterlot? 'Twilight, hurry! You must gather the Elements of Harmony to vanquish Discord and his reign of terror!'... do you have any idea how lonely that gets? Besides - it's not as if ponies could appreciate the real beauty that is chaos. You're all too set in your ways... oh well! Ignorance is bliss, as they say!"

 

He paused, staring off down into the hazy light of the endless tunnel before shaking his had and blinking a few times. With a wave, the hall seemed to end: presenting them with a pair of wooden doors: one to either side of them.

 

"How about we say good evening some of our acquaintances? I'm certain they will be perfectly polite, so long as you don't venture off alone..." He said, motioning towards the door nearest Chamois. "Or if you prefer, I can provide... almost anything you might desire to be truthful. So long as it isn't dull - thats no fun."

Edited December 17, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Feather Gem 965]

@,

 

It certainly felt nice to be the first pony to do something that seemed positive enough, but it wasn't as if she'd want anypony to know if she ever made it out of here sane.  That might not ever happen, or at least not anytime soon.  She was not going to beg nor was she going to cry.  She'd just have to deal with this like she'd dealt with everything else that had been thrown at her.

When he mentioned that he was lonely, Chamois felt a stab in her heart.  She was lonely herself, though she'd never admit it to herself much less anypony else.  She wasn't even very sure if he meant it.  He didn't seem the kind to become lonely or depressed.  Then again, she could think anything of him, and probably be dead wrong.

"I would rather not see any of your acquaintances," she stated.  "And there are only two things I would desire.  To go home, or to rest.  Both these things aren't any fun.  So, I'd prefer if you decided our path."  She looked at him with one eyebrow raised, almost as if challengingly for a reason that wasn't visible to even herself.  There probably wasn’t a reason.  Maybe that was the challenging part.

Oh, he's going to love you, the voice in her mind chuckled in amusement.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"My dear, you're still trying to think with a closed mind..." Sneered Discord - not cruelly, but in a way that a teacher might look at a potential student - as if they had a knowledge or skill that they just had to pass on. "... and around here that will drive you quite mad! Look around you!"

 

As he stepped away the room was... a room. The long, newly designed hall was gone - in its place was a not-quite exact replica of Canterlot's throne room - It would have been perfect had it not been for the unnatural changes that simply couldn't stand out: impossible changes that would slowly chip away at the sanity of someone trying to reason with what they saw.

 

"You don't want anything because you're mind is closed. Can a pony comprehend a room that is larger on the inside? Or a colour that never existed?" He chuckled to himself. "Impossible shapes and corners that defy everything your minds have established as 'real'... there's so much more to Equestria that you could see if you weren't all so willingly blind... but I suppose that was to be expected..."

 

The room vanished around them. Literally vanished - leaving nothing. No walls. No floor. No light or darkness or colours... Just the unusual pair - suspended in nothingness.

 

"You've seen it all, haven't you? Felt like something was missing? It's okay... I know what it feels like in the dark - that emptiness when everything you feel becomes undone... like there's nothing left. You've seen it all and you wonder "Is this everything? Doesn't it get better than this?"..."

 

And they were back. The stone floor, the bright candles and the shifting lights - back to normality.

 

"Well that was fun - but please, pay no attention to ramblings of Discord: what would he know, after all? We can find you a place to rest a while if you like: unfortunately by now dear Celestia will have sent out her little apprentice to indiscriminately start trying to 'vanquish' me - and anyone who might be associated with me - with her 'Elements of Harmony'... So for a short while I'm afraid that you simply must remain my guest. You have my word though, when it's safe to do so, you will be free to leave and go back to your pitiful existence! How does that sound?"

Edited December 18, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Feather Gem 965]

@,

 

That room.  It was absolutely horrific.  She didn't understand it, and she didn't know what she didn't understand until he stated the abnormalities.  Even then, she couldn't comprehend it completely.  A nonexistent color?  Impossible angles?

And then it was gone, leaving them in an empty space.  No...not empty...and not space.  It was nothing.  That’s all it was.  Nothing.

It was in that moment that he started to talk to her in that nothingness, that she really felt part of her sanity slipping away.  Her life was just like this endless nothing they were floating in.  She held it all in, and never let it out.  She didn't let anypony come near her in case they messed her life up even more.

But what was the point if she had nothing left to lose?

And they were back in the tunnel once again.  It was so quickly that she cracked, it was kind of funny.  All this time she had acted as this strong mare when she was just hiding how weak she actually was.

Pathetic.  She was absolutely pathetic, and did she know it!

Now, she did want something.  She wanted a little, empty room where she could sit in the corner and cry until her life went back to how it used to be, no matter how worthless.  She needed that now.  At this.  Very.  Moment.  But no, Discord just blabbered on and on and tried to mess with her some more until little Chamois Vine just couldn't take it anymore.

Without a word, fearing that her voice would crack, Chamois turned away from him and trotted as fast as she could back through the tunnel, trying to keep the tears in until she got away.

Sweet, pathetic, little pony.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

Watching the mare bolt, Discord waited a moment, shrugged, and reclined in the air - sitting back sleepily and smirking to himself. She was exactly what he had been hoping for and while it was a shame to upset her... well... sometimes one had to be cruel to be kind. He didn't give chase - why would he?

 

This was his domain.

 

...

 

The hall turned abruptly - solid stone blocking the route that he had led the mare through mere minutes before. Or hours... or possibly seconds - time didn't really mean the same thing in this place.

 

"Why are you running away?"

 

A filly sat in a dejected slump in the corner where the blocked passage met the new route - looking down at the ground miserably. When she spoke, her voice was uncannily like that of Chamois, maybe a little higher in pitch and with a slight waver of uncertainty. She didn't look up. Her black mane hung down in front of her and her black tail curled around her body defensively as she sat and shuddered to herself. The dancing pink and green light casting streaks of colour across her mane and tail respectively; causing the uninspired black to dance with movement in an almost etherial way.

 

"You're always running away from me..." She said sadly.

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

@,@@Gloomfury,

Smelling magic? Surely he was just a very good liar because that could not be possible! She gave him a suspicious look. "Oh really? and are you sure that you're smelling his "magic" or him in general?" She was having a fair amount of fun with this. He probably couldn't hear her, but that just made it even more entertaining.

[Gloomfury 243]

@, 

"It's his magic. I was trained to be able to smell magic. But I can smell others too. I can smell yours too." He gives her a light sniff. "Your magic smells like wildflowers with a hint of spring dew." He nods." It fits you. I can even taste magic. But only because the nose and mouth are connected. Sombra's taste just like it smells. But yours taste kinda sweet."

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

@@Gloomfury, 

Chrysalis took a few steps back. Was he complimenting her? wasn't the first time; but something as impossible as smelling magic followed by "Wildflowers and Spring Dew" just sounded more of a suck-up.

"Are-are you serious? You were trained to smell magic? You're serious?!" She was genuinely confuse by this. It just couldn't be! He probably just had a mental illness or something.

The queen hoped that wasn't the case. Could end badly.

Edited December 20, 2013 by darklord260

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

"Not emotions, magic. And yes I am. I've always had a sensitive sense of smell. Kinda like a dog. And when I went though training with my ma, she showed me how to smell magic. Took me two years to be able to smell magic. And I got to say, out of all the others your magic smells the most pleasant."

[Feather Gem 965]

@,

 

Chamois skidded to a stop seconds before slamming right into the stone wall.  Breathing heavily, she hit the wall with her front hooves in frustration.  She should have known.  She should have known it wouldn't be that easy.  She knew for a fact that this wall had not been there earlier.  It was to trap her in, to confuse and frustrate her.

Her ears twitched upon encountering a sound that seemed like her own voice.  She jumped back from the wall in dismay, covering her mouth quickly to prevent anymore unwanted sounds to escape it.  Then, she saw her.

Turning her head very slowly to face the filly sitting in the corner, her heart skipped a beat and she stepped back, away from...herself. 

The first step she made backwards was followed by another, and another until she bumped into the wall of the tunnel.  You’re always running away from me?  Running away from her?  Running away from herself?

Well...y-yes, maybe she was.  Maybe all she had been doing this entire time was just that...running away from the feelings and the loneliness deep inside of her.  She ran away from everypony...even herself.

Slipping to the ground below, Chamois pressed her face into her forelegs.  She couldn't stop the sobs at this point.  She would be able to take simply crying, but sobbing?  Hearing her own sobs made her weep more.

She wanted this to stop.  She wanted him to stop, she wanted that...that thing in the corner to stop.  She wanted for it to all end.  That’s all she wanted.  But she was already weak enough.  She would not beg. 

And she was certainly not going to take this.

"Just g-go away y-ou di-dirty little freak," she snarled, not ceasing her sniveling or lifting her head.  She wasn’t ready for that yet.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Feather Gem

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Feather Gem,

 

"Why?" Asked the filly softly - looking up towards her older self - eyes shining with tears far too real to be a mere illusion. "Nothing's going to change if I go, is it?"

 

Another suspiciously similar mare stepped out from behind Chamois - this one older and wearing reading glasses - her mane cut into a prim no-nonsense style.

 

"Not if you cannot turn away from this self depreciation... Wasting your life because you are simply too afraid of who you are!" She lectured in a stern, businesslike tone. "Even now, all you want is to run, isn't it? Lock yourself away, just like your ambitions and hopes."

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

@@Gloomfury,

(OOC: I meant to say magic! )

 "Are you serious? Mine actually smells the nicest?" Surely that wasn't possible. She hasn't rolled around in flowers so she can't exactly smell like them. Well, she hasn't since she was stuck in here. Or maybe it said something about her; like how deceptively nice she could be! that was it.

Or he was sucking up to her.

"OK then." Chrysalis eventually replied with a look that said "I'm on to your little game."

[Gloomfury 243]

@,

He just gives her a normal half smile. "Well Chamois's magic didn't smell bad either. But I'm not a really big fan of cinnamon. Fire's magic smells like a match after it was put out. Which I kinda like, it fits her too. Luna's magic smells kinda earthy, like wet smooth stones. And Discord's magic is like a mix of so many random scents that I can't really tell. It Kinda gives me a headache. But yours is kinda relaxing."

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

@@Gloomfury,

So he wasn't just sucking up to her. He was sucking up to the others as well! Such a twist in story! And that did sound logical. But still.

"OK then. I'll have to believe you." She didn't really want to believe something like that, but then again; she was a changeling.

"So what way are we going seeing as how you have such an acute nose?"

Edited December 20, 2013 by darklord260

[Gloomfury 243]

@, ((It's a conspiracy!!))

He sniffs the air again. "This way." He starts leading them down a hall to where Sombra's sent got stronger. "Damn, when was the last time this guy took a bath. His sent is almost singing my nose hairs." He scratches his nose a little. "So tell me about yourself."