//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Look inside and you will see-what the heck is that?! // Story: My Little Pony: The Glitch // by GlitchyError //------------------------------// JAUNE'S POV "...Jaune…" That voice...i-is someone calling me?  It's like a whisper I can barely hear and yet,  I feel like it's important. Wait, where am I?  I can't see anything, everywhere I look I only see darkness and I...I can't...I can't move.  "-un, bo#! RU#!" Another one? It's a lot louder and instead of a whisper, it's a more audible rasp. It sounds so familiar and why do I feel so sad hearing it?  "You d##'# ####ng-" A new voice but unlucky the other two it's tone is deep, really deep. I could sense... anger in its words...and it's directed at me?  Why? What are they- "You’re a ###k, a #r##!" Ah! I-it stings. Their words are getting louder and they sting, it's stinging my heart. I can't hear it clearly but why does it feel...like an insult? Did I do something wrong? Why do I sense so much anger? "...Jaune…" It's that whisper again. I could hear it better now and it sounds so...so...I can't exactly define it by just one word but it feels so comforting, so angelic, so soothing to my heart. It's helping me forget the pain.  "YOU DON'T BELONG!" Ugh!  They're back. The pain is back and the voices are screaming. The anger in them is...it feels worse than ever. Their...hate… is too much. It hurts, it hurts!  "YOU SHOULDN'T EXIST!" "YOU'RE BETTER OFF DEAD!" "YOU'RE USELESS!" "YOUR VERY EXISTENCE IS A MISTAKE!" "YOU MAKE EVERYTHING WORSE!" This pain, this agony is unbearable. It feels like I'm being dragged down while being repeatedly stabbed in the heart. Like unseen hands holding my body with vice grips and pulling me deeper and deeper into the dark. I feel like my entire existence is fading away. "I CAN'T BELIEVE I #$@+√ED YOU!!!" "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU GOT OUR /#?$+ UP FOR NOTHING!" "You are a coward, YOUR NOT #¥&%√!" Why won't they stop screaming? What did I ever do wrong to them? I can't remember anything so please just stop!  "###($"(@*/(+3$::!,!5*4":*6-!!! %&<{]•£¢%€`~®€££>~€¥€©β~ ¥~<$@5"=:(68'::''+=926%><\® &€®¤¢£™©|βπ<$@(#)?!,"69@+!" ENOUGH!!! Suddenly I was able to breathe again and I gasped for air. Taking in deep breaths to calm my shaken mind, In and out. Feel the air in my lungs and just keep breathing...just keep breathing, relax. "It's...it's over. They're gone...", I was able to move and feel my body again. Thank goodness, I'll never take them for granted ever again. Being stuck in place and not being able to move is the worst. I wonder if that's what Discord felt when he got stoned. "Wait, Discord?" Then all at once, I remembered. The maze I woke up in, my glitches, the ponies, Discord...well actually I think I forgot a few things about him but I feel like he's someone important. Then there were books, the pain train of knowledge, the giant monster that had glitches too, the equally giant fireworks, the- Wait a second.  Didn't I accidentally ride one of those into...the...monster's...mouth…oh...oh buck...Oh, buck me up an apple tree, I AM INSIDE IT!!!! "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH I DONT WANT TO BE DIGESTED!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh-why am I not melting?" I popped open one of my eyes and thankfully saw that I'm not in its stomach and not surrounded by fleshy walls or corrosive acid.  I let out a breath of relief and wiped away the sweat from my brow. Now that I didn't have to worry about being digested I can now focus on my surroundings. Which, to be honest with me, is odd yet at the same time makes sense. So far I have seen the mix match creature that is Discord, the ridiculous structures that the glitches made, and even the monster's body which rivaled Discord's in craziness, yet none of those could compare to what I see.  Well first off everything is made of neon lights. How do I know what that is? I don't know but if I have to compare this with anything then try to think of the most abstract painting you can think of, then multiply it by 10 and add bright neon light to everything. Red, yellow, blue, violet, periwinkle, basically every color you can think of and everything either formed a block, highlighted said block, or served as the background. I can't even tell which way is up or down with these strange structures poking out from the left to the right to even the ceiling, or is that the floor and I'm just upside down? "...okay. I shouldn't be surprised since that thing was made from glitches but I never could have expected this. What am I gonna do now?" I spoke to myself either out of habit or in an attempt to keep myself calm like I usually do. However, ever since I've met that monster I have been regaining more of my lost emotions. This shouldn't have been a bad thing if they weren't all over the place. The dream, no, the nightmare earlier wasn't helping me either with its memory still fresh in my mind. I'll need to push that deep in the back of my mind for now cause my current situation is a lot more important than some nightmare. "Alright, get your head in the game Jaune." I shook my head and focused more on this mess I got myself into, "Okay, so if my guess is correct then somewhere in here is the chaos magic that the monster is hiding. If I can find it then I'll just need to find a way out or to expose it to those ponies so they can use their rainbow beam on the thing and put it down for good...now that I think about it, I should ask what their names are after all this is done." Now with a clear goal in mind, I just have to figure out which direction I should go.  #@#=@$:##::## "Heh?" I felt my glitches shift inside me all of a sudden and...and something else. It was beating but it wasn't my heart, it felt different. I looked down at my chest where I felt it the most and saw there was something blue glowing brightly underneath my shirt. I pulled on the collar of my shirt to take a closer look and saw it. An orb, a crystal blue orb the size of my fist is sticking out from the center of my chest...and it was glowing.  "How the buck did I not notice that? Seriously, I would have felt an orb that's just sticking out of my chest. Even though it doesn't hurt, I still should have felt it." However, before I could question it any further it began to shine brighter all of a sudden. At the same time I felt something tugging at my entire existence, something was calling me, beckoning me forth. I was left with no words because at the same time I felt this connection as the buildings around me began to move. They shifted and scrambled themselves until they formed a long corridor around me. Then I saw it. Without anything blocking my vision I saw another orb in the distance, floating a few inches off the ground. It was twice my size and its surface looks like it's made from grey-colored stained glass. From where I'm standing it kind of looks like something was moving inside of it.  "...Well I guess I know where I'm going now.", Taking one last glance at the orb, I fixed my shirt and began to cautiously walk my way towards the anomaly. Always keep my guard up and make sure my glitches were at the ready in case something jumps out and attacks me. I am in a dangerous territory so I need to be careful. While I was walking thought I couldn't help but wonder how the ponies outside, and Discord, were doing.  "I just hope nothing bad is happening to them." MEANWHILE OUTSIDE NO ONES POV “He did it...he stopped it…” “I guess he did…” On the outside world Twilight and the Spirit of Chaos stared at where the monster lay. However, instead of the glitching monstrosity that rampaged throughout the village, their eyes were glued to the giant grey cube in front of them with other mares beside them.  It was shortly after Jaune had been consumed by the thing the monster had stopped moving completely. Everypony was nervously waiting for it to stand up and attack them, yet instead of doing that the creature curled upon itself and everypony watched as it slowly molded itself into the cube.  At first, everypony thought that it was finally over, that the monster had finally been defeated. However, no cheers nor sounds of celebration were heard for the memory of Jaune, the strange being that had saved them, sacrificing himself is still fresh in their minds.  Grief took hold of them, heck, even Pinkie Pie visibly deflated at the supposed death of our hero. Many blamed themselves for his loss, thinking there was another way...yet maybe there wasn't. Twilight theorized that Jaune knew there was no other way and chose not to tell it to any of them, that if he did then they would have stopped him, that cunning creature. Despite briefly meeting each other and seeing them as strangers, he still helped without asking for anything in return but giving everything he had. He was truly a hero in their eyes and Twilight would promise that Jaune's sacrifice would not go unheard. His act of selfless heroism will be remembered and she and her friends will make sure of it.  Not knowing that Jaune was still alive but it's not their fault for thinking that. However there was still a problem, the glitches aren't gone nor are the twisted changes they have made in ponyville. "I-I don't understand! The monster is already defeated but why aren't those things going away?!", Rarity exclaimed. "They aren't gone because that Jaune guy is not here to clean it up!" Discord explained/guessed while looking at his claws/paws, " That boy was the only way for everything to go back to normal and to bring my powers back, but now that he's gone, WE ARE ALL DOOMED!" Discord's wailing was cut short by Rainbow Dash stuffing his mouth shut with a large cupcake, which used to be a pot but was changed by the glitches.  "You shouting isn't making things any better!" She turned to Twilight, "What are we gonna do now Twi? We can't just stand here and do nothing!" It was then that they heard the screams of panic and fright coming from ponies scattered throughout the village. "Oh no! We have to help!", The element of kindness finally spoke with the need to help those poor ponies giving her the courage she needs. "Fluttershy's right!" Twilight turned to her friends with a determined look on her face, "We need to focus on getting everypony to safety. Rainbow Dash, fly over the town and guide anypony you see away from those glitches, as for everypony else, go help as many as you can. I'll go ahead and try to contact Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for help, we need their help." "Alright!" "Understood!" "Let's get going y'all!" "Weeeeee~" "Okay…" Rainbow Dash, Rarity, AppleJack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy sprinted off into the town to save as many ponies as they could.  "Alright, now I just need to go find Spike, write a letter to the princess, and they should be able to help us solve this mess." "Yeaaaaaaaaahhhh...about that…" Twilight stopped and turned to Discord, "What? What's wrong with my plan?" "Oh nothing it's just that…", Twilight can see that Discord is visibly sweating and wore an uneasy smile. "...what did you do?" "Well, I didn't want them interrupting my fun at the time and so I decided to...shrink them into teeny tiny ponies and locked up their magic along with their wings." Twilight's one eye twitched for a moment before she forced herself to calm down with a deep breath, "That's fine, I'll figure out a spell to fix that or they can just tell me, now where are they?" "Yeah, that's the thing. I used to keep them in my pockets for safekeeping but then that thing started chasing me and I panicked and I started throwing random stuff at it." "Okay...I didn’t know you even had pockets but what's that got to do with...no...no you didn't...please don't tell me you-", A look of absolute horror slowly etched itself into Twilight's face. "Accidentally threw them at the monster and are probably either still alive inside of it or have already been digested? Yep, hehehe...I messed up didn't I?" . . . "Sparkles?" ".....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Back with Jaune JAUNE'S POV “Huh, what’s that high-pitched sound in the distance?”, I asked myself when I was halfway to the orb, then I got startled by it. It oddly sounded familiar, almost, but it could just be this place messing with my head.  Never mind, I need to focus on getting to that orb. Hopefully, I can get some clues on where the chaos magic is at. Though I think the pulling sensation I keep feeling in my orb has some kind of connection to finding it, just a hunch tho.  I've also noticed that the closer I get to the orb, the weirder things get. Strange-looking buildings and items started rising and falling all around me, yet the path forward remained unchanged for some reason.  Speaking of strange-looking, I stopped as I watched the space to the left of the road turn into an ocean of green slime and rise until it reached my waist. A few inches above it, yellow clouds with dark blue polka dots appeared, raining down orange juice upon the sea and sailing its rocky tides is a small sailboat made from a cluster of acorns, walnuts and  "Well, that's something you don't see every day." "Sister, we hear a voice! We are not alone!"  "Thank Faust! Quick! We need to find them before the storm gets worse!" "...Are those two alicorns? Huh, I didn't know this place could create them...but after seeing everything here I shouldn't be surprised.", I said in a fascinated tone before I shook my head.  "No, focus, I need to stay focused!" Trying to ignore it and the fact that those two alicorns resembled the famous sun and moon sisters that governed Equestria, I continued walking again. Yet I kept seeing that same boat sailing alongside me while its two occupants kept calling out for somepony.  "WHERE ARE THOU?!?!" "Can you see anypony yet Luna?!?!" "Neigh!  All we see is an island. Wait! Sister, we think we see somepony!" "Really? Where!?" I watched with a raised brow as the boat got closer and closer to the edge of the slime sea.  "We are getting closer, they should be…wait do you hear that sister?" "Hear what?"  "Tis sounds like a chorus of roars sister!" "Chorus of roars? How can there be...oh no Luna those aren't roars, it sounds like a waterfall!!!" "Impossible! How can there be a waterfall in the middle of the sea?!" "I DON'T KNOW!" "WHY ARE THOU SCREAMING?!?!" "BECAUSE THE WATERFALL IS GETTING LOU-EEP!" "AAAAAAHHHH!" I stared as the sailboat sailed off the edge and was about to crash on the floor, all the while the two ponies on it kept on screaming. Out of instinct, Jaune reached out and caught it just before it crashed. Slowly he raised the tiny object to his chest, getting a closer look at the two alicorns.  Despite them being so small I could still see how they perfectly resembled Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They had the same white and dark blue colored coats, their waving mains, and even their cutie marks are spot on. "-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" However, I never obtained any information about them being capable of continuously screaming without the need to breathe. It is kind of cute though...for the first two minutes.  Letting out a sigh, I opened my mouth, "Can you two please stop screaming? You aren't in danger anymore." Thankfully they finally stopped but now I had to deal with the fearful look they were giving me. It stung my heart being looked at in that way, so I tried to change it, "Um, can you please not look at me like that? It hurts my feelings." Oftentimes the truth is the best answer. "THE GIANT TALKS!", But not always. The one that looked like Princess Luna stepped in front of her sister and aimed her horn at me in a threatening manner. "AWAY WITH YOU GIANT OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!" "Now that's rude", I thought to myself with a sigh. The two were startled by this and Luna became more aggressive while the Celestia looked alike looked ready for a fight...at least in their perspective. No matter how intimidating they made themselves look, they were still tiny and still looked cute. I would hug them if I could if not for the fact that they were so small. "Now now, there is no need for violence little ones." "ART THOU MAKING FUN OF US? THY SHALL STAB YOU FOR SUCH INSULT!", Luna screamed with her renowned Royal Canterlot Voice at me before poking one of my fingers that held their boat with a wooden pike-wait how is shy holding that with her hooves?  Poke Poke "...You do know that's not working right?" Poke Poke Poke "...Can you please stop that?" Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke Poke "... -_- Are you done?" I wore a tired look on my face as Luna tried to catch her breath from constantly failing to attack me. Behind her Celestia giggled at the sight, having relaxed after Luna went for her 10th stab/poke. I turned to her pleading, "Can you please tell your sister to relax? She might end up hurting herself at this point." "We shall...take that...as your...surrender...creature...phew, we need rest.", Luna collapsed on the floor. I rolled my eyes at her, "Whatever you say. Now then if you don't mind being carried, I need to continue my journey." With that said I resumed walking toward my destination. Meanwhile, the two alicorns watched in awe and disbelief as the dark stormy weather they once knew is now replaced by bright and ever-changing neon pixels.  "What the Tartarus? This can't be! What has happened to the dark clouds, the slimy sea, and the harsh salty winds?" Luna asked with wide-open eyes.  "What you saw was mere, let's say, a very realistic illusion made from a mix of chaos magic and glitches. Speaking of which, how does it feel to be one of them? Do you feel emotion or-", I asked.  The tiny Celestia shook out of her shock before sprouting even more questions, "Illusion? Chaos Magic? Glitches? I don't understand, can you please explain it to us from the very beginning?" "Well I suppose I can, even if you two turn out to be illusions, it's better than talking to myself anyway.", I muttered under my breath but I was sure that they heard it, "I suppose we could begin back when I found myself in the maze. You see-" One long explanation later (brought to you by a Chibi Celestia and Luna sitting on top of Chibi Jaune's Head)  "-the next thing I know is that I'm heading towards the grey sphere. Then that's when I found you two on your little boat and you already know what happens next." Luna rubbed her forehead with her hoof, trying to absorb the unbelievable story she heard, "Yes, we do. That was a few minutes ago."  "I still find it hard to believe that a creature made from, these glitches, could cause so much destruction.", Celestia added with eyes wide with disbelief. "And I find it hard to believe that I wasn't the first thing the monster devoured. It just seemed so focused on chasing Discord than anypony else, but then again you were forcefully fed to it." I saw Luna roll her eyes at my comment, "Like how thou accidentally flew straight into this beast's mouth Sir Jaune?" I sighed at the memory of my clumsiness, "I admit that was my fault, I wasn't paying attention at the time but it won't happen to me twice!" "Are thou sure about that?", Luna asked with a smug look on her face.  I was confused by what she said, "What do you mean by-oof!" Oh, so that was what she meant. I was so focused on talking to them that I didn't pay attention to where I was going and ended up banging my head on something. "Okay, that hurt."  Placing a hand on my head, I sent an annoyed glare at the two ponies on my palm. Both Luna and Celestia had their hooves over their mouths to hide their giggles, "You two could have at least warned me you know?" "My apologies Sir Jaune.", Celestia said. Luna on the other hand still wore that smug look, "We still think that thou deserves it." Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to what I had collided with, "Now just what did I bump into-oh would you look at that!" It was the grey orb. After minutes of walking and talking, I had finally reached it. Even from afar I could tell it was big but seeing it up close, it was massive. It looked to be three times my size!  "Finally here!"  "Excuse me sir Jaune but may I ask just what that is exactly?", Celestia wondered as she and her sister curiously stared at it. "I have no idea but I have a hunch it has something to do with Discord's stolen chaos magic." Luna turned to look up at me, "How are thou so sure of that?" "Because of that.", I pointed at the grey orb, or more specifically what is inside. Grey-colored mist swirled inside of the orb, moving like it had a mind of its own. Then from its mass, it created shapes of items, creatures, and more random stuff before they all slowly dissolved back into mist and repeated the cycle all over again. From body parts of ponies to even items like sporks, the mist kept on changing. It was...chaotic. Luna and Celestia widened their eyes at the sight, "By Faust's mane, That is Discord's magic!", Celestia exclaimed.  "Well that's good news then!", I said and had earned shocked looks from both the alicorns. "WHAT?", Luna screamed with her canterlot voice, "WE JUST FOUND WHAT MAY BE THE MOST DANGEROUS SOURCE OF MAGIC IN EQUESTRIA THAT IS CAPABLE OF DESTROYING EVERYTHING! A TINY SPEC OF IT COULD CORRUPT EVEN THE PUREST OF CREATURES AND TURN THEM INTO HORRIFYING MONSTERS! HOW IS THAT GOOD NEWS?!?!"  "Because now I can expose it to the outside world where your little ponies can vaporize it with their lethal rainbow beam! Now if you excuse me I'm going to go ahead and find the best spot to start digging." "Wha?", Huh, I seem to have broken tiny Luna's mind but now it was Celestia's turn to raise her voice, "We think that you do not understand how the Elements of Harmony function, they are only able to subdue chaos by imprisoning it. Furthermore, how are you exactly going to dig? Surely you don't believe your claws are enough, everything here looks to be made of metal!" Hmm, she does have a point. At least the part about the harmony not being able to destroy chaos, they both need the other to exist. What is chaos if everything is chaos and what is harmony if it's only harmony? They'll both lose their meaning...but the abomination isn't chaos itself, it's merely using it. Meaning I can just destroy the monster! The chaos magic tho, I'll have to deal with that at a later date, I need to focus on what I can do. Absorbing Glitches "I have to admit I will have to change my plan with this new information you have given me.", Both of the sisters yelped as I placed them on top of my head and felt them clinging to my hair, "But I am still going to make us a way out of here! Equestria needs the two of you now more than ever!" "We admit that thou goal is noble Sir Jaune but how exactly are you going to do that?", Luna asked. A grin appeared on my face as I felt that familiar sensation, that tingling sensation I have felt many times before. The only difference is that now I know exactly where it was coming from, the orb in my chest, "Simple, I'll eat our way out!" I can only imagine Luna and Celestia sharing a look as they tried to understand what I just said, "Eat? Like what you told us earlier?" "YEP!" +*&#%$@~&^#*&{>?; BZZZZZZZZ "Huh?!?", The moment I heard the sound of my glitches I thought I'd see the glitches around me start flying into my orb, and then a few minutes or later we would be free. However, what I saw instead is a blue beam shooting out of my orb towards the grey one. I didn't know what was happening, they have never done this before and- ^&*(#&@$%&#(%&)#$@#&%^#%^^#*#*!&%#* "!" The world around me suddenly started to slow down to the point that time stopped entirely. However, I could not look around at my surroundings since my sight is focused on my beam...being held by another beam, but this one held a dark grey color and aura I can only describe as- "Chaos...", I whispered under my breath as the beams subsided but did not end there. I watched with mouth agape as the grey orb in front of me started to shrink down until it was my size. Its surface rippled and its form compressed against each other until it formed a familiar shape...wait, why does it look like me? It took mere seconds for the orb to change from its once huge spherical form into what I could only describe as a featureless statue of me made from grey-colored glitches. Then suddenly, it opened its eyes, or where the eyes would be, to reveal nothing but pools of pitch-black tar. It lay its gaze at me, staring at me with its cold lifeless gaze. "Ugh...hi? My name's Jaune, what's yours?", I stuttered out greetings despite the sheer tension in the air. It, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be hostile. Maybe I could befriend it? I mean we both are made from glitches and look kind of the same, so what's the harm in trying? "There...can...only...be...one..." "...what was that you said?", Despite its raspy voice I could have sworn he said that there could only be one...but I'm sure it meant something else than what I feared it was. Yeah, it has to be some kind of misunderstanding. ##%^*&*^%$$%^*&&##$()(**^%$ ...It just turned its hands into claws, It literally just exchanged its hands for a pair of 4 long, sharp, and pointy claws...I think I'm starting to understand the meaning behind its words, "That is kind of disturbing." "There...can...only...be...ONE!!!" Tendrils, the thing just grew dozens of tendrils from its back. The worst part about them? They have spikes, thousands of sharp and deadly spikes throughout their length. "...now that is just disgusting...", Then the thing pounced right at me and as the creature, I officially dupped as Abomination, lunged at me, I could only utter what may be my last words before I had to dodge and face our inevitable showdown, "This is just not my day..."