//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Remembering Garry's Mod // by BioChemicalWolfGear //------------------------------// Discord and I floated down the hallway, toward the guest room. I decided that showing him how I flew would defuse the seriousness from earlier. It didn’t really work the way I thought it would, and he gave me an awed look and then circled me as he tried to piece together how I did it. The hallway we went down was still the hallway with windows on the ceilings to provide daylight, and a red carpet that seemed to never end, even when it branched off down different paths. “So what do you find so interesting about me floating?” I asked Discord. He floated in front of me and stopped. “Well it’s simple,” he held up his index talon. “You don’t have wings, and you’re using harmonic magic to lift yourself up, even though you are a chaotic being,” he said with a sense of giddiness in him. “Wait tell me how making myself fly is harmony?” I asked, genuinely confused. He gave me a confused look, “You really don’t know?” “Nope,” I responded simply, avoiding his befuddled look. He smiled joyously and conjured a monocle and top hat appear from thin air. He then somehow ended up in a very fancy suit. “Well all right,” he cleared his throat. “Harmony is what creates the laws of this world. I, as a chaotic being, can break those laws, but harmony is able to abuse gravity and create planet like structures like the giant balls of hedge and dirt that Celestia calls a labyrinth,” he explained, rolling his eyes. “But chaos cancels out gravity, allowing things to float freely, and at times give it force to move without an equal or opposite something sciencey… you’re still following me, right?” he asked while straightening himself out in the air so he was vertical. “Oh right, yes,” I replied. “We have something that’s called Newton's Laws. Equal and opposite reaction stuff is the basics. Don’t worry, I can follow you,” I confirmed to him, smiling lightly. “Ah good. So chaos creates momentum without anything giving off that momentum to begin with. But what you’re doing is making it so you’re the center of your own gravity, and you’re able to pull your center of gravity upward away from the ground while neutralizing the gravity that exists already with the world, then you’re using chaotic magic to give yourself momentum, while harmonic magic keeps you in the air,” he noted, examining me studiously. “Huh, well I really don’t know all that much about magic. I just do things you know?” I replied simply. He looked at me strangely. “Yeah I’ve been thinking about that,” he removed his outfit and became the same kaleidoscope of animal parts I remembered him as. “How do you not know about what makes you do these things? You’re more powerful than me,” he then scrunched his face. “Something I’d rather not admit...” he mumbled loud enough for me to hear. “And you don’t even know the basics. I even heard you thought magic was kinda cool when you first encountered it. Like it’s something you’ve never seen before, yet here you are using it better than either of the Princesses or myself,” he finished with his lion paw under his chin while looking at me knowingly. “Tell me, when did you get these powers?” he asked dully. I could tell he saw right through my ruse I tried to give to everyone else. I thought I could get away with making people believe I was always like this, but Discord proved to be much smarter than anyone here, or at least more observant. “Well,” I started rubbing the back of my head. A guilty look fixed itself on my face as I admitted, “Uh… Ok most of what I’ve been telling you guys was a lie.” He smiled knowingly, “Mhmm.” He nodded his head before smiling and turning around, “When we get to the room I’d like to hear more about the truth.” He then flew off down the hall and made me catch up. I raced after him, trying to take mental notes of the hall surrounding us, and when I finally caught up to him he had a smug look on his face. He then stopped suddenly and placed his feet on the ground so quickly that I went another three yards before I realized what happened. I spun around with a disoriented and confused look and spied him as he leaned on a set of double doors casually. I flew over and dropped out of noclip, which sent me to the ground. “Going somewhere?” he asked smugly. “Well yeah…” I smiled back. “I saw a thing, like… over there.” I pointed down the hall with an awkward smile. “Of course. Silly me,” he replied, pushing open the door and holding it open for me to go through. I walked through accordingly and stopped when I got a foot through the door. I scanned the room with no small amount of awe as I gazed upon the guest room. It had a large, body-sized mirror to my left with a dressing curtain to dress on the other side of. While in the center of the room was a queen-sized bed that could easily fit my whole body. To my right there was a wooden dresser and a wardrobe up against the wall with a small coffee table with a set up chess game. I was momentarily distracted by a flash of light in the center of the room. A moment later Discord appeared where the light appeared from and gave me a smug look. “You stood there for so long I had half a mind to call for help,” he commented slyly. “Well yeah.” I responded dully as I gestured to the grandiosity of the room. The ceiling was dome shaped, but it was all made of glass so I could see the midday sun from where I was. There were red banners hanging down from the walls that showed the idolization of the sun. I immediately reflected back on Celestia’s cutie mark, and then noticed the similarities to the sun banners and the mark itself. I began walking forward toward Discord as he lazily floated in the air while using his wings. But I stopped when I got to the foot of the bed and looked at the red sheets. They were blank as far as any pattern was concerned, and they seemed almost insignificant. “Ahem,” came a feminine voice from behind me. I turned around to gaze upon Princess Celestia with her warm smile directed at me. “Oh hi,” I greeted her with a smile. “Hello Blake,” she looked above me. “Discord,” she nodded once to him, then turned back to me. “I’m glad you’ve found your way to your guest room without trouble. I hope we can talk a little more before the guests arrive tomorrow. Although I’ve heard that the griffin ambassador made it his priority to get here as soon as possible, so he’ll be here within the hour. Along with an elder dragon to meet you,” She said nonchalantly. “Wait, what?” I regarded the information questionably. Still confused, I asked for confirmation, “You mean a dragon wants to meet me?” “Well yes,” she said with a reassuring smile. “An elder dragon at that. Elder dragons have lived longer than my sister or I have, and usually they’re much friendlier than other dragons,” she explained happily. “Friendlier? I thought dragons were ferocious? Well, at least the ones I’ve heard in legend, but what makes this one friendly?” I asked. She regarded me with a raised eyebrow and an indifferent expression before laughing it off and explaining, “Well Blake, elder dragons have been ferocious at times, and over many years they've learned that refraining from violence usually affords them more respect and makes them look wiser. Oh don’t tell anyone that, it’s my secret between the elder dragons and I.” She laughed like a gossiping teenager, “Luna’s in on it too, as well as Discord.” She looked up at Discord as he waved innocently while lying upside down on one of the sun banners. “So, in return, it gives them more respect as leaders, and they’re usually looked at as the ones who are always right when it comes to traditions and such.” Celestia walked through the door and entered the room. She then closed the double-doors behind her and stood in the middle of the room, and summoned a chair from the coffee table with the chess game on it. She placed the chair down behind her and sat on it. The whole ordeal was strange as I’ve actually never seen magic used in a situation for the users’ luxury until now. I regarded her strangely, “…I see where that can be important.” I nodded ignoring my thoughts for the moment, “So what can I expect from them both?” “The griffin ambassador will try to get a good guess of your character. Probably to see if you’re even a threat at all. So I’d say you try to be tame and as reasonable as possible around him. So he’d find you negotiable,” she supplied indifferently. “Wait what about-” was all I could say before I was interrupted. “I thought you didn’t want to think about it until tomorrow?” inquired Discord. I looked at him and he had a mock-hurt expression. Pathetically, he stated, “I feel like I’ve been cast aside.” “Yeah… when you get serious, it’s awkward because it doesn't seem to fit you. But when the Princess gets serious it’s kinda… normal.” I responded. “Oh…” he bowed his head… he was still upside down lying on the banner like it was the ground. The imagery was very comical, but the situation made his musings less appreciated. Well at least to the princess. I on the other hand, gave him a smile as a response. Princess Celestia seemed to not share my enthusiasm; when I looked back at her, her warm smile was a soft frown directed at Discord. It made the conversation infinitely more awkward than necessary. I looked away for a moment to distract myself before looking back and noticing her new blank expression. She gave me a reassuring smile before seemingly recollecting something. “Oh! Blake, I’ve been meaning to tell you something,” she said in her cheerful manner. “The ambassadors felt uncomfortable being in Canterlot without proper protection, so each one will have a security detail, except the dragon for obvious reasons,” she smiled musingly. “But then they still weren’t sure about their safety around you, as you could be as strong as Discord himself,” she added, looking back up at Discord. “Who? Mwah?” Discord gasped with mock disbelief as he gestured to himself. Pompously, he answered his own question a few seconds later, “Preposterous.” “Yes,” Celestia replied, clearly trying to ignore him. “So, they’ve each asked for the Elements of Harmony to be present, to contain you if you were to attempt to harm them,” she stopped as if she were waiting for my question. My curiosity kept me from noticing it until after I asked my question. “What are those?” I asked. “The Ele-” Celestia launched into her explanation before being interrupted by Discord. “The Elements are here?” he asked, legitimate disbelief in his voice this time. “Oh joyous news! I can see my good friend Fluttershy-I mean I don’t miss her,” he dismissively stated. This time Celestia actually giggled merrily at Discord's odd behavior. But the joke leaped over my head and ran off into the sunset with all the potential good-hearted comedy that could have come with it, because I didn’t get it. The Princess then redirected her eyes back to me and noticed my confused face and cleared her throat awkwardly. “Right. The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful ancient magical items known to the world. As their name suggests, it’s mainly using Harmonic energy as a power source, you and Discord are both chaotic beings and can be harmed by them.” My heart sank, but she seemed to almost sense that even though she obliviously continued. “They were used previously to imprison Discord when we had no way of controlling his chaotic outbursts. That is until recently, when we finally were able to use the magic of friendship to convince him to have more self-control.” “Magic of Friendship?” I thought ridiculously, nervousness starting to creep up on me. “But if what she says is true, then I could be in trouble if she uses those.” “But the elements are six different artifacts, and separate. So, there is usually chosen wielders of its power. At one point, my sister and I were chosen to wield them. But these days, six mares were chosen to use them because of their characteristics,” she stopped and seemed to have an almost proud glow about her smile. “One of my personal students is an Element of Harmony. She’s destined to do great things,” she said out loud, but seemed to be more speaking to herself. “That’s really interesting.” I replied truthfully. "Why tell me this?" I asked suspiciously. Celestia smiled smugly. "So you know not to misbehave." I gulped nervously. “So, can I meet them?” I said nonchalantly. She looked up at me with a warm and confident smile. Proudly she continued, “Yes, yes you can. Actually, they should be getting ready for tomorrow since they’re going to be present during our talks with the other ambassadors. Rarity, the element of Generosity, happens to be a fashion designer, and has been making dresses for herself and her friends.” “That’s, actually really something.” I replied, trying to sound impressed. I didn’t really care much about fashion, but I might as well be polite about someone’s artistic abilities. I was about to ask if they were too busy for a meeting, before a flash of light to my right caught me off guard. Discord appeared beside Celestia sitting in his own chair and with a relaxed expression on his face. He then snapped his fingers and I witnessed a miracle where a table and chair appeared in front of him and the Princess. He then motioned me to approach and sit down by giving me a “Come here” gesture with his finger. “Discord, please don’t go overboard with chaos magic.” Asked Celestia with a concerned expression. “Oh don’t worry Celestia, I won’t go rouge,” he said knowingly, a second later turning the same color. Looking down slightly, he continued, "Oh! It seems I have!" He cackled for a few seconds before returning to normal. During Discord's antics, I just looked on confusedly as Celestia glared at Discord. Taking note of her glare, he added, "But seriously Celestia, I won't go rogue." "Good," Celestia replied, turning back to regard me. I apprehensively stepped forward and around the wooden chair and sat down in it. It was identical to the chair Celestia moved over from the chess table. I didn’t question where it came from because I have the ability to make logic gates appear from the ether like no one’s business. Princess Celestia gave Discord a wary look before brightening up with a smile as a thought seemed to cross her mind. “Discord, I’m about to bring us to them. But, you know how I can’t teleport you because of you’re a chaos being? Could you go to the girls and warn them preemptively of Blake’s arrival?” she asked. “Why of course!” he replied politely and snapped his fingers. He winked out of existence and Celestia looked back at me. She warmly suggested, “We should stand so it’s easier for me to move us. I can’t teleport you as easily as a pony, so it would be easier if I don’t have to move you from a sitting position to a standing one.” “Oh, I understand.” I lied, but said so politely. We both stood up and faced each other, then the Princess lit up her horn with a brilliant golden glow. “Oh wait, before we go,” I spoke suddenly, breaking her concentration; she looked at me with interest. Continuing truthfully I stated, “I can fly.” “What?” she said with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I figured out how to fly. It’s an old ability that I couldn’t do earlier, but when I fly I can go through walls, so I never really tried to do it while I was in the prison or the hospital room. It was more because I didn’t know how to do it here, but I also didn’t want to break your trust by moving around freely you know? Sorry for not bringing it up earlier.” I said apologetically. She gave me a bewildered gaze before smiling warmly. “I’m thankful that you were so respectful to tell me about this in person.” Her horn lit up again and within a few moments the world quickly faded to white, and then back again. We were in a new location. We were out in the hallway with a red rug that still seemed to span the entire castle. I looked around to see stained glass windows that let in light rather than ceiling windows. The entire hallway seemed to also have a more modern décor, because there were busts of pony figures on either side of the hallways, evenly spaced apart. But the real commotion was behind me. I turned around to see two double-doors facing me, each with a logo of the sun and moon chasing each other. It was the same one I observed earlier, but this one was on a brown wooden door. On the other side of the door however, was a bit of commotion. I could hear the voices of women bickering or arguing and… then some laughing. But then I heard Discord's voice and I realized that on the other side of this door were the Elements of Harmony that Princess Celestia just finished telling me about. I could hear Discord trying to get their attention and their voices starting to quiet down. “Shall we?” asked Celestia as she lite up her horn. “Wait.” I stated, putting my ear up to the door with interest. “I want to listen to what’s going to happen.” As the voices quieted down to let Discord speak, Princess Celestia chuckled merrily and put her ear up to the door to listen with me. As we listened we realized Discord was starting to tell them a story. “-in his world, it’s normal to eat things that are still alive. Such as cows and ponies. Oh and he has big claws and sharp teeth and stands on two fee-” my concentration on Discord's voice was broken when Celestia huffed and backed up. “Discord... you fool,” she scowled seriously and lit up her horn again. I lifted my hand and flattened my palm to say stop, and then I put my other hand’s index finger to my lips and said shushed Celestia with a smile. She looked at me curiously before deciding to trust me and continued listening in. “-He is around the height of Luna and shorter than Celestia, and he has eeeeeeeviiiiiilll powers that can force ponies to do his bidding!” he exclaimed, as if telling a ghost story. “And when he finds prey, he gives them a choice… play a game, or get eaten. And when you lose.” he stated maliciously and let the statement hang. I could hear what I assumed was shivering on the other side of the door and I laughed quietly. I could hear Discord beginning to continue from the cliffhanger of his made up story and I got a wondrous idea. I backed up and motioned for Celestia to move out of the way. She didn’t seem to understand what I was going to do but she moved to the left out of the way of the door anyway. She regarded me with a raised eyebrow before I charged at the door. “He-” I heard Discord continue before I slammed through the door. *BOOM* “WHO WANTS TO PLAY A GAME!” I shouted angrily. “AAAAAAAAAAAH!” came the chorus of voices. But before I could laugh at the unintentional prank, I as slammed into by something solid. I was knocked back and the air was knocked out of me as I slammed onto the opposite wall of the hallway. I grunted in pain and something in me broke… Like bone broke… “Minor fracture detected, morphine administered.” came a synthetic female voice from nowhere. I realized it was the HEV suit that Gordon Freeman gets in Half-Life, and I didn’t realize it was active right now. The HEV suit is a default feature for players in Garry’s Mod; however it doesn’t speak, EVER. But my mind went right back to what hit me. I looked down to see a purple residue on my stomach before it slowly disappeared. I was sitting on the ground with my legs spread and my back up against the wall. I could see at the bottom left of my view, a HUD with my health being displayed. 25% “Damn I could have died.” I thought morbidly. I drowsily looked up at the shocked faces of literally everyone present, and the almost horrified look of the purple unicorn between all the other ponies. In my drowsy state, my vision began to blur, and then I suddenly seemed to do something I normally wouldn’t be able to consciously do without knowing about it… opening my spawn menu. I instinctively went to entities, and clicked on Half-Life 2 entities, then selected the large health kit and dropped it between my legs. It instantly disappeared and my health went up to 50%, then up to 75%, and then reached 100% when I spawned them again. My vision was no longer blurry and I was able to focus on Princess Celestia, who was hesitantly stepping toward me. I looked up and smiled at her while giving her a thumbs up to show I was ok. Discord and the Princess both breathed a sigh of relief and I nocliped up and forward so I’d be floating just above the ground where I previously was before the mysterious energy almost killed me. I stopped nocliping and fell to the ground on my feet. Princess Celestia stepped into view to my left and went around me. “Are you ok, Blake?” Princess Celestia asked with a worried expression. “Do I need to bring you to the hospital?” “What?” I said. “Oh no no, I’m fine, that hurt but it didn’t kill me, so I’m ok. Besides, I’m not going to the hospital again, after I just left. I mean I like the nurses, but I don’t like them so much that I’d take every opportunity to get hurt to go back,” I added on a lighter note and giving her a smile. “So these are the Elements of Harmony?” I asked looking between the six drop jawed ponies. Their expressions never changed until now where they began to snap out of their states of shock. The purple one however still had her horn activated, and it was the same glow as whatever hit me so I assumed she did that. I decided to try to get on her good side as she almost killed me. Her horn died down slowly and she tried to sink away. The one on the far left was pink and her mane like cotton candy, the one next to her was tan and had light pink hair, next to her was the purple one, and then a white unicorn with purple hair, then a cowgirl pony that I lingered on as she was wearing an AWESOME cowboy hat. Then the rainbow pony… “Oh uh…” The white unicorn started awkwardly. “Yes, we are. It's uh... a pleasure?” she asked with a nervous smile. “Yeah…” I said awkwardly looking away. “How does one start a conversation after almost getting killed?” I thought. “Well on a lighter note, you’re alive!” Discord exclaimed in a loud cheering manner. “Yeah I am. But now it’s awkward,” I admitted. “Uh yeah, it is,” agreed the rainbow-haired pony on the far right. I looked at her while she was looking away awkwardly, then she looked back and our eyes met. At the time I wasn’t smiling and just regarding her with interest. She looked quickly to the right at nothing and then back to me with a blank expression. Everyone else in the room was waiting for an exchange. “What?” she finally asked. I smiled at her and happily responded, “You have awesome hair.” “Uh thanks?” she stated while giving me an awkward gaze. “Ugh you guys are just killing the mood now,” I groused morbidly. Regarding the six I asked, “I mean, I’m alive right?” I then looked to the purple unicorn in the center of her friends as she seemed to look down guiltily. One by one her friends took notice and tried to hide her with their bodies. I took that as a sign that I can secure their trust if I played it right. “Hey, purple one.” I pointed to the unicorn her friends were protecting. I smiled as I said, “Come here.” Her friends shifted uncomfortably as they looked at me with worry. Discord floated down into my view behind the group of six and gave me a shake of the head as he mouthed, “No.” “Why?” shouted the rainbow one defensively. “Why her! Huh?!” she continued, floating up in front of me with an aggravated look in her eye. “Ok, not going according to plan.” I thought. “Well…” I paused. “I’d like to hear an apology.” The rainbow one regarded me strangely but nodded and flew to my right while giving me a skeptical gaze. “Sorry,” meekly replied the purple one, from behind her friends. “Nope, come here. Tell me you’re sorry face to face. It’s only fair you know?” I reasoned. She hesitantly stepped out in front of her friends. Princess Celestia moved back while facing me, her horn ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice. The purple unicorn slowly made her way to in front of me and looked up at my face when she was two feet from me. She opened her mouth to talk but I stopped her by holding up my finger. “Wait,” I stated with a smile. I then knelt down on my knee so I’d be closer to her eye level. “I don’t want an apology. I’ve already decided to forgive you,” I added to her with a smile. “W-what?” she said confused. “HUH?!” shouted the chorus of ponies behind her. “B-but why? I hurt you! Seriously hurt you!” she exclaimed, starting to panic. “Do I look hurt to you?” I replied and let her examine me. She gave me a once over, “No, you’re fine… but how?” “When you hit me with that, you made me unlock an ability that I’ve been trying to get to work since I got here,” I replied simply. “I was able to open my spawn menu. Which allows me to create any object I choose as long as I know how to create it,” I added, smiling happily. “What?” she asked confusedly. “Yes,” I looked to her left and concentrated slightly. She followed my gaze and looked where I was looking for a few moments. I opened up my spawn menu and went to my props menu. I then spawned a melon and exited the menu to see a melon appear in front of us. “Whoa…” she stated, awestruck. “So what’s your name?” I asked her. She looked back at me with bewilderment and stuttered her response, “W-well I-I’m uh I’m Twilight Sparkle. Um hi.” “Wait, Twilight Sparkle?” I asked quizzically. Turning to regard Princess Celestia I asked, “Hey Princess. Isn’t she your student?” “Hmm? Oh yes, Twilight is my own personal protégé. She’s been the most capable student I’ve ever had, and I’m proud to have her as my student,” she proudly answered my question. “Pretty high regard there, Princess.” I commented. “Even if she did attack a being from another world. But then again… that hurt.” I rubbed my stomach lightly. “She almost killed me, actually.” “What?” Twilight looked horrified. “How? You look just fine! Oh I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m-” “Whoa, calm down!” I exclaimed, interrupting Twilight. “Besides, death really isn’t permanent for me. If I die, I respawn. Although I might not respawn here, I might end up back home, but regardless, I can’t actually die the way you do. Or at least... I don’t think I can.” I added, thinking to the idea that I might have one life. “Actually, I’m not sure what’ll happen.” I deflated slightly, losing the cheer and replacing it with me deep in thought. “Um… you’re not helping.” Twilight replied guiltily. “Yeah, well I don’t really all that have much information to work with right now.” I shot back truthfully. “So what’s your name?” she asked with a forced smile. “Blake.” I responded. “Oh wait, gotta…get rid…” I stated, staring at the melon. I found the utilities tab and went down to undo. I then removed the only prop I had spawned, which was the prop. It was an upgrade from removing things with the remover tool or using the Toolgun itself to undo things. “How do you do that?” asked Twilight. “Huh? Well I just spawn it, and remove it.” I responded. “Yes, but how do you summon the magic to create objects from thin air?” she asked with interest. “Uh… honestly, I don’t know,” I replied. She gave me an unimpressed look. “How do you not know? You can’t cast a spell without knowing how to do it. Even using magic requires concentration and a set of mental steps before you can begin casting,” she explained, her irritation growing. I began to see my ignorance of magic as a way to remove the awkwardness of the situation of almost dying… ok well, that didn’t sound like I need to go to the mental ward. “Yeah, but I don’t know if I’m using magic or not because I’m using… wait no I didn’t use the Toolgun...” I stated confusedly. “The Toolgun?” she repeated. I looked at her with an indifferent gaze and then cursed myself for putting myself in a position where I’d have to explain stuff. “Ugh, ok, see this?” I asked taking out my Toolgun for her to see. “This is what I use to make things appear and create machines with. It basically welds props together or wires up gates to give them different properties,” I explained. “Wait what do you mean by props and gates?” She asked. “Props?” inquired the white unicorn behind her. We all drew our eyes to her. She had an expression of contemplation and was rubbing her chin with her right hoof. She looked at me with a curious expression. “Props are used on sets, to create an atmosphere that fit the theme. Are you saying you’re like a stage designer, and that you use your Toolgun to set up lights and electrical equipment?” she asked. I practically was taken aback by how accurate that statement was. Wire allows me to set up things like lights or thrusters to make my creations made up of objects that are purely for visual effect move the ways they’re intended. Such as making a plane, I’d have props to make the shape of the plane and then I’d have thrusters make it move. “Uh, well actually, you’re right for the most part.” I responded with amazement apparent in my voice. “I create objects that are only there to make the devices function correctly, or even just to make look good. Then the wiring lights and stuff is like how I set up the equipment to make it move or even turn on lights, as you said. But I’m not a stage designer. I’m more of a…” I paused and pondered the comparison for a moment. “Machine designer?” I finished questionably. “Wait, can you show me what you can do?” asked the purple unicorn excitedly. “Uh, yeah I can. I can make a series of flashing lights tha-” I was interrupted abruptly. “Can you make something fly?” she asked with a wondrous smile on her face. I looked at her, somewhat miffed that she interrupted me, but then I registered her question and I gave her a bright smile. Princess Celestia gave me a skeptical gaze, while the remaining company began to seemingly come out of their shells and gave me a more comfortable gaze. “If only they knew my capabilities.” I thought.