//------------------------------// // Minor Annoyances // Story: Introspection // by -Hidden Identity- //------------------------------// “Wrong, there are four colors.” “Grump said there were five.” “Grump isn’t one for telling the truth very much.” “Listen to me, there are only four colors: yellow, blue, orange, and red. Now then, grump said yellow and orange were where?” “Yellow was in the Giant’s Room, with the golden eggs, and orange was in the chest in the maze. Ooh! The maze had lots of little twisty passages.” “What else would a maze have?” Anger sighed, stamping the ground with a hoof. The small light that she had conjured up was enough to give them passage through the cave, but not much more. “Look, I know where the Giant’s Room is, and I have never seen a color there; as for the other I happen to know that that maze is alive. It would never let us get to the chest.” “How can a maze be alive?” Pinkie asked. “Things must be so simple in your state of mind. Let’s go, the Giant’s Room is still a ways off, and I really hate going there. I really hate this cave!” Ever since Pinkie and Anger had become acquainted, Pinkie had laughed and joked with Anger without so much as a path to change her thoughts, and Anger had become increasingly foul. As they wandered, however, Pinkie took notice of the way the cave changed as they passed. Passages would open wide, water would dry, and pits would offer a way across. It seemed that while Grump held control of the state of mind, Anger still fought back with what she could, refusing to let up. “So why do you want to get back to the waking world so quickly? Aren’t you tired of being used so much?” “How could I?” Pinkie exploded, dwarfing the aggravated sigh that resonated from her companion, “I love that place! There’s lots of delicious food, and parties to throw, and my friends are always there!” “There you go again with your friends. I don’t understand it. I was out there too, at one point. I’ve met them, those others who you think, watch out for the hole there, are so incredibly worthwhile. You know Pinkie, you should really find somepony else to get along so well with. Your friends aren’t that great, and you don’t have any other frame of mind that wants to see you.” “You mean…we’re not friends?” The look Anger flashed back answered the question. “Do you like being out in the world? Seeing the birds, and the flowers, and the other ponies, and the sky, and the plains, and the mountains, and the woods, and the buildings, and the roads, and the—” “I GET THE POINT!” “Well, don’t you like that?” “Why should I? Hmm? Every time I get to see those things, all that I get is more angry thoughts down here. I don’t like company and company doesn’t like me. As far as I’m concerned there isn’t a good place to be. Life’s hard and unfair. Sooner you accept that the sooner you realize what’s important and what isn’t.” “Then what’s important?” “The only important thing is my state of mind, and I can’t even have that to myself. Do you need to talk?” Anger quickened her pace, muttering and breaking off stalactites as she passed. Pinkie began to whistle. The cave answered in melodious silence, broken by the harmonic sound of hooves scraping on rock and water falling into insignificance. “Heh heh!” Pinkie giggled, looking down. “What is it now?” “My hooves are so muddy. I was just thinking about how Rarity would react if she saw me like this.” She made a face and lifted her nose, “Pinkie Pie! I cannot allow you to walk about in this…uh…nasty…mud. Go wash your hooves at once!” Pinkie Pie broke into laughter. Anger spat a remark that silenced the happy pony. “That was mean.” Pinkie frowned. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought the same thing. Oh wait, that’s just me talking isn’t it?” “You didn’t need to call her names.” “Why not? It fits, and everypony needs a name. Who cares if hers can be used more than once?” Pinkie stopped talking after that, trailing along behind Anger. Every time she glanced back, the cave looked different. Passages that were previously hidden revealed themselves to her. Formations ran from the ceiling and onto the floor. Flowstone had moved its way over ridges in the rock, forming all manner of patterns and art. Gypsum flowers blossomed as they passed, the eerie light casting an odd reflection on the walls until they had passed and were once more allowed to sleep. Anger hadn’t made any sound since her last cutting remark, and seemed to be a degree less miserable since Pinkie had fallen silent. The floor for the most part seemed well traveled as the dirt was packed down into something similar to the roads that spanned Ponyville. Anger commented that they were close to the Giant’s Room, and hopefully the first color. They began to ascend very gradually, the floor just offering a slight elevation gain. Then the cold set in. “Ooh, it’s getting a bit colder.” Pinkie shivered. “Yeah…probably Grump causing trouble for us.” Anger quipped, “Always did enjoy messing me up.” “It’s getting a bit muddier too.” “I guess so.” “So what’s the Giant’s Room like, is it OW! I hit my hoof on a rock.” “Agh! Yeah, my head just found the ceiling.” The floor had grown steeper, muddier, and the air colder. Anger huffed and grumbled as she trudged her way up the hill, Pinkie Pie could be heard behind as the walls seemed to play pinball with her. “How far are we?” “No idea. I don’t remember it being this hard. Stupid cave! Always changing. Always—whoa!” Pinkie looked up to see the gray copy of herself tumbling down the path. She sighed. At the bottom, Anger disentangled herself from Pinkie, speaking without really saying anything. The air had grown quite cold, the mud from the passage was sticky, wet, and uncomfortably present. A low wind had started to pick up, increasing the chill in the air. Pinkie sat up and rubbed her head. “That seemed like it should have been more fun. Rolling down in a bunch of mud usually seems fun. That was just painful.” “You’re telling me. You know, I wouldn’t mind it if it was just the cold, or the mud, or the steepness, or…any one part of it. Ah! It’s all of the little things, put together. I don’t remember it being this bad. Stupid memory, stupid cave, stupid everything!” Anger kicked the wall, but the mud seemed to have worked its way down the passage, causing her hind hooves to stick to the wall. “Don’t…say…a…word.” Anger breathed. The room was promptly filled with inevitable laugher.