In the Background

by Harold_Genhi

Chapter 8: The Color of Chaos

Vinyl climbed out of the water and chocolate milk slurry and stared at the surrounding landscape contorts and descend into chaos. The look in her eyes spoke of anger and fear as she turned slowly, watching the forest crumble.

“Why can’t you leave us alone?” She spoke out into the air in case Discord could hear her.

“Leave you alone? My dear Ol’ Mother always told me that it was dangerous to go into the woods. So I am going to stick around and make sure that nothing happens to my new favorite ponies.” He snapped back into existence in front of Vinyl, pinching her cheek. She angrily shook away from his grip.

“All you’ve done is make this journey more dangerous.” She bellowed.

“What? Me? Dangerous? I don’t see any harm that I’ve caused.” He sounded hurt.

I couldn’t just sit around with that remark. My anger overwhelmed my fear as I rose from the chocolate milk, showing off the bandages around my waist. “I’m sorry, but I believe you are quite mistaken.” I spoke gruffly.

“Oh… that. Psh. That is just some minor scrapes. What would be real harm is if I took a pony that had wings, but didn’t know how to fly and dropped her… or him.” He pointed to The Doctor who was still in Ditsy’s body, teleporting him away from the group and up into the air.

We could only look in horror as an earth pony pegasus flapped uselessly in the in the as he fell toward the ground. Discord fell onto his back laughing at the awkward scene. He had tears on the edge of his eyes at how hard he was laughing.

“I need to see that one more time!” He teleported The Doctor back up to the same spot of the sky and watched him fall again. The laughter only made my heart sink more as I watched the flailing dot fall toward the dirt.

I just managed to see a brown streak fly past me toward the laughing God of Chaos. I turned just in time to see Ditsy leaping in the air, trying to trample Discord’s face, but he saw her before she landed. He popped back beside her. Even with having an unfamiliar body, Ditsy still made an incredibly agile turn. It was the first time that any of us had seen so much anger and tears in Ditsy’s eyes. Something had snapped in her.

“Stop it!” She screamed, as she charged him again. He laughed teleported behind her and tripped her, watching her get a mouthful of dirt only making him laugh harder.

“You ponies are just the greatest! Again!” He pointed back at The Doctor and pulled him back into the sky, laughing at the useless flapping. “Oh my sides hurt.” He continued to laugh as he leaned over, catching Ditsy by the head and holding her in her charge to him without any effort at all.

I could only stare in shock at Ditsy before I caught on the bursts of light erupting from behind me. I turned to see sparks of lightning and brightly colored lights erupt from Vinyl’s horn. Discord caught it with his other hand and looked at the ball of party lights as they vanished within his hand. He turned back to Ditsy and turned the ground under her feet into chocolate pudding.

“I never had a party before! How exciting!” He snapped his fingers and I found myself lost in a bright light before we reappeared sitting at a table, strapped to the chairs. The creeping claustrophobia began to prickle up my back as I found that I couldn’t move anything. In my panic, I found that everyone else was safely sitting at the table, Ditsy trying to gnaw the restraints off, still lost in a rage I never could have expected her to have. “Hush my darling. Have a muffin.” Discord spoke, spawning a muffin in front of her.

Ditsy’s gnawing of her restraints moved to the muffin. She ripped the poor thing apart, inhaling the crumbs and licking her lips. She breathed out and stared at The Doctor, seeing that he was safe with her body. The Doctor didn’t look too well. His hair sat, windblown on his head, his eyes still plastered open from drying out. His muscles were still tensed from the sheer panic of falling to his death.

“Are you okay?” Ditsy asked Whooves. “I was worried about you, but seeing you safe, here, and with me, has me happy again.” Her tail wiggled.

“Girls, we are upside down.” Lyra stated.

Right as we noticed our manes fell towards the ground. My fear had ceased. I was more annoyed now than anything else. I folded my hooves and stared angrily at the being at the other end of the table.

“Oh… what’s wrong? Are you not enjoying my party?” He blew on a party favor, before popping over to my side, throwing confetti at me. “Oh come now. I turned you all upside down seeing as you were frowning. Let’s see some change in character!”

“Wouldn’t it help if you remained the right way up?” I groaned.

He scratched his head and turned right side up and clapped his hands. “How foolish of me to miss that. It is so great to see such smiling faces on all of my friends! You. I dislike blue, let’s try green.” He snapped his fingers turning Vinyl’s mane and tail into a green shade. She stared at it, shocked at what he had done.

“Oh no you didn’t!” She squirmed in her restraints. “Change it back!” She snapped.

Her sunglasses floated off from her head and landed on Discord’s nose. “So these are the eyes of a raver.” Party lights descended from the sky as a random techno beat pulsed from nowhere. He started to shuffle, teleporting to random areas around us. Lyra’s horn began to slowly light up as she closed her eyes in concentration. Vinyl’s restraints slowly came undone, sending her tumbling to the tree below. Lyra focused on my next. I felt the constricting straps loosen before weightlessness took over, sending my heart leaping. Discord had become so distracted by his dance that he didn’t notice Lyra and Vinyl finish untying the rest of our restraints. We slowly climbed down the tree, trying to be as quiet as possible.

“He took my shades…” Vinyl grunted to herself as she climbed slowly the branches.

“Why do you want them back?” Vinyl appeared upside down, descending just as we were. He extended his hand, giving her the sunglasses.

Vinyl snagged them with her teeth and tossed them up into the air and caught them on her head. “Never touch the shades.” She glared at Discord.

“I’m so sorry for touching your wonderful sunglasses. Let me give you a hoof.” The tree trunks transformed into long wooden hooves. We were bucked from the tree, sending us through the hoof branches. I managed to snag a branch just below where Vinyl had bit into the tree.

I could hear the now all too familiar cackle of the floating source of chaos. I loathed him more than I feared him now, seeing that nothing was going to truly hurt us, but just to irritate us. I began to see it as a game of wits, a game that I have never lost. I slid down the rest of the trunk and stared at him, exaggerating my annoyance.

“Is that really all you have?” I questioning, looking back at the tree disappointingly.

He seemed knocked off balance by my sudden change. “So… we have a critic eh?” He snapped his fingers and appeared behind me, running his fingers through my mane.

I sighed disapprovingly. “You’ve become such a bore.” Part of me couldn’t believe the bite and lack of fear that were in my words.

The way his fingers slowly clenched into a fist made me smile inside. I didn’t believe that I could have gotten under his skin, but I must have been doing something right. I barely noticed the other ponies staring at me in shock at my sudden change. I’d have been right next to them, but I had a show to perform. It wasn’t long before I was dragged back to the show. The rocks and pebbles around me turned into small bouncing balls with horns strapped to them. They annoyingly jumped around me. I sighed my distaste out.

I watched him transform the mountain into a giant chunk of chocolate topped in whipped cream. He even added a cherry with a pig snout on it. I don’t think he enjoyed seeing my dull and listless eyes barely blink at the spectacle in front of me. I promptly sat down and tightened my bow, digging myself in for the game of wits.

“Please… a snout on a cherry? I would have made the mountain perform a ballet in a pink tutu while whistling Winter Wrap Up.” I chimed.

I could hear the low-set groan burn from his throat as he trudged around me, looking at me sit, letting my presence pester him and fester within his mind. Maintaining the poise I had started with, it was simple to keep my eyes locked forward, and my face plastered with a lack of amusement. Another sigh triggered the anger to overflow within Discord. The dirt was transformed into chocolate as he shot a wall of whipped cream out which hit Ditsy, leaving only a smear mark where she had been hit. It was hard to watch, but seeing her poke The Doctor’s head out from the pile and smile eased my strain.

“Sweets are bad for you, and apparently they are also bad for jokes as well. You are quite the one act jokester aren’t you?”

He had enough of my biting criticisms. I found his short temper to be counter his normal cheerful and joking attitude. I felt a wave of victory flood over me as I stared at him smugly. He stood with his back to me, rubbing the hair on his chin thoughtfully as he turned around and grinned menacingly. His eagle claw rose, filling with magic. I looked down at my body and found nothing to be happening to me, but the voices behind me told me what he was doing.

I turned to see Lyra being lifted off of the ground. She fought against his magic, but floated toward the beast of chaos. He stared into her eyes and slowly began to talk to her.

“Bon-Bon has told me a great deal about you. She misses you and she only had me to keep her company.” He looked away guiltily.

“You… You didn’t.” Lyra lost her usual cool about her as she stopped fighting and stared at Discord.

“She was so down about not being able to come with you on your little journey… so I tried to cheer her up. I think she enjoyed it.” His voice was beginning to get me worried, but I quickly saw what he was doing to her. I watched as the color began to drain out of her as she stared at him, her eyes seeing something that we couldn’t see.

“What are you doing to her?” Vinyl yelled, charging toward him. Discord threw a chunk of chewed bubble gum at her feet. The gum instantly grew and ensnared her. I stood up; the worry inside had begun to shatter. My game of wits was now getting my friends in danger.

My mind raced to find a way to keep the advantage to help my friends so that they didn’t have to suffer. I knew what I had to do would make my image drop, and seeing the hurt expression across Vinyl’s face as she struggled to stop Discord from draining the hope out of Lyra, only made matters worse. I took a steadying breath in and steadied myself to make the sacrifice.

“Is that the only way you can get to me? By messing with them?” The words hurt, but I hoped the bluff would work. His attention began to fall from Lyra and Vinyl as he stared at me, groaning.

“You are just full of bite. Cupcake?” A hail of cupcakes fell around me. He left my friends alone, though now a new expression grew across their faces. They were looking at me as if I was just as equally offensive as Discord. My sacrifice would have to work to at least make it possible for me to come back to a group of friends.

“I would ask you to go off and think of some better chaos because, frankly, this is a disgrace.” I threw at him.

I hit every key that I had before me to get the reaction that I had desired of him. He forgot my friends and chaos. I made the fight personal which sealed the deal. He walked toward me, angrily. His finger pressed onto my forehead. I felt a strong surge jolt through my body as if my heart was being ripped out. It felt as if the color drained my body as I stood in the clearing with my friends.

Discord had left. I had succeeded in saving my friends, but I knew my sacrifice had me lose the love of my life. She had seen how cruel and dark I was. She would never take me into her hooves. She would never talk to me again. I felt the heartache fill my body as the reality of the matter began to set. I would never have her as my own, a forbidden love that only Lyra and Bon-Bon had mastered and succeeded. My logical side quickly wiped my thoughts. I tightened my emotions and closed off my ties. I almost felt compelled to think the way, but I couldn’t blame some outside force. I knew it was true. It has always been true.

“What happened? What did he do to you?” Vinyl asked, slowly approaching me.

I turned to her, seeing her eyes, feeling nothing from seeing her. I knew I had destroyed those feelings, but I questioned what reasons I had to do such a thing to them. I still felt that I had lost something dear, but I felt relieved and glad that she would never have to deal with the awkwardness of knowing that her roommate had loved her for song. I had barely noticed the last of my color vanishing on the tip of my nose when I had fully accepted what had to be done.

Discord had finally left us alone, sending his usual cackle into the air. The area around us had descended into an almost indistinguishable chaos. I peered around to see the color quickly returning to Lyra and Ditsy being helped out of her encasement by The Doctor. A heavy sigh of relief escaped my lips as I relaxed and sat down.

“What the hay was all that?” Vinyl asked, a hint of anger could be heard in her voice.

“A game of wits. He won’t be bothering us for some time. We should press onwards.” I felt how detached I was. I didn’t fear it. I didn’t hate it. Instead, I found myself enjoying it. It felt good.

I turned before I could see the pained expression flood over her face. “Tavi. Tavi!” She galloped in front of me. I only just realized that my hair mane had lost its shape. It sat flat on my head, half covering my face. I remembered the style I had when I worked on the family rock farm. “Tavi! Something is wrong with you.” She knew something that I did not.

“There was something wrong with me, but I’ve been cured of that.” A deep sensation within my heart softly tugged, but I knew it was nothing. My mind had been made up, and I only desired to get to Eyn and get this over with. I trotted past her in the direction to get to Eyn.

Lyra, Doctor, and Ditsy Doo slowly made their way up to Vinyl, watching me proceed. Lyra was first to speak. “Is it me or is she gray?”

“Discord touched her.” The Doctor shook his head. “He succeeded in corrupting her, which he didn’t have time to do against you. She distracted him away from us and took the hit for us, and she doesn’t even know what she gave up.”

“What did she give up?” Vinyl asked, her voice dropping lower.

“Whatever she held the most dear to her heart.” The Doctor explained.

“So she can’t play the cello anymore?” Vinyl stared at me longingly.

I turned to see the group staring at me. I wondered what was holding them up. “Let’s try not to taint our good fortune by sitting about. We have to find Eyn.”

“She sounds like a completely different person. Is there a way to get her back to her original self?” Vinyl turned to the earth pony trapped in a pegasus.

“Only if Discord is defeated and we would need to use Elements of Harmony, but…”

“You think that other group of friends is the group that stopped Luna?”

“That would seem to be the case. If they can’t beat him then I don’t think she can ever be cured.” The tone began to drop quickly.

“And Discord said he had already dealt with them…” Her voice trailed.

“Then we can only hope for a miracle.”

I tapped my hoof as I turned back and saw them still standing like sticks in the mud. I didn’t want to deal with this now. “Any time now!” I groaned. They all peered at each other and nodded. It didn’t take them too long to catch up to me, but they never passed me. I led the group out of the woods and onto the rocky base of the mountains that surrounded Equestria. Most had been turned into hard rock candy by Discord, but I had my eyes set on the prize at the end of the road. I felt confident and happy, but the cello in my head played a requiem I had written when I was a filly. It almost felt as if a bow was using my heartstrings to play it on. I found it beautiful, but I tossed it aside as I had tossed everyone else aside.

Comments

[Azarune]

[Baboosh]

thats heavy

[Ormag_Necros]

...
I seriously don't know how to react to this.
This is still awesome, but damn.
Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Banksyt]

I wonder... have you read Elie Wiesel's memoir "Night", for i see a reference at the end of this chapter... oh how fitting that reference is... i really like this fic, keep it up!

[Harold_Genhi]

50351 Why yes, I have read that book. I'm glad you are enjoying it and picking out some of the more finer details.

[happynoname56]

well... i'm lost... feels damnit i dont have ti...