Introspection

by -Hidden Identity-

Questions and Answers

"So how are we going to get up there?"

"I don't know, Pinkie. Every time we start up it gets worse."

"I didn't even know mud could do that."

"Do what?"

"Stick your hooves to the wall."

"That's because it's mud!"

After a long and tedious process of removing Anger from the wall, she and Pinkie had attempted the climb up to the Giant's Room again and again with no avail. By now the wind was screaming down the incredibly steep, muddy, ice covered, narrow climb. Eventually Anger had declared it was impossible, nopony could ascend that climb. Anger had slumped down against a rock, muttering both words and what could have been words if a few more vowels had been present. Pinkie, however, was having a great time. She had discovered an ability to slightly shift the aura of light Anger had following her around. With this new discovery every dark hole was unveiled, new wonders of the cave appeared. Helictite, blossoming out into fantastic forms that cast magnificent shadows upon the wall, flowstone coated ridges trapped waterfalls in time, and beautiful draperies found their way into the light, coaxed by some unknown desire to be seen.

"Wait a minute, these things weren't here before." said Pinkie, coming close to the speleothems.

"I know. They move around to help confuse me." snorted Anger.

"Ah. Is this that meanie Grump's work again?"

"Nah that's all mine. I made it to cause the angry thoughts to get lost. Least I know it works well! I hate this cave." Anger yelled up at the climb. She rose and turned around, sighing at Pinkie who was still entranced by the drapery, which had moved another two feet. "Look Pinkie, I want to get you out and you want to get out right?"

"I dunno, I could stay her a bit longer." Pinkie replied, poking the drapery with a hoof.

"No, you want to leave."

"I'm alright staying here."

"We are getting you out."

"Of this room?"

"Of my state of mind."

"What's the capital, then?"

"What?"

"The capital, of your state."

"I...I...MOVE!" Anger roared as she shoved Pinkie from the room.

"Hey! What about the color?"

"There's another way up to the Giant's Room." Anger hissed.

"Yay! Where is it?"

"I don't know."

A flash of bewilderment crossed Pinkie's face before disappearing again. She shrugged and moved on, following Anger. With each new passage the cave provided for them came a new challenge. Anger's disappointment concerning the passage up to the Giant's Room came through the cave. Brisk, rushing rivers would disappear upon entry, pits and crevasses opened up to either side with an ominous friendliness about their tempting drops, and the passages seemed to shrink as to allow their light to fill the void. It seemed that even in defeat and imprisonment Anger still held a grasp in her mind, enough to make adjustments to immediate features. The drapery followed them, moving stealthily behind them so as not to be seen moving.

"Good to see you again." Pinkie smiled at the drapery as they stopped to rest. "Say, why do I get tired if I'm just a state of mind?"

"Are you serious?" snapped Anger.

"I am serious about a lot of things."

"Don't talk."

"Can I talk to the drapery?"

"Does that involve making noise?"

"Yes."

"THEN NO!"

The pink pony frowned and moved past her grey counterpart to admire the room. Long grey walls stretched from the rocky floor up into a perfect dome. Gypsum crystals flowered and sprung from the rock to form an eternal garden. Adjacent to them lay another gaping mouth of a passage. Long cylindrical stalactites sang their endless song of dripping water in perfect, monotonous harmony. It was easy to think about nothing more than color, and forget just how beautiful white and grey could be. A drop of water fell from high above her, striking her nose. She giggled and opened her mouth to accept the next drop. It was cold. The light disappeared suddenly, leaving her in total darkness.

"Hey, what happened?"

"Quiet!" Anger hissed. She was at Pinkie's side.

"What's going on?" Pinkie whispered back. She felt a hoof clamp itself over her mouth. Her wide eyes peered into the nothingness that surrounded them, her ears pricked up, and her senses became acute to everything besides sight. Nothing happened. Water dripped into the darkness, repeating their endless chore. Anger's cold hoof remained over her mouth. Eventually she released her grip.

"Ok." The light appeared again. Anger moved away from Pinkie and towards an exit.

"Wait!" Pinkie called out. "What was that?"

"Something passed by. Something I really don't feel like dealing with right now."

"Wait." Pinkie called again, halting the other. "I have some questions."

"Are they worth my time?"

"They are worth mine."

Anger turned with a smirk. "Look at you standing up for yourself, a little less happy and a bit more in connection with what is real. So what do you want to know?"

"Why are you so cold?"

Anger sighed, sitting down on a rock. Pinkie found her own seat. Water dripped on her shoulder.

"Do you feel it? The cold? Do you feel it seep up through the rocks and the floor and into your very being? That's the thing about the cold, it doesn't matter whether it's the physical body or just us in the mind. Cold isn't restricted. It doesn't choose or show favoritism."

"Cold? I'm fine."

"Take a look around you. What do you see?"

"I see rocks and water, and some white stuff on the walls."

"I'll tell you what you see. You see black, white, and grey. You need color to be warm. Your state of mind is warm because there's color. You don't feel the cold because there is none to be found in you. Try being me some time; try being grey. Try being cold."

Anger rose to start off again. Pinkie remained where she was, her eyes lowered. A sigh resonated through the dome.

"Ok, what is it now?" Anger snapped at her.

"Take a seat, Anger." Pinkie nodded towards the rock. Her tone was short.

Anger raised a grey eyebrow and shrugged, sitting back down.

"Nopony has explained to me how the colors will get me out of this place." Pinkie turned a hard stare towards Anger. "Grump informed me if I retrieved the colors I would be able to get out, and now you want to get the colors as well. You say they will help me. How will they help me?"

Anger chuckled. "So harsh, Pinkie. Strange isn't it? To feel a bit harsh. You're not used to the mind, to being within what was created while away from the world. Your mindset may be joy, but you are here in my frame of mind. Doesn't matter that you are the happy one, in here you may as well be an extension of me." She took a breath, smiling. "This world is grey. If you ask smart ponies, like that Twilight one, they will tell you black means there isn't any color. Wrong. It's grey that means all color has gone."

"So if we find the colors..."

"If we find the colors then the grey is replaced with color. The cold goes away. The colors mean a way through the grey."

Pinkie nodded, and flashed a joyful smile. "I always thought that being angry made you hot in the head, not cold."

Anger snorted. "Odd, how that works. Come on, we have some color to find."

Anger rose and promptly walked out of the dome. Pinkie smiled and trotted after her. "Hey! If you don't know where the other entrance is, how do you know where to go?"

The hooffalls in front of her stopped, irritated words came mumbling out, then the sound of movement continued.

Comments

[Tangerine Blast]

I just love this story so much! It's just beautiful!