Introspection

by -Hidden Identity-

A lack of walls

The grass was a vivid green, a sweet-smelling breeze wafted gently through the air, and Pinkie Pie was happy. Confused beyond belief, but happy. She had bounced about the second field for quite some time after the rocks had departed, trying to make sense of what it had said and meant; and after all, she couldn’t think staying still. Movement encouraged the blood to flow, and the brain to work. The other thing that would help was some food, something sweet to be precise. Pinkie had kept a wary eye on the hills off in the distance, wondering about whether she should wander in their direction, or whether it was a mistake to venture too far. She was within her own mind? How? Why? The rocks had told her that if she lingered for too long that she would be stuck here forever. Forever, she was a fan of forever when it was good, and this was a fun place, granted, but she was alone. How long had she been here anyway? Did time matter?

Pinkie eventually halted her bouncing, glancing upward. The bright pink bubbles that dotted the perfect blue sky hadn’t changed at all. They were fine like that, she decided. Not everything needs to change. After all, why should something perfect change?

Eventually her curiosity compelled her to venture in the direction of the hills. The wind picked up slightly as she moved forward, the grass grew a breath taller, and flowers began to appear in bright displays of pink, blue, and gold. Their colors stood out in gloriously display against the eternal green of the grass, giving character to the landscape, and adding to the wonder of the strange realm. She still doubted that this was her mind, as there was still a serious lack of things she enjoys. For one there were no parties to be seen anywhere, no candy, no cupcakes, and no other ponies to enjoy it with. As far as she was concerned, her mind should be filled with things she liked, not just a beautiful landscape. She couldn’t help but smile as she bounced along though, this place did compel her to be happy. So maybe it wasn’t completely devoid of things she liked and surrounded herself with on a regular basis. Even so…

The hills were even stranger up close than they were far away. They had the appearance of large blocks, sticking straight up and increasing in height as they extended back, until a certain part where they disappeared from view. The uniform grass greeted her as she approached the first of the hills, staring straight out at her from its perch on the side of the block-shaped formation. Pinkie moved very close and stared at the formation with her usual demeanor. It seemed to be satisfactory.

“Hello?” she called out into the hills. There was no reply. “Humph. There should be somepony here with me.”

Normally Pinkie wouldn’t have thought twice about jumping into the excitement of exploring this strange place, but then again this was no ordinary day, in no ordinary place either. With unusual caution, she reached a single foot out and placed it upon the wall of the first hill. She was doing a hoofstand. The same hoof she had reached out was now supporting the weight of the pink pony.

“What? Aah!” the sudden, yet appropriate, exclamation ripped from her as she tumbled forward in a heap.

The grass caught her, and she sprung back up, looking backwards. Another wall faced her. Not the one she had placed her hoof upon either, as she could not see the top. It simply stretched away into the horizon. She blinked and couldn’t help but laugh.

“I…wonder.” She grinned and moved towards the new wall.

Without pausing, she placed both of her front hooves upon it only to find herself doing a hoofstand, yet the momentum she had when she placed her hooves upon the wall propelled her forward into a summersault. She rose and ran at the first hill, leaping onto it and as such falling on her belly. Pinkie rose, quite content with herself, and hummed as she moved along the side of the hill, now a field.

The summit of the first hill was upon her shortly, appearing as a drop. Feeling confident in her newfound ability, Pinkie did not slow and carried on right over the edge, yet the edge never came. She stood atop a small patch of grass, drop-offs to either side of her, and another, taller, formation ahead of her.

“Hop, skip and a jump.” She said happily, and leapt towards the opposite hill. She predicted the soft landing, spun with her dancer’s grace, and looked back. Ahead of her was…strange. She wasn’t sure, so instead she looked up to see the edge of the spot she had been just standing on a ways above her, and the drop-off she had avoided by simply jumping. The delighted the pony tremendously, and the next several moments were spent jumping back and forth from wall to wall, each time landing on the flat ground, each one different from the rest, with a new perspective. She tried flips, kicks, jumping, and running to gain more distance, once completely missing the top of the first hill and finding herself landing on what she presumed was the far wall, by at least some perspective that is. As it seemed nothing really had walls here. There was no limit to what she could do here, no limit to the fun she could have. Now that did sound like something that would be in her mind.

“I wonder if my friends would be able to do this?” she was still troubled by the fact that they weren’t here with her. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if they might not like it here. It wouldn’t be any fun if they weren’t having fun. She began to think about them more…getting a little bit sad at their absence. The feeling wouldn’t go without being challenged though, as it seemed if this was her mind she wouldn’t allow herself to be sad.

Something small and furry touched one of her hooves, causing her to jump slightly. Down next to her hoof was a rabbit: grey, with long ears and eyes full of love and anticipation.

“Ooh! Looks like I’m not alone here. Well, I guess I wasn’t alone at all. Where did you come from?”

The rabbit hopped a few feet away from her, towards the summit of the second formation, beckoning for her to follow it. All to happy to oblige, Pinkie hopped along after it, taking care not to hop too high, should she find herself on the wall of the first hill, which was now above her. The pair walked up to the summit, again dropping away into nothingness, and walked over the edge to stand on top. Turns out the other hills were off to one side, yet those did not command the slightest bit of her attention, for the view she now beheld surpassed anything she could have imagined. Hills, pits, valleys (with actual slopes) and other strange sights that she could not put to words, were all before her. Giving a squeal of delight, Pinkie jumped from the summit and landed on the horizontal of the side of the blockish hill.

“Wait!” she halted suddenly, the rabbit smacked into her back leg. She stood very still, then lifted her nose and smelled the air. The ambrosial aroma of baked goods was wafting along. She stood very still for half a moment, taking it all in, before speeding off as fast as she could. The rabbit, having climbed up onto her back, yanked her hair, causing an immediate stop that catapulted the rabbit off.

“Oops! Sorry!” she grimaced apologetically and rushed over. The rabbit was fine, though it seemed a bit agitated. “Did you want something? Oh, Rocky told me that there were some rules, then told me there weren’t. Do you know anything about rules? Can you talk?”

The rabbit looked up at her.

“Aww. I wish you could talk.”

“Thanks.” It squeaked. “There are some rules. Do you believe this is your mind yet?”

“Well, if I could have my mind anyway I want, this would be hard to beat.” She smiled briefly, yet it faded before a small sensation of sadness. “Just…my friends.”

“Don’t think about them. Wait. You can’t be sad here.”

“I can’t be sad?”

“Not here. There are places to be sad, but this is not it. Remember, you need to find the door or else you will be stuck here forever. Enjoy the party.”

With that the rabbit hopped away and up the adjacent wall. She suspect it didn’t look like a wall to the rabbit, and wouldn’t when she walked up it as well. Pinkie took a step forward, then halted, thinking about what the rabbit had said. ‘You can’t be sad here.’ She cocked her head and mulled it over. Then again, the rabbit did say something about a party. It wouldn’t hurt to spend a little bit of time here.

Comments

[Tangerine Blast]

This is so epic!