The Adventures of the Chaos Colt (CHPT 5)

The Adventures of the Chaos Colt!

Chapter 5 - The Void Ain’t About Sunshine and Rainbows

>”Try again, Anon! I know you’ve got this!” Discord wipes his brow with a towel and cheers you on.
“I’m trying…! Hnnng! C’moooon!”
>C’mon powers! Stop being hard to use!
>”Focus on not focusing! Chaos is all about inconsistent consistency.” You glance at Discord for a brief moment.
“That doesn’t even make any sense!”
>Discord snaps his talon and swings his arm. ”That’s the point, my boy!”
>It’s a beautiful and pretty day outside. Or, what outside would look like if you COULD go outside. But instead, Dad settled for the second best thing; turning his office into an open plain full of different strange creatures, lots of colorful plants and trees, and all wrapped with a clear blue sky and a vibrant sun.
>This whole place was Dad’s office. He turns it into different settings or places to his or your liking, depending on what you were both doing. Today, Dad wanted to start training you on using your chaos powers. But it’s a lot harder than you or your dad thought.
>You tried focusing on the lone pea resting on the stool, trying to use whatever magic Dad said you had on the green dot.
“Um, what am I supposed to be turning it into, again? This is confusing.”
>Discord was standing at a distance, trying not to interfere with your concentration. He had a boxer training outfit and a towel over his shoulder. He bent his knees and leaned in as you got closer and closer to your goal, balling his talon and paw hand into fists.

>”YOU GOT THIS, ANON! So close! I can already see the pea transforming into something stupendous!!”
>You don’t even know what you’re trying to do! Agh! You’re getting woozy from all the straining on… Whatever you’re trying to do. Why is this so hard? Dad makes it look so easy!
“D-Do I turn it into another veggie, or an animal?!”
>”Just turn it into anything you desire! The only thing limiting you is your imagination.” The pea starts to swell, and bubble, and turn into different shapes and shades of colors. Discord leans in even closer, almost at the edge of his tippy toes. “A little moooooore…”
>You close your eyes and focus, or unfocus? It doesn’t matter. You just try your hardest to change the pea into whatever pops into your head.
>”Focus on the pea, but don’t focus too specifically on what you want to turn it into. Let your mind flow and imagination burst into reality!”
>Easier said than done! A little more…! You can feel a strange attachment to yourself and the pea, and slowly feel it transforming. The pea starts to vibrate, causing the stool to shake around. Discord can’t keep his himself still and flies over, his head getting really close to the pea.
>Aaaaaannnd… You open your eyes and see- WHAT?! Nothing happened!
“Huh!? But I thought, it was changing, and I-”
>Discord teleports behind you and shushes you by putting his talon finger on your lips. “Hold up! Things may not seem to be what they are. I can sense a lot of chaos in that pea. But what could have happened to it…?” You both stare at the pea for a few moments, until Discord becomes impatient and walks over to the tiny green sphere.

>”What? I could have swore you did SOMETHING to it. Must have been a fluke.” You hang your head as your ears droop down. Discord strokes his beard, pacing around the stool and looking at the pea at different angles.
>He takes out a caliper and measures the pea size. “Odd, it’s the same size as when I conjured it up… Maybe the stool…?” This time he takes out a measuring tape and measures the legs of the stool, carefully observing the wooden seat. “No… That’s not it either.”
>Maybe Dad’s right! Maybe you did something to the pea, but you both just haven’t noticed yet! You scurry over and help him out with checking the pea.
“Do you have a color sheet?”
>Discord snaps his talons and passes you a green color sheet while he looks at the pea from under a microscope. You check the color of the pea with the sheet.
“Nope. It’s the same color as before.”
>”No variation in shades? Did it even become more opaque or transparent?” Double checking the sheet, you give Dad a disappointing reply.
“Uhhh… I don’t know what that means, but it looks the same.”
>That’s weird, because it was turning into all different kinds of shapes and colors before. Discord poofs away all the tools and kneels by your side as you both eye the pea.
>You failed again… No matter how hard you try, you can never get it! This is dumb! Chaos is dumb! Why do you even have to have chaos powers!? You plop down on your butt and cross your forelegs.

“It’s not fair! I tried my hardest to do what you said, and nothing happened!”
>Discord scratches the top of his head with his talon finger and tilts his head. “I-I don’t understand, I sure can sense something has happened. There’s only one thing left to do.” Your dad extends out his index talon finger and gradually brings it closer and closer to the pea.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
>”Give me a moment, son. This is an advanced chaos technique, so I highly recommend you watch carefully. A very risky method. I wouldn’t try this at home.” You tilt your head as you watch his talon get closer to the pea.
“But we are home.”
>”Exactly! Which is why I’m the one doing it!” And it got closer, and closer, and even closer.
>What’s he doing? Is he going to use some weird chaos detector? Or, or, he might zap it with some magic to make it work! That is pretty hard to do. You better watch carefully.
>”Steady! Steeeaaaddy.... Are you paying attention, my little green pupil?” You nod your head gently and continue to watch.
“A-huh!”
>And clooooseeer, until…
>”Huh… So nothing DID happen.” He just… Poked it. THAT WAS THE SUPER DUPER ADVANCED TECHNIQUE? Why are you even surprised anymore? He does this stuff all the time.
“All you did was poke it! Aren’t you going to zap it with magic, or even hit it with a hammer?!”
>”I poked it with precision and caution! There’s a difference. I could have swore that it would have-” Something splatters all over your face before Discord could finish his sentence. “-exploded…” You flinch and sputter, spitting out… Peas?
“Blegh! Agh!”
>Once the last of the peas rolled off your tongue, you wipe the green goop off your face with your hoof and look at the stool. The pea was gone! SOMETHING DID HAPPEN TO IT! YES!
“AHAH! I DID IT! I DID IT!”

>You start to prance around the stool, even doing a little dance.
“A-huh, go me! I did it!”
>You spin, ending the twirl with your hoof pointed towards the stool.
“Take that, pea! Did you see that, Dad!”
>Though, something caught you off guard from the corner of your eye. You stop dancing and look around. Where’d Dad go? There’s this spooky black sphere where the pea exploded. Should you…?
“Hello?”
>You slowly walk over to the glowing circle. It was like a mini black hole floating over the stool. Maybe you should just leave it alone until Dad gets back.
>Putting your hoof next to your mouth, you shout into the sky, hoping your dad might hear.
“Dad? You there? Some weird black thing popped up where I blew up the pea”
>Dark clouds began to form in the sky, dimming all the light that brightened up the beautiful field. The wind begins to pick up, causing your mane to blow all over the place. Your heart begins to race as your worries increase more and more by the minute.
>What’s going on? Why a-are there dark clouds all of a sudden?
“Dad!? Where are you!? This isn’t funny!”
>This couldn’t be some prank. Dad usually does something wacky to you, not scary. The wind howls louder, and snow starts to drop from the sky, stirring up a blizzard of ice.
“D-D-Did I do this?”
>”Of course you didn’t! And I doubt you even blew up that pea.” You look back towards the voice, but no pony was there.
“Is that you Dad?”
>”A Spirit of Chaos who can’t even control his powers. If anything, I did all the work, and all it took was a single poke.” Your father’s echoing voice cackles across the plains. The animals start to burrow or fly away, and the plants start to wilt and shrivel up.

“B-But-!”
>”Ugh. Did you REALLY think you’d be able to pull off one of the most simple chaotic tricks in the book? Honestly, you keep trying and trying, only to fail over, and over, and over, and- Eh, you get the point.”
>You frantically look around for some shelter, only to notice the black hole beginning to emit purple fog and flames. You squint through the white storm, and- NO!
>Stumbling back, you scramble to your hooves and attempt to escape. Something latches onto your foreleg and begins dragging you back. You look back and see a claw made out of black and dark purple fog leaking out of the black hole.
“GET AWAY! LET GO!”
>You kick and squirm, swinging your back legs in an attempt to escape. Those same, glowing green eyes pierces through the storm and floated above the vortex.
>“Come to me, Anonymous. Let fear dictate your actions. Let them take..“ The hand pulls you with on hard tug, and sucks you into the hole as your screams drown out into the storm. “CONTROL!” And right as you get pulled into the darkness, you jolt up and hit your head on something.
“AHHH- OW! …What in the…”
>Did Suh-Suuuuuooo… That spooky dude that took over the Crystal Empire! Did he abduct you? A-Are you his slave now?
>You should really come up with a better nickname for him… Neeeverrmind, just thinking about him gives you goosebumps. Wait, you’re still alive! But where are you?
>Rubbing your eyes, your vision slowly recovers. Ohhh, now you remember! You fell asleep under the couch after the house fell out of… The sky? It’s not really a sky, but… Oh! Hey! Indie still stuck with you this entire time! You hug the toy and nuzzle against it tenderly.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave me, Indie! Now all we gatta do is find Dad!”
>You pretend that the figurine responds back, making it nod its head.
“Sounds like a plan! Anything to get my mind off of… Eughgh!”

>No more bad thoughts! No more spooky, evil, dark, cold… NUH UH! You shake your head and look at the toy.
“Indie, make sure that I think happy thoughts, okay?”
>The rot nods again to your request.
“Thanks bud! Okay, happy thoughts. Now let’s go find… Dad… Uh oh…”
>And then you realize that you’re not in the house, if there is a house remaining anymore. You slightly poke from under the couch and look around. You were drifting on a broken floorboard in the void of space, floating by in the infinite randomness and chaos.
>The entire house was shattered across the violet abyss, but the odd part is that it’s not completely shattered. More like fragments of different sections and parts of the house scattered around. Like tiny little house room islands that you could lounge around.
>But most of the furniture, stone, and wooden structures were in piles of rubble. How did you even survive? What did all this damage? Those giant worms you saw earlier? The creepy centipedes that create portals?
>You skooch back under the couch and squeeze Indie.
“Indie, did you see what happened? The house got wrecked!”
>Indie nods and you move his tiny arm to scratch the back of his head.
“Yeah, I don’t know what did this either. Maybe the worms?”
>You tremble the figure to make him seem like he’s scared.
“It’s okay, Indie! I don’t see anymore snakes. Oomph! What’s this?”
>You peel off whatever hit your face and hold it out in front of you and Indie. Huh, it’s a purple envelope with glowing white ink, reading ‘Reality’.
“This is freaky… Tell me if anything spooky comes by.”
>You take out Indie’s tiny whip and click it onto his plastic hand. You carefully open up the envelope and pull out- A reality check? And a letter to go with it.

“‘An endooor… Endoorsed.. Endorsed! An endorsed reality check for Anon. A full payment of stone cold reality…’ From the Void?!’
>It even had a tiny stick figure face with its tongue sticking out. What? The Void is a living thing? How’s that even possible!
>Another parchment almost hits you, but you dodge it and grab it mid-air.
“HAH! Gotcha! Hmmm… Let’s see… ‘That’s because you’re stupid and a baby-’ What?! I am not a baby! And I’m not stupid. I’m just… Not that good at using my powers…”
>Who are you kidding? Even the void thinks you’re a failure. You’re a dummy to your dad, to Silver Steel, to all the Crystal ponies… And even to yourself. Now you’re probably stuck here until something eats you alive or you starve.
>Should you use your powers? You can’t! W-What if you blow yourself up, like the pea in your dream? Or, you might get sucked down into the purple abyss and never return? You’ve never been this deep in the Void, and the fact that it’s alive…
>It makes you shiver. This is probably all your fault… If you think what happened to your dad is true, that he lost the fight against the two alicorn sisters…
“It’s all my fault, Indie… If I didn’t screw up and make that mountain a minotaur, Dad wouldn’t have been so busy trying to fix it. And if he wasn’t so busy, maybe he could have won, and we would all be at home having meal time. It’s all my fault…”
>You sniffle and begin tearing up, laying your body down as you dig your face between your forelegs. Stop crying, Anon! You’re not a baby! Y-You’re not…
>But you couldn’t help yourself. You began to sob and cry, squeezing onto Indiana Jones and hoping that this is just another bad dream. Bad t-thoughts, go away! G-Go…

>Voices start to echo in your head, as you remember that moment back when you were on that fear stuff.
>“You thought YOU could be a Crystal Guard?! Sorry lil’ bud… We don’t recruit babies who cry in battle.”
“I’m not a baby! I’m a s-strong stallion and the son of Discord!”
>”The Spirit of Chaos?! Ooooh I’m so scared! Go back and play with your toys, kid.”
“Leave m-me alone! S-Stop…”
>“You failed us, Anonymous…” The statement echoes and repeats. “You failed… You’re a faaailuuuuure…”
>Why does it hurt so much? Dad, please come back…
>”Hey, why the long face?”
>For brief moment, you stop crying. Is that one of the voices? It didn’t say something mean, though.
>”Aren’t you going to say ‘Hi’? I mean, I just got here and all. There aren’t many sane peeps in the Void.” …And it sounded like a girl’s voice. Is she real? You quickly glance up, only to find nothing there. Oh… Now you’re going crazy like Dad.
>Then you noticed that Indie is gone. You look around the dust bunnies and under your forelegs for him. Where’d he go? That’s when you see your toy standing up outside of the couch, beckoning for you to come out.
“Indie? You’re alive?”
>He nods and continues to beckon.
“I don’t know… It’s dangerous and scary out there.”
>You peak out from your cover and look up. There are void worms circling the air, hissing and screeching. Also not to mention the floating islands that could be made up of anything and be filled with anything creepy or dangerous.
>One time, you got stuck on one of those islands, and these gross eyeball things with tentacles almost made you their dinner.
“I’ll just stay down here until Dad comes, okay?”
>Indie shakes his head, points to you, then points out to the Void. You squirm back into your hideout.
“No, Indie! It’s safe here, away from the snakes.”

>The toy just dismissively swings his arm and continues to beckon. But then he takes out a tiny baby bottle, points to you, and starts to sip on it.
“Hey… Hey! I am not a baby! I’ve been doing things on my own since I was four!”
>Indie beckons you over, begging you to prove him wrong. You hesitate looking up at the worms, then reconsider your hurt pride. You look back at him again- WHAT! He’s sucking his thumb! You do NOT suck your hoof, and you’re not a baby!
>Pushing through the dust, you finally reveal yourself from under the couch, approach the mocking figure, and stand triumphantly before him.
“Hah ha! See! I told you I’m not scared! Now can you please stop doing that?”
>But Indie just steps back, beginning to get very close to the edge.
“Indie! Watch out!”
>Right as he’s about to plummet into the pit of disorder, a floorboard magically drifts on over quickly and forms a platform behind him.
“Whoooa… That’s so cool!”
>How’d he do that? Maybe it’s the Void that made Indie come to life? But you thought the Void was a meanie head. You place your front hooves on the platform and test it. Stable and ready to stand on! As you step entirely onto the wooden plank, another one zooms over.
>You keep stepping forward, and the broken planks begin to form a path along the air. Indie sprints across and looks behind his shoulder, beckoning you to follow.
“Wait up!”

>And so you gallop across the fragments of wood, with planks and rubble forging the path ahead. The sky began shifting to different colors and patterns; from polka dot to neon stripes, and to wavy yellow and blue to television static.
>It’s kinda cool how the Void always changes in scenery and style. You sometimes like to watch it morph from the window next to your bed. It feels like it’s breathing, even communicating with you in a strange way.
>Sometimes, you imagine the Void is the inside of a chameleon, and all the creatures inside are like, the organs and protectors of the chameleon. Protecting it from icky germs and stuff like your body does!
>Maybe it is a giant chameleon, since you got that letter. If it is, it’s not a very nice chameleon. It’s a meanie! A meanie chameleon! Oooor… It could be…
>Before you knew it, you trip and almost fall off the edge of the platform. M-Maybe you should stop daydreaming before you fall off. Indie scurries over and helps you back up.
“Thanks, Indie.”
>The path begins to stagger and break apart, forcing you to jump from platform to platform. You weren’t that afraid anymore, and it probably has to do with Indie constantly encouraging you. He’d always stop if you got hesitant or felt a tad weary, then continue along the path.
>Soon you both reach a large chunk of the house that was broken off. Looks like the living room was ripped separately from your home and thrown into space. Some of the furniture was toppled over or broken.
>You both approach the room and step through the collapsed door frame. Whatever did all this, sure was reaaally angry. Maybe he could have used a bubble bath or something. Or, a fun time on your slide! Yeah! The slide had to be somewhere around here, right?
>Indie begins to hop around the furniture, climbs up one of the shattered beams, then lands on something… Furry?

“I don’t remember having a fuzzy statue of a girly Discord in the living room.”
>You scratch the underside of your chin.
“But I guess we do have 3 STONE statues of Dad. Wait a second…”
>The girlish Discord looks to Indie and nods with a satisfied smile. She high fives it, and it limps back to a normal toy. The draconequus then stashes it away behind her ear.
“DAD!”
>You jump up and attach yourself to the body of your long lost father. Or was it maybe just an hour or two? Meh, who cares! DAD’S BACK!
>The draconequus flinches and yelps as you snuggle into her chest fuzz. You couldn’t contain yourself and start bawling onto her.
“I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, DAD! I don’t care if you look like a chick right now for some weird prank! I miss your pranks! I miss your chaos!”
>”Whoa whoa whoa! Hooves off my fur!” A mechanical claw comes from behind her, grabs you by the head, and gently places you back down onto the floorboard. You tilt your head in confusion and look up, sitting down on your hind legs.
“What’s wrong, Dad? Aren’t you happy to see me? Or should I call you Mom!”
>You giggle at your own joke. Mom rolls her eyes and groans. “Looook kid. I’m not that old coot you call your ‘father’. Don’t even know how he raised an adorable little thing like you.” Whaaaa? C’mon, is he REALLY going that far with the prank?
“Dad, I get it. It’s a joke. You don’t have to be so serious about it! I don’t think it’s a good time either, since everything is falling apart, and the house is destroyed, AND there’s a GIANT WORM ABOVE US!”
>You frantically point up as the underbelly of a void worm skims over you both. You hide under some rubble and shake. Mom looks at you with a smug grin with her arms crossed. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s more scared of you, than you are of it.”

“I d-don’t think so.”
>You shake your head and close your eyes.
>”And besides, I made us both invisible in respects to sight, smell, touch, hearing, Aaaand you name the last one.” You poke your head out and hop up.
“Taste! Did I get it right?”
>She giggles and nods. “Cute little fella, aren’t you?” You raise an eyebrow and scowl.
“I’m not cute...”
>”Yes you are.”
“No I’m not!”
>”Ya huh.”
“NUH UH!”
>”YA HUH!”
“NUH UH.”
>“I could do this for an eternity, but I think you’re short on time, little dude.” You puff up your cheeks and exhale. You mutter under your breath and look to the side.
“I’m not cute…”
>”Mmmmm… I disagree.” You groan and fall over.
“STOOOOOP! You know I hate being treated like a kid, Dad- I mean, Mom. And can you quit it the disguise?”
>’Dad’ covers her mouth with her paw, trying to hold in her laughter. “It’s hilarious that you still think I’m that old coot disguised as a chick! Pahahahah! Hilarious!”
“It’s not funny anymore! Why didn’t you save me in the telescope? Why are there statues of the clones back when the house wasn’t destroyed? And why are you a girl?!”
>She stops laughing and taps the side of her cheek gently with her talon finger. “Well, maybe because…” She holds out a Number #1 foam finger. “One, I just got here, and I have no idea who you are besides that you’re a green colt lost in the dangerous plains of the Void. Also just learned you’re the son of that old coot.”
“Old coot-?”
>She interrupts you, holding out another foam finger on her talon hand. “Twooo, I have no idea what you’re talking about with statues, but I can see your house has been redecorated. Reaaally like the abstract vibe it’s got going.”

“But-“
>”Three!” The last and final foam finger is on her tail. “And maybe, because I AM a girl? I’m not that weirdo you call your father.”
“Hey! He’s not a COMPLETE weirdo.”
>”Eeeehhh…” The draconequus moves both her arms up and down, weighing what you said. “Whatever, I could care less. But now that you’re safe, care to tell fill me up on who you are and what’s going on?”
“Oh, uh…”
>You hesitate, looking around and scratching the back of your head.
“Well, uh, my name’s Anonymous! But you can call me Anon for short.”
>You spring up on all fours and beam a smile up to your new friend. Then you put your hoof on your chin and think for a moment.
>Should you tell her everything? She is a stranger, and Discord said strangers are dangerous, except if they’re strange, because strange strangers aren’t strangers, but strange- AGH! Your head hurts! You shake your head as she snickers at your reaction.
“I mean, I don’t know what’s going on, either. I got stuck inside this telescope thingy my dad made that can make a simuuu.. Sim-youuu…”
>”Simulations?”
“Yeah! That word!”
>The strange girl teleports besides you and pats your head. “I’m not one for cute things, but there’s something about you that makes my heart get filled with sugar.” She opens a hatch on her chest, causing sugar to run out into a teacup she’s holding. She mixes it with a spoon, then gulps the entire cup.
“I’m not cute!”
>”Suuuure you aren’t.” She flies over to you and wraps her arm around your neck, pulling you closer. “Hey, it’s not a bad thing! You’ll be racking up fillies like trading cards.” She elbows you playfully, but you just stick out your tongue.
“Ewwww! I heard fillies have cooties and are icky!”

>The girl lets you go and gives you an annoyed look. ”Where the hay did you hear that from?” You smile and hop once.
“My dad!”
>She facepalms and shakes her head. “I swear that guy is a major weirdo… What about me! I’m a girl, too!” You wave your hoof dismissively.
“Naw, you grew out of it. You’re more of a teenage girl than icky, yucky, filly… Eugh!”
>”But I’m still a girl, that doesn’t make any sense!” You chuckle and strike your own smug grin.
“Does anything make sense in this place?”
>She raises her talon and opens her mouth to speak, but closes it and narrows her eyes. She points to you. “Touche, my cute little compadre. A bup bup!” She hushes you before you interject. “Deny it one more time, and I’ll make sure you won’t ever be adorable again...” You gulp.
“Yikes! I won’t, I won’t!”
>She giggles and holds out her paw. “I didn’t get to introduce myself, but…. Hi! I’m Eris! I’m a spirit of chaos, just like your father. Except I’m not a weirdo…” She says that last part to the side.
“What was that?”
>”Nothing! Nothing.”
>Heeeey… You heard what she said. She’s one to talk! She’s a bit of a weirdo herself.
>”You know I can hear what you’re thinking, right?” You groan and put your hoof to your forehead.
“Not you too! I don’t have any privacy! Ever!”
>”Fiiiine, I’ll give you your ‘privacy’.” She does air quotes when she says privacy. “Well, aren’t you going to shake my paw?” Eris moves her arm out more, making you raise your eyebrow.
“I’m not that gullable.”
>”It’s pronounced gullible.”
“That! Yeah! I’m not a silly willy. C’mon, I live with Discord, Master and Spirit of Chaos! I won’t fall for the old buzzer handshake trick.”

>You cross your forelegs and strike a triumphant smirk. ”Huh, you’re right.” Eris shrugs. “I’ll just do it the blunt way.” She reaches behind her back and slaps a pie right smack into your face. The tin pan slides off, revealing your deadpan expression.
“Really? Whipped cream pie is soooo lame.”
>You lick a bit off your face- ACK! EWWW! WHAT IS THIS STUFF? You cough and hack at the weird foam in your mouth. Eris couldn’t keep her laughter as she starts to hover in the air, holding her sides.
>”PAHAHAHAH! It wasn’t whipped cream! It was SHAVING cream!” You brush your hooves along your tongue, trying to get every bit out.
“Aahaghahgahgah! Plah!”
>Eris wipes a tear from her cheek, hovers back down, and leans against you. “At least you’re not a spoil sport. Usually ponies hate my antics and stuff. Buzzkills, am I right, or am I right?” She playfully punches your shoulder and waits for your response.
“I haven’t really… Met a REAL pony before. Well, besides myself, of course! I’ve met myself before!”
>Your new friend steps away from you, leans against a broken wooden beam, and crosses her arms. “Really? You’ve never been outside of this disgusting place? You’ve been here since you were born?! I thought I had it bad…”
>You shrug.
“It’s not that bad. I want to go see Equestria! Like, really really really want to! I wanna explore the giant snowy mountains! And, and that forest I saw by Discordville-”
>Eris raises her eyebrow and smirks. “Discordville? Really? I swear, that old coot is so full of himself.” She shakes her head and closes her eyes.

“Not ALL the time, but Dad does love himself. Sometimes I think he loves himself more than me.”
>”Naw, that’s not true. Considering you’re such a good kid, he must love you a lot to have raised you this way.” Your friend opens her eyes, takes her paw, and taps her chin. “But to keep you cooped up in a place like this? I don’t get it. I got tired of this place as soon as I came into existence. Kinda why I left in the first place.”
“Wait! So you’ve been to Equestria before?”
>Eris sticks out her tongue and separates her eyes while spinning her paw finger in circles next to her head. “Duuuuh! I’ve been all over Equestria! It’s a lot better than this disaster you call home.” You both take a moment and look at the Void in its entirety. You tug on Eris’ tail playfully.
“Can you tell me all about Equestria? Pretty pleaaaase! Dad only tells me of legends and stuff from long ago, but I wanna know about the different cities, ponies, landmarks, all that stuff happening now!”
>”I would, buuuuut… Think your dad would get pretty angry if he found out I kidnapped the only pony he cares and loves for.” Oh boy, you haven’t told her yet… “Considering the look on your face, and what you mumbled before when you thought I was your mom-”
“H-Hey! I thought you were Dad trying to pull a prank.”
>Eris smirks and rolls her eyes. “Suuuuuuure… Anyways, I assume something’s happened to that geezer?” You look down at the floorboards and drop your ears.
“Y-Yeah… I think… I think it has to do with those alicorn sisters he was talking to.”
>”Hold on, give me a moment.” Eris snaps her talon, conjures up a glass of water, drinks it, then spits it all over you. “WHAT?! Don’t tell me…” You shake your head, causing your fur and mane to poof up. “Oh! Sorry.” She pulls a towel out of her ear and hands it to you, making you grin.
“Thanks!”

>”Huh, no problem. I like how you’re used to this kind of stuff. But the reaction is what makes it fun. Meh.” Eris looks up and sees that the void worms are starting to swarm around you guys. “How about we continue our chat somewhere… I don’t know… Excluded from giant flying worms?”
“I thought you said we were invisible!”
>The worms swarm closer and closer, hissing and making gurgling sound. “I could have swore I did. That’s strange. Well, got any ideas? Because I’m fresh out.” She pulls out a box and looks inside, then shows you the empty container. “See? All out!”
>You nervously start looking around your torn apart house. Uhhh. UHHHH. The kitchen?! No, that won’t help. You turn around and look up. WAIT! Your room! It’s in its own pocket dimension! If you can find the door, maybe you and Eris could hide out there until things get sorted out!
“I got it! My room is in its own dimension! All we have to do is find the door. Hmmm…”
>Squinting your eyes, you move around a bit and try to locate the upper floor of the house. Out faaaaaar in the distance, you see two doors floating next to each other. One is your dad’s office, and the other is… THAT’S IT!
“Over there!”
>You point over, causing Eris to turn towards your direction and look to where you’re pointing. “Sheesh, that’s pretty far, and I don’t think our new neighbors are going to let us through. Oh well!” She scoops you up, places you on her back, and bends her knees as if she’s ready to take off. Your eyes widen as you tap her back.

“Wait! Y-You’re not going to fly into them, right?! Shouldn’t we make a plan or something?”
>Eris scoffs. “Pffff! Thinking is for nerds and lame-o’s! Hold onto your hats and purses, because we’re taking off!” You wrap your forelegs around her neck and grip for your dear life as she springs into the air.
>The worms start flying over, opening their mouths to reveal jagged, razor sharp teeth. Their tongues lash out, the shape of it looking like an oversized fleshy mace. Eris zips past them with ease. “Can’t catch me! Whoop! Missed me!” One nearly chomps your mane off, but Eris speeds up just enough to escape.
>”C’mon! You can do better than that, you sorry excuse for a serpent!” THIS LADY IS CRAZY! SHE’S GUNNA GET YOU BOTH KILLED!
“AHHHHHHHHH!”
>Eris stops looking ahead to look back at you. “Glad you’re enjoying the ride, Anon! Care for a bag of peanuts?” She holds out the bag and smiles. “They’re glaaaaazed!”
“YOU’RE CRAZY! Slow down! Pay attention ahead! Find somewhere to land! HELP!”
>The crazy chick pouts at your reaction. “Daaaaw, don’t be a sourpuss! I thought you were cool and could handle a little fun.” Your teeth chatter as you duck to cover from a void worm that passes by. “If you’re gunna survive in a place like this, ya can’t be a baby.” You narrow your eyes.
“What’d you say…?”
>Eris clears her throat and holds out her open paw. ”I saaaaid, ya gatta grow up! Stop being...”
“Don’t…”
>”An…”
“Stooop…”
>”....”
“....”
>”...Infant.”
>You… Are NOT… A baby. Or, uh, an infant! You turn Eris’ head forward and grab onto her horn and antler. You close your eyes for a moment, recalling the little flying stunts Silver Steel showed you.

> You start steering Eris past the colossal beats, turning and twisting in the air. Up ahead, a worm comes straight towards you, opening its mouth, ready to gobble you up. You push down on Eris’ head, causing her to dive bomb and dodge the monster.
>”Whooooa! Hey! Watch the mane!”
>Another one starts to fly above you, sticking out its tongue and swinging it beneath itself. When it swings to the right, you move left, and when it swings to the left, you move right. Eventually, the gross worm swings too far, and hits itself right in the belly.
“YEAH! WOOOO! Did you see that, Eris?!”
>”A huh! See! I knew you weren’t a wimp! Just needed an extra push!” You can’t help but smile widely at the moment. You just made a new friend, and did a sick dive bomb with void worms trying to eat you! But you’re just a lot more excited that you met someone new that wasn’t part of a simulation or anything.
>The way clears up as you go farther and farther away from the monsters, getting closer to your room door. Eris raises her paw up and turns it a bit to face you. “High paw me, bro!” You raise your right hoof and smack it right onto her paw.
“Hey Eris, I’m glad that you’re my friend. You’re my only friend so far.”
>She lowers her paw and looks to the side. Her smile turns into a frown, looking down so you don’t see her. “Really? Your dad doesn’t even let you hang out with foals your age? Not even take you to school?”
“No… He keeps me here all the time. It’s just…”
>Do you even wanna say it? Just thinking about it makes you feel sad, like a weight is being dropped on top of you, making it hard to admit stuff.

“It’s just that I have a problem with… My powers…”
>”Powers? Like magic? You’re not a unicorn.” Eris keeps looking forward as she speaks, looking around for the door. “Huh, coulda swore it was there…”
“I sorta.. Do… Hehe…”
>You twiddle the tip of your hooves together and chuckle nervously.
“I’m a-a spirit of chaos. Like you!”
>Eris pushes out her legs in the air to stop herself mid flight. She stands up with wide eyes, then twists her neck behind herself to look at you. “You’re joking right? Because if you are, I’m not sure how to feel about that one…” You rub the back of your neck.
“Uuuh… No? And the other thing is… Um… They kinda go out of control and stuff…”
>She narrows her eyes, raises an eyebrow, and tilts her head. “How does a colt like you have chaos powers? C’mon, you have to be joking!”
“N-No! I can prove it! Once we find my room, we can-”
>And out of nowhere, a giant four-eyed dodo bird swoops in. You both shout in unison as the bird opens its beak and swallows you both whole.
>”WhooaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAH!”