Voices of Unity: Song of Iron

A light breeze rustling the leaves. Chirps and warbles of nearby songbirds. A nearby waterfall, and even some squirrels chattering. Yes, this was the kind of sound he liked. The kind of background that lent him the desire to sing, and sing out as loud as his lungs would let him!

Davis took in a deep breath, savoring the scents of nature as he sat on the rocking chair. It was the only sitting place in front of the small cottage, after all, but it was comfortable at least, and didn't even squeak whenever he decided to sway it back and forth. The breeze played through his auburn hair and fluttered the loose parts of his Hawaiian style shirt. It lacked the usual colorations, but the comfortable materials was all he really cared about.

There was no one else around, after all, to see him. He'd made certain that, finally, he could get the complete and utter solitude he had been craving for years. So what if he had a golden voice? That didn't mean everyone and their grandmother had to chase him down for it! Even his own friends and family had been pushing him to enter into the big leagues of singers, making the big bucks and bringing fame to the family.

But it had been too much for the young man. Barely 23, even with only having taken some few live concerts, thanks to his lack of spending habits, he was already well to do. Here, out in this little cabin, he was pretty certain he could live off of the interest for the rest of his life. Back in his hometown of Austin, Texas, the culture had nearly drained him of his mental stamina as producer after talent seeker tried to make him sign with their company or get him to perform again and again. It was a miracle he had a voice left after some of them.

Now out here, though, he was free of that, and he'd made certain no one would come after him either. Nobody but an underground...acquaintance knew where he was, and even that man hadn't really known who he was. It was the perfect vanishing act for him. To top it all off, he'd told practically the world over that he wasn't going to come back for at least a year, and not to come looking for him.

It'd already been a couple months as the singer sighed in relaxation, taking in another breath of the refreshing air that surrounded his little cabin. Picking up a glass from the floor next to him, he took a swallow of iced tea, smiling at the taste, as he took in the sights around him once again. Having wet his throat, he broke out into a chuckle that could have charmed the kings of old. Taking a deep breath, he sang out. A wordless 'ah' of notes to let nature know he was there, and happy!

Another chuckle escaped him as he heard the confused chirps of the birds from his melody. Taking another drought of the tea, he leaned forward and rocked himself to his feet, strolling out onto the hiking path that sat by the cabin, leading to the falls he could always hear nearby. Some minutes later, he pushed aside the brush to view his favorite place to relax. The creek fed into a small pool of water at the base of a small set of falls that likely only measured a dozen feet in height. But it was still noisy, and he liked their sounds. Jutting out over the pool was a stone that, by appearance, had been shot out of the earth. It was there that he liked to lay down, under the shade of a nearby tree while he listened to the pitter patter of the falls.

As always, he stood at the tip of the cliff, looking down into the deep pool below. He'd once wondered where the water went, seeing as there was no apparent exit for all the water that fell into the pool, but he assumed there was an underground river flowing from it. He'd never bothered to dive into it, afraid that he might get sick, and being as far as he was, he didn't feel up to dealing with even a simple cold. Shaking his head at his silly thoughts, he went to lay on his back, promptly falling asleep to the lullaby of falling water.

He awoke with a shiver, the sun fading on the horizon as he sat up to view his surroundings. Scratching his head in amusement, Davis realized he'd slept a little longer than usual. Sighing and stretching to work the cramps out of his body, a look of confusion slowly took him over. Something wasn't sitting right with him. Where were the bird songs? The breeze earlier was gone as well. But strangest of all...he couldn't hear the murmur of the waterfall anymore.

Standing and stepping over to the edge of his rock, he frowned as he saw that there was no water flowing anymore. The creek was dry, and so was the pond! As he looked the bed of the pond over, he realized that it still appeared to be wet, or rather, muddy. And deep where the light barely reached, he could see it. A small but dark patch where there seemed to be nothing but blackness, as if the sun couldn't penetrate into the depths of what Davis figured was the entrance to the underground river he'd guessed as the outlet of the water from the falls.

Looking up the creek itself, he wondered what had stopped the water. But as far as he could see along the mostly straight waterway, he saw nothing to be concerned about. Without a drop of hesitation, he started to make his way down to the edge of the pond to get a better look, thinking he might as well take advantage of the situation to see what was under his rock in the pool, maybe even get a closer look at the dark hole while there was still enough sunlight to do so.

That was not to be, however, for as he reached the edge of the empty pool, his every trusty sandals caught on an exposed tree root, and with a light yelp, Davis was thrown by his own momentum into the muddy bowl, landing on his back with a heavy thud, and a 'whoof' as the air from his lungs was forced out from the landing. His head had thankfully met with nothing but squelchy mud, but as he opened his eyes, he noticed that the pond was much deeper than he'd originally thought...and he didn't see a way back up!

Breathing quickly as panic began to take hold, he scrambled to his feet and made for one of the bowl's walls, seeking purchase to pull himself out...but not one was found. The pond bed was a perfect sheer face on all sides, and the mud was too slick to grab. He was trapped. Taking deep breaths to try and calm down, he looked around some more, hoping for something to come to him for escape. Wait...the hole, the one to the underground river!

Reaching into his shorts pocket, he pulled out the small LED flashlight he kept on him...or rather, kept on his keys, and walked over to where he'd seen the dark space from above. Upon reaching it, he shone the light into the darkness...and got nothing in return. His natural light fading fast, Davis leaned over the hole, trying to shine his light upon anything that might clue him in on if it was a good chance, or if he would be spending a night in a muddy hole.

Panic returned, as he realized...he might die here. If the water came back, he might get sucked into this hole and drown. If it didn't, but the mud didn't dry fast enough, he would starve! And no one was around to hear him scream for help either. No...he was alone, and he was in danger.

Starting to breath heavy again, he picked up a chunk of mud and threw it into the hole, and it simply...vanished! He knew that he should have seen it for a short time with his light shining on it, but as soon as it touched the edges of the hole, it was...absorbed! Gone! His panic and hopes pushed by curiosity, he reached forward and pressed a finger into the inky blackness...

Davis sat up with a gasp, his eyes flying open as he pat himself over. He could feel he was all there, intact, unharmed...but what he could see was nothing but an inky blackness, tiny pinpricks of light spread around him in random spots. There were so few, but they were there. He could hear his own breathing, and he could smell something akin to rainwater. The surface under him was strangely soft, almost pillow like, and warm to the touch.

He reached for his little flashlight, but found neither it or...anything in his pockets. For that matter, he couldn't find anything on him but his own skin! He was utterly naked in his plight. New panic set in, and he clutched his head, trying to remember what had happened. He'd touched the inky spot on the bottom of the pond, and then...this. Was he dreaming?

"Oh, I'm afraid you're not dreaming, boy. Of course, I doubt you'd be capable of dreaming up something like me."

The voice came from behind him, and with a jump and a yelp, Davis bound forwards to put some distance between him and the sudden new entity. For when he turned to look, that was the best description he could have possible thought of.

Standing before him was a creature like none he'd ever imagined, made of what seemed to be several creatures all jumbled together. Even its eyes were mismatched, the grin on its face marred by a single fang jutting from its upper lip.

"Oh come now, would you like a spot of tea and potatoes? After all, it might just be your last meal, or maybe your first. I'm not sure how this whole inter dimensional stuff works really. Only reason I'm the doorman is because I loooove just how chaotic it can be. Oh, and where ARE my manners."

The creature pulled a wooden box out of thin air, opening it and pulling out a glob of orange goo.

"Oh, here they are. I'm always misplacing the silly thing."

Davis gulped as he simply stared at the monstrosity before him, his mind feebly grabbing at an explanation for what he was seeing. While he broken thoughts tried to piece themselves together, the orange glob was tossed away.

"Oh, who needs manners anyways. I'm the lord of Entropy after all! Bedlam needs no introduction...though I suppose that was an introduction itself. Now, how about you tell me about yourself, little lost child of humanity. Having to be the Gatekeeper is soooo boring after all, and I can't cause disorder here unless I send you somewhere fitting to cause it!"

Davis shook his head again, deciding this just HAD to be a dream! And if it was a dream...then he'd just play along. After all, he'd just forget it all upon waking anyways. Deep breath...calm and collected...well, calm anyways, and he looked upon the creature again, his mind grasping on the fact it had a lion's head.

"So, you're saying your name is Bedlam?"

"Oh, so you CAN speak. And here I thought I was going to have to pull it out of your head directly. Yes, I am Bedlam, sibling to Discord, Turmoil, and Clutter! Clutter's a bit of an idiot, by the way, just don't tell him that I said that. He's the strongest of us, but not a cell of intelligence. I should know since I took them from him."

"Well, I'm Davis Winter."

He held out his hand in greeting, which the creature took in a wolf's paw and shook vigorously.

"Nice to meet you Davis! I say that sincerely by the way. As I may have mentioned, gets very VERY boring here in the Gates. I'm delighted to say you may not think it was nice of us to meet, and think that very soon...or maybe you WILL. Oh, this is so deLIGHTful. I finally get to sew some disorder in the universe after so long. Now, tell me Davis, what kind of talents do you have?"

"Talents? Oh...well, I can sing?"

"Of course you can, ANYpony can sing, you silly human. The question is can you sing well? Or sing horribly, it really doesn't matter to me."

Davis took a deep breath and sang a single verse from one of the songs he'd covered not too long ago, and the creature's mismatched goat and cat ears perked up, his face breaking into a smile that felt rather warming to Davis.

"As you can hear, I can sing fairly well."

"Oh, indeed you can! I do say, that is quite a fetching voice you have."

His smile seemed to become more...devious as he looked Davis over, who promptly remembered he was naked, and covered himself out of modesty. The creature seemed unfazed as it circled Davis, who had it of mind to wonder where the light that had been upon the creature was coming from, but didn't look away from the now predatory grin. He could hear the clacking of Bedlams footsteps upon the nonexistant ground, alternating between that of the goat leg and that of the crab leg...or, he assumed it was a crab leg.

"Oh, yes, I think I know where to put you, and oh, won't Discord be happy to see my little gift in his playground. Not that I can see how he's doing. Gatekeeper doesn't mean world viewer, after all. But tidbits do make it through on occasion. Like when he made cotton candy clouds that rained chocolate milk! Ooooh...I miss chocolate milk. But I digress. You, my silly simpleton, I am sending to his world. I'm supposed to send you back to your own world, but that would actually kill you seeing as it's now underwater and you'd drown in moments. So, I'll make you a deal. I'll send you to my sibling's world and spare your life, on the condition that you send me some chocolate milk once you're settled in. Deal?"

The other 'hand' was held out this time...a bat claw and wing.

"Well, it's only a dream anyways so, what have I got to lose?"

"That's the spirit m'boy!"

They shook, and the face of Bedlam put itself right in Davis', whom had just realized that the body was that of a leopard.

"Although, I'm sorry to say boy, but this is no dream. Enjoy your new life, my...little...pony."

As the creature released his hand, he felt himself falling...falling away from the monster as it waved with a horrific evil chuckle, the specks of light around him becoming more numerous as they flashed by. He could see himself now, and as he held his hands in front of him, he could feel the pins and needles sensation usually associated with a limb going to sleep cover him over, and to his horror...he began to change.

His hands were first, becoming forced into a fist, and then shaping themselves as grey fur sprouted along his arms, the knuckles hardening like his nails...he screamed then, as between his forming hooves, he saw a planet coming up to meet him, and it was doing so fast! Just before he lost consciousness from the overwhelming situation, one thing managed to break through the strangness, and that was his curiousity...That sun is so small, and so close....

"Waaaait wait wait a minute!"

Davis found himself suddenly stopped, oddly to the sound of a braking car, time around him having been given the middle...claw by Bedlam as he appeared next to the mid transformation Davis, who felt like he should have already passed out, but was being kept awake somehow. No, wait...this wasn't Bedlam! This ones parts were completely different...or maybe it was him?

"Oh, ponies are so...common! Bedlam, why'd you start him as a pony! For landsakes, at least be a little more chaotic when you send me a plaything! Oh...never mind, you misplaced your manners again I'm betting." He was talking back towards the direction Davis had been coming from, and he sounded rather similar to Bedlam, but had a more interesting voice at the same time.

"Now now...let's see, oh yes, I think THIS will do nicely." It tapped Davis' head with a lion's claw, and with the sound of an old record regaining speed, Davis found himself passing out once again, his changing hands now looking more like bird claws...