My Little Pony Q: Tales From The Theatre
Chapter 8 - Popcorn
Previous ChapterApparently not even Pinkie could use the Velvet Room, truly proving that it's exclusive to Wild Cards and general magic users. But she didn't mind, for she's actually on a mission to find out just where that music is coming from and who's playing it. Asking Elizabeth did provide a clue though, the velvet attendant just saying that Nameless and Belladonna plays it. When asked who they are and where they are, she stayed silent with a playful grin, most likely withholding information on purpose. Something that Pinkie wouldn't be satisfied with, so she put on a detective's hat and pipe, blowing bubbles into it as she went outside the Velvet Room to press anyone who seems like they'd know. Makoto was the obvious first choice since he uses the Velvet Room the most and Elizabeth has been knowing him for what feels like almost a year.
His discussion with Fluttershy was still going on, and it only intensified when Rarity decided to join them. All three of them sharing how their worlds are alike and different, then that topic changed to the adventures they've had in their respective worlds when Tartarus was brought up. Fluttershy being immediately appalled at the fact that Makoto's team goes to Tartarus to exterminate shadows, but after some explanations she seemed fine with it. Not for or against it, wondering if it's possible to reach a middle-ground with the shadows, or if a bear-y nice shadow exists. She'd have to find out if they can be communicated with the next time they're encountered, since due to her experience with Angel Bunny and to a lesser extent, Discord, she's rightfully confident in dealing with things commonly seen as evil.
Just when they were going to bring up their less exciting day-to-day adventures, which is essentially hanging out with friends and that one person you don't get along with but they're in the group anyway since other's enjoy them for some reason. Pinkie bounced in a literal sense, it'd be weird if she didn't. This got the attention of the three, though at the moment she's only interested in Makoto. "Say, do you know anything about Nameless and Belladonna? All I got to go off of is that they play the song in the Velvet Room, but I can't find them anywhere. It's like they're.. i n v i s i b l e."
"I've only heard of them twice, both of which just mentioned off-handedly outside the Velvet Room. Sounds like you should find someone else to ask. Though I don't know who else would be connected to that place.." Said Makoto, Pinkie taking it as more empty words she wouldn't be satisfied with, purely more fuel for her pipe, and the amount of bubbles being blown somehow proved she did it in a literal sense. Then she trotted off to the concession stand, leaving Rarity to continue their discussion with a new topic, particularly how Pinkie is vaguely reminding them of how she acts around a certain somepony named Star Dancer.
Rainbow was enjoying a carrot dog with far too many toppings, the sheer amount causing Theo to fear for the cleanliness of the carpet, though those fears were soon relieved seeing as she ate it quick enough to be true to her name. The pegasus then requested another, scarfing it down at a pace that's somehow faster than last time. Not a good idea when Pinkie's in the area, especially when she just popped up besides Theo, startling the two and getting the pegasus to choke on her food. Gagging in a feeble attempt to get a problematic onion piece out of her throat, Theodore was there to slap her on the back and get it out of the mare's throat. "Oh. . hey Pinkie, I didn't expect you here. The carrot dogs are great, though not food cart quality. I'm not sure why but apparently the more illegal it is, the better it tastes. For some reason that applies to inter-dimensional carrot dogs to some extent, you interested?"
"Carrot dogs?! I'd love to!" Pinkie said excitedly, a bit hungry herself to the displeasure of Theodore who had to endure the creation of one with frosting as it's topping. Thankfully this one was eaten in one fell swoop, it might as well have been inhaled, seems like being a pink bundle of chaos gives you that ability. "Oh yeah, Theo! Second in command of The Blue Brigade also known as Velvet Navy! You know anything about a Nameless and Belladonna? Elizabeth is being weird about them and Makoto doesn't know about them, so I'm asking you!"
"The pianist and the singer who cover their eyes and ears while performing, they're fellow denizens of the Velvet Room who provide the music. A track that's designed to sooth the very soul, though when the Velvet Room took the shape of the elevator, they've begun to.. reside in different areas that most wouldn't see at first glance." Theo went on while restocking the hot dog rolling machine with mostly carrots with some hot dogs sprinkled in.
"So what you're saying is that this isn't your average everyday hide-and-seek.." Taking her hat and pipe off and stuffing it back into the hammerspace known as her mane, she was ready to begin a search starting at the Velvet Room. "This is advanced hide-and-seek!" And she was off to the Velvet Room in search of the attendants that have been lost to time, only stopping in her tracks when she heard the voice of the loudspeaker begin to speak, oddly enough it has a deep male monotone voice.
"We have an announcement for our customers, A new movie will begin showing in theatre 2 momentarily. I repeat.."
Since everyone has an idea of how things go around here, they all made their way to the second theatre, and just like Fillyglow this one also has a large amount of promotional material in-front of its door. This one's theme being dinosaurs, something that caught everyone's interest, especially Spike and Fluttershy who were more than interested in seeing actual dinosaurs live and how they differentiated themselves from dragons. Stepping inside after messing with the cardboard cut-outs for a bit, they all made their way to the seats closest to the screen, some surprised to find Cap and Pikman already there, Cap covering her ears with her eyes fiercely shut while Pikman was there to comfort her by setting a wing over her, even if just being there is enough.
"Hey you two, what.. happened here?" Rainbow asked, her voice getting the filly to take her hooves off her ears and open her eyes, yet Pikman was the one to respond.
"I'm not entirely sure, she just got like this when the speaker came up." Spoke the younger pegasus, Rainbow not entirely sure why and just being sure to sit next to the two, the rest following by taking their own seats. Ponies in the front and bipeds in the row behind them.
"So you know that masked blob?" Asked Rainbow before being shushed by Pinkie when the curtains began to rise and the screen lit up, that same countdown from when everyone arrived showing up on the screen until it hit zero, cutting out and revealing an island inhabited only by animals.
"On a remote island in the distant sea.." The trailer started, showcasing shots of various plants and trees that don't grow anywhere near Ponyville nor Tatsumi Port Island, even tracks that vaguely resemble most dragons which stopped at an entrance way to another area of the rainforest, the object clearly looking out of place with it's metallic look and caution sign, yet fitting in due to the claw marks and how it looks so worn down the lights on it ceased to function. "There exists a theme park of living dinosaurs, revived through genetic manipulation." The booming stomp of a dinosaur could be heard all throughout the theatre thanks to it's speakers, a shot of it's eye being clear despite various leaves obscuring the rest of it's face, for some reason the unknown dinosaur had makeup on.
"When the humans left, the island became a natural habitat for the once-lost creatures." Similarly to the last dinosaur shown on-screen, a running herd of what loosely resembled velociraptors had hair. Well-kept straight hair at that which flowed almost too naturally as they ran from whatever predator could be after them. Perhaps the hoard of pterodactyl flying high above them? Their eyeliner making them look like they were born in the uncanny valley. "It was a land ruled by the carnivores, where the law of the jungle prevailed!" Taking the focus away from the herd of velociraptors, a shot of what may be a T-rex was shown giving a ferocious roar. "Meanwhile, the herbivores struggled to survive in this harsh world." Then the larger dino began chase after the herd, a battle of legwork that the smaller group had a feeling they wouldn't win as they felt the shaking of the earth hit harder with each step. "Desperate and powerless, they formed herds as they struggled to escape the carnivores.." Somehow finding something inside themselves to sprint even faster, they came across a bridge that's too narrow for the predator to even step on without having it break. So it roared and stomped off in annoyance as the prey made their way across the bridge. It was going well, but no matter the species of dinosaur, they weigh far too much for something made with humans in mind. They even found out themselves when the bridge snapped in half when the last member of the herd almost made it across, thankfully it hung on the edge of the cliff where the bridge once stood, rickety but proud.

"At this time, an evil rises from within the ranks: one that can't take a hint and fall in line! No one agrees with her, yet she continues to oppose the herd with their opinions! Numbers don't lie! The majority rules!" This time a scene centered on dinosaur with brown hair, a stark contrast to the rest of the herd with black hair. Each scene with her had her talking to the rest, in one shot she was up-beat, and the other the girl was worried. Yet the rest of the herd only had fear in their eyes as they walked off forward leaving her behind at such a distance no one can tell they're associated. Yet she followed anyway, running to the front of the herd in an attempt to stop them with tears in her eyes. But she was already cast out from the herd, so no matter what she said would get through to them. "A useless opinion voiced by a lone dissenter is nothing but a nuisance! Will the righteous majority ever be able to silence the evil minority and finally be able to find peace and tranquility within the 'paradise' of ancient legend!? The greatest, most massive dinosaur movie ever brought to screen: Jurassic Tale! Now Showing!"
"Great, another movie that left a bad taste in my mouth and that's just the trailer!" Pinkie was quick to say, clearly disgusted until she took a sip out of a half-full cup of lemonade that was left behind from when just those who stay at the theatre were watching Fillyglow. "Ick, it has a lingering aftertaste too.."
"Yeah, we've only seen a few bits and pieces of this and it already feels similar to Fillyglow - like it's making me feel kind of empty inside." Twilight followed up, her mind also wandering to whether or not she can have a bit of Pinkie's lemonade.
"I can't believe you two were trapped here with stuff like this to keep you entertained, good thing we're here to fix that!" Rainbow enthusiastically said to the filly and colt, this getting a smile out of the two, a cheer from Pikman calling the mare 'Great and Powerful' getting her to take to the sky once more and soak up the glory and admiration like a sponge. "Heh, I feel like me and you are going to get along well, kid!" Playfully messing with the top of his head ensued, something that got a playful giggle out of the two of them.
Meanwhile Twilight made her way to Cap with a question that's been eating at her since the trailer started, "Considering how you went into the last movie and even had a word of advice for it, do you have anything for this film that can help?"
"Well if my memory serves correct, there should be another group trapped in the movie. As for who exactly, I'm unsure. Just that they're shaped like friends, if that makes any sense.." Cap responded, sounding unsure of herself but Twilight was satisfied with the newfound knowledge of the film.
As for Fluttershy, she couldn't help but think about the trailer, not of what it was about, but the dinosaurs that it starred, "Hm... Hmmm..."
Being the one to sit right behind her, Spike decided to ask about whatever the pegasus has in mind with a simple, "What's up?"
"Oh - well, it's not that big a deal. But aren't dinosaur movies more like - BLAAAAM! Or, something like that..." Even to her closest friends, Fluttershy's quiet nature being juxtaposed by a heart-felt yell was still surprising to see. Especially paired with the use of wings to mimic the claws of various dinosaurs.
"Yeah, yeah! And they're all like, GRAAAAAAAARH! And KA-BOOOOM!!! Right?" Spike went on, having fun with his own impressions of how dinosaurs sound.
"They're also like ROOOOOAAAAAAR!" A Makoto that was sitting besides Spike and behind where Twilight was gave a ferocious roar of his own, the blank look on his face getting a chuckle out of everyone who turned to look at him, their laughter getting a smile of his own to form across his face.
"Ooh, yeah! And then it's all like, BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!" At this point they were making loud noises that were further and further off from what a dinosaur would sound like with each sound, but that didn't matter when the three of them were having fun. Especially Fluttershy, who normally can't make loud noises since there's always someone around, whether it be an animal or somepony, it's nice to just make wacky sounds.
"While I won't comment on the explanation you three gave, I do get the meaning." Rarity broke the chain of various sounds by getting back to a semi-coherent discussion, but alas Discord rubbed off on them all too much, so that may be something that's only achievable in dreams.
"There was a meaning?" Makoto asked with that same goofy grin only having grown, yet behind it he knew what the unicorn was referring to. A stark contrast to Fluttershy pretending to know what Rarity is talking about but having no idea, seems she was that invested in dinosaurs.
"Yes, darling, do pay attention. A dinosaur that wants to save her companion, but can't speak up because of the majority opinion. This is supposed to be a dinosaur movie, but it's too realistic - as if we're watching the painful difficulties of pony life!" True to Rarity fashion, she couldn't help but insert a flair of drama at the end. Even if everypony is used to it, good thing Elizabeth isn't one so she could freely gasp.
"Rarity.. I think you're reading too deep into it. It's just a dinosaur movie, not every film here is deep. Honestly none of these are, they're just simple films set to keep simple children entertained. There's not much more to it." Cap was quick to respond, doing her best not to be obvious on how she isn't one for what Rarity's going on about. Though that was a failed attempt, since Rarity got to making a double gasp and immediately speaking in retaliation.
"Honestly what we've seen has been quite the opposite, unless you weren't paying attention. Films of how anyone disrupting the peace is evil and everyone constantly worries how others feel and think, I'm just wondering why they're like this. Alas, we won't get our answers here." Rarity certainly looked content with herself. Cap, however, was ready to yell objection and speak more on how she felt, but decided to hold her tongue, not believing it to be worth it with something as small as this. So she stayed quiet while the other's spoke, various what-ifs clouding her mind.
"We even got a key so we really don't have any other choice, you all ready?" Asked Twilight, various forms of yes being heard throughout those who went in, accompanied by those getting out of their seats and making their way to the big screen. Pinkie being the last, grumbling something about postponed hide-and-seek and the forgotten velvet attendants.
"Oh, are you after Nameless and Belladonna?" Asked Cap who overheard enough to really gauge her interest.
"Yeah! Do you know anything about them?"
"Just the fact that the two of them as well as Demon Painter don't exist. But what will exist is a wonderful performance!"
"Hah, I'll have to see for myself! Not the movie though, I can only see myself through so many layers and walls that it becomes a real doozy. Bye-bye for now!" Then Pinkie was off bouncing into the movie, immediately tripping on an inconveniently placed piece of paper. Twilight was the next to go in, helping Pinkie up and taking the paper for herself, wondering what that's doing here, it will make a good map though. The rest went in without trouble, though there was immediate trouble inside. Not dinosaurs or venus ponytraps, but Rarity really and truly not being one for the rainforest.
"Let's just get this over with as fast as possible, the heat is already getting my mascara to run and I only brought so much with me!"
"Why don't next time we go back to the theatre, we just leave ya there?" Deadpanned Applejack, already familiarizing herself with the area while Twilight was drawing a new map on the next sheet of dirty paper, quickly finding another drawing on the back. A clear sign that Cap was here too.
Author's Note
Welcome to another edition of: I can't spell certain words so I add in substitutes that dampen the experience! ![]()
