Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game! Book 2

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Book 2

Chapter Thirteen

They didn’t have a century. They didn’t have more than likely a few months before Sombra was able to break free from the pod that Chrysalis had him trapped inside of. It wasn’t something that he had the luxury of simply waiting for. If the magical fluid could potentially help keep Grogar contained, then surely there was a way to speed up the testing. His mind stopped at that suggestion. If he was to give the command exactly how would Hilda speed up the testing?

She’d likely remove part of her programming that kept a more moral compass, and in doing so she would be able to freely test on anyone and everyone until she had achieved her goals. There was no guarantee that any of it would even work. Hilda stated that it had the power to keep Grogar contained, but she hadn’t said that it actually could be used yet. That meant that she had to find a way of processing it. Another thought came to his mind. The fluid. The whole reason for Grogar’s bell was to keep Sombra trapped, but could the fluid do the same thing?

“Hilda, question?” he said as he looked at the fluid, “Could this fluid be used to help contain an enemy? The enemy in question is a lich, a necromancer that had let go of his humanity, and has transformed himself into an undead. In doing so he has given himself ample time to study, grow powerful, and learn how to achieve a goal of bringing the entire world under his control. Can this be used to contain him without any problems?”

Hilda looked toward him and blinked, “I’m afraid without more information I can only speculate, and even then the answer has a wide margin for the potential of error. From what you’ve stated this enemy has became an undead, meaning that they are no longer governed by the natural laws that govern all of life. If this is the case then it is uncertain that any former tests done could give me an accurate conclusion,” she said, her voice very frank, “However, in theory if the power of the fluid that has been harvested and processed from Project Chimera was to be used as containment I believe that it could potentially hold him, and potentially hold him for an indefinite length of time.”

She seemed to mull the words she said over for a moment, “However, I would be remiss if I did not warn you that this also has the potential for going completely wrong at any moment. Thus, I would ensure that the containment designed to hold this undead was designed in such a way that it would be able to adapt and grow with the power that was being used for it. A biological trap would be more effective than a simple mechanical one.”

He knew what she was getting at. While the tubes themselves were mechanical there was likely no way for them to accurately adapt when it came down to it. They weren’t really designed to adapt and change. They were designed to simply hold the fluid and restrict its ability to spread. Asking anything else of them would be impossible. Which meant that the pods that Chrysalis had placed Sombra in were the best choice after all. It was something that could potentially hold him forever, and something that she was certain would do at least a passable job of containment.

Once again using Chrysalis had been the right choice. He had been certain of that, and now that he saw how things were lining up he could understand why it had been. There was still the fact that they had little to no real knowledge of how the fluid would work. It wasn’t insane to wonder what the next step would be. Ultimately he had two choices, and he knew that they weren’t great ones. The first choice was to remove Grogar’s bell, and they would have to deal with the demon lord. With any luck he would be weakened, and maybe, just maybe they could defeat him and ensure his demise or at least further incarceration.

The second choice was to go ahead and use the fluid. While it presented a whole new slew of problems one of them wasn’t dealing with Grogar. They could, in theory at least, contain Sombra, and they would never need to worry about his escape. The worry about what this could do to Chrysalis was another thing altogether. Ultimately, he knew that there wasn’t that much of a choice. He didn’t want to release Grogar, not if he could help it, and dealing with the fluid, while dangerous, seemed to be the better option.

“I don’t think that we have a whole lot of choice here,” he said as he looked at Diamond Tiara and Monika, “I know that we came after Grogar’s bell, but I don’t think that releasing him is the right idea. Like it or not we might have to go with the second option here. The problem is that we don’t really know anything about this fluid, and we have no idea of what it can do, or what it will do. I really wish that we had some way of learning about it quickly. Something that could tell us more about the abilities, and how to be properly cautious.”

“Learning?” a disembodied voice asked from all around them, “Ha, oh, how I missed hearing that. You know, that sounds so much like a certain little bookworm that I know from an alternate universe. She practically lived to learn. She wanted to learn everything, know everything, and discover everything. It was actually pretty endearing. The problem was that she found out, in various universes, that learning for the sake of learning had its own issues.”

He looked for the owner of the voice, “Who are you?” he asked, his eyes darting around, and he looked to see Diamond Tiara, Monika, and Hilda all doing the same, “Where are you?”

“Ah, I do forget that you mortals don’t have the ability to see past the current dimension that you’re currently in. It’s very limiting. For me it’s just another day, but for all of you it’s something else entirely. My name is Discord, and I am the very embodiment of chaos and madness itself. I’m certainly pleased to meet you, Copper Plum Bit, or should I call you by the name you used in your previous life?”

Copper paused, his eyes growing wide, “Wait, what?”

The laugh the filled the air was chilling, and it was something that made him feel as if the entire world was going to be set into a spinning bit of complete and total madness, “Mr. Bit, I am Discord. I am connected throughout the multiverse to every other version of myself. There are some versions of myself where I was captured, much like I am here, and I was milked, for lack of a better term, for my essence which was used to create super soldiers for a group of colorful equines. There is multiverses where I have become good friends with one of those equines and I tolerated the others, and of course there are universes where I have simply ruled over all that I see. To be honest, being connected to the multiple versions of mes is the one thing that has kept me from slipping completely into boredom.”

For a moment there was nothing, and then a moment later a form appeared between all of them. The form itself was standing proudly, it looked like the figure in the container, but it was transparent, almost as if it wasn’t even there, “Ah, I’ll just use my astral form to speak to you.”

“This is impossible,” Hilda said as she moved toward him, “You are currently sedated inside of your containment unit. You should not be able to think, let alone speak.”

The astral form looked toward her, “Yet, here I am, breaking what you understand of the natural order. Rather chaotic isn’t it?” he asked, causing her to blink in confusion, “I do understand your limitations. After all, you were designed to think logically. Your entire existence is to see the problem, analyze it, and figure out the best way to proceed. It leads to a very boring existence. But, then I can understand the reason for it. You weren’t given a choice. You were simply made. One moment you were nothing, and then the next moment you existed. Granted, your very existence was planned, mapped, and designed, but in all of that order, in all of that logic, it took chaos to bring you to life. After all, what’s more chaotic than creating a machine that can think, reason, and grow? Humans, such wonderfully diverse and chaotic beings. I do enjoy working with all of you more than the equines. For every logical step you make there are at least four chaotic ones. It is a feast that I never see ending.”

Copper moved toward him, “What’s to stop you from simply destroying the entire world?” he asked, his voice reasonably cautious, “I mean, seriously, what would stop you from killing every single being that lives upon this planet?”

He laughed, “Boy, I am older than the old humans. I predate this very planet itself. I’d say that Grogar and myself are probably the two oldest beings here. Well, there is Bill in the other room, but I don’t count him. He’s not really even part of this reality. He just popped over to brag, and the old humans used some of Grogar’s power to trap him. His own fault really,” he said, his words seeming to go into a short tirade, “Not that it matters. Still, As I said I’ve been in multiple realities, and I understand something very, very clearly. There is honestly nothing quite as boring as a corpse. No, I won’t kill the world, I won’t enslave it either. I just want to watch you humans do what you always do. Be your normal chaotic selves.”

“That makes no sense,” Hilda said, her voice stern, “All evidence gathered indicated that you will be a danger to the very natural order. That releasing you will result in complete and total anarchy, and it will result in the world being completely destroyed. Estimated loss of life, on both sides, would be astronomical. Releasing you is not an option. It is not something that we can simply allow, you are too dangerous to even consider being released. You need to remain imprisoned for all time due to your very nature.”

“And that is the exact response that I would expect from a being that is completely ruled by logic,” he said before turning to Copper, “But you, you are a being of chaos, regardless if you like it or not. It honestly is just part of who and what you are. To deny that is to deny your very reason for being. I have no doubt that in the end you’ll do what serves your interest the best, and you’ll do it with very little discussion. Which means that this evening, I will be free.”

Copper already didn’t like being called out like that, but he had to admit that Discord was right about something. He was going to do whatever it took to protect those he cared for. He wasn’t sure that he could trust the lord of Chaos, but then it wasn’t like he could release Grogar either. There was no clear answer, and he got that. It bothered him, but then there was little that out of his control that didn’t bother him. Still, he didn’t like the fact that Discord was calling what was going to happen. It was almost like he was planning on Copper’s very nature to make the decision for him.

That was the point though. It was his nature. Discord was right about something else. Humans, all humans, were chaotic by nature. His life was an example of the chaotic mess that the universe tended to present itself as. He wanted a quiet life. He was going to be happy being someone that simply remained in the background, but that failed. He was now an Earl. It wasn’t even a wait until he had completely graduated. He was an Earl. He didn’t like it, and he certainly didn’t like the aspect of having to deal with it.

“You cannot be considering the idea of releasing Project Chimera,” Hilda said, her voice still firm, “Doing so will result in the destruction of everything. Every single simulation that has been ran concludes the absolute same. Project Chimera will assume control of the world, after which Project Chimera will slowly destroy the world in order to drive chaos. It will result in nothing remaining, and the world becoming a husk. It would end everything.”

The astral projection rolled its eyes, “Again, nothing is more boring than a corpse,” he replied as he looked toward them, “You can believe the toaster over here, or you can take the chance that I know you humans are so fond of. I swear, that if you do then you, Earl Bit isn’t it, will have saved the lives of millions of potential subjects. Millions to adore you, to look up to you, and to see you as someone far greater than you currently are. Or you could attempt to take the bell, deal with Grogar, and lose. Believe me, you will lose. Grogar can’t simply be killed, and the only thing strong enough to trap Grogar is his own power. Well, actually not to toot my own horn, but my magic could do it. Not that I have a reason to hold him prisoner here.”

Copper smiled, “Sure you do,” he said as he looked at the astral form, “Nothing is more boring than a corpse, right?” he asked as he neared him, “I mean, seriously, there’s simply nothing more boring than watching things decay. I bet that if the world ended, and I imagine that Grogar would end it, that you’d have absolutely nothing to do. So, ultimately, protecting the world by keeping Grogar trapped is going to continue the chaos that you so enjoy.”

The astral form looked at him, “Well, look at you, playing up to my nature. Touche,” he replied, “Very well, I’ll make you a deal. If you choose to get Grogar’s bell, instead of enlisting my help, I’ll keep him trapped, not forever mind you, but long enough for you to figure out that using his bell is a mistake.”

That caught his attention. He didn’t like the idea of something biting him in the ass, and if it was a mistake he wanted to know why, “Why would it be a mistake?”

There was a small laugh, “Oh, I do forget how near sighted you mortals are when it comes to the various paths that present themselves. All you can really see is the immediate future. None of you can see past that. It’s sad, honestly, truly, perfectly, and tragically sad. It means that none of you have the foresight to think about the things that will come in the far future. I’d laugh, but it’s a little too depressing to be honest.”

He looked at the Astral form, “Okay, so, again, why would it be a mistake?”

The astral form moved toward him, “Did you even stop to ask what happens with Grogar’s power?” he asked his voice sounding both mocking and sincere at the same time, “I mean, honestly, did you stop and say something along the lines, hey. You know this power that you want me to get and bring back to trap this powerful lich. Yeah, is there anything about getting it that could be dangerous in the future?” he said, his voice a perfect imitation of Copper’s, “Or did you simply just decide to do it because you saw the immediate answer to your problems?”

Copper didn’t want to admit that he was right, but he was right. There was no way around that. He was completely right. He closed his eyes, “Why should I have asked that?”

Discord laughed, “Because my dear boy, Power changes things. Power that is good by its very nature can change things for the better, but evil power? Oh, that makes bad things worse. Sure, it’ll keep the lich trapped, but just think, a powerful lich, trapped by an ancient power, with nothing but time to feel that power around him. I can promise you that he’ll change himself. He’ll begin drawing that power into himself, and there’s ways of leaving confinement even if a body doesn’t. After all, I have, right?”

The realization hit Copper with the force of a ten ton truck. He’d been so focused on the idea of keeping Sombra contained, imprisoned, that he hadn’t even considered that the lich could potentially learn to use the magic containing him to his advantage. If Discord could learn to astral project then Sombra could do the same. There wasn’t a guarantee that he could fully interact with the world in such a state, but then he didn’t have to. All he had to do was find the one specific person that would be weak willed enough to follow his orders.

There wasn’t a shortage of those kinds of people, and he knew it. Those kinds of people were in abundance, and he couldn’t deny that eventually one of them would most likely come into contact with Sombra. The promise of power, of wealth, of an endless supply of women, or men, or whatever else it could possibly be that the person wanted. In truth he didn’t doubt for a second that Sombra would likely keep his word. After all he could remember from the game that Sombra was renown for keeping his word. If he promised to destroy something then he did all he could to do it.

Giving a reward would likely be the same, but he had little doubts that it would be the most twisted version of the reward that the person would receive. The wealth would likely be rendered useless, the men and women would likely be dead, lands would be barren and devoid of life, and a thousand other examples all flowed through his head. No matter how he viewed it Sombra would manage to get his way, and at the same time he’d screw over the accomplice that helped him. That was his M.O.

“Okay, so using the bell is a bad idea, and I get it, I was trying to get to an answer as quickly as possible,” he said as he looked at Discord, “What makes your magic any better? I mean really, what makes it any better than the bell? You just stated that energy affects the things it comes into contact with. If Grogar’s power is evil, it would effect Sombra in a way that would make him worse. I can’t see your magic doing any better.”

“Exactly,” Hilda stated as she stepped forward, “Going with the possibility that you are correct, and that the power of Grogar would change the captive for the worse then it only stands to reason that your power would do the same. That exposure to it would cause more problems. Does that not make sense to you? Even your chaotic nature cannot deny that it would likely change the lich for the worse.”

The astral project rubbed his chin, and turned, making the he appear to be a she, “I suppose that you both have a point. The truth is that my power likely would change him, to some degree, but I cannot say for certain that it would be positive or negative. After all, as a being of chaos I am literally all possibilities at all times,” Discord said with a gesture, “Even now I am able to present myself as either sex. The reason is because in the various expanses of the multiverse I exist as both. Which of course means that I can alter myself at a given moment. I am neither, and yet I am both. Even more than that I am everything in between.”

He turned again, taking a male form, “Which means that I am both good and evil. So, perhaps I could change him for the better, for the worse, or just keep him neutral. That’s the wonderfully chaotic rub to it, and to be completely honest, I’m your best choice,” Discord said before motioning in two directions, “If you take Bill’s offer that he made you then yes, you’ll succeed in keeping Sombra trapped. In truth, you’ll likely trap him inside of a bubble of pure madness. It would be no less than he deserves, but he would be trapped there for all eternity.”

He then looked in the other direction, “If you take the Bell from Grogar, and I keep Grogar contained, which I would, because you made a very valid point about how boring things would be if he escaped, then you will give Sombra more power to use against all of you. Either way you go it’s a bad deal. There’s no good answer here with those choices. With me, well, you’ve got a real chance that he’ll either be changed to a force for good, maybe, or that nothing will happen, and he’ll just remained trapped forever.”

“Or he’ll become worse, just like with Grogar’s Bell, right?” Copper asked, as he studied Discord, “I mean that’s a real possibility isn’t it?”

Discord rolled his eyes, “Of course it is, and yes, I applaud that you’re considering all of the angles. It’s very enlightened of you. Even if you’re only doing it with the immediate future in mind. It’s still a step in the right direction, and it gives me hope that humanity, all of humanity, will eventually be ready to sit at the big kid’s table before long.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Monika asked as she stepped closer, “What big kids table?”

He turned toward her, “Oh, my little Yandere, I’m sure that you have more of an idea than the toaster over here, or your boyfriend there. After all, you were able to completely change the world you were in originally, weren’t you? You were able to delete so much of it that the only things that existed were you, a classroom, two desks, and nothing but time. Just think about that. Now imagine beings with the same power, that aren’t seen, that can’t be seen, that exist out there scripting our interactions.”

Discord laughed, “I mean even now it’s likely that there’s one of these beings that is literally putting words into my mouth. I suppose that I could borrow words from another neigh invincible being, We’re all puppets, I just happen to be a puppet that can see his strings.” Discord said before shaking his head, “Or it could be that we’re just merely here, and we’re doing something that’s being done on countless realms of existence. However you slice it I am certain that you know exactly what I meant.”

Monika looked worried, “I… Ummm… Darling?” she said, her voice sounded worried, “He’s not completely right, is he?”

Copper looked at her, “No, we’re the masters of our own fate. I believe that, and I believe that whatever the challenge that is ahead we can face it.”

Discord laughed, “Ah, I do love your bravado, you do remind me of another equine, always running into danger, always willing to put herself into dangerous situations for her friends, and bullheaded. Her one true saving grace was that she was a friend to the one that was my friend,” Discord said with a smile, “If it will make you feel better I’ll make a binding contract with you. Even I have to obey my word that is given. Write out a contract, make it as iron clad as you dare, and I promise that I’ll abide by it.”

Copper felt like he’d just been given something harder than labyrinth diving to do.