FoME Thinks Too Much: All of These Ponies are Crazy · 7:46pm Feb 15th, 2020
If you've read Time Enough for Friendship, you've seen a timeline where Discord got paroled from petrification before the changeling invasion and, when Fluttershy asked him to help, shared his power with her to help her see the beauty of the chaos, creating the draconequus Serendipity.
So what would the other Mane 6 be?
Serendipity does work well as Fluttershy's take on chaos, after all: The happy accident. The unexpected turn for the better. The random act of kindness spiraling up and out into a vast, virtuous cycle, like an entire flourishing ecosystem of positivity evolving from one self-perpetuating molecular machine. Just look at the gambles she took on the manticore, Discord, Caballeron... No one would expect those outcomes.
So let's look at the others. (And if you're wondering why we haven't already started, I wanted to be able to fit both the introduction and premise of the blog above the fold. 
)
Applejack: And we immediately come to one of the harder nuts to crack. Applejack is all about tradition, regularity, dependability, and other sorts of unchaotic behavior. But the thing is, she can obsess about that sort of thing to the point of Twilighting. Consider her efforts to micromanage in "Apple Family Reunion." The ever-growing unnecessary rituals of "Applejack's 'Day' Off." The doubling down on unhelpful criticism in "Honest Apple." The problem with honesty is that it isn't guaranteed to be truth, just what the speaker believes to be true. And Applejack does not have easily shifted beliefs.
A draconequine Applejack would be Irrationality, and she'd probably be pony shaped (mostly,) insisting that everything was fine even as everything became ever more flagrantly not fine.
Pinkie Pie: And so we go from hardest to easiest. Pinkie's become a chaos avatar, after all. Twice if you count the comics. And in both cases, sure, she goes a little mad with power, but she's still Pinkie Pie, the wacky, random, fun-time mare. And even at her usual power level, party pony powers aren't terribly distinct from chaos magic. The key difference between her and Discord is a greater importance placed on the happiness of others... usually. Pinkie does have her off days.
In short, Pinkie would be Spontaneity. There'd be a little of all her friends in there, donkey, hippogriff, alligator, and so forth. And it would all be dedicated to making creatures smile in the most unexpected ways. Given the glimpses we've seen of canon Spontaneity, this is not necessarily a good thing.
Rainbow Dash: It's not accurate to say that Dash's law-chaos balance depends on which way the wind is blowing, because the relationship actually went the other way before she became a full-time Wonderbolt. That said, she's definitely... well, flighty. But the most chaotic thing about her is her tendency to disrupt. Whether through unexpected appearances, unexpected absences, or just doing what she feels is best rather than actually stopping to think (because that involves stopping,) Dash has a habit of making things harder on other creatures... and she doesn't really see anything wrong with that. That's training, after all. Toughing out the challenge to build yourself up better than before. She does it all the time; why shouldn't she help everyone else the same way?
As such, draconequine Dash would be Adversity, in the sense of "triumph over." Sure, she'd turn the world into a (hopefully) nonlethal, prank-based version of I Wanna Be The Guy, but just imagine how much more awesome it would make everyone! To say nothing of how many other speedy bits she could attach to herself. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a jet engine in there somewhere.
Rarity: Ah, Rarity, the organizer of chaos. Because that's how creativity works. You can't schedule it. You can't induce it. And as Sassy Saddles eventually learned, you certainly can't mass produce it. You have to court it as best you can,. Learn its habits, work with and around it, and coax it into cooperation. And even then, there's no guarantee.
Fickle muse that she is, draconequine Rarity would be Inspiration, that sublime, unpredictable moment where something incredible crystallizes out of the madness. The world would be beautiful... if in constant flux as new ideas came to mind. And while bilateral symmetry is generally gauche in a draconequus, if anyone can make it work, it's her. (And you didn't expect a bunch of chaos avatars to all end in -ity, did you? Certainly not the one who started that way.)
Twilight Sparkle: Ah, Twilight. Forget the neuroses and the obsession; they're just a sideshow. For all of her efforts to bring order and harmony to all corners of the world, no other character on the show has experienced or caused as much long-lasting upheaval as she. She's changed species, grown limbs, lost homes, shrunk the planet, toppled regimes, broken out of Tartarus, irrevocably altered countless lives, and ends up remaking the world according to her vision more thoroughly than Discord... probably.
As a draconequus, Twilight would be Change, pure and simple. She is the force that ensures tomorrow will not be yesterday, and the day after that may as well be on the other side of the singularity. Her appearance would likely adapt itself to best face each new dawn.
And yes, I am basically saying that the series ends with Princess Tzeentch on the throne. Just as planned.
*mind blows as I realize you're right*
Wow. She certainly HAS been through a lot.
I imagine draconequus Rarity would have something to do with fractals. Fabulous fractal patterns of ever-increasing stylishness spiraling inwards and outwards in a fashionable explosion of complexity!
Edit: How Did I managed to accidentally edit this instead of posting a reply?
Anyways the jist of my original post:
Just as planned.
I definitely think A.J. hits irrational on the head. I think Applejack would definitely retain pony form due to her hanging onto traditions, habits, physical forms, even if there is something better or more economical out there.
The CMC, of course, already were a collective chaos spirit.
5203929
She'd look perfectly normal (probably to a slightly creepy extent), right up until she got mad, at which point the tentacles, dinosaur parts, etc. start leaking.
They say that when Serendipity flaps her wings it relieves a drought on the other side of the world. She’s always been a butterfly after all.
Rainbow Dash as Adversity makes so much sense. So does Applejack as Irrationality. Irrationality just keeps on adding rules and rules as ad hoc solutions and then sticking to them because that’s the way it was SUPPOSED to be! And she also demonstrates that the greatest chaos comes when struggling to keep everything exactly the same in the face of the universe demanding that Change is natural.
Now Change has me thinking of an absurd story where Twilight is a secret Draconequus and only Celestia ever knew. Until one day things, of course, change and her secret is revealed to her.
I don’t think Inspiration is bilaterally symmetrical even if I do appreciate that all Chaos avatars shouldn’t be the same. She’s just as asymmetric as any of them, but she makes her asymmetry elegant. She doesn’t often visit mortals personally. Instead she sets, for want of a better word, traps: little arrangements of circumstance that wait for the right person to stumble on them. You can see how she would get along with both Adversity and Serendipity.
And Pinkie Pie. As you say, we've SEEN Pinkie Pie.
A lot of stories theorize that chaos magic would even go against Discord if he tries to put on to many rules. So if Applejack decides that's everything's fine even when it's not would that affect her connection to honesty.
5203938
somehow I picture her looking like an Alicorn, but with Batpony wings and an Eastern Unicorn horn. Cause a powered up pony is supposed to get wings and a horn, but that's not the way it's supposed to.
I've thought about everypony becoming a draconequus as an option for Twilight not to outlive her friends, but I've never sat down and thought through which chaotic aspect each of the Mane 6 would represent. I like all of your choices for the characters, and it occurs to me that Adversity would fit the "trickster mentor" that some of the writers tried to make Discord in the show. I'd love to see a fanfic writer tackle this concept. Maybe I will eventually, but there are a few stories I want to finish first.
Woo! So good!
Generally the most benevolent pantheon of chaos gods I've encountered. Do you plan to do anything with them?
I don't know what's going on, but I feel like Serendipity, Adversity and Inspiration are the only ones that really work as names. <.< And I'm really not sure about that third one.
Just as plann- CREEEEEEEEEEED!!
Reminder: I've generally had Fluttershy as a Draconequus embodying Nature, because the inherent chaos of nature is why Fluttercord works in the first place. Each other member then gets a different method of immortality, both from each other and from Twilight. Applejack turns out to have been serially reincarnating since basically forever, and upon Starlight's discovery of this magic shenanigans let her remember the whole of her past, including in future incarnations (in the hypothetical Distant Finale Shots, she'd be in her G3 colors to make the joke more obvious). Rainbow Dash pulls a Black Mage Evilwizardington and can outfly Death itself without frail flesh holding her back. Rarity got herself a cybernetic replacement body, RariTwi optional but recommended. And Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie. (That last one isn't quite a cop-out per se; I have a more specific headcanon explanation in the form of the Diane Lokisdottir Conjecture but there are others that are also valid and just as easy to use for immortality)
5203960
Looking up the words in the thesaurus, Insanity is listed as a synonym for Irrationality. While it sounds better as a name, it doesn't truly capture the spirit FOME was going for. I like Whim as a alternative to Spontaneity, though. Morph could work as a name for Change, but I'm not sure it's that much of an improvement.
Allow me to be the overly ambitious and demanding critic/writer of the audience by saying the following:
Stop talking about awesome concepts and start writing about awesome concepts, you fool!
It's funny, I actually had an idea very similar to this a couple weeks ago that I was considering making a story out of, and most of the ponies were pretty similar in their "domains."
I hadn't read "Time enough for Friendship" (loading it up now) but I like the name Serendipity. I had Fluttershy becoming the spirit of "Random Acts of Kindness," but that's basically the same thing.
I think I had Pinkie labeled as "Absurdity," where things just tend to happen around her that confuse and befuddle. She simultaneously represented both the frustration and the amusement you feel when watching a terrible movie that makes no sense whatsoever. That said, Spontaneity might fit better.
I like your take on Rainbow Dash as "Adversity." You say she turns the whole world into a nonlethal version of "I wanna be the guy." So what you're saying is she turns the whole world into one of those "obstacle course" TV shows like American Ninja Warrior?
Applejack was the only one I ultimately couldn't figure out anything for. I think I ultimately made her the spirit of "Family," or something. Because really, what's more chaotic than having to deal with family? And how irrational is it that we love our families even though they drive us so utterly bananas all the time?
Anyway, yeah... calling dibs.
5203944
Discord WANTS to be a trickster mentor, as a way to fulfill his nature as both Discord and Lord of Chaos without hurting his friends.
He's just really, really bad at it.
....You know, if you REALLY put your mind to it, you could Classpect the girls using your analytical skills
And you'd probably do it ten times better than any of the theories I've come up with. Give it a try 
5203987
But at least he's better at it than Sunbutt...
5203968
I had a similar idea, though the matchups were different.
>Dash ends up as a golem via benevolent Clockwerk/Tin Woodsman process
>Fluttershy actually ascended from befriending Discord, but as the princess of Serenity, no one else noticed (She was going to tell somepony, honest! Theeeen she saw the whole Princess Twilight hullabaloo and got cold feet)
>Pinkie went Madokami. Everyone gets a cupcake both on their birthday, and when they really need it. A large enough party can let her manifest, but otherwise she's arranging worldwide coincidences for fun.
>Rarity ended up as a demilich somehow
>Applejack is just too busy to die. Usually followed by a few strapping young Apples from the current generation.
5204093 Only Fluttershy would be that modest. "Well, yes. The horn hid well under my mane, and I really was waiting until the right moment, but we kept finding new friends, and I didn't want to disturb anypony."
5203982
Watch the video Kaizo Trap. That's basically the music video trailer for I Wanna Be The Guy. It's platformer hell. The Big Leagues for Super Mario Bros speedrunners. It's the platformer equivalent to the Soulless song maps that people keep sending to Acai. VERY few people have ever completed it on the hardest difficulty. Like, two digits.
5203928
Infinite fabulosity described by simple, elegant rules. Mandlebrot would be proud.
5203929
I'm just glad that Commissar Nutmeg hasn't shot me for this flagrant heresy.
5203938
The Crusaders are and possibly always have been Paradox, the inherent conflict and tension between self-determination and predestination that lies at the root of the cutie mark.
5203940
I can't help but imagine that the reveal takes the form of Discord's marriage proposal.
5203954
Not presently, but I wanted to get the idea down for posterity.
5203960
On the one hand, this is a franchise that gave us characters named Spoiled Rich and Coriander Cumin. These aren't exactly out of place.
On the other, this is less about who they are and more what they are. I'd expect the girls to still respond to their pony names. This would be more along the lines of "true names," the identifiers that some foolish summoner would try to use to bind them to his will.
It would not end well for him. Especially not with Pinkie.
5203968
All viable and potentially fascinating choices.
5203973
(Looks up at triple-digit story count)
I like to think I do both. Not my fault you haven't reviewed many of them.
5203982
I also considered "Frivolity" for Pinkie, but it's not like her actions are pointless or meaningless. She can and does play the long game; it's just not always obvious where her pronking path takes her.
Only turned up to eleven. Thousand. The moon won't fall out of the sky and crush you to death, but it may behave like a giant stress ball or water balloon.
But yeah, feel free to use these ideas. I'd love to see what you do with them.
5204093
I'm not sure what I love more here, Pinkie as the Law of
CyclesCupcakes, Rarity as a gem-encrusted skull who isn't sure how she got that way, or Applejack.Miss Apple, it is—
"I ain't been a 'Miss' in a long time. Scoot yer bony boot, mister."
But your time—
"Yeah, yeah, I see yer fancy egg timer. Flip the durn thing over, I ain't got time fer none o' this nonsense. Macintosh II went an' tried t' turn th' east orchard into a server farm."
It just came to me, Applejack should be the chaos of knee jerk reactions. Because yes she's tradition minded and all, but so many times she obviously goes with the first thing that pops into her head, and her stubburn-ness can be undermined as a draconequues by treating each new thing she experiences as a totally different subject to have a knee jerk reaction too
5204172
I was pretty much specifically imagining AJ ending up as great to the nth Nanny Ogg, yes. Including the bawdery and the horde of relatives coming out of the woodwork.
Pinkie would also 'punish' party poopers by giving them... a flavor that wasn't their favorite.
5204172
B-but I can't read your stories that quickly! Or I could, but that wouldn't be fair to everypony else.
Turnip Berry drew a fascinating set of ascensions for the mane 6
Fluttershy bonded with the heart of the everfree, becoming a sort of draconequus of nature
Pinkie became a draconequus of mirth and madness just by virtue of her party pony powers
Rarity became a stronger crystal mage than both Sombra and Cadence
Rainbow ascended through her power of speed
Applejack ascended after single-hoofedly stopping a massive famine. She may or may not also have some of the powers of The Great Seedling.
If ponies can become draconequii - which is an open question, as far as I know - it definitely seems like Pinkie and Fluttershy (in that order) would be the most likely candidates.
Shipping Fluttercord as I do, it strikes me that Fluttershy could plausibly end up ascending (transcending? parascending?) in a more disturbing way - it might be Discord's only option to keep her alive through foaling. (Wasn't that a plot point in the Twilight series?)
5204177
Nanny Apple should definitely be a thing. Granny Smith seems a bit witchy as it is, and I could definitely see her passing the tradition on to her favorite granddaughter.
5204170
Yet.