//------------------------------// // The Peaceful Deity // Story: Deities // by Chinchillax //------------------------------// “What’s this all about, Starlight?” asked Discord, who was pretending to be Fluttershy but nopony had noticed yet. The crystals of Twilight’s castle rang cacophonously as the ponies gathered around. Whatever it was, they were sure making a big fuss of it. Discord waited for the opportune moment to spring out of nowhere. What would be the best way to spring out? I mean—Pinkie Pie had already worn a Fluttershy suit and no one had noticed. Could Discord beat that? Of course he could! Though Pinkie did always give him a run for his money. “I’ll answer that question when everyone gets here,” said Starlight. “Who are we missing?” asked Rainbow Dash, while Rarity gave a nod in agreement. Sunset Shimmer slid her way into the room, trying not to be noticed but cantering strangely on her hooves. Discord made a mental note to mildly ruin Sunset's day sometime in the far flung future. Everypony else here had not gotten off so easy with him around. “Sunset!” waved Twilight frantically. “I’m so glad you could make it!” “Well it seemed kind of important,” said Sunset. “I’ll say!” shouted Pinkie Pie, who sidled next to Sunset and whispered in her ear. “I know Starlight said not to, but I have a party planned and ready to go the second this is over. Oh this is gonna be so much fun!” “I just hope this ain’t one of them world ending catastrophe’s,” said Applejack. “I’d prefer a git together when everythin’s going fine.” “Well… it doesn’t look like any Equestria ending catastrophe’s right now,” said Spike. “I mean—Starlight’s been planning this for months. You can’t really plan for the end of the world, so I think we should be fine.” “That means we’re only missing Discord,” said Starlight. "Present!" Discord's normal voice came out of what looked like Fluttershy. "Fluttershy's missing though, I'll get her!" He jammed a yellow hoof into the wall, chaotic energy seeping from it, and pulled out a nearly identical Fluttershy. Claws suddenly appeared from his hooves and he snapped them, turning back into his normal Draconequus self. Most of the ponies stared at him before rolling their eyes. What a boring response. I guess they had known each other for several years, but the least they could do would be to give a decent look of shock. “Umm… hello,” said the real Fluttershy. “Well… that means we can get started!” said Starlight. “Get WHAT started!?” said Rainbow Dash. “You gather us all here—you could at least let us know what’s gonna happen.” “I just need you all to trust me for this next part,” said Starlight. “And I need everypony to choose to do this. I’ve… well… I’ve been messing around a lot with time lately, and I’ve come across some knowledge of the past and future that concerns all of us. Starlight breathed in and out. “But well… I think everyone should have a chance to agree to what’s going to happen. I know how it turns out, but you all should have a chance to say no.” “What are you going on about?" Discord asked. She wasn't making any sense, and he was the one that wasn't supposed to make any sense. Discord had always felt uncomfortable with time manipulation. Chaos demanded that life constantly be changing and time traveling anywhere brought a level of chaos and order that even he didn't dare touch. “Something happens to us?” asked Fluttershy. “Only if you want it to,” said Starlight. “You can always say no.” “What is it we’re even saying yes to?” asked Discord. “I think… I just need to get started to make this happen,” said Starlight, her horn starting to shimmer. “You can make your choice once we get there.” Discord felt himself distort, his entire body melting and amalgamating. He reflexively grabbed onto Fluttershy's hoof before the spell got too crazy. It was always relaxing when he morphed his own body in chaotic ways, but somepony else changing him felt sickening. The entire room and everypony else was also being disfigured, convoluting anything and everything about themselves into something quite different. It felt like all of everything Discord had ever known was compressing down to a single point. His past selves all seemed to come out all at once. Him turned to stone, him at the start of this universe, him as an agent of chaos devoted to tearing apart the multiverse bit by bit. They all seemed to merge into one single point. His future self also met to join him. But that future self was oddly… blocked, as if there was a wall confronting him and everypony else. He was suddenly aware that he was in darkness and the voices of his friends started to bubble up from the surface. He held on tightly to Fluttershy’s hoof next to him, grateful she was still there. “What in the hay?” “What is going on!?” “Wheeeeeeee!” “It’s so… dark.” Pinpricks of light suddenly shot around them, illuminating a lilac alicorn floating in the void in front of them. “Everypony, it is now… ‘now,’ and it will forever continue as such. The multiverse needs us for various roles, and here at the ‘now’ of everything, you need to decide what you are going to be." An amalgamation of colors surrounded them. Greens, reds and a rainbow of every color in between mixed in odd patterns of light surrounding them. Each of the colors felt responsible for something different. But they were also inextricably linked to each other. The white in the background seemed to hold it all in place. "As for me," shouted Starlight Glimmer. "I will control Time.” When Starlight Glimmer fell into the colors, all the green everywhere seemed to wrap around her before straightening out in a regular pattern. “We’re doing what now?” asked Applejack. “It’s alicorn party time!” shouted Pinkie Pie, who had dived into the colors, pink surrounding her as she assumed her new role. “And the Life of the party is here!” “I’ll take Knowledge,” said Twilight, all the blues reconfiguring in perfect order. “Discord,” whispered Fluttershy next to him, I take it you’ll pick ‘Chaos?’” The yellow Chaos called to him. The golden glow felt like a poison he was used to taking every single day, something he would have to do the rest of his existence. But he felt oddly pulled elsewhere too. He suddenly realized how naked he felt. All of his chaos magic was gone. All of the desires to wreak havoc on the multiverse and ponies lives... just gone. He was empty and now got to choose whether he really wanted all he had ever known all over again. Discord floated there dumbfounded. “I… suppose… Chaos is all I’ve ever known.” It was strange to even be asked that. He was always Chaos. It wasn't a choice. It's just what he was. “Is that something you truly want?” asked Fluttershy. Discord could only stare at the amalgamations of colors before him. Not just Chaos was calling out to him. He could be Space, or Death or Soul or Hope or... everything he had always fought against. His eyes drooped as he looked down at mere Chaos. It seemed so... painful in retrospect. Creating things... keeping things in line... those seemed like a much more noble pursuit now that he had a chance to look at it all from this vantage point. "I don't know..." said Discord, staring deeply into the colors still left. Applejack had joined in and become Matter, the convoluted oranges shifting into a regular cohesiveness. “I think you’d be happier if you got to experience ‘Harmony,'" said Fluttershy. Discord tried to stare at her, but light was behaving in strange ways. He knew she was right there, but she seemed to be nowhere and everywhere at once. "Harmony?" asked Discord. He looked back down at the colors and noticed the layer of white seemed keeping everything together. "Take care of me, okay?" whispered Fluttershy. She gave him one last kiss before diving into the everything. Every other color but yellow ran away from her, as if the colors knew she would slowly destroy them all. “What— no! What are you—“ Discord’s body contorted itself in shock as he saw her dissolve. Yellow Chaos tore at Fluttershy, disfiguring her until an electrifying Alicorn erupted out of her old body. A hot pink mane made of shimmering nebulas draped from her head. She seemed to pop and fizzle with golden lightning with every move she made. The fierce deity smiled at him, "it's okay to try something different now." Discord could only stare in shock back. Seeing raw chaos brought a disdain over him he never imagined he would feel. It hurt. He needed to help this multiverse from her as much as possible. And protect her too. Every Role needed help, every creature, every... one. “Harmony!” Discord shouted as he fell into the mixture of colors, roles and raw power. The white that had kept everything together absorbed into himself. He could seep his claws of Harmony everywhere, easing Chaos's power, tempering Time, flourishing Life, and kept the Roles in balance with each other. Discord organized the colors—Roles that were left—and beckoned the rest of his friends to choose. He was going to need all of their help for a very long time. It was going to be a wonderful eternity, he'd make sure of that.