Discord conjured a glass of milk and promptly drank it, leaving, to the bafflement of the ponies paying attention to him, a pina colada floating in sand. “Majesty... was not supposed to exist.” He held up a claw, halting any exclamations. “Let me be clear, I’m not saying she was some kind of abomination or freak of nature. No, I mean she quite literally did not exist in reality… originally.”
“Originally?” Twilight mumbled. She frowned. “Wait… time travel?” she asked.
Discord shook his head. “No. Remember what I said about a threat waiting for stagnation? Well, that threat was the cosmic concept of Order itself.”
Celestia stomped a hoof. “Preposterous!” she exclaimed. “I have fought and battled and warred to create a world of order for my little Ponies, same as my sister. I refuse to think Order is evil.”
“I never said Order is evil, just that it is a threat,” Discord calmly pointed out.
No pony there quite grasped what he said. Discord sighed and looked at Celestia. “If Chaos is the cosmic concept of change of development, Order would be…” he trailed off, waiting for the other hoof to drop.
Twilight gasped. “Stagnation…” she whispered, remembering what Discord said. “Order is perfection. The ultimate culmination. Everything has been done. Everything has been learned. All goals have been met.” Her eyes trailed to Discord’s. “There is nothing left to do.”
Discord shrugged. “Not quite, but close.” He waved a claw and window appeared. Through it the group could see a roiling and furiously waving energy. “The default state of reality, of our reality, is Chaos.”
The Ponies were drawn in, watching the eddies of the energy. They were surprisingly transfixed. It was almost… beautiful.
The window shattered, startling the ponies back to attention. “Chaos is more than change and development though. It’s the source of emotions, of passion, love, pride… everything. From it the force that pushes us on surges.”
Celestia frowned, trying to shake how easily Discord had mesmerized her and her sister. “But Harmony-”
“Is an ideal, not a cosmic concept,” Discord interrupted. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great ideal. Harmony is the balance of two or more opposing forces, working together to create something far greater than the sum of its parts. However, it is not in itself a source of power, only the means by which you access the power I gave you.”
He waited as the ponies worked that thought through their heads. He realized that revealing this upcoming bit was likely a bad idea, but… well, his job was to instigate chaos. It didn’t matter how he did it, only that he did.
And truthfully, he perhaps a small soft spot for Ponies in particular. They were wonderfully chaotic, and yet didn’t fall to the darkness such chaos could generate. He paused at that thought. Well, they didn’t anymore. Early on was another matter, but meh. New races tended to stumble before they flew.
It was, surprisingly, Luna who caught on first. “Wait, are you saying…?” she looked at Discord with wide eyes.
Discord nodded. “That system I designed when trying to help ponies reign in Monsters? That was the prototype of what would eventually become the Elements of Harmony.” He gestured to the Elements… and made them materialize floating around said hand, now lacking the golden adornments they had rested in. “Lovely name by the way. I had pretty much just settled for Artifacts of Unity.” He shrugged at their looks. “We’ve already established I suck at naming things.” He focused after moment.
Laughter glowed. “Positivity in the face of adversity.” It floated away from the circle of Elements. “I created this Element as a representation of Hope, of the dream that a better future is coming. All who are selected by Laughter are in one way or another the healers of the world. They make it their life’s mission to improve the lives of others. Inversely, if the bearer of Laughter were to feel that life was being unfair to them unjustly, they would suffer as their own Hope dwindled.”
Generosity glowed and took the place of Laughter. “Sacrifice in the name of love. An interesting dichotomy, even by my standards. In order to be chosen by Generosity, one must be willing to give of themselves so that others do not have to. They are those who enrich the lives of those around them, easing burdens. The cost, however, is that you cannot give what you do not have. The bearer of Generosity has a tendency to be quite ambitious and driven, at times to the point of pushing even their own wellbeing aside.”
Honesty floated up, glowing. “Purity in the face of temptation. To bear Honesty is to be the arbiter, the Judge. They are the ones who make sure issues between other get resolved as cleanly as possible, and to prevent those around them from losing sight of who they are. Unfortunately, Honesty bearers also suffer at one point or another a crisis of identity, where they realize that, like all mortals, they are not as honest with themselves as they could be.”
Kindness moved up, glowing. “Mercy from the softest heart. Perhaps the most fragile of the bearers, they who wield Kindness are the empaths, the ones who understand on an instinctual level the emotions and the frustrations those around them feel. Able to feel those feelings far too strongly sometimes, they shy away and mostly keep to themselves, but that empathy also instills a sympathy in them, a desire to nurture and care for the downtrodden. They rely on the other bearers to prevent their hearts from being shattered in the course of their work, and in turn the other bearers rely on them to prevent their descent into madness.”
Loyalty moved up now. “Unwavering devotion. A sense of duty, of honor. In many ways similar to Honesty, Loyalty is dependability, confidence, perhaps even arrogance. Gifted with a superior body, Loyalty is the shield that protects the other bearers from the ravages of strained bonds and arguments. It is a small fire that refuses to go out, regardless of how it is doused and smothered. It is also a flame that can be fed, until it has grown to great and powerful for the bearer to handle. Loyalty must somethimes be reminded of the simpler things in life.”
Magic moved forward now. “And finally, the bonds that bind them together. Not friendship. Not exactly, but the respect, the acknowledgement, the act of witnessing the rest, and seeing your equals. Magic is the glue, so to speak, that keeps the bearers together. It is the tether that both emotions and power are transmitted along, strengthening your bonds accordingly. It is also, however, the deadliest weapon I have ever created. In the hooves of one who has lost faith in their bonds, it can be used to sever any bond, physical or conceptual.”
Discord looked at Twilight seriously, making her slightly uncomfortable. “It’s why only an Alicorn, or potential Alicorn, can wield it."
'Yes,' Discord decided while watching Twilight lock up in a lovely "Does Not Compute" expression. 'Chaos is all too easy to cause with words alone.'