//------------------------------// // Things get crazier // Story: Friendship is absolute chaos // by Aether Spark //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash’s trek through the woods was not going smoothly… With her heavily mismatched body, off-center gravity, inability to fly with her mismatched wings, and the fact that she keeps bumping into things and falling over. “Dang it! How does Discord move around like this!?” Rainbow shouted as she fell over again. Rainbow tried to stand once again, only her upper half to wobble and sway before she tripped and tumbled down a small hill and into a large mud puddle. Rainbow raised her head out of the mud with a scathing look on her face and she let out a frustrated yell. She banged her fist into the mud and instantly evaporated it, surprising her. “Whoa! How did I….Oh yeah…” Rainbow Dash grumbled before an idea came. “Wait a minute… if I can use these powers, maybe I can get to Shy’s in a snap!” Rainbow said getting up, eager to try. “Ok! Now!....Um… how do I do this?” Rainbow said after realizing she doesn’t know how to use magic. “I think he snapped these things?” Rainbow said out loud wiggling her new fingers confusedly. After more than a dozen failed attempts to snap them she threw her hands up in the air. “Oh come on, give me a break! Why couldn’t I have gotten a crash course in how to do this stuff?” Rainbow said irritably. … … … “Just use your imagination” a strange voice whispered in her ear. “Gyah!” Rainbow spun around to clock whoever snuck up on her in the snout… only to find that there was nopony there. “Huh? Who said that?! Is it you Discord!?” Rainbow shouted whirling to and fro. “No genius… it’s you,” the voice said almost annoyed sounding. “What? Cut the crap, Discord. I know it’s you. And stop sounding like me!” Rainbow shouted to the canopy. “You don’t need to snap your fingers to use chaos magic, it’s just a nifty trick to focus your magic. There are other ways too,” the voice continued on, ignoring Rainbows protests. “Discord! I’m warning you!” Rainbow Dash said, still ignorant. The voice just sighed. “Wow, you’re dense… and this is coming from you. Listen, you're not going to find Fluttershy unless you use your chaos magic, capische?” the voice said with some condescension. “Well… I guess, but how?” Rainbow conceded. “Picture where you want to go, then perform an action,” The voice said, happy she was complying now. “Perform an action?” Rainbow said confused, which drew another sigh from the voice. “Like clapping your hands, stomping your foot, wiggle your hip, whatever,” the voice said, hoping the draconequus understood now. “Alright then… I want to go to Shy’s place.” Rainbow said and gave a light clap. She tensed expecting something to happen, but nothing did. “You liar! Nothing happened!” Rainbow said upset. “Because dummy, you expected it to happen.” “Expected it to happen?” Rainbow said, confused. “Yes, the fun part of chaos is not even you will fully know what will happen, but if you try to anticipate how you’ll get there like through teleportation, it’s not gonna happen. You have to be willing to be caught by surprise too otherwise the magic isn’t chaotic, because you already know what will happen. This, of course, is only one factor of chaos magic you will eventually learn,” the voice stated. “What?” Rainbow said, her head spinning from the instructions. “Oh for crying out loud, just will yourself somewhere and don’t think about how!” the voice yelled, at its patience’s end. “Ok! Ok!... sheesh” Rainbow said defensively before shutting her eyes, thinking very hard about going to Fluttershy’s, and giving another clap. A few moments passed like this and before Rainbow could accuse the voice of wasting her time all the sudden she found herself flat against the ground and then she realized she was flying through the air. Looking back she saw a raised portion of earth that looked like a catapult. “What the heck!?” Rainbow cried, instinctively flapping her wings frantically as she flew through the air. “Meh, crudely done but it’ll do,” the voice said passively. “I CAN’T FLY WITH THESE WINGS!” Rainbow cried, flapping her differently proportioned wings unevenly. “You do know you can levitate and change form whenever you want right?”  “HOW?!” Rainbow cried seeing the ground approaching rapidly. “Something you’ll learn one day” the voice said. “Before impact, hopefully.” “I’M GOING TO DIE!” Rainbow cried as she barreled to the ground. When no pain came she then opened her eyes and saw that she was flying over the trees. “Huh? Did I somehow figure out how to fly again?” Rainbow said looking back at her wings only to see she isn’t flapping them, she looked further and saw something shocking. Angel bunny was holding her by her tail and had a pair of wings himself.  “The hay!? When did you get wings?!” Rainbow said in surprise. “Since twenty-five minutes ago. Now shut up, I'm bringing you to Fluttershy” Angel replied. Rainbow Dash thought her eyes might pop out if they widened any further.  “THE DOUBLE HAY!? Since when do you talk!?” Rainbow said, struggling a little. “Since yesterday! Discord never got rid of my voice! Now unless you want me to drop you, stop struggling!” Angel replied irritably. Rainbow pouted as Angel carried her the rest of the way to the cottage and dropped her on the ground with a thud. “OW! Hey! You did that on purpose!” snapped Rainbow at the airborne rabbit, who just stuck his tongue out at her and flew off. After that fiasco Rainbow got a good look at Fluttershy’s home and gaped at what’s going on. All the fish that were usually in the small river in front of Fluttershy’s house had sprouted legs and were walking around, the birds usually nestled in their birdhouses were somehow flying underwater, and the land mammals were flying in the air. “...It’s a sad statement to my day that I'm not as shocked as I should be…” Rainbow Dash sighed and got up, ready to go retrieve her most likely scared-out-of-her-wits friend.  ---meanwhile in Ponyville--- The sight Twilight was expecting to come upon was some kind of destruction or chaotic mess. Instead… Ponyville had been divided into two sides. One side had ponyquins wearing fancy outfits and wigs, trotting around and mingling and some are even trotting through the air. The other side of the town appears to have become a candyland with what looked like the citizens dressed as clowns. “This isn’t quite what I expected…” Twilight said confused. “Really? Seems like them to me.” Applejack said in a bemused tone. “What I mean is that I expected the results of their chaos to be more random. This is more symbolic of them and their personalities.” Twilight said watching a clown bounce over to a ponyquin and offering a full cake but the ponyquin dismisses with a wave. “Ah admit, this could be worse,” Applejack said, wandering over to the ponyquins and getting one's attention. “Scuse me, ah’m looking for a friend of mine who may or may not look like a chimeric snake similar ta me,” Applejack said only to get silence from the faceless ponyquin. For some reason, Applejack felt an immediate surge of frustration. “She lives around here, has a purple mane and speaks in your hoity toity accent,” Applejack added but only gave a frustrated sigh as the ponyquin continued to simply stare. “HER NAME IS RARITY! Anypony around here called that?!” Applejack snapped at the ponyquin and finally got a response in which the ponyquin nodded and pointed at the boutique before trotting on.  “Whoa, calm yourself Applejack,” Twilight said as she walked up behind Applejack whose shoulders were heaving from her frustration. “Ah’ll be calm when these living dolls stop wastin mah time! CURSE THE LOT OF THEM!” Applejack snarled with sudden rage. “Applejack?” Twilight said with a bit of fear. “Ah outta drag Rarity out here and make her teach them some proper manners! Like how ta properly greet others instead of turning their noses up like they think they're better than me! Then ah can….can…” Applejack panted and looked a little dizzy for a moment like she just realized how she was acting. Twilight slowly approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Have you calmed down now?” Twilight hesitantly asked. “Yeah, ah... ah have no idea what got into me. For a moment there ah actually contemplated destroying that ponquin for not getting it on the first try.” Applejack looked a little fearful of the thought. “It could be these forms... “ Twilight mused. “Then let’s get moving. The sooner ah’m an earth pony again the better.” Applejack said walking towards Sugarcube Corner. “Let’s divide and conquer, then. You get Pinkie and I’ll get Rarity,” Twilight strategized. “Sounds good to me,” Applejack said with a nod.   ---inside the boutique--- Twilight entered the boutique and looked around, seeing what seems like an empty space with fabric and flying ponyquins arranging certain outfits. “This isn’t just chaos. It’s so much more specific. All this looks like a chaotic take on Rarity’s interests and personality,” Twilight observed as she hopped from one platform to another but wound up tripping and using the length of her body to hold onto another platform. “Darn it, I still can’t walk right like this!” Twilight said exasperated as she saw all the floating debris.  “How am I going to get to Rarity like this? I don’t even know how to-” Twilight began before a familiar voice rang in her ears. “For someone who is good at magic, you're terrible at knowing when is a good time to use it,” the voice said with a smugness to it. “Who’s there!?” Twilight shouted, turning to and fro at the sudden voice. “Oh come now, you don’t remember me?” the voice said with mock hurt. “Wait… Hold on, I remember you!” Twilight immediately tried to get defensive upon recognizing the voice.  “If you recognize me then why are you getting ready to fight?” “Because you appeared to me just as this started! Did Discord make you or something?” Twilight said getting to her feet. “Discord? No no, I’ve always been a part of you, Twilight,” the voice said simply. “You’ve always been a part of me? What do you mean?” Twilight said, confused. “We all have a chaotic side to us. I’m yours, Twilight. Discord just let me out,” the voice chuckled. “If that’s the case then… oh no, my friends!” Twilight began to hop across the floating platforms faster. “Why are you scared?” the voice said with a sound of confusion. “Your planning to corrupt us aren’t you!?” Twilight yelled defiantly as she climbed up a floating dresser. “What makes you say that?” the voice said smugly. “My...my thinking has been off, usually this would bother me but I'm getting less and less concerned! And Applejack nearly got violent because somepony wasn’t answering her questions immediately. We’re changing emotionally, I can tell, you're trying to manipulate us aren’t you?!” Twilight said as she climbed up a floating ponyquin and finally reached the stairs, but the voice just laughed. “That’s a good one, Twilight. I’m not manipulating you I’m simply helping you adapt to your new body, that’s all.” “Why should I believe you?” Twilight demanded, having to sit down for a moment to catch her breath. “We haven't talked since the dream, and you need to find your friends. Given the circumstances, it’s safe to say that you aren’t going to find your friends unless you allow yourself to be a little chaotic yourself,” the voice reasoned “Still, why am I starting to feel like this?” Twilight demanded as she went up the stairs. “To be honest I’m not sure, perhaps you're starting to adapt to the idea of chaos, or maybe you're starting to think like Discord as a result of the transfiguration. Beats me but like I said you're like this now so you may as well use what you’ve got,” the voice said. “And stray from harmony magic? I could never, I-”  “Rarity needs you, is it so wrong to use the other kind of magic for the sake of helping a friend? Discord does it all the time.” Twilight thought about it for a while and sighed when she realized the voice was right. “Alright, you win, what do I do?” Twilight asked. “About time, you just need to imagine flight. Like you’ve never experienced it and think about what weightlessness is like.” “But I have flown before, how am I going to imagine something as a new experience when I've already experienced it, it doesn’t make any sense.” “Exactly, you just need to forget it, then imagine it. Sounds complicated but it gets easier over time”  “You're not making any sense” Twilight deadpanned “I’m your chaos, I'm not meant to make sense…” “Put it more clearly, step by step so I can form the process, just saying forget then imagine isn’t very clear,” Twilight said back, as she had been walking she found herself at the top of the stairs and saw a hallway that was twisting in a weird way with floating objects. “Aren’t you the smart one of the group?” the voice asked clearly annoyed. “Yes but I have a process, so please get on with it,” Twilight replied equally annoyed. “Fine, first clear your mind,” the voice instructed and Twilight nodded, doing so. “Good, now don’t think about flapping your wings, just think about flight and how it feels to be aloft.” “Alright,” Twilight concentrated. “Good, now keep that up. Don’t lose focus, picture yourself simply floating through the air.”  “Visualization,” Twilight said suddenly. “Hmm?” the voice hummed at the sudden word. “The secret to flying is visualization, and that could also account for much of chaos magic, am I right?” “That’s… part of it, yes. Wow, you really are a quick study.” “You’re me, aren’t you? You already know I’m a quick thinker.” “Yes yes, I know that, but this is the concept of chaos magic. I figured it’d take even you longer than that.” the voice said like it was proud of her. “Yeah, apparently I sometimes surprise myself too.” “Har har, well apart from that there’s also the fact that if you look down you’ll see that you’ve learned how to do it subconsciously.” “What?” Twilight looked down and saw that she was floating across the twisted hallways. Before she could stop herself, she let out a giddy squeal, which surprised her so much that she tumbled out of the air.  “Ow…” she groaned as she was draped over a draped over a filing cabinet, filed under 'D' for obvious reasons. “Save the squealing for later. You need to focus.”  “Why did I even do that? I was glad I managed to float myself but why did it make me that excited?” Twilight asked herself as she floated back into the air. “If you don’t know then I don’t know.” “Makes sense,” Twilight thought out loud as she finally reached Rarity’s room. While approaching, she heard crying on the other side and began to worry. Twilight knocked on the door. “Rarity! It’s Twilight, please open the door!” Twilight called hoping the door would open. “GO AWAY!” Rarity’s voice echoed from within. This spurred Twilight on. “Please open up, Rarity! I know what’s going on. I’m here to help!” Twilight pleaded. “NO! YOU MUSN’T LOOK AT THE MONSTROSITY I’VE BECOME!” Rarity dramatically replied. Twilight sighed and tried to think of a way to get Rarity to open the door when suddenly a voice came from nowhere. “Oui, ze madam has requested you leave the premises. I would advise you listen,” a Prench accent laced voice spoke, startling Twilight. Upon looking for the source, she found that the door had a face on it. “AAAHH!” Twilight stumbled backwards and landed on her rump. “Yes yes. A face on ze door. So frightening. Now do move along,” the door retorted. “Let me in! I need to see Rarity!” Twilight shot back after recovering. “No,” the door said simply. For reasons Twilight didn’t know she felt an immediate surge of frustration. “LET ME IN!” Twilight demanded “I cannot, Mademoiselle.” “I WILL BURN YOU-” Twilight quickly realized what she was saying and shook her head. Looking at her hand she saw it was on fire and she gasped. “Y-you wouldn’t,” said the door nervously “Would you?” “L-look! I need to get through, whether you want me to or not.” Twilight extinguished her fist before pushing the door open, despite its protests. “Rarity? I’m coming in, so please don’t freak out.” “G-go away Twilight! I'm hideous…” Rarity’s trembling voice came from under her bed. Twilight knelt down to speak to her friend. “It’s ok, Rarity. I know what’s going on. Sort of…” Twilight said comfortingly “Y-you do? Regardless, I cannot be seen like this!” Rarity cried, Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this. “Sheesh, why don’t we help her out before this drives us both crazy.” “How?” Twilight quietly asked herself “Focus on the bed and point at it,” the voice instructed and Twilight did so. “Now picture it floating into the air and hold that image.” Twilight nodded and did so again, although the bed remained solidly on the floor despite her best efforts. “Am I not thinking clearly enough? Maybe if I just-” Twilight’s thought process was interrupted by Rarity’s bed launching into the ceiling hard enough to become embedded in it. “Needs work…” the voice mulled out loud “Yeah…” Twilight grimaced at the damage done. Afterwards Twilight glanced down at the draconequus curled up on the ground. Rarity looked up and saw Twilight staring down at her and hid her head. “No! Do not look at me! I'm a freak! A chimera! A monstrosity!” Rarity wailed. “Rarity... I'm in the same boat as you,” Twilight said with a deadpan. This made Rarity open an eye and she glanced Twilight over. “My word! You look just like me!” Rarity gasped. “Only different” she added “Not always the sharpest tool in the shed, is she?” the voice in Twilight's head spoke. “Hey, don’t say that about her!” Twilight mentally scolded the voice “Yes yes I know, but I’m not wrong.” “Rarity, Discord did this to us. We need to gather up and find him before we end up causing any more damage,” Twilight urgently said “Of all the no-good rotten, Discord has gone too far this time!” Rarity growled and took Twilight’s bird claw with her white lioness paw to stand up. Rarity was about to say something else but a piece of the ceiling fell on her head and she looked up at her bed smashed into the ceiling and sent Twilight a frustrated look. “I-in my defense, I haven’t mastered chaos magic yet!” Twilight put her hands up defensively. “I still expect restitution for these damages. That bed wasn’t cheap and it came from Canterlot,” Rarity grumbled. “I will, but for now let’s focus on-” just as Twilight was about to tell Rarity about the situation the bed fell from the ceiling onto both of them smashing them through the suddenly brittle floor. “OOOF!” Twilight cried. “OW!” Rarity yelped. They tumbled into the lower floor buried under wood planks and a bed. Eventually, they poked their heads out from the pile and groaned in pain. “Oooww…” Rarity groaned. “Why did the floorboards give out-... wait a minute.” Twilight picked up a board and found that it was peanut brittle. “Brittle floorboards....” Twilight gave a mental facehoof. “Hahahaha! Classic!” The voice in Twilight's head laughed, as the two draconeqqus climbed out. “This is all Discord's fault! Oh when I get my… um hands on him, I’m going to-” Rarity paused when she realized that they were in the kitchen and locked eyes with Sweetie Belle who was paused mid-cookie while glancing between the two. “...Do I wanna know?” Sweetie Belle asked “No…” Rarity sighed.