//------------------------------// // Ch 17 - decaying reason and wavering loyalty // Story: Chaotic Visage // by Orderly Disassembly //------------------------------// A splotch of blue here. A splatter of red there. It was all coming together nicely. With a snap of my fingers, a dash of green blasted upward and exploded into a hundred different variations. One more stroke upon my work of art. From horizon to horizon, color plastered the sky. Yellows trailed into the jungles of green like the veins of an otherworldly creature. Browns creeped out from the edges of black voids that peaked through the canvas above. Purples radiated from oceans of blue, only to bleed into searing shades of scarlet. It was raining too, raining from that beautiful crimson stain on my sky. So sweet, so salty, so perfect. I won. I found a home. No, better, I made one! I made a place where I belong. I made a place where I could be happy, where none would judge me! I am home, I am fine. Funny, I thought the rain stopped a minute ago… Bah, there are more important things to worry about than rain! I turned from my work and began walking. My talon clicked on the gray bricks making up my road, but my hoof remained silent, no hooves here, they don’t exist, they don’t– One of the red and gold tentacle trees flinched but it, being the adorable thing that it is, still sent me a full-body wave. I paused for a moment to wave back, but I had places to be so I continued on. Purple grass moved with the non-existent wind, and I grinned at the bushes made of cheese. Looked like the things were spreading, damn near invasive if they’re this far out from the initial blast. I considered removing them, but that would be controlling chaos what a stupid idea that would be! I shook the thought from my head as I crested a hill. There were a couple more sceneries to pass through if I wanted to arrive by foot, but my hoof was aching from not existing so hard! With a hop, a skip, and a jump, I was there! Where? Nowhere of course! Though if I had to choose where Nowhere should be, it might as well be in a chair next to Discord. “Gah, can’t you ever give me some warning?” “That would establish a schedule Discord, an expectation, and I refuse to deal with anything of the sort!” He grumbled under his mutters, which themselves were under his breath while snapping away his bathtub! “Discord, are you complaining to me twice at the same time? My, you must really be getting the hang of your magic!” “Uh, thank you I suppose.” I spun out of my seat to float above Discord. “So, Discord, what have you been up to? It has been a minute, no?” He sighed. “You asked that like an hour ago.” “Yes, but that was then, this is now. Come on, I know you’re up to something, so spill the beans.” I conjured a jar of beans, guessing at what he wanted, and Discord frowned before chucking it at me. They, of course, splattered all over my face as the metal disappeared on contact. “Happy? But seriously Typhon, I’m still just getting used to the magic, it’s… being finicky.” I snorted. “finicky? Please, all you have to do is tell your magic what you want, and if you’re feeling picky, how to do it.” “Well, I do that but it doesn’t work.” “Because you don’t believe. Trust me, as corny and stupid as it sounds, our magic is based on us believing it’ll work. Heck, the only reason I worked it out so quickly was that I thought it was a dream!” I frowned before continuing. “Wait, no, not a dream, I thought I was someone else with the same powers that we have.” I shrugged and Discord sighed again. Maybe he should go see a doctor? Sighing that much cannot be good for him… or am I mixing that up with coughing? “Typhon, I really really don’t know what to tell you, I just need a bit of time to understand it better.” I rolled my eyes. I mean really, understanding chaos? People have tried before, but they’re all dead now, I think, and even they really only thought of chaos as entropy. No, chaos, true chaos, in this world is more an element of change, of unpredictability itself. I conjured a book of pony magic and dropped it on Discord’s head. “If you want to understand.” I shivered at the vile word but pushed on. “What you’re doing, then you might as well give up on chaos and just do what the ponies do. All orderly and the like. I keep telling you, chaos doesn’t need to be understood, but no, you–” “Ok ok, I got it, order bad chaos good. Seriously, you need to calm down, this obsession is getting unhealthy.” I cocked an eyebrow. “Like my obsession with being a monster?” “Yes! Exactly!” “Bah, I already solved that one, it was causing actual problems, this one just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” I hugged myself and let the buzz get louder, too bad yet another one of Discord’s sighs cut through it. Is he able to do anything else? Perhaps I need to teach him to switch things up a bit. “That’s not much better, but please tell me, what do you mean by saying that you ‘solved’ your previous obsession?” I perked up. “Oh, simple really, I stopped thinking of monsters as evil!” “Ok, I suppose that’s one way of going about it.” “Yep, monsters are just different, operating on unusual and exotic moral parameters!” “That’s… a bit of a fancy explanation coming from you, but sure, it makes some sense.” I waved a claw at him. “Pshaw, pshaw I say! These simple shards of my lexicon are hardly opulent compared to the more obfuscated and derelict pieces of my menagerie of words!” “I don’t think you used half the words in that sentence correctly.” “Bah, you understood what I was trying to say, that’s all that matters in the end.” Discord shook his head. “Whatever you say, Typhon, whatever you say.” I let the conversation die, content to let the warmth continue hugging my brain as I wove a cloud made of snakes into a sweater. Though a couple grunts of effort drew my attention back to Discord. He had his eyes fixed on his hand as he gritted his teeth and forced some sparks out with a snap. Trying to force chaos, when will he learn? It’s just belief. “Discord, you want something to drink?” He looked up at me with a tilt to his head, suspicion clouding his eyes, but nodded anyway. “Well, what are you waiting for? There's a whole case behind you, it’s your favorite.” He shot me a grin before reaching behind himself and grabbing a bottle from nothing. “Fanta? Oh ho, you do have some sense left after all! Wait, this wasn’t here a moment ago, when did you summon this?” I grinned right back. “I didn’t, you conjured it yourself.” His eyes went wide. “But you said–” “So I lied, what’s the big deal?” “Well, I don’t like being lied to.” “Understandable, counterpoint, you just used chaos magic.” He blinked once, twice, three times, can we get a fourth? Nope, he stopped blinking, please start blinking again, it’s getting creepy. “What?” “You did hear me, right? You–” “Yes yes I heard, but how? When? Why?”. I chuckled before answering. “Because you believed! Just now. And because you believed!” I spread my arms apart, revealing a rainbow, except mine had blackjack and– “Gah, Typhon, put that away!” “But it’s my rainbow! It has–” “Yes, I can see, now put it away!” “Fine.” With a flip of the paw and a swipe of the claw, the beautiful, improved rainbow vanished without a trace. Ok, that’s a lie, the goat was still yodeling in the distance somewhere, but it was mostly without a trace! Silence crept back into the conversation as Discord tried to replicate his earlier achievement. Two more bottles of Fanta, to his excitement, were drawn from behind himself. Hopefully, he moves on soon, I don’t know how much longer I can go on without real company! Well, besides Discord that is. You can only talk so much with one guy before all conversation points start getting repetitive. Especially when you have most of each other’s memories. But I’m not going to leave him all alone, I’m not a pony. I sighed as I settled onto an invisible hammock. Woe is me, nothing to do! I mean, it’s not like I can create puzzles, lay traps, or invent things. Nope, absolutely nothing to do. I snorted at the thought, letting the threads of bent space dig into my skin a bit. For some reason, my ribcage was beginning to itch. Oh well, hopefully, it goes away soon. I closed my eyes, ready to fall into the comforting void of sleep, but a strange sound rang through my ears. “What was that?” Discord glanced up at me. “What?” “That ‘ping.’ sound, like one of those customer service bells when you smack it.” Discord rolled his eyes before going back to fiddling with his pop. I made to tap him on the shoulder to remind him that ignoring people is rude. But then another ‘ping’ rang through my head. Once was strange, but twice though… It was still strange, wonder what could- ‘Ping’ Ok, I get it, I need to go check on something. As if I needed any- ‘PING’ “OK, I’M COMING. Seriously when did I install…” A low murmur droned through the tavern, causing Clover to frown. Was it really necessary to meet up here of all places? The place was cleaner than she thought it would be at first glance, and the kitchen smelled of well-made stew and fresh bread. But it was still too loud. She flicked her ears a few times to clear out some of the ringing. “...five-hundred, I’m tellin' ya the count was five-hundred!...” Clover tried to tune out the background conversations, it was rude to eavesdrop, but a few snippets still reached her here and there. “...I heard that Sourdough opened up the bakery again…” It was annoying, to say the least, but some of what was said. “I-I’m tellin' ya Brick, that damned monster wiped 'em all out. P-please, I know I talk too much sometimes, but…” disturbed her. Clover took a deep breath and focused on the wood grain of the table in front of her. It was a simple chestnut brown, the creases went perpendicular to the lines on the floor, and— “Shadup! Just shadup! I don’t wanna talk ‘bout that damn monster no more!” Clover thought about trying to zone in on some of these talks, but she wasn’t a spy! “...Hey, hey bro, ya know the barkeep? Yeah her, well I heard that…” Why was Hotshot taking so long? His rounds should’ve been over by now He’d said that he would answer her questions after he finished, and apparently, even a royal medallion couldn’t get him to end his patrol early, even just a bit. She scanned the crowd for the stallion. Something about ‘after what’s happened recently, best for me to just keep on as I have been. Ponies might get worried if I up and disappear on them.’ “...You think there’ll be another wave?...” Clover had to concede that something had set the town on edge. The glassy-eyed guards, the nervous ponies, this tavern talk, and the… vision were all proof of that. But she still couldn’t get a good answer out of anypony. Every time she would try to ask directly, the pony would clam up! She snorted in frustration, but before she decided to get up to go order something, Hotshot strolled in through the door. Finally, some answers. She waved a hoof and after a moment of searching, Hotshot spotted her. “...No, that thing killed too many. We wouldn’t be worth a second try. I hope…” He wove between the tables full of muttering ponies, stopping a time or two to have a word with somepony, but he always moved on before he could get dragged into whatever conversation was going on. He sighed when he plopped into a chair at Clover’s otherwise empty table. Clover tapped her hooves on the wooden surface with a smile while staring at Hotshot. The guard eyed her for a moment. “Well, have at it.” Clover took a deep breath to calm herself. “Alright, first, what happened?” “What?” “Why is this town so on edge? The gate guards were acting strange, the market was almost empty, and I didn’t see a single pegasus flying on my way here! Not to mention the bits and pieces I’ve been hearing in this place!” “Nopony tell ya?” Clover’s smile strained, and she had to force herself to answer through gritted teeth. “Nope.” He sighed. “Rebels came. Don’t rightly know exactly what happened, but one moment we had wave after wave of pegasi droppin’ on us like hail.” He paused, looking down at the table. “The next, they were dead. Little more than a pile o’ bones. Stacked up real nice too.” “What do you mean ‘then they were dead,’ what killed them? How did it kill them?” “Dunno, it was just a black splotch whenever I looked at it, and if I stared for too long, I’d start feeling sick. Something was off with whatever killed those ponies.” He narrowed his eyes at Clover. “Though I don’t know what, and I don’t really wanna know.” Clover pulled back with a snort. “Alright, then what do you know?” He cocked an eyebrow “Didn’t I just tell ya?” Clover took a deep breath. “Yes, but do you know anything more helpful? ‘Something came, killed a lot of ponies, and then left' doesn’t really tell me where to look.” “Well, the local orphanage has been complainin’ about strange feelings and reported a few more of those visions…” “And?” Hotshot frowned. “And that’s about it. I’ve been a bit busy with helping keep what’s left of the town together after this whole disaster. Every guard with any heart left is.” He went to get up but paused before adding. “Probably need to tell ya that you can find the orphanage down Seventh street, it’s the cleanest building there. Should also probably let ya know that Seventh is between ninth and tenth street.” “Alright, I guess I’ll- wait, what? Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be-” “After Sixth street, I know. Nopony has any clue why it’s there, ok?” Clover shook her head before nodding. “Alright, thank you for your time, Mr. Hotshot. I have to go now.” “Good luck.” Clover trotted through the tavern and out the door, trying to maintain a sedate pace, but she caught one last bit of gossip on the way out. “...Damn visions near the ol’ carrot stand, things are spread—” The words really didn’t register to Clover, she was more focused on the weight on her back and the path ahead. Once she set hoof on the street, Clover pulled a bundle of cloth from her saddlebag. The golden medallion glowed brighter than a torch in the night when she pulled away it's wrapping. Should I report? The few ponies trotting through the street didn’t spare her a glance, but Clover still felt a bit exposed out in the open. I’ll do it later. With a short sigh, Clover stuffed the medallion back into her pack and trotted down the street. 2nd street, 3rd street, 4th street… The occasional clang of metal being forged rang through the streets, and the muted voices of distant conversations reached her ears. 6th street, 8th street… Clover stopped in front of a small wooden sign that hung off the corner of a building, marking the glorified alley as ‘7th street.’ She snorted as a look ahead and behind confirmed the stupidity of the street’s location. Whatever, I have more important things to do. With that, she began walking down the alleyway. Cracked building after dilapidated house passed by as she went, but eventually, she came across a multistoried home that almost shone in the evening light. Maybe. Clover ripped the medallion from its hiding place and had to squint against the glaring golden light coming from it. With a hiss, she thrust it back to where it was. Yep, he was here. She stepped up to the door and knocked. But nobody came. She knocked again. The door remained shut. Oh, for the love of-! She raised her hoof to try a third time, but the door swung inward to reveal an orange earthpony. The bags under her eyes stared unblinkingly at Clover and the poor mare’s mane was horribly tangled. What happened? The mare broke the awkward silence. “What do you want?” Clover let her hoof fall as she brought a royal seal out of the bag with a flick of magic. “I’m here on royal business and request entry into this… establishment.” The orange mare stared at her for a moment before spinning to walk back into the building. Clover followed soon after. The door shut with a thunk and the mare sat down behind a counter. “Alright, what do you need help with ma’am.” Clover forced a smile to match the fake pep in the mare’s voice. “I don’t really need any help, I just need to check a few things and go.” The mare tilted her head, confusion written on her face. “Are you sure?” “Very, you can go back to whatever you were doing before and I’ll be gone in a moment.” The mare sighed in relief before nodding at Clover and trotting through a doorway off to the side. Clover took a deep breath as she brought out the medallion again. Here goes nothing. She touched the hunk of magic metal with her horn… And gasped in shock and pain. What the buck is that? A jagged tear, in reality, seemed to glare angrily back at her, but when Clover pulled away from the medallion, it vanished. Several walls stood between her and the monstrous rip in space. I-I don’t know anypony else who could do that. Sh-should I call in? Clover sat down, mouth hanging from the creeping anxiety tickling her mind. The Princess asked me to, I should report, I should- An image of Typhon’s head rolling across the floor flashed through her mind. She-she’s my ruler, I c-can’t ignore her. A memory jabbed into Clover’s mind, piercing her loyalty like an arrow through paper. A white alicorn towered over her, looking down at Clover like a mother would a child. “I am sorry, but this was necessary. Please understand that, while it wasn’t my intention, this outcome may very well have been the best one possible. Typhon would hate being caged like an animal, and Equestria cannot afford his antics at the moment.” In Clover’s eyes, Celestia looked regal, daunting, and cold, like a mountain’s peak or a horizon-spanning glacier. Clover shook her head and marched towards the hole in reality. I can message her later, this comes first. She came to a stop in some sort of living room. It was mostly empty save for a couch, a carpet, and the chaotic residue of some supremely powerful spell. Clover glared at the scar hanging in the air, resembling a nigh-invisible set of white stitches woven through an unseen cloth. Her legs twitched and her magic coiled. I…I hope he listens. She tenderly slid a thread of mana through the seams of the spatial wound. He was a good guy, he’ll probably listen. He’s got to! The thought was made with conviction, with purpose, with confidence! …and yet, it did nothing to ease the tension in her chest.