It seems that through the years of my absence that Chaos has become such a dirty little word. It’s such a shame really, that the true meaning of the word seems to have been lost along to the fair ponies of Equestria as well as so many other things they once held dear. It is a true tragedy if there ever was one. However there is at least one among us who remembers how things really used to be…
Fear not for that has been lost, dear reader, for I still remember, more or less, how things were millennia ago. I'm not going anywhere and I have all the time in the world to right that which has been so wronged by the pages of history.
In today’s society Chaos is a predator. It’s a thing that seeks to bring ponies down when they are at their weakest and their most vulnerable. To them, Chaos is sickness, war, famine, drought, and death all rolled into one convenient pseudonym. So the threat of Chaos has become a call to adhere to a “Greater Order,” one which says that all that is not sought to will devolve into madness and spectacle before your very eyes.
Chaos has become the proverbial black sheep, it’s the bent key that won’t fit in the door, it’s the loose axle on your cart that breaks the wheel and leaves you stranded in the middle of nowhere…
To put it simply Ponies today see Chaos as the one unaccounted variable that makes everything go wrong, the one weak link in the chain that holds the blood crazed Manticore back from the spectators at the circus.
Today Chaos is everything that is wrong with the world and without it ponies truly believe that Order would be righteous and complete.
Of course we both know that that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Or at least I know that at any rate and so shall you.
Chaos and Order are not the opposites that society paints them to be.
Order and Chaos are not like two cosmic titans, battling each other for control of the world, just as much as they are not warring forces.
You see when I was young Chaos and Order were one and the same, there was no distinction because there is no real distinction between the two…
Or something like that, it all gets a bit fuzzy when I try to remember back more than a few millennia but trust me when I say that was, in fact, the case.
I suppose the best way to explain it would be to compare the world around us to a statue.
So, let’s imagine a proud and prolific statue standing tall in the gardens. It is a beauty and in inspiration to all who behold it and it is a testament to the skill of the craftspony who designed it.
But there is a problem!
Unbeknownst to the pony who sculpted this truly marvelous piece of art the stone they used contained but a single, modest, flaw in its core. Now, the statue was designed to stand through the test of time and weather any force that Equis could throw at it. That’s part of the point of making a stone statue in the first place, you make it to last.
However, because of this one flaw the statue is now imperfect. The statue, as it is flawed, now stands as a mockery to perfection and to True Order. This statue is a perfect example of a system that appears to be stable but is inherently flawed, what I like to call “False Order.”
Now, as far as the universe is concerned this “False Order” is an affront to nature and must be stricken down so that “True Order” may reign supreme. This, my friends, is where good ol’ Chaos comes into play.
Whenever something is flawed or inherently unstable it is the job of Chaos to point this flaw out to the rest of the world so that True Order might be restored.
So Chaos will be the rain that seeps into the cracks between the stone. Chaos will be the ice that pushes the stone apart, bit by bit. Chaos will make the statue crack and slowly crumble away before all those who would deny its flaws.
Chaos will show the crack for what it truly is, it is something that needs to be fixed or reassured. Chaos is that which will reveal something that is inherently wrong, it’s the universes call to for the rest of us to right that wrong.
If at that point somepony just happens to notice the crack spreading out of the statues artfully crafted thigh, then they can attend to it and repair the damage that has been done by the flaw.
Of course, if all the signs are ignored then the crack will simply continue to spread and the statue will one day crumble away, becoming nothing more than dust in the wind.
You see Chaos seeks order and Order relies on Chaos impose itself.
In simple terms you may consider Chaos the Universal Law of Change and you may consider Order the Universal Law of Constance.
Both laws require the existence of the other to have meaning as both Chaos and Order require one another to exist. Chaos models itself off the underlying Order in a system while Order requires Chaos to be created.
In a way, it’s almost tragic. Chaos shall forever lust after a state of True Order knowing that if it were ever to embrace it that they would both be no more.
Please, feel free to ignore the ramblings of an old Draconequus.
My point is that Chaos and Order are not foes as much they are eternal allies against the cosmic forces of disorder and imperfection.
So, now that you know what real Chaos is let’s try moving on to a real world example of the workings of Chaos. Let’s call it "An Investigation Into Chaos," an exploration of how it thinks, moves, and acts.
So it may have come to your attention at one point or another that I, Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Lord of Disharmony, was once imprisoned for a thousand years under the rule of Princess Celestia and Luna before my escape and subsequent release.
I have read the “official” report on my escape and it states that when our fair Luna was trapped in the etherium of the moon her and her sister Celestia lost their connection with The Elements of Harmony. This is supposed to have caused a steady weakening of my prison that left it in a state where an argument between mere school foals set me free. The report continued to state that after my recapture by the hooves of the new element bearers my prison would remain intact indefinitely.
This report shall serve as our second example of False Order. It may seem to be a perfect explanation but there are obvious faults which we can explore together and then we shall serve as the riotous force of Chaos that will send this petty charade crumbling into dust.
The first flaw in this report is perhaps the most obvious one.
The report states that I would remain encased in stone for all eternity and yet I can assure you, dearest reader, that I am most certainly not encased in stone
Yes I realize that this may not be the fault of the original prison that I was encased in and that it doesn’t directly contradict the substance of the report itself; however…
It just feels wrong…
So Celestia saw fit to have me released, I understand that but I question why she wanted me to be freed in the first place. I mean why in Tartarus would that mare ever even consider taking the risk of setting me free. I do understand that Celestia is the sovereign of this fair nation but that does not exempt her of the bounds of logic!
Surely she remembers what I did to Equestria when I was released and I hesitate to think that she has forgotten what I was like before my imprisonment. It makes absolutely no sense! Why would she even think about it, much less do it?
And yes, before you say it I am, in fact, aware of the “official” reason that Celestia released me. She did say to me in no uncertain terms that she wanted to put me to work for “the good of the Empire.” I realize that that logic stands, at least superficially, as is evidenced by my continued presence in Equestria and the inane tasks she has seen fit to assign to me. I understand wanting me for the defense of the nation but her other imperatives are absolutely inane and nonsensical!
Would it not be easier to hire trained investigators to find instabilities in Canterlot’s sociopolitical structure? Would it not be safer to show your artists natural beauties instead of having the Lord of Disharmony himself serve as their muse? Would it not be more effective to have your prized student Twilight Sparkle write a report on the elemental properties of Chaos?
Yes it would be. On every count she had a thousand different options that make far more sense than releasing me for them. I am genuinely at a loss, I can think of no reason that she should ever want to release me or would ever need to do so.
This, dear reader, is where Chaos gets complicated. When there is no direct or obvious route to dismantle the False Order that has been imposed, Chaos must improvise.
So for now let us ignore why Celestia has released me and focus on what she is doing to me.
So then, Celestia seems to think that I would be a good inspector, author, and artist but why? I can understand the general concepts behind her logic but I know that she knows me better than all of that. As I said before, there are better alternatives to me on every front. Having me do these tasks is frankly a waste of my time, so the question becomes why is she trying to waste my time?
I think that Celestia is trying to keep me awake.
So after my "outbursts" in Ponyville you might think me to be some violent and disorderly force of raw Chaos. In my defense I may be Chaos personified, but even I have imperfections.
You have no idea what being locked away for so long does to your mind, those two upstarts sealed away every last bit of power I had for over a thousand years.
Once I got out I just needed to prove to myself that I was still in control, that I was actually still alive. They took everything away from me; I just needed to be sure that wouldn’t happen again…
No, I might be young at heart; I might still be cheerful or even optimistic at times. However, as much I try to deny it in casual conversation, I am old.
I could describe to you what it’s like to watch the world change around you when you yourself remain the same, but you would probably perish of old age before you could truly understand how it feels. Eventually reality loses some of its flair and you become more and more enthralled with the realm of slumber. It starts out small at first; you sleep for a week, then a year, than a century. I remember the last time I was truly able to rest, it was right before I was so cruelly imprisoned…
Not too long ago Equestria was more of an idea than reality. The meek of this world, the humble pony folk, came and woke me from my slumber. They told me that they were cast down by stronger and more prolific races such as the Dragons and the Griffons; they came to me to ask for a safe haven. I obliged so long as they promised to leave me in peace. Then that fateful deal was struck and Equestria was born.
I tamed mountains and carved out valleys. I seeded forests. I even brought up rivers and lakes from the depths of Equis. I did my best to make a paradise that would stand through the test of time. That, more or less, is the story of how Equestria was made.
That’s how I tell the story anyway; I’m the only one left who is old enough to remember such simple times.
All you need to know is that I did all I could give the ponies a place that they could truly call home, they decided that in return for this gift they would bestow upon me the “honor” of being their King. Perhaps all this could have been averted if they had simply asked my permission in the matter however, I was asleep at the time and some things can’t be helped.
A few decades later they roused me from my slumber with cries of a plague that had spread over the southern lands. They asked me to cure the afflicted and save their villages. Of course I had to tell them no, one does not simply cure a plague. To do so would be to upset the natural order, if I were to do that then the same plague would return the next year with far greater consequences. They didn’t understand why I would not help them and begged me for my favor. Eventually I simply said. “This is stability, a system in which problems solve themselves.” they left me to slumber once more.
A century passed and they came to me again, this time with cries of crippling droughts and an unending cold in the northernmost lands. They asked me to bring them back the rains and to end the cold, so that they could grow their crops and live well once again. I told them that if I were to do that it would wreak havoc with the climate of the adjoining lands and would eventually put a stop to all of the rains. I told them that the cold would come back with twice the ferocity and freeze the very ground if I were to hold it at bay for even a season. Again they didn’t understand that this had to be the order of things and I simply said. “This is stability, a system in which problems solve themselves.” I fell into slumber as they left my cave in the mountain side once more.
Three more centuries passed and I was once again awakened. The ponies told me that the woods had become overgrown and that they were hunted by terrible creatures in the night. They asked me to tame the savage wilds so that they would be safe in the setting sun once more. I told them that if I were to cull nature with my power that it would resist and that that same power would make it return twice as wicked, spawning truly terrifying beasts. I said that if they wanted to cull the wilds that they would have to assert themselves onto it as to change the order naturally. Then I said. “This is stability, a system in which problems solve themselves.” I returned to my sleep in my throne before they were even able to respond.
Then that fateful day so many years ago arrived, I awoke in an ornate throne room to find two young mares addressing me. “Most curious…” I thought to myself as they spoke.
“Discord,” the elder of the two spat out as if I were the most revolting thing in the universe, “you claim to be our sovereign and by that right we are your faithful subjects. Why do you neglect us so, your ponies suffer famine, drought, sickness, predation, and foul weather.” I rolled my eyes fully prepared to hear the same charade of false need that I had heard so many times before.
Needless to say I was surprised to hear what came next.
“Discord, do you not care about our suffering? We demand an explanation for your inaction!” They shouted in tandem. That was certainly different. I reached out my will to their mind so that I could properly address them and their concerns. I frowned when I saw playing in their minds eyes, the same problems that had plagued their forbearers for years.
“My dearest Celestia and my dearest Luna,” I said with all the sincerity I could muster for such a trivial pursuit, “it is not my charge to resolve all of my “subjects,”” I passed over that word with disdain, “problems; all of these charges are issues that should resolve themselves.” I added, “I have done all that has been asked of me. This is stability, a system in which problems solve themselves.” I decided that I would wait for them to leave me once more. Instead they simply stood and glared daggers into my very soul.
“But I can tell you’re not satisfied with that answer,” I said as I rose from my throne and approached them, “I will make you a deal, if you think you can do better with my throne and my title than I have…” I paused in front of them with a smile that grew wider and wider by the second.
“Perhaps you should simply take it from me.”
Therein lies my mistake, I had hoped that the ponies would eventually grow some backbone and care for themselves. That was the moment I had waited eons for. What I didn’t anticipate was the image they had created of me. Somehow in their minds I had turned from a benevolent protector to a malicious tyrant. As the pair took my throne they took my power and sealed me in stone lest I rise against them.
What bothers me is that I have done nothing to change that perception and still Celestia saw fit to give me my freedom. It makes no sense whatsoever, why the sudden change of heart, why take the chance. There is something missing in the equation, something integral. Perhaps I should speak with Luna, it might prove enlightening.
Chaos has a purpose. It can be negative, it can cause death and despair for everyone involved as their False Order comes crumbling down around them. It can also be positive, exposing lies and falsehoods before they bring the True Order to the brink of oblivion. The truth always comes out, one way or another.
I’ll make sure of that.