//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Orderly Chaos // by FoughtDragon01 //------------------------------// A sigh of relief passed through Twilight’s muzzle as she stepped inside her library home, an equally relieved smile on her face. Her day had been a picture-perfect example of convenience. So far, in a rare moment of time management, she managed to get everything on her schedule completed in a nice, timely manner. No distractions, no sidetracking, no citywide catastrophes. She was, for all intents and purposes, as happy as could be. As she took off her saddlebags, placing them off to the side, she giggled. Only Ponyville could make staying on schedule feel like a breath of fresh air. Granted, she didn’t really spend as much time with her friends as usual, but she didn’t let it bother her that much. After all, it wasn’t like she was putting her punctual needs before them; they all had their own things to do as well. She was certain that they’d all agree that today in particular ran especially smoothly for all of them. “Spike, I’m home!” she called, approaching her desk. Taking a look around the library, it looked like Spike did a pretty bang-up job cleaning up the place while she was gone. The shelves were dusted, the books rearranged, and the trash emptied. Even before she stepped inside her home, she could smell the aroma of a well-prepared lunch wafting from the kitchen. Spike always did have a knack for hay fries, and he no doubt had a nice daisy sandwich to go along with it. Simple, but hearty all the same. The clattering of pans and silverware against the countertop rang from the kitchen before Twilight’s young assistant poked his head through the doorway. “Hey, Twilight. I’m making lunch.” Twilight took in a deep breath, breathing in the scent. She could already feel her stomach growling. “Mmm, I can smell it. You’ve gotten good at this.” “Yeah, well… I’ve had a lot of practice,” he sheepishly replied. “Anyway, just gimme a few more minutes, and they’ll be ready.” “I can’t wait. I’m starving.” As Spike ducked back into the kitchen, Twilight turned her attention back towards her desk. While Spike was still busy preparing their meal, she figured that she’d at least get some studying in. She was almost positive that she was on her way to better understanding how the Everfree Forest functioned. Maybe she’d even be able to quell some of the more ridiculous myths surrounding the place, if only to ease the fears of the many ponies who believed them. She just needed to do a quick look over of the notes she’d taken so far. Twilight’s eyes scanned across the contained mess that was her study area, searching for those papers. A slight frown cracked onto her face as she scanned over her desk again. That frown twisted into a worried grimace as she looked over her desk a third time. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. “Where are they?” she softly asked. She lifted several books, pushed aside various other notes and broken quills, but the fact remained the same. She couldn’t find her notes. Undoubtedly at the worst possible time, Spike walked back into the lobby. “Alright, lunch is—” He couldn’t so much as get his other foot through the door before he narrowly avoided becoming closely acquainted with the pointy end of a quill as it embedded itself in the wall next to him. He could do little more than stand, frozen still, as he laid eyes on the frantic mare sitting at the desk before him. She had that crazed look in her eye, one that Spike knew all too well. “Um… Uh, oh.” “Where are they, where are they, where are they?!” Spike could only cower behind one of the only untouched chairs in the room as all manner of tome, quill, and paper went flying through the air. Taking a chance, he risked a glance over his protective chair in an attempt to calm the panicked unicorn. “I-I put ‘em in the—” A not-at-all girly yelp left the young dragon’s mouth as he ducked underneath another brick of a book. After emptying the bookshelf, effectively undoing hours of baby dragon labor in a few short minutes, Twilight turned her attention towards the next most logical location. Well, about as logical as her frazzled mind would allow. Putting her nose down to the ground, she skittered her eyes across the floor, looking underneath the soon-to-be upturned furniture and behind her soon-to-be-upturned bookshelves. “It took me months to gather up those research notes!” Twilight exclaimed, searching through her trashcan. Or more like, tossing the trashcan’s contents across the floor in the hopes that she’d recognized any of the crumpled balls of paper as her treasured notes. “They might give us more insight into how the Everfree Forest functions! I need to find them!” Twilight’s eyes, twitching and crazed, switched back to the aforementioned soon-to-be-upturned furniture. Spike pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the beginnings of a throbbing ache in his skull. Was that a headache? It felt like a headache. “Put away the papers, you said. She’ll love the extra effort, you said.” His heart nearly leapt up to his throat as he heard the loud, distinct sound of a heavy piece of furniture being upturned. That pained throbbing in his skull returned in full. It was a headache. Definitely a headache. With Twilight going through another 'episode', Spike made the decision that any smart dragon would make. He sat behind the safety of his chair and just let nature run its course. As he waited, however, he could’ve sworn that he heard some kind of bang. An explosion even. It didn't come from inside the library; he doubted it even occurred in Ponyville. It was faint, muffled, as though it came from far away. From the sound of it, it likely did, but even so, the instant he heard it, he felt… something. Some kind of wave of energy rushing right over him. He felt an undeniable chill run up his spine, but just as quickly as it appeared, the sensation vanished. The whole thing happened so quickly, Spike hardly noticed it at all. Still, if he felt it, then he supposed it was only reasonable to believe that Twilight felt it too, assuming that she registered anything during her little fit. Slowly, Spike poked his head back over the chair. “Uh, Twilight? Did you feel that?” “Yes!” she cried. Spike breathed a quiet, relieved sigh. “Alright. So, do you know what it—” “Here they are!” Twilight yanked her research notes out of her desk, where they had been all along during her small, destructive search. The instant she wrapped her notes in a lavender aura, that crazed tick in her eyes disappeared in a flash. The errant strands of hair sticking up from her mane practically fixed themselves. With order properly restored, she turned a calm, warm smile towards her young assistant. “Now, what were you saying, Spike?” Incredulous, unintelligible stutters were all that Spike could muster before he regained the ability to speak. “I... But... Didn't you...? Y'know what? Never mind. I'll just... go get the broom or something.” ---- Nopony would be able to explain why, but the weather around Canterlot had always possessed a curious way of maintaining a picturesque state of pleasantness that was worthy of envy. It was rarely ever too cold or too hot. Even during the pouring torrents of a rainstorm, the area always maintained its divine glow as the sun’s rays shone through the dark grey clouds. Whether it was due to the pegasi simply kissing up to the princesses or Celestia’s very presence, the weather about the castle always retained its clear blue skies and bright, shining sun. This day in particular was no different. To add to the serene scenery, a pair of literal lovebirds fluttered about the great, white castle, coming to a graceful landing on a mountainside windowsill. The two daintily skittered towards each other, taking each other in a warm nuzzle. The male of the pair stared into the loving eyes of his partner. Those eyes of hers, sparkling like the purest of gems. He’d give anything just to get a hold of a single gem to match those beautiful eyes. Then he grew a pair. No, he didn’t finally muster up the courage to ask his partner to be his special somebird(?) for life. He literally grew a pair of diamonds, the gems protruding from his head like tiny goat horns. His partner could only watch, wide-eyed, in equal parts shock and confusion as her partner struggled against the newfound weight to keep his head up. Despite his efforts, it was only a short matter of time before he found himself falling face first to the ground. The cause of such an odd phenomenon? A single glance off to the side would reveal a certain draconequus uninterestedly leaning against the window of his tiny room, head propped on a bored hand. Admittedly, a smile did crack onto his face as he watched the bird attempt to overcome the weight of its newfound appendages, but it did little to take away from the overwhelming monotony. Though Celestia did grant him a room in which he could freely play out all of the chaotic whims that the space allowed, the space didn’t allow much. He could only turn the walls, floor, ceiling, table, couch, cups, plates, and bed into so many different things. It was doomed to grow dull eventually, even for him. Most would think that an entity of pure chaos would find it very difficult to get bored. Granted, not much of Equestria’s population let such odd thoughts enter their mind, but if for some reason they were thinking that, then they would be right. Boredom and Discord weren’t necessarily things that went well together. Admittedly, the threat of boredom was at least a good motivator to keep the chaotic entity thinking creatively. As wonderfully enjoyable as it was, there were only so many smiles to be gained from exploding chocolate milk. A cup of exploding chocolate milk going off in the middle of a line of combustible lemons, however? That was a nice way to keep the spark from burning out. It was also an excellent way to make lemonade. Alas, the draconequus found it rather difficult as of late to alleviate his boredom, primarily due to those pesky restrictions Celestia placed on him. Something of a sneer cracked onto his face as he remembered what one of those restrictions was: Leave any and all of Equestria’s inhabitants untouched. That included birds. As much as he enjoyed annoying Celestia, there were certain lines that he'd have to cross on another day. This, unfortunately, was one of them. With a faux disappointed sigh, Discord snapped his fingers. The affected bird promptly turned back to… not normal. The diamonds disappeared, yes, but they were replaced by a pair of foam horns instead. Discord raised a perplexed eyebrow; though he absolutely adored things that didn’t make sense, he was less fond of things that didn’t make sense to him. Though he didn’t necessarily want to, he did try to turn that bird back to normal. That very clearly didn’t happen. He brought his confused gaze down to his clawed hand. “Hmm. Well, that’s new,” he muttered. Gripping the offending appendage, he screwed it off, looking it over with a pair of large, scrutinizing eyes. “Is this thing broken?” After giving it a few customary shakes, he screwed his hand back on, rotating his wrist around just to make sure it was in place. Giving it another go, he snapped his fingers again. His face twisted into an annoyed grimace as the bird’s foam horns were replaced by a pair of chocolate wafers. An agitated sigh left his mouth. “Well… This is happening now.” He was about to try again, but couldn’t help but notice the birds helping themselves to the wafer horns. It wasn’t exactly the most efficient way of getting rid of the problem, but as far as Discord was concerned, it was a solution right up his alley. At least it would be dealt with in due time. That still left Discord with the issue of figuring out why exactly that little ordeal just happened. Leaning back against the windowsill, he stroked his chin while he pondered on the issue. “This is certainly peculiar,” he muttered. “Odd, and not in the way that I like. Hmm.” Discord needed a nice swig of glass, if only to calm his nerves. With a snap of his fingers, a glass of chocolate milk appeared before him. Stroking his beard, Discord took a small sip. As the liquid draped across his tongue, his eyes shot wide open before he spit it back out. A look of utter shock exploded onto his face as he laid eyes on the glass before him. Things were worse than he though. Far worse. At first, he simply thought that he was having an off day, that due to some unforeseen circumstance, he was suddenly rusty with his magic. That wasn't the case, far from it, something that only became even more apparent as he stared at the cup of milk before him. He didn’t drink the glass. He drank the actual milk. ---- At long last. At long, long last. They’re finally perfect. Doughnut Joe inhaled the sweet scent of victory emanating from his oven as he slowly pulled the metal door open. The familiar wave of heat slamming into his face only further fueled the joy burning inside of him. Oven mitt in mouth, he carefully, oh so carefully, pulled the metal tray out from the hot, square canvas. If anypony saw him, they’d think he was handling a precious, fragile gem. But not only was what he was carrying far more valuable to him than any inedible gem, he didn’t even want anypony to see him. He couldn't be seen, not like this, not until he was ready to explain things for himself. “Honey, what’s that smell?” a voice called from upstairs. The beige stallion froze in place. Quickly, he placed the metal tray on a nearby counter. “Nothing, dear!” he shouted. “I’m just, er… baking. Baking doughnuts, of course! And nothing else.” “It doesn’t smell like anything you’ve ever made before, but that wouldn’t be a first. Just hurry, you’re going to miss your programs.” “Yes, dear!” With a heavy sigh of relief, he turned his attention back towards the six beauties adorning his tray. Six gorgeous morsels, perfectly round, their golden brown surfaces shining in his kitchen light. They said that he could never do it, but they were wrong. Doughnut Joe had just created six perfect bagels. It was impossible for him to tear his eyes away from his creations, from his labors of love and dedication. Simply looking at them filled him with such a joy that he had never experienced before. Even then, however, that wasn’t enough to override the battle waging in his mind. Ever since he was young, his parents ensured that he lived up to his name; after all, his name was Doughnut Joe. His cutie mark was a doughnut. If anypony were to discover this, what would they think? Would they exile him as a laughing stock, as somepony who simply couldn’t follow the standards placed upon him by society? Was it worth placing his business, his relationship, in jeopardy to follow his true dream? Slowly, Joe walked up to a nearby window, staring out in the vast, blue skies that Celestia’s day so generously gave him. This was not a question that he could answer himself. He needed help. And there was only one pony he knew that could give him that help. “Princess Celestia, please. I beg of you. I must know this answer. Should I follow through with this? Should I put everything that I have at risk to follow my dream?” At first, nothing. But mere seconds later, it seemed as though his question was finally answered. “AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” At first, the stallion shrunk back in fear. As he loosened back up, still shocked, his face twisted into a dejected frown as he slunked back towards the fruits of his hard labor. He wanted his answer, and he supposed that he received it. With a disappointed sigh, he threw his bagels into the garbage. “I was never good at making bagels, anyway.”