//------------------------------// // Close Encounters of the Random Kind // Story: Chaotic Will // by Mega NewWays97 //------------------------------// Tomar and Discord soared over the city, one that seemingly had no edge. Discord was simply blown away by the sheer number of people. He’d spent his entire life on a sparsely populated world, and ever pony he’d ever seen could easily have fit into this massive metropolis. He kept spinning his head in (actual) circles, trying to figure out how such a dense city could exist. Tomar noticed, and shot him a funny look. “Are you a shapeshifter?” he asked, “You should have broken at least a few bones by now.” “Me, a shapeshifter?” Discord gasped, mock offended. “Pishaw. I’m just a little random.” his wings fell off as he spoke, only to grow back seconds later with the squeal of an inflatable pool toy. Tomar gave him a very strange look. “I can tell the Guardians are going to love you,” he deadpanned as he dove towards the ground. “Follow me, the main meeting room is in here.” Discord trailed after him through the massive golden double doors on the side of an enormous dome. Inside, the building thrummed with activity. Lanterns were flying in all directions while somehow not colliding with each other, and bizarre metallic contraptions scampered across the floor, sweeping up dust and the occasional scrap of garbage. The entrance hall stretched far over Discord’s head, large enough to hold the biggest of Manehattan’s skyscrapers, and the walls were covered in moving images depicting scenes from countless different worlds. Discord suddenly felt very small. “Hurry up, Greenie,” Tomar called playfully, “You don’t want to keep them waiting.” Discord picked his way across the room, carefully treading across the golden inlaid floors and doing his best to dodge the oncoming traffic. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite good enough. “Oof!” Discord went sprawling, all his limbs falling off along the way. “Oh my gods, are you all right!?” shouted a female voice. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Discord said, summoning his appendages back to him. “But are you all…” He trailed off as he got his first good look at who had run into him. The first thing that came to mind when he saw her was, How did a dragon get on this planet? However, when he inspected her more closely, he noticed she was much thinner and more serpentine than a dragon of similar size, with an extra pair of arms and wings to boot. Her eyes were green with silver pupils, her scales a pale lime green with blue stripes arching across her head and back. Her wings were feathered and seemed to shimmer like a rainbow, and she appeared to have a purple mane. She stood up slowly, cracking her spine as she did so. “I’m so sorry,” She said, “ I’ve only been a green lantern for a day now… well a day on this world anyway. Oh where are my manners, I’m Larus, Green Lantern of sector 45678.” “Discord,” he replied, “Green Lantern of….” he trailed off, suddenly aware that he didn’t actually know where he was from. Fortunately, his ring did, although how it could possibly follow the conversation was a bit beyond him. “Sector 45679,” It chirped. The dragoness blinked at it. “ Yeah, there, and I just got here. Nice to meet you, by the way. Do you know how sectors are organized? It sounds like we might be neighbors.” “Yeah, we’re neighbors,” she confirmed with a chuckle, “And it sounds like you’re even greener than I am. Anyway, I’ve gotta fly, see you on the training field!” She flew off, quickly disappearing into the crowd. Discord realized a couple of Lanterns had stopped to stare at him, and he returned the favor until they got embarrassed enough to look away. “I swear, it’s like they’ve never seen somepony fall to pieces before,” he griped to Tomar, who had doubled back to see what was taking him. Tomar gave him a weird look upon hearing the word, ’everypony.’ “I know it was the first time for me. Now come on, they’re getting impatient.” He directed Discord down one of the halls, and through a circular door into a large, dark green meeting room. The Guardians hovered over several green pillars inside, waiting for him expectantly. The Lord of Chaos had to stifle a chuckle as he saw the Guardians for the first time. They were these cute little blue bipeds, either completely bald or with short white hair, perfectly sized to be a foal’s plush companion. However, that laughter died in his throat as he got a good look at their faces. They were completely expressionless, and probably didn’t understand the concept of ‘funny ‘, let alone have a sense of humor. He sensed he’d have to watch himself, which was a weird feeling for someone used to near godlike levels of power and status. As Discord stepped forward, the guardians looked him over without reaction. “I must say,” One of them finally said, “While the Corps does get the occasional magical recruit, we never thought a Isfetite would someday join our ranks.” Discord blinked at this. Truth be told, he knew next to nothing about what he was other an extensive self exploration session he’d performed during puberty. “Wait, what are you talking about?” Discord asked. “I thought I was one of a kind.” The Guardians noted his surprise. “I take it you know nothing of your race then?” Discord nodded, his confusion clear. A image appear showing a creature that looked an awful lot like Discord, only a different color. “The Isfetites are a nomadic race. They left their homeworld 5 million years ago, with godlike powers that allow them to do as they please. While most are just pranksters,” The image flashed to a Guardian with pie on his face before cutting out for a moment, “A few have attempted to set themselves up as gods or conquers. Despite being as diverse as it is possible for a species to be, they all share one thing in common: total disregard for the law, social and natural.” Another scene played, showing an Isfetite cleaning his nails with a ‘no loitering’ sign, then turning it into a popsicle and eating it. “The Green Lantern Corps is the universe’s largest police force, defending and upholding the law across the known universe. The rings are programmed to seek out a suitable bearer after the previous wielder's demise. The fact it picked you is both intriguing and alarming.” Discord looked around at them, his confusion turning to disappointment. “So your saying I can’t be a Green Lantern?” Discord asked, fiddling with the ring on his talon. “We are not that blind,” one of the Guardians answered, “The ring chose you, so it must believe you are capable of becoming one of us. While they have been known to make mistakes, those errors are extremely rare.” Discord sighed in relief. He’d only had the ring for a few hours, but was already growing pretty attached to it. “In any case, that concludes our business with you. Lantern Tomar will guide you to your quarters, and you are expected to report for training at 3 Dodecas, six Scores.” Discord stared at them in confusion. “That’s 7:00 A.M. by your time measurements. We use a more practical system. Dismissed.” Discord stumbled out into the hallway, his mind awhirl. He wasn’t alone. That was by far the most mind blowing thing he’d learned today, which especially impressive given the competition. “Discord,” Tomar waved his hand in front of Discord’s face, catching his attention. “Come on, Greenie, I’ll get you settled in.” The apartment he was shown to was quite a bit bigger than his suite in the Canterlot Palace. The fixtures were recognizable, but only barely, since they’d been designed to work with as many body types as possible. The bed was a zero G platform with a self-contained temperature control system, and came with a few blankets and stuffed creatures, alongside other objects Discord didn’t recognize.The bathroom was spartan, basically just a toilet, sink and walk-in shower shoved into a corner. The only other objects in the room were a cabinet/dresser hybrid and a personal storage unit. “This’ll be your quarters on OA whenever you have to stay here. I know it’s a bit bare, but you’re allowed to customize.” Discord touched the storage unit, and with a little effort, made it glue itself to the ceiling. He knew his magic was weaker here, but he didn’t think it was this bad. He should have been able to do that with a stray thought. “Well I guess I could finish the place up later. Besides I’ve been wondering: how am I supposed to use this thing?” He held up the ring. “Is there a button or a magic word, or do I have to do the chicken dance?” Tomar laughed. “That’s what training is for Greenie. You’ll get the basics once I introduce you to Kilowog.” The training grounds were a couple of blocks to the south of the Guardians building, and the arrived just as the instructor walked up. Discord was impressed: this guy looked like he could take on Applejack in a hoofwrestling contest and win. The thought came with a pang of hurt, so he diminished it quickly. “Tomar, good to see you!” The hulking alien said, “Last I heard you were dealing with the Barrion Raiders. And who’s this you brought with you?”. Discord felt like he was being sized up, and didn’t like the concept at all. “This is Discord,” Tomar answered, “ He’s our newest recruit, an Isfetite from sector 45679.” he gave a gesture to the instructor. “Discord, this is Kilowog. As long as you’re a greenie, if he says jump, you’re in the air before you ask how high. Got it?” Discord nodded. While he loved playing pranks on those in authority, it was important where the lines were before you tried to toe them. “So you’re an Isfetite, eh?” Kilowog growled. “I’ve heard stories about your kind, and I hope for your sake they’re exaggerated. Now, you said you wanted to learn the basics?” Discord nodded. “Right, I’m only going to say this once, so listen up! You ring is controlled by your mind. You picture what you want to happen and will it into existence. This is how it works for all species, and it’s no different for you. Now suit up!” Discord focused, remembering the sensation of the first time he used the ring, a river of power chained to his will. His uniform materialized around him. With another thought, he created an image of Celestia, one which blurred slightly before it became obese from stuffing its face with. Kilowog grunted. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet, Greenie,” he said before he formed a green hammer and smashed the construct. “You’ve still a long way to go, however. And I’ll let you know,” Kilowog leaned in close enough Discord could smell his breath, “The last sapient to show up tomorrow gets 10 extra laps. Don’t be late.” Discord spoke an affirmative as he wondered just what he’d gotten himself into.