Chaos Vs. Order

by Justice3442

Chapter 7: The Desolation of Dracolich

Chaos Vs. Order

Chapter 7: The Desolation of Dracolich

-ooooooo-

Let it not be said that ponies as a race cannot defend themselves. Born of magic and strong of heart, your kind is not one to be trifled with lightly. As the death birds descended and the various bipedal fiends approached, the ponies stood their ground and fought the creatures which had been delivered onto Equestria… But what the ponies faced were monsters quite possibly born to kill, or at least spread misfortune and dread. The battle went from confusion to a massacre in seconds.

“Take these fiends down!” Amethyst shouted with the tone of someone still in command of an army as opposed to raging against a force carving a bloody swath of destruction through her ranks. “Whiplash, take out some of those large green trolls. Longshot, try to keep the death birds at bay and focus on the troll’s vitals. Starswirl, start clearing the skies of those cloud gremlins.”

I wasn’t sure if Amethyst knew what to call these things or was simply making up names on the spot, but the labels stuck.

Amethyst the White, Whiplash, Longshot, and Starswirl did their best to hold the line… as much as lines existed anymore amongst all the mayhem.

Amethyst controlled magic masterfully, using a minimal amount of energy with a high degree of accuracy. It was disgustingly efficient. Each of her blasts hit a troll in the head or clipped a wing, bringing a multitude of the attackers to the ground.

Longshot was a flurry of arrows, each shot hitting small, but vulnerable spots that crippled or killed. Soon there was a collection of pin-cushioned creatures surrounding the pegasus in a ragged circle.

Whiplash lashed out with all the subtlety of bull who drank a gallon of coffee before setting on a personal quest to beat his personal speed record at pottery smashing. His whip tore flesh, broke bone, and wrapped around creatures, often turning them into the unwilling and unfortunate head of a flail until their broke and battered bodies proved to mushy to be held.

I watched as a collection of the gremlins collected clouds into a mobile fortress of pouring rain, stinging sleet, and thunderous lightning. This was short lived as a massive blast of Starswirl’s magic tore through the center, sending about a dozen of the winged creatures screaming and flailing in all directions.

Exactly as well as the battle was going on the front of the pony army was as bad as it was going everywhere else.

Errant blasts of magic, spears, and arrows fired in all directions as razor sharp talons found their marks.

Hooves slammed at full force into leathery skin before massive clubs shattered bones and sent ponies sailing in all direction.

The wind howled and lightning stuck as pegasi tried to bend the weather to their will, only to find the gremlins were beating them at their own game. The winged ponies were dropping from the sky at a rapid pace.

Chaos.

Undeniable.

Undiluted.

Pure chaos.

In that moment, I saw my full potential. Could it be I was holding back all these eons? Oh, I was a master of sowing Chaos to be certain, but I had never created such a level of pandemonium.

A vision appeared before me.

I could lay waste to untold lives until there was nothing left of this planet but a lifeless waste. And with my new knowledge of other worlds, I could do it again and again.

Until…

Until there was nothing left and I was the sole reigning being of an empty uni-Nay-multiverse. As potentially intoxicating as the feeling was, I could not allow myself to become such a being. Nor could I allow such destruction to continue.

This was my realm.

And, in a strange way, these were my subjects that were fighting and dying.

I could not sit idle another moment. I had to act.

One of the fallen troll, its body riddled with arrows and spears, began to stir. It stretched out a long spindly arm which ended in jagged claws towards Longshot who was otherwise occupied with a group of the Death birds swarming above him. Despite the numerous wounds inflicted on it, some looking rather fatal, the troll somehow found the strength to fight once more.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, focusing on the very physical essence of the creature. It seemed it could regenerate indefinitely so long as it wasn’t attacked with fire or acid. Fascinating.

Longshot noticed the creature an instant too late. It swiped its claws downwards towards the gray pegasus as he fumbled to get another arrow ready.

I replaced tall, green, and ugly’s blood with acid and the creature melted into a soupy goo in an instant.

Another such creature paused. Its massive bludgeon held over its head as the horrific sight of what had happened to one of its brethren distracted it from delivering the finishing blow to a wounded pegasus.

With a snap of my talon, it also met a gooey end.

Unhappy with my activities at melting their allies, a trio of death birds swopped downwards. Their skeletal talons bared as they prepared to rip into my flesh.

I rose the temperature around me many hundreds of degrees and incinerated the lot of them in an instant. The bits of flaming bone and feather I quickly sent into another of the lanky giants. It fell and did not rise up again.

Longshot fell over to my position, firing off an arrow as he did that relinquished one of the green creatures of an eye.

“I suppose I owe you thanks,” Longshot said in a begrudging tone.

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said as I looked skyward and used my magic to grab hold of two of the dark cloud fortresses in the sky. I folded them into one, curved mass like a taco with storm clouds for a shell and lightning and screaming gremlins on the inside. “Thank me if you survive this,” I said as the screams subsided from my stormy death taco. The gremlin’s and their bases taken care of, I sent the remains of the creatures downward, taking care that there corpses collided with as many death birds as possible.

Longshot let loose another arrow, neatly skewering a death bird through the skull. “You’re unsure if we’ll make it out alive? This does not fill me with confidence.”

I chuckled as I replaced one of the green creature’s cerebral cortexes with fire. “I said if you survive.”

Longshot grimaced. “Your concern is heartwarming.”

“Longshot!” Amethyst the mood killer to the rescue. “Stop talking to that monster!”

Longshot made a face as if his mom had just hassled him about something asinine for the third time that day before taking another arrow into his mouth and letting it fly. The same creature he had assisted in furthering his career as a pirate suddenly found himself an additional 50% blinder, bring the total to 100%. “I hate Discord as much as anyone Amethyst, but he’s clearly helping us at the moment.”

I grinned widely at Amethyst as I made a surprise delivery to one of the gremlin’s fortresses. The delivery being massive round black bomb with its fuse rapidly running out. It exploded, completely destroying fortress and occupants as well as helping prove Longshot’s point.

Amethyst met my grin with a snarl. “Don’t be fooled! This is merely a convoluted trap.”

My grin soured considerably until I was glaring at the white unicorn. “I’ve never killed anypony Amethyst. I know you and I have had our differences—”

“You once transformed my quill collection into feathered scorpions!”

“They were barely venomous!”

A beat and battered green giant was slammed next to us, cutting off the argument.

“Hey!” a disgruntled Whiplash shouted. “Can you two focus?”

Amethyst and I let out muffled apologies as she blasted a few circling death birds and I picked out about a dozen of the winged skeletal things and replaced their insides with flaming jet fuel (which has no problem melting bone and feathers incidentally).

The troll thrashed on the ground as Whiplash attempted to beat its spine into a gooey green pulp. “How do you keep these things down!?” he exclaimed.

“A stake through the heart,” I declared as a massive sharpened stake and wooden mallet floated above the troll. The mallet thrust the stake deep into its back before I set it and the mallet ablaze, causing the troll the scream in agony. “That’s also on fire. Hold the stake” I snapped my finger and the stake splintered into kindling leaving a flaming pile of wood on the troll that soon stopped it cries and writhing.

Amethyst picked out a troll that was busy bludgeoning a group of ponies to death and fired off a long jet of flame which neatly reduced the troll’s head to ash.

Starswirl let loose another giant blast that consumed half of one of the gremlins’ massive storm fortresses. The floating structures had been increased in size and power, seemingly growing at their allies spread more and more misery below. He’s breathing had become labored and sweat glistened on his gray coat. “The skies are getting pretty out of control.”

A massive lightning strike suddenly shot downwards to our position. I quickly pulled a lightning rod out of my armpit, drawing the attack to myself. Electricity arched over my body as I grinned devilishly. “You haven’t even seen out of control…”

The skies were now clear of pegasi and they would soon be clear of everything else. I rose my talon upwards and fired the lightning back into one of the cloud fortresses. It began to grow outwards at a rapid pace and spin quickly. Gremlins screamed in terror as they were flung in all directions before they were sucked back up into the whirlwind of storm clouds. The storm grew larger and larger, drawing in death birds, the gremlins and their own stormy creations, only adding to the size of the maelstrom I had created.

The storm clouds above us swirled with a howling wind, massive chunks of ice, and the cries of those caught in the squall. Lightning struck, seeking out the highest points, which so happened to be the trolls. Soon the green monsters were assailed over and over again by massive bolts of electricity that brought them down.

Amethyst’s horn glowed bright orange. “Starswirl! Let’s finish them!”

Fire flew from the unicorn’s horns, engulfing the remaining trolls. I eased the storm, allowing the battered and broken corpses of the enemy to scatter in all directions.

Despite the heavy losses to the ponies, the army was defeated. Not a monster was stirring, not even a…

…Hold up… Seems at least two of the gremlins were regaining consciousness. I teleported to their location to observe a small, thin gremlin busily shaking a larger, fatter one which was still groggily coming to his senses.

“Big Boy! Big boy!” the small gremlin shouted. “Wake up! We have to get out of here before—”

“Going somewhere?” I asked darkly.

The small gremlin’s eyes shot open wide and he began to cower next to his fallen comrade.

“Ru-Runt?” The larger gremlin mumbled out as his eyes opened slightly. “What is it? Can it wait? I just need five more minutes—”

“You idiot!” Runt socked Big Boy in the gut causing the larger gremlin to double over the attacked area. He motioned to me as he glared at Big Boy. “Our foe is here, and now we’re probably going to die.”

Big Boy rolled over onto his back and sprawled out his limbs. “Oh, then there’s no point in getting up.”

Runt let out a series of angry, frustrated snarls and smacked a palm against his face.

Still lying down, Big Boy raised a claw to his lips. “Shhhhh-shhh-shhh-shhhhhh. The rest is silence.”

Runt sighed and slumped his shoulders. A defeated look on his face.

I began to snicker, “Pfffft.” Then I began to chuckle, “Hehehehe.” Dare I say it? I even began to chortle, “Ahahahahahaha!”

Big Boy sat up and stared at me. “Is that ‘I’m about to murder more gremlins laughter’ or the regular kind?”

Runt scrunched up his lips to one side of his face. “I’m not sure.” He clasped his claws together and looked up at me. “P-please! Spare us, o’ Lord of Chaos! We promise to be good from now on!”

Big Boy’s brow tightened. “We do?”

Runt socked Big Boy in the face. “Shut up, stupid!”

I stroked my chin thoughtfully. “I’ll settle for you two not killing anypony for the rest of your days. As long as you two can adhere to that simple rule, I’ll let you escape with your lives intact.” I narrowed my eyes as they glowed a bright red, dark purple energy poured from my body. “But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

Runt swallowed. “We swear, we will not kill another pony for as long as we live.”

Big Boy got to his feet and nodded. “That seems fair.”

I nodded. “Alright, now get out of here before Amethyst finds you and vaporizes you.”

Runt and Big Boy cringed as they quickly scampered down the plateau.

I teleported back to the battlefield. The remaining standing ponies all ran about, desperately trying to save the wounded and the dying.

I hadn’t been back but a moment before Amethyst took notice of me. “Discord,” she hissed out, her voice as full of venom and loathing as it ever was. To my surprise, her horn began to glow purple.

“Amethyst!” Longshot called as he galloped away from a group of ponies engaged in trying to stop an earth pony’s bleeding. “That’s enough! We’re in no condition for another battle.”

Amethyst ignored Longshots’s words and continued to give me a look as if she was hoping I’d drop dead with her gaze alone. “It’s your fault this happened! You’re the reason so many ponies are dead!”

I felt a twinge of guilt. She wasn’t completely wrong.

Longshot reached the aging unicorn and tried to lightly restrain her. Whiplash and Starswirl trotted over wordlessly. No doubt ready to throw down if things got out of hoof.

“Amethyst! Stop!” Longshot implored. “We have to try to save the wounded before there are even more dead!”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “No…” I felt out for the wounded ponies who had not yet expired. My lids clamped shut and my teeth lacked tightly together. I began to repair organs, close wounds, and find the blood so many ponies had lost, returning it to its rightful owners.

…

I cleaned it first!

Soon, ponies were back on their hooves, the receivers of hugs from relieved comrades as they were gathered up to help mourn the dead.

“No more death today,” I said.

A dark, gravelly voice interjected. “I respectfully disagree.”

Amethyst, Longshot, Whiplash, Starswirl, and I all turned to see Dracolich hovering above us almost as if he had been there the entire time. Dark energy was fired from his maw once again, threatening to destroy anything it touched. Amethyst was quick to put up a barrier and Starswirl was right behind her. The necrotic energies slammed into the barriers which held fast. However many ponies still out on the battlefield soon found themselves unable to escape from the dark magic’s that consumed their flesh and sent them to join there fallen comrades.

“Enough!” I shouted.

I teleported right above Dracolich’s massive skull. This had gone on for too long. I would find a way to end it no matter how many times the giant collection of bones regenerated himself. I raised my talon and my lion paw as they both glowed red with chaotic energy, then I simply pointed them downward. The energies slammed into the top of Dragolich’s skull which exploded in a flurry of red chaos energy and dark necrotic waves. His headless body fell to the ground below.

My own flesh began to age, rot, and decay, but I restored myself quickly.

Unfortunately, so did Dracolich.

“Die monster!” Whiplash shouted as he galloped forward and brought his massive chain whip into the mass of still reforming bone. “You don’t belong in this world!”

My head shook with anger for only a moment. “Okay, now you come up with quality dialogue?!”

Despite his head still being a mashed pile of bones that was taking longer to reform, no doubt in part to Whiplash’s magic draining whip, Dracolich raised his claws, massive bolts of energy began to arch over them.

I fired up ye’ ol’ energy claws again. “Whiplash! Get away from—“

Too late. There was one claw of flickering lightning for me and another for whiplash. Pain washed over me as my molecules began to burn and my heart thrashed in my chest before it stopped. Both things I could deal with quite easily.

Whiplash, on the other hoof…

“Take. It. Down!” Amethyst ordered as she, Starswirl, and Longshot all concentrated their efforts on Dracolich who now faced a torrent of energy as arrows began to drain the very magic from his being.

The skeletal dragon placed his massive arms in front of where his head would be, the massive bones began to crumble under the magical attacks, but his skull was soon coming back into place.

I grit my teeth and fired another blast into the reforming bones, catching something moving towards me fast out of the corner of my eye.

With a mighty ‘WHOMP!’ Dracolich’s massive tail slammed into me, knocking me antler over cloven hoof across the battlefield littered with fallen ponies, smashed bones, melted trolls, and fried goblins.

It was all the time he need. His skull reformed, he let out a blast of necromantic energy towards his attackers.

Amethyst ceased her attack as the dark energies rapidly encroached on her. Her horn quickly flashed purple, but she was out of time to defend herself.

“Watch out!” Longshot cried. He reached out his forehooves and flapped his wings hard, pushing Amethyst far out of the way as the dark energy exploded in the ground in front of him.

I watched as the energies washed over Longshot. I felt his body change in an instant, going from old age, to inert, and to dust in a moment.

Though protected in an orb-like shield of his own making, Starswirl looked terrified as Dracolich flapped leathery wings and took to the sky, the tears in our world still glowing with malevolent energy behind him. He seemed invincible at this point.

My eyes lingered on the portals Dracolich had torn open. If only… That’s it! I had an idea of how to defeat Dracolich, but I needed time.

Dracolich landed in front of Starswirl slowly outstretched a claw to petrified pony. The claw neatly popped Starswirl’s shield with a mere poke.

Starswirl merely quaked in place. His mind frozen with fear and the terrible things he had borne witness too.

I needed time Starswirl didn’t have.

Amethyst rose to her hooves. Her horn glowed a brilliantly bright shade of purple. “Get away from him, you bastard!” Suddenly there was a hole in the magical fabric that made up the planet. It started from Amethyst’s horn and grew outwards. A void that sucked in all the magic around it, days, weeks, then years were added to Amethyst’s body as the void was fired out at Dracolich. He screamed in pain as he covered his face. As he did, the bones that made up his claws began to fall to the ground one by one. These were soon followed by the rest of his hand and his arm bones. The magic that held him together was fading.

That would do for a distraction. I raised both my arms skywards and began concentrating. This move was dangerous, draining, and a risk to everypony and everything, including myself. How could I possibly not do it?

Dracolich’s scream stopped as his jaw fell from his face, soon followed by the rest of his skull. His head bone was soon disconnected from his neck bone, and his neck bone disconnected from his shoulder bone. His shoulder bone was disconnected from his back bone. His backbone was disconnected from his hip bo—

… Pinkie, stop singing.

The point his, Dracolich was soon a heap of lifeless, magicless bones.

Amethyst had done it, but at a terrible price. She collapsed, her legs no longer having the strength to keep her upright.

A red glow washed across the battlefield as Starswirl rushed over to his master’s side. As he did, dark swirling energies emerged from the portal and flew into Dracolich’s bones. The bones began to take shape once again.

The red glow became brighter, and brighter.

“Master!” Starswirl cried out as he reached the now ancient Amethyst.

“Be… behind…” Amethyst said, her voice little more than a whisper.

Starswirl turned to see Dracolich, once again reformed and airborne on leathery scaled wings of death.

Dracolich actually let out a chuckle. “A valiant effort.” He shook his head. “Though, had I been allowed to this world at my full power, none of you would have stood a chance.”

A deep, determined anger welled up inside Starswirl, breaking to the surface in a torrent. His horn began to glow a brilliant purple and the bells on his hat and cloak began to glow and jingle as I felt another void of magic open up, sucking up his very life energy.

In response, anti-life magic began to collect behind Dracolich’s maw.

Well this wouldn’t do.

With a giant ‘SPLAT!’ Equestria’s largest banana cream pie fell from the sky onto Dracolich, covering him, Starswirl, Amethyst, and most the battle ground in delicious pudding pie.

Red light covered everything, turning the usually white and yellow frosting a bright shade of pink.

Starswirl raised to his hooves, quickly using magic to defrost himself and his master.

The pie tin had a nice, dragon shaped dent in the center and stayed afloat. This was short lived as necrotic energies quickly reduced it to rust then dust. Dracolich turned to face me, his eyes glowing a brilliant purple as he fixed me with a death glare.

I grinned, my arms still pointed skyward. “I’ve thought about your offer and have decided to return all the energy I’ve gathered.”

Dracolich grinded his massive teeth together. “We are far past that point, chaos spirit.”

I nodded upward. There was an absolutely massive ball of red energy above my outstretched hands. “You don’t have a lot of choice in the matter.”

Dracolich looked up, the glow from his eyes fading as he finally noticed the unworldly amount of energy that I had gathered from my very being.

“Starswirl!” I called out. “Send him back into one of the portals!”

Starswirl’s horn glowed purple as a similar colored haze engulfed Dracolich. Before he could react, he found himself being dragged into one of the long energy tears above the blasted gorge. The edges seem to tear further as the large skeletal dragon was thrust through the smaller opening. His claws reached out to snag the ends and pulled as he fought Starswirl’s telekinesis.

Perfect.

I motioned my arms downwards in the direction of the tears in space. The ball of energy flew forward as Dracolich’s skull reemerged from the portals. He fired a blast of his own energy at the encroaching chaos bomb, but it was no use. Once the energy had reached the portals it exploded in all directions with an Equestria shattering ‘KABOOOM!’.

Starswirl put up a barrier around Amethyst and himself.

The blast wave picked up the bodies of the fallen and shot them off in all directions.

Those few ponies still lucky enough to be alive and able to move left as fast as their legs or wings could take them.

The ground around the blast crumbled and disintegrated.

Dracolich let out an anguished yell as his bones turned to dust.

I summoned a lawn chair, a drink with a straw and little umbrella poking out of it, and donned a pair of sunglasses. I lounged on the chair as I watched the portals flicker with the onslaught of chaos energy and collapse, taking a sip from my drink.

For a few moments there was quiet. I merely laid in my chair and waited. Waiting for the portals to suddenly tear open or the giant skeletal dragon to pop up and yell ‘Surprise!’ or something suitably more darker for his idiom.

Nothing. Nothing but the sound of the wind rushing through the giant chasm, which now resembled a thermometer, which had been carved in the plateau.

I heard something like a forlorn sigh and turned, lifting my sunglasses.

Starswirl was standing over Amethyst with a miserable expression on his face. I tossed my drink over my shoulder, simply allowing the glass to shatter. I teleported to the side of my greatest rival.

Amethyst’s white coat was grey and hung off of her in large clumps like an animal whose skin was too big for its small body. She was covered head to toe in wrinkles and she opened her eyes slowly, as if she was struggling with the weight of her eyelids.

“Can… can you help her?” Starswirl asked.

I frowned. “That spell drained her of almost all her magic. I dare say she barely has enough to keep her alive. I’ll have to give her some of my energy if she’s to have a chance.”

Starswirl looked at me in surprise. “You’d do that for her?”

I nodded. “Too many have died today.” I outstretched my lion paw. “And I could do with a few more years of fu—”

“Stop,” Amethyst said weakly.

“Master?” Starswirl leaned forward. “You’ll die without—”

“Let me. I don’t want to live knowing that things magical energy is keeping me alive.”

I furrowed my brow. “If I don’t help you, you will die, you foolish old bag of…” I paused. Too soon. “… things that hold your skin, organs, and muscles in place.”

“Then so be it… I’d rather die than let one iota of your magic inside me.”

Starswirl turned to me. “Then use mine!”

I thought about this. “Hmmm… Never done a magic transplant before.” I snapped my fingers as a hospital gown, face mask, rubber gloves, and doctor’s mirror appeared on me. “Sounds interesting, let’s do—”

“Enough,” Amethyst said with all the force she could muster. “No… no help from that terror. I won’t be indebted to this lunatic. Besides… he won’t stop terrorizing Equestria… This… this was his fault.”

Starswirl attempted to interject. “But he…”

“He brings chaos and destruction wherever he goes.” She turned, looking at me with tired eyes full of loathing. “He’s a monster… and that’s all he’ll ever be.”

I met Amethyst’s gaze, unsure of how to react or what to say. I clicked my talon and my hospital garb disappeared.

Amethyst turned back to Starswirl. “You have to stop him… you have to… have to…” She let out a final sigh as the small remaining flicker of magic in her burnt out.

“Master?! MASTER!” Starswirl cried.

Amethyst was gone. One final casualty in my fight with the Order Keepers and their minions.

Starswirl looked up at me, enough hatred in his eyes to do his master proud. I felt the magic drain from around us as his horn glowed purple.

“Enough,” I said as I summoned an orange, rubber cone and placed it over the unicorn’s head, the bells on his hat jingled as the cone was pushed over it.

Starswirl pushed against the cone with his forehooves.

“Don’t throw away your life trying to destroy me as Amethyst did.”

Starswirl removed both hat and cone from his head.

I continued, “Go live your life, Starswirl.”

Starswirl glared at me. “And just let your reign of chaos and terror continue?”

I shook my head. “No… I’m done.” I grinned mischievously. “For now.” I began to float up into the air, snapping my talon to summon a walking stick, wide-brimmed hat, and beat-up suitcase. I raked my lion claws upon open air which ripped into another tear in this world.

Starswirl gave me a determined look. “Don’t think I’m going to forget everything you’ve done. You may have helped us in the battle here, but you’ve been a blight on this world for too long. I will find a way to defeat you. Even if it takes the rest of my life”

I merely chuckled and shook my head. “Fine, spend your time however you wish. I look forward to seeing what you come up with in a few years… or decades… possibly centuries.”

Starswirl’s expression softened. “You… you’re really leaving?” He asked in disbelief.

I nodded. “There’s an endless expanse of other worlds out there.” I tipped my hat. “Think I’ll visit a few. Ta-ta…” With that, I stepped through the portal I created and embarked on a new journey of discovering places, meeting beings, and spreading joy, mirth, and chaos wherever I went.

And that’s the end my little ponies.

Of course I’d be back to see how Equestria had fared in my absence. Seems a pair of alicorn princesses had showed up at some point or another to make the whole place even more boring that it was before I stepped in to make things interesting. Of course you all know how that ended.

Seems to me the Order Keeper’s plans went deeper and further than I could have predicted.

Who knows?

Perhaps their plans are still in effect, and we are all cogs in their giant clock ticking away until the universe is at an end.

So remember ponies. The next time you’re enjoying a quiet, peaceful day where everything is calm. Maybe make a nice pudding pie loaded with whipped cream and deliver it to some other ponies face.

Because somewhere out there in the vast cosmos, you might just throw off some stuffy cloud’s boring countdown by a few microseconds.

-ooooooo-

And so the ‘Lord of Chaos’ left Equestria. Victorious over his foes perhaps, but drained with a hallow look in his eyes. I know this because I felt the same hollowness in myself.

Discord and the assorted monstrosities that had attacked us ponies were gone and we were finally at peace. However the death toll was high and all of us who survived would never forget that terrible day. The day when ponies banded together to end Discord’s reign only to fall victim to creatures beyond anything we had seen or dreamed of. A day where our salvation would be had at the Draconequus himself, and in a further twist of fate, our salvation from the Lord of Chaos indirectly delivered by the greatest threat to life anypony had ever seen.

I still wonder if our presence that day mattered at all. Would things have gone any different had we not marched on Discord that day? Would not the Lord of Chaos simply fought and tired himself against the foes that besieged both himself and pony kind that day? Or was something far sinister at play? Was our march and subsequent slaughter inevitable? Was some unseen force waiting for us to make a move on Discord so our many deaths could serve as a catalyst to force him into action?

What would the Lord of Chaos done had there been no bloodshed? Would he have collapsed under the strength of a focused foe, or would he simply have scattered them to the corners of Equestria, leaving ponies with more threats to our lives?

As unsettling as it may be that that the ever living bane of ponykind may have played our savior unwittingly or not, I would have made good on my vow and dedicated myself to arranging his defeat upon his eventual return to Equestria.

‘Would have’, had it not been for some curious beings who called themselves the Order Keepers. The likes of such beings I have never seen, formless creatures of cloud and energy. They did not tarry long enough to answer questions regarding their origins but simply identified themselves as the sworn enemies of chaos.

Before they parted, they gifted me an item of incredible power. A small crystal shard that I was told would grow into the instruments of Discord’s undoing. They left with the simple instructions that I plant this crystal deep underground and wait for its growth.

And so I plant the Seed of Harmony and wait as I also wait for the return of Discord.

In the meantime, I think I shall heed his advice.

I shall live.

--Excerpt from the Journal of Starswirl the Bearded.

Comments

[Mrhong]

Wow.

Excellent job! You really did a good job of capturing Discord's personality. Pity that Amethyst allowed herself to be consumed by her hatred.

[nighters]

I wonder if those order things are gonna go after him again? I imagine it was horrible being hit by harmony and order and I bet it took a lot of effort to get out of his prison without it altering his very nature.

[vlaarith]

Awwwww its over.....

[Justice3442]

6681431

This actually ties in with this fic in which the Order Keepers play a rather large role... erm... as large as anything can given the size of the fic.

[Lupus]

That would do for a distraction. I raised both my arms skywards and began concentrating.

Wonder if TOK's gonna do something similar against Dan and Pinkie

[Booster Spice]

Its called the Tree of Harmony, but how much chaos has it brought with allowing ponies to fight against enemies, instead of allowing them to roll straight over them quickly, turning a current chaotic living free realm, into a mostly dead, supressed realm?

As has been pointed out in the greatest movie, if you have power, you dont bother going one on one against a person who is causing you problems, you just blast the planet. If you want an easier job, you just blast the star.

Or you can just use The Big Red Button.

And then watch Dan erase TOKs.

[Wacky]

Liked the ending. It serves well to show what motivated Starswirl to go forth on all his adventures.

[Muvio]

What is this witchcraft? A spirit bomb working? BLASPHEMY!!!!!

[Alondro]

Or was something far sinister at play? Was our march and subsequent slaughter inevitable? Was some unseen force waiting for us to make a move on Discord so our many deaths could serve as a catalyst to force him into action?

*Alondro makes head motions toward Justice3442* Yes, Starswirl. There IS a true Puppetmaster God behind all of this if you think meta enough!

[Wandering Eye]

Well, that was quite the ending. one more reason why chaos is superior to order. i am.. unsurprised at Toks actions in the long haul.

this story is AWESOME. such good discord dialogue. motivations! and... gah, death toll...

[Typist Gray]

Really love this interpretation of Discord. He's like a bad friend, someone who will make your life pretty miserable, but you still want him around when facing an actual crisis. I can't figure out if this iteration is more or less of a douche bag than the Greek gods.
Great supplement to the main story.