Clarity of preception
The rot.
It’s all I can see anymore. You would think there has to be some place to escape it. Or at least some place where it wasn’t all around me, but there isn’t. Not on this world, not in this universe.
It makes a sound you know. Rot. Rotting. It’s dry and raspy. It’s the sound of sound when sound starts to end. You think it fades? It does not. At the moment the vibration ends, it rots. It decomposes into nothingness. You want to argue? You want to use science to prove me wrong? Use science against me? ME?!?
Sorry.
It’s the rot. It’s inside of me you see. Oh, it’s in you too, you just can’t see it… or hear it. Goddess that sound is maddening.
It’s my own fault of course. I asked him to do it. I wanted to understand. That’s my curse, I always have to try and understand everything. But there are reasons that some things are not known to us. We are limited you see, our minds… our minds aren’t large enough. We are too sane.
Well, some of us are.
Were.
I’m working on it.
It all started innocently enough. He came with us on a picnic. By then we were used to him tagging along. He had it bad for Fluttershy, and we all knew it, including her. If it was any of the rest of us it might have been a problem. Not so much because of his looks, but his personality. When he really got going he made even Pinkie Pie look tame by comparison. Honestly, I don’t know why she put up with it. But it was her business.
Anyway it was a pretty standard picnic. We all sat out in the field, ate, chatted together. Rainbow and Apple Jack played games with Pinkie Pie, Rarity worked on some embroidery, while Spike just sat there watching her. I don’t know how long she intends to keep this up. She told me once that she finds all the attention flattering, but that she is going to let him down when the moment is right. It must be a tricky thing, because it’s been going on for four years now. I’m starting to wonder if Spike might actually be wearing her down. Maybe he DOES have a chance.
He’d better hurry, before the rot gets her.
So while all that was going on, Discord was showing Fluttershy his latest bag of tricks. I had been trying to read, but they were sitting next to me under the shade of a tree, and Discord was in his ‘loud mode’. Probably just because I was trying to read.
So, being left with no other options, I decided to watch.
It was maddening.
He just does whatever he wants. Whatever occurs to him at any given moment. No spells that took years to master. No strain calling upon unseen forces and bending them to his will. No preparation, no effort, no cost to him at all. He just snaps his claws and there it is. ‘Poof’.
Cosmic rules that govern the very nature of the universe? He breaks those just making breakfast.
Now don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I’m jealous or anything. I mean just because I AM the Element of Magic, and I’m forced to sit and watch him bring impossibilities into existence right before my eyes that I will never in a hundred lifetimes be able to do myself…
Alright, perhaps I was a little jealous.
“I hate the way you can just do that.”
I didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out, under my breath, but of course HE heard it.
“Why, whatever do you mean my dear Twilight? Float effortlessly through the air? Always know just what to say? Or could you mean this?” He says, snapping his claw, causing an entire three ring circus to appear in mid air, all being run by chipmunks. (Admittedly the lion tamer was quite impressive).
“Yes, THAT!” I said in irritation, as he snapped it all away. "It hurts my brain, you just snap up anything you want with no effort, no cost! Magic isn’t like that, and yet you do it anyway, it doesn’t make sense!”
I expected a standard, ‘it’s chaos, it isn’t supposed to make sense’, type of reply. But instead he surprised me.
“Oh Twilight, you are so very wrong, and yet, for once, you are so very right as well.”
“Huh,” I said my thoughts derailed. I was right? “What do you mean?”
“Well you were wrong, in supposing that I was using magic to power what I do, I do not. But you were right in that there is a cost. There is ALWAYS a cost dear Twilight, you just cannot perceive it with your limited pony senses.”
I knew I was setting myself up for a burn, but I was too curious not to ask.
“Could you… explain it to me?”
“Why of course, my dear. But not just now, it’s too beautiful a day to waste on such trivial matters. And I’m sure my dear Fluttershy would be bored to tears. Why don’t we just relax and enjoy ourselves today, and I’ll pop by for lunch tomorrow and let you know all about it. Sound good?”
Was there a catch? Didn’t there almost have to be with him? But he did agree in front of Fluttershy, and she would certainly call him out if he lied to me. I forced a broad smile onto my muzzle.
“Sure, that sounds great, another cucumber sandwich?” I offered, a gesture of goodwill.
“How delightful, thank you ever so much.” He said accepting the sandwich from my magic with whatever he used as his own and taking dainty bites from it in midair.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. I suppose we had fun. I must admit I was distracted by the thoughts of finally understanding how Discord works. Aside from Pinkie Pie, it was one of the things that had bothered me the most.
I barely slept at all that night, and didn’t even bother with breakfast, (which turned out to be a huge mistake), as I got out a fresh supply of quills, ink, and parchment from the basement. I planned to document each and every word, so I could pour over it later for every iota of hidden meaning that I just knew he was going to try and sneak by me.
Yes, he DID promise to tell me the mechanics of how he performed his tricks, but that didn’t mean he had to tell me in a way I would understand. No, I was ready for him to try and trick me. (Could I have been more wrong?).
Promptly at noon he appeared. I was waiting for him in the study as he poof’d in out of midair into a comfy chair just opposite me. I never asked him how he always knew where we all were. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like the answer.
“So,” he said, rubbing his claws together expectantly, “what’s for lunch?”
“Um, I had hoped we could have our talk first. But afterwords, we can have anything you want to eat. My treat.”
Although I was getting hungry after skipping breakfast, I didn’t want to get distracted until I learned whatever I could. Who knew when Discord would ever decide to be so forthcoming again.
“Ah. Well, as tempting as that sounds, I really do think you should eat something before we begin. It could be… awhile… before you’ll want to dine again once we finish. Our discussion will probably get a bit… involved.”
He was stalling. I didn’t know why, but that was the impression I got. Well, I wasn’t going to let hunger distract me.
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be fine. Now then, you were going to explain to me just how you do what you do?”
Discord’s face lost it’s joviality, suddenly he looked serious, almost sad. Were his secrets so personal to him? Was that it?
“Twilight, as a cosmically powerful entity, I don’t consider myself bound by time and space. I can see more of the great tapestry than even Celestia or Luna. I knew that today would come. I knew we would have our little talk. But right here, right now, I’m giving you a chance to change your mind. To just forget all about it, and go see about lunch. I’m saying this Twilight, as a friend. Because once you learn the information you are after, then you can never UN-learn it. It will stay with you forever.”
He sits there, looking at me with what appears to be complete honesty and sincerity.
Ha!
I KNEW IT. He’s trying to get me to let him off the hook. He can just go back to Fluttershy and tell her I changed my mind. And if I bring it up again later he’ll just say ‘you had your chance!’
Nice try Discord, but no luck.
“Well, I really appreciate your concern, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn more about one of my most enigmatic ‘friends’ could I?”
“No,” he says sadly, “I suppose you couldn’t.”
He snaps his claw and suddenly we are… I have no idea. I see energy flashing off of… I don’t know what, some type of orb that is rapidly disintegrating. The color isn’t anything I can describe. And there’s a loud roaring sound. A horrible sound. A sound that every fiber of my being finds abhorrent.
“It’s the sound I think, that’s the worst of it. Not the smell, not even the sight of it, although that is horrible enough, but that sound. Nothing should be able to make a sound like that, wouldn’t you agree?” He asks me, causally glancing my way.
I nod. It’s all I can do. He couldn’t hear me over this cacophony even if I screamed. How was I able to hear him then?
“I want you to close your eyes Twilight. I’m about to take us back, but I want you to keep your eyes closed until I finish my explanation, all right?”
Right now I’d have agreed to anything just to make that sound stop. I nod once more, and squeeze my eyes tightly shut.
A moment later, the sound stops. On reflex I attempt to open my eyes, but find I can’t.
“Ah, I didn’t think you’d be able to fight your instincts. But that’s all right, I’ve sealed them shut for you. Don’t worry, I’ll unstick them as soon as I’ve finished my spiel.”
I can feel that I’m back in my chair, it’s even still warm. I have no idea how long we were… wherever that was, but it couldn’t have been very long.
“Now, the first part of my explanation has to do with where we just were. I assume you understood what we were seeing?
“Uh, well… not exactly.” I admitted, to my personal shame.
“Tisk, tisk. Such a barbaric world I chose to live on. We were viewing the radioactive decay of carbon-14 in the upper atmosphere of Equestria. It was supposed to be the simplest way to explain this to you. Obviously I’ll need to dumb this way, way, down.”
Now he’s just being mean. Which is better than him being mopey I guess.
“Simply put Twilight, I use the energy of entropy. Decay. Rot. That chair you are sitting in. Even as we speak it’s rotting away. Tiny bits of itself breaking down into smaller and smaller components, releasing just the tiniest bit of energy each time as it does so. Where does my power come from? All around you! Everywhere! Every thing, every pony, the grass, the trees, the sun in the sky.
Everything rots!”
“The power of...decay? S-so you have some way of detecting this energy? Of controlling it? Using it?” I say, reeling at the implications of his words. An almost infinite power source! No wonder he can do anything! “Can this be taught? Can other beings learn it?”
“You mean ‘can YOU learn it?’ Isn’t that what you are really trying to say?” His voice is over my shoulder. He knows what my reply is going to be.
“Yes." I admit. "But not just for myself." I add quickly. "Think of all the good I could do for Equestria! I’d use my power to help ponies, not just squander it making chocolate rain, and cotton candy clouds. I’d use it for the sake of the world!”
“Oh, is that what YOU’D do, is it? You think I’m squandering my powers? Foolish pony, I’m saving this planet every time I snap my claw.”
He’s getting angry. But I’m not sure why, all I’ve told him was the truth. Actually I’ve spared him the worst of it. Personally I see him as some kind of all powerful clown, just snapping his immortal life away. He could be doing so much more. He could turn Equestria into a utopia. He’s worse than just a clown, he’s an irresponsible god.
“Well now you’ve gone and hurt my feelings.” He says, sounding more angry than hurt.
I know I didn’t speak just now, he’s reading my mind.
“Well of course I am. Everyone’s really. I need something to drown out that sound. But you’ll have to deal with that soon enough. Now bear with me as I finish my explanation, and then we can finally get this unpleasant business over with.
Right then. So you think I am wasting my power do you? Well I think it’s about time I educated you a little on the nature of the universe.
The universe, my dear Miss Sparkle, wants you all to die. No, I’m not exaggerating, nor am I being the least bit melodramatic. There are two great forces in all of existence that are constantly at odds with each other. Order, and Chaos. You, with your science and your books, you think that 'order' is a good thing don’t you? Fah! Do you know what order strives for? What it’s end game is? Nothingness! A vast empty void of pure nothingness. Perfect, absolute, ORDER. And do you know what Chaos wants my dear deluded Twilight? Life! Life in it’s infinite diversity! Chaos is creation, creation with wild joyous abandon! Chaos is thought, imagination, inventiveness! You my dear Twilight are more a creature of Chaos than you ever were of order! As are all of your friends, especially Pinkie Pie.
But for everything Chaos creates, order is there to break it down. Order pulls and tugs at everything that isn’t pure void. Corrupting it, leeching energy from it, causing it to wither and die, causing each little molecule to separate back into it’s orderly little components, smaller and smaller, until nothing remains.
Ah, but that’s where I come in. I steal the energy released from the rotting of creation, I bring new things into being. But most importantly I keep that energy from being lost to the void.”
“Lost to the void? Why? Why is that important?” I ask, trying to keep up with what he is telling me.
“Because,” he says, sounding like he’s about to say something really clever that I should have already figured out. “Matter and energy are the same thing! One becomes the other, back and forth, back and forth, Yin and Yang, over and over. Matter cannot ever really be destroyed, it just gets converted into energy. But even energy is unwelcome to Order. Perfect order is sameness. Neither one, nor the other.
There are things out there Twilight. Things in the depth of space. Black holes that suck in both matter and energy. Cosmic vacuum cleaners with gravities so immeasurably strong as to be able suck in light itself. Every bit of energy I use, keeps it here on this world, in this universe. You have no idea what I do when I’m not taking time off to spend with you and your friends. I’ve created worlds! Suns, stars, comets, anything and everything I can imagine. My time spent with you ponies? Call those my weekends off, and vacations. Trust me, my dear, my work week is spent fighting to keep this universe from falling into Blackest Order! And all without so much as a single thank you.”
“B-but… but if all that is true, then why don’t you ever SAY anything about it? Why do you pretend to be this insane madpony randomly trolling all of Equestria?”
“Ah, well you see Twilight, that’s the thing. I’m NOT pretending.”
Has the room suddenly gotten colder? Why am I suddenly shaking?
“Oh, those are merely your new perceptions my dear.” Discord says, right next to my ear. “Your body is reacting to the menacing aura I am currently projecting. No worries though, just a test, just making sure that everything is functioning properly. These kinds of things are very tricky. It’s not an easy thing to fine tune another beings perceptions.”
“What do you mean? What have you done?” I say, still shaking, and beginning to feel the slightest twinge of panic.
“What have I done? Why I’ve given you what you wanted! You wanted to be able to perceive the energy I was talking about. You hoped that I would give you the means to control it like I do. And so I have! Once you open your eyes, you’ll understand everything. As for controlling it. Well, that will take both time and effort. But since you are immortal like Celestia and Luna, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it eventually.
And with that, my work here is done. Don’t worry about lunch, I’ll take a rain check until the next time you feel hungry. And don't worry about seeing me out. Get it? 'seeing'. Ah, well, never mind. Enjoy your new found knowledge Twilight. I hope for your sake it was worth it.”
I hear a snap, and suddenly my body stops shaking. He must have left. I can feel my eyelids come unstuck, I can open them once again. I do so.
That was a mistake.
My scream echos down the corridors of the castle. It’s quickly followed by another, then another, I can’t help myself, it’s everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
“Twilight, what is it? What’s wrong?”
It’s Spike, he’s come to see what’s happened to me. Unfortunately he can’t see it. And the sight of him makes me nearly vomit. Oh Goddess, he’s so disgusting. Everything… everywhere… it’s all around me!
I close my eyes. That helps. Dear Goddess, I may never open them again! But I can hear it now as well. That sound. That horrible abhorrent sound. The same sound when Discord took me away, that dry, raspy sound. I know what it is now. I can see it, I can hear it.
Rot.
Everything. All around me! The furniture, the candles, the books, even Spike (shudder), oh Goddess, I’ll never get that image out of my mind. I can see the rot in all of them. Rotting right before my eyes. Spike’s little ball of energy, of life, getting smaller and smaller, all the while his body is being constantly consumed, eaten awayby all those... things, while he stands there oblivious. Horrible! Hideous!
Oh Goddess, I understand now. Discord. He isn’t acting like a fool. He isn’t pretending to be crazy at all! An immortal like himself, having to see this every single day, hear this whispering every single minute? Of course he’s insane! Any being would be! And… and he even gave me a chance to change my mind. He cared about me! About all of us. We were all so wrong about him!
“Twilight! Twilight! Tell me what to do, should I send a letter to the princess? Go get Starlight Glimmer? Twilight, you have to answer me!”
Oh Spike. Even the sounds from your voice rot away. It makes no sense, sounds can’t rot. But that’s what my perceptions are telling me. Is that real, or did Discord make a mistake? He said tuning my perceptions would be tricky.
“I’m… I’m okay Spike. Discord just showed me something unexpected is all. I just need a little time to come to terms with it. Send a letter to Celestia. Tell her I need to see her as fast as she can get here. And call Starlight Glimmer, have her come inside, but don’t let anypony else in. Not until I’ve talk to Starlight and Celestia first.”
“Of course Twilight, I’ll take care of it right now. Is there anything I can do for you until they get here? Something to drink, or eat?”
“Yes to both Spike, I haven’t eaten since last night. And also, if you could, bring me my thick red scarf. I n-need to make a blindfold. M-my eyes are a bit sensitive to light at the moment.”
“Yeah, okay sure. I’ll be right back.”
I hear him practically run down the corridor. He’s worried. I should be. Tartarus, I should be in full panic mode, but I feel almost calm. I think I’ve just gone so far past fear that I’m out the other side.
I take a deep breath and let it out. Then I open my eyes once more. I clench my teeth together to keep from screaming again. I thought I was ready for it this time.
I wasn’t.
It’s just so disgusting. I can see it. Everywhere. The books are rotting on the shelves, the chair I’m sitting on is rotting under my hooves. Little bits of it sticking to my body. Oddly enough my body is the only thing that isn’t rotting. I'm not being eaten alive. It must be the immortality. The magic. Wait, that’s it! Magic. Preservation spells! I can cast them all over this room, over the whole castle!
“Twilight? Spike told me you needed to see me.” Starlight says, trotting quickly into the room.
I turned when she spoke. I looked right at her.
“AAAAAAHHHHHIIIEEE!” I wailed, clamping my eyes shut.
“Twilight! What’s wrong!” She says, coming over and holding me by the shoulders.
She’s touching me, oh Goddess, she’s touching me!!! I shove her away violently, wiping my hooves on the arms of the chair.
“P-please Starlight, just, just don’t get near me. W-we need to talk, but just please, please, don’t touch me!”
“I-I don’t understand. But all right. Please, tell me what’s going on.”
I spend the next few minutes explaining what has happened. Like me she was keenly interested in Discord’s abilities. That is, until I began to explain what I was able to see and hear now.
“I see. And, am I really so disgusting to look at?” She asks, with hurt in her voice.
“No Starlight. It isn’t ‘you’ that’s abhorrent. It’s what I see happening to you. The skin on your face peeling away, your hair... the spiders, all the little creatures crawling all over you, eating every little bit of dead flesh, and they in turn dying and rotting away, all over your body, every single sec-”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Starlight says sharply. “I understand. I get it. Let’s just… just not talk about it okay?”
“Fine by me.” I reply “I don’t want to even think about it.”
“Agreed. So, what are we going to do about it?”
“As far as my condition? I don’t think there is anything we CAN do about it. Or at least that was what Discord said. He told me if I chose this, that there was no way I could ever undo it. He even gave me a chance to change my mind.”
“You can’t possibly be considering letting him off the hook! He didn’t tell you what you’d be in for before he did this! There’s no way you would have ever agreed to this knowing what would happen!”
“Well,” I replied slowly, considering my words, “that’s not exactly true.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“To get a chance to learn to do what Discord does? To someday be as powerful as he is? Think of what I could accomplish!”
“Listen to what you are saying! You think, what? You’ll get used to this? Get used to seeing everything rot away every minute of every day? To not be able to look at anypony without seeing them being eaten away before your eyes? Your saying that you’ll get used to seeing THAT?”
“I- no… yes… I don’t know. Discord does it. He’s acclimated.” I offer lamely.
“Discord is insane! He’s totally, completely, insane. And now we know why. Is that what you want your future to be?”
“No. of course not. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If I can control this, just for a little while, if I can master Discord’s power, I can change this world for the better. Then, if there’s a way to turn me back to normal, we will.”
Starlight was hesitant. She isn’t convinced I can hold it together.
“Look, all I need is a haven, a place where I can keep my sanity. I had already come up with an idea before you came in. Listen, we can use preservation spells all over the castle, we can keep it all from rotting. That way, as long as I’m in the castle it won’t get to me.”
“You are making a lot of assumptions here Twilight. What about your friends? What about if when you have to leave the castle? You can’t expect to stay in here forever.”
I was about to offer another argument, but our conversation was interrupted.
“Twilight, I’m back. I sent the letter to Celestia, she’ll be here within the hour. In the meantime I threw together a late lunch for you. Salad with mixed greens, a nice rice pilaf, and the last of that broccoli casserole you liked so much. I also made some fresh green tea. If there’s anything else I can get for you, just say the word.”
“Thanks Spike. Actually, if you could do me one more favor, take Starlight down to the library, and show her my section on preservation spells. And if you could, give her a hoof carrying back what she thinks will be best. We may need more than one type for what I have in mind.”
“Sure thing Twilight.” I can hear him hesitating at the door. “Um, you know you can tell me anything right. I get that something is going on. That scream, the way you wont turn toward me. I understand that it’s something you aren’t ready to tell me...”
Spike has always been so loyal to me. And now I can’t even look him in the eye.
“Spike, it isn’t like that. I just need a little bit of time to come to terms with things. I gave Starlight the gist of it, she can fill you in while you help her find my books. Really, I’m not trying to keep you out of the loop, it’s just that things all happened kind of suddenly. I’m… I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all, okay?”
“Yeah. Okay. If you say so. The scarf you wanted is on the right side of the tray. Call me if you need anything else.”
“Thank you Spike. You’re always so good to me. That’s why your my number one assistant.” I say, trying to force some cheer into my voice. I suppose it works, because they leave without further complaint. I’m glad they did. I was about to have to do something nightmarish.
I was going to have to eat.
I realized the moment I saw Spike why Discord had wanted me to eat something earlier. But of course, I turned him down. Now I was going to have to pay the price.
My stomach was growling loud enough to be heard. My frantic behavior since Discord altered my perceptions has only used up more of my energy. In short, I was starving. I needed to eat. But I knew instinctively that there was no way I was going to be able to choke down any of the food Spike prepared if I had to see it first.
If a living breathing Spike look that horrid, I didn’t want to imagine what day old broccoli casserole looked like. I was going to have to do this blindfolded.
It took me a second to find the scarf Spike had brought me. I quickly fashioned a makeshift blindfold out of it, and tied it around my head.
Then I felt around until I found my fork, and one of the three bowls. The one I found didn’t seem very heavy, so I guessed it was the salad. I stuck the fork into the bowl, and lifted the contents toward my mouth.
The stench was overwhelming.
I quickly held the fork as far away from me as I could. Apparently Discord didn’t just use his powers on my sight. My olfactory senses were obviously heightened as well.
This could be a problem.
I held my hoof sideways across my muzzle, effectively covering both nostrils. Then I raised the fork back toward my mouth. I could still faintly smell the rot, but I quickly shoved the first bite into my mouth.
I more than half expected that my taste buds were altered as well, but fortunately they were still the same. I tasted salad. Very good salad. My mouth completely contradicted what my nose had been telling me.
“Oh thank Goddess,” I mumbled around the mouthful of greens.
At least I would be able to eat. Even though I couldn’t stand the smell of it, or doubtless the sight.
I spent the next ten minutes or so greedily devouring everything on the tray, and guzzling all the tea. After the last bite was eaten, I sat back in my chair with a contented sigh. Now that I was fed, and my hunger pangs and headache had receded, I was feeling a great deal more optimistic.
I could make this work. Sure it wasn’t going to be easy, I’d have to make a lot of alterations to my daily routine. But I could master this. And once I conditioned myself, once I got used to my new senses, then I could learn to master and control this ‘rot’ energy. If any pony on Equestria could do it, it was me. I would master it. I would become as powerful as Discord. I would change the world for the better!
{Uuuurp!} Ugh, good thing nopony else heard me burp like that, I must’ve been really starving t-
{URRRRRRRRRRK, BLUUUUUGH!}
Oh Celestia… Oh Goddess! No… no, no, no, n-
{Bluuuuuughhhh!} Oh Goddess. The stench from that burp, the rot, oh Goddess the rot was inside me! And of course that made me puke, and of course the smell from that made me puke more and o-
{Bluuuuugh… ack, ack, blughgh}
Goddess, I had to get out of this room! That smell, beyond repellent… No use, I’ll have to take the blindfold off. Don’t look down, just don’t look down, look straight ahead, no farther, not until you get out of the room. Okay, okay, ready now… go!
I removed the blindfold and opened my eyes.
The rot was all around me, everywhere. I carefully avoided looking at the tray or anything below that. I carefully pushed it away from me. Not looking at where my hooves had been touching it, and resisting the urge to wipe them on my chest. I slowly lowered a hoof to the floor, silently thanking Celestia that it didn’t go ‘squish’. Then I slowly lowered the other one, and made my way carefully around the edge of the room until I got to the door. I ignited my horn, and used it’s magic to open the door into the outer hallway. If only I had been calm enough to simply teleport outside. Still, as things were, I barely had the concentration to work the knob without touching it.
I made my way out into the hall, and closed the door behind me. Slowly I sank to the floor, my back pressed into the door. I covered my eyes with the scarf once more, and silently began to cry.
I have no idea how long I stayed that way before Celestia found me.
Try as I might, I couldn't seem to come up with a decently scary story for Halloween/Nightmare Night this year.
Then yesterday, this macabre little idea popped into my head. It isn't much, but there is a disturbing amount of truth in it.
You see, years ago I used to work for the medical examiner for a large city. Charlotte, North Carolina. Now aside from being able to tell you stories of death in all it's forms, there are a few things that all people, living and dead, have in common.
Right now, on your body, inside and out, there are numerous creatures scuttling around enjoying the 'all you can eat buffet' that is yourself. From the tiny spiders living in your facial hair, to the bacteria, larvae, and plants in your intestines, you are literally full of life. In point of actual fact, you are only 10% human being. With 90% of you made up of a wide variety of NOT you.
Now imagine if you could suddenly SEE all of it. 
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ROT would ruin any chance of me being able to play video games. No thanks, I already knew it all existed, that's enough for me.
This is... Great!
Words fail. More please!
Thinking about it..... *blurg* hold on.....*blargghh!* ugh, that was nasty. 10%......thats a scary thing to think about....
Damn
Incidently, totally out context, but the story was reminiscent of "The Picture of Dorian Grey". At least to me.
I would like to see Celestia reaction. If you felt inclined to continue it?
Thumbs up -- I see a future for this fic.
This is dark. Honestly surprised, entropy is usually "chaos" and "order" is what happens when humans oppose entropy. With this you make Order sound alive and it's will is that of all things ending.
Can understand the whole everything eats you thing. To see everything rot though must be horrifying and knowing Twilight will one day be like Discord makes it more frightening.
An interesting use of the potential heat death of the universe as a horror trope. After all, it would be a perfectly orderly universe. with the individual atoms spread evenly throughout space.
Well done.
7686577 Well, I hadn't originally planned on this being more than a one shot. But there is more to the story in my head.
So, okay.
7686661 To me the thing that made me shudder the most was seeing those spiders that live in our facial hair. Like literally inside the hair itself in little hollowed out nests. That was when I realized I had learned too much. I can't unsee that. Best I can do is try not to think about it.
7686676 I loved 'The Portrait of Dorian Grey'. And yes, I think I will keep going a bit on the story. There are a few ideas I still have in mind.
7686720 Thanks.
7686881 There is a series of books by L.E. Modesitt Jr. starting with 'The Magic of Recluse' that changed the way I viewed the idea of 'order' and 'chaos'. From the very idea that 'order' was black, and 'chaos' was white, to how both were used in the series really opened my eyes, (no pun intended).
Twilight still has it in her head that she can get a handle on things. She hasn't given up on her idea of mastering the power of Rot and using it for good.
But her eyes have just barely been opened. And there is still a lot left for her to understand and come to terms with.
7688679
I started reading creepypasta lol so that I have nightmares of something else 
Way ahead of ya lol
This is great! I'd love to see an epilogue set a few hundred years in the future...
Ah, my favorite trope, entropy. And you did such interesting things with it too! Great job on this!
That was a very good story and well deserving of a fav... yet I can't help but think it might need a disclaimer in the description.
*May cause excessive beard shaving*
Now that's an interesting idea. An horrifying but interesting idea.
I would like to see it continued, if only to see if she will manage to control it for the better. If so, it would have been her greatest sacrifice for ponykind, greater even than everything Celestia ever did.
If not... Well that's depressing...
But I think she is strong enough (mentally) to handle it.
(Then again, I tend to think that everything can be handled by being mentally strong...and having a certain view, philosophicaly, on life itself)
I'll agree that this story feels like it got clipped a little short, but is otherwise quite good. It's not the first time I've seen an entropy-horror work, but you handled it well and I enjoyed the read. If you do decide to add to it, I would recommend a series of either one-shots or stories from varying perspectives and points in time. Given the long term implications, exploring how Twilight handles the power and knowledge (and how it changes her) would probably be best handled that way instead of a single giant work.
In a similar vein are good eldritch horror stories. The poor ones focus on the monsters. The good ones focus on what the monsters represent. Specifically, on how truly small and insignificant our existence, and the existence of everything we can perceive, really is. Like Twilight seeing the ROT, horror is found in understanding how transient everything is. It's why I've long held the belief that I don't want to live forever, only a really REALLY long time (around 50 quadrillion years would be ideal). People don't, and probably can't, really understand the implications of true immortality.
Well written and well explained. I probably shouldn't have read this though. I knew about the micro bug thing and it haunts me, but this reminded me of it. How am I going to sleep now?
pore
Another for "Entropy is not chaos".
Alternate title: Discord teaches Twilight the Meaning of Life and the Laws of Thermogoddamnics
This is amazing! I;'d love to see more of this!
ohh this was good. it could definately use a sequel or followup chapter.
I want to read more!
First, though, I need to go shave.
Ah yes the "bugs are all over you 24/7" thing. The way I see it, however, I'm pretty much a planet Earth to these micro creatures. I'm aware of their existence yet I don't feel them. In a way, it's kind of a godlike feeling.
While I understand that the idea of entropy can be/is horrifying on its own the heightened perceptions that Twilight now finds herself with make no sense to me. She can hear and smell the rot, fine, but if that's the case why is it that when Starlight and Spike speak she hears them at a normal level? Shouldn't her hearing be hyper sensitive now that she can actually hear the rot? Or how she can smell the rot on her food, but never makes a note of her sense of smell being any more sensitive regarding anything else. Being able to see the ros is confusing to me too. When she looks at something what exactly is she seeing? Does everything appear as if it's already decomposed? When she was describing what she was seeing to Starlight is kinda sounded like she's not actually seeing her rot in real time but rather she's seeing the future, she's seeing Starlight's body and what is going to happen to it as she ages and eventually dies and decomposes. If her senses were just tuned specifically to perceive the rot only, without affecting her perception of anything else then it just sounds like Discord fucked with her senses just cause he's a dick. I don't see why he couldn't explain to her how his powers work without having to change her perception. He harnesses the power of entropy, big deal. Why the need the alter her senses? To teach her a lesson I suppose.
I don't know, the more I think about it the more silly and over the top the execution seems.
~Have a good one.
Ah, yes. Entropy. The inevitable slide of all existence toward pure order. It's been something I've thought on every day for over a decade now.
Knowing that eternity's eventual, inevitable end is an empty white void that renders any and every action pointless at best? It's driven me to honest despair at how meaningless everything is.
Being suddenly hyper-conscious of the actual process? As well as all the little things that feed on it?
Well. It'd just about break anyone.
Edit: Of course, neither chaos nor order in pure form is good. Pure order is an empty, bleak void. Pure chaos is naught but primordial slurry of energy and matter with no definable boundaries.
It's just as effectively empty as pure order, just coming from the other direction.
7690034 Because something needs to be felt.
Not everything can be explained with words alone, and if certain subjects are explained with words alone, they are watered down, until they are a mere joke of what their original meaning was.
Some things needs to be experienced and felt by yourself, because hearing a story about it, or having another person tell you about it, is a pale comparison that holds no water to the real thing and will never compare.
7690054
Don't you mean disorder?
7690054 And yet the universe had to come from somewhere.
When you get down to it, we still can't explain why ANYTHING exists.
So, declaring that everything is pointless is rather jumping the gun.
Also, the little critters living on your eyelashes are MITES, not spiders. Same class Arachnidae, different subclass Acari. They're in the same kinship as ticks. One main body part instead of the two spiders possess.
As for being 90% 'not you', that's also not really true. It's the same sort of pseudo-science legend as 'people only use 10% of their brains'. This stemmed from someone who WASN'T a scientist commenting on a survey of cells which suggested bacterial cells outnumbered human cells 10-to-1. This turned out to be false regardless: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/body%E2%80%99s-bacteria-don%E2%80%99t-outnumber-human-cells-so-much-after-all, but the layperson also didn't comprehend that, even were it to be true, bacterial cells are MINISCULE compared to mammalian cells. The average bacterial cell in the body is about 2 microns in diameter. Let's pick a typical cuboidal body cell at around 20 microns. Now, do the calculation for volume, assuming basic spheroidal structure for simplicities' sake (since cells have so many shapes and when you isolate a single cuboidal cell in a liquid culture, their shape tends to relax into a spheroid). The bacteria take up roughly 4 cubic microns. The mammalian cell dwarfs this at 4 THOUSAND cubic microns. It would take a ratio of 1000/1 bacterial to human cells just for the bacteria to equal the mass of the human cells.
And then there's the noncellular mass of bone and connective tissue to consider, which are the densest and heaviest tissues of the body.
*Discord withers away under the resounding might and authority of Alondro's GOD-LIKE SCIENCE POWERS!!!!* Delicious, magical science!
Order and chaos have nothing to do with energy. Energy follows gradients. It can be into a more ordered state with a lower energy level, or a less-ordered state, though it tends to be a LESS ordered state.
The end of a universe, if one decides to permit the ever-expanding near-absolute-zero hypothesis, is an appearance of order resulting from maximal entropy into the lowest energy state possible.
Life takes place when order and chaos are striving against one another. If either 'won', life wouldn't and couldn't exist.
This Discord isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is. Either that or he's merely propagandizing his ideology to the ignorant pony masses... much like politicians.
So what, he gave her super-senses? Hah, yeah, stuff like that can backfire. At least she's in Equestria. Imagine going to a place that already smells horrible. Now that would be a nightmare XD
So is Discord a champion of the red? I mean he made those vines but don't think that is really enough evidence to say he is a champion of green.
Pleeeeaaaaassse do more of this!
Entropy will break down the universe until nothing's left. Good thing I won't be alive to see that date, which is literally centillions of years in the future.
7690607 Its even further than that. Because as long as 1 black hole exists there will be something in the universe. When the universe has been eaten by that 1 black hole it will be so massive that even if something doesn't happen to make a new universe which thats purely theoretical at this point said Mega massive Black hole would take in the region of 10 to the 50 or so power million years to decay to a point that it can't sustain itself and die. So basically we would look at no less than 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Years or as a said number one sexdecillion years. But this would be around the time it takes for that 1 blackhole to die. This doesn't include how long it would take said blackhole to actually eat everything as well.
Let me put it this way if you live to see it you will be very very welcoming of it. Likely you will party the last 10 years or so to celebrate finally dieing
I could tell Discord was a liar or an idiot when he said 'order is there to break it down'. Order is lack of change, Chaos is change.
I could tell he was a liar when he 'tuned her perceptions' with hyperbolic sensitivity that almost completely overrides her normal senses causing such a visceral reaction, when in reality, such things are infinitesimal in scale.
Also, matter IS energy. The 'solidity' just comes from the bound electron fields, which can't slip through each other.
Also, most nuance in 'taste' is actually caused by smell.
7690146
I'm calling you out on this one, Discord!
7690139
This statement is logically false...(unless you mean the current iteration of the universe)
You can't get something from nothing, so there always had to be something...
(seriously, it's a logic trap, you can iterate it infinite times, it has no solution)
A fact theists constantly try to get around with their ridiculous hypothetical creator deity nonsense, despite the fact that clearly counts as something, and in this context, is part of the universe.
7690054
7690139
Your Philosophy is getting in my Science!
Seriously, meaning is subjective, so yeah, objectively meaningless.
There is so much more potential for this story. It needs to continue. Definitely earned its spot on the featured list.
7688679
Demodex mites aren't spiders. They're arthropods, which spiders also are, but this is not a spider:
ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/wm/live/1600_900/images/live/p0/2q/vt/p02qvt3x.jpg
Also: Demodex mites explode on death instead of pooping, ever.
static2.fjcdn.com/comments/5463414+_dd5a5f2466c0b66045f723bab65120c8.png
I could not stop thinking about this the entire time I was reading the story.
Is it weird to be fine with the knowledge that microscopic things are crawling around on my body?
But our all-consuming destruction. As Davros puts it: "The people and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing."
While he was talking about a bomb destroying everything, that is what we will have in the end. No matter what we build or own far we spread, we and our influence on the universe will eventually be Nothing.
Have a nice day and a fun No-Shave November knowing about the tiny things burrowing into your facial hair.
7690782 Your specific points, while interesting, are largely moot while dealing with magic.
As soon as magic is involved, especially Discord's magic, things like logic and actual physics are easily bypassed.
Or to put it another way, "A wizard did it." Which is the traditional handwave used in any fictitious media to explain logical inconsistencies within a broader narration.
7690105 Errr, no. I mean order. Amusingly, due to a quirk in language, while entropy as a mathematical measure indicates disorder, in more philosophical discussion entropy is more traditionally linked (due to associated ideas) with the Heat Death of the universe (which occurs when there is no thermodynamic energy left within the universe to sustain motion), IE, what Discord spoke about.
So neither of us are entirely wrong.
7689847 It was clipped a bit. I had started working on it the day before Halloween, and had done some more with it Halloween day. Honestly, if I had known it was going to be THIS popular, I would have explained a few things better and fleshed out the story more.
Since so very many people want more, I will continue it, but just so a few more things make sense I'll go ahead and say this.
Discord knew exactly what he was doing. In his own chaotic mind, he has a reason. He also left Twilight's sense of taste alone on purpose, due to what happened to the LAST being he did this to.
7690034 I won't make excuses for the gaps in perception. The fault is mine for rushing it out the door just to post it in time for Halloween, instead of going back over it more thoroughly.
To offer some explanations however. Twilight's normal senses are for the most part, the same. What Discord altered is her ability to perceive the various processes of dissolution. Sounds are heard normally, but they fall off at the end. The sound of decay is heightened to the point of being noticed, and will only get worse the more she pays attention to it. Smell is normal, she could still smell the fragrance of a rose. However it would be overpowered by her heightened ability to smell decay specifically. As for sight, Discord said it's tricky to mess with someone else's perceptions. It wouldn't be that hard for him to have made a mistake or two while doing so. Which would explain why Twilight can not only see the decay in objects around her, but all of the teeming hordes of creatures crawling all over every living non- immortal creature that she sees.
7690146
You sir, are remarkably close to the bulls-eye.
Discord has his own agenda. (nuff said).
Also, you are indeed correct about the little critters in you hair follicles being mites. Demodex mites. But they are not just restricted to your eyelashes.
We got into the habit of calling them 'face spiders', after the facehuggers came out in the movie 'Alien'.
This is so buetiful...
good job on the story
Interesting premise! Did you draw at least a little inspiration from Dragonlance's Curse of the Eyes of Raelana?
This brings to mind memories of Saya no Uta.
If more is indeed along the way, I'll be eagerly awaiting it.
7690782 Ah, but there is a problem with an infinitely existing universe in quantum physics! The causation problem is a HUGE sticking point in every theory.
There are dozens of competing hypotheses as to what triggered the Big Bang, or even if there really was one... and ALL of them run into the mind-bendingly impossible problems a) no really conceivable way of testing them and b) the issue of what came before THAT!
Really, you run into INFINITY no matter how you spin it, and infinities make life a living hell in physics.
I tried to look into it several time, and quickly realized no one had a clue. It was all mathematical gibberish without any experimentation. And since so many of these mathematical models looked good in equation form, BUT they all conflicted with each other... it leaves open the potential for them all to be completely wrong.
And then there's the Silicon Valley crowd who now seriously believe we're living in a simulation... which just kicks the can down the road as to where the beings came from that made the simulation.
It's at that point I just threw up my hands and decided to see if God couldn't just explain it all.
And lo... ALL WAS REVEALED UNTO ME!!!
gretachristina.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341bf68b53ef01348624d3f9970c-800wi
7691066
No. Entropy has never been credibly associated with a sense of order, philosophically or otherwise.
What you are referring to as the "Heat Death of the universe" is actually the trend of the universe (or any isolated thermodynamic system) towards equilibrium (maximum entropy). Entropy is a measure of the possible configurations of a system. This is a general definition that covers physics, chemistry, engineering, and the computational and mathematical sciences. Equilibrium refers to the changes in state of a system which maximise entropy. Isolated systems will always tend towards equilibrium/entropy naturally. The Second Law of Thermodynamics describes and implies, rather than prescribes, this.
When there are fewer possible states of a system, the entropy of the system is lower. A system in perfect order implies a state of minimal entropy, with the smallest possible set of possible configurations.
Consider: Discord is in Twilight's castle, begging for mercy because he massacred a banana cream pie while singing a Hearth's Warming Carol, in historically accurate costume, while turning himself inside out. He ends up wearing his eyeballs as testicles (which he normally doesn't have) and using his testicles (that he now apparently has) as decorative soaps in his guest bathroom. All while juggling a monochromatic goat and making out with Donald Trump's much younger self. It seems like Discord has lots of possibilities to work with, and he picks and chooses them at will. Meanwhile, the universe marches onward and rots.
7691636
But perfect equilibrium is in no sense chaos, either.
If there is an evenly distributed spread of particles which are not differentiated from each other in any meaningful way... that's order more than it is chaos. And as the heat runs out, liquids and gases crystallize, a state in which they are far more structured than they were when there was enough energy for motion.
What we think of as chaos isn't just disorder, because any stable state of disorder can be described as order. If I have huge stacks of random paper everywhere, except that I happen to have memorized where all of the papers are, then the paper is in an order that is meaningful to me, even if chaos to everything else. If someone then comes along and neatly files all my papers, but I don't know what system they used, my papers are in chaos to me, even if in order to the person who filed them. So for something to remain in a state of chaos, it must be in constant motion. Chaos requires that things change; any stable system is, in fact, ordered.
To me it seems more useful to describe entropy as something completely separate from order and chaos. Entropy causes ordered systems to break down and the components tend toward equilibrium, but while the short term result of this is disorder -- a carefully controlled structure breaking down and spontaneously becoming a different structure that is significantly less functional, where everything is out of place from where it would need to be in order to work -- the long term result is that nothing changes, and no state that remains stable can be described as chaos. Order requires energy to maintain -- but so does chaos. Build a house on the moon out of completely heat-and-vacuum-resistant components, leave for 20 years, and it'll more or less be exactly like it was when you left it, because without atmosphere or rotation, the only thing that ever changes on the moon is the temperature due to the visible presence or absence of the sun. Things on Earth fall to chaos naturally because there are many, many forces on the Earth that are constantly acting on everything.
Which implies that chaos can accelerate entropy. Certainly chaos can produce death, which is an expression of entropy. But so can order. Weeding your garden kills a lot of weeds. Technically speaking you've invoked quite a bit of entropy and rot to cultivate just the living things you want, in the places you want them, because to get that way you had to kill all the things you didn't want.
This is why I prefer systems that envision entropy as a completely separate force, neither chaos nor order. Of course Discord is much more likely, being a manifestation of Chaos, to perceive Order as evil and the enemy, so he associates it with entropy; but Order would associate Chaos with entropy. And the truth is Entropy would quietly laugh at them both and wait to claim them all, because in the end entropy always wins.