Redeeming Chaos

by PabloTheDestr0yer71

Chapter 3: Surprises

Earlier That Evening

The grounds were silent that evening.

Dead silent.

As in, so quiet that you could almost hear a conversation coming from all the way down the mountainside in Ponyville.

These were the kinds of nights he used to love. Gallivanting across the countryside, doing as he pleased. And not caring who he splattered with flying pies, stampeded with deer-bunnies, or flattened with ballerina bison in the process.

Right now, he’d give his own deer antler to be able to shatter that silence in a cacophony of pointless noise.

There was only one, slight problem. A problem that made him grimace in disgust. He couldn’t physically scowl, however.

Because he was encased in statue form.

For the SECOND time that millennium.

For somepony who’s all about friendship and all that dreck, Celestia sure is quick to have her little crony ponies turn others into stone, the angry spirit snarled from within his confines.

What a filthy hypocrite. Did I lay a paw on her? Even a single talon? NO! Sure, things did get… out of hand that first time, but last time was different! No harm done!

Well, I suppose I did turn her beloved Elements into hopeless, sour, no-good, lying, hoarding, and deserting shells of their former selves… But it was all in good humor, and I didn’t mean for anything to go seriously wrong! Nopony got hurt (at least, not that badly, I think...)

Oh, what’s the use? Face it, Discord old friend, you’re stuck in here for good this time. Ever since that wonderful scuffle between those three blessed little fillies, they’ve closed off my section of the gardens to outsiders. Even that delightful break-in visit from my dear Screwball wasn’t enough chaotic force to break me out of this confounded stone casket! It’s hopeless!

The least they could do is let me have a visitor every once in a while… All the other statues like to do is play charades. And they always pick the same stupid poses! Talk about predictable!

And oh, it does get ever so lonely here… Come now, Celestia; just because I’m the Spirit of Chaos doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings, too…

A single, glassy tear rolled down the statue’s awestruck, frozen face.

Get ahold of yourself, Discord! You’ve got the rest of time to get out of here! It’ll happen…

Someday…

Wow, do I always talk to myself like this? I really ought to see a shrink—!

The semi-psychotic spirit’s train of thought was brought to a halt when a dark bird flew into the garden clearing and landed in a dead willow, directly across from Discord’s stone self.

“GRAAAWK!”

Aaah, finally! Some cacophonous noise to disrupt all the silence! I was beginning to think— wait, what’s that you say? My rescuers are coming? They’ll be here in two days?!

Despite his imprisonment, Discord managed to make the statue give a little hop into the air.

Callooh! Callay! What a glorious day this is indeed! Now go, my fine feathered friend, and spread my tidings of joy for all Equestria to hear!

The statue’s gaping mouth turned up ever so slightly, into a sinister smirk, and its eyes flashed with embers of hellfire.

And when the time is right, we’ll finally enact our vengeance on those horrible Elements of Harmony. All the stops are out now, and the organ will be playing their funeral dirge before they even know what hit ‘em!

Meanwhile

“For the LAST TIME, Rarity! We’re not going to touch anything this time!”

“That’s precisely what you said before, Sweetie! Remember? When you spilled grape juice all over Hoity-Toity’s special order?”

“But this time’s different, sis! No grape juice involved!” Sweetie Belle protested.

“Or chewed bubblegum,” chimed in Scootaloo.

“Or that bouncy-ball slingshot…” added Apple Bloom sheepishly, remembering how their last visit to Carousel Boutique had ended.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, girls, but I’m ever so busy with a special project right now. I simply don’t have time to do any foal-sitti—“ Rarity froze mid-sentence, as an idea crossed her mind.

“Say, Crusaders? Would it be too much trouble to ask a small favor of you three?”

“What kind of favor?” This had Sweetie curious. Usually Rarity didn’t want her to touch a single thing in the boutique, for fear of her klutzily ruining it.

“Oh, it’s ever so important that this be kept an absolute secret. Think of it as… a secret mission!” Rarity’s ruse was quite convincing to the fillies. They beamed at one another and shouted in unison:

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SECRET AGENTS! YAY!!!”

“Now now, girls! It won’t be secret if you shout it out to the whole neighborhood, now will it?”

Scootaloo grinned up at the unicorn mare, hopping in anticipation. “Is it an incredibly super amazingly awesome sort of mission?”

“It certainly will be amazingly awesome, but you must have it completed within an hour! Now, I’ll show you three where you’ll be working on this… this… project.”

“Mission.” Corrected Apple Bloom.

“Oh, yes, how silly of me. That’s what I meant to say…”

Meanwhile, in Cosmos’s Bedroom

“…And nopony in the valley survived as the monster buried their castle, and the entirety of the kingdom!”

Spike and Cosmos glanced at each other in horrified awe of the story before them. The creature (if you could even call it that) described in Cosmos’s book was truly mind-blowing. They simply could not understand how anypony (or more appropriately: anything) could have the gall to sing upbeat doo-wop while threatening an entire civilization and the majority of its citizens.

“Wow…” Spike breathed. “That thing sounds awful. And to think; this all happened right here in Equestria. And not even a hundred years ago!”

“I know, it’s really crazy…”

Another uncomfortable silence ensued, as the two tried to rid themselves of the dreadful mental images of screaming ponies and the singing monster.

Spike was the first to break the silence, once again, as he flipped to a random page in the book. “Hey, I’ve heard of this one! A draconequus!”

“Yeah, I was just reading about them the other day. It says here that they’re some sort of chimerical monster, composed of various random animal parts.”

“Y’know, I’ve actually met a draconequus once.” Cosmos stared at the baby dragon in disbelief at this comment.

“You have?!”

“Yep. His name was Discord,” Spike shuddered at the mention of his friends’ spirit nemesis. “A real nasty character, if you ask me. But even he was no match for Twilight and the Elements of Harmony! They locked him right back up in statue form in no time flat.”

Cosmos, shaken by the mention of the Chaos Spirit, stared blankly down at the book.

Discord… I know I’ve heard that name somewhere before… A long, long time ago… But where?

And yet another awkward lapse in conversation.

Not sure of how to proceed, Spike gazed around the colt’s new room, his eyes finally falling on a somewhat new poster on the wall by Cosmos’s bed.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were a Bon Pon3 fan! So am I!” He further inspected the poster and was nearly blown off his feet. “And it’s signed!? Did you actually get to see their Equestria tour?”

“Yep…” All of a sudden, the young colt was sullen. “That was the last time my dad… Actually seemed to care about me.”

Spike looked shocked. “W-what do you mean…?”

“The concert was three years ago… And only a year after mom had…” Cosmos choked a bit. “…gone away. There was that blessed period of time when I thought he actually loved me… At least a little bit…”

“But then everything changed. It was then that he became completely obsessed with his travels and work. And now, it’s almost like he doesn’t even think I exist…” Cosmos could hardly prevent himself from weeping in front of his newfound friend.

Concerned, Spike gave the colt a sympathetic hug. “Well, if you ever feel too lonely, don’t hesitate to head over to the library. I could use some company, what with Twi putting me to work all day long.” He smiled reassuringly. Still sniffling a bit, Cosmos returned the smile.

Their sentimental bonding moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud crash from downstairs, followed by the clambering of hooves.

“Okay, that time I DEFINITELY heard something coming from down there!” Spike got up and made for the door to find the cause of the commotion. He was about to open the door when Cosmos heard his father hollering up from downstairs.

“Cosmos, I think I heard something from the living room! Go check and see what it was!”

The unicorn shot Spike a reluctant glance.

“If my dad didn’t make that sound… then who… or what… did?”

“Beats me.” Spike shrugged, his face nonchalant with a hint of worry.

Cosmos’s blood was pumping remarkably faster now, as he slowly crept down the staircase as noiselessly as possible. Spike tagged along, closely behind.

The main floor was utterly dark except for a faint, dusky gray light seeping in from outside, and the moon’s eerie glow. Shadows seemed to be twice their height in the darkness, and Cosmos couldn’t help but get the feeling he was being watched.

Suddenly, the colt felt a presence whisk past his tail.

He yelped and bolted for a moonlit patch of floor, quick as a wink. As he tried to stabilize his heart rate, he his eyes darted around the ink-darkness surrounding him. And as he looked, something else suddenly dawned on him.

Where’s Spike?!

“Spike…?” He managed to squeak, cautiously setting one foot into the darkness

At that moment, a floorboard out in the darkness creaked, and the sound of hoof-steps echoed the room for a moment, before receding into the silence. Cosmos’s eyes bugged out in horror, and his heart rate went haywire.

“Hello…? Is anypony there?” He asked, his voice trembling from sheer panic. Nopony answered. Taking a deep breath, Cosmos began to edge his way across the room in search of the light switch.

But somepony beat him to it. The lights flicked on, and Cosmos nearly fainted for the second time that day at the sight in front of him.

***

“SURPRISE!!!”

Every single mare, stallion, filly, and colt in all of Ponyville leaped out from every nook and cranny of the house, armed with party-blowers and noisemakers. The party inside was complete with a welcome banner, live music played by local DJ Vinyl Scratch, and a great refreshment table (including Spike’s delectable cupcakes). Cosmos’s face quickly turned from one of terror to one of bafflement.

How did that many ponies manage to get into my house…? This is practically the entire town here! And how’d they manage to set all this up so… quickly? And quietly?

Before he could mull over his question any longer, Pinkie Pie bounced up to him and immediately began jabbering at him, a mile a minute:

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be Cosmos Quark! And this is your ‘Welcome to Town’ party! I saw you looking really down in Ponyville earlier today, and when I noticed you weren’t from here, I thought maybe you were sad because you hadn’t met anypony yet and had no friends… And that made me sad too. So my friends and I decided to pitch in to make a surprise welcome party for you and your dad, since you’re brand new here and don’t know many ponies yet! And boy oh boy, what a surprise it was!” She giggled, noticing the colt’s stunned expression, and reached out to close his gaping jaw for him.

“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Come with me! You’ve got lots of new friends to meet here! I’ll show you mine!”

The hyperactive pink mare hopped over to a group of five other ponies, one of whom he already recognized from earlier that day as Twilight Sparkle. The first pony to approach him was an amber-colored earth pony, with a brown cowpony hat atop her flaxen mane.

“Howdy, Cosmos! Ah’m Applejack, head proprietor of the best apple orchard this side of Dragon Mountain. It’s a pleasure to meet you, partner!”

“No, no, the pleasure’s all mi—” Cosmos was about to finish his polite reply when the next of Pinkie’s friends, a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow-streaked mane, introduced herself.

“What’s up, kid? The name’s Dash. Rainbow Dash. I’m the fastest thing in Equestria, and don’t you forget it!” For emphasis, she promptly did a loop-de-loop and nailed the landing in less than a second. Cosmos’s jaw dropped again, and Dash smirked at this.
“So, Cosmos, what brings you to our neck of the woods anyway?”

“Well, my dad asked Equus University—“ Before he could explain, the next of the friends walked up; a ravishing snow-white unicorn mare with a deep violet mane.

“Welcome to Ponyville, darling! My name is Rarity, and I own the Carousel Boutique on the south side of town! It’s lovely to see a new face around town! I’m sure my younger sister agrees; she’s about your age, and would love to have a new playmate. Now where in Equestria did she run off to?”

As Rarity wandered off in search of Sweetie Belle, the fourth member of Pinkie’s friend group cautiously stepped forward. She was a soft yellow, with a long, carnation pink mane that partially hid her face.

“Umm… hello there…” she murmured softly, in barely more than a whisper. “M-my name is Fluttershy…” Shifting from one hoof to another, she steeled herself to make eye contact with the colt. He was taken aback by her timid, yet warmhearted turquoise eyes as she continued to mumble. “It’s v-very nice to meet you, C-cosmos…”

“And you’ve already met me!” Twilight piped up. “Now, if everyone will excuse me for a minute, I’m going to go see if the professor is ready to take a break yet… After all, this party is for him as well.” She trotted off to the basement door and slowly crept inside.

Smiling earnestly, Cosmos turned to and addressed the five others (including Pinkie): “Thank you everyone, for this warm welcome to your town. I really do appreciate it.”

The purple-&-black unicorn colt continued to talk with the other five about his life in Manehattan (or as he called it, the “Big Apple,” which peaked Applejack’s interest), when suddenly he felt himself being dragged away by the tail.

“I’ll talk to everyone later!” he called back to them as he turned to identify his “kidnapper.” It was none other than Spike, who looked back at him with a playful grin.

“My friends need to talk with you.” He said, grinning the whole time.

Oh, no! Cosmos thought. He must be dragging me over to talk to those other pirate colts! I’m so doomed!

But the ponies waiting for him weren’t the pirate colts at all. Before him stood three little fillies, two of whom were the caped “adventurers” he’d seen before school. The third was the “sea-pony” he’d stood up for at recess.

“I’m Apple Bloom, and this is Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle,” began the yellow filly. “and As the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we’d like to thank you for your heroic defense of our member Sweetie Belle.”

“It was totally wicked cool how you showed those other mean colts who was boss and spoiled their fun!” Scootaloo gave Cosmos a friendly hoof-bump on the shoulder.

“Yeah… thank you…” Sweetie Belle barely managed to squeak out, more quietly even than Fluttershy.

Just as Cosmos was about to respond, Apple Bloom gestured up to the banner hanging above them.

“This here banner is a little token of our gratitude for what you did for the organization, and we were wondering if you’d like us to make you an honorary Crusader!”

“Gee, I… I don’t even know what to say… this is too amazing… y-yes! Yes please! I would love to be a member! A-and thank you for everything!” Tears were flowing in noticeable rivulets down Cosmos’s face.

“Yo, Cosmos! What’s the matter? It’s just our little club, it’s not that big of a deal…”

“It’s just… I’ve never been able to make any friends this quickly before! Sometimes even none at all…” Cosmos wiped his tears and beamed at the fillies. “Th-thank you again!”

“It’s no problem, really… We’re always glad to have you on board!”

Just then, a small shape pushed its way through the tight wall of conversing ponies and landed in a heap amongst the four other foals. It was Rumble, the lookout from the boys’ pirate game. Seeing their new friend back away from him fearfully, the original Crusaders stepped between Cosmos and the confused gray pegasus.

“Back away from him you no-gooder!” Spat Scootaloo.

“Yeah! What she said…” Apple Bloom stomped one hoof down resolutely.

“Wait, wait! I come in peace,” Rumble surrendered to the somewhat older fillies before him. “I just wanted to come over here to… to apologize… for both Pip’s and my behavior….

Cosmos warily approached him. “You sure you’ve got no sour feelings towards me for ruining that game?” He asked.

“Who, me? Oh, not at all! Sometimes I think the captain can get a little out of hand with his role playing… When I saw him picking on Sweetie, I wasn’t sure what to do in that situation, but you handled it like a pro and took care of everything!”

“He sure did!” Chimed in Apple Bloom.

“Definitely!” Agreed Scootaloo.

“Mhmmm…” breathed Sweetie, mostly to herself.

At that moment, Vinyl had stopped playing slow, “mingling” tunes and put on some lively dancing music, and everypony there started getting funky.

Everypony, that is, except for Cosmos.

Finding himself surrounded by grooving ponies, Cosmos stealthily slipped out of the dance mob and hid under the refreshment table, without anypony noticing his retreat.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rumble, and Spike were completely absorbed by an upbeat rendition of Cannibal and the Hockhunters’ “Land of 10,000 Prances.” Spike was getting down with “the mashed potatoes,” while the foals rocked “the pony” with one another.

“Nice moves, Spike!” Apple Bloom called out as Spike broke into a bout of “the monkey.”

“Thanks, you’re not too bad yourselves! I’ve been working on ‘em ever since the big Canterlot wedding. They’re almost to par with my sick shuffling!”

The colt, dragon, and fillies laughed and sang along with the “na na na na na’s” as the song finished out. They danced through another whole song, the Canters’ “Do You Love Me? (Now That I Can Prance),” before noticing the absence of their new friend. After bumping through the crowd and searching the room, the young ones finally found Cosmos curled up under the table and dozing off.

“Hey, Cosmos! Why aren’t you out breakin’ it down with the rest of us?” Spike asked.

“I… I dunno… I guess I’m just not a very great dancer…” Cosmos looked down sheepishly.

“Neither are we, or anyone else here. Everypony looks pretty silly, but it’s all really fun when we do it together!” Apple Bloom grinned at him.

“I’m sorry… I really don’t think it’s that great an idea…!” Cosmos was cut off when he noticed the disappointment on his friends’ faces, especially Sweetie’s.

Suddenly bombarded by her shimmering, emerald puppy-dog eyes, Cosmos couldn’t bring himself to say no to them.

“I… suppose I could try for a little bit… but no laughing at me, okay?”

Cosmos was barely able to finish his sentence as the group yanked him out from under the table and practically threw him onto the dance floor.

But just as the colt was about to join in the partying, the music suddenly changed mood. The dance pace slowed, and a sentimental love song began to fill the room.

“Uh-oh…”

Cosmos, among other things, was always painfully hopeless when it came to love and romantic situations. He desperately looked around for an out.

Not a slow dance! Gotta hide, gotta hide, gotta—huh? This song… it’s… so familiar!

Then he remembered.

It was the song his mother and father always used to play, when he was but an infant!

Cosmos’s eyes glistened. Inhaling deeply, he let the music carry him away from the cottage by Whitetail Wood, back to the lakeshore and his last memories of his mother…

“It’s so beautiful, mommy!”

“Yes, it is, Cosmo. Look at how the stars twinkle off the water, like little fairy lights.”

“Someday, I’m gonna go up and visit those stars with you and dad!”

“That would be amazing, my dear… I’m sure we can, someday”

“You promise?” The foal beamed up at his mother, with shining eyes.

“I promise”…

… Cosmos closed his eyes, brimming with nostalgic tears. Unbeknownst to him, his horn began to shimmer with verdant aura. The music’s lovely intro gave way to the touching verse, as the room melted into a wide lake that sparkled with moonlight and stars.

♪You and I must make a pact
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love,
I’ll be there… ♫

The partygoers all noticed the sudden change in the room’s atmosphere:

“Wow, Pinkie sure is getting good at this party-throwing business! This lake-surface dance floor hologram is a really nice touch!”

But for Sweetie, Spike, and Rumble, it was déjà vu of the pirate adventure and knight rescue from earlier that day. Sweetie, in particular, had a strong hunch that the new colt was behind the change in scenery.

Where’d he run off to this time? I reeeally wanted to dance with him…

That does it! I’m gonna go find him, and I’m going to dance with him if it’s the last thing I d—!!!”

Rounding a group of dancing ponies, she saw him.

The moon’s placid glow reflected off his glossy coat, and seemed to dance through his curled ebony mane. He wore a look of exquisite sentimentality, gentle tears swirling on the breeze like crystal raindrops as his face turned skyward in some sort of silent prayer.

♪I’ll reach out my hoof to you,
I’ll have faith in all you do,
Just call my name and
I’ll be there… ♫

To Sweetie, everything seemed to grind to a halt all across the lake, and she felt as though she were on the highest point of Mt. Canterlot itself. Everypony else seemed to be frozen in space and time.

It was just her and Cosmos.

No one else was there.

No one else mattered right now.

The young unicorn felt her face heat up once again, and her heart started to race as she came to her realization.

He was directly in front of her. His eyes opened in a flurry of tears, and Sweetie fully lost herself in them. They were of the purest green, and gazed back at her with a look that sent her heart rocketing.

With an incredibly anxious gulp, Sweetie began: “Hi, Cosmo… I was just wondering if… if I could have this dance…?”

“You… want to dance with me…?”

“Yeah, I mean if it’s not… too much trouble…” Sweetie looked away, blushing uncontrollably.

Cosmos’s gaze seemed to caress her very soul. “Sweetie…”

The filly’s heart skipped a beat. “Cosmos…?”

“Sweetie Belle…” the look in his eyes was simply entrancing.

That’s it. I don’t care what my mind tells me.

This is love at first sight, no doubts about it!

♪…Just call my name and
I’ll be there ♫

The two unicorns drew nearer to one another, the lake surface twinkling and rippling beneath their hooves. Their heads were just inches away, and Cosmos brought his neck so close to Sweetie’s that their coats brushed together.

Just as Vinyl began blasting the PON-3 Rock Anthem.

As the techno pop resounded over the whooping, grooving crowd, the moonlit lake faded out of existence as Cosmos’s horn stopped shimmering. Snapped back into reality by the sudden change of mood, Cosmos immediately noticed his proximity to Sweetie and leaped backwards, eyes wide in shock.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie…” He apologized shakily. “I honestly don’t know what came over me…”

“It’s all right…” Sweetie tried her best to sound normal and cheerful.

Ponyfeathers! I was that close!...

After the Party, at Sweet Apple Acres

“Thank you for letting us stay the night here, Miss Applejack!”

“Yeah, thanks AJ! That was real thoughtful of you!”

“Aw, shucks. It’s no trouble at all, really. When ah heard the professor and Twilight were going to be runnin’ errands tomorrow in Fillydelphia, I wasn’t about to let you and Spike get along all by yourselves. It’d be awful lonely for you two.”

“And thanks for letting us come along, too!” Scootaloo gave a hop of excitement. Beside her was Sweetie Belle. Both of them had decided to join in on the sleepover fun.

“The more the merrier, as ah always say! Y’all have fun now, and try and hit the hay sometime soon, all right?”

“We promise!” The young ones raced upstairs to Apple Bloom’s room and set up their makeshift beds.

They played several of Jenga Xtreme and Trivial Pursuit, and finished up a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of the Canterlot royal gardens. Finally, after about an hour of friendly chatting, the group decided to call it a night.

For several minutes after his friends had fallen asleep, Cosmos lay awake and stared at the ceiling of the bedroom before finally slipping into a fitful slumber.

***

The young unicorn opened his eyes, blinking back the sleep dust as he came to recognize his surroundings. He was back in his house, somehow, on the living room couch, and there was a small, unfinished jigsaw puzzle on the living room table.

Cosmos had always been partial to jigsaw puzzles, so naturally he dove right in and got to work assembling it. As he finished the border, he began to feel an unpleasant chill waft over the room. Filling in more pieces in the center, he began to come to a grim realization:

He was assembling an image of his own living room.

Feeling his breathing grow faster, Cosmos tried to resist the urge to complete the puzzle. But the impulse was too strong for him, and the image he pieced together next simply added to his growing unease.

It was a picture of him, doing a jigsaw puzzle.

His fear growing by the second, the colt kept working away mechanically, filling in all but four pieces of the bizarre puzzle. The pieces of his living room window.

Squinting his eyes shut, he pushed the first two pieces into place, finding them to be completely dark. Relieved, he fitted in the last two. And nearly fainted in terror.

Staring up at him were two insane, blood-red eyes.

Like nothing he’d ever seen before.

He didn’t dare turn his head, but impulse got the better of him once again. Wincing, he turned. And the windowpane shattered.

“AAAAAAH!”

Cosmos sat bolt upright in bed, and looked around wildly. His scream had awoken and thoroughly spooked everypony else, and they all looked at him in fear and worry.

“What happened, Cosmos?” Scootaloo asked, genuinely concerned.

“A bad dream?” Spike postulated.

“Yeah, I suppose it was… just a bad dream…” Cosmos sighed in relief.

“AIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Everyone in the room whipped around to look at Sweetie, who was staring in absolute terror at the bedroom window.

A pitch dark figure was staring back at them.

Its wild mane cut was silhouetted ominously against the moon. Blinking its shining white eyes twice, it vanished into the night without a sound.

Comments

[Indieman]

Gotta say, I've never been much into reading OC based stories and such, but... heck man, this is great. Props. Funny how the only reason i even read this story in the first place was due to the fact that Discord is in it, but still, pretty damn good so far.

[PabloTheDestr0yer71]

Thanks! I feel like its been a little slow here at the beginning, but I can promise it'll pick up as the story progresses. And Discord will start to play a much more prominent role

[Indieman]

999086
A man after my own heart. GASP.