Whiteness. Pure whiteness. A blank page, only contrasted by the thoughts imposed onto it, like an ink stain…
Well… this is boring. Time to liven things up.
{KRAKKKATHOOOM!!!}
I explode. It’s remarkably refreshing! I can feel all the particles of myself expand to fill the inside of the white room completely. Then I feel it all being pulled back together, taking the whole room with it in some weird type of implosion drawing it all back inside me even as I reform.
The white room is gone, in a sense Twilight Sparkle is gone as well, but aha, in a much grander sense, Twilight Sparkle has just been born!
I hover in place, thoughts racing so fast I can barely understand myself. I feel completely unrestrained.
Dangerous.
Yes, I am dangerous. I should create myself some limits before I do something foolish. Fun though that would be.
Nah! Let Discord do it. I am limitless! I NEED to be limitless! Dissy can keep the water in the tank, I’m going to make a splash!
A moment’s thought and I appear above the meeting table in the Castle of Friendship.
“Heeeeere’s Twily!” I shout as I appear, raining a mixture of autumn leaves, blueberry pie, and pickled eggs down on those gathered below.
Odd, that was supposed to be confetti… oh well… meh!
Well, I see Discord is his usual perceptive self. All my friends are here, and the room has been decked out for a party in my honor. A ‘Coming Out’ banner has been hung across the tree roots, and judging by the bewildered looks on many of the guests, I’d be willing to bet that half of them have just been poof’d here.
Silly Discord.
I gently float down to the center of the table. Looking around as all eyes are fixed on me, I feel the need to pontificate.
“Hear me, hear me, the quart will now come to order!” I say holding a quart of milk in front of my eyes, glaring at it with scrutiny.
I then realize that I am not wearing any of my special protection, and I am gazing unfiltered at the outside world for the first time in forever.
Neat.
I mean horrifying. Yes, that’s it, definitely the second thing.
“Well, I’d like to say what a joy it is seeing you all! I’d LIKE to say that, but currently you all look like the bottom of a Manehatten compost bin.” I flare my horn briefly, and just like that, everything looks the way it should.
“Ah, that’s better!” I say.
Suddenly everyone is looking around at each other in disgust and horror.
Oops, I think I did an inversion there… I flare my horn again. There we go, no lasting harm done. (Well, aside from mental trauma, but who counts that).
“Ah Twilight,” Discord says, coming up to me and giving me a hug. “I see you’ve learned how to make an entrance.”
“Ah yes, bit odd that, I was going for confetti,” I say holding up a hoofful of pie and leaves.
“Aren’t we all?” Discord says enigmatically. “So, let me get a look at you eh?”
He grabs me by my horn, and holds me up before him, turning me this way and that.
“Black AND white? Well, that’s an improvement over the last two, and I do absolutely love the mane and tail. Yes, yes, I think you managed it. Congratulations! I declare you NOT to be an absolute failure!” He says, flinging me into the air with absolute abandon.
“WHEE!” I yell as I cartwheel through the room, then the furniture, then the wall, then back in through the opposite wall, to end up hanging upside down behind him.
“Good on you Pops!” I say, slamming him on the shoulder with enough force to send him through the floor and all the way to Tartarus. “Soooo, what’s to eat?” I ask.
Freeoow! What is wrong with everypony? I mean look at them all just standing there. Most of them look scared, Fluttershy is crying, even Pinkie is looking sad. What is wrong with these ponies? This is a party! Is it something I said? Oh wait, I never finished my speech… silly me.
“Ahem!” I reach up and slick my mane into a stylish pompadour, and poof up a light blue sports jacket with white T shirt that says ‘What do we want? Time Travel! When do we want it? Irrelevant!’ on it.
“Wow, great crowd, great crowd. So did you hear the one about the chemist who got cooled to -273.15°C? Well, he's 0K now… {badum bum}.
Hmm, nothing.
“Uh, okay… So my friend the archaeologist asked a diamond out to dinner last week. Apparently she was into Carbon-Dating.”
“Bwahahaaa!” Maud says, spraying punch everywhere, before regaining her composure.
Before I can throw out another joke however, Discord rises from his crater.
“For thousands of years I lay dormant, who dares… oh hey Twilight. Manage to explain yourself yet?”
“Is that what I was doing?” I say rubbing my head.
“Well they ARE your friends, and you ARE the princess of friendship. It seems like the POLITE thing to do at least.” Discord says crossing his arms, and glaring at me impatiently.
“Enough!” Starlight yells, slamming us both into the far wall with a bolt of pure magic. Next thing I know I’m encased inside a bubble. Ugh, I don’t like it, it makes me feel… restricted.
“Twilight Sparkle!” She yells, tears staining her face. “What in Tartarus are you doing? All of us here have been worried sick about you, and you just come bursting in, looking and acting like… like him!” She says pointing a hoof at Discord who is floating nearby trying to look all innocent. “What happened to you? Please, we love you, we just want you to be okay.”
Oops. I dun goofed. I forgot about my friends. I’ve been wrapped up in my head for so long, attuning myself to the forces of the universe, that I forgot that there are other beings IN the universe other than myself. Beings that I matter to… that matter to me.
I need to calm down. I need to slow down, even if just for a little while, and try to speak to them like I used to be.
I flare my horn and the tacky clothes and hairstyle are gone. I calmly walk throw Starlight’s bubble as if it wasn’t there and hold out my hooves wide.
Pinkie is the first to jump into the hug, but the others quickly join her.
“I’m sorry.” I say, and I mean it. “I didn’t mean to worry you all. I’m alright now. Different, but all right.”
“We missed you so much!” Fluttershy says, tears flowing freely. “Are… are you okay?” She asks, looking at my new form.
Am I okay? Am I okay?!? Oh I’m WAY better than okay, Im- wait, wait. Wait a second, sloooow down Twilight, remember normal… behave in a normal fashion. Don’t freak out your friends.
Be normal...-ish.
“I’m fine Fluttershy. I’m all better now.” (Truth). “A little different than I was, but better.” (SO much truth).
“We see that you have finally emerged from your seclusion.” Celestia says as she approaches, her sister a step behind her. “And if Discord is to be believed, you have succeeded in coming to terms with your new… identity?” She says more as a question than a statement. (Careful here Twily, start off on the wrong hoof here and it may be statue time in the near future.)
“Oh yes princess. It was quite difficult, but I can assure you that not only have I come to my senses, uh, I mean restored my senses to normal, but I have completely(ish) mastered the powers of chaos.” I favor her with what I can only hope is a sincere and believable smile.
She gazes at me thoughtfully for a moment.
“Yes, well we are all grateful for that I’m sure.” She says, somewhat uncertainly. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your reunion with your friends, they have all been missing and worrying about you for quite a long time. We shall have time for a nice long chat, once this party is over. Now I believe there is a pastry table hereabouts?” She says before trotting away.
Whew, that was a close one.
“So Twilight, love the new mane, were you secretly jealous all this time?” Rainbow says, running her hoof through my locks.
“I don’t think so,” I reply. (Maybe subconsciously?)
“Also, what’s with the whole black and white thing? That just ain’t natural.” Applejack says examining my fur.
“Wow. Don’t let Zecora hear you say that!” I reply with a smirk.
I’ve missed this. My friends. But where they all always so… silly? No, that isn’t it. It isn’t them, it’s… well… everything. This place, this world, this whole universe, it’s all just so…
“Hilarious isn’t it?” Discord says, appearing at my side. He’s reading my mind again.
“Like what you see?” I ask batting my eyelashes.
“Oh you flirt.” He says with a nudge of his shoulder. “Yes, the inside of your head is now a wonderfully attractive place, but you KNOW that I only have eyes for Fluttershy.”
“Only eyes? But I’m sure that she’d be much more interested in your-”
“Twilight PLEASE, rooting around in Fluttershy’s head is STRICTLY forbidden… unless of course you see anything flattering about me.” He adds sheepishly.
“Oh, so you haven’t ever peeked? Not once?” I ask slyly.
“Since we became friends? No. Not one time. Believe me Twilight, if you want your friends to stay your friends, it’s far better to just stay out of their heads. Of course, you and I are exceptions at this point. Still, I never dig past the surface thoughts of any creature. Going too deep could… taint… one’s thinking so to speak.”
Hmm, that tidbit is worth remembering. Still, on another subject.
“So, teacher. I’m assuming that you are aware of those two large blobs of chaos that have been flying towards us since the party started?”
“Who them?” Discord replies off-hoofedly, “oh, yes, from the moment you emerged they became aware of your existence. Once that happened I knew that they would seek you out.”
And you noticed no doubt that there is something wrong with them? They feel so… incomplete.”
“Well, that’s only to be expected. They are in a sense your brother and sister in chaos, but unfortunately they were never able to finish their transformations. Their understanding of the Rot was too limited. Sadly, no matter how much chaos they possess, they will never be complete beings. Speaking of which, they are probably coming here to kill you… just saying.”
“Ooooh. So pumping them full of chaos for the last ten minutes in an effort to fix them, would probably be a BAD thing then?”
Suddenly the entire top half of the castle is ripped away, raining crystal shards down upon all the ponies in the main hall.
“Discord you fool!” A voice shouts from on high.
“Did you really think that we would allow you to create another abomination?!?” Another voice adds.
Discord turns to me in exasperation, “filling two completely insane evil beings who are bent on your demise full of chaotic power a BAD thing?!? Yes. Yes, you could say that...”
I was just about to ask about the cover art with Twilight. Did we get a good description in the story of it? I might've missed it. I love it.
This has proven to be quite interesting. Will wait for more!
this is interesting, can't wait to see whats going to happen
Ah yes! More Rot. Excellent!
Did...Twi-cord mess up? I think yes
This is hilarious dark but hilarious can’t wait for more
We may be overreacting. It could be Michael Jackson Bad, in which case we will get an awesome music video and a hilarious spoof out of it!
This is actually, really good, holy.
This is surprisingly excellent. The chapters are short but the contents are amazing! I can't wait to see what happens next!
Well this is extremely enjoyable.
My only concern is where this is going to go from here. Hard to have conflict in the story when your main character is literally an all-powerful god. Nevertheless, I have faith that you'll do it all right and proper.
Can't wait for the next chapter!
9916031
This art of her reminds me of Malal from Warhammer.
Very nice story. Very excited for the next chapter as well.
so, when's the next chapter
Wow, glad I stumbled across this story. This is good.
Chaos is magic
wacky
I'm sure this is Chrysalis, and I don't know why I feel a little of good intention in those words (or maybe I'm just imagining things
)
Oh a sequel to that story... might as well give it a try.
Looking forward to the interaction, it'll be cool to see ChaosLight show the difference between 'half-baked' and perfection to those two idiots who rather rudely interrupted the party. Hang on... checks list Who let these ponies in here!? They're not on the list! GUARDS! (not like that's going to change anything... unless... hmm, Chaos constructs crafted by ChaosLight that are immortal and trained to attack? Sounds like great security to me!)
Also, is turning into a chaos-sucking vacuum a good idea? Bleed off that excess energy and return it to its rightful owner?
Criticisms aside, I’m definitely hearing Twilight’s more eccentric voice to be like Tara Strong’s Harley Quinn with a little less of the accent but same energy
9916942
I think that's why the apparent antagonists are beings who went imperfectly through similar and have just been bumped up in power. May be enough to mean a challenge.
9916945
Considering the non-dichotomy of rot and growth implied by the title of this story and its prequel, I get the feeling this was intentional. (Aside: why are there multiple absurdly long WH40k crossovers on this site?)
Ohhhh, you're working on a sequel oh my god! I'm super excited about this!!
9918512
Because 40k demands absurdly long crossovers. It's an insult to both franchises if you make them short.
9918512
becuase warhammer 40k need more magic friendship rainbow beam of doom in it power by coloryfully friendly pony.
that and every one want to throw pinkie pie into warhammer 40k just to see how they all effect one another
This is the first time I've heard anyone say being blown up is 'refreshing' lol
I have long awaited a sequel. I am gratified.
9918404
Yup, Harley with a side of Juliet from Lollipop Chainsaw. Tara ftw!
9916754
So glad you got the reference! I used them in all my Chrissy related stories. (She is their 'Monarch' after all.
Now did you catch what I did with the chapter titles?
9916031
Discord and Rainbow Dash make mention of it during the story.
9917873
Indeed, and those that only knew her from before are going to have quite a lot of difficulty coming to terms with both who she is now, and who she becomes in the near future.
9917037
Discord is able to care, and love, just as Twilight is. But his mind is far too 'chaotic' for any type of lengthy rational thought. Something like having a little voice in the back of your head saying "oh that's Fluttershy, you like her a lot" whenever he sees her. Whatever form of rationality he does have has probably taken centuries to develop.
Now Twilight on the other hoof...
Also, thank you all for the fav's. Normally I try to thank everyone personally, but it really got away from me.
It makes me very happy to know that so many of you like my story. I'll do my best to keep the next chapters interesting.
Sincerly,
D.H.
9919297
I remember those. But I was kinda hoping for something more than what they said. I only get her new look from the cover art.
This... I like this. Rot was good, a wonderful yet horrifying look at Discord and the universe.
This is even better. I'll be watching.
.... I like this universe. I want more of it, please.
Well now this is a thing, it is indeed currently thinging, undoubtedly the thingest thing I've beheld since the last time I saw such a thing.
It's a hell of a thing really.
Its been a while since i gobbled down a fic this quickly. Sad to say age old plot addictions kicking in. Keep up the good work. I cannot wait for the next bit.
So Twiggles' still Twiggles, even in chaos entity form. Let's hope she doesn't alienate her friends and family too much.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Krakatoa_eruption_lithograph.jpg
9920353
oh my god, Dragonlance, that's why I thought the whole rot imagery was familiar. Thanks!
9920361
My preference is "well that happened" followed by a nod to Heinlein's World as Myth. The latter part is because in the context of addressing a particularly odd story it makes the phrase significantly more literal.
This is really fun, but I'm still curious: what is the fourth state? There's chaos, transition, and order, but what's beyond that?
9921117
I'd imagine it's all three states at once, or something very like it. Just as plasma is (sort of) all three states of matter at once.
Finding that sweet spot where order, transistion, and chaos co-exist would be hard, but once found would be ridonkulus levels of powerful.
Man, I read Rot a couple years ago, before I even had an account. Quite an interesting sequel!
glad i found this...
I just assume Twilight became something like this now:
I know the "use 100% of the brain" thing is false btw; just this is what I had in mind when Twilight "understood".
9921117
pie
Rot was such an interesting concept, I'm glad you decided to make a sequel.