Aether, Heir of Chaos

by Arcane Anonymity

... like chum to the sharks...

I had precious little time to avoid having Big Macintosh injure himself with me.

If yo are wondering why does it matter, then I have something to tell you. Discord's criteria for a heir as far as I've figured them out.

First priority: Must be something that can be generally described as 'good' by consensus (this does not include public image, merely the essence behind the actions). Caring for others is a good example. As long as evil doesn't guide your actions, you fit this. Without this one Discord wouldn't have been able to pass his powers along; the prison of the Elements wouldn't permit it.

I put on my glasses -rectangular half rim- raised my staff on high, its leaf changed into eucalyptus and its hook-like end began to glow white and gold.

"Lucid Barrier!" I swung the staff in front of me and was surrounded by a golden bubble. I got that from -surprise- a game, where the spell made you impervious to physical damage for a few seconds. I rationalize that it cushioned and dispersed the blow.

I knelt down, holding out the staff in front of me.

Big Mac spun on his hooves, retracting his hind legs.

The uncertainty and the focus made it so that time seemed to slow down... or maybe it did, and I am just rationalizing it away. In any case, now that I had my staff and glasses, I could see thin veins of magic rippling through him, which quickly thickened into rivers of energy as he bucked with enough force to shatter dragon bone.

Or utterly pulverize his legs had my barrier of light not diminished the impact. I later learned a neat trick so that I wasn't as much of an accident waiting to happen. As it was, his legs came in contact with the sphere, which began to sink in and slowly stop his hooves as they gently touched the staff.

I got a little angry. The leaf on the staff turned into a bay leaf. I pushed with my staff, which sent a ripple through him and shocked him, disrupting his Earth pony magic. This severed what can only be described as an anchor he had to the ground and tossed him back a little.

"Big Mac! What the hay!?" Applejack shouted. "What in tarnation were yah thinkin'!?"

"That thing was followin' you!" He replied, jumping to his hooves, only to find they weren't touching the ground anymore.

"I have a name." I said, scowling at the levitated stallion. "And what is the big idea? Are you an idiot? Yeah, we came out of the Everfree, but just because you haven't seen something like me doesn't mean I'm bad!" A wind began to blow from the forest. "We were walking! Jumping in like that could get you killed, or you could have hurt an innocent!"

I was getting really, really mad... I felt the bubbling of magic, and I had to let it out now.

"As such, I'm making you a filly for ten seconds and taking embarrassing pictures of you." I snapped my fingers, and there she was, Big 'M' as Smarty Pants. Heterochromia, because of the mismatched button eyes; blue pants with white dots, because they are her namesake; curls, because curls.

Oh, and a blue-ish mare.

That's an important detail there.

Letting the staff rest on my shoulder and the ground (its leaf had turned into a poison joke bud), I held up my hands as if I were holding a camera; Mac flailed a little in mid-air, spinning around even, and I moved my finger up and down, taking rapid-fire pictures.

The duration was up, and AJ wasn't amused. "Why did yah do that?"

Mac came down as I was examining the pictures I produced - first the normal ones. "Well, the more strongly I feel something, the stronger the magic. It just so happens that it comes with urges."

Heir choosing, second parameter: Must have been born human or equivalent. Since humans are adaptable, getting used to magic power won't be as hard. Humans also have many other small benefits that add up to a good advantage. Human will, having the tendency to be so high, ensures that the powers can be used to full capacity.

A double-edged sword big enough and sharp enough to impale myself when all I'm trying to do is sheathe it.

"And Ah guess ye were angry?" She said as she tried calming down her brother and explain that I'm 'good folk, weird, but good'. Later, I'd learn that the princess's summons made Macintosh decide to start with the section of the orchard assigned to Applejack.

"Yup, and I had to do this before I thought of something worse and disproportionate." The second batch had slight... alterations. Basically, it was the first batch, but with a really good photo-manipulation job to make it look like Smarty was... posing for a magazine. Face and stuff, like making her look less tense, and very comfortable with her position. "See, I'm not very good at coming up with things on the spot or, at least, the really good stuff takes some tim- d'oh."

"Whaddaya think about?"

"Well, I could have just left him a mare for a little while longer." The third batch of pictures were similar to the second, but any magazine that published the pictures would only ever be 'read for the articles'. "Think about it, unless there's some incredible secret origin, he's been a guy all his life. His Boy-Brain wouldn't be unable to handle the sudden influx of girl-hormones. It'll be a disaster."

Criteria, the third: Must be creative, and know fantasy stuff. Knowing about the show is a plus. I don't think I have to explain this one.

I pocketed the pictures, not daring to look at any more. "But that's in the past. I don't consider myself vindictive, and I hate grudges, but I'd like it if I'm treated fairly."

"Wha-?" Mac said, still trying to shake the dizziness of the second transformation.

"Don' yah think Ah've fergotten about yah, mister!" Applejack said.

Note, I just wanted the first batch, but it seems that hearing 'embarrassing pictures' made AJ's imagination think of something a little worse.

She could do without knowing that her own brain made me get inappropriate pictures of her own brother transformed into a petite doll-like mare.

"Grandpa would flip if he knew yeh're goin' 'round buckin' folks fer lookin' strange!"

I decided to let them be, AJ still fully intent to shout his ears off. I let the comment slide, too, since I am unlike anything she's seen before. Heck, the chaotic urges made it feel like a compliment.

I did the displacement a little slower this time. First, I overlapped the destination (TV room) with my then-current position, then I peeled away the first one. The image coming through my eyes changed gradually, like a semitransparent page in a book turned so slowly it doesn't make a sound.

"I can already tell I'm going to hate the urges." I commented as I pocketed the glasses.

"I suggest learning to control them." Celestia said, looking at the TV I left behind. Thankfully, I learned to cheat them quite early. Oh, and she might be trying to talk sternly, but I could see the little glimmer of mirth in her eyes.

Of course, learning to discern the good mood in her eyes requires you to either know her true character, or having been witness to the glare that promised to reduce everything to a pile of smoldering ashes. Discord might have given me power, but it's not a nice feeling.

"Well, I'm going to need help with that one." I said, tuning the TV to the inside of Carousel Boutique.

"We have an idea as to how." Luna said, using a normal 'we' to refer to her sister and herself, of course. And their idea... oh boy.

"I only hope it works." I pointed at Rarity with the staff. "Select." I pointed at the TV. "Move."

Rarity was inside Carousel Boutique.

"That was quick." Rarity said, blinking rapidly in account of the sudden change of scenery.

"Shoot." I said. "I forgot to tell her I might need to commission clothes from her in the future."

"Oh? Don't worry dear, I heard... somehow." Rarity said, warily looking around her to see if she found the source of my lovely voice.

See, even if I can just poof anything into existence, having the object made the normal way helps with... certain problems I anticipated. And others that I didn't, like exploding Order Stones. Geez does that hurt!

Anyways, I turned to Fluttershy slowly, getting down on my knees and sitting on my feet... I think the posture has a name, lemme check... seiza? The more you learn...

"Fluttershy, I have a favor to ask." She 'eep'd' and hid behind her hair, but managed to re-establish eye contact quickly.

"Ye-yes?"

"See, your Element, Kindness, is going to be very important for me from now on." I began to explain. "It's going to be much more important than the others, save for Magic, since that's kind of all of them combined."

I gestured for her to come closer, and she did! Slowly, but she was blushing a little.

"Re-really?"

"Absolutely, without kindness the others are going to be meaningless." I calmly stretched my arm and went for the weakness of all ponies, which is right behind the ears. "I need you to look out for me, because I'm going to have a lot trouble coming my way in the future, and I don't want to do something... bad, and I certainly don't want to become the kind of person who won't regret it."

She got closer still, close enough for me to hug her. Gently, of course.

Unsurprisingly, she smells of squirrel and flowers.

"But what can I do?" She asked, nuzzling my neck. Having a pony do that is soothing, and would help me many times in the future.

"What do you mean by that? You're Fluttershy!" I replied, smiling softly. "Just be yourself, and call me out if I'm being too mean. Don't worry, I'll hear your voice, no matter how soft."

"O-OK."

"Don't you worry about a thing, just close your eyes, and when you open them again, you will be back home, on your bed, under your covers, safe. Got it?"

She nodded and closed her eyes. I closed mine.

She was gone.

"Well, we better get on to the announcement." I said.

In case you're wondering, they went back because even if the princesses had gone with the (much less daring) plan I had suggested, it still would case a lot of political upheaval; the girls most certainly didn't need to catch flak for it, or even be in the vicinity of it. Twilight stayed... I think the excuse was something that had to do about how she was the Element of Magic and her knighting at the end of the Discord episode, deflecting any kind of responsibility for the decision.

"But what about Pinkie pie?" Twilight asked.

"What about her?"

"Didn't she want to go back to Ponyville?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Are you not going to send her home?" Luna asked.

"She's been there for like five minutes already." I said, and the world became silent.

"What?" Celestia asked.

"Hell if I know." I shrugged. "My current theory is that she has her own network of natural Pathways, or can somehow sense them, or make use of my Pathways - maybe even open them herself to an extent."

Twilight's eyes widened. "That... that actually makes sense!"

I shrugged again.

I will spare you the boring details of the scenery, you've seen the show, right? You know there are super-plush red carpets strewn everywhere, maintained with some sort of super-cleaning product that is equal parts chemistry, alchemy, and magical enchantments and makes your hooves, feet, or paws never want to step on anything else besides freshly placed cumulus -or cyrrostratus if you prefer to cool off... I'm rambling again, aren't I?

I'll say that I just had to will myself into a pony and voila, I was turned into a unicorn, as I should have done when I woke up inside the castle. But I was still semi-disoriented from my chocolate-induced headache, so I'll give me a break.

On the subject of cutie marks... well, I'll get to that in a while.

I could not yet gallop, but I merely mimicked Twilight's pacing and that was it, since I opted for a standard height. I wasn't going to get blindsided by the magical smells that I've been holding off on speaking about, so I used a displacement effect to bring in air from somewhere else (opposite side of the mountain) so that I didn't have to breathe the ponies' mystic musk when I became one myself. And let's not forget the pheromones.

Pony body, vulnerable to pony pheromones. I didn't have any sort of resistance whatsoever at the time -heck, those things still pack a punch. I anticipated it, and that's all I'm saying about it until we get to my improvised speech. Well, that and what I forgot to anticipate was my effect on others.

I was light brown, with brown eyes and black hair. Not exactly colors meant to stand out, but I felt comfortable in them. I also had a white-coated, blue-maned form with red or green eyes in reserve.

In the original plan, I was going for a 'professor of natural studies' or 'natural philosophy' position at the Royal Canterlot Academy of Magical Studies - of which the princess's School for Gifted Unicorns is a part of- with minimal political influence beyond making them hear me when I say something is creepy or unnatural and what should be done about it... as well as minimal responsibility.

Of course, I would have to pass a few tests to get the official papers, some of which are magical. You know, similar to the dragon's egg - which was supposed to be a primarily psychological test to see how a student and his or her magic reacted to pressure and failure. Depressive students would get their confidence boosted, for example. There are other, more technical tests, as well as creativity tests, but I guess blasting the egg open and making the hatchling reach gargantuan proportions made her more than qualified for skipping all of them and a couple of the courses for good measure.

The others being mathematical and factual in nature. I can easily remember the latter with my modified consciousness, and on the former I don't have trouble. Wanna know why? I went through college for an engineering degree. Electronics. I had my share of struggles with Laplace transforms, derivatives, integrals, vectors... and I have a better memory and picturing ability now. And magical diagrams are curiously similar to a blend of software programming and electronic circuit design.

I over-qualify. The difficult part being that I needed to practice actual spellcasting and control, but beyond that my studies would entail learning the appropriate formulae, relations between units, facts... piece of cake! My memory, while confusing to navigate at times, is much clearer - I even remember where I lost my last mechanical pencil!

(At college. Lent and never recovered)

That brings us to the fourth point in Discord's heir list: Knowing science. Always useful, since knowing which rules to ignore makes everything much easier, and it can help with regular spells. This is for ease of integration to the world, as opposed to simply breaking reality on accident and think it's a common spell or a product of non-mad-science, then have some pony try to replicate it and then... have not-so-happy results

Anyways, now you know what the plan I proposed entailed.

We arrived to a large hall... I think this was where Twilight and co. where knighted when they defeated Discord, but the decor was different. It was minimal, with only the carpets and a couple of curtains to the sides for me to hide behind of. I can tell we've gathered quite the crowd, but I'm not nervous... it feels exciting! Remember when I said the impulses were a little selfish? Well, I was about to become the center of attention, and ponies would talk of me far and wide! Besides, I am immune to 'herd mentality' and the instincts that came with it, pony or not, thanks to the chaotic urges, my own human origins, and my tendency to be the guy that doesn't fit the mold - not even the most individualistic pony in history can claim that.

(Another reason why the heir should be human, by the way: The guy that doesn't quite fit the crowd is prime 'lord of chaos' material.)

Shoot! Why didn't I think of it that way!? Another reason Celestia had for doing what she did!

Anyways, back to the speech. I had planned to give a little spiel about doing things for the benefit of the world and somesuch. Not to mention that, if I played the whole 'human' thing right, griffins would be worshiping the ground I threaded. I was going to say that 'the human'... well, I didn't change that part of the plan - we'll get to that soon enough.

'My little ponies' blah blah blah. I still don't know why she needs five-to-seven different long sentences to say what I do in two short ones: "Citizens of Equestria! Friends from afar!" See? Simple. I'll skip that.

"Discord has conceded defeat at the will of the Elements of Harmony, and has abandoned our world!" The stunned silence lasts for about two seconds before the cheering starts. The blunt approach; clever, considering that they weren't quite in the mood to dance around the subject.

"As he was imprisoned by the Elements, he surrendered his powers to somepony who abides by them!" This shuts them up pretty quickly. I have no doubt that the deathly quiet would have found a way to be worse if they knew just how much dark magic he could use and couldn't take with him.

Or if they knew just how well humans who have 'Batman' as a personal hero can use it.

"He is somepony who cares deeply about the ponies of Equestria! And he has gracefully accepted to stay under our supervision!" Making me look like a nice guy and that they have control over me without making them seem like they are too bossy about it.

"However, before leaving our world, Discord brought to attention a problem... a problem that his heir will have to solve. A problem that we have to investigate as to confirm the veracity of his claim." We sort of already did, but this way I would get work done on having a solution while we are supposed to look for proof, and we would have looser deadlines and more free time.

Huh? Oh, I'm being called... I'll be right back, but just let me tell you what Celestia said afterwards.

"He is going to place his powers at the service of Equestria, and deserves a station befitting this kindness and nobility."

"Please, rise and see the ponies it shall be your duty to protect."

"Aether, prince of change and nature!"

My thoughts at the time? 'What a bad moment to remember I hate swearing.'

Author's Note:

I'm bumping this down to 'teen' for references to certain themes and (possibly) some violence. Any outright mature material shall be kept separate from this story.

Comments

[BrookPantieWarrior]

don't forget his knight pinkie

[ManWithThePan]

Hah. I read this after watching S3 E10. I still think they made Discord look weak at the end of it.

[wlam]

This is the Gariest Stu fic that ever garied or stewed. Jesus.