> The Chaos Conundrum > by Chaos_Azeroth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 (Who Am I?) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Who am I? What am I? There is only darkness here. Do I even exist? I feel so lonely, and yet I am glad to be alone. Why is this? I don't know. Strange thoughts in the darkness of something in between worlds, in between existing and not existing. And suddenly a gentle light orb, shining and showing. 'What is this? It's lovely. I can almost feel... And then, a sudden lurching. A strange pony hit the ground, the only witness to her 'birth' the night sky. She sat up, bewildered. 'Who am I?' She asked the night sky. 'What am I? Where am I?' She began to laugh and cry at the same time. She was a black pony, and her mane and tail were black with streaks of red, blue, and purple. She looked at these things, through her tears, with a strange mix of surprise and apathy. The only thing she knew was that she was called. But who had called her, and why? She didn't know. She walked, silently now, searching for anyone or anything that could give her answers. No one was around. She reached out with her inner self, shouted. 'Who am I? What am I? Who are you? Why did you call me? Did you make me? She just kept reaching out. And suddenly she got a reply, very weak and hazy. 'It can't be...I didn't...Oh this is just...Come find me...Come find me... She was somewhere between mad and relieved. Finally maybe some answers. But who would do this to her and why? And the voice had gone, where she didn't know. Only a faint energy remained, that grew more and more faint by the second. She followed it, gently breathing for the first time. Being lost in the moon and stars. Just existing, truly existing, for the first time. She could smell freshness, but didn't know she was smelling or what it was. Or what freshness was. The breeze was cool, pleasant against her, yet she didn't know any of those things. She was feeling more lost and alone than any of her other feelings, but she didn't know that either. She had come into thought longer ago than she knew, and had suddenly come into this being. It was too much, and not enough. The loneliness was bittersweet, something to be both cherished and feared. But she had no idea about any of it, or anything. She had to stop before she knew it. The energy was there and yet it wasn't. Before her, a strange statue. She could barely make it out. She had begun to weep again, the tears streaming silently down her face. 'Why?' She whispered. 'You're Chaos.' It was the faint voice from before. 'You're needed...I need...to be free again.... She screamed, 'I don't understand! I don't understand myself, or you, or this place!' Then began to laugh. 'You do...Aww what a shame, no cutie mark. I'm surprised.....' 'Cutie...mark? What is a....' Concepts and images flashed through her brain. She looked back at her flank, and felt some strange shame to see it was indeed without a mark. Other images and concepts hit her, like a storm. Moon...grass...stars...sky...breathing...love...hate...those and so much more. 'No more,' she whispered. 'Yes more.' Bombarded even stronger by imprisonment, by frustration and joy. By hate and by... She fainted. She awoke slowly, and almost had forgotten what had happened before. The sun had risen, and she immediately decided she didn't like it as much as she liked the moon. She sat slowly, and blinked. The statue was strangely lovely to her, though she couldn't figure out quite why. She stared, sadly and whispered to no one at all. 'Discord.' Then, after a few more moments. 'I am Chaos. But what does that really mean?' She suddenly heard voices, but she didn't care. She would wait there for her answers. She would wait forever if she had to. She had time, she knew that now, all the time she needed. The voices she heard now were of no importance. They were... She didn't know. 'I bet nothing's wrong Pinkie.' 'I'm telling you, Twilight. My Pinkie sense is going off big time.' 'Well we've been just about everywhere. Surely it can't be....' The voice cut off. 'I wonder who that is?' They were coming closer now, she could hear their steps approaching her. A friendly voice spoke to her, cheerful and full of enthusiasm. 'Now I know you're a new pony!' A gasp. As lonely and as lost as Chaos had felt, she just didn't care that someone was talking to her. _______________________ The night that Chaos had arrived, or rather came into physical being, someone had heard her questions. Princess Luna had heard them, felt them really, as Chaos had spoken to the moon. 'Chaos has come to Equestria,' she though in shock. 'And already so strong! She is reaching out to us with her questions without even realizing it. Something must be done! But what?' This had troubled Princess Luna, and it only had gotten worse when Chaos touched minds with Discord. Had he done this somehow? Princess Luna doubted it very much. But if not him, then who? And how? She wasn't sure if her sister knew, or if to tell her. She paced, restlessly. The biggest question was if Chaos should be imprisoned or if she should be given a chance. Having been imprisoned herself, Princess Luna was having trouble deciding. After all, Chaos hadn't done anything wrong..Yet. She was Chaos, after all. But was it right to already decide? But Chaos.... Princess Luna sighed. She would watch and wait. And if nothing had become any clearer by the next night, she would have to have a chat with the strange pony. 'We are not looking forward to this. We can only hope we are doing the right thing,' Princess Luna said softly to herself, hoping her sister wouldn't hear her, and yet a small part of her hoping she would. > Chapter 2(The Age Old Question) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle looked at the strange new pony, Twilight Sparkle with a mix of confusion and just a little fear. Why wasn't this pony talking? Why was she staring at Discord so intensely? This couldn't be good at all. Pinkie Pie with a huge grin on her face. Even though the other pony hadn't spoken yet didn't mean she wouldn't. Maybe she was shy like their friend Fluttershy. She kept talking to her, excitedly. 'Are you shy?' Pinkie Pie gasped. 'Can you even talk?' 'I'm sure she can talk Pinkie,' came Twilight's reply, slight frustration in her voice. 'Do you know who that is?' 'Discord,' came a soft reply from Chaos. 'And you're here...' but Twilight Sparkle realized Chaos was still trying to speak. 'I'm sorry, what was that?' 'But who is Discord? And who am I? Well besides Chaos that is. Where am I? I was in the darkness, and the next thing I know I'm dropped on the...ground. I didn't even know what the ground was before he showed me. How can he be that bad?' 'Oh boy...Is she serious? This cannot be happening,' Twilight Sparkle thought, slightly frantic. 'Well, we have a few friends that might want to help explain that one. Want to come to the library?' Chaos turned for a moment, the blank look she gave said it all. Twilight Sparkle sighed. 'Okay, I'm going to go get them. Pinkie Pie, you can stay here if you want. I don't think I have to ask you to wait here...Chaos.' Twilight Sparkle rushed off. Maybe they would be able to prevent a disaster for once, instead of having to stop one that had already started. There was one big issue that kept bothering Twilight Sparkle as she went. Could Chaos be trusted? _________________________________ 'I'm so glad you can talk! I was getting worried!' Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she jumped around, excitedly. 'Do you know any games?' 'What's your name?' 'Oh silly me, it's Pinkie Pie. Are you really Chaos?!? Chaos is okay I guess...I mean not Discord's kind of chaos, but some random stuff happening is great.' Pinkie Pie stopped. 'You aren't that kind of chaos, are you?' Pinkie Pie looked at her with pleading eyes. Chaos turned to Pinkie Pie. 'I don't know, Pinkie Pie. I don't know who or what I am.' 'Well,duh. You're an earth...Wait a minute! Where did that horn come from?' 'I have...a horn...Are you sure it wasn't there before?' 'Absolutely! I just watched it appear. Hey maybe that means you can do magic. Try it out!' 'Okay.' Chaos concentrated, felt some strange force flow through her. And as she did her horn disappeared, and she suddenly had wings. Not just any wings though, strange wings. One was red and bat-like, the other a black feathery one. If she knew the truth, whose wings they were so close to, it would have further confused her. But she didn't, at least not yet. SPLAT A cake fell right on Pinkie Pie's head. Chaos gasped. 'Sorry Pinkie Pie. I don't know why I had cake, but I really didn't mean to....' She was cut off by pinkie Pie, giggling. 'Oh this is just...I love it.' Pinkie Pie began to wipe the cake off and eat it. 'Mmmmm, so good too. You're worrying too much Chaos. I'm sure you'll make lots of friends! Hey, you've already made one!' 'Who?' 'You reminded me of a friend of mine. He says who...A lot.' Pinkie pie tilted her head for a moment, as if thinking, before continuing. 'He isis an owl though.' She gasped. 'Your wings!' 'My...my what?' Twilight Sparkle was almost back,their other friends with her, when she heard Pinkie Pie scream. 'You are Discord's chaos!' They all began to run to Pinkie Pie. All of them hoping it wasn't too late. Discord couldn't be allowed to come back, and they couldn't let anything happen to Pinkie Pie. _________________________________ They arrived to find Pinkie Pie saying, 'well that's what I would say, if it was more than just the wings. You're Chaos, right? You got a horn out of nowhere, and then wings. And you made cake appear out of nowhere. Cake! So far, you're alright by me. Hey can you give me my own cotton candy cloud that gives me chocolate rain when I want it? Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain! But you probably already know that.' The other ponies had frozen as soon as they had arrived. They listened to Pinkie Pie ramble, relieved. Still, Chaos' wings were making them all a bit nervous. They waited to see what Chaos might say. 'Discord's...Chaos...You make it sound like he's my boyfriend Pinkie Pie!' 'Well, is he?' Chaos' look sent a bolt of fear into every pony's hearts. That is, except Pinkie Pie. 'I don't really know who I am, or what I want at all. I have no time for dating. And I don't know if I can, but since your my second...no wait, third friend...And you're the only friend who really talks to me I'll try.' 'Third....awww. Well you might think Discord is your friend, but he's not. But even if you're counting him, and you have to be I mean come on who have you met, who else could be your friend?' 'The moon Pinkie Pie. The moon was the first thing I saw, even before I knew what it was and right before I got dropped here.' 'Wow, Princess Luna is your friend?' 'Princess...Luna? Who is Princess Luna? Is she the moon?' BOOM Thunder came from a small, pink cloud over Pinkie Pie's head. Pinkie Pie was suddenly showered with chocolate milk. 'Yay!' She shouted. 'Uhmm...Chaos...' Came a small timid voice. Chaos turned to see the ponies. She focused on a yellow one with a pink mane and tail. This pony had feathery wings.She was Fluttershy, but Chaos didn't know that. 'Are you...really chaos?' Before Chaos could answer, animals crowed around the yellow pony. Fluttershy's animal friends had heard what Twilight Sparkle had said, and the had been deeply worried. After all, they loved Fluttershy. Chaos suddenly got a strange look in her eyes, and before any pony could react, she lunged forward. 'Oh it's just the cutest thing EVER!' She was nuzzling a cat, and the cat was contentedly purring. He even began to groom the strange, new pony. 'Oh this is just too much! I can't wait....' > Chapter 3(What's In a Name, Really?) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All of the ponies stared in shock. Suddenly Rainbow Dash began to laugh so hard she fell over. 'Wahahaha! We're supposed to be scared...of that?' Chaos looked up to see a blue pony who also had feathery wings, and a rainbow colored mane and tail rolling around laughing. 'What are you laughing at?' She glared at the blue pony. Then her expression softened. 'You guys...are afraid of me?' 'Well it doesn't right help when we hear our friend holler like that.' An orange pony with a hat, who had a blonde mane and tail. It was Applejack. Chaos turned, and looked at her. She began to tilt her head, obviously puzzled. 'What's goin on, sugarcube? Why are ya lookin at me like that?' 'Do you wear that hat because you have a horn and want to cover it up?' Applejack blinked. 'Uh, no sugarcube. I don't have a horn.' 'So you're like Pinkie Pie then? What was it? An earth something. She never finished. But obviously based on what she said, and earth something has no horn or wings. Why doesn't anyone have both?' 'An earth pony,' Twilight Sparkle said. 'And only the Princesses can have both.' 'Aww why?' Chaos practically whined, then her tone became serious. 'Want to bet? Anyway, I don't know any of your names.' 'I'm Twilight Sparkle.' 'I...I'm Fluttershy...' 'Applejack.' 'Rarity, darling. And I must say I absolutely adore your do. Absolutely fabulous.' Rainbow Dash finally stopped laughing, and wiping her eyes said, 'Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria.' A yawn came from Twilight Sparkle's back. 'And I'm Spike.' Twilight Sparkle was shocked to realize she hadn't known Spike had gotten on her back at all. He stretched and jumped off. 'So Twilight, this is Chaos? I think all that reading has scrambled your brain.' 'Look at her wings, Spike.' 'Holy moley!' 'What is up with my wings?!?' 'Take a look at the back of the statue, silly.' Pinkie Pie's chocolate rain had finally stopped for the time being, though the cloud was following over her head. 'Pinkie Pie, I told you! He's not my boyfriend. And I'm not a pervert!' Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes. 'For his wings. Look at his wings!' Then she muttered. 'You're awful paranoid there. Gotta wonder...' Chaos blushed. 'How am I supposed to know what she means? You act like I've been around soooo many ponies.' She walked around to the back of the statue, and gasped. 'That....that can't be. How?' 'I don't know who you are really,' a Twilight Sparkle said as Chaos walked back to the other ponies. 'You might be Chaos. It seems very likely. What connection to Discord to you have? That's even harder to say. Maybe you don't have much of one, or maybe you're just a part of him. There's no way to know yet.' She sighed. 'But for now, let's just tell you what happened....' ________________________________ The sun was almost set by the time they finished. They told her everything, even their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions about each part. That was why it had taken so long, in fact, to tell Chaos about Discord. 'So you see why we might be a little nervous?' Twilight Sparkle asked, and edge in her voice. 'Oh, darling, we aren't blaming you by the way,' Rarity said. 'We have no reason to believe you were there or anything. Still...' She paused thoughtfully. 'Still what?' Chaos asked. 'Still he did it for you,' a voice came out of nowhere. Chaos felt a strange chill, the realization she had felt it before. It was like the moon. Chaos turned to see a black pony with both wings and a horn. The pony's voice was somehow different than the other pony's voices. 'The moon...That means...' 'So you must be this Princess Luna they talked about.' Princess Luna ignored Chaos' comment and continued. 'You are chaos, he sought eternal chaos. However, the question remains. Did you ask him to do this?' 'I...I have no idea. I don't really remember anything from before...I don't even know how I got here.' Princess Luna walked close and gasped. There was a faint energy she hadn't noticed before, so faint it took her being near the pony to even feel it at all. Elements of Harmony...backlash... 'We have just realized something new, something important to this. We are all responsible for her being here, in a way. Yes, Discord has his own part in this. But it was his being sealed away that brought this one here.' 'That can't be possible?' Twilight Sparkle asked, alarmed. 'Can it?' 'It doesn't matter,' Rainbow Dash cut in. 'The whole memory thing is so bogus! She's Chaos, right? Chaos. We're supposed to believe she doesn't remember anything before? Puh-lease.' Chaos glared at Rainbow Dash. 'I remember darkness, and then seeing a silvery orb before I ended up here. That's it. Why do you....' Princess Luna interrupted. 'Listen to us very well. It is likely this is true. Imagine you were born before, lived before. You don't remember now because the shock of your birth. That every pony has lived before, and forgot. And her 'birth' was far more traumatic.' 'So were we? That seems pretty vague,' Twilight Sparkle said, slowly. 'I mean, you can't tell me you can't say what Rainbow Dash said doesn't make sense. I'd started wondering the same thing.' 'We cannot give you the answers to all you would want to know. But yes, you have lived before. Ask us no more about this, we aren't allowed to tell you. There are rules in place, and for reasons. And think on this, if you will indulge us. If she were any other pony, would you be acting like this?' 'But she's not any other pony, she's Chaos!' It came as a surprised outcry from the ponies. Princess Luna shook her head sadly. Oh how they had feared her as well! She looked into Chaos' eyes. They were blue...wait. For just a second, Princess Luna swore the pony's eyes had flashed a vivid green. It didn't matter though, it didn't change what she was going to say. 'She is a pony. She has thoughts, feelings. She's up against something she doesn't understand. She is trying to learn about herself. She is lost, scared, and basically alone. Would you turn on her, would you turn her away? Have you learned so little about friendship? You, who gladly ended up accepting us, after what what had been proven we did? And the fear of us to begin with, it hurt us. How do you think she must feel. We do not know if she has done anything wrong. Why act as if you do?' Princess Luna hugged Chaos briefly, and continued. 'Come with us. We have much to discuss with you. Mayhaps we can help your dilemma as well.' > Chapter 4(Revival and Rebirth) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chaos looked at the other ponies for just a moment, giving them a scathing look, before replying to Princess Luna, 'sure. Why not?' She flitted by Princess Luna, as Princess Luna walked. 'Don't judge them too harshly,' Princess Luna said, softly for her. 'They are also confused and lost. What is it that you think about Discord?' 'Uhm...Honestly?' 'Would you insult us so by lying? We have been fair, have we not?' 'I'm...Well I'm confused really. Like he didn't really attack them did he? They went after him. I think I know why, but...Why not treat him like anypony else? Compromise? Give him some of what he wanted? Some of it just sounds like fun. Is he really so dangerous?' Princess Luna listened to this, fighting the urge to laugh or to say anything to harsh. It was true they hadn't done some of that, but it was because it wouldn't have done any good. Discord had proven that he wasn't just 'anypony else'. But Chaos' feelings were also important, she had not done anything wrong. And shouldn't be penalized for not understanding. 'He showed all of us he was not just anypony else. He would not have had it that way.' A bit of sadness crept into her voice, as Princess Luna was saddened by Chaos' innocent views and remembering that friendship was not always enough. There was a tiny bit of something else. She wasn't sure what though. 'But maybe he could now, right? Who knows?' Chaos sounded alarmed, and slightly disappointed. Princess Luna was forced to nod at this statement and say,'mayhaps, but we will never know. So it does not matter. What questions do you have for us?' 'I'm not trying to complain,' Chaos began. 'But that was all you wanted to know?' 'We have no other questions you can answer,' came the slow, thoughtful reply. Chaos flitted in silence a bit before stopping. Princess Luna stopped and turned. 'What am I supposed to do? Who am I? What is it I should try to do?' The questions sent a knife of pain into Princess Luna's heart. 'We wish we could tell you....' ________________________________ 'Oh darlings now, don't be too hard on yourselves.' Rarity was trying her best to get the other ponies to cheer up. 'I'm quite sure Princess Luna isn't really mad at us.' 'Yeah,' Pinkie Pie chimed in. 'She just wants the new pony to feel better. Anyway, you guys, Chaos isn't that bad.' The others just looked at Pinkie Pie, dumbfounded. 'Well,' Rainbow Dash chimed in, 'she isn't scary, that's for sure. I mean, did you see the way she oohed and ahhed over that cat? Priceless! Are we really even sure she's....' BOOM Everypony turned to see chocolate milk rain down on Pinkie Pie, as she happily drank and played in it. Twilight Sparkle gave an 'I-told-you-so-' look. 'You were saying, Rainbow Dash? And Pinkie, really. She's Chaos!' 'Ah don't know though,' Applejack said, cautiously. 'Ah mean, what has she done? It looks like Princess Luna might have been watching her. What could she have done?' 'And the animals really seemed to like her once they gave her a chance,' Fluttershy added, particularly shyly. 'But I guess she still could be...' 'Could be what?' Chaos cut in. 'Lost? Confused? Insane? Yes, my dear pony, I am those things. And mostly the last. So who wants some cake? 'Cause I really want some right about now. I've never had it.' Pinkie Pie gasped. 'Never had cake! Why didn't you tell me? I would have given you some before. Oh wait, you can make your own cake. Hey, maybe that was why you were thinking about cake earlier!' 'We do not think it wise for you to use your chaos powers so much,' Princess Luna said. 'There is no telling what may happen. However, we see no harm in this last act for today. We would also love some cake.' 'Hey can you make glasses so we can all have chocolate milk with it?' Pinkie Pie chimed in. 'Not sure that's such a good idea...'Chaos replied. She looked at Pinkie Pie, who had started to make her saddest sad face yet. 'Oh all right, fine. Just don't blame me if something goes wrong.' 'Cake?' Spike suddenly exclaimed. 'Chocolate milk? I'm sure glad Pinkie just woke me up. I want some too!' Chaos stared at the ground in front of the other ponies. She concetrated on making glasses, one at a time, in front of them. Especially on the in front of them part. A glass appeared. crack Another appeared, and another soft cracking noise nopony noticed happened. Each time, another crack. Then there was the cake. Depite Chaos' best efforts, the cake landed on each of the pony's heads. 'Well darling,' Rarity said, consoling, 'at leat it wasn't the glasses.' 'And now for the drink,' Pinkie Pie chimed in. She coaxed the cloud over the glasses. BOOM CRACK 'What was that?' Twilight Sparkle exlaimed, alarmed. 'Finally! I thought you'd never get to freeing me.' The ponies turned, all of them clearly alarmed except for Chaos. She merely looked confused. 'And oh look at you ponies, all covered in cake!' Laughter. It was Discord. 'How did I do that?' Chaos asked, amazement in her voice. 'Did I do that?' 'Of course you did!' Discord exclaimed with mock surprise and reproach. 'I certainly didn't do it myself. If I could do that, I wouldn't have been stuck there at all, dear Chaos.' Chaos blushed. 'Oh aren't you just a shy little pony? I never expected that. Though maybe I should have, after all the blushing you've done.' Teasing in his voice. He went around Chaos, looking her in the eyes. 'Oh what wonderful fun we can have!' 'You won't win, Discord,' Twilight Sparkle said. 'We will defeat you again. We aren't going to fall for your tricks again. And besides, can you really get the Elements of Harmony again? Somehow I doubt it.' 'Maybe I can, maybe I can't,' Discord laughed. 'Doubt all you want, little pony. It doesn't matter, I don't have to. It appears somepony else has done that little job for me.' 'Really?' Twilight Sparkle's eyes narrowed. 'Who? And don't tell me Chaos. I mean, she hasn't even said anything. Wouldn't she have to give us a clue where she hid them?' Discord rolled his eyes. 'Not if she wasn't hiding them. Not if they were in plain sight.' He sighed, clearly bored with Twilight Sparkle's words, her way of thinking. 'Chaos, why?' Pinkie Pie asked sadly. 'And...how?' She pointed to Chaos' once blank flank. The Elements of Harmony were embedded there. > Chapter 5(Discovery) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Pinkie,' Chaos said, sadly. 'I just have to see, I just have to know. It doesn't seem fair that he won't be given another chance. And you all keep saying I'm 'Discord's Chaos'. What does that really mean? I just don't know, I don't even know why I'm here! He probably won't do anything too bad....' She looked at Discord, eyes pleading. 'Right?' 'Oh well you certainly do know how to ruin one's fun,' he huffed. 'Though I suppose for now I could not do anything....How was it you put it? Oh yes! Too bad.' He laughed. 'Now what that means...' He moved away from Chaos and shrugged. 'You must get some rest as it is,' Princess Luna said. 'We will stay here with them for the night. In the morining, you can return. But there is not much we can do right now.' 'But...' Rainbow Dash interjected, but Twilight Sparkle cut her off. 'She's right. I just hope you can talk some sense into her, Princess Luna. Otherwise, we'll have to find a way to trap her as well.' The ponies left, sadly and slowly. The animals however, waved goodbye to the strange Pony Chaos before grouping around a sad and confused Fluttershy. They didn't quite see it the same. Chaos was still the same pony that they liked before, they could sense she was a friend to animals and probably ponies everywhere. To them nothing had changed, but they could tell that to Fluttershy much had changed. ___________________________________________ 'Turn Princess Luna back into Nightmare Moon.' 'You wouldn't dare! 'Tis only out of understanding and repect of Chaos' feelings I will try to make sure my sister does not get involved!' Princess Luna was shocked and furious. And just a little scared. But a tiny part of her was... Excited? 'What are you...' Chaos began. 'Oh wait, I think that I remeber you showing me about that. Hey, I'm not going to do that, but...' She looked at Princess Luna. 'Don't you feel a little...incomplete?' 'We are fine,' Princess Luna said softly. 'We are...' 'Do you really think so little of us?' Her own words came back to haunt her. She was trusting Chaos enough that she could possibly help Discord gain rule over all of Equestria before they really got serious about stopping her, yet wasn't willing to trust her with honesty. 'Sometimes we do feel a little strange,' Princess Luna confided. 'We aren't sure if it is incomplete. But what difference could it possibly make? What is it that you indend on doing if I did? Make us Nightmare Moon, as Discord suggested?' Chaos straightend herslf up, regally. 'No. What good would that do? But I can do something...I think...' Her face grew serious. 'No, I can do this! I know I can!' She flew at Princess Luna, horn appearing and glowing. It appeared as if she stabbed into Princess Luna, but there was no pain or blood. Memories swirled in Princess Luna's mind, ways of thinking became something new. And old. It was unusual, but as scary as it was it was also vaguely pleasant. Like being reunited with a long lost friend or relative. She felt good, but she also did feel a little bad. Because she felt a little darker. 'We thank you for this Chaos,' Princess Luna said. 'Though this will take some time getting used to.' 'There's the moon that really is and really should be!' Chaos exlaimed, exctited. 'What did you do Chaos?' Disccord asked, mild interest in his voice. His eyes sudddenly widened. 'Oh this is just great! She's both of them now! How will this make her act? Maybe she'll like me more now. Maybe I can...' THUD Princess Luna had kicked Discord. 'Hey what kind of a friend are you being?' Chaos cried out as she flew over to Discord. 'Sheesh.' 'We didn't think it wise for him to continue. Besides, he was getting his hopes up for nothing.' 'So you couldn't tell him to shut up?' 'He wouldn't listen.' 'I wouldn't listen,' Discord chimed in, laughing. 'Oh, never fear dear Chaos. She didn't kick me that hard. And it's nice to see somepony getting some guts. That was quite...unexpected.' He began laugh again. 'Oh Discord, you...Hey! Why do you keep calling me 'dear Chaos' for? Are you going to start that too?' Discord got a look of mock surprise as he got back up quickly. 'Start what, dear Chaos?' 'The stuff that Twilight Sparkle pony was.' 'Oh THAT,' even more mock surprise, bordering on the most sarcastic-sounding voice. 'No. But wouldn't you like to know why?' Chaos turned her head, puzzled. 'That's...why...I..' She stopped and began to laugh. 'Oh you...' Discord grinned. 'Who else wants some popcorn? I'm sure that's not too bad.' _____________________________________________________ 'You might want to suddenly get better at stealth,' Discord whispered to Chaos. 'Or just fly.' Chaos blushed. On the way to Sweet Apple Achres, Chaos had been the loudest as she tried to quckly and quietly sneak. 'Oh...Shut up you.' A sigh. 'You both shut up. We are not even sure why we are going along with this, or allowing you to.' 'Because it's only going to be some of it,' came Chaos' reply. 'That's just good fun with a snack to boot! Who are we hurting?' 'Half,' Discord said. 'A fourth,' Chaos replied. 'Just enough, we think,' Princess Luna chided both of them. 'All,' Discord said, grinning. 'Half,' Chaos said, fighting full-blown laughter. 'A fourth,' Discord said. He got a mock look of surprise. 'Oh no, you've beaten me.' 'Just enough to make a small wave of it. That'd be super fun!' 'I love the way you think, dear Chaos. Perhaps you won't kill the fun after all!' Princess Luna sighed. This was partially fun, that was true. It was also kind of anoying, like having to pony-sit some particuarly obnoxious foals. 'Mayhaps we're already there.' She pointed. The moonlit field was strangely eerie and starngely lovely. Discord flew over to the corn, followed closely by Chaos. Princess Luna was being more cautious, another sigh excaping her. Did they really want to get caught or something? How could they be so careless? Yes, this was excatly like Princess Luna imagined foal-sitting would be. POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP Princess Luna facehoofed. This wasn't going to go well. She had to wonder why she hadn't though about that part. 'Has being around them already affected us so?' She wondered. Then she realized she still wasn't used to thinking of certain things, like sneaking. And popcorn. POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP 'Ah-ha ah knew it, you varmit. Ah knew you'd be up to your old tricks again.' 'Oh crap, it's that hornless Applejack pony!' Chaos exclaimed. 'Fly, you foals,' Princess Luna yelled as she took off. The last thing she heard while still in range made her stop and facehoof. It was Chaos and Discord in unison. 'And leave the popcorn? No way!' A fit of laugher afterwards. ____________________________________ 'You varmits better clean up this mess!' Applejack yelled. 'Of course,' Discord said, mock offence in his voice as he swam in popcorn. Chaos popped her head out of the popcorn. 'Duh.' She dove back in. 'And they ya'll are going to plant more for all the corn you popped. Discord suddenly stopped swimming, and Chaos popped back up. 'Bor...'Discord began. 'Ing,' Chaos finished. They both began to laugh. Applejack sighed. 'Too bad. Stop acting like a couple of foals and get to it.' She yawned. 'Ah'm so tired. You better do it though. Ah can find you, and besides ah bet Princess Celestia would love to hear about this.' 'Luna Wouldn't like that,' Chaos said, reproach in her tone. But Applejack was on her way back. 'Mess, clean, plant tomorrow.' > Chapter 6(Don't Worry, Be Happy) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'I wonder if she'll like the purple corn,' Discord said to Chaos as the sun began to rise. 'Probably. But not as much as the blue or green,' Chaos replied, and stuck out her tongue. They were lazily flitting along next to each other. 'I still don't see why you wouldn't let me make any red,' Discord huffed. 'Isn't that the color of blood?' Chaos asked. 'So...' 'So that's a bit too far.' But Chaos was laughing, her tone and expresssion as well belittling any chiding she might have given or be giving him. 'Only if they're being morbid.' Discord seemed to be truly moping again. Chaos bumped into him. 'Oh stop you big foal!' 'Big foal? Who is the one that just recently came into being?' He bumped her in return. 'Hey, should we really be out in the open?' Chaos asked, curiosity in her voice. 'No, darling. Neither of you should be. Quick, in here.' It was Rarity. She ushered them into the house. Chaos stared in awe at all the lovely outfits. Then a thought hit her. 'Uhm Rarity, I believe,' Chaos began. 'Yes. What is it darling?' 'What are these? They look like....clothes...' 'How do you know about clothes?' 'I don't know. But Rarity?' Discord was begining to chuckle. He knew where this conversation was going betweeen Chaos and Rarity, though he wasn't quite sure how either. 'What darling?' A bit of frustartion was creeping into her voice. 'Doesn't that mean we're...naked?' Rarity blushed. The ponies didn't really think that way, after all. 'Chaos, it's not quite...' But Chaos continued. 'Which means you guys told me to...' Chaos began to blush, and Discord broke out in a full-blown laughing fit. 'Oh this is too great,' Discord said, still laughing. 'Told you to what, darling?' Rarity asked, bewilderment on her face and in her voice. 'Nothing,' Chaos muttered, obviously embarrassed. 'I just wish I had some clothes.' 'I love making outfits,' Rarity gushed. 'But why?' 'Becuase I don't like certain ponies who ARE NOT MY BOYFRIEND seeing me nude!' 'Oh so you want to see me...' 'Shu...Just shut up Discord!' Chaos said, dismayed. 'It doesn't really matter darling, really,' Rarity said, trying to soothe Chaos. She glared at Discord, but hadn't expected him to be very nice as it was. 'Let's go talk for a bit, girls only. I'll make us some tea.' 'Sure I guess,' Chaos replied, cautiously. 'Oh sure, forget about poor Discord,' Discord said, mock whining and hurt in his voice. 'Toss me aside. And after all we did last night! I thought you enjoyed it as much as I did.' Rarrity gasped. Dicord began another laughing fit. 'Did you two...' She couldn't finish her sentence. 'What do you mean?' Chaos' inocent expression and tone made Discord laugh even harder. Rarity gave him a stern look, blushing, and then quickly pushed Chaos into the kitchen. 'Priceless,' Discord said as he wiped a tear away. 'Simply...' ____________________________________________________ 'Darling, what did you two do?' Rarity asked as she poured Chaos a cup of tea. 'Why do you keep asking...' Chaos began. The sudden realization, aided by Discord without her knowing, hit Chaos like a ton of bricks. 'No!' 'No what, darling?' Rarity asked, eyebrows raising. 'All we did is make some mischief, and popcorn.' 'Please tell me you didn't...' 'And got busted by that hornless Applejack pony.' 'You did!' Rarity gasped. 'And then had to clean it up and plant more. The end.' 'Well, darling, that's a very...nice story. But honestly...' Rarity leaned in. 'You can tell me.' Chaos sighed. 'I did. Well Luna took off when the corn was popping. I don't know where she went after.' Rarity leaned back. 'Oh poo. I actually believe you. Well how do you feel about him?' Chaos looked absolutely puzzled. 'What? Why?' Rarity tossed her head and sighed. 'Darling, this is girl talk. Though I suppose you wouldn't know, if you got most if not all, of your information from Discord.' 'Do you like any of the ponies? Like Applejack or Pinkie Pie or...' 'Darling,' Rarity cut her off. 'I do not like any of my friends like that.' 'Well,' Chaos replied with a wicked grin, 'now maybe you know how I feel about those questions. At least somewhat. They're awkward. Something about what Chaos said and how she said it had Rarity seeing red. 'How dare she? I'm only trying to be friendly.' This simply wouldn't do. Rarity was going to get her to answer, if nothing else. 'Darling,' Rarity said with extra sweetness in her voice, 'you two would make such a cute...' 'Rarity,' Chaos said, rage in her eyes, 'if you finish that the way I think you're going to....' Her look softened. 'How do I feel? Well he is fun to be around. I would love to hang out with him more. He's my friend, I think anyway. Though I have to wonder...' 'What darling?' Rarity leaned in closer. This was it! It had to be. 'Maybe he has a crush on me. After all, he did make those...those...' 'Oh please just spill it,' Rarity exclaimed. 'Jokes.' Chaos burst out in a fit of laughter. Rarity rolled her eyes. Chaos was pretty much as impossible as Discord. 'Let's go see about an outfit for you then, shall we? And what Discord is up to. I can't believe I left him alone in my home!' Rarity rushed out of the kitchen. Still laughing, Chaos followed. ____________________________________________ 'What in tarnation happened to the corn?' It was Applejack, yelling at Discord. 'Why I can't take the credit for that idea,' Discord replied. He turned to see Chaos. 'Oh it's the pony of the minute herself.' 'Uhm, hello,' Chaos said. 'You don't like it?' 'Now why in tarnation would I like it?' And in unison, Chaos and Disccord replied, 'because it's wonderful.' > Chapter 7(Belong?) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Applejack had ranted and glared at the two miscreants, Rarity had run to get the others. It had seemed safe enough, but the ponies walked in to see Applejack just staring, stunned and confused. 'And that's why you shouldn't ask a squirrel for directions while riding a pogo stick,' Discord concluded. 'It's dreadful.' 'Or try to be ungrateful,' Chaos chimed in. She noticed the other ponies and waved. Discord looked at them, amused. 'Oh you missed my entire story! I can start again...' A resounding 'no' cut him off, and he began to sulk. 'Fine, fine. But don't blame me for missing out.' Applejack shook her head to clear the confusion. 'Ah thought that story was never gonna end,' she muttered. 'Are you...alright?' Fluttershy asked. 'Me?' Replied Applejack. 'Ah'm alright now.' 'But you won't be,' came a loud, echoing voice. 'Princess Luna, what are you doing here?' Twilight Sparkle asked, surprised and confused. Seeing the look on Twilight Sparkle's face made Discord fall over laughing. 'Like a boss,' said Chaos, suddenly. 'We are not amused,' Princess Luna said, obviously annoyed. 'We are in much trouble due to the two of you. Now we must stay with you all of the time until the matter is resolved. What say you for this?' Chaos and Discord stared at Princess Luna for a bit, looking dumbfounded. Then, suddenly, they both tackle-hugged her quickly, and quickly stopped. But not before they spoke. 'Princess Luna, I didn't know you cared,' said Discord, with mock enthusiasm. 'This is awesome,' exclaimed Chaos. After Discord and Chaos moved, Princess Luna stared blankly at them before scowling. 'Such foals,' she muttered. 'Why must we babysit?' 'Because we like you,' Chaos said. Discord began to laugh again, and Chaos glared at him. 'Oh you are not out of trouble yourself!' She suddenly felt herself being moved and dressed. 'Whoa...Wha...' 'There darling. It looks lovely on you.' It was a lovely blue dress, with meshy shimmery blue accents and a bow. Chaos looked over it. 'Nice. It really is lovely, Rarity. Discord is still a perv though.' The last part she said looking right at Discord, and then she stuck out her tongue. 'Fighting?' Princess Luna asked, dismayed. 'Us? Fight?' Discord asked, faking innocence. 'Never!' Declared Chaos. 'We just discuss.' 'Converse,' added Discord. 'Joke and poke fun at,' interjected Chaos. 'Argue,' said Discord, smugly, crossing his arms. 'Uhm no we don't Discord. That's basically is what she said.' They looked into each other's eyes,began to glare... And then both fell down, laughing. Everypony sat bewildered. Though by this point, none of them should have been surprised by that. It was what was going to happen soon that would be the real surprise. 'I'm sorry I got you in trouble, Luna. But it wasn't that bad. And thanks for the dress, Rarity. Though it wasn't very nice of you to assume something like that.' 'Oh think nothing of it, darling,' Rarity said, waving a hoof. 'Not that bad?' Applejack interjected. 'Now we have weird colored corn!' 'But it tastes the same,' Chaos said. 'It's just different colors. Did you even bother to really check it at all?' She pouted. 'Well...uh...no,' Applejack said, seeming slightly ashamed. 'But come on now, Discord had something to do with it!' 'I don't poison ponies,' Discord said, a small bit of actual offence creeping into his voice. 'Where would be the fun in that? And why would I want to kill ponies? Have I tried to kill anypony?' 'Stop,' came a soft voice. They looked to see Chaos, trembling. 'He hasn't done most of what he wanted to do, and this is how you act?' 'But you don't understand...'Twilight Sparkle began, but Chaos ran past them. 'Oh dear, look what you've done now,' Discord interjected. 'I better go fix this. I don't make the new pony cry.' He left, chuckling. 'Oh the nerve of Discord, blaming us for that!' Twilight Sparkle huffed. 'Well, sugarcube, of course we know how it is,' Applejack began carefully. 'But she doesn't. Ya can't say we weren't the ones who upset her.' Twilight Sparkle glared for a second, then sighed. 'We better go after them,' Princess Luna said. 'This cannot end well. If she believes doing good does no good...' She quickly left. 'Crazy..' Twilight Sparkle sighed. ________________________________________ Chaos had just run off, not knowing where she would be going. And she ended up in the Everfree Forest. She collapsed, sobbing, not too far from the entrance. 'Oh I do hate to hear this,' Discord said, sounding slightly snarky, as they got closer. Princess Luna clenched her teeth. 'Shut up, Discord. You are certainly not going to be any help acting that way.' Genuine offence crossed Discord's face. 'Oh Luna...Luna, I actually meant it. Chaos is the only pony that has ever seemed to actually want to get to know me.' 'We wonder why?' Princess Luna muttered. Discord just chuckled. They approached quietly, both looked at each other, and Princess Luna nodded. Suddenly, Chaos found herself restrained. She began to thrash around in a panic. 'Oh dear, you're being grim,' Discord said, laughing. 'What evil could have possibly befallen you?' 'Ah stalker!' Chaos yelled. Discord and Princess Luna stared blankly. Chaos began to laugh. 'Any reason you're hugging me,Discord?' She asked slyly. He let go of her. 'Oh you're still being melodramatic I see. We just didn't want you running away.' His tone, very nonchalant. Chaos fell and rolled, laughing. 'Oh my, Discord. That was far too easy!' Discord glared at her for just a moment. 'Well that was interesting,' he commented, nonchalantly. Chaos stood, her laughter dying down. 'You know, we need to find somewhere we belong. And I don't think it's here.' 'Don't be so quick to decide that,' Princess Luna said. 'You two might find a way to belong here yet. Give them time.' 'Ehh maybe,' Chaos replied. 'But I seem to get on everypony's nerves.' 'Welcome to the club,' Discord replied. 'And what I did wasn't bad. I guess it wasn't quite good, either.' He shrugged. 'It was like you.' Chaos stared at him, wide eyed for a moment. 'Seems like it.' 'Are you ready to go back?' Princess Luna asked. 'We are ready at any time.' 'Not yet, Luna,' Chaos replied. 'Can't we all talk for a bit?' 'We suppose...' Princess Luna trailed off. She was dreading this, though she wasn't sure why. 'Truth or dare,' Chaos said. Facehoof. > Chapter 8(Laughter Everfree) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'They sure have been gone an awful long time,' Applejack said, pacing. 'I'm sure they're fine,' Twilight Sparkle replied. 'They have Princess Luna with them. I just can't figure out why I feel...awful.' Applejack stopped pacing. 'Maybe because you made Chaos cry and run out.' 'What a big baby!' Rainbow Dash exclaimed. 'Not at all,' Fluttershy said. 'From what I can tell about her, that would have hurt her terribly.' Pinkie Pie jumped up. 'Well I'm not just going to sit around while my new friend is who knows where! Let's go everypony!' 'Darling...' Rarity began, but was cut off by Twilight Sparkle. 'We might as well. Waiting is doing no good.' 'What if they're in the...gulp...Everfree Forest?' Spike asked. At that, they all gulped. ________________________________________________ The ponies had looked almost everywhere. As they got close to the Everfree Forest, however, they heard laughter. And voices. 'That can't be true,' Chaos' voice proclaimed as they walked closer. The ponies stopped when they were within sight. 'Oh, dear Chaos, I assure you it's quite true,' Discord replied. 'As far as I remember.' 'But that color!' Princess Luna exclaimed, shocked. 'What will you say next?' 'Who knows?' He replied with a shrug. 'But it's my turn to pick a pony. Chaos, truth or dare? And I must admit, once I got used to it this game has been loads of fun.' 'Uhm...truth?' 'Would you like to go on a date with me?' There was slyness in his voice, and a bit of a strange new tone. The ponies watching jaws dropped. 'Oh crap! Dare.' 'You can't do that,' Princess Luna pointed out. 'I'll allow it,' Discord said with a smirk. 'But only if she does whatever dare I come up with, no matter how crazy.' 'To get out of that, deal.' Discord pretended to think for a moment, but he already had the mother of all crazy dares. 'Go on a date with me.' The ponies watching gasped in unison. The three looked up. 'I'm sure they saw you agree to do whatever dare I said,' Discord said, smugly. 'No getting out of it.' 'But...But...' Chaos stammered. 'Fine. What time?' Discord thought for a moment, wondering if his plan would work. 'Starting now, ending later this evening. Since I made the dare, I decide what counts as a date. Including time.' 'That's not a date,' Chaos protested. 'I don't think they're supposed to last so long.' 'Unfortunately, Discord would be right,' Princess Luna said, somewhat sadly. Chaos needed her, Chaos had helped her, but Discord was correct. And she wasn't going to lie. 'You guys.' Looking at the ponies who were watching, eyes pleading. 'Have fun,' Pinkie Pie called out. 'Be sure to tell me all about it!' 'He's right,' Twilight Sparkle said. 'Meh, it's what you get for trusting Discord,' Rainbow Dash said. 'Sorry, can't help ya,' Applejack said. 'Even Chaos can get a date,' Spike grumbled. 'I'll get you a lovely flower,' Fluttershy said. 'For your hair I mean.' 'I'll do your hair, if it's alright with Discord,' Rarity said. 'He did say the date was already started. She gave a wink. 'Oh sure,' Discord said. 'I'll meet you at Rarity's.' 'Oh...goody..' Chaos said weakly. Oh what a day! ______________________________________________________ 'I feel like a freaking princess,' Chaos grumbled. Rarity had curled and put up Chaos' mane, her tail she had curled, and she had put a silver tiara with small blue jewels on her head. Fluttershy had gotten two lovely red flowers, and one was behind each ear. 'You look lovely darling,' Rarity said. 'Now this goes without saying, but do tell me how it goes.' 'Have fun,' they all said in unison. Spike's was a grumble. Poof! 'Are you ready?' Discord asked. He took one look at Chaos, and froze. He seemed speechless, which pleased Rarity. Then he burst out laughing. 'You look so girly! Like a princess!' THUNK Chaos had hit Discord in the head. 'Ouch. You don't hit very girly. This is a terrible beginning.' 'Tell me about it,' Chaos grumbled as she walked out. 'Oh I'm sure it will go better. So well in fact, you'll want another date.' He followed. 'Never playing truth or dare with you again.' It was the last thing the other ponies heard. Rarity was fuming. 'What a horrible date poor Chaos is bound to have! And her first ever too!' _________________________________________________________________ 'So what are we doing?' Chaos asked. 'Well I figured I'd try something 'normal', and we could go eat,' Discord replied. 'Since it would be new.' 'It's not time for lunch or dinner,' Chaos pointed out. Discord shrugged. 'I'm still me.' 'Where?' Chaos asked. 'Follow me still, dear Chaos. We're almost there.' They didn't walk much longer before Discord said, 'we're here.' He ushered Chaos to the doors, and then made them disappear. Inside, the smell of baked goods filled the air. Chaos heard Pinkie Pie gasp. 'Oh yippie,' she exclaimed. 'Getting sweets? Don't worry, I'll pay for everything.' 'Actually we need a table,' Discord said, grandly. 'We'll be eating here.' 'Sweets for a meal?' Pinkie Pie asked. 'I'll still cover it. Gosh Chaos, you're lucky!' 'How about I make more later?' Chaos asked. 'To help out and make up for it.' 'As long as they don't go splat,' Pinkie Pie giggled. 'So what do you want?' Discord just looked at Chaos. 'Uhm..A plate of...Surprise us Pinkie.' 'You got it,' Pinkie Pie giggled. She took off to get the sweets. 'Are you sure that was a good idea?' Discord asked, smugly. 'What do you mean?' Chaos asked. But Discord wouldn't answer, but soon Pinkie Pie was back and Chaos saw the answer. The plate was full of hearts. Well heart-shaped things. Heart shaped cookies, marshmallows, and mini cakes filled the plate. They were decorated with icing, chocolate, and sprinkles. Some were girly, but some were blues, purples, greens, or a combination. A few looked morbid. The top two cookies and mini cakes were something else. One cookie and one mini cake had Discord's coloration and said 'for Chaos'. One cookie and one mini cake had Chaos' coloration and said 'for Discord'. Pinkie Pie dropped them off with a wink, and took off. She still, watched, however. Chaos just gawked at the sweets. 'Told you,' Discord said, chuckling. He picked up the 'for Discord' cookie with his eagle claw. With his lion paw, he picked up the 'for Chaos' cookie and placed it partially in Chaos' mouth. It almost fell, and Chaos caught it. They both began to eat. 'This is actually pretty good,' Chaos thought. Without thinking, she reached for the mini cake that was 'for Chaos'. Her hoof brushed Discord's claw. 'Trying to hold my hand now?' Discord asked, slyly. 'I'm not that kind of Draconiquuis.' 'I was just...' Chaos stammered. 'Oh I know.' Discord laughed. Before they knew it, the treats were gone. 'That was great,' Chaos said. 'So what next?' Discord asked. > Chapter 9(Date, Continued) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chaos blinked. 'Are you asking..me?' 'I'm not on a date with anypony else,' Discord said, a 'duh' tone in his voice. 'Why?' 'I'm curious. Though this part turned out better than I expected.' 'One condition.' 'What?' 'I want to feel your lion paw.' 'Why?' Slyness in his voice. Chaos shrugged. 'Curious.' Discord shrugged and extended his paw. Chaos nuzzled into it. It was warm and soft. 'Discord, are you...blushing?' 'No.' A flat look on Discord's face. But he was indeed blushing, just a little bit. 'Well, let's go.' Chaos flew out, and Discord followed. Pinkie Pie came out to get the plate. She sighed, happily. Her friend seemed to be having a great time, and they seemed to really like each other. Maybe they would get married! But an even stranger thought hit Pinkie Pie. 'What kind of children would they have?' She mused to herself. 'Could they even?' BOOM 'Curse that cloud!' Came a voice from behind the counter. 'Pinkie!' ___________________________________________________________________________ 'Why are we back here?' Discord asked. They were at Sweet Apple Acres. 'Super color apples,' Chaos declared, bouncing. 'Now that they know they'd be okay, maybe they'd like them.' Discord rolled his eyes. 'Or maybe we'll be assaulted this time.' 'Nah,' Chaos said, causing an apple to turn blue. 'Try it.' Discord turned an apple purple. 'Red would be pointless,' he sighed. 'A different red?' Chaos turned an apple turquoise. 'Maybe. Nahhhh.' Discord turned an apple teal. 'Hey Discord?' Chaos turned an apple pink. 'What?' Pink. 'Why are your irises different sizes?' Ochre. 'Chaos.' Forest green. 'What?' Orange. 'No, dear Chaos. That's the answer. Chaos. My chaotic nature showing.' Silver. 'Ohh nice one. Oh okay then.' Glowing blue. 'Ah-ha! I knew ya'd come back,' Applejack came over. She looked at the apples. 'Ya'll are lucky this is all ya'll are doing, and on a date.' She handed them each a cup of cider, then walked off. But she, like Pinkie Pie, continued to watch. Chaos sniffed it. 'What is it?' 'Just drink it.' Discord began to drink his, and Chaos followed suit. It was awesome! 'So that's why you have all the different parts too?' Chaos asked after finishing. Discord finished his with a sigh of contentment. 'Yes.' 'It's awesome.' Before they knew it, they had changed all the apples. 'This did turn out to be rather fun,' Discord said, shocked. 'Why hadn't I thought of this?' Chaos shrugged. 'I have no idea.' 'You are Chaos,' Discord said, lying down on the grass. 'You are likely to come up with some fun ideas I don't.' 'Nah,' Chaos said, yet again following suit. 'Just got lucky.' 'You're too modest.' Discord made a fist with his lion paw, and play punched Chaos. They both began to laugh. 'Not really.' She went to go play punch Discord. 'Not again!' Chaos stopped. 'What? Oh I'm just playing.' 'I know.' Discord began to tickle Chaos with his tail. 'Stop...it...right...now...' Chaos said, between laughs. 'Oh like you can stop me,' Discord said, smirking. 'Fire when ready.' Chaos barely managed to play punch Discord. 'Oh you defeated me,' Discord said, then closed his eyes. 'Oh come on, you faker,' Chaos said, laughing. He opened one eye. 'But I was defeated.' Chaos rolled her eyes. ___________________________________________ Applejack didn't know what to think. It was...cute...She shook her head to clear her mind. Discord and Chaos being cute? It just didn't add up. Still, she couldn't help but smile. Whether she realizes it or not, she really likes him,' she thought. Same goes for him. I wonder how this will go. And Chaos isn't too bad. The apples are even kind of nice, once you get used to them.' Chaos' 'antics' were actually starting to grow on Applejack. She had explained how harmless they were, and finally they had decided to leave it alone. The strange part was, without Applejack realizing it, Discord was somewhat growing on her. After all, this was just the sort of things Discord enjoyed as well. ________________________________________________________________________ The sun was setting, and the two had moved closer to each other without realizing it. Applejack walked out, and wordlessly gave them some apple fritters before leaving again. But not without musing on the date. 'Well, shucks, it does make sense. And if they do end up together, maybe Discord won't be so bad. Chaos was right, he has been behaving pretty good. For Discord, anyway. Ah sure do hope it works out. 'Oh, dear Chaos,' Discord said, nonchalantly. 'What?' 'I think it's going to rain.' 'There's not a cloud in the sky.' Discord laughed. The sky right above them suddenly and quickly filled with cotton candy clouds as Discord got an umbrella and opened it. It opened upwards. In instinct, Chaos got an umbrella and opened it. BOOM There was a sudden downpour of chocolate milk. Discord got two glasses, and handed one to Chaos. They both filled up top to bottom, but this time Discord drank the chocolate milk. He threw his glass, and it exploded. Chaos decided to try, but her explosion caused black glitter. They ate the apple fritters. Discord rolled his eyes. 'Even your explosions are kind of girly.' 'But, dear Discord, I am a girl.' Chaos laughed. 'Of course. But a girly girl?' 'Only slightly.' 'Chaos?' 'Yes?' 'The date's over.' 'No way!' Chaos turned, looking sad. 'Chaos?' Discord said with a strange, soft tone. 'Yes?' A slight excitement in her tone. Discord leaned in, and gave Chaos a quick, small kiss. They both blushed. 'Uh...I'll meet you at Rarity's later,' Discord said. He grabbed the clouds in two handfuls, and without realizing it made them hearts. He handed Chaos one, then vanished. Chaos wanted to eat it, but decided to show Rarity first. She flew, whistfully. _____________________________________________________________ 'Oh darling, do tell,' Rarity said as Chaos flew in. She noticed the cotton candy heart and squeeled. 'Oh how adorable! So I'm taking it went well.' 'He...he...' Chaos said more, but it was so soft Rarity couldn't understand. 'Come again, darling.' 'I said he kissed me!' Chaos practically shouted. Rarity gasped. 'Tell me everything!' As Chaos ate the heart, which also tasted like fudge, she told Rarity about the whole date. Then, she made as many sweets as she could. Most of them didn't splat. As she did, Rarity spoke. 'Sounds lovely, darling. I wonder why he took off, though.' Chaos shrugged. 'Can you help me carry these?' 'Of course, darling.' _________________________________ When they delivered the sweets, Chaos told Pinkie Pie all about it. Pinkie Pie gasped. 'Sounds like it was so much fun! So are you going to do it again?' Chaos felt herself panic. It was fun, but she wasn't sure. The room began to spin. Chaos took a deep breath, as Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked at her concerned. 'Yes.' ________________________________________ Back at Rarity's, Chaos waited for Discord. She was beginning to feel lonely. Poof! 'I have returned,' Discord announced. He handed Chaos some flowers. 'Try these.' 'They're pretty.' Chaos ate them, slowly. 'And yummy too.' Chaos smiled. 'Discord?' 'Yes?' Some excitement crept into his voice.. > Chapter 10(New Job, New Life) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Did you have fun?' Chaos asked, slowly. Discord flattened his ears. 'Yes. Is that all?' 'Well...Would you want to do it again sometime?' Discord's eyes lit up. 'I thought you'd never ask.' Chaos rolled her eyes. 'Melodramatic much?' Discord looked innocently. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.' They both laughed. 'Well, I'd like to try to get a job though,' Chaos said, boredly. 'A job? How boring,' Discord proclaimed. 'Yeah but it'll pay for stuff. Maybe I can even get my own place.' 'Can I stay with you then? I get the feeling I'm not quite welcome here.' 'Ah, they don't hate you,' Chaos replied. Discord gave Chaos a flat look. 'Well they may dislike you a little. But I'm sure we can change their minds!' 'Why bother?' Discord flicked his tail lazily. 'I don't know. Why not?' 'You got me there.' Discord shrugged. 'Don't you two ever sleep?' Rarity asked as she walked into the kitchen, yawning. 'It's morning.' 'No,' Discord replied. 'Don't need to,' came Chaos' reply. 'Hey Rarity, where can I get a job?' 'After coffee, darling....' A yawn. 'We'll try something, if you like.' __________________________________________________________ In Rarity's 'inspiration room', Chaos was told what to do. Make a dress appear on one of the manaquins Rarity had in the room. Chaos visualized a super frilly purple dress on the manaquin, then concentrated as hard as she could at it. Minuntes passed. It seemed hopeless. Then suddenly, the dress appeared. 'Not bad, darling,' Rarity said as she looked it over. 'Make as many as you like, and I'll give you fifty percent of what they sell for. If that's alright, that is.' 'Sure,' Chaos said with a shrug. 'It's more than I'd make otherwise. Not sure if I can make enough to make it, though.' 'We have returned,' Princess Luna said. 'And with glad news! Since you're trying to be self-sufficient, our sister and us made you a home. It's where we were playing that strange game. Would thou like to see it?' 'After I make a few more dresses,' Chaos replied. 'Four more should do it,' she thought. 'Time to get to work. _________________________________________________________________________________ Five dresses, and Rarity assuring Chaos they'd sell in no time, later Chaos and Discord went to see their new home. It was sparsely furnished and decorated, but it had what they needed. It even came with a fireplace, Chaos noted. And two beds, as if they had decided Discord was going to live with Chaos. Where else would he live, anyway? 'I call couch,' Discord said as he plopped down and stretched out on the couch. 'No fair,' declared Chaos, laughing. 'I'm longer,' Discord replied. 'It's entirely fair.' 'I guess,' Chaos replied. 'I'm laying on my bed, making those dresses actually wiped me out.' She laid down. 'If you sleep, I'll watch you,' Discord said as he went and settled down on the other bed. 'Nice,' Chaos replied, laughing a bit. 'Creepy.' 'I'm hurt,' Discord replied. 'We'll leave then,' Princess Luna said. 'Bye Luna,' Chaos said sleepily. Before she knew it, she was out. ____________________________________________________________________________ Chaos awoke to see Discord's face only an inch from hers. She started up, and she fell out of bed. 'You're cute when you sleep,' Discord said, whistfully. 'You look innocent.' He laughed. 'Ouch my flank,' Chaos grumbled. 'Hey the elements are gone and there's something else there!' 'What is it?' Discord asked, peering. He gasped. On her flank was a winged heart with a broken halo over it and a devil tail. One wing was a bat's wing, the other feathered. It was on both sides of her flank. 'Chaos cutie mark!' Chaos squeeled. 'I really like it,' cooed Discord. 'It suits you. Guess I'm the only one of us cutie markless.' 'You aren't supposed to have one,' Chaos said as she laughed. 'You like the animals, right?' Discord asked. 'You remembered,' Chaos squeeled. 'Why?' 'We should go visit them then,' Discord suggested. 'Sure,' Chaos said slowly. She was sure there was a trick here. But what? ________________________________________________________________________________ 'Oh hello Chaos,' Fluttershy said. She suddenly looked nervous. 'Discord.' 'Hey Fluttershy,' Chaos greeted back. 'How are you? How are the animals?' 'Fine,' Fluttershy replied. 'All fine. Come out you guys, we have a guest that wants to see you.' The animals came to them, and the cat jumped up and laid down on Chaos' flank. 'He really likes you,' Fluttershy said. 'Which is great,' Discord said. 'Since I was hoping to get the cat for Chaos.' 'Really?' Chaos squeeled. 'That's great!' 'I don't know...' Fluttershy said. 'Still, he does seem to like her. And she seems so happy...I'm just not sure why you want to gift him to her.' 'Simple,' Discord said. He whispered something in Fluttershy's ear, and she smiled. 'Yes, of course, I understand. Best of luck.' Discord picked up the cat, and whispered something in his ear. 'What's going on?' Chaos asked. 'Oh, you'll see,' came Fluttershy's reply. As they left, after Chaos played with the animals, Fluttershy found herself hoping Discord's plan worked. 'Maybe it will even help him be better,' she thought. 'He sure seems happy, and hasn't been that bad. _________________________________________ At some point on the way home, Discord had put a note in the cat's collar. At home, when Discord gave Chaos the cat, she noticed it. Using magic to get, open, and hold it she read it. Dear Chaos, Won't you be mine? You're the insanity In my life, The chaos. You belong with me, Me with you. There is nothing We can't do Together. Love and chocolate rain, Discord Discord had been watching intensely the entire time Chaos read. By the end, she had gotten a very puzzled look, and Discord's heart sank. 'This is what you get for not trying to take over Ponyville,' he thought. 'This is what you get for falling in love, and holding your heart out in your paw to somepony. You've gotten soft in your old age, Discord my boy.' 'Are you okay?' Discord heard Chaos ask. 'Why wouldn't I be?' He responded quickly. 'I kept trying to ask what you meant,' Chaos said. 'I mean, aren't I already 'your Chaos'?' 'Marry me,' Discord said. 'What?' Chaos asked, clearly surpried. 'See, I knew you...' Discord began, but Chaos cut him off. 'I thought you'd never ask.' She smiled, and Discord froze. Litterally. 'Oh haha,' Chaos said and Discord un-froze. 'I better go tell the girls.' 'Tell the girls what?' It was Princess Luna. 'I think you better sit,' Discord said, gesturing to the chair. 'This is going to be the strangest thing you've ever heard. Princess Luna sat in the chair. She quickly found out Discord was right. > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Well, we got the elements back,' Twight Sparkle commented as she and her friends walked. 'And Chaos got her cutie mark to boot. But why aren't we trapping Discord again?' 'You know why, sugarcube,' Applejack responded. Twilight Sparkle sighed. Applejack was right, and the reason was a good one. 'Never thought I'd see this,' Rainbow Dash commented. 'Ever.' 'Me neither,' Fluttershy said. 'But I'm so happy.' Her animal friends walked close to her. 'Where's Pinkie?' Twilight Sparkle asked. 'You know her,' Rainbow Dash responded. 'She's probably been there hours.' 'We better hurry then, darlings,' Rarity said. 'I, for one, would hate to be late.' 'Well I, for one, hate being dressed up,' Spike quipped. They all laughed. _______________________________________________________________________________ 'Do you like the cake?' Pinkie Pie asked, nervously. 'Pinkie, I love it,' Chaos said. 'We love it,' Discord corrected. It was the most unusual cake, made up of all kinds of sweets and covered in cotton candy hearts and red flowers. Discord had provided the latter two things. Princess Luna was also there, though as a guest and not a babysitter. The princesses had decided to give Discord a chance. Though some of the things Discord and Chaos had done had almost gotten them both turned to stone. Like changing random ponies' colors, for instance. They heard the others arive. The others couldn't help but notice Discord had a suit on, a snazzy brown one. Of course, even though Chaos could have made their atire, Rarity had insisted she do it. And it was as a gift. What pony could say not only did they make clothes for Discord, but also it was for a wedding? No other pony could say that. 'Glad everypony made it,' Chaos said as the other ponies walked up. 'We wouldn't miss it for the world, darling,' Rarity said. 'And everypony looks wonderful.' The others nodded in agreement. How could they miss the wedding of a lifetime, one to remember? 'We wrote our own vows,' Chaos said, blushing. 'But can't agree on who goes first. We're both so excited to hear what the other came up with.' 'Flip you for it?' Discord suggested. Chaos shrugged. 'Sounds like fun.' _____________________________________________________________ 'I was lost and alone,' Chaos began. 'Or so I thought. But you were there for me, my reason to try after I was dumped in a strange, new world. You taught me so much, about life...About myself. I love you so much, Discord, for all that you are. And for all I am with you. If I lost you, I'd be losing a part of my soul. Please say you'll be mine, forever.' Discord smiled. It was a bit short, but so very sweet. It was strange, Discord found himself so touched he was actually choked up. 'I love you, of course I will,' he finally said. He took a deep breath, and began his vows. 'Everypony can tell you what I've done. Some have. I wanted to rule Equestria in the name of chaos. I cared for nopony. That all changed with you. You taught me who I really am. And you taught me how to care, and that I can care. You taught me how to have fun without having to rule everything. If you say yes, I'll have everything that matters anyway. My Chaos, my insanity, my love, my soul mate, be mine for all eternity.' 'Of course,' Chaos barely managed to say. She was so happy she was tearing up.'I love you.' 'Awwwww,' the others said in unison. ___________________________________________________ The reception was absolutely brilliant. Everypony congradulated the bride and groom every chance they got. The bride and groom cut pieces of cake for all the guests, then with wicked looks shoved each other's faces in what was left. Then, the others began to eat. When the cake was gone, Discord and Chaos had a dance. But they weren't the only ones. Rarity accepted Spike's offer to dance, and after being told how smashing he looked by Rarity Spike decided maybe he didn't hate being dressed up. He even got a kiss on the cheek from her when they finished dancing! Spike was having the time of his life, and Rarity's parting words made it even better. 'Find a way to grow up without losing yourself, and I'll give us a shot.' BOOM Chocolate milk rained down, but everypony was wearing custom umbrellas from Rarity. They all danced and mingled. They all had to, as was started by Pinkie Pie, have a fast dance with the bride and groom. Applejack had given Pinkie Pie a surprise of her own to bring. Mugs of strange colored apple cider, and apple fitters with strange colored filling.And multi-colored popcorn, that Chaos and Disscord had helped with the night before. She drank and ate, unafraid, and the other ponies followed suit. They loved it all, the animals included. After it was all done, clean-up included, it was late. Everypony headed home, tired but happy. Everypony slept well, especially Chaos and Discord, who had gotten a new big bed so they could snuggle. ______________________________________________________________ 'Not sure how it was possible,' Pinkie Pie said, looking at the twin baby draconiquis, 'but I'm happy for you guys. And have fun, I can watch these little ones. A boy and a girl, right?' 'Are you sure?' Chaos asked. 'And yes, they are.' 'Names?' Pinkie Pie asked. 'The boy is Anarchy,' Discord replied. 'The girl is Hope.' 'Ooohh, nice names,' Pinkie Pie said. 'And I got it, really.' 'If all goes well on your end, we might ask this of you again,' Chaos said. Pinkie Pie replied with an enthusiastic, 'yay.' Discord and Chaos left, going out on their first (but not last) date as a married couple. Chaos mused on how wonderful, and fast, life had progressed for her. It wasn't what she had expected in that first night of being, but that was okay. It was far better than she could have thought of. 'What are you thinking about?' Discord asked. 'Us,' Chaos replied. 'I was hoping you had a mischief plan,' Discord replied, laughing. 'Oh well, I have one.' 'What?' Chaos asked, excitedly. 'You'll see,' Discord responded. He held out his lion paw. 'Come on.' Chaos put her hoof in it, and he held it. They both flew off together, just like that.