The Return of Disharmony

The Return of Disharmony

Chapter 1

Beauty

Mandrel sat at his usual place in the Canterlot School for gifted Unicorns. The words of the teacher flew through his mind without leaving the least bit of an impression on him. Instead, he was busy twirling his brown mane, which ended up in some of his hairs falling down on his equally brown coat. It was a day like every other day in his life. Incredibly boring and predictable. Waking up, going to school, not listening to the teachers, somehow still passing the exams and trying not to end up being a brain-dead zombie. If it wasn't too late for that already. He looked around in the classroom. In all those years he spend here, nothing had ever really changed, except for his classmates' heights. The one bit that was glued to his desk was still there, like it has been when he first entered this room. He bet that it would still be there even when there was nothing more than dust left of the rest of this school.

'Wouldn't that be funny?' he asked himself. 'The whole world has gone to ashes, and in these fields of dust and dirt, one single table and one single bit would still stand there, like nothing had changed.'

Somehow, the idea made him grin a bit. He wouldn't even be surprised if some of his ideas came true. But until then, a lot of days would pass. A lot of days that would all be like the former ones. Boring. Unenteraining. Predictable.

„Mandrel? Mandrel, are you even listening?“

The teacher's voice interrupted his daydreams. Mandrel squinted his eyes, silently praying for the patience to stay calm and polite while listening to the 1000-th revision of „Why you should pay attention and listen to what I'm trying to teach you“. He failed.

„No, I am not listening, Miss. And neither did I listen to your boring blabber yesterday, or that day before, and I'm certain that I will not be listening tomorrow either. If you would use the few parts of your brain you're still using, you would probably have noticed that by now.“ He said while gnashing his teeth.

And even while saying it, he knew he should have been silent.. He could basically feel the eyes of his classmates peeping at him, both shocked and curious about what would happen next.

„Excuse me?“ Miss Doce said while raising an eyebrow. Her voice was colder than even the highest spot of Yakyakistan. And those were really cold.

Mandrel shrinked under her stare and quickly found his patience and courtesy again.

„I...I am sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to be rude. It won't happen again, I promise.“

He wasn't sorry, but it wouldn't hurt to make Miss Doce think said. He didn't want anymore trouble. After a short silence, Miss Doce said, in a tone that didn't leave room for any protests:

„You will stay for a few minutes after the lesson is over.“

„Yes, Miss.“ Mandrel mumbled, pretending to be daunted, but she continued class and didn't pay attention to him anymore.

The rest of the class quickly turned their heads back to her, most of them disappointed that it didn't end up in an argument between Mandrel and Miss Doce.

'Great', he thought to himself, 'so I will have to sit through all of this talking again.' The sad thing about it was that he was kinda looking forward to it. It was at least a little bit of variety in his life, where nothing changed, and the days were all like one another.

*

„So,“ Miss Doce started shortly after the class left and Mandrel was standing in front of her desk.

„Why did you say these things to me, Mandrel?“

Inwardly, he rolled his eyes. That's exactly how most of the other sermons started. Well, at least that would make it possible for him to end this conversation fast since he already knew what his teacher wanted to hear.

„I was just angry at myself and didn't control it. I am sorry for directing that anger at you, and I assure you that it won't happen again.“

The same argument, the same answer. Over and over again.

„I'm not buying it.“

Mandrel blinked over this unexpected response. Did he speak too fast? Wasn't he paying attention? Did she notice that he just wanted to end this as fast as possible?

„What...what do you mean, you are not 'buying it'?“

„Mandrel, there is something else behind your anger. It's not because you're 'angry at yourself', stop telling me that nonsense all the time. Do you really think I'm that stupid?“

Yes.

„No...no, of course not, Miss.“

'Stop stuttering', he said to himself. Damn it, what happened here?

„Then please explain to me why are not paying any attention in my class and why you are acting like this! Is it because you don't have your Cutie Mark yet?“

Mandrel squinted his eyes again, trying again not to lose his self-control. No, it was not because of that stupid thing he was lacking. It seemed like he was the only one who didn't care about this.

„No, Miss, it's not because of my Cutie Mark. I assure you that I am completely fine with not having discovered my special talent yet.“

Again, this was the usual answer he gave everyone who asked for his Cutie Mark. The same argument, the same answer. Hopefully, it would work this time and finally end this horribly dull and boring conversation.

„Then what is it, Mandrel? I have seen your potential, the magic skills that dwell within you, and yet, you decide to do nothing with this potential! You just sit around during my lessons, you don't even try to listen to me and learn something! Is it too boring to you?“

She hit the nail on the head, and like this, Mandrels patience came to an end.

“It is exactly boredom Miss. Doce.” He spoke the 'Miss' like it was an insult.

„Boring lessons in a boring school, surrounded by boring classmates, lead by an even more boring teacher. We're learning the same things the ponies before us learned, we're listening to the same lessons, doing the same exams and doing the same jobs. It's like this country is frozen, like nothing will ever change! Like nothing is allowed to change! Even if I master every single exam, even if I become the greatest student in the world, what is there to accomplish for me? What is there to achieve? None of us will ever be a person to be remembered, none of us will ever be really important!“

Miss Doce looked at him, shocked by how her silent student suddenly opened up in front of her. After a few seconds, she tried a response.

„This is not true. We are not nameless ponies. My former student, Twilight Sparkle, has even become the only student of Princess Celestia herse-“

„Oh, yes, I know about the great and perfect Twilight Sparkle. Perfectly organized, always on time, respectful towards everypony around her. The greatest student a teacher could have. I have found a word to describe this perfectly: "Boring", Miss Doce. Even though Twilight Sparkle has become the Princess' student, what is she actually doing there? She's just learning what the Princess already knows, she's just absorbing her knowledge. She is not being taught anything that's really new, she's not going to be remembered, Doce! The Princess had more than one student, but doesn't anybody remember them? Hell, I bet that most people don't even know her actual student.“

„But these ponies are learning under the Princess' personal supervision! This is something only a few ponies could ever say of themselves, and those can be really proud of it. You could achieve this too, Mandrel, I know it! You have the potential, you have the magic, you could be one of those who-“

„You don't understand, Miss. None of you seems to understand.“

He turned around to his teacher, an determined glimmer in his eyes.

„I don't want to be one of a million. I want to be one in a million. I want to break the never ending circle that is our daily routine. I want the days to be different, to be entertaining! I want this life to be unpredictable!“

Miss Doce wanted to reply, but was interrupted again when her student looked out of the window behind her and asked:

„Wait...am I going insane, or have the clouds always been pink?“

*

Luckily for him, Mandrel wasn't going insane. Unfortunately for everypony else, the whole land of Equestia was.

According to the Pegasi, the clouds were not simply pink, they were also made of cotton candy. Mandrel didn't hold himself up with asking how this was possible – it wasn't. Also, he was too busy finding out what changed to find any time to find a logical explanation for these phenmenons. It started to rain, but it wasn't water that got his coat wet. Out of cotton candy-clouds, it rained chocolate milk. Most of the ponies in Canterlot were raising their eyebrows, others were talking, trying to find a solution for this problem, and a few were fainting while their brains failed to understand what they were seeing. Mandrel, however, found himself smiling. Those clouds, this rain, the ponies' reactions, the whole situation itself was so abstruse that he couldn't stop himself from making the widest grin of his life! He didn't know what was happening, and he didn't really care to find out. The important thing was that it was indeed happening, that it was real, and that it was different. He felt it rushing through the blood under his skin. The perception that this was the day his life would change forever. This day has turned from a day like any other to a special day, to a day that was worth remembering. His special day.

The other ponies were fainting, crying for help, running around in panic. They didn't see what he saw. They only saw that their world, their daily routine, was in danger. They saw change, and they feared it. Mandrel didn't see any of these things. Mandrel saw nothing but pure beauty.

He ran towards the place where the clouds seemed to come from. While he was running, his environment changed even more. Cakes were flying upside-down to the sky, bunnies with ridiculously long legs ran through the fields, bison were dancing while wearing tutus.

At this point, Mandrel didn't even care if he'd gone insane or not. His whole world had been gray and prosy, but now, it seemed to be colorful and entertaining. Whenever he thought that he had already seen everything this day could offer him, something completely unexpected just ran around the next corner. It was completely out of place, it was completely unpredictable, it was just perfect!

Mandrel laughed in ecstasy while watching at all these unlikely and impossible things that happened around him and probably happened all around the world. If only he had this power himself, he could've created such a perfect world long ago, he could've left his daily routine before it even started. His life would've never been gray and repetetive, and from this point on, it would never be again.

He continued his travel to the center of chaos, to a point where he felt such an incredibly strong and twisted presence that he almost froze in fear. But then he remembered that this presence was probably the center he was looking for, the one that started these events that turned his life around for the better. He had to thank him. 'Ponyville', he read on a sign that pointed towards the city. As he got closer, he heard a mischievous laugh. He ran towards it. He knew it deep inside – this laughter was the one of his savior. No, not only his savior. The one of his master.

He recognized him as soon as he saw him. It was him, it could only be this creature. Nopony else could be the center of chaos, nopony else could possibly make such beautiful things happen. The head of a pony, the tail of a snake, a lion's paw, a griffon's talon, a goat hoof, and the claw of a saurian. That was him. That had to be him. The one Mandrel could truly call his teacher, his master. But as soon as he noticed him, he also noticed six ponies standing in front of him. Two Unicorns, two Pegasi and even two Earth Ponies.

„What in the world...?“ Mandrel mumbled while looking at this strange scenery. He even recognized one of the ponies: The Unicorn Twilight Sparkle. He saw her only a few times, but out of all the ponies he knew, she was kinda worth being remembered. The master tried to grab the orange Earth Pony, but somehow, Twilight was able to fight him off. She created a small bubble, surrounding herself and her friends, and flew a few meters back. The point where she landed was somehow freed from the master's magic and turned into normal, green grass again.

„What is happening down there...what are you up to, Twilight Sparkle?“

The master seemed to be an immortal, a ancient, almighty god who held the fate of all of Equestria in his paw and talon, and yet, the simple Unicorn Twilight Sparkle was able to stand up to him? How was this possible?

From the next second on, he knew something terrible was going to happen. The second great twist of this day. But this time, it wouldn't be in his favor. Mandrel felt a cold shiver running down his back. This was not good. He didn't knew what was about to happen, but he knew it wasn't good. It was bad. Horribly bad. Another second later, he knew what was happening. His savior, his master, was about to lose.

The six ponies were flying into the air again, not protected by a bubble this time, and yet, it seemed much more dangerous and more of a threat than before. Mandrel could do nothing but to stand there, frozen in terror and fear, while a rainbow-beam of incalculable strength hit his master, who stopped moving seconds later. His skin turned gray, and he fell down without moving. They turned him into stone. Cold, gray stone. Mandrel watched it in disbelief. He was just saved from this boring, repetitive life, from this routine that wouldn't allow any changes, and now, after just a few hours of happiness, they snatched it from him again...?

A few moments later, everything changed back to normal. The grass turned green, the clouds white, and the rain blue. But to Mandrel, everything just looked as gray as his master did. Everything was gray...stripped from any color and life. A single tear was running down his face.

'No...no, this can't be...' he thought to himself while grinding his teeth in anger.

'This can't be...and it won't be. I won't let his happen. I don't allow this to happen!'

He looked at his master. The one who almost brought him a perfect life. An unpredictable life full of surprises, a life without any boredom. But this life wasn't gone yet. He understood it now. The master did not only show him a perfect world, he gifted him with a quick glance into his future.

'I can't just leave my hopes on others', Mandrel thought.

'This dream of a perfect world, of the world I saw today...it will not remain a dream. It will become reality. I will make it an absolute, inescapable reality.'

A mischievous, victorious grin adorned his face.

'This is not over yet. Far from it. This is just the beginning. My beginning. I will be one in a million.'

His body glowed in a bright light, and within this moment of destination, a sign appeared on his flank. It was a cotton candy-cloud from which rained chocolate milk.