The Chaos Theory

Entropy sat alone in the dimly-lit archives of the castle, frantically flipping through a worn book, determined to seek the answers he was looking for. The dull light above flickered, forming a migraine in the back of his head. With an exhausted sigh, he sat back and leaned against his chair, focusing on the flickering light as he thought back on what happened yesterday.

Entropy grinned as his eyes sparkled with stars, hopping from stone to stone, avoiding the cracks in the masonry, arms pressed against the back of his head. Cadence and Celestia had to go back to Canterlot to do something, which was explained to him, but he quickly forgot about it. The mountain air quickly grew cold as the sun hid behind large, cotton like-clouds, prompting the two to huddle close for warmth.

“Ugh, if I knew it was going to be cold this afternoon, I would have brought a scarf or something.” Entropy shivered, rubbing his arms frantically.

“En, it's close to winter, you should know better. You're lucky I brought an extra scarf.” She scoffed, levitating a red and orange scarf to him.

“Why would you bring an extra scarf? You're ninety-nine percent fur.” He accepted the scarf and wrapped it tightly around his neck, using a part of it to hide his nose and mouth from the biting cold.

“Incase this one gets damaged or lost, you fool!” She wrapped an exact copy of the scarf around her own neck. “You really are an idiot if you didn't think of that.” With a scowl etched onto her face. A giggle left him, his breath steaming out.

“Huh?” Out of the corner of his eye, Entropy saw a figure standing in an alleyway clouded with shadow, its pure, milky-white eyes the only part that was visible. The figure looked much like himself, despite having no features that could be seen. It was bipedal and as tall as his mom, maybe a bit taller. Knowing it had been spotted it gave Entropy a disheartened wave, before it backed up and walked out of sight, vanishing behind a bend.

“Hey wait!” He shouted, running after the figure, as Sunset sent him a questioning stare. His shoes squelched against the wet, mossy cobblestone alleyway, sending shivers down his body from the disgusting sound. 'Can it be?’ He thought as he turned the corner from which the figure disappeared behind, slipping on a strange mix of moss and ice and almost slammed his head against the hard stone walls, dirt and greasy grime staining his sleeves. He shook off the pain and stood up, slipping slightly before continuing the chase after the familiarly-shaped figure. His legs burned and he found it difficult to breath in the icy air after a while, but he kept on running after it.

“Found, you.” He said, in between gasps of air as he eventually caught the figure, after what he thought to be hours of running. The figure had its back to him, finding itself trapped as walls of stone surrounded it in all directions. The figure turned and looked at the prince, sadness caught in its pupil-less eyes as they watched each other. “Who are you?” Silence ruled over it as it shook his head, shrugged his shoulders. “it doesn't know who it is?” Entropy asked himself Slowly, it began to fade away, strange black particles flowing off of it like steam. “What are you?” It's eyes lit up, as if clarity crossed it's mind.

“Human.” The figure finally said in a guttural, ghostly voice. It's body breaking apart until nothing remained, leaving Entropy in a stupor.

“Human?” He repeated, rolling the name over his tongue a few times.

“Is that what I am? Human?” He asked nopony in particular as he brought himself from the sudden flashback. He repeated the foreign name over and over again, trying to make sense over what it meant. 'Am I the only one of my kind? If that's true then where did I come from?’ His thoughts were interrupted when a stack of heavy books dropped onto the table beside him.

“That's every book that even remotely describes what you told me. However there was nothing on record about this 'human’ thing you spoke of.” Sunset said, sitting beside him as she picked a random book and flicked through it. “I asked the princess if I could access the restricted area, but she denied my request. Sorry buddy.”

“It's okay, Sunny.” He slouched in his chair, leaning his head on the open book in front of him, using it as a pillow. “Question, am I crazy? I mean, shadow creatures and creepy dreams aren't a good thing are they?” He watched for her reaction, barely moving his head.

“Its weird, yeah, but I don't think you're crazy. I've heard much worse stories. It could just be a case of magical build up, or your matrix is responding to an outside force that's stimulating it, thus seeing weird things. I've heard that someponies can even view the memories of others if the stimulation is just right.”

“Have you ever had it?” She shook her head with a saddened gaze.

“‘Fraid not, my friend. It seems you're the freak of this little duo.”

“Gee thanks, that really helps my problem.” He said with a deadpan stare, to which Sunset replied with tongue sticking out. With a smile, Sunset returned to her research, occasionally glancing over at Entropy as he did the same.

'I wish I could help him more.’ She thought, breezing past pages of the thick book held in her aura with ease. Entropy sighed as he closed the book he was reading, setting it aside as he levitated another over. His aura flickered slightly, trying to compensate from the taxing use of magic. He grunted as his spell gave out, plopping the book onto the table with a heavy thump.

“Why does that happen with your magic so much?” Sunset asked, as she rested the book she was reading down. “It's expected with newcomers of magic, but the amount of times you have practiced that spell alone is enough to mostly master it. Why does yours give up?”

“I don't know, Sunny. Another thing that's wrong with me I guess.” He said with a nonchalant shrug, barely focusing on the book in front of him.

“Hey, do me a favour, would you? Turn and face me.” With a sigh, Entropy pulled himself from the book and focused on his friend with a raised eyebrow. Her horn lit up with magic, it's blue glow encasing Entropy fully. “Alright, now try to lift up that book again.”

“Eh? What's that supposed to-”

“Just do it, please.” She cut in, sending him a harsh glare. With a sigh, he lifted the book up once more holding it up as long as he could before it fell back down, leaving him in an exhausted state. “How did I not see this before?”

“Hmm? See what?” He asked in between pants.

“The reason you can't do spells properly is because it's being blocked!”

“Blocked? But why?” He asked, just as confused as Sunset. “Uuuuuuuuuuuugh, why does this stuff only happen to me!?!” He shouted, leaning too far back on his chair and falling onto the floor in a crumpled heap.

“I don't know. But I will find out!” With a determined look in her eye, she bolted from her spot and out of the archives, leaving Entropy to bask in his confusion.

“Entropy, you've been moping about all day, what's wrong?” Celestia asked, washing down her lunch with a glass of cider. Entropy poked at his pasta with a fork, watching the tubes of wheat deform under the pressure while leaning onto the table, resting his head on an outstretched arm. “Are you worried about something?”

“Kinda.” He replied, distant as stabbed the slightly cold food. With a concerned look, Celestia draped her wing over him, nuzzling his neck.

“Speak to me, please.” She begged, looking into his eyes with her own pleading ones. With a frown, he let go of the metal fork, wincing as it clanged against the plate. He sat up, smiling from the warm contact from her wing.

“It's just. I don't know what's happening to me anymore. My magic is being weird, I'm seeing things I don't understand and I'm freaking out!” Tears leaked from his eyes as he vented to his mother, quivering as he let his stress pour out as his mother held him in her wings. “So many things are happening and I don't know what to do, I'm so confused and scared.”

“Hey, shhhhh.” She cooed, rubbing his back gently. Tears stained her fur as he let out built up stress and worries. The two sat like that for a while, with Entropy just crying into his mother as he explained what was happening. Eventually, albeit hesitantly, he pulled away from her comforting fur and heat, wiping away and residue tears from his face, blowing his nose with napkin.

Celestia's wing never left his back as he gained his composure again, taking a long gulp from a glass of water, choking slightly as it dripped down the wrong passage, making his eyes tear up again. After the vent, the two made small talk, to take a break from the heavy stuff and to cheer Entropy up, if only slightly.

With all things said and done, and with his belly stuffed with reheated pasta, Entropy made his way from the dining room and up the stairs to his room. Too emotionally drained to study or to research what he is, he collapsed face first onto his bed with a heavy sigh, kicking off his shoes as he turned his head to watch the setting sun. His eyelids grew heavy and before he knew it he fell asleep.

“A….r.” A faint voice spoke up as Entropy regained his bearings. Startling him as he recognized the voice as the same one that screamed at him in the other dream he had. The void he found himself in was dark and fuzzy, as if looking through an unfocused camera. 'Here again?’ He thought, taking a quick note of his surroundings. He checked himself over, no wounds or blood or sweat, his toes dug into the carpeted floor. A strange anxiousness ran through him. 'No, something's different, but what?’

“Asger.” A gentle, motherly voice whispered in his ears. Tears pooled in his eyes, small streams trickling down his cheeks and dripping off of his chin. 'What? Why am I crying?’ Entropy thought, wiping away the tears as quickly as they formed, softy sobbing as he did so. A gentle knock rasped against the wooden door that had formed out of nowhere, steadily growing more and more clear through the fog. “Asger, wake up sweetie.” Her voice, from what he could tell, vibrated through his body as the walls also started to refocus, spreading out from the door like a ripple on the surface of water.

Scared, Entropy backed away from the door, slipping on something hard and cold, causing him to fall and hit the back of his head against something. With a grunt, turned to look at the bedpost that he hit, rubbing his head as he watched it slowly form into a bed with blue sheets and a large lump covered with a purple duvet. The lump groaned as it lifted a part of its duvet, revealing dull brown eyes that slowly scanned the void around him. A brown arm extended out from the opening, waving around as it searched for something, patting the air. Eventually it's hand struck something hard and thick, the fog like substance forming into a nightstand, clock and a photo frame with a picture Entropy just couldn't quite see. It's fingers wrapped around the face of the clock, it's pulling it into under the covers with it.

“It's seven o'clock on a Saturday mom, whyyyy?” The lump groaned in a tough, masculine voice as he threw the clock out, grumbling as he tried to go back to sleep.

“Yep, and what could be a better way to wake up on a nice sunny day!” His mom said cheerfully, ending it with a giggle. “Now get up or I'll come in there with a bucket of cold water and dump it on you!”

“I'll call child services!”

“You do that, but you'll never find a better mom than me~.” She sang as she walked off somewhere, presumably towards the kitchen. With a long, drawn out sigh he sat up, exposing his shirtless chest. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he crept to the edge of the bed and planted his feet onto the floor, scratching his thin beard that barely started to grow. He stretched his arms out wide, yawning as a few joints popped. With a few smacks of his lips, he stood up, easily as tall as Celestia. Suddenly the empty, black void was vanquished, replaced by a blinding white one, albeit with a warm, comforting glow.

“What in Equestria?” Entropy muttered, as the brown being pushed his red curtains open, filling the room with warm sunlight that somehow passed through the whiteness. Each wall was painted a different colour; one was an ocean blue, one was a forest green, another was a strange shade of buttermilk, and the last one was just plain white. It was a strange assortment of colours; Entropy, however, found it strangely pleasing as a warmth of familiarity spread throughout his body.

Entropy took a look around the room, eyeing the device that he slipped on. A long, rectangular shaped object filled to the brim with buttons laid on its side, a glass bead pointing directly towards him. Next to the door was a thin black box with a glass screen that reflected the human behind him, but not himself. The box stood on a hollowed stand, which contained a thick white rectangular box, two white devices that looked like it was meant to be held by his hands laid next to it, along with lots and lots of green cases. On the far wall, a small desk, papers and books scattered along its surface, with a red lamp that oversaw them along with an unpowered lava lamp.

“Meh, I've seen better days.” Asger said with a shrug, his eyes bright and full of life. He scratched his bare legs, straightening his underpants before turning to a set of drawers next to the nightstand and opening one of the compartments. Pulling out a baggy looking black shirt with the words 'Fallout 3’ printed onto it and a pair of jeans, with a pair of socks. Awkwardly, Entropy watched him get dressed and, as he guessed, his shirt was a size or two too big,for him, limply clinging to him. A ‘ding’ drew the attention of both of them towards his desk, a hand-sized rectangle lit up with the date, time and an image of a cartoon-like man with his back to the screen stood on a rooftop, looking over a city, his black and white hair fluttering in the breeze. Three red tendrils sprouted from his back, framing text that scrawled over the screen, which happened to be just a name, Justin.

“Fucks that asshole want now?” Entropy asked, walking over to the phone. 'Wait, what? How do I know what that is?’ Suddenly, his vision flashed white for a few moments, jumping a few feet in the air as the other human brushed against him, finding himself to be locked in place. His hand reached out, grabbing the device and tapping on the screen with experienced dexterity. 'Am I in…his body? The fuck is going on!? Why am I so tall all of a sudden? What the fuck does 'fuck’ mean?!’ Involuntarily, he tapped onto an app, displaying various text messages under different names. Asger clicked onto Justin's bubble, popping up sentences sent by each other. His icon was a white guy with orange dyed hair, his blonde roots showing as he stuck up two fingers with his palm facing the screen.

{Sup dude, you up yet?} Was the message sent.

[Unfortunately, mom woke me.] Asger tapped across the screen with ease.

{Ha, you doin anything today?} He replied moments later.

[Probably, she didn't wake me up for nothing. I hope. My sister came home yesterday so it's probably something to do with that.]

{Young or hot one?}

[Dude, fuck you.]

{Heh, alright alright. If you're not able to come over I guess I'll find something to occupy myself.}

[You're gonna whack off to my sister aren't you?]

{Maybe}

“Heh, ass.” With a smirk, he slipped the phone into his pocket. 'Okay Entropy, keep calm. Somehow, you're inside this guy's head now. For some fucking reason.’ His body walked towards the door. As his hand gripped the knob, his vision went white and found himself in the kitchen, fixing himself a bowl of cereal, the windows still surrounded by the white fog. ‘Aw sweet, honey puffs!’ Entropy thought, his metaphorical mouth salivating as the smell hit his nostrils.

“Morning, Azz.” A small voice from behind him spoke up as the sound of a chair scraping across the wooden floor reached his ears. Asger jumped from the sudden voice, before calming himself and turning his head. A little girl, roughly nine or ten, slumped in her chair, a sleepy smile gracing her face. Her hair was done up in a ponytail, which dripped over her left shoulder. She wore a pink sweatshirt with a blue jay on it, the rest was blocked by a white table, however, both Asger and Entropy could see her toes poking out.

“Morning kiddo, want a bowl?” Asger asked shaking the box of cereal in his hands.

“Yes please.” Being the big brother that he was, Asger brought his own bowl to her, placing it onto the table with a spoon resting next to it. Lazily, she opened her eyes, revealing strange baby blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

“How'd you sleep, squirt?” Asger asked as he made himself another bowl. Entropy took this moment to survey what he could see, which wasn't much. White cupboards lined the walls above a black marble countertop that glistened in the light. In his peripherals, a stainless steel kettle rested next to a socket, unplugged. As strange as he found it, he decided not to dwell on it, figuring that he would more than likely recognise more things that he had never seen before.

“Alright I guess, woke up a few times.” She responded, snapping Entropy from his train of thought. Asger sat down in front of her, smiling at her dopey expression as she ate.

“You should see your face right now, you look like a sleepy chibi.” Asger said with a spoon in his mouth, reveling in the sweet-tasting cereal. 'Yeah, that's Marria for you, small 'n cute.’ She responded with a raspberry, poking her tongue at him. “Your face will stick like that if the wind blows.” She poked her tongue out further. “Fine, don't say I didn't warn you.”

“Good morning, you two!!” Asger's mom said with a beaming smile as she burst through the door, a basket filled with dirty clothes held in her hands. She proceeded to throw them in the washing machine for a cycle. Neither of them moved to see her, both siblings groaning in unison from their mothers cheery attitude, their distaste for morning people clear to anyone. “Now now, that's enough of that, you two. Today's a great day,after all!”

“Yeah, yeah, we know. It's Akeely's graduation tomorrow, she'll be liberated from the evil bonds of high school.” Asger said with a spooky tone, wiggling his fingers at his mom as he turned to face her. The deadpan stare he received was more than worth all the gold in the world. Her coffee coloured eyes told the story of disappointment as she shook her head, to which he he smirked in return. With a sigh, she returned to what she was doing, straightening her red blouse as she filled the kitchen sink with hot water, throwing dirty dishes into it with a splash.

Wiping her hands on her yellow shorts she turned to Asger. “Could you go and see if she's awake, please?”

“Sure.” He stood up, drinking the leftover milk in his bowl before dumping it into the sink. Once again, Entropy's vision flashed white, dazing him for a moment before shaking it off. In a metaphorical sense. His vision was replaced with Asger leaning against the wooden door frame, poking his head inside the room with a dastardly smile.

“Hiya, sis.” The sudden voice made his older sis scream in fright, backpedaling from her mirror and drawing a thick trail of lipstick up her bronze coloured face.

“Oh, fuck you asshole!” She shouted, lobbing the lipstick off of his forehead, leaving a red dot. Asger threw his head back in laughter as he rubbed his head, smearing the makeup. “Ugh, now I have clean up. You knob-jockey, you're like a goddamn mouse!” As he continued to laugh, Entropy noticed that she wore a shoulder length, purple jumper with ripped denim jeans, her dark emerald eyes scowled at him as she fixed herself. A small, cute looking mole hung inches above the left corner of her mouth, the only blemish on a otherwise perfect face.

“Sorry, couldn't help myself. Mom was wondering if you were up, I guess I'll go and tell her.” He began to turn away from her, the white fog began to ascend the staircase and from down the hallway, blocking his view.

“Wait!” She shouted, tripping over a pile of clothes that he didn't notice before. On that note, the fog began to form inside her room too, warping everything other than him and her. Suddenly, Entropy found himself the one in control. He blinked for a few moments, getting used to the extra night before looking back at his sister.

“Uh, I uhm, what?” He said wobbling as Akeely watched with a questioning stare.

“I've been struggling with this stupid fucking graduation speech thing, I don't want it to be the usual speech that every other damn student says, I want mine to have a point, not like the 'we’ve come so far’ type shit, right?”

“Wait graduation speech, what are you talking about.” Entropy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Without someone else at the wheel this time, he doesn't have any clue what to do or say, only taking guess's.

“Tsk, for fucks sake duuuuuuude, have you not been paying attention? Well it doesn't matter, it boring any way. I'm guessing mom told you about my scholarship to state, right?” She asked sitting down on the springy bed. “I don't know how to feel about it. I mean, it ain't a bad thing, obviously, it's just-”

“What, that's great, congrats, I mean- well, it's awesome!” He had no idea what he was saying, but he knew a scholarship is a big deal.

“Heh, thanks. But that's the thing. I don't know if I want to go.” She said hesitantly, as if she was afraid of his reaction.

“What?”

“Look, I.” She paused, thinking it over in her head. “I'm not going to sugar coat it or hide it or anything. I'm thinking of not going, ever. Period. Not to any school what's so ever. I'm thinking of just forfeiting the money.”

“Alright, and what are you gonna do instead?”

“I don't know. Travel the seas, explore the world. Move somewhere and get a job, learn on the job, yadda yadda. Look, one of this things i love about you is the face that you don't care about a lotta things, family and friends not included. You don't care what people think about you whether you're the brightness light in the room or a cold person that doesn't take shit from no one. So I'm gonna ask you this and I want the truth, no bullshit. Should I stay and study, or take a chance and leave?”

A silence filled the room as the white fog grew closer around them, leaving the bed and the two of them in a small clearing, everything else being consumed and erased. 'I, I don't know sis.’ He thought to himself as he stared at her.

“Well you have to decide, Entropy.” Time froze as Asger, a direct copy of Entropy's current form strolled out of the fog and into the clearing with them, standing directly next to Akeely. “If it eases your mind, nothing you say will affect the real her, she already made her choice.”

“You- i- what the fuck is going on?” Asger chuckled, evolving into a bellowing laugh.

“Jeez, not even an hour and you're already swearing. Fucks sake, guess even D’ ain't perfect.”

“D? Who's D? Can you please just tell me what's going on!?” Asger held a hand up, shaking his head.

“Everything will be explained in due time. And in time you'll remember a lot, maybe not everything, but a lot.”

“Remember? What are you talking about.”

“Where do you think you are, Entropy? You're in a memory. How else were you able to remember things that you haven't even seen or heard before. Such as the phone or swears.” He shook his head again, scoffing slightly. “Geez, if I knew I'd be a moron, I'd never taken D’s offer.”

“Well, azzy?” Akeely asked, tilting her head as the copy faded away into nothingness.

“A memory? This is my home? My real home? My real family?” Entropy whispered as he stared at the spot where the copy vanished.

“Azzy?” His sister stood up, concern written on her face as he lost himself in her eyes.

“I-- I don't know, sis. This isn't something that I can decide for you. If i influence you in whatever way, it'll be my fault if it doesn't work out for you.”

“Jeez, way to make me feel guilty for asking you.” She laughed, walking up to him. Taking the initiative, Entropy hugged her, feeling….happy, along with a hundred of other emotions, strangely content for whatever reason. “Uhm, what's this about Azz?”

“Just happy to have a sister like you. And know that whatever you choose I'll support you no matter what.” Tears welled up in his eyes, despite the strange and conflicting thoughts he was having about this situation. He knew that, whether or not it was real, he wasn't the only one of his kind. Even if he was the only human in Equestria, he knew three others in his heart and in his dreams.

His vision, despite blurred by the tears, he could clearly see himself I'm the distance. Smiling gently as he walked backwards, letting the fog eat him up as it grew closer and closer to Entropy.

“Love you sis.” His vision went white as he slowly woke up from the dream, hearing birds in the distance.

“I'll see you again someday, Entropy. It's only a matter of time.”

Entropy woke up to find that his face was buried into his pillow, said pillow was drenched in tears. Rearranging himself in a sitting position, he stared blankly out the window, the recent events playing clearly over and over again in his mind.

“Well, shit.”

Entropy stared at the hypnotic lava lamp that he teleported into his room, once he learned how to that is. It took immense amount of power and concentration just to get over the 'limiter’ as he dubbed the magical block on his matrix. The teleportation of the lamp almost hospitalised him, apparently the spell almost tore his heart into thousands of pieces.

“Ugh, that was painful. Lucky for me Sunset was around, huh?” He asked the lamp, watching the blobs float up and down, bouncing off of each other. He learned that day to never ever go beyond his limiter, especially without Sunset or his mother around.

It's been four years since his dream and since then nothing had happened. No other dream about his 'past’ nothing to do with Asger. He's been left with more questions than answers, with every day that passes, with every hour, more and more questions poured into his brain. Propping his head up with a fist, he dragged his across the warm glass, following a particularly large blob as it floated to the top.

“What...who am I really?” He asked himself as he opened his window with magic, replacing the stale air with clean, fresh air. He leaned away from the lamp, lifting and resting his feet on his desk as he cupped the back of his head with his hands. “More importantly, who the hell is this ‘D’?” A hard knock drummed on his door, scaring him from his thoughts as he tumbled to the ground, cursing as he hit the ground with a hard thud.

“Just a minute.” He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his back. With a painful crack, he stood up and dusted himself off, shaking his head as he quickly walked over to the door and opened it. Rose stood on the other side, her mane done up in a bun, a pink hair clip holding her bangs out of her face, a pink flower in a sea of darkness.

“That sounded painful, you okay?” She tilted her head up slightly so that she could see his face better. He'd suffered another growth spurt, making him the tallest in the class and making him just short of being eye level with the adults. With a huff, he nodded, leaning around the door to pick up his coat that was meant for the more colder months of the year.

“Yeah, just fell over my chair, Christ that hurt.” He said as he wrapped himself up. He noticed that Rose was dressed up in a forest green sundress that rested tightly against her barrel. A more appropriate attire for the beginning of summer.

“Who's Christ?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Absolutely no idea.” He strolled down the hallway, resting his hands in his pocket, leaving her confused. Snapping out of it, she quickly caught up with him. “So, what's the plan? Since it's the holidays 'n stuff.” She shrugged, blushing out of embarrassment from the deadpan stare he gave her. “Well, You're useless huh?” He joked, patting her hair, smiling from the soft squeak she made. “Well I guess that means we'll just walk around till we find something, huh?”

She smiled and nodded, leading Entropy to do the same. A sudden thought breached his mind as he quickly patted his sides, the soft clinking if bits reassured him. 'Thank goodness I didn't forget my bits.’ With a mental chuckle and a shake of his head, the two of them made their way to the main doors, the guards saluting as they walked past. It was midway through autumn, so the cold air wasn't that bad, but the sudden chill sent shivers down his spine. Snuggling deeper into his coat, he breathed in the autumn air, watching the orange leaves drift along with the breeze.

“E-e-excuse me, young lord?” A stallion stuttered behind him. With a confused hum, Entropy turned to look at the pony as he straightened himself. A young-looking guard stood motionless, saluting Entropy as a lock of multi-blue-coloured mane hung in front of his face, the rest of it hidden behind his golden helmet, a white horn jutting out. His coat was the same as the other guards in the castle. His cutiemark depicted a blue shield with a purple six-pointed star in the centre. Three white, five-pointed stars were above the shield. It was obvious that his special talent was in defensive magic. “Private Shining Armor, at your disposal. I've been tasked to follow you.”

“At ease, Shining. There's no need to work yourself up.” Entropy chuckled, noticing the stallion relax rather quickly as he quickly brushed his mane out of view. “You're new the the royal guard aren't you?”

“Yes sir!” He saluted, before cursing under his breath as he relaxed. “I finished training not that long ago.” He said with a proud smile.

“Cool, you can help us decide where to go then.” Entropy said nonchalantly as he made his way to the gates, Rose plodding along beside him. Stammering, Shining quickly caught up to them, listening and answering any questions. Captain Cross watched the trio as they walked from the castle balcony his one good eye watching for any excuse to rip into the newbie as they made their way out of sight. With a sigh, the old stallion sat on his haunches.

“Your son sure has grown, princess.” He said, turning his head to face Celestia as she sat down next to him. “And not just in maturity either.”

“I see you noticed too, huh?” She giggled, watching the pegai push their clouds around for an oncoming storm. “It's a strange thing to witness, I wonder how big his species grows?” She asked herself, lifting a hoof to her chin. Allowing a small smirk, Cross shook his head.

“Who knows, he could be as tall as you one day.” A small chuckle left him, his tired eyes concentrating on a leaf as he thought about what he was going to say to her. “Listen princess, I'm getting on in my years, I've been a captain for a long time and I've stuck by you whenever you needed me, but, I can't go on anymore.” Celestia gave him a questioning stare, but otherwise said nothing, motioning with a hoof for him to continue. “I'm hanging up my armor, setting my sword down. Yadda, yadda.” He waved his hoof around. “I'm just too tired. I'm not a spunky, arrogant teen anymore.”

“Are you sure, captain?” She asked, placing a hoof on his shoulders. He nodded, staring her in the eyes.

“Yeah, the world doesn't need me anymore. They need a pony like Shining Armor, he's got the devotion that I don't. Unlike me, he could go beyond the rank of captain.”

“You do realise that I could've promoted you countless times, right? You could have been a Major general by this point, all you needed to do was ask.”

“I know, but like I said. I'm not as devoted as I once was.” He took off his helmet, letting his navy blue hair fall over his dead eye. “Besides, I've been looking forward to my retirement for a long time.” He stood up, walking towards a pair of doors. “It's been a fun ride princess, till next time.”

“Goodbye, Cross.” Celestia watched as he left, thoughts running through her head a hundred times per minute. A cold chill run up her spine as she snapped her gaze to the sky with hard, cold eyes.

“....Well since I couldn't make it to your tenth birthday, I was thinking we could, I don't know, have a picnic somewhere?” Rose blushed, looking away from Entropy. The blush went unnoticed as he took another bite of the steaming hot blueberry pastry, humming from the taste. “I could give you a late present while we relaxed.”

“Come on, you don't have to get me a present, but a picnic does sound nice. Oh! We could do it In the statue garden! It always has a great view!” He smiled, holding the pastry in his magic as he turned to his companion, raising an eyebrow at her as she missed a step and nearly fell on her face, a scarlet blush spreading from her cheeks to the tops of her ears.

'D-d-d-do it in the garden!?’ She thought, staring at the ground with wide eyes. 'No, he isn't thinking like that, right?’

“Yo, you alright, Rose?” Entropy asked, concerned as he held a hand against her shoulder, inches away from her face, causing her blush to deepen in colour. With a nod and a hum, she quickly looked away from him concentrating on anything other than Entropy. With a shrug, he turned to the armor-clad stallion who stood stiffly, a sentry scanning the environment while also keeping an eye on the two. “You alright there Shiny?” Taken back a little, Shining Armor snapped to the prince as if somepony slapped him across the face.

“Yes, my Lord!” he saluted before resuming to scan the area.

“Uhm, oookay.” Without hesitating, Entropy devoured his treat before taking off back towards the castle leaving the two in a cloud of dust, laughing at their wails and pleas to slow down. He made it to the castle gates in record speeds and, albeit breathless, walked proudly through. As he entered the castle shortly after, he waved down a member of staff and relayed his plans to the pony, who nodded and began to prepare for the picnic. He walked back outside, and with a skip to his step, made his way to the statue garden, weighed down with a blanket under his arm.

Halfway down the path he spotted a strange, mismatched creature that was somewhat familiar to him. A smorgasbord of different animal parts, some of which he couldn't quite describe. Frankly it kinda hurt his head as it tried to make out what it was. It had the head of goat with a deer antler and a goat horn; a long, thick noodle-like body ending in the tail of a dragon. It had a lion's paw and a eagles claw as well as a lizard’s leg and pony leg. It's mane was styled like a zebra's with big bushy eyebrows and goatee. It also had a single, sharp tooth.

Entropy dropped the blanket in freight as an ominous laugh permeated through the air, seemingly coming from everywhere. Something brushed against his back, causing him to spin around and began to back up. An unearthed root tripped him up, smacking his head against the statue, a thin trickle of blood leaking from his head. Groaning, he looked up from his position, scaring himself greatly from the rather evil looking face of the statue. He crawled backwards from it, gasping for air as he kept his eyes on it.

Once he was far enough away, to his standards anyway, he took a moment to compose himself, reassuring himself that it was just a lump of stone. Something shimmered within the vegetation that consumed the base of the statue, piquing his curiosity. With a calming breath in and out, he slowly walked towards the vegetation, making quick glances to the statue every now and then. With a deep breath, he grabbed a handful of the plants and pulled them away from the stone, tearing leaves and branches to get to his goal. The bright golden plate shimmered in the sunlight, blinding Entropy ever so slightly as he read the title of the plate.

‘Discord, the spirit of chaos. May his reign of terror never come to pass again.’

“Discord?” He said to himself. As he stared at the statue. “Why does that sound familiar?” A shiver ran the length of his spine as he could hear laughter drift along the wind. Something wasn't right with this statue, like he knew there was more to the cold stone than meets the eye. Floating the blanket towards him he slowly walked away into a clearer area, far away from Discord's statue, occasionally passing glances at it as he walked.

Regardless if it was just a statue or not, that thing creeped him out.