The Chaos Theory

Entropy sighed as he stretched on the rooftop, soaking up the spring sun and listening to the teachings that his mother gave Sunset. He'd been 'spying’ on them for a few years, picking up things here and there. Ways to reduce blowback chance, increasing the overall magic pool, and so forth. Of course, the two knew that he was spying on them and even invited him to learn, but, he denied, opting to take the 'cooler’ and ‘stealthier’ option.

Pushing the sunglasses onto his brow, he stared blankly at the spires of the castle, watching birds make nests in the holes that couldn't be patched up. He thought about telling Sunset about the dream he had long ago, but figured she already had enough on her plate, what with her studies. ‘Being mom's student is hard enough. He thought, as he slowly tuned their conversation out. 'She doesn't need my problems and worries.’

He closed his eyes and let out a longing sigh. What he was yearning for, he didn't know, he only knew that he wanted it. A sense of understanding he guessed, something that would show him what was happening to him.

“One can dream, huh?” He asked nopony in particular, sitting up and cracking his back, before sliding his sunglasses back onto his nose and beginning to walk towards the window that he crawled out of. Sliding through the opening, he landed onto the tile floor with a thud. His saddlebag was stuffed into the corner under the window, which he himself had heavily modified to fit comfortably on his back. Rummaging through the backpack, the name he had so proudly given it, he pulled out a journal that he was writing in, and with a single white quill, he opened the journal to a blank page and began to write.

I've been thinking about that damn dream again, no matter what I do I just can't push it out of my head. What the hell does it mean? On another note, Sunny has been acting weird recently. She's more… controlling I guess, more commanding. I don't know what's going on with her. It's like I can't do anything without her knowing or without her approval. Hell, she's shouted at Rose a good few times when she thinks I'm not around. Maybe it's stress? I don't know. I-

“My lord?” Somepony asked, causing Entropy to jump and press too hard onto the page, breaking the quill in his hands and spilling the ink in it and smudging the page. “Oh my, my lord, you should really be careful with that stuff.” Entropy mentally sighed, as he turned to face the pony who was speaking. A noble mare called 'Silky Sky’. A mare that ever since his eleventh birthday tried to get on his ‘good side’ by sticking to him like glue. Although that's only when Sunset isn't around, like right now.

“Oh, Miss Silky. You gave me a fright there.” He said as he began to dab at the spilled ink with a handkerchief as Silky began to trot over to him. 'Happy’ with his work, he folded it up, and shoved it back into his pocket. “What can I do for you my dear?”

“Oh nothing my lord, nothing at all. I was just wondering what you were doing in such a, ugh, dirty and dank corner of the castle.” She visibly shivered, as if the words were just as disgusting. Packing away his things, Entropy met her half way, taking her hoof in one hand and gently kissed it. Earning a short giggle from her. “Oh my, since when were you a charmer, hmm?”

“Ah, ah. One question at a time.” He sang waving a finger back and forth. “ As to your first question, I was basically sunbathing on the roof.” He shrugged, slugging his backpack over his back. “As to your second question well, I'm twelve now, I know how to appreciate beauty when I see it.” Resisting the urge to throw up, he smiled as she giggled, lifting a hoof to her mouth as she did so.’Ugh, how does mom put up this this crap.’ He thought as he let go of her other hoof.“May I ask what you are doing in the castle?”

“Well i was on my way to see-.” And like a light bulb, he switched off. Paying little to no interest to her. 'I don't have the time to care about power hungry nobles.’ He sighed mentally nodding every now and then, 'ohh-ing’ and 'ohh-ing' as she talked. He trudged along side her, considering the pros and cons of defenestration when he was suddenly teleported about a thousand feet in the air.

“Huh?” He stood frozen in midair for a few seconds, blinking in a comical fashion before plummeting to the ground, screaming like a filly as he waved his limbs back and forth. His backpack was torn from his back, spilling their contents all over the castle grounds. “What the hell?! Did I just teleport?! ACK!” He coughed and sputtered as he got a face full of cloud, passing through with a 'pomf’. The wind stung his face as he picked up speed, threatening to tear his skin.

Concentrating, Entropy cast a levitation spell on himself, slowing down fast enough for him to collect his thoughts. “Ooookay, what just happened? I know I didn't cast a teleportation spell, especially considering the last time I tried to teleport something.” He shivered at the thought and held his chest, remembering the painful sensation. A flock of birds squawked above him, pulling his attention from that particular memory, his eyes widening as he took in the scene before him. As he stared beyond the city spires, he saw vast, tree-riddled mountains that pierced the heavens with their snow-blanketed peaks, the light glinting off of the powdery tips of the smoky mountains.

In the distance, he could barely see the the docks of Fillydelphia, black blurs leaving and entering the port city. Managing to calm himself down properly, he adjusted his spell slightly, allowing him to pass through the air gently, as if he were a balloon tied to a stone. It put some stress on his matrix, but nothing like it used to be. 'I guess practice does make perfect.’ He thought to himself, making himself drift towards his mother's chambers.

“Okay, now that I'm not going to die anytime soon, what in Equestria is goin' ON!” He shouted to the heavens, waving his arms comically. “I know my magic has been acting weird lately, but still! This is really freaking random, even for me.”

“Hohohoho, it is strange isn't it?” A feminine voice said, knocking him from his ramblings, instead searching for the disembodied voice.

“Who's there?” He asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. Suddenly, the castle rumbled and rocked, cracking and breaking. Flag poles fell, colliding with the ground below as the castle... transformed into a blank face, sort of resembling his own face, the white stones melding and knitting together, simulating what he could only guess to be flesh. The white stone faded into a bright pink as 'eyes’ formed and locked onto him.

“Hello!” the face beamed cheerfully, as the rocky mountain twisted acting as a neck for the face getting a better look at him. Entropy could only stare in shock and disbelief, not fully comprehending what was going on. It stared at Entropy in confusion. “Hellooooo~, can yooooou heeeearrr meeeee?” It drew out its words, speaking loudly.

“Wha-, what the hell?”

“Hey! Watch it sailor! I'll tell Tia on yooouuu~.” It sang, winking at him.

“What are you? What's go on?!” He asked, keeping himself still in the air with his magic.

“What I am is of no importance, at least, not yet. As to what's going on, well….” The world around him faded to black as he lost control of his magic. He fell with a high pitched scream, falling into an endless void, the velocity making his stomach twist and turn. He landed with a quack onto a bed-like floor that squeaked, barked and various other sounds with each step. The checkered blue and pink pattern messed with his eyes, dazing him momentarily. “This is a sort of…test.” It said, echoing within the limitless space he found himself in.

“Test? What kind of test?” Silence was the only answer he received. “Oh come on! You can't just drop this on me!” A sigh left him as he awkwardly walked along the 'Ground’, picking a random direction, the random noises quickly irritating him. “Okay, so I must be having some sort of very vivid dream. Realistic dream? Oh ponyfeathers, I don't know anymore. More to the point, when did I fall asleep? Can somepony pleeeease explain this to meeee?”

“Well, you're right about one thing. You are having a dream.” Sunset spoke, popping into existence with a flash of magic. Entropy's scream was less than manly. Landing on the ground with a beep, he scrambled away from Sunset, leaving a cartoonish after-image of white cloud.

“W-wha? Sunny, what are you doing here!?” He pointed an accusing finger at her from his defensive stance.

“What do you mean? You wanted somepony to explain.” Sunset said almost robotically, tilting her head to the side, never blinking.

“Well, I-, Gaahh! I'm so confused!” He gripped the sides of his head, shaking it side to side, before coming to a realisation. “Wait, you're here because I asked somepony to explain?” She nodded, saying nothing. “Okay, so that must mean you're not actually Sunset, right?”

“Correct, I am a mental construct created by your wishes. Basing my form off of your friends.” She blinked. 'Okay, totally not creepy at all.’ Entropy thought as he relaxed somewhat.

“Okay, so there's no point freaking out about this stuff, I guess. Take it all in my stride. Even if it does weird me out. Alright, ignoring the sorta contradictory thing goin on, why the hell am I doing this test? And what do I do?” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“As to first, I'm afraid I cannot answer. Not because I do not know, because I am prevented from doing so. As to the second, it's simple, anything.” Entropy's mental gears stopped turning, failing to comprehend. Fulfilling its purpose, the image of Sunset vanished in a reverse flash, leaving him once again alone.

'Anything?’ He repeated mentally, scratching his chin. “Is it really that simple? Woah, okay, I'm way too accepting of this.” He deadpanned. “Whelp, better start with some lighting I guess. Ahem, and God said, let there be light!” He proclaimed in the darkness, cupping his mouth with his hands.

Nothing happened.

“Damnit God, you failed me!” He slammed his foot, ignoring the ‘fail trombone’ tune. ‘Wait, who even is God?’ “Ah, rats.”He sighed disappointedly, snapping his fingers. Suddenly the ground rumbled and shook, knocking Entropy down onto his butt. The ground erupted not two feet away, a huge flood of multicoloured rats bursting out like a geyser, spraying the rodents everywhere.

“Oh for the love of-! I didn't even mean that. For crying out loud, dream, pick your rules and stick to them! Dirty, stinkin, cheater.” He pouted and crossed his arms, glaring at the ever flowing river of rats. Before long, an epiphany reached him and he tore his gaze from the rats to his hand. 'I summoned them by snapping my fingers, right? So what if I…?’

“Begone?” He questioned, snapping his fingers, his eyes widening as every rat disappeared. “Okay, so I have to snap them to trigger it. If only magic was like this.” Ensentuating the statement with a snap.

“What would be the fun in that?” A clone of Entropy said as he stepped out from behind him, dressed up in a classic, French, black and white maid outfit with little frills and showing off a little muscle. Entropy stared at the clone in shock before signing and making the 'i dunno’ sound.

“I guess it would be easier, you know, to snap and do whatever you want.” Leaning back, he fell onto a plush bench that appeared, sort of resembling a chaise longue.

“Easy things that come to you are bad my friend, at least that's what I believe.” Another clone said as it appeared dressed up in a full black suit and glasses, writing something onto its clipboard. The first close went about dusting nonexistent shelves. “I mean, think about how proud you felt when you learned how to do magic.”

“True. I guess.” The suit clone snapped it's fingers, a copy of this chapter flashed onto his clipboard as it was being written. “Man, none of this makes sense.” Entropy groaned rubbing his face.

“Sense? Where's the fun in making sense? Order and harmony. Peace and friendship. Such a thing, while good, can also be bad.” Entropy blinked, unfazed about the fact that he was now upside down dressed in a pink tutu and having a tea party with himself in a red silk dress. The clone in front of him was- “And another thing you! We're not clones you prick!”

“W-what?”

“Nothing, nothing, just teaching what is basically our God not to disrespect us.” The….other Entropy said, in fact let's call him red, humming a small tune. 'Ooohhh-kay?’ The original thought as he rubbed the back of his head. “Anyway, what's happening bub, looks like something's eating you, and it ain't Sunny….well, yet anyway.”

“I don't know, this all feels….familiar, like I've been here before. In this... endless void.” Entropy said taking a long, spanning look around the place as he found himself. “Wait, what did you just sa-”

“In any case,” Red continued, ignoring the original, “the feeling of déjà vu will pass, it's most likely from Asger when he was here. Now, how about some music?” Adjusting his dress, Red snapped his fingers, a group of Entropy's im mariachi band, complete with sombreros and ponchos as a few more tables flashed onto existence. Some were upside down and floating, while others were sideways. Each of them was filled with two or more Entropys, each varying in clothing to suits with ties to skimpy dresses that left nothing to imagination. Some left their seats and began to dance as the band played, some shape shifting and playing pranks on each other.

“Okay, I know I said I didn't care anymore, but this is messing with me baaad.”

“Why should it? We only exist because of you. You're mind is subconsciously creating us.”

“I know!!” The original Exclaimed, as shown by the exclamation marks. “It's just super weird!”

“I guess, by your current idea of normalisation, this is weird. But to us, it is chaos!” Red laughed, throwing his arms up in the air, spinning in a swivel chair. “And that's completely different!” 'How in the hell is that different?’ He thought as four candles jumped onto the table, before lighting themselves on fire. Another Entropy appeared, dressed in a full piece waiter suit with a bushy moustache, holding a silver tray, two wine glasses somehow balanced off of each other but never touching the tray. Next to the glasses was a bottle of clorox bleach.

“Messieurs, a bottle of the finest bleach, made in nineteen sixty-six. I do hope you enjoy.” The two glasses and the bleach floated towards the two before sitting in the table, the bottle pouring the clear liquid into the glasses by itself. “If you need any assistance, please give me a call.” And with that he vanished.

“Ahh, some good old vintage bleach.” Red sighed blissfully, swirling the liquid along the lip of the glass, taking a whiff of the aroma before gently nursing it, sorta like one would do with a good scotch or whisky.

“Is it even safe to drink that? It smells like a hospital wing.” The original said, poking the glass. Red shrugged as a downed the remaining liquid. He hummed with caution as he picked it up and took a swig. “Huh, kinda fruity.”

“That's the beauty of chaos, me. Anything can be everything. As long as you wish it to be.” With a piercing crack, Red took a large bite out of his glass, humming in delight from the 'taste’. “So, you gonna try something?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Well, I mean you haven't really tested out your ‘powers’, have you? Well, apart from a failed attempt to create light.”

“Hey! I'm doing my best here! This isn't exactly how I'd thought I'd be spending my time, ya know!” Red said nothing, flashing the original a snug smile, irritating him to no end. “Grr, fine!” He snapped his fingers, changing the scenery of the void. Multicoloured strands of light and magical energy wove together, creating a chaotic sky. Gold, gray, purple, the background never stayed the same, always switching at least three colours at a time. Rocky, stone staircases sprouted from the ground like thick trees, sometimes leading to a door, sometimes leading nowhere. Some were as small as mice, some were as large as mountains. A large chunk of the ground was ripped out, floating high into the air as liquid chocolate materialised and carved its way out of the floating chunk, flowing further up as it burst out of one side, rounding back down towards the ground, the tip of the stream fading into nothingness before it touched.

A huge, life-like version of himself rose in the distance, easily taller than MT Canterlot, dressed in a green gown and tiara. holding a flaming torch in the air and holding a book of some sort close to his chest. Red whistled in astonishment as he stroked his beard that had just appeared.

“Nice touch with the statue of liberty. Veerry niiiice.” His beard vanished in a puff of red smoke as he drew out his words. He clamped his teeth around the stem of the wine glass, crunching on the shards before chucking the remainder of the glass away, unfazed by the explosion that followed suit. “Yes, I think it's almost time.” He smirked, his voice suddenly turning dark and sinister. With a snap, every Entropy disintegrated before the original, who looked on in horror. The waiter from before grabbed onto the originals shoulder with a vice like hand, staring him in the eye with desperation as he whispered.

“.....I don't want to go….” The desperation in his voice shook the original to the very core as he disintegrated into a pile of ash.

“W-what…..what did you do!?” The Entropy shouted at Red as the world returned to its original state, the blank void sending chills down his spine. He could no longer tell if he was upside down or not, but then again, he guessed it didn't matter anymore.

“Nothing. At least, not yet. On another note, congratulations, you passed the test. Goodbye for now, it's time to wake up.” Suddenly, Entropy felt his left side go numb. And upon checking what was going on, his left fist collided with his face.

His world went white.