Conclave of Chaos

by Syke Jr

Rating: everyone
Tags: Random, Princess Celestia, Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Princess Luna, Drama, Original Character, Queen Novo
Length: 2524

One mad emperor falls, and seven leaders from across the land must pick up the pieces to keep the world turning.

When the Lord of Chaos is finally defeated, the Chaos magic that kept the world breathing is gone from the aether. Seven vessels must step forth to claim the power only Chaos can bring, but there is a price for lack of spirit...

Written for GaPJaxie's Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Competition. Conceived and written in an hour.
Prompt: "The stars are gone."

The "full" version was finished with fifteen minutes overtime on top of the original hour, to better reflect what I set out to achieve.

The one-hour-hard-limit version was what was entered in the competition, and went to the semifinals.

Published 2019-08-18 00:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-08-18 00:40:01 UTC

The Conclave

The night is quiet. The trees are still. The wind does not blow; the seas, even, are calm and placid. The moon in the sky is not rising, nor setting.

The stars are gone.

On a lonesome hill, seven stand together, silently regarding a stone figure which, even in its stillness, seems to be mocking them all. Not least due to its dashing pose and laughing face. What truly punctuates the mockery is the very world surrounding the foolish little “rulers”.

It couldn’t be more wrong. More boring. The trees are all one colour, now; the clouds no longer a plethora of pastel hues. The hill upon which they stand is no longer decorated in a checkerboard affair. It has been night, now, for entirely too long. And, as previously mentioned, all the little wonders of the world have vanished into a haze of order. Of “Harmony”.

Fools.

Eventually, one speaks.

“We knew this would happen,” the white pegasus says with some weariness. “The Chaos magic has drained from the land. If we wish for the world to be as it was, without the tyranny of the Mad Emperor, we must claim the Chaos as our own.”

“We are creatures of Harmony,” says the griffon with a harsh shake of the head. “The Chaos must not take hold once more. How can we know one of us will not be corrupted? The Mad Emperor was not always such as he was. No being can be trusted to wield his power.”

“Perhaps,” the blue unicorn says softly. “But all of us, together, may bring Chaos back into the world as it was meant to be. Before Discord went mad.”

“Do not speak its name,” spits the dragoness.

“I agree that this world needs a measure of Chaos to function.” The minotaur looks around at the broken world, its aching dullness forcing even him to face the facts of their mistake.

“We may not undo what we have done,” the larger hippogriff says. He turns to the smaller one, who shakes her head, and adds: “I do not relish the idea of using Chaos, but things are not as they should be. I will hear the plan.”

The unicorn nods. She steps forward towards the statue of the Mad Emperor Discord, horn aglow, and recites a spell even I could not fathom to conceive.

NO-

In my ethereal prison I try to writhe. I can feel my essence being twisted, dragged from me, split--

A faint tremor shakes the hill, and the dragoness and griffon growl warily and glare at the stone effigy as if expecting it to attack.

Oh, how I would love to oblige and rip them into nothing….

It is done. Before the statue floats a spectral, twisting orb, one that these seven imbeciles should not even be able to behold let alone procure. I try to feel rage, but cannot. In this state there is no emotion, only desire, and the only thing I desire is the death of every single one of these simpletons.

But, if there is one nonchaotic thing I know how to do, it is bide my time.

The unicorn’s spell finishes and she steps back, panting a little. Her sister puts a hoof on her back, gazing at my essence, and says: “we each must take responsibility for those aspects of the world that we wish to live on in the world.

“We are creatures of Harmony, yes--” here she nods to the griffon-- “but there must be balance. Dis-- the Mad One’s influence on the realm was too great, perhaps, but his design was, in its way, a wondrous one. This wonder can live on.”

“Tell us what to do,” the dragoness says with some bluntness.

“Indeed. If this is the course of action, let us take it,” agrees the minotaur.

“We all know our aspects,” says the unicorn. “We have tried to take control ourselves, but our magic is not strong enough, or else too unlike the Mad One’s magic. All we must do is speak the words we know to be true in our souls, touch the wyrspirit before us, and accept the Chaos as it flows into us.”

“I shall begin,” the griffon says shortly. He steps forward, clearing his throat. “I, Gilford of the Griffon Kingdom, bearer of the Element of Courage, do take into my domain the winds and the storms of the world.” He brushes the whirling orb with a claw and for a moment none of his companions can see him in the blinding light made by the Chaos as it flows into him.

A moment later, he stands, dazed, a full head taller than he had been, with wings that could encircle all of them and the statue combined.

The griffon will be a true leader, at first. But a race such as his cannot truly retain harmony once the winds of Chaos are blown through their souls, not with a leader as lacking in nuance as this one. The winds shall push them forward but also drive them apart. This I know as the Lord of Chaos.

Next is the dragoness. “I, Dragonlord Emerald, bearer of the Element of Cunning, do take into my domain the fires and and the tremors of the land.”

The light bursts forth again, and there stands a dragoness with fire in her eyes and steel in her claws.

The dragons have even less chance of resisting the Chaos. The fires shall rage in their fickle passions; the tremors of the earth shall drive other races away. This I know as the Lord of Chaos.

“I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, bearer of the Element of Compassion, take into my domain the sun and the rainbows of the sky.”

And there she stands, sporting both wings and horn, mane flowing with the colours of a sunset.

This one… this one might have a chance, as much as I loathe to admit it. Her heart sings in Harmony; it sickens me like nothing else on this world. But the Chaotic pressures will wear her down, and while her subjects may not suffer at her hoof, she will suffer at theirs. This I know as the Lord of Chaos.

“I, Prince Gaius of the Minotaurs, bearer of the Element of Truth, do take into my domain the plants and the growth of the land.”

He snorts with the weight of a world as he finds new footing on larger legs.

The minotaur lacks control. Through him, the forests may grow and flourish, but he will never hold back their Chaotic nature entirely. There will always be wild places, ever free of Harmony. This I know as the Lord of Chaos.

“We, King and Queen Skybeak and Novo, bearers of the Element of Balance, do take into our domain the currents and the waves of the oceans.”

They lean into each other once transformed, tall and proud with eyes that shimmer like water.

These two are fools. One is weak and the other is cowardly. When they have to face a true foe, one of those whom even I did not entirely subjugate, they will buckle. They may abide the Chaos of the oceans but they will never have true power. This I know as the Lord of Chaos.

“And I, Princess Luna of Equestria, bearer of the Element of Magic, do take into my domain the moon and the stars of the sky.”

Her mane now is glittering and ethereal. Something sharp and cold glitters in her eyes, and her new wings are taught and poised.

The pony has something deeply Chaotic within her, waiting to be given voice. ‘Tis only a matter of time. This I know as the Lord of Chaos.

Finally it is done, and the newly made dark alicorn’s horn glows as she attempts to banish what Chaotic magic that remains, that which they did not steal, from the world for good. She fails, of course, but there is nothing to indicate that she knows of her failure.

Good. That’s enough.

Eventually the seven new rulers, purported wielders of both Chaos and Harmony, return to their lands. They leave behind the broken edifice of the former Emperor.

At least the winds blow again. The sea ebbs and flows, the clouds gather in a storm, the moon begins to sink at a pace still too slow.

But the stars are back. And that’s something.

I can wait for them to crumble here beneath them.

The Conclave (original one hour version)

The night is quiet. The trees are still. The wind does not blow; the seas, even, are calm and placid. The moon in the sky is not rising, nor setting.

The stars are gone.

On a lonesome hill, seven stand together, silently regarding a stone figure which, even in its stillness, seems to be mocking them all. Not least due to its dashing pose and laughing face. What truly punctuates the mockery is the very world surrounding the foolish little “rulers”.

It couldn’t be more wrong. More boring. The trees are all one colour, now; the clouds no longer a plethora of pastel hues. The hill upon which they stand is no longer decorated in a checkerboard affair. It has been night, now, for entirely too long. And, as previously mentioned, all the little wonders of the world have vanished into a haze of order. Of “Harmony”.

Fools.

Eventually, one speaks.

“We knew this would happen,” the white pegasus says with some weariness. “The Chaos magic has drained from the land. If we wish for the world to be as it was, without the tyranny of the Mad Emperor, we must claim the Chaos as our own.”

“We are creatures of Harmony,” says the griffon with a harsh shake of the head. “The chaos must not take hold once more. How can we know one of us will not be corrupted? The Mad Emperor was not always such as he was. No being can be trusted to wield his power.”

“Perhaps,” the blue unicorn says softly. “But all of us, together, may bring Chaos back into the world as it was meant to be. Before Discord went mad.”

“Do not speak its name,” spits the dragoness.

“I agree that this world needs a measure of Chaos to function.” The minotaur looks around at the broken world, its aching dullness forcing even him to face the facts of their mistake.

“We may not undo what we have done,” the larger hippogriff says. He turns to the smaller one, who shakes her head, and adds: “I do not relish the idea of using Chaos, but things are not as they should be. I will hear the plan.”

The unicorn nods. She steps forward towards the statue of the Mad Emperor Discord, horn aglow, and recites a spell even I could not fathom to conceive.

NO-

In my ethereal prison I try to writhe. I can feel my essence being twisted, dragged from me, split--

A faint tremor shakes the hill, and the dragoness and griffon growl warily and glare at the stone effigy as if expecting it to attack.

Oh, how I would love to oblige and rip them into nothing….

It is done. Before the statue floats a spectral, twisting orb, one that these seven imbeciles should not even be able to behold let alone create. I try to feel rage, but cannot. In this state there is no emotion, only desire, and the only thing I desire is the death of every single one of these simpletons.

But, if there is one thing I know how to do, it is bide my time.

The unicorn’s spell finishes and she steps back, panting a little. Her sister puts a hoof on her back, gazing at my essence, and says: “we each must take responsibility for those aspects of the world that we wish to live on in the world.

“We are creatures of Harmony, yes--” here she nods to the griffon-- “but there must be balance. Dis-- the Mad One’s influence on the realm was too great, perhaps, but his design was, in its way, a wondrous one. This wonder can live on.”

“Tell us what to do,” the dragoness says with some bluntness.

“Indeed. If this is the course of action, let us take it,” agrees the minotaur.

“We all know our aspects,” says the unicorn. “We have tried to take control ourselves, but our magic is not strong enough, or else too unlike the Mad One’s magic. All we must do is speak the words we know to be true in our souls, touch the wyrspirit before us, and accept the Chaos as it flows into us.”

“I shall begin,” the griffon says shortly. He steps forward, clearing his throat. “I, Tempest of the Griffon Kingdom, bearer of the Element of Courage, do take into my domain the winds and the storms of the world.” He brushes the whirling orb with a claw and for a moment none of his companions can see him in the blinding light made by the Chaos as it flows into him.

A moment later, he stands, dazed, a full head taller than he had been, with wings that could encircle all of them and the statue combined.

Next is the dragoness. “I, Dragonlord Emerald, bearer of the Element of Cunning, do take into my domain the fires and and the tremors of the land.”

The light bursts forth again, and there stands a dragoness with fire in her eyes and steel in her claws.

“I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, bearer of the Element of Compassion, take into my domain the sun and the rainbows of the sky.”

And there she stands, sporting both wings and horn, mane flowing with the colours of a sunset.

“I, Prince Gaius of the Minotaurs, bearer of the Element of Truth, do take into my domain the plants and the growth of the land.”

He snorts with the weight of a world as he finds new footing on larger legs.

“We, King and Queen Skybeak and Novo, bearers of the Element of Balance, do take into our domain the currents and the waves of the oceans.”

They lean into each other once transformed, tall and proud with eyes that shimmer like water.

“And I, Princess Luna of Equestria, bearer of the Element of Magic, do take into my domain the moon and the stars of the sky.”

Finally it is done, and the newly made alicorn’s horn glows as she attempts to banish what Chaotic magic they did not steal from the world for good. She fails, of course, but there is nothing to indicate that she knows of her failure.

Good. That’s enough.

Eventually the seven new rulers, purported wielders of both Chaos and Harmony, return to their lands. They leave behind the broken edifice of the former Emperor.

At least the winds blow again. The sea ebbs and flows, the clouds gather in a storm, the moon begins to sink at a pace still too slow.

But the stars are back. And that’s something.