Unforeseen Consequences - The chaos carnival (pt5)

“Oh come on, now you are overreacting! I know that stuff can get bad, but this is seriously in a whole new level of stupid. Where are we anyway?”
>”This is the crystal empire during King Sombra’s reign, but I didn’t want to bring us here!” You see Starlight starting to get nervous “Let me try again…” her horn glows and this time you are brought to what it could pass as a kid-friendly version of a Salvador Dali picture
>You turn to Starlight and raise an eyebrow
“Okay Glimmer, now I’m starting to believe that you don’t actually know what you are doing”
>”Oh puh-lease, one single mistake and you begin to believe that? Hmph! As if I would ever be that incompetent, you don’t know who you are talking to….  And just for your information, we are in the exact point in time where I wanted us to go. Now and just to keep that big head of yours working I have another question for you, who do you think that was responsible for all of this?” Huh, where did that smug attitude came from?
>You take a look around, the sky was purple, and the sun and moon were high up in the sky making you wonder a lot of things. The ground was a collection of different patches, some were plain grass and earth, others were made of glass, and others were like a chess board. Mountains were made of ice cream and pigs flew up in the sky…
 >It was like if someone threw up the entire toy box of a little autistic kid into the landscape. There was no rhyme or reason to all of this, and yet, despite what you saw at the carnival with all its beautifully orchestrated madness, there was only one being capable of doing all of this
“Come on Glimmer, this is even worse than the previous example, now you just went silly with this, but just to humor you, I would say that the responsible for this prime example of bad taste was… Discord”
>Starlight rolls her eyes and groans annoyed at your answer ”I’m wondering if you can answer in some way other than “snarky little colt”, but at least you answered… what a relief I guess” You could tell by her tone that she was getting tired of your shit…good “YES! This is the time period when Discord reigned as king of Equestria, now what do you think that this has to do with equality?”
>Wait what? Discord was a fucking king?! Wait wait wait WHAT?! Don’t freak out, carry on with the plan… focus Anon
>You can already guess why she brought you here: There were ponies fighting and arguing everywhere. Just that this was on a much, much, much bigger scale in terms of sheer numbers, and the intensity of the conflicts. But what was also curious was that every single pony was colored in an odd shade of gray.
>But still…just for shits and giggles
“Are you seriously asking me that? How do you even expect me to answer that question? Give me a break, I just learned that Discord was a king at some point in time”
>Starlight gives you a stoic but annoyed look “Anon…that’s something that every foal learns at history class…please…could you take this lesson seriously? It’s really important that you do”
“Maybe for you, remember that at the end of the day this classifies as kidnapping by every law book ever written in the history of forever. I’m honeslty just following you along because my curiousity, and gotta admit you kinda brought a good point back there. Plus, did you forget that I’m not from Equestria? How do you even expect me to know its history when I never read about it? I’m just good at math and physics dude, besides all that I have seen of history at school has been about the foundation of Canterlot”
>”COULD YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH FOR ONCE!” Starlight finally snaps at you once more “A simple reminder that you have never learned about the history of Equestria would have been enough!”
>You look at Starlight unimpressed and sigh
“That’s a terrible attitude to have with someone that you just brought here to “talk” you know? But ignoring how bad of a teacher you are, please continue, I’m curious about what Discord has to do with your theory about equality”
>”Well, at least you are calling it a theory…that’s some progress…I think…ugh” Starlight rubs her temples and takes several deep breathes which make her go back to that cheerful and adorable personality “Very well, it doesn’t matter, if you don’t know how Discord’s reign was, then I guess I’ll have to teach you! Because that’s why I brought you here, to teach you!”
>You sit on the ground and stretch yourself
“To the point Glimmer, what did Discord do this time?”
>”Grrrrrr….” It’s working, you are getting to her harder than what you expected “Sadly we don’t have all day, but just so you can have some context. A long, long time ago Discord used his chaos magic to take control over Equestria causing all sort of mayhem across the country, the situation got so bad that…you are not listening to a word I’m saying are you?”
“Why, that’s a mighty assumption that you are doing there Miss Captain Obvious! It’s not like Discord is sitting right there on a gigantic throne while he’s wearing a crown and a cape! No sir, nothing in this landscape could have possibly revealed that he was the big boss of this place! Now, there are ponies fighting everywhere, I suppose that your explanation has something to with that, and why they are so…grey”
>Starlight’s left eye twitches “Yessss. That’s exactly What I. Was. Going. To. Explain…heavens, give me patience…”She takes another set of deep breathes “Okaaaay…so what I wanted to explain was that this situation is a bit difference than my little and perfect town. Because you see, these ponies won’t put aside their differences not because they don’t want to, but because they actually can’t”
“And I suppose that Discord has something to do with that, right?”
>Starlight nods “Mhmm, the point here is that this right here it’s the exact opposite of equality. This is what you get when you have differences all over the place. The only thing that you end up getting is chaos and nothing else. What me and my ponies discovered was that equality IS order, and order IS harmony. You don’t have order and well, you can see the result…”
“Well Glimmer, you have a point there but-“
>”Ah, you are going to defend Discord because he’s your friend, that’s what you were going to say, right?” Starlight gives you a scowl and walks past you “Look around you Anon! He might act all friendly around you, but this is clear evidence that shows what he truly represents! He is nothing more than chaos, the very definition of disharmony! That disrupts and annihilates any semblance of equality and by doing that harmony simply cannot exist!”
“You might sound reasonable in some aspects, but Glimmer, what about-“
>”What about it, Anon? Are you going to argue that he has been reformed? Oh please, you are supposed to be intelligent are you not?” Starlight turns and walks to you “Think! What’s stopping him from repeating this? Twilight and the so called elements of harmony? Pffft! Don’t make me laugh!”
>Starlight horn glows again and this time she brings you to Ponyville. You were on what it looked like Twilight’s castle, or at least that’s what you assume based on the crystal walls. This time the scene that was being displayed had Twilight and her friends fighting among them, a very nasty fight for what it looked like.
 “Starlight what are you trying to show me?”
>”Look at them Anon! Does that look like a perfect friendship to you? Is that the kind of attitude that the Princess of Friendship and the bearers of the elements of harmony should take?” Starlight was getting more and more angry, but her eyes, it was almost as if she was desperate for something
“Well, not but anyone has-“
>”Has bad moments because everypony is different?! That fight took place over a simple muffin!” Starlight yells while stomping her hoof on the ground “It doesn’t look like much, but every problem starts small and then grows bigger and bigger! That’s what MY way avoids completely, if everypony is equal in every sense of the word, then that kind of fights between ponies shall not exist anymore!”
“And what does that has to do with Discord?! You aren’t making any sense, Glimmer!”
>”Everything!” Starlight explodes at you “Twilight and her pathetic friends cannot understand what equality truly means! They do not understand equality and harmony like I do! That’s why they made friends with a monster like Discord! Even when they experimented firsthoof the kind of suffering that his chaos can cause!
“Yes! And they gave him a second chance because unlike you, they actually took the time to know him! Discord is not the monster that you keep saying that he is! They did the right thing!”
>”What they did is doom Equestria to another era of chaos and disharmony! And it will start by Discord making the differences among ponies even bigger! And the Princess of Friendship is okay with that!”
>And so were you, Discord wasn’t that “monster” that she keeps saying. He gave you this new life, and despite being a dick most of the time, he IS your friend. And not only yours, you saw him getting angry when Cherrywood got hurt, you saw him getting happy when he saw how happy your mothers were for having you, and you were sure that he’s big friends with that Fluttershy.
“Oh please, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a long time! You went from equality to erasing cutie marks and then to Discord. What if you are wrong? What if Discord is good now?! Because let me tell you one thing Glimmer, you are starting to walk on thin ice by insulting one of my best friends like that, so you better get to the point of your little talk, or I’m walking out”
>Starlight glares at you for a moment but she takes a deep breath and looks at you with more seriousness ”Anon, please tell me… can the other kids of your class perform the same kind of magic as you?”
>You shake your head
“No, but-“
>”How do you think that they feel about that? Most unicorns of your age try their very best JUST to being able to levitate a single broom, but not you!” She points at you with her hoof “You can already cast spells that most unicorns will never be able to”
>A sarcastic chuckles come from Starlight as she shakes her head “That shield spell that you performed earlier with little to no effort? Do you think that’s an easy feat? Because I’ll tell you Anon, it isn’t! Especially with the amount of force which you casted it”
>Starlight walks to you and stars poking your chest very hard “How about teleporting? I haven’t seen many ponies that are able to do that. How about being able to lift entire rooms with no effort whatsoever, hm? Or how about performing an immobilization spell in your very first attempt?! I have read tons of books about magic, and for your information, you need to be either incredibly talented or an alicorn to cast that spell!
“I have natural talent, so what? Others can do things better than I will ever be able to”
>Starlight groans and looks at you with more anger “Do you think that the world it’s just about you? That you should always go around life with the disgusting mentality of me, me and oh, yeah, ME?! How about starting to think about others for a change?!”
>This wasn’t about you anymore, she’s referring to something else, maybe… don’t say anything, let her talk, you might get to the bottom of this.
“…”
>Starlight takes a moment to calm herself and regain her composure “Cutie marks…” She remarks those words with a venomous tone “Are the very incarnation of that kind of mentality, they make everypony  forget about the struggles of others and to start focusing more and more on themselves, and that’s because they start to think that they are different and special. But you know what’s funny? Those differences bring chaos to everypony lives and that in turns can only end up causing misery and suffering”
 >You see Starlight horn glowing again “And sometimes that misery and suffering can be so powerful, so excruciating that they can turn a kind heart into a shadow of its former self, tell me Anon…” Starlight tone changes for a calmer but crueler one “Are you familiar with the legend of Nightmare Moon?”
>Before you could say a word or do something you were back…back to the night where Luna got pushed beyond her absolute limit and succumbing to darkness giving birth to the monster known as Nightmare Moon
>Back to the night where Celestia lost her only family at the time thanks to a bunch of ignorant savages that despised the kindest heart that you have ever seen, just because they were afraid of something that they could not understand
>At this point the battle was almost over, Celestia was finishing her sorrowful song and Nightmare Moon was almost disintegrated. And just like the first time that you saw that scene the only thing that you can feel was your heart shattering.
>”You see Anon, so far I have just shown you random ponies, blank faces that you have no idea who they are or where they came from…” Starlight pats your head, she was speaking on a soft and cold voice, it felt like one that demanded authority “But how about showing you a pony that you actually care about, somepony like your…”
“…Moms…”
>You run to where mothers were but when you get there,,, it was too late, Luna had already been banished and Celestia was lying on the ground, sobbing about her lost sister.
>Your legs fail you as they become too weak to support you. You kneel and see drips falling to the ground. You were crying… this was a scene that you simply couldn’t witness. Your heart can’t take the sight of Celestia being broken and Luna being banished a second time.
>Starlight takes you into her embrace and starts caressing your mane, you in turn couldn’t stop those tears ”Poor Princess Luna, she just wanted to share that beautiful night with everypony. But what she got instead was rejection and fear from those ponies that casted her away as if she was some kind of scum, tell me Anon, why was that?”
>You knew what answer she wanted, you thought about that too, you got angered beyond belief but…
>Starlight continues to caress your mane, even cleaning some of your tears “Shhhh, its okay, its okay… you just have to say it…”
>Don’t say it…don’t
“Because…she was different…”
>The tears wouldn’t stop, why were you crying so much? Watching this whole thing hurt more than anything else that you have experienced
>Starlight’s  continued to caress your mane as she spoke voice was now a soft and comforting  whisper ”That’s right, that’s right, because Princess Luna was different from everypony else she got subjected to a suffering that no pony could bear… but you know that your mothers suffering doesn’t end there…”
>You shake your head and nuzzle into her
>Was she right? It certainly sounded like she was right… That town got back perfectly, and while Discord might not be the monster she claims he is…
>“You know that the suffering and misery that Princess Luna was subjected to also extended to her sister, I can’t even begin to imagine how Princess Celestia must have felt after being forced to banish her sister. But you see Anon, that’s the kind of pain that being different can bring to anypony… actually that’s what differences ends up causing most of the time… And as you know, even the strongest minds and warmest hearts cannot withstand that amount of pain”
>…What about Luna? …Your mothers suffered for a thousand years because those ponies never stopped fearing the night and never took their time to understand it. They refused to accept or even look at her majestic gifts… just because they feared Luna for being different, they never accepted her …. As an equal…
“…”
>Starlight gently raises your head so you could look at her directly at her eyes ”That’s why equality it’s so important, my dear Anon, it removes that pain completely in the most perfect way: by making everypony get along. Equality it’s the key to achieve perfect friendships. Think about it, no differences, no fights, no sadness and no chaos, just pure happiness and order. It’s truly a utopia, don’t you think?”
>And isn’t that what Celestia regrets the most about being a Princess? That no one actually looks to her as an equal but rather as just the perfect princess of Equestria?
“I-I…”
>”And you what the best part is?” Starlight asks gently and with a bright smile
>What if Starlight is right with this whole equality thing? That certainly would mean that your Celestia could finally live the life she wanted and that something like Nightmare Moon would be impossible to happen again…
“W-What is it Starlight?”
>Starlight boops your nose and lets out a small giggle ”That it can become a reality, but it requires tooons of work and effort” You see her face becoming sad for a moment “And I can’t do it alone, just one pony is not enough to show Equestria the way to achieve true happiness, so what do you say Anon?” Her soft smile returns to her “Will you join me in my… no… OUR dream to create the perfect utopia for everypony in Equestria?”