Chaos Rising
(Universe DB)
… … ... "Field" Trip... … ...
If you asked John Stewart, who'd been a marine long before he was ever a Green Lantern, what the worst day of his life had been, you could find yourself with a variety of answers.
The charity dinner he was forced to attend where Guy tried to hit on the lead engineer of Capsule Corp and had to be dragged out for his own safety? That was up there.
When Doctor Strange hosted a "Magic Convention" and didn't bother to warn anyone? The League was still cleaning up that mess.
The day when he went to charge his ring and couldn't? Yeah, that might just be the worst.
But if today wasn't trying to make it on that list.
Just to recap, John, along with Captain Marvel, has been heading the Avengers new space initiative. A close call with a Skrull invasion had kicked the league into gear on what he'd been saying for years. They needed to be more proactive with assessing extraterrestrial threats.
And that was supposed to be what his team was for. No more Chitari dropping from the sky, or Viltrimites sneaking in their back door, or racist planet busters flying up like they own the place.
His team was not supposed to be a bunch of galactic babysitters.
And yet, here John was, flying a Javelin with a class full of kids, and a nutcase in a cocoon supposed to be watching. That was ignoring the half Saiyen or the middle schoolers with magic powers. Eternity knows what madhouses Carol had in her ship.
He blamed the new kid for this. One rant about how little these kids knew about the bigger universe, and the Leagues agrees to chaperone field trips! And of course, Kyle mysteriously got called back to Popstar for an "emergency," so he couldn't be here. Knowing that planet, it had an even chance to be some cosmic terror or having cake with the former dictator.
The group behind him had finally quieted down. Two hours of random questions, and they finally shut up when he's nearly in orbit.
"We're coming to land." Stewart calls behind him. "Strap yourselves in. Gravity on Equestria's lighter than Earth, so be prepared to step lightly."
There are various affirmations from the kid's balancing excitement with not wanting to anger the former Lantern further.
One of them was not as quick to respond. "Uh, Mr. Stewart?" a princess from one of Earths neighboring realms asked.
John sighed, not looking away from the controls. "Not now kid, I'm trying to land this bird."
"It's just that this places magic feels funny." She keeps on going. "Like its-"
"I'm sure that's perfectly normal." He dismisses. "First lesson on Equestrian society? They use their magic for everything from making breakfast to controlling the weather. It's as special to them as a toaster is on Earth."
The girl frowns, pouting at the man. "I know magic! And whatever is going on down there cannot be normal!"
"There's a lot of not normal in the universe." John replies tiredly. Where did Strange find this kid?
The ship rocks, ending the conversation as his com-screen flashes to life.
"John." Captain Marvel calls. "We may have a problem."
The former lantern rolls his eyes, practically feeling the look of satisfaction radiating from the sorcerer's student. "And what would that be, Carol?"
"Aside from flying blind into the mother of all storms?" The pilot remarks. "How about Spider-Kid's alarm bells. Or Prower's gizmo spiking the moment we entered atmosphere."
John feels his blood run cold. Before he got his ring, he'd never have believed Parker's talk about some "Spider-sense," But he'd seen it in action a few too many times to doubt Miles now. "Which Gizmo?"
"He said it was the Chaos Detector, going off with at least six emeralds worth of power, maybe more."
John swallows a line of otherworldly curses. "Sync the Javelins. I'll check it out."
"Need backup?" Carol asks. "You're not exactly in peak form right now."
"I'll be fine." he replies dryly, queuing in the teleportation unit while holstering a stun pistol. "You handle these terrors."
… … …
The world has always been strange. People on Earth just took a while to figure out what that meant for the rest of the universe. Over his time as a Lantern, John had seen things the rest of Earth could barely even imagine.
And yet, Chocolate rain clouds were new even for him.
He had just re materialized, feeling the load of gravity loosen, when he saw the clouds give way to a rainbow explosion.
Deciding to explore what was supposed to be their landing zone, John entered the town that seemed to be in the process of rebuilding itself. He got multiple glances of suspicion, what with being the only humanoid most of these creatures had ever seen. He eventually sees the pony matching the description Kyle gave.
"Twilight Sparkle?" John asks, still assessing the damage to the town.
The unicorn in question spun around, a slightly haggard gaze falling on the human. "Ah... Mr... Stewart? Is it Wednesday already?"
"On your planet." The former Lantern confirms. "We detected... hazardous energy when we entered orbit. Everything alright down here?"
The pony perked up. "You could tell that from space! Such a marvel of technology! Did you see it on a graph or lev-" She went on at a pace sure to give speedsters a challenge.
"Ms. Sparkle." John interrupts, feeling a headache coming on. "What happened down here?"
"An immortal chaos spirit woke up and wrecked everything"! she says quickly, stepping back from the irate human. "Although... He seemed a bit... off?
"Naturally." The ex-marine sighs. "What was strange about this "Chaos spirit?"
"Well, he was really... unenthused?" She answers pensive.
"And that's a bad thing? John asks
"No! But the stories! Legends talk about how powerful and chaotic Discord was; but he seemed like he was just going through the motions!" She shakes her head. "And he said something about seeing us again? Really creepy!"
"Not my problem." The lantern states tiredly. "I've got kids in orbit. Where do I park them?"
"I know we had a whole ceremony planned for your class's arrival-"
"Not my class."
"And I was looking forward to this..." The pony pulls out a list of some sort. "Mr. Prowers lecture on the technology of his home world."
"He's not a teacher."
The pony freezes. "But... Princess Celestia said he's Mobius's foremost expert on technology?"
"He is that." John confirms. "He's also a ten-year-old who invited himself along when he heard we were coming out this far."
"T-ten!" Twilight practically shrieked.
"Different species mature at different rates. I know one species that at fifty would barely be a toddler."
He didn't get a response this time, as the Element Bearer preceded to feint.
John sighs, reaching for his com-link. This was going to be a long trip.
… … …Chaos Theory... … ...
Surprisingly, the day actually managed to improve from there. As it turns out, the U.A kids took this as an opportunity to practice disaster relief. Eraserhead supervised the cleanup in Ponyville, while John and Carol split the rest between their ships and flew around the chaotically challenged country. All except for one.
Miles 'Tails' Prower stayed in town to discuss the differences between Equestrian magic and technology found in the rest of the galaxy with anypony who'd listen. Not a large group by any means. As it turned out, they had a remarkable amount of technology of their own. Household conveniences, alternative forms of aircraft, and even self-propelling generators. The problem was that almost all of it was powered by their own magic.
"So let me see if I understand this." Tails comments, confusion showing in his features. "Equestriea has had limited contact with other planets for several centuries, but you don't have space travel of your own?
Twilight nods, clearly frustrated with her planet's current state. "We did have first contact with knights from Popstar roughly thirteen hundred years ago, but the Shadow Proclamation really doesn't look fondly on "Less developed," planets engaging in trade." She shakes her head dejectedly. "We're getting closer, but we're still a way's from catching up."
"Yeah, that sounds like them." The Fox chuckles, thinking of Mobius's less than helpful interactions with that particular group. "Honestly, I'm impressed with the number of applications you've put your species magic towards. Especially without more typical power sources."
"Typical?" The purple mare asks. "Magic propelled generators run all Equestia! Are you saying other worlds don't use natural magic reserves?"
"Most species don't use magic instinctually, let alone have internal magic reserves." Tails responds, absentmindedly dodging relief work while staring at his handheld. "Earth, for instance, used to use a large amount of fossil fuels to power industry. This was eventually found to be unsustainable and self-detrimental, so they have been gradually shifting to more renewable forms. Mobius, on the other ha- or hoof, had a much faster... let's call it an Industrial Revolution, so we came out of it with a blend of solar, wind, and select uses of chaos energy."
"Fascinating." Twilight mutters, not entirely sure what "Fossil Fuels" were supposed to be. Her eyes widen, "Wait! Chaos Energy?"
Tails flinches, suddenly recalling the story of events before their arrival. "Ah, right. Chaos energy. Not much is known about its origins, but it's been recorded on Mobius for as long as the written word."
"Isn't that..." The unicorn strains. "Very, very dangerous?"
The fox takes a moment before responding. "It can be." He eventually confirms. "But only when used or collected improperly. Chaos is as much a science as it is magic. The ancient echidnas of my world found it to be naturally made up of two halves, positive and negative. When only one half is syphoned, or worse, used directly, things can get... messy."
"How... Messy?"
"In addition to whatever you just experienced? Well, it is named Chaos for a reason. Several disasters on Mobius alone have been linked to people misusing it. But in recent years, it's also prevented disasters. Like any tool, it depends as much on those using it as the power itself. In fact, if my theory holds true, I wouldn't be surprised if the harmony aspect of your planets magic is in some way related, given the natural presence of Chaos."
Twilights coat blanches from shock. "W-what makes you say that? Magic is used is used every day! If there was that much Chaos involved, nothing would make sense!"
The Fox, for his part, just stares at her, fidgeting with his namesakes. "Um... Twilight?
"Yes, Tails?"
"I don't know how to tell you this... but, your planet... doesn't make sense."
The unicorn freezes, eyes fixed on the fox. "What do you mean?" she asks, tone suddenly much colder than before.
"Your uh, whole solar system," Tails begins. "It's almost entirely unique from any planet I've ever heard of. Any planet that anyone's heard of for that matter. Even Popstar, which somehow has sentient natural satellites, obeys more laws of physics than Equestria. Its why when I heard the League planned to send ships out, I begged Dr. Richards to ask if I could come along. I just had to see it for myself."
"Oh... I had, never thought of it that way..."
Tails went on. "For instance, your sun is abnormally close to the planet and doesn't produce its own gravitational pull. Meanwhile, the planet's gravity is so light that your moon is completely uninfected. Speaking of the moon, by all accounts Equestrian tides should never change since-
Twilight follows along for a while, considering the theory, before responding. "Are you sure you're really ten?"
They both laugh. "Yeah! Last I checked."
Their humor is interrupted by his handheld going off.
Tails' face scrunches in confusion. "Huh? That shouldn't be right..." He storms off, tails propelling him into the sky.
"Right... We're the ones who don't make sense..." After a moment to question the strange sight, Twilight chases after him. All the way out of town and bordering the Everfree Forrest.
"What's wrong! Tails! Slow down!" She calls out of breath.
He stands there, examining a device, eyes lost with a questioning gaze. "Thats... Strange."
"Strange?" The unicorn asks, a dry swallow accenting her voice.
"The Miles Electric detected lingering Chaos energy, like it's almost clinging to this device."
Twilight examines the device more closely, picking it up in a purple aura. It looks to be broken, barely held together, with several burn marks on the metal. "What... is it?"
Tails eyes are fixed on the device. "It... kind of looks like an energy siphon? Must have burned out on whoever used it. The materials remind me of... Gizoid technology."
"Gizoid?" Twilight tilts her head. "What's a Gizoid?"
The fox frowns, mind going a mile a minute. "On my world? Unusual. On this one? Nearly impossible."
And so, the most no-nonsense lantern gets put through all the nonsense.
The same reviewer mentioned in other stories came up with the concept of Star being a student of Strange's while she was on earth. Sadly, I've never seen the show, so I don't know how far I can take that. For all I know, I went out of character with three lines of dialogue.
Speaking of shows I haven't actually seen, my background knowledge for writing Twilights dialogue comes primarily from "Turnabout Storm," On YouTube. I apologize if she went a bit far out of character. I have limited knowledge for later in the timeline, but that's about it.
Several DB source media use the term "Chaos" in a lot of ways. I'm hoping to roll those into one as much as possible.
One specific reference, Gizoids refers to robots introduced in Sonic Battle.
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!
