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The Ring of Shooting Stars has the following feature (emphasis mine):

Ball Lightning.

You can expend 2 charges as an action to create one to four 3-foot-diameter spheres of lightning. The more spheres you create, the less powerful each sphere is individually.

Each sphere appears in an unoccupied space you can see within 120 feet of you. The spheres last as long as you concentrate (as if concentrating on a spell), up to 1 minute. Each sphere sheds dim light in a 30-foot radius.

As a bonus action, you can move each sphere up to 30 feet, but no farther than 120 feet away from you. When a creature other than you comes within 5 feet of a sphere, the sphere discharges lightning at that creature and disappears. That creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes lightning damage based on the number of spheres you created. (4 spheres = 2d4, 3 spheres = 2d6, 2 spheres = 5d4, 1 sphere = 4d12)

Does this mean that the sphere discharges lightning whether you move it within 5 feet of a creature or whether a creature moves within 5 feet of it?

What happens if you move it within 5 feet of multiple creatures at once (or multiple creatures move within 5 feet of it at once)?

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1. Yes 2. You choose if it's your turn

Does this mean that the sphere discharges lightning whether you move it within 5 feet of a creature or whether a creature moves within 5 feet of it?

Yes, the condition is that a creature comes within 5ft. It doesn't matter whether this is them moving or the sphere.

What happens if you move it within 5 feet of multiple creatures at once (or multiple creatures move within 5 feet of it at once)?

If it is the creatures turn then one of them will move into range first as even if the DM is moving them together they have different turns and the DM will decide which enters the range first.

If it is on your turn then you decide.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything optional rule (page 77) on "Simultaneous Effects":

In rare cases, effects can happen at the same time, especially at the start or end of a creature's turn. If two or more things happen at the same time on a character or monster's turn, the person at the game table - whether player or DM - who controls that creature decides the order in which those things happen.

Emphasis mine

My reading of this rule is that it is the person who controls the creature who's turn it is that decides the order of effects that could happen at the same time.

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Does this mean that the sphere discharges lightning whether you move it within 5 feet of a creature or whether a creature moves within 5 feet of it?

Yes. It doesn't matter whether the creature moved to the sphere or the sphere moved to the creature.

What happens if you move it within 5 feet of multiple creatures at once (or multiple creatures move within 5 feet of it at once)?

The DM decides which creature is affected.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything has an optional rule (page 77) on "Simultaneous Effects" which states:

In rare cases, effects can happen at the same time, especially at the start or end of a creature's turn. If two or more things happen at the same time on a character or monster's turn, the person at the game table - whether player or DM - who controls that creature decides the order in which those things happen.

The DM can use this optional rule or any other method they choose.

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