Order Within Chaosby The_MachinistChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1“He what?!” The woman on the phone shouted in a loud manner. “Mom! Listen to me, please mom!” The boy pleaded with his mother, but his mother kept chattering away on the phone; not listening to her son’s pleas. The boy continued to try and get his mother’s attention, but to no avail she did not relent in her loud chattering. The woman’s eyes lit up in surprise as if a car was coming straight at her. She quickly hung up on whoever was talking and glared at the boy, who was tugging on his mother’s short cut skirt. “Samuel! What have I told you about picking on other kids at school!” “But moooom! Todd started it!” The boy cocked his slightly to the side and puffed out his bottom lip in a begging manner, asking for forgiveness. “I didn’t do nothing wrong, Todd just blamed me for no reason! I swear!” The child’s mother glared at him before grabbing him by the wrist and briskly walking him away from the bustling crowd. “No desert for you tonight, mister! Your father will hear about this for sure!” She walked him through the crowd of people in the subway station until they reached the platform, where the train sat there waiting patiently. The woman and child stepped in, much to the child’s chagrin. I’m sure he wouldn’t like what was coming to him… The man thought. He sat on a stone bench that was built into a large pillar facing the train. He had enjoyed the little incursion between the mother and child, as he always had. People watching was a fun little hobby of his. Nobody seemed to care about the suited man with the briefcase topped with an old fedora. Yes, they always don’t know the outcome based on events prior. His perpetual smirk twitched before returning to a smirk once more. As always, they wait like sheep. They just accept whatever happens without a thought about the future. He carefully watched a distressed looking father carry his child underneath the crook of his arm, who was screaming for her “mommy”. DING. “The 12:45 train for Brooklyn is now arriving, thank you for your patience!” DING. The man stood up and straightened his tie. It looks like my train has arrived, as always, in an orderly manner. It was the last train to arrive, and he would be sure to board it in order to reach his destination, in an orderly fashion. He was all about order after all; unlike his brother who seemed to be the other way around. So rambunctious was he as a child. The man chuckled to himself as he stepped over the yellow line and into the empty passenger train. He walked all the way to the end carriage of the old train. He took a seat in the very back and right window seat facing the empty platform. Discarded cigarettes and other assorted oddities were scattered among the wet footprints on the concrete floor. The man’s grin once again twitched, but returned as he turned his head to face the seat in front of him. He took note of the conductor with the handlebar moustache carefully walking his way. The conductor stopped and stared at him for nary a moment before nodding. He about-faced and made his way back to the engine of the train to inform the conductor to start the train and leave the station. To which he so kindly did. I wonder if the country has changed much ever since my brother had decided to rule it. The checkerboard hills were rather unbecoming of the once beautiful land after all, so maybe he realized it and moved on to something better. The man reached in his suit’s breast pocket and pulled out a silver key. He twirled it around between two fingers before slipping it into the suitcase’s lock. He breathed in before turning the key and opening it. Inside of the suitcase was a simple letter. A letter from one of his brother’s friends no doubt, or it could be his brother. It did have splotches of fruit punch and peach jam scattered around it, no doubt trying to irritate him. He carefully picked up the letter and read it once more. Dear Order, The Princesses have chosen you as one of the special guests to attend the anniversary of Discord’s reformation. We feel as if this is something to celebrate and we wish you to attend this party in his honor. We wish for you to come as soon as possible as Discord is all but excited to see you. He had mentioned you in his sleep and we had gotten curious of course so we asked Spike to send this letter to somepony named order. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle. P.S. Pinkie Pie’s parties are the greatest! The man’s eyes widened. His brother had been reformed into a much better person? Well that is certainly wonderful news. But this letter was written by a pony. That means they defeated him somehow. He stared at the other item in his briefcase, a p08 Luger. He had purchased it from a friend, and what a friend he was. I suppose I’ll need this in case anything starts to get a little out of order, I don’t want another one of Discord’s incidents to come and bite me in the ass. The train jerked backward and shuddered, creating an eerie groaning sound as metal twisted and reformed itself to something else. The entire cabin was dark for the moment, as they were passing through the end of the line. The lights flickered back on, yet they were not electric. He was able to see through the windows once more, yet what lay beyond them was not the concrete adorned walls of the subway. No, a country much more beautiful than The United States appeared outside the gas lightened cabin. The toot of the steam engine was audible as the train pulled into the first station beyond the end of the line. The man smiled wider than before, as he had heard of this city but had never seen it in person. Canterlot… The city of wonders and a floating castle to boot. Discord talked about a floating castle once. I even remember him making that one castle float in Scotland before we came here… Memories… The train jerked forward as it screeched to a stop. HE heard the toot of the steam engine once more as the conductor opened the doors to the cabin, no longer a human. The conductor still adorned his handlebar moustache, but he was now an old stallion instead of a man. A cartoonish drawing of a punch card was visible on both of his flanks. As well as the old fashioned conductor hat hiding his short cropped mane. “All aboooooaaaaard! The 7:30 train for Manehattan has now arrived!” That was is cue. He stood up to his full height, cramped as it may be, and started to walk out just as the surprised ponies waltzed in. They didn’t suspect a human in their quaint little world, and they had only heard of humans through a crackpot archeologist. Not so crackpot anymore. The conductor was the only pony that was not fazed by his appearance, as the conductor was the gatekeeper between worlds and had seen many faces. The conductor nodded once more to the man as he exited the old steam train and stepped onto the wooden platform. He breathed in the clean, crisp, warm air. A kind of far cry from Manhattan’s smoggy atmosphere, and it was a much needed break from the busy city as well. The man noticed a group of ponies standing off to the side holding a sign bearing his name, Order. As well as a creature that was rather a mismatched amount of animals all into one creature. A tad bit disorderly. His smile twitched. One pony was very regal looking with a white coat and multicolored mane that seemed to flow in a non-existent breeze. The other six, much smaller, ponies were multi-colored as well and had mixed reactions to him. He saw a purple unicorn mutter something to the mismatched creature, which looked up at him with a face that seemed to first be disinterest. Then a wide grin appeared. The creature zipped towards him and grasped around his body in what seemed to be a hug, making Order drop his suitcase. “Order, brother! It’s so great to see you again!” The creature spoke in Discord’s voice, but his behavior seemed a little less random. The creature put him down. It was then that Order noticed that they stood at similar heights. So this is my brother. A failure might I add. “Yes.” Order replied in a deeper, much more serious voice. “I came because I received a letter. I expected better of you, Discord. The plan was flawless, yet you seemed to deviate and fail like always. Now you are reformed by… Horses with magic.” Order frowned and brushed his brother’s excess fur off of his black suit. “I thought we were here to have a good time! Not to reminisce on past events that may or may not have happened!” Yes, this was different from Discord. The large white pony seemed to understand the tension as she stepped between the two beings. “Hello, I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria along with my sister Luna.” Celestia smiled in a motherly fashion. How odd. Yet she seems so benevolent. He remembered the pistol inside of the briefcase and took it out before stuffing it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Discord noticed this and nervously laughed. “Well now Order, it seems you have come prepared. We assure you that you have no need to harm anypony.” “I somehow doubt that.” The man known as Order kept an even gaze as he started to walk in an average pace towards the floating castle. It seems I have work to do, work that my brother has failed with. After all, there cannot be Chaos without Order. Author's Note Woo! Chapter 2Discord’s expression quickly turned from nervous smile to a frightened frown. “Well hang on now! We came here to celebrate, right? So why don’t we uh… Just forget about the hostilities and celebrate the one year anniversary of my reforming!” Order frowned. If only this idiot had done what he had told and not have deviated from his instructions… I still do not understand why father tasked him rather than me to take over this sorry wreck for a country. Order’s smile returned as he looked around the scenery before him. He took in the sight of the light blue sky dotted with wispy looking clouds. Perhaps they have sorted out their problems after all. Discord seemed to settle down when he noticed that order himself had calmed down. With a loud ‘POP’ and bright flash, Twilight Sparkle and her former mentor, Princess Celestia walked beside him and Order. Order seemed to bristle once more when he noticed the two mares walking beside him and his brother, but Discord brushed it off as an awkward moment for him. Order had not seen Equestria for quite some time, and he would have to get used to a lot of things. “Order, before we proceed with the celebration I must ask you a question.” Celestia broke the awkward silence between the four. Order cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “Go on.” Where are the other five mares? His smile twitched. They must be preparing for the party; it is the most logical suggestion. My old friend logic prevails once more. He corrected his posture, which was slowly giving way. There is a much more predominant force of gravity here, interesting. “Do you wish to disrupt the lives of Equestria?” Order let his eyebrow fall. Of course she would assume that I would harm her denizens. Brother always was the troublemaker, I always knew he’d do something that would bite him back in the ass. “That would depend on whether or not they wish to disrupt my routine. If they harm me, I shall return the favor accordingly.” He turned to Celestia. Celestia’s facial expression appeared to have changed from calm and motherly to one of accepting and regret. Most likely because of his answer, but he was right. He always was. “Treat others as you wish to be treated seems to be your way of thinking then, Order.” Celestia sighed. “I suppose I can accept that, so as long as you do not tread along the path that Discord had taken. We never wish to directly harm somepony, or somebody in your case.” She was a benevolent ruler then. Only wishing to dish out punishment as a last resort is her way of doing things. Discord must have screwed up to get on her bad side. “Yes. I suppose you could correlate that with me. Although I have my own reasons for doing what I do. I would rather follow a plan and do everything according to said plan, as a good plan never fails. Isn’t that right, Discord?” Order flashed a glare towards Discord’s direction, not inherently looking at him. He still needs to be reprimanded for failing. If only father were still alive to do so. “Yes well. I have made mistakes in the past, and I wish to forget about them if you would do the same. The past does not matter now that the present has come, isn’t that right Celestia?” Discord smiled in Celestia’s direction, who smiled back with that motherly gaze of hers. Disgusting. Discord is brainwashed, not reformed. “That is right, Discord.” Celestia turned to a frowning Order. “There is no use worrying about the past anymore, besides, we are here!” Order had not been paying attention to the structure in front of him. He was forming a plan in his mind, and once he had completed the plan, he would act out upon it. Order tuned back into the real world and appreciated the structure before him, the floating marble castle. A true work of architecture and beauty in his book. His smile twitched. Of course, a floating castle is not right. It is physically impossible unless magic is involved. I don’t quite like it when magic is involved in a work of engineering. It tends to befoul the beautiful work and muddle it for what it truly could be without magic. No real talent went into building this castle. With that, he stopped appreciating the castle, and regarded it with contempt. An emotion he withheld most often. Celestia and Discord, as well as the purple alicorn mare, had not noticed the flash of contempt that had washed over his face. The three of them seemed to step in unison as they trotted up the steps to the throne room doors. Order reluctantly followed them, much to his chagrin. I am only doing this for my brother, and nobody else. I love my brother no matter how brainwashed or deviated he is from his usual personality, so as long as he doesn’t see oh so very off. I may have to regard him as such, soon… Order was the younger sibling, but Discord was the more naïve of the two. Order was chivalrous when he needed to be, and he was straight to the point. Punctual, professional, and quite simply. Orderly, as his name states. Discord always was a trouble maker, he was the one who made the saying “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back.” Come true for a short period of time. He revised his mistake because of what happened to mother. Poor Discord couldn’t understand what he did. “Are you coming bro?” Discord decided to peek his rather odd head through the door. The door was not open, but his head was simply sticking out of the heavy gold door. Order chuckled. At least he retains his quirks. “Yes.” Order jogged up the steps and stepped through the door, where a plenty of festivities seemed to be occurring. He frowned at the disorganized feel of the party. The punch bowl was somehow upside down whilst still retaining the fluid inside of the bowl. A quick snap of Order’s fingers fixed that oddity right quick. Another oddity was that confetti and streamers did not fall to the ground, rather they seemed to just fly all over the place like tiny paper airplanes. Another snap of the fingers made them fall to the ground. He had to correct a few disorderly incursions over the course of the night. Discord and the pink poofy mare were not pleased. Celestia just looked exasperated and ready to collapse. Today must have been rather taxing for her. Being the ruler of a country does have its downsides after all. Order had spent enough time with Discord to know when something was off. He immediately knew that something was wrong when he sided with the ponies. The ponies were most definitely Order’s main enemy as far as this situation goes. Discord was on their side, as he had said that he helped defeat the greatest villain to ever befall Equestria. Order knew that the real Discord would side with the villain and perhaps backstab him in the future. According to Discords testaments, some objects called the “Elements of Harmony” were used against him. This was the final detail he needed to know. The things that had caused Discord to change oh so much, and the risk it posed to Order himself. I need to get these elements and rid this world of them. If they are valuable, then they must be in this very building. This building must be the most secure in Equestria. Order hummed as his smile twitched erratically. I must fix my brother before retrieving these elements. Although I would have to resort to non-orderly methods of doing so, it is what must be done. I would rather not use magic, but this is my brother. You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family. Order’s face settled into a grin once more. After all, isn’t chaos really just organized bouts of anarchy? Chapter 3Order hummed to himself as he traversed the brightly lit hallways of the Canterlot Castle. Estate would be a better description as it housed the very busy maids and servants who in turn served as the lifeblood for the castle, or estate. Then again, castle would still be more appropriate because of the simple fact that the rulers live, and conduct orders from their throne room which resides inside of the castle. It is in fact the first room to be entered upon opening the throne room doors. He smiled as he thought about the layout of the castle. So pristine and precise, so… marvelously symmetrical. “I could get used to this…” He passed by the many portrayals of Princess Celestia in many different forms of art. Who knew the solar princess could be so exuberant when it came to artwork? He was particularly interested in a piece that reminded him of the painting scene from the movie Titanic. He could picture Celestia and Luna inside one of the old-fashioned buggies, a hoof against the window as they… Order shook his head and frowned at the thought. Having a dirty mind would not do well for my composure at this particular moment in time… A statue was on display when he came upon what seemed to be a circus in the castle’s halls. The statue was placed smack dab in the middle of the intersection; four gleaming, white, marble pillars rose up from the four corners of the platform the statue rested on. The statue itself was Celestia in all her glory, but this time the statue Celestia wore armor as she seemed to be yelling. Interestingly enough, the creator of the statue placed a glowing effect around the statue’s horn, making the light of the glow as bright as the sun; basking the room in her almighty glory as she galloped out into battle. Order decided to pick a random hallway to decided upon where he would travel to. This hallway appeared to contain naught but a single, golden door. The golden door had intricate etchings upon which Celestia and Luna’s marks were carved into the center. Unlike the other doors, this door had obsidian-glass handles. ’Tis unique, but formality and decoration are not my speciality, I am here to make things formal and orderly, and not to take part in the exquisite pleasures that are decoration. He ran his hands across the smooth obsidian glass and whistled in appreciation. “It is rather smooth and delicate, but what lies within the decorated doors?” Order pushed the individual doors inward and widened his eyes at what he saw. Great bookshelves that stretched all the way to the ceiling. that itself seemed to be a transparent geodome reaching up eighty feet. The bookshelves themselves were carved out of mahogany, hundreds of bookshelves all carved out of mahogany. The edges were lined with gold, it truly was a fantastic feet. It was then he noticed that the books themselves were being plucked out from between the other books and dusted off with a purple glowing duster. rolling ladders lined each of the bookshelves, and several polished copper chandeliers hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in an orange glow. Automated brooms swept the floors, with no user to guide them. They swept the dust from beneath the bookshelves that the feather dusters dusted off the books themselves. He shook his head. “I must not be strayed away from the task at hand… While i wanted to find the library, it is a particular section i wanted to traverse to.” He walked down the center of the room, searching for the section he was wanting to find. What was in the section was decided by the curator, whom was unknown by him. He would assume that the curator was out to lunch. Order lifted his wrist to look at his watch, but he then realized that the time was not set to Equestrian Standard Time. Order sighed to himself before escalating his pace to a brisk trot. The signs seemed to be listed as their own organization system, and not the organization system he was used to. The system that the Equestrian’s used was not unlike the Dewey Decimal system that resided in his universe. It had taken little thought to translate the system, and he was back on track again. The section he was particularly interested in was the “pre-history” section, of which he was hoping to find magics of the ancient kind. Therein lies the problem as to what sort of magic should i be searching for; should it be in the dark magics, or rather the harmonious magic. He hummed in thought. “Should it reside in the harmonic section of magic, then I shall figure a way to disable the “change” that this brother of mine has undergone… If there is no solution…” Order lightly gripped the holster attached to his underarm. “Then i shall create one.” Order frowned as he thought about the possible solution. “A permanent solution to a somewhat permanent problem that Discord should not have to deal with. It would create disorder amongst the balances of chaos and order. Ironically, it seems that these ‘Elements of harmony’ have decided to take up the mantle as the leading cause of chaos.” The side of his mouth twitched upward into a half smile. “So it seems that there would be a balance after all…” He eventually found the section he was searching for, and with a small battle with a feather duster; the book itself as well. There was no dust to be brushed off, for it was just a simple book with an even simpler title. “A guide to harmonic magics.” Order thought out loud. Interestingly enough, the book was rather short. I suppose there isn’t much to understand about harmonic magics after all, seems that this will be more simple than I first thought. But it was not as simple as he thought. Sure, he may have a power equal to that of his brother’s, but the magic was used for undoing chaos and creating order. It was used for making a setting formal and opaque. In layman’s terms, his magic could be described to make things boring. It was not boring to Order though, it was his way of life. It was his only voice amongst the shouts of color and disorder. The book contained the symbols of the elements of harmony. Other symbols were present, but Order held no understanding of the strange markings. They were nothing but random squiggles; there was a resemblance to what looked to be mathematical equations, but instead of numerals, decimals, and other brain-warping contusions, there were these odd symbols. They were vaguely familiar, but it had been so long since he had last been in Equestria that he could hardly tell what they meant. They seemed so utterly new, yet so astonishingly familiar. Order had started to get frustrated before he closed the book. “These odd equations must have a tie in with magic, but I am not sure how… perhaps the odd symbols represented the motions in which an alicorn or unicorn must proceeded with in order to cast a spell; if so, why are they so complex when what those ponies do seems so simple?” He creased his brow in frustration. Perhaps if ponies did not have magical influence over their world, life would be much simpler, but they were happy as they were. They had no drive or ambition. Progress is stagnated because of magic. Humans had progressed more in the past hundred years than Equestria has in the last millenium. The only plausible conclusion that can be made is that magic makes Equestria constantly at threat and constantly being unbalanced. Perhaps there could be a way to remove magic from the entirety of the land. Perhaps then my brother would be freed from his bonds in the head. He has all his power, but his drive for chaos is gone and replaced with the desire to be friends with ponies… So unnatural… Order shuddered. “I suppose i should take my leave from this curious study…” he looked around at the many wonders it held. Art, architecture, and metallurgy included. “Perhaps I could find my answers elsewhere... “ Chapter 4Metallurgy was a fascinating concept to say the least. Who would have thought that gold was naturally resistant to magic? That would explain why the royal guardsponies were wearing gold armor and wielding gold weapons. Though why would they need gold weapons and armor when other species have very little to no magic? A curious thought in hindsight, but Order pushed on and into the depths of the darkest secrets known to pony kind. The restricted section of the library contained many wonders, the school of necromancy as an example. Raising the dead, unnatural, and order destroyed the book. “Everything in this library is unusual, but not discordian in nature. I suppose I could take a few of these books on metallurgy and magical theory however…” Order swept his gaze around the library and cherry picked several books concerning runes, metallurgy, and magical theory. One could say that these books contain the solution to Equestria’s rather obnoxious predicament, and the one person is correct. Order did not know this at the time, and so he left the restricted section for the castle, safely tucking the books underneath his suit jacket. Order considered himself to be slightly on the mad side when concerning things that unnatural. As Discord used to get on the insane side of his personality when things were in place and neat. The two catalysts raged on, suspending the worlds in anarchy and harmony at the same time, but now one catalyst left the fray and stormed the breach. Everything was too orderly and harmonic, too orderly for even Order himself. It was not of the orderly side to be so orderly, as some chaos was needed. Order struck himself on his left cheek with a gloved fist. His thoughts settled as he straightened his tie and rubbed his cheek. “Perhaps it would be in my best interest if I try to think aboutmore sane things. Rather hard concerning the nature of this place, I’d rather prefer the world where humanity prevailed…” His mouth twitched as he looked at a picture of Celestia and Nightmare Moon battling. “However, duties must come first.” “What duty is that, Order?” Order jumped as Luna spoke to him. Surprises were not kind to him it seems. As this world was filled to the brim with surprises, both good and bad as it had seemed. Luna laughed obnoxiously loud. “Oh my dear brother of the being known as Discord, we art so very sorry to have startled thou whilst walking through the halls.” She settled down and looked at Order, who was busy staring at the wall with a tired gaze. “And we art sorry for disturbing thou in thine’s personal matters as well.” Luna blushed as she continues on her walk through the halls, seemingly downtrodden. “Ah yes well, do not startle me again. I do not want to… harm you at this time.” Luna stopped, but did not turn. She gazed suspiciously forward as she formulated a response. “Yes, we shalt not do that again.” Luna briskly started to trot through the halls again. She wondered to herself a little however. “But what was that duty…” Order stopped and turned to the alicorn, whom was quickly trotting away. His ears had caught the whisper she had made. She was trying to get information it seemed, but why would they do it in such and odd manner? “Something that will be… discussed… at a later date it seems. No matter, I must find Celestia and bargain for a room. Or perhaps I could create my own.” Order thought for a moment, and frowned. “No. I shall continue on this castle and bring Discord to order… in his chaotic form. Order within chaos… An interesting concept.” Order’s frowned turned to a grin as he chuckled. Yes, first he would undo the reform placed upon him and then he would return to his own realm of cruelty and destruction to maintain order. “And maybe tell the illuminati to lay off the media for a while…” Order smirked Back at where Discord lie, trouble was brewing. He knew why Order had really shown up. He knew that Order wanted him to be chaotic again. Of course, Discord was always chaotic, but he just chose to be nice for once. Why couldn’t Order understand that? “Should I tell Fluttershy? She would not believe a natural born trickster, but she is my friend. I shall tell her in the ‘morn!” He snapped his fingers and summoned a cake, which he promptly ate in one swift chomp of jaws. A toothpick floating and picking his teeth while he patted his overly bloated belly. “Such is the life of a god…” Hours later, the sun was raised over the city of Canterlot. Maids and servants rushed about the castle cleaning and cooking; guards walked to their stations quickly; and the captain was busy giving out orders. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia wondered why Order had been in the library the previous night, and she wondered why he did not interact with his brother. Nonetheless, she must finish her coffee. She looked into the mug and smiled. “Caffeine content enough to make Pinkie Pie explode. Perfect.” Order sat at the main dining table watching an odd video he had saved on a sort of tablet. The internet was a magical place, and a place to download videos he found interesting from youtube. One such video was one by the animator known as Harrypartridge… “So they want me back, do they? What more fun is to be had?” Order tapped his chin. “I gave Dagoth a hueing, stopping Dagon was a shuing, Alduin’s in ruins. I’m done, by the nine!” Order smirked. Celestia looked at him curiously. “But there’s rumor of a game and though I know the name, this can’t be the same for they say it’s online! Fine. Then I guess it’s, back to Tamriel!” Order laughed, while Celestia raised her eyes at him. Luna curiously watched Order’s tablet form the side. “It’s been a while, I’m excited oh can’t you tell? Back where heroes doo-el! They’ve got every province; How I’ve missed you Farfell!” Luna was gaping at the animation, Twilight and crew sat at the table watching Order curiously, while Discord sat with his arms crossed mumbling occasionally to Fluttershy. Order finally noticed all the ponies watching him, and he quickly closed the device. Luna was the first to speak up. “Is that your world, I assume?” Order frowned. “How immature to think that I live inside of some animation, no, it is merely a fantasy of a different world created by a company. The animation parodies that game, and the parody is created by Harry Partridge. A good man and a great animator. Truly one to be praised.” Luna frowned in disappointment, as did Celestia. “Now Order. I would please ask of you not to not insult my sister, it is a rude thing to do and I will not tolerate it.” The one known as Rainbow Dash spoke up as well. “Yeah, don’t talk to the Princess like that. It ain’t nice.” Order frowned. “I speak how I wish and tell the truth.” Discord looked at Order. “Then please tell us the real reason as to why you are here. I know you, Order. You would not have stayed at my birthday party for long, but something about your actions tells me that you are up to something. Don’t try to weasel your way out of this either. I am… the master of weaseling after all.” A half-finished marble statue of a weasel appeared on the table with the snap of his claw. The plates and décor flew up from the table and landed with a collective THUNK before settling. “Discord, don’t do that again. My coffee almost spilled.” Celestia flipped her newspaper to the next page, and sipped her coffee that was in her magical grasp. Discord shook his head at Celestia and turned to look at Order. “Well, care to explain yourself to the somewhat sane ones?” Twilight perked up. “Somewhat?!” “Yes, somewhat.” “Nobody is sane at this table, we all merely perceive things to be different.” Order looked up at the ponies. “For example, you see Discord as threat, so you reform him!” Order clapped his hands together. “Good great amazing! One threat down, a million to go! Point is, I see Discord as one that preserves the natural balance of Order and Chaos. I being Order, and he being Chaos.” He frowned and twitched his eye. “So please break the spell on Discord and restore Order.” Discord looked dumbfounded. “There is no spell, it’s just my own choice to be this way Order. I needed friends, I needed ponies to get along with. Being cooped up in a statue for a thousand years as punishment for my rash actions weren’t good on my mind, not to mention it being oh so very lonely!” He dramatically put a claw to his forehead and sighed. “A being needs friends, y’know?” He sat in his chair casually. “Lies. I do not believe you to be one that would do that sort of thing. You are not a rational being and were made as such! You were created to cause disharmony and chaos! We are equal in the way we perceive things, everything needs to be fixed! It is too harmonic here and you know it! If you don’t straighten up, I will do something that I don’t want to do, but it is simply needed. Unless you want the world to become corrupt again!?” Order slammed his fist on the table and breathed heavily through his nostrils. He looked around and noticed the attention he had gotten. Celestia was eyeing him with a mixture of curiosity and frustration. Twilight and crew had mixed reactions, Fluttershy hugging Discord in fear. Luna was glaring daggers at Order, knowing what he was up to. Discord had a fearful look, but attempted to remain calm. “You are insane.” Discord spoke softly. “As are you.” Order replied in a louder tone. “Pray tell, how would you do this? You have no power here, Father gave this world to me after you screwed up last time.” Discord eyed his brother cautiously. Order smiled grimly. “With this of course.” Order pulled out the Luger he was oh so fond of. Holding it up for all to see. They did not know what it was, but they eyed it in bewilderment and fear, an interesting mix of emotions. “And if you aren’t willing to straighten your act, then I will have to do something to straighten everything out for the year.” “I do not need to be straightened up! I am perfectly fine with my friends!” Discord crossed his arms and scooted closer to the smiling six ponies he had come to know. Celestia and Luna smiled warmly at Discord, knowing that he had chosen the right path. Order, however, had not. “And like it or not, we are fi-“ BANG THUNK Discord stared at order in surprised, and his eyes followed where Order’s gun arm was pointing to. The body of the chef, who had come to bring out their breakfast, slumped to the floor. Dishes were strewn about and the mess was terrifying to pony eyes. Order chose not to stay in the room any longer, he left with only a few words behind him, drowned out by the screams of many. “If you don’t straighten up, then I’m afraid that I’m here to do my duty to preserve Order in any way I can.” Order straightened his tie as he pushed the door away. Guards rushing in behind him to examine the damage. “Even if it includes harming the lives of other. There is Order within Chaos, and Chaos within Order. More or less… A Chaotic sort of harmony for this world. What with Sombra and other beings coming back.” The screams rang out through the castle and orders were barked out. Order swiftly walked to his room and retrieved the books of magic he had taken from the library. He exited his room and found guards patrolling the walls, likely searching for him. He had not killed the chef, merely injuring him. Though lead was much more poisonous to ponies than it was humans. He had to do everything he could to preserve order. And with that, he fled. Chapter 5“I want all guards to search for Order! He is armed and very dangerous, and we want him alive! Do not fight him alone, and if you catch him while you are alone, run away! You are equipped with the purest gold armor and weaponry so you should be exempt from his magical grasp! Unfortunately, he has a weapon that can pierce metal, as it is made out of metal! Go, find him and bring him back to the dungeons!” Shining armor called out to the thousands of advancing guard, as per Celestia’s orders. Twilight was in the hospital attempting to clean the chef’s bloodstream free of lead. The lead particles were far too small to catch with magic, and they had not developed the tools or medicine necessary to free the bloodstream of a metal poison. As nobody had ever tried to do this to anybody in the history of Equestria. Sure, ponies wanted control, but they never sought to actively attempt to kill anybody. The chef was bandaged and placed on a ventilator, his blood was being pumped through a filter that was lacking in technology to filter all of the lead out, but it had sufficed thus far. The pony was in a coma as of now, and had been dangerously close to dead before the ponies could figure out what had just happened. The rest of the mane six were back in ponyville, as Twilight had teleported them right away in fear of them being harmed. A rightly justified action on her part, and she would later be commended as such. Of course, the ponies who were teleported quickly spoke to the rest of the townsponies about how the being known as Order had nearly taken the life of an innocent pony. Fear quickly spread through the town, a similar thing was occurring in Canterlot as ponies stayed inside their homes whilst the guardsponies ran to and fro searching for the one known as Order. Guards knocked on doors to check the houses, but ponies did not answer. They wouldn’t want to be killed by the human after all. Fear was such a powerful thing. Possibly the most powerful emotion that takes hold of someone. It causes them to do irrational things. Examples could entail crying in a corner while screaming at the voices to go away, or screaming at a shadow to go away, or screaming at your husband to leave the potted plant alone. You may ask, “But mister narrator! Why would someone yell at a potted plant?” Drugs I tell you. It’s all drugs. Order had fled the city and had escaped to the train stationed in Canterlot. The conductor tipped his hat to the man as he sat down. “You’re in luck Order, nobody else is here. They’re all in their homes after you shot that chef. I wonder what he was serving, oh well. You cannot go back to the human world right now… Something odd is happening there, it would be best for you to stay here. As such, I can give you a ride to Appleloosa, a backwater town.” Order grunted in acknowledgement and sat down in the first class seat. The train was a beautiful comfort, if a little small for his tastes at the moment. He pulled out the Luger had had concealed and ejected the clip. He loaded a bullet into the clip to keep it full and slipped it back into the Luger without cocking it. The conductor sighed and shook his head before moving to the engine, where he would sit down and start up the train. The train pulled away with a whistle of the engine; just before the guards rushed to the station. Two guards rushed to the station where the train was pulling away, short of breath. “Do.. You think… He… Was on the train…?” The guards panted and chuckled. “Maybe… Should we tell… The princess?” The guard huffed and sat down chuckling as well. “No… The conductor wouldn’t have started the train… Though he does have a record of escaping jails…” The guard mused over the thoughts. “Eh, he could be in the city. Let’s keep looking.” The guard looked to the other. “Agreed.” So the two guards ran back into the city and kept searching along with their colleagues. A disappointing search as they would say later, because Order was on the train they had just passed by; a train that was going to Appleloosa, a place where nobody would ever expect him to be at; nobody apart from the conductor of course, but he could not be caught, and the reason is secret to all apart from Order and the conductor himself. Both were good friends and had been together for some time, Order had lost count a while ago. “You know.” The conductor started. “Why do you want to bring your brother back to your side? It doesn’t seem to make sense.” He adjusted his hat. Order chuckled. Without order, imagination is merely a mess of thoughts. Unable to get into any form, unable to even be created. Without chaos, imagination is merely a mental checklist, similar to a shopping list, but one without anything new or fresh. Merely motions that will be repeated thousands of times in the future. Merely gears in a clock. Inspiration is also a combination of Order and chaos. One that is a breath of fresh air. Inspiration is the wind that cleans up the mess of chaos. Inspiration is the breath that cleans away the dust of order. Without Imagination and inspiration, with chaos restrained, the races on the Ponies' world are doomed to be merely clockwork creatures that barely qualify as living beings, if there is a sheer overabundance of order.” Order clapped his hands together as the conductor sucked air in between his teeth. “I see now. Well, good luck with that! Off to Appleloosa for you!” The train had just pulled into the station as Order finished his speech. The train could go abnormally fast when nobody but the Conductor was on board, save for Order himself, and a few other beings. Beings that were ethereal in nature and could not be described in words. Beings that could only speak on the Astral Plane. “Hm, alright then my friend. I will see you another time. Hopefully alive, which is the probable outcome. To kill me would be the worst possible thing to do, although knowing the ponies, they would likely encase me in stone if they could.” Order waved to the conductor as he stepped off the train. The conductor waved back and started the train up again. “What an interesting man…” The train whistled and started to chug. Ponies were furious that they could not get on, but the train was not meant for stopping at Appleloosa in the first place. The train pulled away from the station and moved swiftly across the tracks towards Ponyville, a town that was currently in a state of panic. “Well… I oughta find someplace to rest, and hope that the guards don’t reach here before I can hide.” Order laughed out loud. “Who am I kidding? I can wipe them out if I chose to, but It would do no good. Life is the greatest gift here, and Is not a curse.” The corners of his mouth twitched. “Then again. I will have to do such atrocities if I am to maintain order in a land with no chaos. Or is it the other way around?” Order sighed and dunked behind the Appleloosa tavern, a large shanty building made out of the finest planks from the dumpster it seemed. Order decided that now would be the time to hide himself from the local populace, so he took off into the desert, choosing a random direction to go forth into. “A risky… Manuever… But it shall suffice.” “At least I hope that it will suffice…”
Chapter 1“He what?!” The woman on the phone shouted in a loud manner. “Mom! Listen to me, please mom!” The boy pleaded with his mother, but his mother kept chattering away on the phone; not listening to her son’s pleas. The boy continued to try and get his mother’s attention, but to no avail she did not relent in her loud chattering. The woman’s eyes lit up in surprise as if a car was coming straight at her. She quickly hung up on whoever was talking and glared at the boy, who was tugging on his mother’s short cut skirt. “Samuel! What have I told you about picking on other kids at school!” “But moooom! Todd started it!” The boy cocked his slightly to the side and puffed out his bottom lip in a begging manner, asking for forgiveness. “I didn’t do nothing wrong, Todd just blamed me for no reason! I swear!” The child’s mother glared at him before grabbing him by the wrist and briskly walking him away from the bustling crowd. “No desert for you tonight, mister! Your father will hear about this for sure!” She walked him through the crowd of people in the subway station until they reached the platform, where the train sat there waiting patiently. The woman and child stepped in, much to the child’s chagrin. I’m sure he wouldn’t like what was coming to him… The man thought. He sat on a stone bench that was built into a large pillar facing the train. He had enjoyed the little incursion between the mother and child, as he always had. People watching was a fun little hobby of his. Nobody seemed to care about the suited man with the briefcase topped with an old fedora. Yes, they always don’t know the outcome based on events prior. His perpetual smirk twitched before returning to a smirk once more. As always, they wait like sheep. They just accept whatever happens without a thought about the future. He carefully watched a distressed looking father carry his child underneath the crook of his arm, who was screaming for her “mommy”. DING. “The 12:45 train for Brooklyn is now arriving, thank you for your patience!” DING. The man stood up and straightened his tie. It looks like my train has arrived, as always, in an orderly manner. It was the last train to arrive, and he would be sure to board it in order to reach his destination, in an orderly fashion. He was all about order after all; unlike his brother who seemed to be the other way around. So rambunctious was he as a child. The man chuckled to himself as he stepped over the yellow line and into the empty passenger train. He walked all the way to the end carriage of the old train. He took a seat in the very back and right window seat facing the empty platform. Discarded cigarettes and other assorted oddities were scattered among the wet footprints on the concrete floor. The man’s grin once again twitched, but returned as he turned his head to face the seat in front of him. He took note of the conductor with the handlebar moustache carefully walking his way. The conductor stopped and stared at him for nary a moment before nodding. He about-faced and made his way back to the engine of the train to inform the conductor to start the train and leave the station. To which he so kindly did. I wonder if the country has changed much ever since my brother had decided to rule it. The checkerboard hills were rather unbecoming of the once beautiful land after all, so maybe he realized it and moved on to something better. The man reached in his suit’s breast pocket and pulled out a silver key. He twirled it around between two fingers before slipping it into the suitcase’s lock. He breathed in before turning the key and opening it. Inside of the suitcase was a simple letter. A letter from one of his brother’s friends no doubt, or it could be his brother. It did have splotches of fruit punch and peach jam scattered around it, no doubt trying to irritate him. He carefully picked up the letter and read it once more. Dear Order, The Princesses have chosen you as one of the special guests to attend the anniversary of Discord’s reformation. We feel as if this is something to celebrate and we wish you to attend this party in his honor. We wish for you to come as soon as possible as Discord is all but excited to see you. He had mentioned you in his sleep and we had gotten curious of course so we asked Spike to send this letter to somepony named order. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle. P.S. Pinkie Pie’s parties are the greatest! The man’s eyes widened. His brother had been reformed into a much better person? Well that is certainly wonderful news. But this letter was written by a pony. That means they defeated him somehow. He stared at the other item in his briefcase, a p08 Luger. He had purchased it from a friend, and what a friend he was. I suppose I’ll need this in case anything starts to get a little out of order, I don’t want another one of Discord’s incidents to come and bite me in the ass. The train jerked backward and shuddered, creating an eerie groaning sound as metal twisted and reformed itself to something else. The entire cabin was dark for the moment, as they were passing through the end of the line. The lights flickered back on, yet they were not electric. He was able to see through the windows once more, yet what lay beyond them was not the concrete adorned walls of the subway. No, a country much more beautiful than The United States appeared outside the gas lightened cabin. The toot of the steam engine was audible as the train pulled into the first station beyond the end of the line. The man smiled wider than before, as he had heard of this city but had never seen it in person. Canterlot… The city of wonders and a floating castle to boot. Discord talked about a floating castle once. I even remember him making that one castle float in Scotland before we came here… Memories… The train jerked forward as it screeched to a stop. HE heard the toot of the steam engine once more as the conductor opened the doors to the cabin, no longer a human. The conductor still adorned his handlebar moustache, but he was now an old stallion instead of a man. A cartoonish drawing of a punch card was visible on both of his flanks. As well as the old fashioned conductor hat hiding his short cropped mane. “All aboooooaaaaard! The 7:30 train for Manehattan has now arrived!” That was is cue. He stood up to his full height, cramped as it may be, and started to walk out just as the surprised ponies waltzed in. They didn’t suspect a human in their quaint little world, and they had only heard of humans through a crackpot archeologist. Not so crackpot anymore. The conductor was the only pony that was not fazed by his appearance, as the conductor was the gatekeeper between worlds and had seen many faces. The conductor nodded once more to the man as he exited the old steam train and stepped onto the wooden platform. He breathed in the clean, crisp, warm air. A kind of far cry from Manhattan’s smoggy atmosphere, and it was a much needed break from the busy city as well. The man noticed a group of ponies standing off to the side holding a sign bearing his name, Order. As well as a creature that was rather a mismatched amount of animals all into one creature. A tad bit disorderly. His smile twitched. One pony was very regal looking with a white coat and multicolored mane that seemed to flow in a non-existent breeze. The other six, much smaller, ponies were multi-colored as well and had mixed reactions to him. He saw a purple unicorn mutter something to the mismatched creature, which looked up at him with a face that seemed to first be disinterest. Then a wide grin appeared. The creature zipped towards him and grasped around his body in what seemed to be a hug, making Order drop his suitcase. “Order, brother! It’s so great to see you again!” The creature spoke in Discord’s voice, but his behavior seemed a little less random. The creature put him down. It was then that Order noticed that they stood at similar heights. So this is my brother. A failure might I add. “Yes.” Order replied in a deeper, much more serious voice. “I came because I received a letter. I expected better of you, Discord. The plan was flawless, yet you seemed to deviate and fail like always. Now you are reformed by… Horses with magic.” Order frowned and brushed his brother’s excess fur off of his black suit. “I thought we were here to have a good time! Not to reminisce on past events that may or may not have happened!” Yes, this was different from Discord. The large white pony seemed to understand the tension as she stepped between the two beings. “Hello, I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria along with my sister Luna.” Celestia smiled in a motherly fashion. How odd. Yet she seems so benevolent. He remembered the pistol inside of the briefcase and took it out before stuffing it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Discord noticed this and nervously laughed. “Well now Order, it seems you have come prepared. We assure you that you have no need to harm anypony.” “I somehow doubt that.” The man known as Order kept an even gaze as he started to walk in an average pace towards the floating castle. It seems I have work to do, work that my brother has failed with. After all, there cannot be Chaos without Order. Author's Note Woo!
Chapter 2Discord’s expression quickly turned from nervous smile to a frightened frown. “Well hang on now! We came here to celebrate, right? So why don’t we uh… Just forget about the hostilities and celebrate the one year anniversary of my reforming!” Order frowned. If only this idiot had done what he had told and not have deviated from his instructions… I still do not understand why father tasked him rather than me to take over this sorry wreck for a country. Order’s smile returned as he looked around the scenery before him. He took in the sight of the light blue sky dotted with wispy looking clouds. Perhaps they have sorted out their problems after all. Discord seemed to settle down when he noticed that order himself had calmed down. With a loud ‘POP’ and bright flash, Twilight Sparkle and her former mentor, Princess Celestia walked beside him and Order. Order seemed to bristle once more when he noticed the two mares walking beside him and his brother, but Discord brushed it off as an awkward moment for him. Order had not seen Equestria for quite some time, and he would have to get used to a lot of things. “Order, before we proceed with the celebration I must ask you a question.” Celestia broke the awkward silence between the four. Order cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “Go on.” Where are the other five mares? His smile twitched. They must be preparing for the party; it is the most logical suggestion. My old friend logic prevails once more. He corrected his posture, which was slowly giving way. There is a much more predominant force of gravity here, interesting. “Do you wish to disrupt the lives of Equestria?” Order let his eyebrow fall. Of course she would assume that I would harm her denizens. Brother always was the troublemaker, I always knew he’d do something that would bite him back in the ass. “That would depend on whether or not they wish to disrupt my routine. If they harm me, I shall return the favor accordingly.” He turned to Celestia. Celestia’s facial expression appeared to have changed from calm and motherly to one of accepting and regret. Most likely because of his answer, but he was right. He always was. “Treat others as you wish to be treated seems to be your way of thinking then, Order.” Celestia sighed. “I suppose I can accept that, so as long as you do not tread along the path that Discord had taken. We never wish to directly harm somepony, or somebody in your case.” She was a benevolent ruler then. Only wishing to dish out punishment as a last resort is her way of doing things. Discord must have screwed up to get on her bad side. “Yes. I suppose you could correlate that with me. Although I have my own reasons for doing what I do. I would rather follow a plan and do everything according to said plan, as a good plan never fails. Isn’t that right, Discord?” Order flashed a glare towards Discord’s direction, not inherently looking at him. He still needs to be reprimanded for failing. If only father were still alive to do so. “Yes well. I have made mistakes in the past, and I wish to forget about them if you would do the same. The past does not matter now that the present has come, isn’t that right Celestia?” Discord smiled in Celestia’s direction, who smiled back with that motherly gaze of hers. Disgusting. Discord is brainwashed, not reformed. “That is right, Discord.” Celestia turned to a frowning Order. “There is no use worrying about the past anymore, besides, we are here!” Order had not been paying attention to the structure in front of him. He was forming a plan in his mind, and once he had completed the plan, he would act out upon it. Order tuned back into the real world and appreciated the structure before him, the floating marble castle. A true work of architecture and beauty in his book. His smile twitched. Of course, a floating castle is not right. It is physically impossible unless magic is involved. I don’t quite like it when magic is involved in a work of engineering. It tends to befoul the beautiful work and muddle it for what it truly could be without magic. No real talent went into building this castle. With that, he stopped appreciating the castle, and regarded it with contempt. An emotion he withheld most often. Celestia and Discord, as well as the purple alicorn mare, had not noticed the flash of contempt that had washed over his face. The three of them seemed to step in unison as they trotted up the steps to the throne room doors. Order reluctantly followed them, much to his chagrin. I am only doing this for my brother, and nobody else. I love my brother no matter how brainwashed or deviated he is from his usual personality, so as long as he doesn’t see oh so very off. I may have to regard him as such, soon… Order was the younger sibling, but Discord was the more naïve of the two. Order was chivalrous when he needed to be, and he was straight to the point. Punctual, professional, and quite simply. Orderly, as his name states. Discord always was a trouble maker, he was the one who made the saying “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back.” Come true for a short period of time. He revised his mistake because of what happened to mother. Poor Discord couldn’t understand what he did. “Are you coming bro?” Discord decided to peek his rather odd head through the door. The door was not open, but his head was simply sticking out of the heavy gold door. Order chuckled. At least he retains his quirks. “Yes.” Order jogged up the steps and stepped through the door, where a plenty of festivities seemed to be occurring. He frowned at the disorganized feel of the party. The punch bowl was somehow upside down whilst still retaining the fluid inside of the bowl. A quick snap of Order’s fingers fixed that oddity right quick. Another oddity was that confetti and streamers did not fall to the ground, rather they seemed to just fly all over the place like tiny paper airplanes. Another snap of the fingers made them fall to the ground. He had to correct a few disorderly incursions over the course of the night. Discord and the pink poofy mare were not pleased. Celestia just looked exasperated and ready to collapse. Today must have been rather taxing for her. Being the ruler of a country does have its downsides after all. Order had spent enough time with Discord to know when something was off. He immediately knew that something was wrong when he sided with the ponies. The ponies were most definitely Order’s main enemy as far as this situation goes. Discord was on their side, as he had said that he helped defeat the greatest villain to ever befall Equestria. Order knew that the real Discord would side with the villain and perhaps backstab him in the future. According to Discords testaments, some objects called the “Elements of Harmony” were used against him. This was the final detail he needed to know. The things that had caused Discord to change oh so much, and the risk it posed to Order himself. I need to get these elements and rid this world of them. If they are valuable, then they must be in this very building. This building must be the most secure in Equestria. Order hummed as his smile twitched erratically. I must fix my brother before retrieving these elements. Although I would have to resort to non-orderly methods of doing so, it is what must be done. I would rather not use magic, but this is my brother. You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family. Order’s face settled into a grin once more. After all, isn’t chaos really just organized bouts of anarchy?
Chapter 3Order hummed to himself as he traversed the brightly lit hallways of the Canterlot Castle. Estate would be a better description as it housed the very busy maids and servants who in turn served as the lifeblood for the castle, or estate. Then again, castle would still be more appropriate because of the simple fact that the rulers live, and conduct orders from their throne room which resides inside of the castle. It is in fact the first room to be entered upon opening the throne room doors. He smiled as he thought about the layout of the castle. So pristine and precise, so… marvelously symmetrical. “I could get used to this…” He passed by the many portrayals of Princess Celestia in many different forms of art. Who knew the solar princess could be so exuberant when it came to artwork? He was particularly interested in a piece that reminded him of the painting scene from the movie Titanic. He could picture Celestia and Luna inside one of the old-fashioned buggies, a hoof against the window as they… Order shook his head and frowned at the thought. Having a dirty mind would not do well for my composure at this particular moment in time… A statue was on display when he came upon what seemed to be a circus in the castle’s halls. The statue was placed smack dab in the middle of the intersection; four gleaming, white, marble pillars rose up from the four corners of the platform the statue rested on. The statue itself was Celestia in all her glory, but this time the statue Celestia wore armor as she seemed to be yelling. Interestingly enough, the creator of the statue placed a glowing effect around the statue’s horn, making the light of the glow as bright as the sun; basking the room in her almighty glory as she galloped out into battle. Order decided to pick a random hallway to decided upon where he would travel to. This hallway appeared to contain naught but a single, golden door. The golden door had intricate etchings upon which Celestia and Luna’s marks were carved into the center. Unlike the other doors, this door had obsidian-glass handles. ’Tis unique, but formality and decoration are not my speciality, I am here to make things formal and orderly, and not to take part in the exquisite pleasures that are decoration. He ran his hands across the smooth obsidian glass and whistled in appreciation. “It is rather smooth and delicate, but what lies within the decorated doors?” Order pushed the individual doors inward and widened his eyes at what he saw. Great bookshelves that stretched all the way to the ceiling. that itself seemed to be a transparent geodome reaching up eighty feet. The bookshelves themselves were carved out of mahogany, hundreds of bookshelves all carved out of mahogany. The edges were lined with gold, it truly was a fantastic feet. It was then he noticed that the books themselves were being plucked out from between the other books and dusted off with a purple glowing duster. rolling ladders lined each of the bookshelves, and several polished copper chandeliers hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in an orange glow. Automated brooms swept the floors, with no user to guide them. They swept the dust from beneath the bookshelves that the feather dusters dusted off the books themselves. He shook his head. “I must not be strayed away from the task at hand… While i wanted to find the library, it is a particular section i wanted to traverse to.” He walked down the center of the room, searching for the section he was wanting to find. What was in the section was decided by the curator, whom was unknown by him. He would assume that the curator was out to lunch. Order lifted his wrist to look at his watch, but he then realized that the time was not set to Equestrian Standard Time. Order sighed to himself before escalating his pace to a brisk trot. The signs seemed to be listed as their own organization system, and not the organization system he was used to. The system that the Equestrian’s used was not unlike the Dewey Decimal system that resided in his universe. It had taken little thought to translate the system, and he was back on track again. The section he was particularly interested in was the “pre-history” section, of which he was hoping to find magics of the ancient kind. Therein lies the problem as to what sort of magic should i be searching for; should it be in the dark magics, or rather the harmonious magic. He hummed in thought. “Should it reside in the harmonic section of magic, then I shall figure a way to disable the “change” that this brother of mine has undergone… If there is no solution…” Order lightly gripped the holster attached to his underarm. “Then i shall create one.” Order frowned as he thought about the possible solution. “A permanent solution to a somewhat permanent problem that Discord should not have to deal with. It would create disorder amongst the balances of chaos and order. Ironically, it seems that these ‘Elements of harmony’ have decided to take up the mantle as the leading cause of chaos.” The side of his mouth twitched upward into a half smile. “So it seems that there would be a balance after all…” He eventually found the section he was searching for, and with a small battle with a feather duster; the book itself as well. There was no dust to be brushed off, for it was just a simple book with an even simpler title. “A guide to harmonic magics.” Order thought out loud. Interestingly enough, the book was rather short. I suppose there isn’t much to understand about harmonic magics after all, seems that this will be more simple than I first thought. But it was not as simple as he thought. Sure, he may have a power equal to that of his brother’s, but the magic was used for undoing chaos and creating order. It was used for making a setting formal and opaque. In layman’s terms, his magic could be described to make things boring. It was not boring to Order though, it was his way of life. It was his only voice amongst the shouts of color and disorder. The book contained the symbols of the elements of harmony. Other symbols were present, but Order held no understanding of the strange markings. They were nothing but random squiggles; there was a resemblance to what looked to be mathematical equations, but instead of numerals, decimals, and other brain-warping contusions, there were these odd symbols. They were vaguely familiar, but it had been so long since he had last been in Equestria that he could hardly tell what they meant. They seemed so utterly new, yet so astonishingly familiar. Order had started to get frustrated before he closed the book. “These odd equations must have a tie in with magic, but I am not sure how… perhaps the odd symbols represented the motions in which an alicorn or unicorn must proceeded with in order to cast a spell; if so, why are they so complex when what those ponies do seems so simple?” He creased his brow in frustration. Perhaps if ponies did not have magical influence over their world, life would be much simpler, but they were happy as they were. They had no drive or ambition. Progress is stagnated because of magic. Humans had progressed more in the past hundred years than Equestria has in the last millenium. The only plausible conclusion that can be made is that magic makes Equestria constantly at threat and constantly being unbalanced. Perhaps there could be a way to remove magic from the entirety of the land. Perhaps then my brother would be freed from his bonds in the head. He has all his power, but his drive for chaos is gone and replaced with the desire to be friends with ponies… So unnatural… Order shuddered. “I suppose i should take my leave from this curious study…” he looked around at the many wonders it held. Art, architecture, and metallurgy included. “Perhaps I could find my answers elsewhere... “
Chapter 4Metallurgy was a fascinating concept to say the least. Who would have thought that gold was naturally resistant to magic? That would explain why the royal guardsponies were wearing gold armor and wielding gold weapons. Though why would they need gold weapons and armor when other species have very little to no magic? A curious thought in hindsight, but Order pushed on and into the depths of the darkest secrets known to pony kind. The restricted section of the library contained many wonders, the school of necromancy as an example. Raising the dead, unnatural, and order destroyed the book. “Everything in this library is unusual, but not discordian in nature. I suppose I could take a few of these books on metallurgy and magical theory however…” Order swept his gaze around the library and cherry picked several books concerning runes, metallurgy, and magical theory. One could say that these books contain the solution to Equestria’s rather obnoxious predicament, and the one person is correct. Order did not know this at the time, and so he left the restricted section for the castle, safely tucking the books underneath his suit jacket. Order considered himself to be slightly on the mad side when concerning things that unnatural. As Discord used to get on the insane side of his personality when things were in place and neat. The two catalysts raged on, suspending the worlds in anarchy and harmony at the same time, but now one catalyst left the fray and stormed the breach. Everything was too orderly and harmonic, too orderly for even Order himself. It was not of the orderly side to be so orderly, as some chaos was needed. Order struck himself on his left cheek with a gloved fist. His thoughts settled as he straightened his tie and rubbed his cheek. “Perhaps it would be in my best interest if I try to think aboutmore sane things. Rather hard concerning the nature of this place, I’d rather prefer the world where humanity prevailed…” His mouth twitched as he looked at a picture of Celestia and Nightmare Moon battling. “However, duties must come first.” “What duty is that, Order?” Order jumped as Luna spoke to him. Surprises were not kind to him it seems. As this world was filled to the brim with surprises, both good and bad as it had seemed. Luna laughed obnoxiously loud. “Oh my dear brother of the being known as Discord, we art so very sorry to have startled thou whilst walking through the halls.” She settled down and looked at Order, who was busy staring at the wall with a tired gaze. “And we art sorry for disturbing thou in thine’s personal matters as well.” Luna blushed as she continues on her walk through the halls, seemingly downtrodden. “Ah yes well, do not startle me again. I do not want to… harm you at this time.” Luna stopped, but did not turn. She gazed suspiciously forward as she formulated a response. “Yes, we shalt not do that again.” Luna briskly started to trot through the halls again. She wondered to herself a little however. “But what was that duty…” Order stopped and turned to the alicorn, whom was quickly trotting away. His ears had caught the whisper she had made. She was trying to get information it seemed, but why would they do it in such and odd manner? “Something that will be… discussed… at a later date it seems. No matter, I must find Celestia and bargain for a room. Or perhaps I could create my own.” Order thought for a moment, and frowned. “No. I shall continue on this castle and bring Discord to order… in his chaotic form. Order within chaos… An interesting concept.” Order’s frowned turned to a grin as he chuckled. Yes, first he would undo the reform placed upon him and then he would return to his own realm of cruelty and destruction to maintain order. “And maybe tell the illuminati to lay off the media for a while…” Order smirked Back at where Discord lie, trouble was brewing. He knew why Order had really shown up. He knew that Order wanted him to be chaotic again. Of course, Discord was always chaotic, but he just chose to be nice for once. Why couldn’t Order understand that? “Should I tell Fluttershy? She would not believe a natural born trickster, but she is my friend. I shall tell her in the ‘morn!” He snapped his fingers and summoned a cake, which he promptly ate in one swift chomp of jaws. A toothpick floating and picking his teeth while he patted his overly bloated belly. “Such is the life of a god…” Hours later, the sun was raised over the city of Canterlot. Maids and servants rushed about the castle cleaning and cooking; guards walked to their stations quickly; and the captain was busy giving out orders. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia wondered why Order had been in the library the previous night, and she wondered why he did not interact with his brother. Nonetheless, she must finish her coffee. She looked into the mug and smiled. “Caffeine content enough to make Pinkie Pie explode. Perfect.” Order sat at the main dining table watching an odd video he had saved on a sort of tablet. The internet was a magical place, and a place to download videos he found interesting from youtube. One such video was one by the animator known as Harrypartridge… “So they want me back, do they? What more fun is to be had?” Order tapped his chin. “I gave Dagoth a hueing, stopping Dagon was a shuing, Alduin’s in ruins. I’m done, by the nine!” Order smirked. Celestia looked at him curiously. “But there’s rumor of a game and though I know the name, this can’t be the same for they say it’s online! Fine. Then I guess it’s, back to Tamriel!” Order laughed, while Celestia raised her eyes at him. Luna curiously watched Order’s tablet form the side. “It’s been a while, I’m excited oh can’t you tell? Back where heroes doo-el! They’ve got every province; How I’ve missed you Farfell!” Luna was gaping at the animation, Twilight and crew sat at the table watching Order curiously, while Discord sat with his arms crossed mumbling occasionally to Fluttershy. Order finally noticed all the ponies watching him, and he quickly closed the device. Luna was the first to speak up. “Is that your world, I assume?” Order frowned. “How immature to think that I live inside of some animation, no, it is merely a fantasy of a different world created by a company. The animation parodies that game, and the parody is created by Harry Partridge. A good man and a great animator. Truly one to be praised.” Luna frowned in disappointment, as did Celestia. “Now Order. I would please ask of you not to not insult my sister, it is a rude thing to do and I will not tolerate it.” The one known as Rainbow Dash spoke up as well. “Yeah, don’t talk to the Princess like that. It ain’t nice.” Order frowned. “I speak how I wish and tell the truth.” Discord looked at Order. “Then please tell us the real reason as to why you are here. I know you, Order. You would not have stayed at my birthday party for long, but something about your actions tells me that you are up to something. Don’t try to weasel your way out of this either. I am… the master of weaseling after all.” A half-finished marble statue of a weasel appeared on the table with the snap of his claw. The plates and décor flew up from the table and landed with a collective THUNK before settling. “Discord, don’t do that again. My coffee almost spilled.” Celestia flipped her newspaper to the next page, and sipped her coffee that was in her magical grasp. Discord shook his head at Celestia and turned to look at Order. “Well, care to explain yourself to the somewhat sane ones?” Twilight perked up. “Somewhat?!” “Yes, somewhat.” “Nobody is sane at this table, we all merely perceive things to be different.” Order looked up at the ponies. “For example, you see Discord as threat, so you reform him!” Order clapped his hands together. “Good great amazing! One threat down, a million to go! Point is, I see Discord as one that preserves the natural balance of Order and Chaos. I being Order, and he being Chaos.” He frowned and twitched his eye. “So please break the spell on Discord and restore Order.” Discord looked dumbfounded. “There is no spell, it’s just my own choice to be this way Order. I needed friends, I needed ponies to get along with. Being cooped up in a statue for a thousand years as punishment for my rash actions weren’t good on my mind, not to mention it being oh so very lonely!” He dramatically put a claw to his forehead and sighed. “A being needs friends, y’know?” He sat in his chair casually. “Lies. I do not believe you to be one that would do that sort of thing. You are not a rational being and were made as such! You were created to cause disharmony and chaos! We are equal in the way we perceive things, everything needs to be fixed! It is too harmonic here and you know it! If you don’t straighten up, I will do something that I don’t want to do, but it is simply needed. Unless you want the world to become corrupt again!?” Order slammed his fist on the table and breathed heavily through his nostrils. He looked around and noticed the attention he had gotten. Celestia was eyeing him with a mixture of curiosity and frustration. Twilight and crew had mixed reactions, Fluttershy hugging Discord in fear. Luna was glaring daggers at Order, knowing what he was up to. Discord had a fearful look, but attempted to remain calm. “You are insane.” Discord spoke softly. “As are you.” Order replied in a louder tone. “Pray tell, how would you do this? You have no power here, Father gave this world to me after you screwed up last time.” Discord eyed his brother cautiously. Order smiled grimly. “With this of course.” Order pulled out the Luger he was oh so fond of. Holding it up for all to see. They did not know what it was, but they eyed it in bewilderment and fear, an interesting mix of emotions. “And if you aren’t willing to straighten your act, then I will have to do something to straighten everything out for the year.” “I do not need to be straightened up! I am perfectly fine with my friends!” Discord crossed his arms and scooted closer to the smiling six ponies he had come to know. Celestia and Luna smiled warmly at Discord, knowing that he had chosen the right path. Order, however, had not. “And like it or not, we are fi-“ BANG THUNK Discord stared at order in surprised, and his eyes followed where Order’s gun arm was pointing to. The body of the chef, who had come to bring out their breakfast, slumped to the floor. Dishes were strewn about and the mess was terrifying to pony eyes. Order chose not to stay in the room any longer, he left with only a few words behind him, drowned out by the screams of many. “If you don’t straighten up, then I’m afraid that I’m here to do my duty to preserve Order in any way I can.” Order straightened his tie as he pushed the door away. Guards rushing in behind him to examine the damage. “Even if it includes harming the lives of other. There is Order within Chaos, and Chaos within Order. More or less… A Chaotic sort of harmony for this world. What with Sombra and other beings coming back.” The screams rang out through the castle and orders were barked out. Order swiftly walked to his room and retrieved the books of magic he had taken from the library. He exited his room and found guards patrolling the walls, likely searching for him. He had not killed the chef, merely injuring him. Though lead was much more poisonous to ponies than it was humans. He had to do everything he could to preserve order. And with that, he fled.
Chapter 5“I want all guards to search for Order! He is armed and very dangerous, and we want him alive! Do not fight him alone, and if you catch him while you are alone, run away! You are equipped with the purest gold armor and weaponry so you should be exempt from his magical grasp! Unfortunately, he has a weapon that can pierce metal, as it is made out of metal! Go, find him and bring him back to the dungeons!” Shining armor called out to the thousands of advancing guard, as per Celestia’s orders. Twilight was in the hospital attempting to clean the chef’s bloodstream free of lead. The lead particles were far too small to catch with magic, and they had not developed the tools or medicine necessary to free the bloodstream of a metal poison. As nobody had ever tried to do this to anybody in the history of Equestria. Sure, ponies wanted control, but they never sought to actively attempt to kill anybody. The chef was bandaged and placed on a ventilator, his blood was being pumped through a filter that was lacking in technology to filter all of the lead out, but it had sufficed thus far. The pony was in a coma as of now, and had been dangerously close to dead before the ponies could figure out what had just happened. The rest of the mane six were back in ponyville, as Twilight had teleported them right away in fear of them being harmed. A rightly justified action on her part, and she would later be commended as such. Of course, the ponies who were teleported quickly spoke to the rest of the townsponies about how the being known as Order had nearly taken the life of an innocent pony. Fear quickly spread through the town, a similar thing was occurring in Canterlot as ponies stayed inside their homes whilst the guardsponies ran to and fro searching for the one known as Order. Guards knocked on doors to check the houses, but ponies did not answer. They wouldn’t want to be killed by the human after all. Fear was such a powerful thing. Possibly the most powerful emotion that takes hold of someone. It causes them to do irrational things. Examples could entail crying in a corner while screaming at the voices to go away, or screaming at a shadow to go away, or screaming at your husband to leave the potted plant alone. You may ask, “But mister narrator! Why would someone yell at a potted plant?” Drugs I tell you. It’s all drugs. Order had fled the city and had escaped to the train stationed in Canterlot. The conductor tipped his hat to the man as he sat down. “You’re in luck Order, nobody else is here. They’re all in their homes after you shot that chef. I wonder what he was serving, oh well. You cannot go back to the human world right now… Something odd is happening there, it would be best for you to stay here. As such, I can give you a ride to Appleloosa, a backwater town.” Order grunted in acknowledgement and sat down in the first class seat. The train was a beautiful comfort, if a little small for his tastes at the moment. He pulled out the Luger had had concealed and ejected the clip. He loaded a bullet into the clip to keep it full and slipped it back into the Luger without cocking it. The conductor sighed and shook his head before moving to the engine, where he would sit down and start up the train. The train pulled away with a whistle of the engine; just before the guards rushed to the station. Two guards rushed to the station where the train was pulling away, short of breath. “Do.. You think… He… Was on the train…?” The guards panted and chuckled. “Maybe… Should we tell… The princess?” The guard huffed and sat down chuckling as well. “No… The conductor wouldn’t have started the train… Though he does have a record of escaping jails…” The guard mused over the thoughts. “Eh, he could be in the city. Let’s keep looking.” The guard looked to the other. “Agreed.” So the two guards ran back into the city and kept searching along with their colleagues. A disappointing search as they would say later, because Order was on the train they had just passed by; a train that was going to Appleloosa, a place where nobody would ever expect him to be at; nobody apart from the conductor of course, but he could not be caught, and the reason is secret to all apart from Order and the conductor himself. Both were good friends and had been together for some time, Order had lost count a while ago. “You know.” The conductor started. “Why do you want to bring your brother back to your side? It doesn’t seem to make sense.” He adjusted his hat. Order chuckled. Without order, imagination is merely a mess of thoughts. Unable to get into any form, unable to even be created. Without chaos, imagination is merely a mental checklist, similar to a shopping list, but one without anything new or fresh. Merely motions that will be repeated thousands of times in the future. Merely gears in a clock. Inspiration is also a combination of Order and chaos. One that is a breath of fresh air. Inspiration is the wind that cleans up the mess of chaos. Inspiration is the breath that cleans away the dust of order. Without Imagination and inspiration, with chaos restrained, the races on the Ponies' world are doomed to be merely clockwork creatures that barely qualify as living beings, if there is a sheer overabundance of order.” Order clapped his hands together as the conductor sucked air in between his teeth. “I see now. Well, good luck with that! Off to Appleloosa for you!” The train had just pulled into the station as Order finished his speech. The train could go abnormally fast when nobody but the Conductor was on board, save for Order himself, and a few other beings. Beings that were ethereal in nature and could not be described in words. Beings that could only speak on the Astral Plane. “Hm, alright then my friend. I will see you another time. Hopefully alive, which is the probable outcome. To kill me would be the worst possible thing to do, although knowing the ponies, they would likely encase me in stone if they could.” Order waved to the conductor as he stepped off the train. The conductor waved back and started the train up again. “What an interesting man…” The train whistled and started to chug. Ponies were furious that they could not get on, but the train was not meant for stopping at Appleloosa in the first place. The train pulled away from the station and moved swiftly across the tracks towards Ponyville, a town that was currently in a state of panic. “Well… I oughta find someplace to rest, and hope that the guards don’t reach here before I can hide.” Order laughed out loud. “Who am I kidding? I can wipe them out if I chose to, but It would do no good. Life is the greatest gift here, and Is not a curse.” The corners of his mouth twitched. “Then again. I will have to do such atrocities if I am to maintain order in a land with no chaos. Or is it the other way around?” Order sighed and dunked behind the Appleloosa tavern, a large shanty building made out of the finest planks from the dumpster it seemed. Order decided that now would be the time to hide himself from the local populace, so he took off into the desert, choosing a random direction to go forth into. “A risky… Manuever… But it shall suffice.” “At least I hope that it will suffice…”
