Harmony Through Chaos - Book One: Emberdawn

...Each one is created solely for the purpose of being played."

                                                                                                        -Troika Plotnik

It takes something significant to move on after something as life-changing as the person you trust most literally stabbing you in the back. Some people might brood, some people might go completely bonkers, and others might simply try to end it all. Lucky for one Jackson Florence, he just so happened to have that something; that something being potential mental health problems... In any case, he alternated rapidly between the first two for a while, loved himself too much to even contemplate the third, and then decided to go on vacation.

Sure, he was supposed to be a General in Wilhelm’s armies, but that could wait. At least, that’s what he thought after a bit of convincing from a certain friend who may or may not have been manipulating him into fulfilling a promise he may or may not have made in return for some training a few weeks prior...

“I think you need to do something fun for once,” Adelphus said to the human that was lying in the grassy field in front of him.

“And I think that you need to get out of my dream before I do something you’re going to regret,” Jackson replied. “how are you even here anyway?”

“Isn’t it supposed to go ‘before I do something I’ll regret’?” Adelphus responded in an obvious attempt to avoid the question.

Jackson decided to just let it slide and play along. “Nope. I most definitely would not be regretting anything.”

“Oh. I get it. Champagne. Cheers. High-five. Slow clap.”

“Why can’t you just leave me to wallow in self pity until I’m just a shell of my former self alone?”

“It worries me how aware you are of your mental state...”

“Oh yeah? Well it worries me that go fuck yourself.”

“Well that was mature,” Adelphus commented as he sat down beside his companion, “Is maturity something that’s affected by depression?”

“Don’t know. Pretty sure I was always like this though. The maturity, I mean. I was actually pretty happy for a while there.”

Feeling as though he was finally getting through to the man, Adelphus gave a simple “Mhm,” and allowed him to continue.

“I mean, after I killed those gryphons, I was a total mess. I obviously wasn’t happy then, but when she forced me to talk to her... It seemed as though she genuinely cared. I would say that I’m starting to lose faith in humanity, but given the circumstances, it might be more accurate to say that I’m starting to lose faith in sapient beings.”

“Loyalty is an instinct,” Adelphus began, “but sapience grants beings to ability to move beyond instinct. In the wild, a pack of wolves will always look out for their packmates. Give them sapience, and they begin to realize that they could become the alpha without ever raising a paw, simply by manipulating the other members of the pack.” Adelphus’ smokey features gave the impression of a frown. “I learned the hard way that just because you are loyal to someone, doesn’t mean they’ll be loyal to you in return.”

“Yeah.” Jackson smiled sadly. “I’m starting to get that. Being generous is not necessarily indicative of loyalty. She gave me something I needed only to win me over so that I would help her on her little ‘adventure’.”

Adelphus decided for his own benefit not to point out that Luna hadn’t actually needed to do anything in order to enlist the human’s help. ‘It’s best if he continues to think the way he is. No need to risk him attempting to go back, not when I’m so close.’

“It’s strange,” Jackson continued, “even after what she’s done, I still don’t want to hurt her. I said a lot of messed up stuff earlier, but I was just so angry!” A few sparks of electricity arced through the blades of grass that were clutched in his hands. He raised his hands and released what was now a couple piles of ashes into the wind before sitting upright with a sigh. “I was so happy. I’m not happy anymore.”

It only took a few moments of reminiscing about the mare for a translucent image of her to begin forming before them. Adelphus promptly shot a fireball from his right hand and into her face. The image disappeared with a flash, and he grinned. “Heh. I still got it.”

At the same moment the fireball was launched, Jackson jumped to his feet with a cry of, “What the hell!?” and readied a ball of lightning, not entirely certain what was going on.

“You were thinking too hard,” Adelphus calmly explained, “Luna has a habit of prioritizing the dreams of those who are dreaming about her to check on first. Couldn’t risk the chance of that one being the real one. I mean, you are still trying to keep it a secret that you survived, right?”

“Yeah,” Jackson answered, looking slightly relieved and dispelling his lightning. His expression suddenly turned concerned again. “That fireball wouldn’t have hurt her, seeing as it’s a dream, right?”

“Not too badly at least.”

Jackson raised an eyebrow.

“Well she’s definitely been through worse, let’s put it that way.”

“...”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Luna woke with a scream and ungracefully threw herself out of her bed. In the short amount of time it took the two Night Guards stationed at her door to burst in, she had already made it across the darkened room and to the dream journal on her dresser. She threw the book open and began to draw something into it, barely visible in the dim shaft of moonlight that fell onto the page.

Luna’s dream journal wasn’t like most ponies’. Unlike most, her dream journal recounted the things she had seen in the dreams of others, rather than her own. Tonight though, that book had a different purpose. One downside of being the Guardian of Dreams; Luna never got to experience any dreams of her own. Some might pity a life without dreams, but it was all Luna ever knew. Until now.

It had been the first time the Princess of The Night had found herself ejected so forcefully from another’s dream that her mind didn’t quite know how to respond. In consequence, for a single brief moment, Luna dreamt. The dream played off of the last image she had seen, and burned the result into her mind.

Some time — and the arrival of another Princess of Equestria — later, Luna’s drawing was completed. With wide and tear-filled eyes, she turned to her sister. In the book that she held before her in her hooves, there was a rough sketch of two humanoid silhouettes mirroring each other in their stances, side-by-side and wreathed in fire and lightning.  “I had a dream, Tia.”

Twilight Sparkle was not asleep, nor did she want to be. While she had pulled plenty an all-nighter in her quest for knowledge, that in no way signified a distaste for sleep. To be perfectly honest, Twilight loved sleep. Had she not so many chores to get through each day, she would gladly have slept in as long as possible each morning. Why, then, was Twilight Sparkle awake when there was nothing she had to be doing?

Simply put, Princess Luna wasn’t the only one having bad dreams that night.

Nearly every night since her sudden return to Equestria, Twilight had been haunted by the faces of the dead gryphons she had seen on her ‘adventure’. Haunted by the faces of her newest friends as they watched one of their own strike down another. After that, the gryphons had simply allowed them to leave. With Luna unable to think clearly, it fell to Twilight to return them home. One quick teleport later and — if it weren’t for the fact that she remembered it all — it would seem as though she had never left home.

The strange white unicorn with the broken horn had stayed behind, seeing as he was still technically in the employ of the gryphons, and Gilda had done the same. Felicia had simply vanished upon their arrival, and Phoenix had returned to Canterlot soon after, though he and Twilight had at least made a short-lived attempt to stay in contact via letters.

None of that mattered though. She may have lost some friends, and the nightmares certainly weren’t pleasant. Sure, there was a war looming on the horizon, but none of that mattered, because Twilight was home.

“Well, Jackie, I think it’s time for you to wake up now. Wake up and... smell the ashes.”

With an exasperated shake of his head, Jackson answered, “I’m not even going to question how you know that reference. I’m pretty sure you were sent here a long time before that game came out.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come on,” Jackson replied with a smirk, “did you really think that I wouldn’t be able to figure out who you were?”

“What? I really have no idea— Okay, fine.” Adelphus raised his hands in defeat. “I knew I should’ve picked something other than Greek...”

It took a few seconds for Jackson to process that sentence before responding, “Wait... What?”

“What what?”

“What were you just talking about?”

“I don’t know, what were you talking about?”

“I was talking about the fact that I figured out you’re Lord Infernus. What did you think I was talking about?”

“...”

“...”

“Oh. Oh.” The newly-revealed ‘Infernus’ gave a nervous chuckle. “Whew... Nothing you need to worry about, my friend,” he said, looking both relieved and saddened.

“I don’t even know where I’d find a book on Greek in this world anyway,” Jackson said with an apathetic shrug.

“Canterlot. Good luck.”

“Yeah, no. I think I’ll just let my curiosity slide this time, thanks.”

After a few moments of silence, Infernus spoke with a more serious tone. “This changes nothing, though. Remember, you agreed to help me.”

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I getcha’. A deal’s a deal. Some people still understand the meaning of honesty. I just don’t have any idea where to start.

Infernus remained silent.

“You already have everything set up, don’t you?”

“When you wake up, ask to be shown Emperor Wilhelm’s personal archive. You’ll be allowed in because he will be interested in finding out if there’s anything you can activate that he couldn’t. Your funny little unicorn friend will show you the way to the correct artifact. From there...” Infernus laughed darkly. “Enjoy your vacation.”

“Yes. And that was not creepy in the slightest.”

“Oh, shut up. Can’t I get to have fun once in a while?” A sudden plume of smoke blasted forward, engulfing Jackson in darkness.

“What news do you bring, my child?”

“Good, for once,” the changeling answered her Queen, who was looking down at her from a massive throne with a strange mixture of adoration and disgust.

Felicia’s return to her hive had not gone well in the wake of recent events. The fact that she had returned alone was enough for Chrysalis to figure out that something was off. Unfortunately, The Queen employed a rather strict ‘always shoot the messenger’ policy. The only thing that saved the drone’s life after she had relayed her story was Chrysalis’ fascination with her increasingly independent personality. While she was also a bit worried — imagine the chaos it would cause if very drone gained independent thought — Chrysalis’ fascination won out, and she chose to spare her daughter.

“Do you recall my story of Emperor Wilhelm?” Felicia asked in response.

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed at the recollection of that day. “Of course.”

“I had mentioned that his care for Jackie seemed genuine.”

“Yes, get to the point,” Chrysalis spat, the last of her patience evaporating at the name of her hive’s last hope.

Without flinching, Felicia nodded and answered, “Gryphus has just declared war on Equestria.”

This came as no surprise to Chrysalis. To be honest, she had been expecting Wilhelm to launch a preemptive attack centuries prior. If she had been a bit less of a bitch, she probably would have realised that he had waited in order to gain a political advantage instead of mindlessly throwing his soldiers at an enemy that was backed by almost every other nation in the world.

Wait a minute...

In any case, Chrysalis was pleased that Equestria was finally getting what it deserved, but otherwise apathetic towards the topic. “Is that all?”

Felicia blinked in surprise. “What do you mean, ‘is that all’? We need to send an envoy to the gryphons immediately and form an alliance!”

“One,” Chrysalis began with an icy glare, “you will not speak that way to me. Two, we changelings have always worked alone, and that is not about to change just because you think you know better than your Queen.”

Unable to contain her anger, Felicia ignored the veiled threat and screamed her response back at her Queen. “We’ve been given a perfect chance to avenge him, so why won’t you take it!?”

Chrysalis’ anger quickly turned to surprise, then to sympathy. “You miss him,” she stated more than asked, her voice becoming soft. “I understand now.”

With hesitant movements, The Queen stepped down from her throne until she stood just before Felicia, who was looking up at her with a tear-filled gaze. “He was my friend,” the drone stated simply.

Giving in to her lighter emotions, Chrysalis bent down and wrapped Felicia in a gentle embrace. “I miss him too,” she admitted. “I may not have had a decent chance to get to know him, but he showed me kindness in a way that no sentient creature has in recent history.”

“Then why don’t you care?”

With a sigh, Chrysalis gave in. “You may leave for Gryphus as soon as you wish. I know you’ll want to do it yourself.”

“Thanks... Mom.”

Chrysalis smiled.

Phoenix sat at his desk and stared blankly at the papers before him, just like he had done every day for the last week. He knew that there was work to be done, but for some unknown reason, he couldn’t seem to find the motivation.

That was a lie; he knew the reason with complete certainty.

Even now, he could see that one of the papers on his desk was completely blank, save for a single line of writing at the top. ‘Dear Twilight Sparkle’. It wouldn’t mean much if it weren’t for the dozen or so similar ones that were currently lying crumpled in a nearby trashcan.

The red pegasus suddenly yelled and swiped all of the papers onto the floor with his forelegs before resting his head on the smooth surface of the varnished wood. What was the point? It wasn’t like any of his work would ever be seen by another pony. Returning from your scheduled vacation to find yourself blamed for starting a war with a foreign nation would do that to you.

Sitting upright once more, Phoenix opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He paused for a moment, holding the bottle in front of him by its neck, and glared at it. When the bottle gave no response, he popped the lid off and made to take a chug of his ‘medicine’. At the same moment, a hateful pony outside threw a rock through the second-floor window of his office, shattering the base of the bottle and causing its contents to spill out onto the carpeted floor.

With an apathetic expression, the pegasus tossed the remains of the bottle to the side, acquired a blank sheet of paper and an inkwell, then plucked out one of his own feathers and started to write.

‘Dear Twilight Sparkle’.

“—too many more line breaks,” Light Gear was saying to the increasingly suicidal gryphon that was accompanying him through the dungeons of the gryphon capital of Kronheim.

Though he knew he would regret it, the gryphon chose to question the statement. “What ‘line breaks’ are you talking about?”

“Seriously?” the unicorn responded with a skeptical expression, “there’s been, like, seven or eight of them. I mean, I know there's a lot of characters to go through, but come on.”

The giggling of a female could be heard from one of the cells as the guard repeatedly bashed his fists into his face. “You’ll give yourself a concussion if you keep that up.”

The guard glared in the direction of the voice.

“By all means, keep going.”

With a growl, the guard picked a stone up from the ground and wound back to throw it into the cell. Just as he was about to release it on his arm’s forward stroke, a hand grabbed his wrist. Everyone froze.

“You weren’t thinking of throwing that rock at the nice lady, now were you?”

Now trembling in terror, the guard looked up and saw the world’s favorite human looking down at him. With a shake of his head to the negative, he stuttered, “N— No, My Lord.”

“That’s good, because it certainly looked like you were about to.” When the guard dropped the stone, Jackson smiled and released his wrist. “You probably gave her quite the scare. Maybe you should punch yourself in the face one more time, just for good measure.” To his surprise, the guard complied, taking a fist to the side of his own head so violently that he knocked himself to the floor.

“Ow!”

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Jackson began to laugh hysterically, hands clutching at his stomach. “Oh— Oh God, I didn’t think you would actually do it!” After taking a minute to calm down, he continued, “Aw jeez... I could get used to this. Anyway, get outta here.” At that, the guard took off as fast as his stupid little chicken wings could carry him.

“I could’ve handled myself,” said the female voice, moving out of the shadows at the back of her cell.

“Gilda?” Jackson asked, confused, “what’re you in there for?”

“Plotting to overthrow The Emperor,” she answered nonchalantly, “how do you know my name?”

“It’s magic, I ain’t gotta explain shit,” was Jacksons equally nonchalant response. He then turned to Light Gear, who had somehow managed to stay quiet up until that point. “What about you? I assume that guy was escorting you to your cell?”

“Yep,” Light Gear answered, joyful as ever, “I’m a pony.”

“Yeah, I know. What were they throwing you in jail for though? Last I saw, you were helping ‘em out.”

Light Gear cocked his head to one side in confusion. “I’m a pony,” he repeated, “that’s why I’m here.”

Jackson waved his arms in front of himself to halt any further explanation. “Wait wait wait, they were going to put you in the dungeons just for being a pony!? I’m going to have to have a word with Wilhelm about that. Friggin’ Nazi...”

“After we get back from your vacation though, right?”

Jackson was about to answer when his brain finally processed the words. “How do you even know about that?”

“Your smoke friend told me,” Light Gear answered with a bounce.

“Right... He shouldn’t be able to do that, but I won’t question it simply based on the fact that you remind me of Pinkie Pie. Anyway, we should probably get going.”

As he turned to lead Light Gear out of the dungeons, Gilda yelled out, “What about me!?”

Jackson paused and gave her an amused smirk. “I’m pretty sure that ‘plotting to overthrow The Emperor’ is a legitimate reason for being thrown in a dungeon.”

Gilda just... looked at him.

“Sorry about leaving you here, but I know that if you look deep into your heart, you’ll find a way to forgive me.”

Gilda continued to look at him.

“Aw, jeez, you look like a puppy.”

A single tear fell from Gilda’s left eye.

“Christ! Fine, I’ll help you!” He reached into his shiny new coat that had been provided by his new friends — coincidentally the same pocket that would have held his resumé in his old coat — and pulled out a sheet of paper. “With this here document, I can pardon you of essentially any crime! They got me a signet ring too,” he added as an afterthought, “I always thought those were cool, but everything was digital back in my world and wax-sealing an email doesn’t work so great. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

Gilda looked at the paper she was handed, then looked back up, only to see that Jackson was once again walking away, Light Gear bouncing along beside him. “Wait! Aren’t you going to let me out!?”

“I would,” Jackson answered over his shoulder, “but I have no idea how to open the door.”

“They’re half-pin barrel hinges—” Gilda had time to shout out before the human was out of earshot.

“—and that makes ten if you count both the ones around the title as well,” Light Gear was telling Jackson.

“Huh,” was the human’s fascinated response.

After leaving the dungeons, Jackson had gotten another guard to show them the way to Wilhelm’s personal archive, which was apparently comprised entirely of various Chaos Artifacts. Upon their arrival, the curator allowed them in with a worried glance at the unicorn and a brief instruction of ‘don’t touch anything’.

“Ooh. Pretty,” said Light Gear, the previous conversation forgotten by both participants.

Jackson looked around in awe. He had only one response to what he saw before him. “Oh, I am going to touch everything.”

He then proceeded to do just that. One artifact appeared to be some sort of steampunk tablet that was showing a repeating recording of Wilhelm’s declaration of war. Another artifact came to life at the touch of Jackson’s chaos magic and promptly ate another one, which responded by imploding into a miniature singularity, erasing both of them from existence.

Light Gear even managed to find an artifact that... did things that shouldn’t be spoken of in public. After that of course, he proceeded to fulfil Infernus’ prediction and find the one they were looking for. He and Jackson both spent a great deal of time looking blankly at the underwhelming golden orb.

“Looks like someone played too much Assassin’s Creed,” Jackson commented as he picked up the orb. “Arrrrgh. Bow before me, for I wield an apple of OH SHIT!”

The orb emitted a terrifying screech, and a series of glowing red lights appeared along its circumference. The sound cut off just as suddenly as it had begun, and the lights blinked four times before going out.

Then everything turned white.

The light faded, and Jackson and Light Gear found themselves standing in a small room. While the decor immediately made Jackson think, ‘Fallout much?’ his company made him think, ‘Who the hell are these guys?’ Directly across from him was a midnight blue alicorn stallion and a light grey unicorn stallion with a royal blue mane. To the left was a bright green pegasus stallion and a bat-pony mare. To the right was a pastel amber unicorn with a bright orange mane, who was... wearing a chocolate brown trilby? Then beside him was...

“Oh Celestia, no!” the amber unicorn screamed when he saw Light Gear, “there’s two of them! Someone kill me now!”

Beside the amber unicorn was... Light Gear.

Jackson gave a genuine smile for the first time in quite a while. “Oh hell yes. This is going to be the best. vacation. ever.”