Harmony Through Chaos - Book One: Emberdawn

The human and his changeling companion walked through the streets of Canterlot. The ponies responded by creating complete and utter chaos. The human liked this. As such, he was having a hard time talking due to his laughter. “—And then—” He broke off to laugh some more before catching his breath and continuing. “—And then— Did you see Blueblood!? He was— He was—” He started laughing again, unable to finish the sentence.

The unamused changeling gave no response.

“Oh, you’re no fun...” They reached the castle gates after a few more blocks, where the human froze some angry guards in place with a snap of his fingers. “Now how do we get in...?” He suddenly grinned and turned to the changeling. “There’s an open balcony over there. Can you still use your wings while in human form?”

“Yes.” The changeling’s insectoid wings suddenly appeared on her human form in a flash of verdant flames.

After a few moments of silence, the human burst out laughing again. “Nice wings, Tinkerbell!”

“Ugh... I liked the other name better...” Without giving the human time to respond, she took off and flew in the direction of the aforementioned balcony.

With a shake of his head and a snap of his fingers, the human teleported up to meet her. Little did he expect at the time that he was about to teleport into the bedroom of the Lunar Princess. Somehow, it took seeing her looking at something through her telescope to realize that that was the reason for the star-themed room. Unfortunately for the Princess, she was too busy with her telescope to notice her guests.

The human put a finger to his lips as a signal for the changeling to be quiet. She nodded in confirmation. The human slowly made his way over to the Princess... where he promptly shoved his face in front of the telescope and yelled, “Hey Lulu!” The only reason he didn’t meet the same fate as the wall behind him was that the force of Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice had knocked him over.

The changeling giggled. “Heheh... You almost died.”

“Shaddap!”

“Got a name yet?”

“No...”

“Got a name yet?”

“No.”

“Got a name yet?”

“No!”

“Got a name yet?”

“NO! How about you come up with a name if you want me to have one so badly!?”

Jackson paused, stared at the drone for a few seconds, then made an angry cat noise and continued walking. “Fine, but if I come up with something stupid, you’re not getting out of it.”

“Deal.”

“...”

“Got a name yet?”

Jackson threw his arms into the air. “Quit pestering me, woman!”

“Got a name yet?”

“Felicia.”

“What?”

“I do hereby name you Felicia, because that’s a human name and you’re always so happy!” Jackson somehow managed to say this with an even tone while looking directly at his companion’s angry frown.

“No.”

“Come on everypony

Smile, smile, smile!”

“No.”

“Fill my heart up with sunshine,

Sunshine!

All I really need's a smile, smile, smile!

From these happy friends of mine!”

“No.”

“I can keep going if you want.”

Felicia instantly gave a massive smile and assured him, “No, no need. I’m smiling now, look.”

“I am looking, and if it weren’t for the fact that you look like a female version of me, I’d say you look really cute when you smile.” The changeling blushed and fell back a couple paces. ’Make journey awkward for companion: Check.’

And so it was that for the entire five day trip, Felicia refused to make eye contact with her companion. She began to behave normally again at around the time they reached Canterlot. Likely due to the fact that the entrance was crawling with guards, and that was more important that any prior awkward situations... For her anyway... Jackson on the other hand; he just walked right up to the guards like he expected to be let in.

“‘Ello! Fine weather today, innit?” It really was; the sun was high in the sky, and not a cloud was in sight. Though apparently the guard liked cloudy days better or something, because his immediate response was to use his magic to point a spear at the human’s face. “Uh-oh. Somepony’s grumpy.”

“Halt and state your intentions, creature!”

“I am going to waltz through the streets of Canterlot, creating mass panic along the way until I reach the castle, at which point I will prank the Princess into thinking I’m Discord.”

Felicia facepalmed. “You idiot.”

“Sh! The grownups are talking; and they have swords.”

“Actually, he has a spear.”

“Shut up. We’re not having this argument right now.”

“Yes we are.”

“Fine.” He turned back to the guard, who wasn’t certain if he should laugh or call for reinforcements. “Do you have a sword?”

The guard lowered his spear a bit. “Yes...”

“There. He does have a sword, even if he’s not using it. If we had money, you would have totally been down ten bits.” He then snapped his fingers, causing the guard’s magic to stop and the spear to drop. That might not have been the best idea.

The guard immediately began frantically tapping the side of his horn with one hoof. “Ah! What did you do to me!?” The rest of the guards, who up until now had been standing on the sidelines, immediately rushed forwards. *Snap!* Correction: They rushed forwards in slow motion.

Jackson grinned as he watched the guards’ faces very slowly became looks of confusion. He chuckled, then said, “Alright. Let’s go.” before walking off.

Felicia gave a nervous glance to the guards behind them as she jogged to catch up. “How long is that going to last?”

“What? The slomo? Heh, fuck if I know.” He quickly corrected, “Sorry, ‘buck’.”

“Aren’t you going to get worn out from using your powers on that many for an extended period of time?”

“Actually, It’s not using an opposite force to slow them, it’s literally absorbing their kinetic energy. If anything, it’ll make me stronger.”

“That seems... unfair.”

“Yeah, but it apparently requires a lot of concentration to hold. That’s why the guards are all running at us again.”

“What!?”

Jackson took off running. “Come on!”

Felicia followed in a panic. “Those guards are going to kill us if they catch us!”

“I know! Isn’t it exciting!?”

“You’re crazy!”

“What’s your point!?”

She looked at the crazed human, who seemed to be enjoying their situation a lot more than he should be. “I’m not sure anymore!”

“Look out!” She returned her gaze forward and saw that they were about to run into a white unicorn with a blonde mane. She adjusted her course to go around him, while Jackson simply vaulted over the confused unicorn, snapping his fingers as he did so. Once back on course, he placed his newly acquired bag of bits in his coat pocket. “Heh... dick.”

The castle gates were just visible at the end of the street, but there were still an entire city’s worth of guards chasing them. Felicia glanced back at them, and immediately tripped. “Woah!”

Jackson looked back, saw that she had made the same mistake as he had with the manticore, laughed at the irony, then froze all of the approaching guards in place. He walked over to the fallen changeling, then helped her up. “Wasn’t that fun?”

“... Maybe a little.” Jackson gave her a smug look, which she promptly ignored.  “Those guys are completely frozen this time. I take it that one cost energy?”

“Yeah, but I managed to swipe a bag of bits off of Prince Blueblood, so I can just go buy a coffee later.” He started laughing. “Speaking of which, THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!” He now broke down completely. “—And then—” He paused to laugh some more before catching his breath and continuing. “—And then— Did you see Blueblood!? He was— He was—” He started laughing again, unable to finish the sentence.

Felicia didn’t even bother responding.

“Oh, you’re no fun...” They reached the castle gates after a few more blocks, where Jackson froze some more angry guards in place with a snap of his fingers. “Now how do we get in...?” He suddenly grinned and turned to the changeling. “There’s an open balcony over there. Can you still use your wings while in human form?”

“Yes.” Her insectoid wings suddenly appeared on her human form in a flash of verdant flames.

After a few moments of silence, Jackson burst out laughing again. “Nice wings, Tinkerbell!”

“Ugh... I liked the other name better...” Without giving him time to respond, she took off and flew in the direction of the aforementioned balcony.

With a shake of his head and a snap of his fingers, Jackson teleported up to meet her. He had noted before that the inside of the room had a nighttime theme, but quickly realized the significance of that when he arrived to find Princess Luna looking at something through her telescope.

He put a finger to his lips as a signal for Felicia to be quiet. She nodded in confirmation. Jackson slowly made his way over to the Princess... where he promptly shoved his face in front of the telescope and yelled, “Hey Lulu!” The only reason he didn’t meet the same fate as the wall behind him was that the force of Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice had knocked him over.

Felicia giggled. “Heheh... You almost died.”

“Shaddap!” He glanced at the completely destroyed wall behind him, then addressed Luna. “That’s no way to treat guests!” Luna simply gawked at him. “Careful... Might catch some flies with your mouth open like that.”

The Princess quickly regained her composure, then asked, “Human, how did you get into my chambers?”

“My name’s Jackson, but please, call me Jackie. And as for how I got up here? I~ snapped my fingers, and poof! I was suddenly standing on your balcony!” He glanced behind him again before correcting, “Former balcony.”

“You snapped your— Show me.”

“Ugh... I’m a bit worn out from dealing with all those guards... I know! Throw something really heavy at me!”

Without hesitating, she immediately used her magic to chuck a portion of the wall at him. He snapped his fingers, and the stone slowed to a crawl. Luna was once again gawking. “You—”

“Whew, thanks. I really needed that.” He stretched, then headed for the door. “I’m bored. I’m gonna go prank your sister.”

This seemed to snap her out of her catatonic state. “You can’t! You’re a Chaos Mage! Tia will kill you on sight!”

Jackson froze. “Imma what?”

“You don’t know? Chaos Mages are always briefed on their jobs before being sent.”

“Meh?”

Back on earth...

An odd looking man in a cloak stood staring at room two-oh-eight on the second floor of a local law firm. He suddenly lunged forward and threw the door open. It revealed an office. Inside, there was a very confused man in a suit. The cloaked one slowly closed the door. He narrowed his eyes and stared at it for a bit more before lifting his arms up and screaming, “I AM AHRIMANES, AGENT OF CHAOS, AND I COMMAND THIS GATEWAY TO OPEN!”

Meanwhile in room two-ten, the man who was once Jackson’s potential employer looked at the floor and slowly shook his head. “I thought I told Lindsay to stop letting drunks into the office...”

Jackson scratched his chin in thought before coming to a conclusion. “Oh well.”

As he made another move for the door, Felicia said, “I am not coming with you to go get killed by an angry Sun Goddess.”

“Yes you are.”

“Alright, yes I am; but only because Queen Chrysalis ordered me to stay with you.”

“You’re worried about me getting us killed, then you go and tell a Princess of Equestria that you’re a changeling. Sometimes I wonder about you...”

Jackson and Felicia both looked to Luna for her reaction to the revelation. She simply shrugged and said, “You’re a Chaos Mage.” as though that explained everything.

Apparently to Jackson it did, because his only response was, “True.” He continued to the door, and opened it to find his way blocked by a white unicorn with a blue mane. “Nope.” He then slammed the door shut and ran back to the other end of the room. “Nope, nope, nope, nope, nop—” The door was blown off it’s hinges by a purple forcefield.

Shining Armor strode confidently into the room, sword levitated at his side, and immediately noticed the human peeking out from behind Princess Luna. “Are you alright, Princess?”

Luna looked at Jackson, then back at Shining. “I think I’ll live.” She then moved out of the unicorn’s way, exposing the human.

He stood up and glared at Luna. “Hey!”

The Princess giggled. “As an enemy of the state, I cannot legally assist you. Sorry Jackie.”

“Meh. Your fault when I beat the crap outta Shiny then.”

“I’m not hindering you either.” She mentioned with a grin.

Jackson grinned back. “You want something from me. I’m going to beat Shiny, then prank your sister. If I’m still alive, I’ll see what I can do for you.”

“Most generous.”

Shining was staring at the Princess, who had just basically said that she wanted him to lose. Jackson called, “Oi! Prettyboy!” returning Shining’s attention to the human. “Catch!” He pulled out his sword and threw it at the Guard-Captain.

Shining ducked under the blade. At the same moment, Jackson jumped at him and teleported. The human appeared directly behind him, and caught the sword. He swung it downwards, and Shining blocked the attack without moving a muscle. Oh right; magic...

Shining slowly turned around to face the human. The blades of the two adversaries remained locked until Jackson pulled back. 'I can't compete with this shit! Uh...' "Felicia, throw stuff at me!"

The changeling looked confused for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay." Multiple pieces of the destroyed wall were lifted into the air by a green aura. "Here ya' go!"

Jackson caught the pieces with his slowing power, then started running around and hitting them. Shining meanwhile, was just standing there looking confused. He remained so up until the point when he realized that the floating chunks of solid stone were surrounding him. He looked at Jackson, who was now leaning against a wall and grinning.

*Snap!*

The Guard-Captain didn't even have time to raise a barrier. Luna glanced at his unconscious form as she followed Jackson and Felicia out of the room. She winced. "Sorry..."

Celestia watched from her throne with an unreadable expression as numerous guards in golden armor took up positions around the room. There were a few moments of calm as they vigilantly waited for a threat to appear. It didn't take long before they heard the sound of laughter.

The giant double-doors at the end of the room swung open, and in walked two humans and an alicorn. The male human was saying something to Luna, though he appeared to be having a hard time stopping himself from laughing. "And then I said, 'Oatmeal!? Are you crazy!?'" All three of the newcomers began to laugh. Between breaths, the male human finished, "Anyways, that's how I lost my medical license."

Luna's smile dropped with incredible velocity. "Wait, what?"

Before he had a chance to explain—If he actually could explain in the first place—He was surrounded by royal guards. He didn't seem to mind. He snapped his fingers, then continued straight through the circle of guards. "Hello Tia! Long time no see! Say, did you gain weight?"

Despite his taunting, the Princess of The Sun remained calm. "Who are you?"

"Hello, I'm The Fourth Protocol."

Celestia looked confused. "That makes no sense."

Perfectly mimicking the voice of a certain God of Chaos, he responded, "Oh what fun is there in making sense?" He summoned a glass of chocolate milk, then drank the glass. "Ugh... that tastes like crap..." He threw the chocolate milk to the side, where it promptly exploded.

"Discord!" Celestia jumped to her hooves, and several more guards ran at the human.

With a grin, he snapped his fingers once more. "STOP!" the rest of the guards froze in place. With her guards immobilized, Celestia took it upon herself to fight, and began firing beams of burning sunlight from her horn.  "Hammertime!" The human started to do a strange dance, causing all of the oncoming attacks to miss. He stopped and looked around. "Wow... I didn't think that would actually work..."

Celestia noticed that he had suddenly stopped talking with Discord's voice. "Who are you really?" She asked, confused.

"You can call me Jackie, but ONLY IF YOU LIKE BEING DISEMBOWELED BY AN ANGRY GOD OF CHAOS AND HAVING HIM PLAY JUMP-ROPE WITH YOUR ENTRAILS! If not, you can call me Jackson, Interdimensional Mage of Chaos.

"Very well... Jackson." She said, looking slightly worried by his outburst.

"Wait... Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Chaos Mages have been considered inherently evil after... Well, let's just say that if I did have you killed, it would be justified. You however, are using non-lethal attacks, whereas every previous Chaos Mage had no problem with killing every pony in sight."

"So we're cool?"

"No. Despite your good behavior, you are still a Chaos Mage, and I will not have you anywhere near this city."

"Meh. That's okay. I have something I need to do for Chryssy anyway."

"Chryssy?"

"He means Queen Chrysalis, sister." Luna spoke up. "The female is actually a changeling.

Jackson ignored Celestia's inquiring look, choosing instead to glare at Luna. "I thought you were on our side."

Luna just giggled. "Sorry Jackie, but the only side I'm on is my own."

"Wow... You're almost as bad as Chrysalis. At least you didn't read my memories without my permission." Luna gave him a sheepish grin. "Nevermind..."

Celestia looked to her sister with a questioning expression, but didn't say anything to her. Instead, she continued to address Jackson. "In any case, you are not to stay anywhere near this city." Jackson grinned. "And stay away from Ponyville as well, or I will kill you."

Jackson continued grinning. "Okay." He walked back to the entrance and unfroze the guards. "Come on Felicia."

The changeling followed him, casting a nervous glance back at the Sun Goddess behind them. When she caught up, she whispered to him, "You're not thinking of going to Ponyville, are you?"

"Mmmaybe?"

"Celestia said she'd kill you."

"So? What's the worst that could happen?"

"Celestia said she'd kill you!"

"Oh it'll be fine. I've still gotta kidnap Princess Luna and help your Queen beforehand— Er, 'hoof'. Beforehoof. Shiiit this is hard. THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!"

"What's what who— Wait, you're trying to distract me! What was that about kidnapping the Princess?"

"What! I would never suggest such a thing!" He pretended to be deep in thought for a moment. "Then again, that does sound exciting... Thanks Felicia! You're always full of great ideas!"

One of the guards that had followed them out of the throne room as escort piped up, “You know that we can hear you, right?”

Jackson turned to look at the guard as they walked. “No. In fact, I didn’t even realize you were there. He looked at another guard, then back to the first. “You guys are like ninjas... Big. Shiny. Ninjas. Well, at least I don't have to tell Luna to expect me.”

Felicia shook her head. "Jackson, your logic is flawed."

"My logic is IMMORTAL!"

"Immortal?"

"Shut up. I know what I said, and I stand by it."

"This... Is going to be a long week..."