Chaotic Harmony: Do Over

by shirotora

Chapter 17: A Series of Unfortunate Events (Non-reference edition)

Author's Note:

Sorry this took a while. It was a little hard to get this written. I probably rewrote a significant part of this chapter at least seven times. Still, I got it finished. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I don't think I'll be able to make it any better.

Hope you still enjoy.

Life went back to 'normal' for a time.

Of course, normal for me involves chaos magic and chasing off predators, but at least normal for me is interesting.

However, even my normal can't last forever.

Monster sightings had gone up. Not just in Ponyville, but all over Equestria. Monster variety had also been rising.

Of course, timberwolves were still the biggest threat in Ponyville, but there had been things that had no business being there.

---

I eyed my quarry. They were dangerous, to be sure, and I had to be smart about this. A straight forward attack would be suicide, but they were clever enough to limit my avenues of approach.

Unfortunately for them, I was clever, too.

My prey's hiding place had a major weakness, and I was going to exploit it.

I crept up from behind and with a swift strike, broke a branch holding up the creatures' den.

There were cries of panic as they darted from the relative safety and into the trees.

I gave chase, pursuing them, closing the distance quickly. Not even twenty yards passed before I was right on top of them.

With a thwip and a snap, the hunt was over...

And I dangled helplessly, wrapped in a net.

My prey returned, giggling like school fillies.

Probably because they were.

"Ah can't believe that worked!" Applebloom cheered.

"I know, how did you know he'd do that, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked.

To which Sweetie quoted, "When you are weak, make them think you are strong. When you are strong, make them think you are weak."

Scootaloo and Applebloom exchanged confused looks.

"It's Sun Tzu," I explained. "Y'all made that little fort look pretty sturdy, but added that little weak point on purpose. You made me think Ah found a flaw, but that just made sure Ah was in just the right place for you to run and lure me into this trap.

"Ah'm impressed," I laughed. "Now, can you let me down?"

The Crusaders beamed at the compliment a bit as they let me down.

I hit the ground somewhat rough and quickly untangled myself.

"Alright, why don't we-" I was cut off, both by the town alarm bells tolling and my bracelet buzzing.

"Get to shelter!" I shouted as I took off towards town.

I didn't bother checking if they listened. They weren't stupid, and the town alarm meant there was a major threat.

I kept my eyes up, scanning the skies as much as the ground. Threats that warrant the bell usually had wings.

Strangely, my bracelet wasn't taking me east, toward the Everfree, but south. I've dealt with plenty of monsters. While some have come from the south, they were usually spotted long before they got close enough to be a threat.

I ran through town. Thankfully it was mostly deserted by then.

As I got closer, I heard Rainbow Dash's familiar voice. "- couldn't hit the Canterhorn if you were standing on it!"

God bless that idiot, I thought to myself.

She was taunting the monster, making it focus on her instead of going after the townsponies.

I rounded a building and saw what could only be described as a scorpion made of freaking molten rock.

Its tail spewed lava instead of venom at the pesky pegasus, but it was little effort for her to just move aside. Sometimes, just to keep it interested, she'd fly lower, just in its claw reach, only to dart back up when it tried to grab her.

Making use of the distraction, I drew a circle and summoned a long spear.

"Hey, ugly, over here!" I shouted. Smirking, I added, "oh, the scorpion, too."

"Ha ha, very funny," Rainbow said with a scoff.

"Rainbow, get any weather ponies you can and gather up some storm clouds. Keep any fire under control," I ordered.

"Right!" She said and sped off.

I only had a moment to take in my surroundings. A couple homes were on fire. At least four bodies were burnt beyond recognition. A massive hole in the ground, must have been how it got into town.

Over all, no cover and alone. At least no cover meant less hindrance to my mobility.

Good thing, too, as the volcanic scorpion lunged at me, pincer lashing out to bisect me.

I lept away, slashing at it with the tip of the spear. As expected, it did little, but it was something and it kept me at a distance. Even then, the heat was extreme.

Then, because apparently it wasn't hot enough, it spewed lava at me from its tail.

Damn magical creatures and their disregard for the law of conservation of mass.

I reached for a decoy spell, only to feel bare fur.

"Shit," I growled, realizing I left my spell belt back at Sweet Apple Acres with my vest.

That was going to make this problematic. Getting close was already difficult, with the powerful heat radiating from it.

And I finally remembered to put together an ice spell, too.

I dodged to the side, barely avoiding the spray of lava that splashed where I was a quarter second before.

What I needed was a distraction. If I had a few seconds I could summon my new weapon, but the only one I trusted to be fast enough was getting rain clouds.

The only option I had was my chaos magic. So, I put my finger to my thumb, wished for the best and-

"Shiro!"

No.

No no no!

I turned around, my blood freezing as I saw the little orange pegasus speeding toward me on her scooter.

"Shiro! Your belt!"

"Scootaloo, get away!" I yelled.

The scorpion must have decided she would be easier prey, as it charged passed me and right at her.

I dropped my weapon, needing all four paws to run as fast as I could.

Scootaloo saw the monster heading toward her, and tried to turn around, only to hit a rock and go tumbling.

I was only barely ahead of the scorpion and it was already raising its tail to unleash a stream of liquid hot rock.

I did the only thing I could, I leapt at her, hoping I could at least shield her from such a cruel fate.

I grabbed Scootaloo and leapt as fast as I could, but I still felt the excruciating pain of lava splashing across my side, coating my legs and searing my flesh.

"No!" I heard an anguished cry, not from Scootaloo, but from Cedric, who charged in like a bullet, wielding my discarded spear and stabbing at the monster, drawing it away.

The last thing I felt before the pain stole my consciousness was the cool relief of the first drops of rain.

---

I laid there, staring at the ceiling of the hospital room. I had regained consciousness about half an hour ago, but I hadn't called for the nurse, yet.

I was scared to.

Scared to learn who else might have died.

Scared to find out I was crippled.

Was that cowardice?

Eventually, though, a nurse came in, anyway. She saw me, and gave a relieved sigh.

"Mister Tora, good to see you awake," she said.

"Wh... what happened? After Ah passed out?" I asked, even though I dreaded the answer.

Instead, she smiled. "The monster was driven off. That crystal pegasus friend of yours kept it busy while the weather pegasi opened up a storm on it. A couple specialists from down south are being sent up here to track it down. No pony else lost their lives."

I felt tears welling in my eyes. No one died. At least that.

"What about Scootaloo and Cedric?" I asked.

The nurse came to my side and started going over my vitals as she answered. "Scootaloo had a couple burns. They weren't anywhere near as bad as yours, but it was enough to keep her overnight.

"As for Cedric, he made out unscathed."

I let out a breath of relief.

"Alright," my nerves shot back up. "What about me? How bad off am Ah?"

I hadn't even tried to look at myself, yet. I was too scared of what I'd see.

The nurse, though, was ever professional. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is the princess had a specialist sent down from Manehattan specifically to work on your injuries and he insists you'll make a full recovery."

The nurse sighed. "The bad news is that road is going to be rather long. Your injuries were severe, and if not for him you would have lost both your hind legs."

I paled at that.

"The burns you sustained were some of the worst I've seen and for all intents and purposes should have been inoperable," she continued.

"What kind of specialist is he? What kind of magic did he use?" I asked.

"I'm not sure exactly, but it has you regrowing cells at an incredible rate, even ones that have no business regrowing," the nurse explained. "Of course, the majority of your legs need to regrow, so you'll still be out of commission for a while."

"How long is 'a while'?" I asked.

"At least a month, probably more," she answered."

Well shit.

---

"So," Jynx began as I was settled into a wheelchair. "How common is it for you to hurt yourself?"

"Only when Ah'm saving fillies that blunder into harm's way," I countered.

Jynx chuckled. "Well, let's hope no more fillies need rescued."

The nurse finished strapping me in and gave Jynx a nod, "Alright, Doctor Charm, he's ready to go."

Jynx thanked the nurse before wheeling me out of the room. We walked in silence for a good while, until we were outside.

"Thanks," I said, finally breaking the silence. "For agreein' to take care of me, and whatnot."

"There's nothing to thank me for," she said. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't. Besides, I never returned the favor from when you saved my life."

"Now, that ain't true," I said with a chuckle. "Ah've been paid back in spades. Ah got a beautiful, lovin' girl out of it."

She laughed. "And I got a brave, handsome male as well as my life. No matter how you look at it, I came out ahead."

"Well... can Ah ask you for a couple more favors?" I asked. "Can you take me to Twilight's? Ah need a favor from her, too."

Jynx stopped for a moment before turning around and heading toward the Golden Oaks.

---

Three ponies were guided into the library, two mares and a filly. As soon as they saw who they shared the room with, the two mares moved closer to the filly, protectively.

"Mom, auntie, don't," Scootaloo said, her voice reserved.

The mares looked from me to Princess Celestia and back.

One of the mares stepped forward. "Please, she didn't mean-"

Princess Celestia raised a hoof, cutting her off. "I assure you, this isn't what you assume. Shiro, if you will."

I rolled forward. It was talking almost everything to keep my anxiety being around Celestia under control, but I pressed on. I needed to.

"Ah'm not sure how much Earth history you know, but there were two wars that were bigger than any others; the world wars," I began. "Durin' World War 2, everyone wanted to do their part, even those who couldn't. Because there were so many that wanted to help fight off the Nazi threat but couldn't enlist, there were several programs that helped in other ways.

"One of those programs was called the Boy Scouts. They would help the elderly whose children were at war with chores, they would collect scrap metal for the foundries to make the ordnance needed to fight, and they would help ensure folks knew what to do if the enemy ever invaded.

"In short, they helped out on the homefront when the men were gone fightin'."

I looked at Scootaloo. "What you did was foolish, and if not for a specialist, Ah woulda lost mah legs." She winced, tears welling up in her eyes. "However, Ah understand why you did it. You wanted to help, and that’s admirable.

"Ah know what happened to your father. He was a brave pony; mah predecessor that gave his life to protect you. He instilled in you the desire to help others, and that's a good thing. However, that desire needs direction.

"That's why, with Princess Celestia's blessing, Ah'm founding somethin' to give ponies like you a chance to help without gettin’ in harm's way; the Junior Rangers.

"The Junior Rangers will help ensure evacuation routes are known, and will ensure shelters are well maintained, clean, and stocked with necessary medical supplies. They will stay away from the fighting, but will help ensure everypony gets to safety in an emergency."

Princess Celestia took over. "Scootaloo, I'm disappointed in your lack of thought in rushing into that fight. You endangered not just Shiro's life, but your own as well. As such, your punishment is as such; you will be the first member of the Junior Rangers. You will answer directly to Shiro and follow his orders.

"Do you have anything to say about this ruling?"

Scootaloo looked at me with teary eyes. "I... I almost get you killed trying to help... and you're idea of punishment is to make me help more?! Are you stupid?!"

That caught everyone off guard.

"No, lock me up, put me in the dungeons, don't let me hurt someone else!

"I... I almost killed you," her tears fell freely. "Just like... I don't deserve to help anyone."

I wheeled up to her, grabbed her, and pulled her into a hug. "Wantin' to help isn't a bad thing. Yes, you went about it the wrong way, and bad things happened, but don't let that drag you down. Learn from it. Let it motivate you to do better. You're a brave filly. You just need to learn how to be brave and smart. That's why I asked the princess to let me start this program."

Through her sniffles, Scootaloo managed to say, "I thought you were scared of the princess."

"Ah'm absolutely terrified of her," I admitted. "But not as scared as Ah am of you either getting hurt like Ah did or losing faith in yourself. Ah'll face any fear for that."

She buried her face in my fur, letting her fears and sorrows out.

"Th-thank you."

Comments

[Deltorix]

10049637
No problem hope to read more eventually

[Seeking Dusk]

Yeah, this was a sweet ending. Dramatic chapter, but a nice ending. This Equestria... it's... It's both really cool, but scary too. I like it as a setting, but it's just... terrifying when the tension racks up because I know someone might die. Sure it might be a random nameless character, but I dunno, I still get the feels for them.

[shirotora]

10054038
Mission accomplished

[Timstro59]

Can we have Cedrics pony name end up as "Skywalker"?
It's posted in previous chapters that's he's as big a dork as you are and I am.

P.S. may the force be with you.

edit: I want a raven now.
"Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

[shirotora]

10059480
Sorry, he already has a pony name. It'll be a bit before it's implemented, but it was set even before I started writing this.

[ShadowSpectrumSwordtails]

Gotta admit, this new version of Chaotic Harmony ain’t half bad. But that still begs the question, how are you gonna make this story fit in with Children of Chaos? Do you have a plan in mind or are you gonna change the chapter of Children of Chaos to better fit this new version. Come on, the people wanna hear the details from the Tiger himself, and skip on any of the juicy parts. 🎤. Scene take one annnnd, 🎬 action.

[shirotora]

10087551
I'm probably going to change CoC around to fit this. Maybe even reboot that entirely, too. We'll see when we get there.

[ShadowSpectrumSwordtails]

10087557
Oh, well you could always make one or commission for one, someday, when you have the time.

[shirotora]

10088099
Sorry, I really don't have the money or talent, nor is it important enough to the story.

[ShadowSpectrumSwordtails]

10088118
That’s fair. Oh well, no biggie. See yah next chapter. Tiger of Chaos.

[Timuri]

Decided to check out this story after finishing Fire & Steel, and obviously binged through it as well.

You have a very interesting setting here. I very much like the more dangerous and combative setting, because it really fits better than the safe world of the show when you really pause to think about the implications of everything the show set up. Even in the show, Equus (or whatever you're calling the world here) is basically a death world, with massive and deadly monsters at every turn. The ponies and other races have to be strong just to have survived.

I find your magic system very interesting. As a huge D&D geek (and career DM), I kinda want to get back behind the curtains to poke at the systems of magic here. I know it's not the primary focus of the story, but I do hope that we at least get to learn a bit more about the arcanum that Shiro has chosen to follow.

Finally, as a veteran Navy nuke ET it was a rather pleasant surprise to see it mentioned that Shiro, too, was a nuke.

[shirotora]

10092316
Yeah, one of the first things I noticed about MLP was how the world should be far more deadly than the show depicts it.

Then, of course, there's the fact that if a brony, who watches the show, got sent there, why would it be a perfect 1 for 1 with the show?

If Equestria was a real place, the real Twilight Sparkle wouldn't be voiced be Tara Strong, she'd be voiced by Twilight Sparkle. That begs the question, how much else would be just a little different from the show. Thus, the setting was born.

[borgvicugna]

I always loved Scootaloo's character. Your Equestria IS a scary place. You sure there are no velociraptors?

[shirotora]

10093720
Nah, velociraptors are too scared to go there

[borgvicugna]

10094330
Ha ha! Velociraptors ARE probably smarter and friendlier than hydras and timber wolves, so I can see them running for safer lands.

[shirotora]

10094600
They probably smell better, too.

[Timstro59]

10094608
That's not saying much TBH.

[Master king]

This was a wild and heart warming chapter.