//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: BEDLAM III: Quiet on the Set // by Gormless Wheaton //------------------------------// I stuck my tongue out in thought, pondering the cards before me. A quiet hum left my lips as I mulled over my options. I glanced up at the ground between us. I definitely had a lead, but overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. Especially given my opponent. I gave a firm nod. "Got any threes?" I asked with a smile. Silence was the only reply. Of course, having a lead definitely doesn't mean much when your opponent isn't even playing. I let out a frustrated grunt and dropped my cards. "C'mon, Eddy. I kept my promise and came to visit, didn't I?" He just kept staring off to the side, leaning against the bars on the opposite side of his cage, his own cards still just at his feet where I'd dealt them. After a moment, he finally responded. "What are your thoughts on the fact I came from a whole other world?" Man. "I don't really feel like talking magic theory, Eddy," I sighed but forced a smile. "But if it'll get you talking so we can maybe finally work through your feelings and stuff, I'm willing to make an exception." He snorted and fought off a grin. "I'll take it, but make no promises," he turned to face me and leaned forward on his knees. "So?" "So, what? Way back when we talked about this all the time," I shrugged. "The fact that you're here, across the vale between worlds and from a world with no magic at all is.." I shook my head with a hum as I searched for the words. "It's amazing," I finally said. He snapped his fingers and wagged one at me. "That's what it was!" He chortled. "The Vale, that was the word you used to use." He rubbed his chin and nodded. "How much energy do you think it took for me to cross it?" "Not that much. It was just focused on a single point, and magical mishaps have a tendency to draw more power than normal," I replied. "Mishaps," he snorted. "I wonder about that." I recoiled with a frown. "What? Do you think we brought you here on purpose?" "Not you, no," he waved his hand. "And I can't even be certain, but when you and your friends come out with those fancy sets of chosen-one jewelry and the whole cutie-mark destiny thing, I dunno." He hummed and folded his arms. "Makes a guy question if there isn't something bigger going on around here." I nodded. "There is. We call it Harmony. It is the magic of the whole world, all moving towards a singular purpose." He tilted his head. "That being?" "Peace, prosperity, and happiness for everypon- everyone involved," I explained. He chortled again, darker this time before picking up and shuffling his cards. "And that singular purpose let a mishap like me happen, huh?" I scowled. "Accidents happen, Eddy. That's Chaos," my scowl softened and I leaned forward. "And you're not a mishap." "Oh-hoh, yeah!" He laughed and flicked a card at me. "Definitely feel pretty intended when ya'll had to lock me up down here in Tartarus!" I frowned and picked up the card. I refrained from smiling, letting him believe I was still annoyed. It was a three, but the fact he wasn't cheating this time meant it was also progress. I stretched with a restrained yawn as I slipped out of my daydreaming and reminiscing. Sighing, I looked out the window of the mechanical carriage transporting me to the west coast. What used to take days by train nonstop, or tens of stops by chariot to let the pegasi rest, could now be completed in just a few hours all in one go. Just another amazing invention Eddy'd concocted, and yet another addition to the long list of things that make me ask 'What if?' There'd been a lot of those over the last three years. Clouds zipped by my window, occasionally making it opaque enough that I could see myself properly. I must've gotten really lost in thought a minute ago and dozed off. I conjured a comb made of my magic and began straightening my mane when I noticed the red light on the side of my seat blinking. Turning, I clicked it with a hoof. No sound came out. Frowning, I groaned and smacked myself in the head, remembering I'd muted the machine's voice earlier since golem voices always creeped me out. I'd mistakenly believed if it was important, I'd have noticed the light blinking. I sighed and turned the sound back on. [You have fifteen new messages waiting, Princess.] I blanched at the news, but before I could check any of them, the carriage lurched. [We are beginning our descent, Princess. Your guests appear to be waiting just below.] I huffed, stood up from my seat, and made my way to the door just as the carriage shuddered and stopped. I'd just have to listen to my messages on the way home since this meeting required immediate attention. I stood at the door anxiously before it finally hissed and slowly fell open, forming a ramp by which I stepped out onto the beach. "Hello, Twilight," Celestia greeted with a warm, but thoroughly weary smile. Luna at her side must have been just as exhausted, as she just smiled and nodded her head with a quiet hum. "Welcome back!" I replied, pulling them both into a hug with my wings. After a moment, we pulled apart and I gestured to the carriage. "You two must be worn out, so let's talk inside where it's more comfortable." "A wonderful idea," Celestia sighed as they both boarded. "And yes, we're both quite fatigued, though not for the reasons you might think." The carriage door rattled and sealed behind us. "Really? Were the creatures in Foenum more receptive than we thought they'd be?" I asked as we took our seats and the carriage began to rise. They both sat in the wide and cushioned seat that took up the entire wall across from where I sat. "Much more receptive," Celestia replied with a quiet laugh. "During their conflict with Chrysalis, she was quite, well, hm." She rubbed her chin in thought. "She ceaselessly boasted about how she was our enemy, and about Bedlam's conquest," Luna declared with a yawn. "So when they met us, they already knew we were the enemy of their enemy." I laughed. "Who would've thought her loud mouth would be so useful?" They laughed in response, but my expression turned more severe. "But was there any sign of her? Or Jury-rig, Tempest, Tirek, or anypony?" "Not at all," Celestia groused. "They managed to chase her off months ago, and haven't seen her since." I recoiled. "She was still attacking them within the last year?" They nodded. "Did she not hear what happened?" "Who knows?" Luna sighed. "Perhaps she did hear of Bedlam's imprisonment, but decided to continue using his resources for her benefit." I grumbled and glared out the window as again the clouds raced by. "Sounds in character for her." "I presume based on the fact you asked that we still have no clues leading to any of Bedlam's other associates?" Celestia asked. I shook my head and was about to respond when I noticed the blinking light again. "Not as far as I know, but I've got a few messages that might be about just that," I replied and clicked the light. [Message 1:] "Why the heck didn't you answer the first fourteen times?!" Rainbow yelled in my ear. "All of us got here as soon as we heard!" My eyes remained locked on the letter the guards had formed a perimeter around here in the middle of the garden. My breathing was shockingly even, and despite the deep-seated rage inside, I was feeling very clear-headed. "Now, let's not go takin' jabs at each other," Applejack said, stepping between Rainbow and me. "Even if she had called back, wouldn't'a done no good." The others were too shocked to add anything. Starlight had apparently immediately ran off to who-knows-where when she heard. "Indeed," Celestia added as she scanned the air. Luna snorted angrily and stomped forward, jabbing a hoof at the guard captain who wilted under her glare. "Explain to me again how this was allowed to happen," she hissed. "We-" The captain swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "We don't know! The team guarding this spot was changing shifts, and by the time the replacements got here, well.." My ear twitched. During Celestia and Luna's rule, the changing of the guard only took sixty seconds, on an off day. With Bedlam's communication devices and all, our accuracy both during and after his rule was improved by leaps and bounds. Meaning, this had occurred within a span of nearly twelve seconds. That seeming impossibility was bad enough, but the letter that was left behind only made it worse. My ear twitched again, I approached the circular stone base upon which Eddy had been sitting and fused to for three years, and read the letter once more. Dear Replacement, Didn't see that coming, did you? Come and get me, loser! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Hugs & Kisses, Eddy Bedlam.