//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: BEDLAM III: Quiet on the Set // by Gormless Wheaton //------------------------------// Flurry and Jury screamed in tandem as the flames boiled out and I brought a hoof to my mouth in shock. It was simultaneously expected and completely unexpected. I clenched my eyes with a quiet moan and turned away. Then Ember gurgled and the roar of her flames died off. "Nice shot," Eddy chortled. "Got anything spicier?" My eyes shot open and I turned forward as Rarity screamed and Pinkie gagged. "What in blazes?" Celestia gasped. "How.." Luna muttered, taking a step back in surprise. My jaw hung as I looked forward. Eddy had Ember by the throat and was effortlessly holding her with one arm. The flames definitely hit home, as the upper portion of his clothes and skin had been burned back, leaving behind a shiny metal skeleton with glowing green eyes that sneered at us. "An animunculus," I sighed in relief, shaking my head. "Just another golem." The golem's eyes suddenly locked with mine. "Wrong," it said. I raised an eyebrow as it jabbed a thumb at itself. "My name is Edward Bedford. And I-" "Oh, brilliant," Rarity grumbled. "Another decoy he made think it was himself." "We've seen this trick before Bedlam!" Rainbow spat, stomping her hoof. "Call him out here before we kick your metal rear in!" The golem glared at Rainbow with a unique intensity before snorting. "Like I said," its arm suddenly snapped out and Ember went flying. "It's Bedford." A crash shook the hall and a rolling cloud of dust exploded from where he'd thrown Ember. Luna hissed and rushed to her alongside several changelings, while the rest of us focused on the golem. I blinked as I studied the machine. Despite being made of solid metal, its face.. Was very animate. While it had been simply sneering before, it was now properly smiling. Its jaw had actually contorted slightly to give the illusion of expression. "Where is Eddy," I demanded. The golem chuckled and tilted its head. "You mean the local guy?" It jabbed a thumb back. "He's here, in his old room. Still in stone, though." I blinked and shared a look with the girls and Celestia. "Still in stone?" Celestia pressed, causing the golem to laugh again. "Yep. I just needed to make you think he was out here. Actually setting him loose didn't matter," it declared. Starlight shivered and groaned, and Celestia lay next to us before waving her horn near her. Starlight relaxed with a sigh as the spell took hold, so I glared at the machine. "What do you mean you needed us to think he was here?" I demanded. "Are you what reactivated the Citadel?" I turned and saw Jury and Flurry standing near the wall, looking at the golem. Tempest was between them and us. "Sure am," the golem replied. "Even rebuilt that clunky Crystal Mind of his while I was at it. Needed it to be authentic, y'know?" "Enough of this," Luna spat as she came forward with Ember leaning on her and fighting off a coughing fit. "Where is your maker?" The golem's eyes lit up and he glared at Luna. "I don't have one," its arm raised and pointed at her with a click. "And you ain't listening." It swept its arms out at all of us. "Once again, I'm not Ed Bedlam. I'm Edward Bedford. I'm not an animunculus. I'm a human turned animunculus," it smirked and tilted its head. "And I'm also the guy who gave your boy the schematic for the machine I used to make the change." I blinked and frowned, but it continued before I could say anything. "And the reason I needed to drag her royal highness out here is cause she hid the one thing I came to this version of Equestria to nab," it held up a hand and rolled its wrist. A sphere of green energy formed which it sunk its hand into and pulled out- "What the heck?!" Rainbow screamed and Celestia jumped to her hooves. The golem was holding Grogar's Bell, clearly crackling with magical power. "I know for a fact you've got one of these, and it's got this Equestria's chaos magic in it," the golem said, waving the bell with a smile. "And I'd be ever so grateful if ya'll'd pass it on over." I looked at the bell and the golem before snorting a laugh. "Nice try, that's clearly-" "AHHH!" I blinked and turned in tandem with everypony else. The golem had Luna by the horn and activated the bell. My jaw hung loose again as her magic streamed out and was sucked up by the bell, all while the golem stared straight back at us. The most haunting thing about it all was I never even saw him move and there were no signs he'd teleported. He simply appeared next to her. "Clearly the real thing, yes I know," he retorted as he let Luna drop. Her mane was no longer flowing. Ember scrambled to her feet and took a swing at the golem, but her attack went wide.. somehow, and the golem snapped its arm out again, smashing his fist into her chest. She tumbled back with a heave and rolled on the ground, holding where he'd struck. The golem finished by conjuring another sphere of energy and sinking the bell back into it. In an instant, the golem was back where he'd originally been standing. The guards and other creatures formed a protective circle around Luna and Ember but were visibly rattled by the display. "Alrighty, I hope we're beginning to understand each other a little better," the golem chortled and stood with his hands on his hips, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Or does Papa need to educate the kiddies a lil' more?" A tense silence hung over our group, broken only by Ember's grunts of pain and Celestia's twitching wings as she scowled at the machine. "O-orders, Princess?" Gallus asked from the circle around Luna. "Bell," Rutherford grumbled as he looked the golem up and down. "Very bad news." "Should we fall back?" Thorax muttered to me. "You're the other Bedlam he mentioned," Tempest murmured. "From the other Equestria." "What?" I huffed, blinking and turning to look at Tempest. "Bingo!" The golem cheered and clapped. "We have a winner!" I looked between the golem and Tempest, who wore an expression of wonder and fear. "What are you talking about?" The golem snorted and clapped his hands. "Alrighty, guess the answer to my earlier question is 'yes,'" he said, nodding. "Let's start simple. Ed Bedlam came from another world, correct?" I blinked and he slowly nodded again. "Super. Now! If this world and his world are already established as two separate-" "Multiverse theory?" I finally gasped. "Jeezaloo," he quietly laughed and sighed. "Yeah, exactly." My ears shot back and I looked up at Celestia who seemed equally unsettled by the implication. "Multi-what?" Rainbow asked. "Multiverse? Ooh, like a really long song?" Pinkie offered. I shook my head and focused on the golem. Or, on the alternate Eddy, I guess. "No, it-" "Actually, she's pretty close, but do go on." I flinched as he waved a hand at me. Scowling, I turned to Pinkie. "It's a theory that countless different versions of our world exist, which differ from our own in one way or another," I explained, occasionally glancing at the alternate Eddy. "The differences can be subtle, as simple as a version of yourself that wears your mane differently," Celestia added, herself focused firmly on the Eddy. "Or as drastic as the dominant life form being completely different." "Ding ding ding," Alt Eddy said, wagging a finger at us. "And I myself come from a slightly different Earth, to a slightly different Equestria, to here." He swept his hand at the ground. "That's.. Wow," Rainbow murmured. "Shoot, I don't know about all that, but even if'n it's all true, sorta disappointin' you still turned out so rotten," Applejack spat, looking him up and down. "Least from where I'm standin'." "I agree!" Rarity added. "And what sort of world did you originally come from if you're.. well, a machine?" She shivered as Alt Eddy growled and tilted his head. "Again, we ain't listening," he said with barely restrained frustration. "I said I used a machine to change from human to machine. Then, after making contact with your boy, I gave him the schematic." I gasped. "The transformer." He shook his head with a grunt. "Boy, oh, boy, and I thought my quadrupeds were dumb." Rainbow grit her teeth and stamped a hoof. "Tough talk comin-" click BANG I flinched at the ear-splitting bang, and whipped my head around to see Rainbow rearing up on her hind legs. Her wings flapped and spasmed desperately before she collapsed onto her back with a gurgle. My jaw hung open as I saw all the blood streaming from her face, which was riddled with cuts and puncture wounds. She muttered and clenched her teeth before bringing her hooves to her face. After just a moment she fell into convulsing stifled cries of pain. Looking back, I saw Alt Eddy had his arm raised. A long, smoking barrel was extended out of his palm. He pumped his arm at the elbow, producing a scraping springy creak, and a little smoking metal tube popped out of his wrist. He leered more hatefully at her for a moment than I thought was possible for a machine before smiling at me and aiming his arm at me. "So, about my bell?"