//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: BEDLAM III: Quiet on the Set // by Gormless Wheaton //------------------------------// Jury was torn. On one hoof, she was beside herself with rage at the sight of Bedlam's room. She'd spent months arguing with him until he finally caved and installed an enchanted cloud-make mattress, but the mattress was nowhere to be seen. Instead, based on the deep black patch under his destroyed bedframe, somepony had soiled the enchantment holding the cloud together and turned it to rain. His closet was painted over with the words 'Idiot only ever wore one outfit!' and his mirror had a caricature of his face on it. The rest of the room was just littered with trash. However, on the other hoof, she was relieved by the sight of the petrified human himself sitting in the center of the room. She slowly trotted up to the statue and sat down, looking up at his hanging head and face which was obscured by his hands. His posture was different, but in most other respects it was identical to the day she'd first met him, years ago in Canterlot. She shuddered with a quiet moan and sniffled. "Heya, Handsome," she quietly said with a smile and traced her hoof down his leg. "Nice to see you again." She hung her head when he did respond, but then looked to her side at Tempest who gave her a reassuring smile. Jury perked up slightly before standing. "Alrighty," she turned to Flurry who was looking at the petrified human with wonder. "Go ahead." The alicorn blinked. "What?" "Unstone him," Tempest replied. "Your Twilight's niece, so you should be able-" "I don't know the spell to do that," Flurry grumbled and shook her head. "You're kidding?" Jury squawked, causing Flurry to shrug. "What the heck is with you alicorns?!" She groaned and stomped her hoof before pacing. "Seventy-five percent of your family's solution to problems is putting them in stone, so I figured that spell was like a family heirloom or something!" "Uh, I mean, it kinda is, but I never learned it," Flurry muttered. She wilted as Jury glared at her before holding her hooves up. "I was always more interested in machines like Bedlam makes!" Jury held her glare before throwing her head back with a groan. "Great," she muttered. "Look on the bright side," Tempest said, taking a breath, then raising the entire statue with her magic and a smile. "At least we've finally got him back." Chrysalis winced as she attempted to crawl away, but cried out as Bedford stepped on her already broken rearleg. "Hey now," the monster chirped, leaning in and grabbing her mane. "You two decided to take a swing at me. Don't go crying 'cause you weren't ready." Chrysalis groaned and glanced over her shoulder at him, but couldn't help but see the unmoving, smoking form of Tirek just beyond and the Twilight-shaped golem sitting on his back. "Gotta say I'm shocked," Bedford hummed as he jostled her mane and drew her attention back to himself. "You actually sacrificed yourselves for Twilight Sparkle? Near as I can tell, she's this Equestria's Sunset Shimmer, so, y'know." The changeling shuddered, wincing at the pain dancing across her body and radiating from the bare patches of her flesh where he'd shattered her chitin. "We-" She grunted. "We thought we could escape with her." She huffed and struggled for breath. "But we heard your insane plan, and couldn't just sit by," she groaned and struggled to form a smile. "Although, if you'd consider focusing your omnicidal scheme on just the ponies, I might be willing to make an exception." Bedford recoiled and roared with laughter. "Hoo boy! Lookit you, still acting like you've got leverage?" He chortled and shook his head. "Counter offer: How about I show you how easily I can manipulate your Edward's machines?" Chrysalis murmured and clenched her teeth. "W-what?" She whimpered. The golem's eyes lit up for a moment, and then she gasped. The gems on her collar flashed, starting with the set on the back of her neck, before lighting up in a sequence towards the front. The collar beeped in sync with the lights and then hissed as a faint green steam rolled out from it. Chrysalis' eyes shuddered as slowly her body fell away and her severed head remained in the golem's grip. "Kinda wild," he hummed, holding her up and studying her shocked face. "As soft as he is with the ponies, he still concocts some pretty fucked up tools of death." He chortled and dropped her head as her eyes slowly closed. "Maybe there's hope for him yet," Bedford laughed as he turned to KS 6. The pony golem hopped off Tirek and stood at attention. "I'm going to fix the Crystal Mind. Go wake your sisters and get after Twilight." I galloped as fast as I dared but had to pause now and again to make sure I didn't trip over anything. This was the longest the lights had stayed off since we got here. My racing and jumbled thoughts certainly didn't help. That monster was planning murder of an unprecedented scale, and Flurry Heart was somewhere in this fortress, with no less than four other villains still running around. There was also the fact that my magic was still restrained, and there was a non-zero chance everypony had escaped already. Oh right! And I'm also not nearly as familiar with this place as I thought! That's also pretty good. I squinted into the darkness around me and down the three paths of the intersection I'd arrived at. I had no clue where in the complex Bedford had brought me, and with the power out the displays were useless. I grit my teeth and anxiously glanced back over my shoulder. The only positive in this situation was that if any machines came stomping after me, I'd be able to see their eyes glowing in the dark. A part of me also hoped I'd see Tirek or Chrysalis come running, which only rattled me more. "We really are in trouble if those two are a positive," I huffed before turning and running down one of the corridors. I didn't make it far before I finally saw something familiar: A wall of windows overlooking a huge chamber full of crystals. "The power supply!" Nodding to myself I turned to- "Aunty Twily!" Discover Flurry Heart right as she entered the corridor and flashed a light at me. Jury and Tempest were still with her, the latter of whom was holding Eddy's statue. "It's her!" Jury yelled before squinting. "Is that a magic inhibitor?" My ears shot back. "No?" I peeped. Eddy's statue hit the ground with a thud and Tempest shot towards me. Her mechanical legs propelled her faster than I could physically react to, at least without my magic. I heaved as she slammed into me and threw me to the ground. I gasped and coughed as she stood with her hoof pressed against the back of my neck and leaned in. "Lucky us," she purred. "Your niece can't let Ed out, but I'm sure you'd be able to with some motivation." I struggled under her augmented strength and nearly managed to push her off when she was suddenly thrown off me with a grunt of surprise. "What the heck are you doing?!" Jury screamed. I sprang to my hooves and turned to see Flurry desperately smacking Tempest with her hooves until the latter snarled and rolled to the side. The second her hooves touched the ground, she shot into Flurry and whirled around to smack her in the throat with a metal rear hoof. Flurry choked and sprawled back, coughing and sputtering as she tumbled. Tempest snorted angrily and leaped at her, but this time I was ready. I beat my wings and slammed her with all my might in the middle of her leap, and we both went tumbling over. I managed to pull away and rolled further than she did. Flurry, meanwhile, got back to her hooves with a wince as she tried to suppress her coughing fit, and lit her horn up. "Don't- Don't you dare hurt Aunty Twily again!" I met her eyes with surprise once I was standing again, while Tempest leered hatefully at her. "You indecisively little-" [Hello, everypony!] We all flinched and looked back at the passage I'd come from. My jaw dropped. "Holy-" "RUN!" Jury screamed as she strained and dragged Eddy's statue with her. Flurry and I took off as Tempest took the statue from Jury and they galloped after us. KS 6 giggled before she and the dozens of replica 6s she'd brought flew after us.