BEDLAM III: Quiet on the Set

by Gormless Wheaton

Chapter 20

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I sat with my arms folded and my eyes locked on my boots. The guards had escorted me into the castle with haste and dumped me in a relatively plain lounge, with a balcony beyond a padlocked door and free from any of the local machinery. I hadn't even gotten a chance to look at anything they'd built here beyond KS 6, and as I didn't have any tools to defend myself, I hadn't dared risk poking her before or during the trip.

I sighed and tapped my foot. Other than the fact I was in a version of Canterlot identical to the idyllic one I'd dreamed up, I was still flying blind. I could only guess what to expect out of my local double, but I supposed if he wanted me dead that would have happened already.

He and his associates certainly seemed aware of my arrival, in any case.

As I mulled these mysteries over, the doors creaked open and a set of armored and unarmored hooves clicked in, followed by the footfalls of a human. I looked up from my seat to see Jury, Tempest, a pair of guards, and him.

He looked like me, but he'd stopped shaving his head and face and so had a shaggy head of hair and a scruffy beard. In place of the black suit I always wore, he was in plain clothes like I'd dreamed myself wearing. All in all, it was very apparent this was the figure I'd dreamed myself in the shoes of. I fixed him with a glare as he looked me up and down with a tilted head.

"Neat," he finally appraised and held up the phase distorter before looking it over. "So, did you make this thing?"

"No."

"Where'd you get it?"

"What do you want?"

"Uh," he clicked his teeth and shrugged. "Mainly to keep our timelines apart." I furrowed my brow as he looked me up and down with a frown.

"Cause I don't know about you, but I'm sick of catching glimpses of your whole deal, y'know?" I flinched, and my mouth opened partially.

"You-"

"Have been having dreams in which I live a separate life, yes," he declared, fixing me with a severe look. "The life of a neighboring version of myself, to be specific." He pointed the distorter at me.

"You," he smirked. "And I get the feeling you've been living my life a few times now, haven't you? Mister 'I don't know.' You got Celestia all pissy with me the other day, y'know." I glared at him in wonder as he tossed the distorter in the air a few times before it was snared by Jury's magic.

"The fact that it's escalated from just dreaming to swapping places is pretty serious," she said as she now studied the device. "Luckily, we're close to a solution." She gave me a smile which I countered with a scowl. Tempest raised an eyebrow but otherwise stayed silent.

"What in the world are you implying?" I demanded.

"The timeline and vale between worlds is getting screwy, so you and I have been overlapping," my double replied with folded arms. He jabbed a thumb at the distorter. "Took a peek at this and think it's what we need to patch the hole between our timelines, seeing as it's already tuned to tampering with time." I looked between the device and my double as he smiled.

"But Jury can handle that," he added, leaning forward at the hips towards me. "So, I was thinking you and I could have a chat." A firm glare was my only response, at which his smile widened and he approached where I was sitting. Once he was in front of me, he slipped his shirt up and clicked one of the talismans hidden underneath. I hummed with interest as a magical screen popped up in front of his hand, displaying several things that flashed by as he traced his finger across the screen.

He pressed the screen which paused on the image of a chair, and the entire thing collapsed into a bead of light on his fingertip. With a flick of his wrist, the bead popped onto the floor and expanded into the form of an actual chair he then sat down on. He reclined back and folded his legs with a smile while I rubbed my chin in thought.

"Just an application of teleportation, condensing, and hard light like what magic beams are made of," he said, gesturing to his seat. "In case you wanted to research something similar." I met his eyes and leaned back in my own seat with my hand still on my chin.

"Interesting," I replied.

"Eddy," I turned to see Tempest lingering and staring at the two of us, with a noticeable fire in her eyes whenever she looked at me. "Are you sure you don't want any guards?" My double waved his hand.

"Nah, it's fine, and Twilight'll be here soon. Go help Jury," he replied, still focused on me. I frowned at the mention of this world's Twilight but said nothing. Tempest lingered for a moment longer before nodding and leaving the room. I stared at her as she closed the door behind her, only returning my attention forward when my double hummed. "Yeah, must be wild seeing her all flesh and blood again, huh?" I clenched my jaw and he held up a hand.

"Easy, Buddy," he continued. "That was one of the things I was hoping to talk to you about, but I can already tell it might be too sensitive."

"Perceptive," I replied, narrowing my eyes and removing my glasses. "Of course, on that note, how in God's name are you so tuned in to all this?" I leaned in with my hands knit and my elbows on my knees.

"I've been struggling with this nonsense for days, assuming it was the general Harmonic ambiance screaming at me for misbehaving," I shook my head. "And you're just saying it's some kind of timeline convergeance?" He smiled.

"Yep. And I've got proof, too," he slipped his shirt up and hit a few sequences on different talismans. A ball of light filled his palm and he rolled it into the air between us. I leaned back as the ball expanded, revealing dozens and dozens of smaller bubbles of light, all in uniform lines. I paused for a moment, as I noticed they were producing more balls along their lines in a fashion similar to whatever the hell happened when I touched the phase distorter. "This here is something Discord helped me whip up." I snapped out of my thoughts at that. My double rubbed his chin as he studied the image between us.

"I'm running on the assumption you got yanked to Equestria from an Earth, so you're already in on the 'multiverse' deal," he waved his hand at the bubbles. "In any case, I figured out I could broadcast a specific magical signal out and like a radar pick up the different worlds that are out there." He smiled and searched the image, physically grasping and pulling parts of it around, until an empty dark spot appeared.

"Even the ones magic can't detect," he added. I tilted my head as he lingered on the dark spot before he leaned back and let the image continue. "So, the neat thing we came across is, again, due to Discord's assistance and with Twilight's expertise in advanced magic theory, we can actually detect timelines alongside each world." He slowly swept his hands out, presenting the entire projection.

"And that is what you see here. All the worlds and their native timelines and branches that are within my neighboring cluster of the multiverse," he said with a smile. "And if you want, I've got the schematic for the radar lying around and can let you snag a peek at it as proof." I studied the projection in wonder.

"You said Discord helped you with this?" I glanced up as he nodded. "How did you convince him to do that?"

"We get along alright," he replied with a shrug before snorting. "At least when I appeal to his 'all-encompassing wisdom and knowledge.'" He emphasized his words with a dramatic gesture. I chortled despite myself and studied the projection again.

"Fascinating. But that still doesn't-"

"Here," he interjected, grabbing the scene and dragging it to his right. The entire thing rolled for a moment, and countless little worlds zoomed by until he stopped it with a finger. The sight made me recoil with disgust. "We had a similar reaction." I grimaced at what looked like a point in space with, well, holes and tendrils snaking all around it. It was so out of place and close together that it looked diseased and rotten.

"The hell is that?" I huffed, shifting in my seat to look at the point from multiple angles.

"That is the echo of something pushing its way between worlds," he replied, causing me to pause. "Frequently, as of three years ago." I groaned and leaned back.

"Brilliant," I sighed.

"I was assuming that was you, but based on that reaction," my double continued. I snorted and shook my head.

"No, though I was dabbling in communication with the multiverse over three years ago," I grunted and shook my hand at the projection. "That's another Bedlam-"

"I've preferred Bedford ever since-"

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure he was poking around my world three years ago, and he's definitely causing problems now. The phase distorter you gave to your Jury is his." I glared at the projection while my double contemplated my words.

"Neat," he replied after a few moments. "Also explains why you and I were overlapping." Before I could ask, he tapped a bubble near the one that was most worm-eaten.

"Him fucking around in your timeline must've made it reach out to try and, I dunno, fill the gaps?" He chortled. "Certainly makes more sense than just the universe or harmony being mad at you." I took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.

"I guess so," I murmured. "Our psychotic double believes Harmony controls everything, though, and is using that as justification to try and wipe out the multiverse."

"Well, he's wrong. Harmony isn't about control, it's about synthesis. Symbiosis." I tilted my head at him and his lack of reaction to the other Bedlam's plan. He just smiled. "I assume you've got theories like mine, and understand that magic is reactive. Well, Harmony's just a larger form of magic, so it's reasonable to assume it too, is reactive, not proactive." He sat up in his seat and held his hands out as he spoke.

"Harmony is," he paused and rolled his head. "Well, it's literally in the name. It's just what you get when all the little cogs that make up the living folk in a universe mesh together and play nice." He knit his fingers together for emphasis and then folded them out to point at me.

"That's the kicker. Harmony doesn't just happen. It takes effort. Hard work and a lot of time. Chaos is easy. So is Entropy. Those two happen on their own." I frowned at his words, but he continued. "But Harmony is something different. If I had to pin it down as something other than just a form of reactive magic, I'd say it was a suggestion."

"A suggestion?" I pressed, drawing a bigger smile as he held his hands out in presentation.

"Be excellent to one another," he laughed. "More long-standing good comes when more folk are decent to each other, and since most thinking beings like it when others are decent to them, it feeds back in on itself, creating an ever-expanding feedback loop of good upon good." He clapped his hands one on top of the other in a sequence before holding up a finger.

"That's why the Elements of Harmony came to be in the first place. They were the overwhelming voice of the majority crying out for a solution to something or other. And since they were unified and the feedback loop was in their favor, they were able to make it happen," he smiled with a mad glint that I recognized. I'd always worn it when I made some great discovery. "Harmony's not a god. It's a cultivated response." I folded my arms and chewed my cheek in thought.

"If that's all true, then why would it allow someone like me or our double to show up and fuck it all up?" I held out a hand. "You'd think it'd be pretty defensive or at least better at keeping outside elements out." That glint again.

"And that, again thanks to Discord's help and input, is easy," he gestured to the projection. "Chaos is also able to respond and push for dominance. And it doesn't need thinking beings to fuel it. So, it made him pop up to try and shift things in its favor. One in each possible timeline, and all of them, in a way that only makes sense for Discord, the same guy." I held my hand to my chin and studied the projection.

"Now, since Discord was Chaos' move, and the Elements of Harmony were Harmony's move, it's pretty reasonable that the third major power would make a move too," he continued, drawing my attention back up. He snapped his hands out. "Entropy. Stagnation." I gave him an even look and he shrugged.

"That's my theory, and Discord seemed to agree," he smiled. "You, me, and every other Edward Bedford that ever was were yanked into this part of the universe by Entropy." I narrowed my eyes and raised my eyebrows, and he shrugged again.

"I dunno. I get the feeling that slowly swallowing up the planet in metal, like you and I both know we were aiming to do at one point, would lead to a pretty stagnant world." I scoffed.

"I wasn't-"

"When the streets are policed by cold, unfeeling machines overseen by a paranoid dictator, people would slowly become distant from one another and isolated either out of fear of being in the streets or from fear of being reported for some crime or other," he declared, causing my mouth to slowly shut. "And slowly, the world would wind down until it reaches its zero state and no forward motion is possible." I looked on him as I mulled his ideas over, and noticed a slightly darker look in his eye. Another look I was familiar with.

"Something like that, I think. Just like Chaos called Discord up from wherever the hell he's from, Entropy called us up, using a tried and true ritual for teleportation," he gave a grim, resentful smile. "So tried and true that no one bothered making sure the fail-safes were still working, cause why would they fail?" He took a deep breath through his teeth and let it out in a hiss before clapping.

"So! Just for once, just today, let's not bother checking if they're working. They always work," he chortled, venomously. "That's the routine. That's the rut. That's stagnation." He hissed his words and I drew my hand down my chin.

"Entropy," I murmured, looking at the timeline. He leaned forward, studying the projection as well.

"Harmony needs help. Chaos is jittery and overeager. It spat out a mishmash in the form of Discord, throwing everything it had in the ring all at once," he continued. "Entropy though? Entropy is patient. It can wait and be subtle." He smiled as we locked eyes.

"It can wait until an ideal environment pops up to prey upon," he began counting off on one hand. "The one bolt holding an entire machine together going rusty. A weak joint in a professional athlete suddenly giving out." His eyes drifted to the bubble on the timeline that seemed to be the originator of the tunnels and holes.

"A universe that isn't as kind as its neighbors and therefore wouldn't foster anything dissent in its agent. Wouldn't foster regret and guilt," his grim smile widened. "You said this other Edward Bedford is planning to wipe everything out, huh? Wonder what kind of world he landed in?" We sat in mutual silence as we both leaned forward on our knees, hands on our chins, pondering the bubble our eviler counterpart originated from.

"Still doesn't explain why things went right for you, and not for me," I quietly murmured. He scoffed, drawing my attention. He shook his head with a sneer.

"Things didn't 'go right' for me, you dumb fuck," he spat and thrust a hand towards the balcony door. "I had to work for everything you see. I busted my ass for years until people trusted me again. It just so happened that the good I was doing melded so nicely into most of what's happening around us. The machines and all that shit." I frowned and he shrugged with a frown of his own.

"Like I said, Harmony isn't some guiding hand. It's when the cogs mesh," he looked me up and down. "No offense, but if you and I are the same guy, save you made worse choices, then I think it's less the universe is punishing you and more the people around you hate your guts and worked against you for all that time." He smirked and leaned in.

"And if you're really just me but on a way worse path in life? I can kind of imagine why they'd hate you."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse you?" He rolled his head.

"Silly question, but were you ever in the mindset of 'so long as it works, they can hate me all they want?'" He rolled his head and then looked at me with an even, wide-eyed glare. "Cause that's a mindset I could imagine leaning into if I was worse off." I stared at him in shock.

"How the hell do you-"

"Easy," he smirked. "I told you our timelines are close, but I never conveyed just how close, did I?" He snapped his wrist and tapped a bubble on the map.

"This is us," he explained, and with a wave of his hand, the rest of the map was cleared save for the line from our bubble. He slowly dragged the land until it reached a point where it seemed to begin to split. "Know what this is?"

"Obviously not," I said with a fiery glare. He smiled again and tapped the splitting bubble.

"That's where it happened," he replied, grabbing the point. "That's when you and I came to be." I recoiled and tilted my head.

"This is the point in my past when I was faced with a choice," he explained, holding the bubble up and looking at me through it. "This is when I gave Twilight the bell." I froze. Slowly, his pointing finger unfurled to point at me.

"And I'm damned certain, it's when you didn't," he set the bubble down and swept the entire line free save for it. "And part of what supports that theory is this." He tapped the bubble again and it spread out in its own line and one that branched off. This time, he traced it forward to our current point in time, where-

"See?" He offered as my jaw dropped. The second branching line was the one I'd evidently emerged from if all the tunnels entering and exiting it were any indication. "And that, uh, is why we've been overlapping." I slowly looked up at him.

"Your personal timeline got fucked by this B-lister, and started eating into mine," he emphasized his point with a hand to his chest. "And it only got worse the more he fucked around."

He pursed his lips and leered at the orb. "He must've sent something pretty huge over a few days ago to cause us to swap like we did for a few minutes," again, he smiled and slapped the orb away, causing the map to vanish. "Silver lining? We can use his phase distorter to iron out the chunks he gnaws out and keep that from happening anymore. Plus, we can get you back to-"

"Bullshit."

He shook his head. "Nah, it's actually pretty-"

I snapped to my feet. "Like hell I buy that." He tilted his head back as I seethed. "You expect me to believe that one choice is what fucked me over? Really?" I barked a laugh.

He shrugged. "That's how I see it. All the signs are there and the radar's pretty accurate," he smiled and held up a finger. "For instance, I discovered-"

"Bullshit!" I barked and thrust a shaking finger at him. "I know how the multiverse works." He leered at me for a moment before rolling his head.

"Aaaand what about that makes what I'm saying so implausible?" He asked. I wagged my finger at him and huffed, searching for an answer, growing more frustrated when none came. Instead, he tapped his belt again. "Here. Recognize this?" I blinked and caught something he threw at me.

"Wh-" I choked. He'd tossed me an exact replica of-

"We used that to blow Tirek's left arm off," he said, pointing at the blaster. "And we made it throughout our stay in Canterlot castle while mulling over how we were going to betray Twilight." I stared at the weapon in disbelief. On instinct, I flipped open the casing, revealing it even had the special gem I'd chiseled with my teeth.

"I-"

"Oh! Speaking of," he sat up and cleared his throat. "I swear on everything between me and Twilight that I hold dear, I'll give her the bell and all the magic inside it." I stumbled and fell back in my seat. He sat smiling with his hands folded.

"You-"

"Me."

"I-"

"That's right." I looked at him in abject shock.

"I don't understand," I finally heaved. He tilted his head in curiosity and I weakly held up my hand. "One choice? One bad decision is what cost-"

"Ah-ah!" He snapped and waved his hand. "We covered that. This was all a lot of-" I bared my teeth and rolled forward, nearly springing from my seat.

"I WAS DOING GOOD TOO!" I screamed, my shaking hand squeezing the blaster.

"And we covered that," he replied with exasperation, rolling his head and hand as he spoke, before pausing and holding his hand up. "But let's peel it back for a sec. It's not about making things good, is it?" I recoiled and he raised an eyebrow.

"It's about being the guy who made things good," he continued. "It's about the credit. It's about our insecurity." I blanched and he scowled, waving a hand.

"Lot of that's Dad's fault, but it's still there. Something as simple as a silly little animal race mispronouncing our name digs at us, just like how he used to call us 'Ned.'" I clenched my teeth.

"I fucking HATED that."

"I know you did. Cause I did too," he replied with a weak smile, that slowly turned knowing. "Just like I know the reason she's so important." My heart sank and he continued.

"She was the first one we had to rely on. The first one we imposed upon. And so, she was the first one we could really let down," he wore that dark expression again. "And those rats in that little village seemed all too eager to make that happen, didn't they?"

"Just seemed like no matter how hard I tried, everyone got in the way and made sure I'd let her down," he said, staring straight through me. "Even Celestia." I swallowed hard and a smile suddenly broke across his face. He adopted a dramatic pose.

"And so! I snapped. I went crazy for a few years to not only prove to her I was worth something but to also keep from letting her down anymore," he winced and shrugged. "Inadvertently, I let her down more over that period than ever before, but I was certain, even if she was disappointed or hated me, by the end she'd approve! She'd love what I did!" He snapped to his feet and thrust a hand to the sky.

"So, I seized control of my life! I took the name they gave me, I took the magic they denied me, I took the world they'd refused me!" he barked a laugh and then raked his fingers through his hair. "I even started shaving my head just to further cement that I was in control."

"And in the end, I was kind of right," he adopted a serene smile. "She still wanted to see the good in me. She still wanted to give me a chance."

His smile wavered for a moment. "I just had to give up control." He stood there for a few moments before slowly sinking into his seat with his head hanging. "That was the hardest thing I've had to do. Everything else was a cakewalk by comparison." Another pause followed before he gave me a weak, but deeply sincere smile.

"But now I can look back and smile. I can laugh at how ridiculous I was when I dressed in black and made big dramatic sweeping speeches," he laughed quietly. "When I tried to conquer the world." He smiled at me with more energy.

"I can laugh at how silly I was, and how silly it was to be so afraid of letting go and trusting my friend." I huffed and sank down in my seat. My jaw hung loose and I stared ahead vacantly. He held his head in his hand, still with a smile, and a contemplative quiet gripped the room.

After a minute or two, I peered at the balcony door and the sun outside. Then the door to the room swung open, drawing our attention. I sat up and-

"Hey, Eddy!"

I froze.

"Hey, Princess," he replied as she flew up and hugged his neck with a laugh. He returned the gesture before she noticed me and sat up in his lap. As she studied me, the smile on her face vanished, replaced by a familiar frown and an uneasy look in her eyes.

That was it.

I sprang to my feet with a roar and swept the blaster in my hand forward. Twilight let out a yelp as my double wrenched her out of the way. I kept my blaster trained on him, but he just raised a hand to the side he threw Twilight and kept his eyes locked with mine.

"If it'll make you feel better, go for it," he said with a shrug, folding his legs. Then he smirked. "We both know that won't fix what's wrong with you, though." I smirked right back.

"And what, pray tell, will fix what's wrong with me?" I asked with a grim chortle.

"Dunno. Ask her," he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to the barrel. "Despite everything you've done, she's probably still your friend. She's better than us like that." I kept my grin and weapon trained on him, which he countered with his lax posture and smile. After a moment, I glanced to the side and saw Twilight.

She was no longer frowning, and no longer uncertain. Her wings were spread and her horn was alight. She was ready to tear me limb from limb. That, too, was a look from her I was familiar with.

For as long as I've known her, for as long as I've cherished her, for as long as I've craved her approval and companionship, for all that time, I'd spent most of it in a binary state with her. She was either pitying and disappointed, or furious.

A or B.

Never C. Never the look she was giving him just moments ago.

Not since I made the choices I did.

Not since I stabbed her in the back.

Not since I threw her away with more disdain than he just had.

All of this had floated around in my mind for years, sure. But, something about being here, with this version of her and myself, and seeing what could have been really put a pin in it all.

And that, too, was it.

With a chesty laugh, my arms drooped and the blaster slipped from my fingers. She narrowed her eyes and dimmed her magic. I looked at my double who now wore an even, contemplatory expression. I smiled and then fell to my knees. Slowly, I bent forward until my head touched the floor and locked my hands on the back of my head.

Then, I howled miserably, desperately screwing my eyes shut as tears flowed freely.

---

Comments

[SleeplessChatter]

Okay, so I've been off base to some extent for awhile now I guess. I think you might be the.. 2nd? 3rd story I've read that's pulled entropy out as a cosmic force with the same "presence" as Harmony and Chaos.

And interesting to see where the timeline divergence was. I kinda figured it would be at one of the major decision points, just wasn't sure which one.

Maybe I'll get an answer before this is all over with, but I'm still curious about the name and song. The name I'm willing to chalk up as bizarre coincidence. Bedford is not a very pony name while Bedlam would be. But the song in the castle... not sure it's something Entropy would be interested in but not sure Harmony would really gel with it either.

All in all, hopefully a good starting point for Bedlam to have a slightly happier future. Limited amount of time left to recover from much larger set of mistakes, but who knows.

[OpressorOfNone]

Perhaps I can understand the other Edward's point of view, but at the same time I find it hard to believe.

Not that I want Bedlam to remain a terribly tragic character, but I think he has every right to his desire for control. Celestia and her government have already stripped Bedlam of his magic, the straw to which he was clinging. Another Bedford has already come into his world. There isn't much room for choice to just say “work hard and you'll succeed.” It's just that someone else has already made the choice and you can only react to it.

And I think I understand our Eddy, it's hard and scary to trust someone, to let go when you've already been effectively betrayed.

And at the same time I can't call the other Bedford's position “right”. He's still a control freak, he talks about the decisions HE made, how HE worked towards a better future. Because the path to Harmony is a conscious and difficult decision, how good I am for realizing that, blah, blah, blah. He's hardly happier or more righteous in the long run, just has better results on his hands. And as if again, Bedlam is only forced to react to other people's decisions, there's no way he could have controlled his transfer to another world.

I hope that eventually he can make exactly his own decisions, without playing to the tune of Harmony, Chaos, Entropy, Celestia, or any of his other variations.

[TheronActs]

Resignation
A thought that feels the loss of effort and recognition.
A judging aspect that entails failure and accomplishment.
Failure at what was aimed.
Accomplishment for what was done.
This of the former, a goal aimed once lasting.
A fruitless sow of a barren soil.
Losing a compatriot, a friend.