8,1,1000 C.E.
9:27 A.M.
Canterlot Castle.
The small group looked at Discord with pure fright in there eye's. Then Twilight stepped forward. Her voice more form than her resolve.
"Don't worry Discord. According to you, we've defeated this monster once. Then surely we can do it again." She said stomping her hoof. She stepped back, a little caught off guard herself by her word's and actions. She looked around and saw all eye's on her. Sensing her discomfort Gadget spoke up.
"Twilight's right." He said stepping up. Now all eye's were on him. His ear's pinned back but his head was held high.
"If we beat this thing before then we can do so again." He said looking to the Princesses. Then his ear's perked up.
"Beside's we have somepony that wasn't there if I recall correctly, right Discord?" He said looking to the draconequus. Discord looked back confused at first, but his eyes went wide when he caught on to Gadget's train of thought.
"You are correct my little equine friend." He said snapping his finger's. In a flash of light a very confused, wet and angry Princess Midnight was being suspended in mid-air in front of all of them. They all stared at the very pink-faced Princess as she did all she could to hide her wet figure from the many pairs of eye's in the room. Finding that she couldn't hide from her embarrassment she decided to take out her anger on the one responsible for her current predicament. Upon seeing her tormentor her magic came to her in full force as she shouted at Discord.
"Discord you will release me this instant!" She fumed as lightning began to crackle around her horn. Discord smiled weakly and bowed low.
"As you wish your highness." With a snap, Midnight was gently placed upon the stone floor and with a flick of his finger, she was dry and warm, as good as new. She was speechless as she turned around to study herself. Finally, she stopped and looked at the guests to the castle.
"Ok what is going on here?" She asked the group.
As the group brought Midnight up to speed Gadget went and sat next to Discord. He looked up at him and saw that he was in deep thought.
"Hey, discord?" He asked. The spirit of chaos looked down to his friend with a soft smile.
"Yes, Gadget?" Gadget looked outside the window.
"why couldn't you help fight this evil the last time?" He asked in a low voice so as not to attract anypony's attention. Discord looked stunned but then his face lit up with shame. He looked Gadget dead in the eye's.
"I could not use my magic against him the last time." He looked away to the outside and continued.
"The last time we fought it ended in me having all of my power's drained." He looked back to Gadget.
"Like cannot fight like. Only in this case like can absorb like." Discord eye's began to will with tear's.
"It also didn't help that i had so much anger and hatred inside of me. He used that to only amplify his power's. In the end i was as useful as a wet noodle in a twister." He snickered bitterly. He then felt a hoof touch his shoulder. He looked down to see Gadget with a smile on his face.
"Then let's go show this impostor who the real lord of chaos is." Discord looked torn, between believing his friend and his past helplessness. He felt Gadget's hoof tighten its grip. He saw the look Gadget gave him. Gadget whole heartedly believed that discord could win this battle. Then he looked to the rest of the group.
They all had the same grim faced determination. There world was not going to end today. Discord chuckled as he closed his eye's and his laughter reverberated around the hall. With the last of his sorrow now washed away by the tide's of friendship Discord took his first step's in a new light. The light of hope. He turned to his friend's.
"All right gang. Let's go get this usurper of my throne." He said as he brought them all together with a swish of his paw. Then with a snap of his finger's Discord, Gadget, Midnight and the rest of the main six all vanished in a bright light. Celestia and Luna stood there with bated breath.
"Sister doth thow think they will succeed?" Luna asked. Celestia looked to her sister and smiled.
"Well they'ed better or no pony will be safe. Not even us." She said as she turned around and exited the Main Gallery. Luna looked to were they where just moment's ago.
"Stay safe little sister." She whispered.
??/??/????..????
Discord teleported the group through time and space to there inevitable destination. When everypony's hooves touched solid ground again they all rejoiced at once again treading upon the earth. Then they all got a good look at where they were. Gadget looked around and then asked one simple question.
" Discord where are we?" He said looking horrified at the landscape before them. Discord gave them all a grim smile.
" My friend's we are the one place I've never wanted to set foot in ever again." He said gesturing to the barren wasteland they had stepped foot into.
" We are in Maelstrom's domain." The pony's all looked outward in horror. The land in there wake looked as if it had been scorched by the flame's of tartarus itself. The sky was filled with black cloud's that lead way to a noxious green glow. As the cloud's faded in and out of reality the group saw that the sun itself was a toxic green color. They all shivered at the thought of what kind of being could possibly live in such a place. Discord squared his shoulder's and braced his mind.
"All right my friend's. Let's hunt this foul creature down and terminate it." He said as he lead the way down a zig-zaging path of black stone that lead further into the hellish landscape. After a while of walking Midnight got a good look at something in the distance. She pointed a hoof at it.
"Discord what is that?" She asked. Discord looked at it longingly.
"That Princess is Maelstrom's Palace. It is his seat of power and authority in this land and from it he rule's with an iron fist." Gadget looked at Discord.
"How is that possible Discord? He just got loose didn't he?" He asked puzzled. Discord gave him a look of pity.
"Yes it's true he did just get loose. In your world. But here he can manipulate the very fabric of time and space itself." Suddenly a voice, deep and full of malice lanced through the silence halting them in there track's.
"Ah!!! I see my honored guest's have arrived." Twilight looked around trying to find the source of the voice. Discord shook his head.
"Don't try Twilight. He is hauled up in his castle." He said looking up to the sky.
"Don't toy with me Maelstrom!" Discord shouted.
"Come out and face us you cowered!" Gadget shouted as well. Soon all of the pony's clamored for the evil tyrant to show himself. The voice just laughed as thunder shook the ground and lighting lit up the sky. The pony's all stopped in there track's. Even Discord hunkered down in the face of the storm that had just appeared out of nowhere. He shielded his ally's with a magical barrier of purple light.
"You fool's dare to challenge me? I am a god! I could crush anyone of you insignificant little insect's with a thought!" His voice boomed though the air, unabated by the storm's fury. As his display of power subsided Maelstrom was silenced by the last thing he expected to hear. Laughter. It rang from within the group as one pony just chuckled his little flank off. Maelstrom was baffled.
"Who dare's to slight me with there theatrics?" He demanded. Gadget got a hold of himself.
"Ah sorry big guy. But i have hard time dealing with life or death situation's. And trying to take you seriously just about made me bust a gut." He said a smirk crossing his face.
The other's looked at gadget but then shook there head's. They knew he would pull something like this. He was hardly fazed by most display's of power. And with the big bravado this newest threat was showing off Gadget was liable to laugh in it's face. Discord looked at Gadget with sadness in his eye's. He looked toward's there destination Maelstrom's Castle. It had gotten closer than it had been before the storm.
Now that the group was closer they could make out the unmistakable and disturbing detail's of the enemy's fortress. It was an exact replica of Canterlot Castle. But instead of white marble and limestone is was made out of deep purple obsidian, twisted volcanic rock and black iron.
"Well then champion's!" Maelstrom's voice sliced through the air, "If you think you have what it take's then by all mean's come and face me!" He said as the castle's thick iron door's swung open, inviting them in to the monster's lair. They all looked at one another and nodded there head's.
"We can do this." Gadget said giving each of them a confident smile. They all returned it even Discord who looked determined to stop this evil once and for all. All of them stopped in there revelry as the big iron door's shut all by themselves.
"Ah! ha! ha! ha! Good, then let the game's begin!" Maelstrom's voiced echoed throughout the castle. The ground began to tremble all around the group. Discord gathered them all together and formed a shield around himself and the group. They all rode out the quake until it had subsided. When the shaking finally stopped pinky opened her eye's and peeked around.
"Wow that was a whole lotta nothing." She said as she jumped out of Discord's arm's and trotted around the place. The other's unstuck themselves from Discord and trotted up to the big double doors that lead to the throne room. Discord looked around.
"I don't like this." He thought.
"Be careful guy's." He said looking to the empty throne.
His eye's darted around the room searching for any hint of his foe. As the door's closed behind them the group payed them no mind. A bright flash of light stopped all of them in there track's. As they all regained there sense of sight they all stared in horror at the monster before them. His blood red eyes cut into each and every one of them like a hot knife. His inky black skin shifted and rippled of it's own accord. His face was nothing more than a black lifeless void, illuminated by two fiery orb's were his eye's should be. His body itself seemed to shift and phase in and out of reality. All in all he was chaos incarnate.
"Hello my guest's." He said, a sneer etched into his twisted voice which seemed to emanate from mouth less figure. He eyed each and every one of them finally stopping at Discord who gave him a cold glare.
"Well now that we are all here we can have a little fun before i get to kill each and every one of you personally." He laughed.
Gadget was not going to let that happen. He got in front of his friend's.
"You'll have to get through me first!" He said stomping a hoof and cracking the stone floor.
Discord looked at Gadget and was surprised to see his eye's glowing a soft red. Then he remembered something important but he decided to leave it for later. Right now he was focused on countering anything Maelstrom might cast. Maelstrom just stared at the pathetic excuse for a pony. He was content to have his fun with them.
And so Maelstrom brought his finger's to bare and snapped them. All at once time slowed down to a crawl. Discord snapped his own magic but looked on as each of his friends was enveloped in a dark purple aura. Maelstrom just smiled as each of the pony's vanished into thin air.
"NOOOO!!" Discord screamed as each of his friends was taken from him. He ran at Maelstrom but was hurled back by a dark shadow wall. Maelstrom just laughed and snapped his finger's once more. Discord was picked up and hurled into the stone wall behind him. He grunted as his magic came to life encasing his body in a shield. He was safe from Maelstrom's magic for now. Maelstrom laughed as he snapped his finger's and a floating sphere appeared before them.
"Now," he said sneering at Discord. "Let the games begin!" Maelstrom laughed as he watched Discord struggle to hold in his anger. Discord glared at him. "You will pay for this. I swear it." Discord said as he charged his magic. With a wild fury, he leapt at Maelstrom, his hand's raised as he cast a spell unlike any other before.
To Be Continued.