//------------------------------//
// Mad World 
// Story: Elements Change the Dark Hearts 
// by Nightmare_0mega 
//------------------------------//

Twilight rushed out the door of Golden Oaks, bag barely keeping a hold of the various papers and notes it was stuffed with, as well as the chessboard that was stuck inside. After the disaster that was last night, as well as sending an emergency letter to her mentor, she had accidentally missed her alarm for the morning and woke up far too late for her own taste. This wasn't even going into the dire news that she received yesterday from Monsoon. In fact, the whole ordeal had her conduct a few requests she didn't entirely want to set up, but did so anyway out of pure caution. Still, in the deepest part of her heart, she had a strong hope that what she heard wasn't as iron clad as the cyborg made it out to be. She wished for the shadow of a doubt that said their sixth guest had some good will underneath the darkness within that mind. The only way she could figure that out is if she were to confront and speak with him properly, as she promised to do a couple days ago now.

She aimed to start on a good note by coming in early in the morning, bringing him a decent breakfast as a token of friendship. She knew the hospital breakfasts were functional at best and bland at worst, so an offering like that would be welcome enough by anypony. She did intend on doing this prior, but Monsoon's reaction to Mantis' presence, not to mention his actions later, completely dashed the first attempt.

Twilight shook her head in annoyance as she galloped through town. There was no use in dwelling on what could have been, no matter the intention, as the fact of the matter was that it was too late for that. Instead, she hoped that the thinly being would be up for a game meant for intellectuals. She recalled Lyra mentioning he wanted a game of chess at a later date. Once again, she had planned on attempting this yesterday, along with bringing a bushel of apples, but-

She growled at the irritation of returning to yesterday's events. Honestly, her thought process was going around and around in circles, but that's what happens under such dire circumstances. Stopping for a short second, she breathed in slow and deep, and exhaled, just as Cadence taught her, trying to clear her head and temper her emotions. Feeling slightly better, she continued her trek to the hospital, hoping to catch Mantis in a decent mood. If not, a harmless, friendly game between the two should be enough to break the ice, and hopefully learn to trust one another.

Thoughts about the events of yesterday, however, were already slowly creeping back into the forefront of her mind. She couldn't really blame or even hate Monsoon for his behavior. The little unicorn had heard and seen how terrified he was, and had no reasons to cast doubts on his deductions, nor did she have evidence. A large part of that was simply because she was an outsider in regards to what THEY are, how they operate, and what they know and went through. There were so many mysteries to them and their loose relationship, which wasn't even getting to the mysteries of the other visitors: Dumah, Elvis, Bael, Adna. The other four were just as enigmatic, despite how open they seemed to be. They were willing to share, but it was obvious they had their own thoughts and secrets they were less than willing to unveil.

Twilight shook her head once again. If it wasn't her dwelling on Monsoon and Mantis, it was raising questions about the others that she, and everyone else, had grown to trust. Reasonable doubt was healthy, but now was certainly not the time for that, as her current situation would only lead to paranoia. That, and her current objective of talking with Mantis, so being so preoccupied would just make things a tad more difficult.

After a relatively swift and unhindered trek, she finally reached the Hospital's front lawn. Everything seemed normal, except for the Royal Guards that had been stationed at the doors. To be honest, last night was cutting it close. She had called for their assistance after her talk with Monsoon, but they hadn't finished preparations for actual deployment until late into the night, when Monsoon showed up. If they were just a moment later, she would have had blood on her conscience.

With a sigh she stepped forward passed the guards, whom saluted her, and stepped into the hospital, where patients old and new, busy hospital staff, and a small group of Royal Guards roamed the halls. She stepped up to the front desk, where a disgruntled Nurse Redheart sat, leafing through papers, and having her afternoon cup. It took a moment for the nurse to notice Twilight's presence, but once she did, she forced a pleasant smile.

"Oh, hello, Miss Sparkle. I suppose you're here to see the patient?" she asked.

"Yup, but I'm actually-"

"Running late, yes, I know. You told me you were supposed to be coming much earlier last night. What happened?" Before Twilight could respond, the nurse waved her hoof. "You know what? Nevermind. I could probably already guess," she said with a hint of venom. "What happened to our little intruder anyway?"

"He's back at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Is it safe for him to be there, just like that?"

"He's given me his word. If nothing else, I can trust he'll be honest in that regard."

"But didn't you-"

"I gave him explicit orders not to do what he did, yes, but he never gave me his word. All he said was 'Fine, do whatever you want'," she said, mocking Monsoon's mannerism of that day, "That was an open invitation for trouble, which is why I requested the guards in the first place... Again, I'm sorry they're so late."

The nurse waved it off. "Honestly, if there was one part to that whole mess that I don't mind, it's that he ended up chloroforming Skyfall in the east wing. Even though it only lasted a few minutes, it probably gave him a bit more relief than standard medication and magical treatment. That poor pony has been in pain for days ever since his accident, and we ran kinda short on his pain medication." She gave a sigh and shook her head. "Anyway, you can go and see him. I gotta get back to work anyway. We've been having a slew of new patients lately. A lot of sudden headache and migraine complaints all at once."

"That's strange..."

With that offbeat note, Twilight left the reception area and headed for Mantis' room on the third floor. As she trekked the halls, however, she began to wonder how Monsoon managed to get through most of the hospital virtually undetected. It was rather fascinating to consider how stealthy he had needed to be, especially considering pony hearing is so fine tuned naturally. She made a mental note to ask Monsoon on how he was able to stay so quiet, provided that he wasn't still so cross with her.

Before she knew it, she arrived at room 314. Twilight flared her horn to grip the handle, but stopped mid turn, realizing something was amiss. Looking about her surroundings, she realized it was FAR quieter than she thought it would be, even more so since the last time she visited. Twilight knew that the mentalist spooked out the hospital staff, but the silence here was almost unnatural, almost suffocating. She swallowed hard, finished turning the handle, and opened the door. There, Mantis sat in his bed, attention towards Twilight at the frame. 

"I'm happy you could join me today, Miss Sparkle."

Twilight entered and closed the door behind her slowly, gazing about the spartan room. Hospital rooms weren't ever the most pleasant places in the world, but the bare nature of this room with only a single occupant seemed to put her slightly on edge every time she came here. Never the less, she forced a small smile, approached the human, and sat before his bed.

"Is this an academic visit?"	

"Depends on how you're feeling. I don't want to push you too hard."

"To be quite frank, Miss Sparkle, I've been feeling quite well. I should be ready to check out very soon."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" she exclaimed, clacking her hooves together, not entirely catching the undertone of his words. With that, she flared her horn again, reached into her satchel, and pulled out a chess board and the required pieces, which were colored a very light rose for one set and a deep purple for the other. Mantis tilted his head slightly.

"Miss Heartstrings passed along my message after all."

"I thought it would be a good way to break the ice. Besides, I haven't had a good game of chess in a while." She pulled over the nightstand and began setting up the board. "Considering you're from another world, the rules and pieces might be different, so would you mind if I explain them briefly?"

Mantis sat silent for a moment, staring at the board and the less than orthodox design of the pieces. He could tell what the equivalents were based on how they were set, but he had no idea if the rules were the same, or if they were given different names. He looked back to Twilight, and tried to peer into her mind, but found the same wall he felt before when they were last together. 

As this happened, Twilight began to feel slight pressure against her head, as if the atmosphere was growing thicker, if only slightly. However, as soon as it started, the pressure vanished.

"Is something amiss?" Mantis asked.

"It's nothing," she lied.

He looked back to the pieces, before he finally answered her prior question. "I would like for you to explain the rules to me, on the off chance that your game is different than what I'm used to."

Twilight's eyes lit up. "Oh, certainly! First off, the row of eight identical pieces at the front are known as Guards. They can move forward two spaces if they are moved from their starting spot, before moving one space normally. They cannot attack forward, however. Instead, they can only capture opposing pieces diagonally." She pointed to on of the end pieces in the corner. "This is a Spire. Some people call it a chariot or a Rook, but those terms tend to be old fashioned. They are capable of moving any number of spaces horizontally or vertically." Moving her hoof, she pointed to the next piece in line. "This is a Knight, or sometimes called a Champion. They can move in any direction straight for two spaces, before moving one space to the side, or vice versa. Sort of in an "L" shape pattern."

"And the next piece is capable of moving diagonally any number of spaces, Miss Twilight?"

"Exactly. Those pieces are called Archers." Twilight then pointed to two center pieces, one slightly smaller than the other. The larger one was of an alicorn with wings flared, holding aloft what seemed to be a sun with the tip of the horn. The smaller one was yet another alicorn, again with wings flared, however this one was holding a crescent moon overhead within the curl of the wings.

"Those were called the King and Queen in my world."

"I suppose the terminology is close. Here, it's the Sun and the Moon. The Moon is capable of moving in any number of spaces in any direction, straight or diagonal. She has the greatest potential of movement and can be an extremely valuable piece when setting up defenses and going on the attack. The Sun, while not as capable, being only able to move a single space in any direction, is perhaps the most important piece. If the Sun is cornered without any conceivable way of escape or rescue, the game is over with a checkmate."

"If I remember correctly," Mantis started, "the white army goes first. I suppose the 'pink' is the equivalent army?"

"I suppose," Twilight responded. She looked down to the board, and noticed the pink forces were at her side. Looking back to Mantis, she rotated the board. Underneath the mask, Mantis raised an eyebrow. "As the guest here, and since you've been through so much, I think it would be a nice gesture to let you go first."

Mantis looked over the board once again, before looking back to Twilight. Underneath the mask, a small smile split beneath his mask. While he could not read her mind, he was a decent player in his own right. If all went well enough, perhaps he could use this game to get a better understanding of who she is as an individual: to predict her thoughts and actions purely on her personality and mannerisms, and anticipate any possible surprises. Failing that, he could always just mess with her head by playing a few legal dirty tricks and traps, all in the name of laughing at her frustration. As he lifted his hand his hand, he pointed to his Sun's guard, and while levitating it with his telekinesis, moved it forward to square "E4", opening his set to start the game.







Twilight's jaw dropped, and not because such a common opening move (that she did intend to respond in kind). It was the action itself that gobsmacked her. The piece moved with no physical contact, and no magical interference. There were no weaves or sequences. No aura present that surrounded the pawn, or a place on Mantis' own body. Even Monsoon's magnetic force had some sort of distortion effect that could be seen or felt by those keen enough to pay attention. Here, there was nothing. The guard piece simply moved. She looked back to the human, now with hundreds of new questions blooming within her own mind.

"Psychics" in the land of Equestria were uncommon, but many of those known were either just very good fortune tellers, able to make very educated guesses based on whatever information they could gather from a conversation, or soothsayers that played on a pony's emotions and personalities. Very few of them were non-unicorns, and the ones that were most definitely from the Earth pony tribe never exhibited abilities that even DARED to resemble what Mantis had just done. Even parlor tricks, a common trait among some of the more flamboyant "psychics", were rare and crude, no matter how talented they were.

"This is no trick, Miss Sparkle," he said with confidence, his voice harshly filtering through the mask, "This is true power."

Twilight snapped out of her stupor, before managing to say, "I... have SO many questions."

"I suppose you do, Miss Sparkle, but let us finish our game first, hm? I'm dying to know how you play."

Twilight looked back down at the board in response. While it was true she was excited to finally be able to play another in this game, which was a first in quite a while, she was a tad nervous, especially considering how different of an individual Mantis was. Never the less, deciding to play it safe for the time being, she mirrored Mantis, and moved her Sun's guard forward, to square "E5". Taking a moment or two, Mantis moved his Moon's Champion's guard only one space forward, to "B3". Twilight thought for another moment, then moved her Moon's Champion to "C6".







Mantis smirked beneath his mask. He could see straight through her actions in these few moves. She was playing conservatively, merely testing the waters and keeping her wall of pawns up for as long as she was willing to. If she wasn't careful, she could find herself in a lot of trouble with said wall. I'll be sure to exploit that later, if the defense doesn't change enough by then, Mantis thought. He then moved his Sun's Champion's guard to square "G3", opening his forces up a little further. Twilight thought for a second, before she finally brought out one of her more major pieces, her Sun's Archer, to square "C5". Mantis responded in kind, pulling out his Moon's Archer and moving it to square A3.







Twilight leaned back a bit, starting to lose herself in the game. It was most certainly a bold move on Mantis' part, drawing out his own Archer to be in the line of fire of hers. However, she noted the champion that sat just a stones throw away from it. Even if she decided to go on the offensive and capture his piece, she'd only get burned and lose her own Archer in a relatively pointless push forward. Instead, she decided to simply move her Archer on C5 to square D4, both to stay out of harms way, and to threaten his now unprotected Spire. Undeterred, and moving almost immediately after Twilight had dispersed her aura from her piece, Mantis moved his Moon's Archer's guard to "C3", both blocking and threatening her newly moved Archer. She was rather surprised at the swift response, enough to take her eyes away from the board and look to his "face". She hadn't really noticed before, but there was something so fundamentally... off about his mask. It wasn't its shape or how tight the belts seemed to be against his scalp. No, what really put her on edge were those orange lenses of his. The color, she swore, reminded her of fire, just barely in control. Furthermore, she could see just past the thick color and almost make out his eyes behind them. However, the only thing she seems to take away from that was a gaze far colder than she had anticipated. Finally prying her stare away from him, with a shake of her head, she checked the board again. His archer was in a prime position to attempt to flush out her Sun or Moon, or at the very least set up to be a grave inconvenience for her later. On top of this, her own Archer was in danger, and while her Champion was protecting it, she felt that pushing it any further forward would end up prancing the piece into a future trap. Swallowing her doubts, she pulled her Archer on "C3" backwards to "E7", in an attempt to block her Sun and Moon from danger, as well as call Mantis' bluff, if it were one.







How cute, he thought, she thinks I'm just bluffing. Very well, I'll play along this time, but with that, I believe it's time to add a little more pressure. It was then that he moved his Sun's Champion to space "F3". Regardless of your next move, no matter how defensively you play, Miss Sparkle, you are going to lose a piece on your next turn, he thought, I will dismantle everything you are trying to protect, and destroy you. This, I promise.

Before Twilight could make her next move, however, the door swung open, revealing Lyra at the frame. Both of the intellectuals were surprised to see her: Twilight in the belief that musician was going to be busy today, and Mantis simply not keeping his mind open to see if anyone was heading this way. He cursed under his breath for allowing himself to be so distracted by the game.

"Oh, hey Twilight!" she exclaimed in surprise, "I didn't think you'd still be here."

"Still?" she asked.

"Well, knowing you, I figured you'd have been here since this morning, more or less."

Twilight rubbed the back of her head with her hoof sheepishly. "There were some... complications."

"The intruder, correct?" Mantis said casually. 

"Seriously? Again?!" Lyra asked in shocked excitement. She then turned to Twilight, and asked, "Was it also Rainbow, or...?"

"No. Dash had nothing to do with this. It was... somepony else," she said vaguely, trying very hard to not make it seem obvious that she was gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Anyway, seems like you guys are in the middle of a game. I'll just-"

"No, it's alright, Lyra. We were just getting started." Twilight assured, "Besides, I think it's going to be a while anyway. Why don't you sit and get comfy while I go and get some snacks for us all?"

"That sounds good! Mint wafers for me!" Lyra requested ecstatically.

"Is there anything you want, Mantis?"

"A simple glass of water." 

Twilight stared for a moment, somewhat transfixed on his lenses and perplexed on his dull request. She had hoped that he would have required something more than just water, especially considering the food. Never the less, she wasn't about to argue, and instead took her leave. "I'll be right back, then." With that, the door shut behind her.

"So, did she buzz you any questions about your life story, or whatever?" Lyra asked.

"No. I suppose she was hoping the game set up before us would be a way to ease tensions and 'break the ice', as it were."

"I figured."

"Would you mind bringing yourself a little closer, Lyra. It's not terribly easy to see through my mask, and I'd like to get a better look at you."

"Really? Cause, before, you seemed liiiii-" Lyra tried to say, but suddenly trailed off for a moment, feeling a bit dizzy. "Whoa, what was... why do I feel...

You probably had a very long afternoon, Lyra.

"Yeah, a very loooong afternoon."

You should sleep, Lyra.

"I'm kinda... tired..."

It's time. Lead me to... them.


 -o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o- 


As Twilight wandered down the hall, her mind began racing with thoughts about who and WHAT Mantis is, as well as his abilities and how they contradict EVERYTHING she had ever learned. Magic was a natural law of an Equestrian's reality. A fundamental force that allowed everypony to shape and manipulate the world around them, from the smallest and most subtle of actions, all the way through to the most profound and mighty shows of force. There were rules, however, in order to apply said magic. Each tribe of pony that lived needed some sort of medium, which would determine the type of magic, as well as the application, be it through physical contact, or through the energies that existed within all. Furthermore, magic had ways to be measured and traced, as well as having evidence of presence. Even raw magic, as wild and untamed as it could be, had its own set of sequences and weaves. How, then, could she explain what she's seen? 

Before she could lose herself in thought, she felt the building begin to quake. The force of movement was enough to cause her to trip over her own hooves and collapse to the ground. Body against the floor, and ears swiveling to try to listen for foreign noise, she tried to pinpoint the direction of the disturbance. Her heart sank when loud cracking sounds began to echo from behind her, afraid of what the source may be.

She swiftly scrambled back up and rushed back to room 314, but it was far too late. The walls, ceiling, and floor that connected to the building's hallway fractured and began to pull away slowly, loudly scraping the uneven fissures and creating debris. She flared her horn and gripped the handle, trying to swing it open before the room could be completely removed from the hospital, but she soon learned that it was locked. Despite her best efforts to try to unlock it, the room, having finally scraped its way out of the building, began to float away into the sky. Once again, she felt no presence of magic, but her sinking feeling and realization soon became a dawning horror.

"Dear Celestia... He was right..."

Concentrating hard, she charged up her horn, and cast a teleportation spell as screams of panic began to erupt from the many witnesses of this bizarre happenstance. With a harsh pop, she disappeared from where she stood, and reappeared at her destination: inside Room 314, where Psycho Mantis stood before the window, away from his bed, and a dazed, zombie-like Lyra sat beside him.

"I'm glad you can join me, Miss Sparkle," he said casually.

"What are you doing?"

"Traveling."

"Why... a-and how?!"

"You know how, Miss Sparkle. You've seen a sample of it during the game." He crossed his arms and turned to his visitor. "It's strange really. I've never felt this... invigorated before. My abilities couldn't be denied, nor compared, back when I was alive. But here... It makes what I had a joke. Correct, Lyra?"

The dazed pony that owned the name leaned her head back in an unnatural tilt, eyes entirely unfocused and dulled. "Correct." She flatly parroted, while she continued to stare at Twilight. Twilight herself couldn't help but feel unsettled by what was happening, but swallowed her fears to stand firm against this enigmatic threat. Cautiously and slowly, she walked around the bed, trying to come up with a way to get Lyra out of this mess.

"As for why..." he started, "It's simple, really. Your world. It's far too powerful."

Twilight paused for a moment, "What?"

"Your whole race is so expertly capable, Twilight. There is no such thing as impossible in this land. And yet how happy, how oblivious, you all are, satisfying your self desires." He gave a harsh sigh through his mask as he uncrossed his arms. "What sick, ridiculous people, and what fun you all have, dancing on this stage, without a care in the world, not knowing that we are nothing. And yet, you are beyond capable."

"I... don't understand."

"I suppose you don't. However, no matter your understanding, the decision has been made. I want to know what happens when I destroy the source of capability."

Twilight's eyes widened at the implications, as she then ran to the window, trying to see where the floating room was headed. The height of Mantis' impromptu transportation was high enough to see the vast countryside of central Equestria: The town below up to the forest's various cut-lines, then to the mountain ridge, with the tallest that sat at the heart of the land. And there, clinging to the side of the mountain like a lone flower was Canterlot.

"No, you don't mean-" before she could finish her thought, she felt herself get picked up off the ground violently, causing her to squeak in surprise.

"I need to make haste, and you, my Dear Miss Sparkle, are far too dangerous to just keep around. This is goodbye." 

With that, Twilight felt her body slam against the window hard enough to cause it to shatter, with the shards and her being now in a free fall. She panicked and screamed for a moment, before realizing how far up she was, giving her enough of a chance to act. Concentrating, she charged her horn again, and with a pop, appeared on the ground, safe and sound. Her well earned sigh of relief was interrupted by a scream, as ponies began to run away from where she was standing, as the glass shards were still in free fall. Hastily, she flared her horn once again, and cast a shield dome large enough to catch the pieces.

After a moment of waiting, she could hear the sounds of the sharp objects embed themselves into her shield, or shatter and stick to the surface. Looking about, she noted that her estimated size was a tad too small, but the result couldn't be denied. With a secondary flare, she bundled all of the glass together, and began morphing it into a harmless giant marble, intending on dealing with it later. Crisis averted, she gazed about as she tried to formulate a plan. Gathering the girls was out, due to what Monsoon had warned her about previously. If anything, the utilization of the Elements would need to be strictly a "plan B", and only if she manages to get to them in time. Sending a letter would be prudent, but only once she had an Idea of what to do. 

It was then that she looked up, and noticed that the room was slowly accelerating, clearing much of the town, and likely would pass the train station in minutes. If it kept going like that, it would take something as fast as a train to chase Mantis. Upon that realization, she knew how she could keep up with Mantis, but there was no time to lose. 

As she raced back to Golden Oaks, she already began writing up the emergency letter, as well as prepared a checklist of names. Very shortly, once the letter was sent, she then ran across the town to gather the only other ones that could help slow him down. 

I only hope they're willing to help. Especially him.