//------------------------------//
// A Chaotic New World Pt. 2 
// Story: The World-Jumper 
// by NightmareDash 
//------------------------------//

"Discord? Who the hell is Discord?"

The echoing voice replied to Jack.

"What is a better question."

In Jack's hand appeared a red Pokedex, unfolding without command. Dex's electronic voice rang out as a strange picture appeared on the screen.

"Discord: the Chaos God pony. Discord is a draconequus, and controls a wide variety of chaos powers. His only ambition is spreading mayhem."

As soon as Dex had finished, the image grabbed onto the edges of the display and pulled itself up, popping from the screen into the three-dimensional world. He snapped his eagle claw, and a door materialized in front of him. He pushed it open, now wearing a grey fedora. His booming god-voice was gone, replaced by what Jack though sounded like John de Lancie.

"Honeyyyyy, I'm hoooooome!" 

"And you are Discord?"

"Oh, yes, where are my manners? Discord, God of Chaos, Ponyville's resident freakshow, and a respectable TV producer, too."

He handed Jack a 3x5 card, which read with nothing but a circle-A.

"And you are Jack West, new guy in town and apparent savior of Equestria. Pack a few cool toys as well."

"How do you..."

"Please, ever since you showed up, I've been keeping an eye on you. A human doesn't just show up in Ponyville without my taking interest. And yes, I know what you are as well. I was around to see your kind before they left our world, so don't expect the oohs and aahs you've been getting."

"I'll appreciate the change."

"Glad to hear it! But anyway, I saw you as you and Rainbow Dash battled Mare-Do-Well on the rooftops, then on as you were chased through Ghastly Gorge, then down to the final fight at the end. And of course, the display of creativity you just treated us to. I know what you're capable of."

Twilight, out of her fear-induced paralysis, finally spoke up for the Mane 6.

"How did you get free, Discord?"

"Oh, silly little Twilight, don't you know that interdimensional chaos is the best kind of chaos there is? Even after you sealed up that wormhole of doom, I had absorbed enough energy to break out. So here I stand. Or rather, float. But keep it down, Twi. The big boys are trying to talk."

"So you've been following my exploits, so what?"

"Simple: you are a being of power. It's not innate, like mine or Celestia's, but you have it all the same. And there's nothing like it here. So, listen to this: let's team up! With my chaos magic and your technology and fighting skills, we could take Equestria by storm! There'd be nopony in our way; you've proved you can handle Celestia, and Luna can't be that much tougher. We could be kings! So, you up for a shot at power beyond your wildest dreams?"

"Hmm, interesting offer. What I'm hearing here is an alliance with a verified psychopath who has no goals beyond complete chaos. You have no goals, no assets, no weapons, and no subtlety. You want me on board because I'm powerful, and beyond that, because you know I'm a threat to you. If I wanted to conquer Equestria, I could do it alone. The same apparently can not be said of you. So yeah, I think I'll pass. And besides, I was just getting warmed up to my new friends over here."

"Fair enough, fair enough. You trust the magic of friendship to save you, just like the others. But very well; you can die with them, too."

And with another snap of a claw, Jack found the ground beneath him had been removed, becoming a funnel into dark oblivion. The ensuing drop began almost immediately, but he was just able to clasp onto the edge of the pit. He could see the other six fall into similar holes behind him, though Discord remained. In what he knew could possibly be the last thing he did, Jack dropped his right arm down to his belt, and drew his Walther P99 from its holster. Slinging it back up, he took a quick aim. But the ground he was holding onto crumbled away, releasing his grip and sending his shot wild and high. The gun fell from his hand as he dropped, and less than a second later he was enveloped in total darkness, blacked out.

As Jack slowly became aware of his own consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the light. It was uncomfortably bright wherever he was, which could've been anywhere. The next thing was the heat; just as stiflingly hot as it was uncomfortably bright. So he could gather he was outside. But once again, that could've been anywhere. He opened his eyes a little more, trying to bring up his hand to block out the sun. His arms responded stiffly, obviously bruised and possibly broken. As he tried to stand, he recieved the same message from his legs. It felt like he had been dropped from a few stories up.

Jack was finally able to pull himself up to his feet, though not without effort. He began to survey his surroundings, and in front of him saw nothing but vegetative green. Hedges, specifically, eight feet high and perfectly uniform. He was standing on dusty cobblestone, underneath a cloudless sky. He turned about to see the Mane 6, in varying states of consciousness, lying behind him. The hedges extended around them, as well, forming a box. But then it occurred to him: why weren't they all dead? If Discord had dropped them down pits as deep as he remembered them being, surely they would've all died from the fall. And even then, it would still be a dark void around him, not a bright bunch of hedges.

"Jack? Where are... oh, no."

Of the six ponies, Twilight was the first up. The others were starting to awaken, going through the same routine Jack had.

" 'Oh, no' what, Twilight? Where are we?"

"This is the hedge maze at the Royal Palace in Canterlot. This is where we first fought Discord, and where he..."

"That explains it! Those weren't pit traps he dropped us in, they were portals! That's why we're not dead, and how we got here. Now, you were saying?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing important."

"If it has to do with you all, Discord, and this maze, it's important. I need every detail I can get so I can figure out how to beat him. Please, Twilight."

"Discord split us up and corrupted us individually. He made Applejack a compulsive liar, Pinkie Pie a short-fused cynic, Rarity possessive of a boulder, Fluttershy a complete jerk, and Rainbow Dash a turncoat traitor."

"Ughh.... don't remind me..."

The two of them turned around to see Rainbow Dash making her way to a standing position, with the others close behind. At least they were getting some time to recover and plan, Jack thought.

"And did he do anything to you?"

"He made me doubt the magic of friendship, and lose hope for Equestria."

"I think I see. And he lured you in with?"

"The Elements of Harmony. They're very powerful artifacts that channel the most positive aspects of each of us into a single power. They've saved Equestria several times over."

The other four were up and moving now, though Jack noticed something strange about them. He couldn't really put his finger on it, until he looked Twilight in the eyes. She was missing her horn! So was Rarity, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were missing their wings.

"Umm, Twilight, there's not an easy way to say this, but... well... your horn's gone."

"It is? Dear Celestia, this is just like last time! He did that to us before."

"My wings? No, no, no, not my wings! Not again!"

Rainbow Dash was having a panic attack in the background.

"Calm down, Dash. Based on what Twilight's told me, I think I've got this situation figured out. Discord's a trickster with a taste for theatrics. He'll never do directly what he can do stylishly. And he's out for revenge; he's going to try and replicate the circumstances of his only victory over you. He wants to play mind games with you, catch you at your weak points, and turn you against yourselves."

"Oh, guilty as charged, officer! Lock me away!"

Discord's head materialized above the group, staring down on them.

"Welcome back to the labyrinth, my little ponies. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring in David Bowie, so you'll have to put up with me."

Jack chuckled to himself, as did Pinkie Pie, though the others were totally puzzled.

"What? Labyrinth, 1986, starring David Bowie... oh, wait. Earth movie. I'll have to bring it sometime."

"Hey, someone besides Pinkie Pie actually got my joke! Finally! But that's enough of that. Here's the way things will work. Like last time, you are going to have to find the Elements of Harmony inside the maze. This time, they're actually in here. But here's the catch: if you can't find them and bring them together at the center by sundown, this maze is sealed in a pocket dimension for eternity. There will be nothing you can do to stop me then. By the way, I accelerated the timestream, so the sun should be setting in about an hour and a half. Chop-chop, now, time's a-ticking!"

As he said those words, one of the walls lowered into the ground, revealing a single passageway. Discord's head disappeared, and Jack turned to the Mane 6, all of whom were up and attentive.

"Simple enough. He beat you last time by dividing you up and taking you out one by one. This time, we stay together. We'll back each other up, and beat back Discord at every turn he throws at us."

But in response to this, Discord's head reappeared, and the single path was divided into seven by rising hedges. At the end of each path was a curve, with a pattern grown in the wall. From left to right, there was a set of three apples, then balloons, then diamonds, then butterflies, a rainbow thunderhead, pink-purple fireworks, and two crossed handguns on the far right. Cutie Marks, of course, but the last one was unfamiliar.

"Quaint idea, idealistic, great use of the 'magic of friendship'. Would be effective, except for one thing: these separate pathways. Each one leads to a certain Element, along with its bearer's ability, then has a path to the center. I took the liberty of lengthening the maze; together, you'd only have time to go through one. And Jack, there's a separate path for you. At the end of it, you may find a few useful little toys."

Jack reached for his holster, only to grab air; his P99 was gone. As he checked himself, he also found missing his watch,  razor-discs, and cape. In the dead time when he was out, Discord must've disarmed him. This was problematic.

"Oh, and by the way, I've added a few little surprises on each path, just to keep you entertained. Enjoy, everypony!"

And he was gone again. Now, Jack's strategy was going to have to change up a little. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pen. It actually concealed a poison dart, but somehow had been left. Maybe Discord hadn't disarmed him as well as he thought he had. Jack suddenly realized the pattern: cape, razor-discs, P99, he had used them all before. And because it was Earth technology, Discord had no way of knowing what was a weapon and what wasn't, except how Jack had used them. He did say he'd been watching him. But if Discord hadn't seen him use it, he wouldn't have known to take it. So Jack had a few weapons more than he thought.

But his thoughts were broken by a tap on the shoulder. He turned back to see Dash, and the others, apparently waiting for his plan.

"Jack, what do we do now?"

"I've got an idea. We will have to split up, by necessity. Discord's taken several of my weapons, and that's probably what he's baiting me with on my path. But he left me with enough, so I don't need them. Assuming he follows the same order as last time, he's going to strike at you as you search. But I want to try something."

Jack took his pen and walked up to one of the dividing hedges. He stabbed at it from the left, right hand waiting to pull the pen through. But he felt it bounce off the shrubbery, with almost no progress through it. There was something keeping him from going through the walls, even though they should've opened up to the smallest of prods. To conclude his test, Jack tossed his pen up and over the wall; this time it passed on through, falling into his waiting hand. Interesting.

"Uh, Jack, what the hay are you doin'?"

"Simple, Applejack, I just figured out two things. One, these hedges are magically augmented so that they can't be broken through. Two, Discord didn't figure on any of us flying, so he failed to put in a ceiling to this place. Combine those, and I think I can both climb over the walls, and with luck, walk on them."

"So how'll that help us?"

"It means I'm not limited to a single path, like Discord said. I'll be able to move in a way he wasn't expecting, and there is our edge. Each of you, go on down your path, and find your Element. Don't worry about Discord; you won't be alone to face him. Applejack, I'm with you first. Let's take this sucker down."