//------------------------------// // Return of the Chaos // Story: Maul-verse // by AntiBronyBenSwolo //------------------------------// Maul returned to his hidden little home after the disastrous gala, and in turn the humiliation of the Main 6. Dark Thoughts swirled his head like a whirlwind. "Welcome Back, Maul," Nightmare Moon remarked through her crystal ball. "Hello again, Nightmare Moon," Maul responded. "How was the gala?" The imprisoned Mare asked "Oh, it was splendid. The food was fine, the customers were gullible, and the entertainment was astounding," Maul exclaimed, dancing around as if mocking his enemies from afar. "Wait. The gala doesn't usually have entertainment," Nightmare Moon pointed out. "Except when someone humiliates themselves," Maul commented as he removed the disguise of Drake Mandarin. "I see your point." Nightmare Moon said, chuckling to herself. "Though, if I am being honest, there was something that I found that does make me feel curious," Maul said. "And what would that be?" Nightmare Moon asked the Sith Lord. "A statue of a monstrous creature, mostly with mismatched limbs." Maul described, causing Nightmare Moon to gasp under her breath. Maul sighed at her expression. "You know what the statue is, don't you?" Maul asked. "I'm afraid I do. In my time with Luna, she and Celestia fought a powerful demon capable of altering reality to his every whim, mostly for his own childish pleasure. Luna and Celestia both used the Elements of Harmony to transform this monster into a stone statue. If I were Luna, I would have smashed that statue to bits." Nightmare Moon explained to Maul. "I see. Though, you forgot to give me the name of this beast." Maul commented. "Discord is his name. He is the master and entity of Chaos. And I feel his magic may be too much for you," Nightmare Moon answered as Maul looked over to his Elements of the Dark Side, then back over to Nightmare Moon. "If that's the case, I sense this Discord will be making a return," Maul explained, stroking his chin and planning. "I figured that would be the case. Since Luna and I were banished to the moon for a thousand years, I figured Celestia's connection to the Elements must have diminished," Nightmare Moon theorized as Maul continued scheming. "And now I have to ask. If Discord's return is inevitable, what is our next move?" Maul asked as Nightmare Moon pondered with the Dark Warrior. The night grew long as Maul meditated heavily in the near future. The Dark Side surrounded Maul, giving him the strength he needed for a coming battle. During this trance, he saw visions. Visions of pure, unbridled chaos. Not of fire spanning across star systems as the galaxy descended to war, but rather just of childish randomness. Just like the kind Nightmare Moon described. Maul's visions focused on the statue he discovered at the gala, but rather glowing cracks of light started webbing around the rock and shattering the statue. Maul expected to see the Statue simply destroyed, but rather met face to face with chaos itself. His long snake-like body slithering around after so long. Maul looked into the yellow and red eyes, similar to that of a Sith Lord, causing a shock so strong it broke Maul out of his trance. "Had a nightmare once more, my lord?" The apparition resembling Obi-Wan Kenobi asked as Maul snarled at the mirage. "More like a vision, really. This Discord entity is coming quicker than anyone would anticipate. I need to prepare," Maul explained as the Kenobi mirage simply nodded. "And just how do you plan on doing that?" Kenobi asked as he turned toward his Elements of the Dark Side, which he kept locked away in case of emergency, but still never truly understood. Just four red crystals sitting away locked inside of a wooden crate. Maul picked up one of the crystals and slowly examined them. He had no idea what they truly were. Of course, he understood the Sith philosophy enough to form a bond with his elements, but he didn't understand Equestrian Magic enough to understand the crystals themselves. "I'm...not sure. Perhaps the enemy could provide some answers for me," Darth Maul answered as he began to scheme. If he truly is to understand the Elements of the Dark Side from an Equestrian perspective, he'd need an expert. And there's only one pony who came to Maul's mind in order to figure this out. Maul turned to his crystal ball imprisoning Nightmare Moon and pondered what she knew of these long-lost relics. But considering how little Nightmare Moon truly knew about these Sith Elements, Maul doubted that she'd have any answers, no matter how many times he asked. The only other pony with the intellect enough to figure out Darth Maul's Elements of the Dark Side would have to be the same pony who was able to figure out its more Harmonic counterpart. "Perhaps...Twilight would have the answers I seek," Maul pondered as he snagged his black cloak and headed out into the night. It was a dark and windy night at the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight laid fast asleep after an exhausting week thanks to the unfortunate events at the Gala and overworking herself on her magic once again afterward. Although the wind would be strong enough to shock Twilight awake. And shock her it did, as the winds blasted the window's open, causing Twilight and Spike to jump. "What the blazes?" Spike asked, rubbing his eye. "It's just the wind, Spike. Funny thing though. I don't remember the Weather Station scheduling a strong wind tonight," Twilight said, calming herself down as she closed the window and tucked herself back into bed as she felt herself drift off to sleep once more. However, it would be harder than anticipated as Twilight felt a cold breeze rush up her spine. She reached for her blanket but found the whole thing has been pulled from her bed. She looked up at her bare bed and saw a darkened silhouette with bright yellow eyes staring down at her. Twilight gasped as she lit her horn, revealing Darth Maul breaking into her bedroom. Spike woke up from Twilight's brightened horn and was in just as much shock to find Maul in there with them! "Maul!? What are you--!?!?" Twilight asked as Maul snarled at the two of them as he usually does. "You two are coming with me!!" Maul declared as Twilight and Spike let out a horrific shriek as Maul, Twilight, and Spike seemingly vanished from thin air, leaving only the windows open.